Yay - a new thread!
That book looks pretty good - I'll throw it on my library queue.
Let me see, what have I read since I last posted?
Prayers for Sale - Sandra Dallas. First, I'm a huge Sandra Dallas fan. The Diary of Mattie Spencer and the Persian Pickle Club are two of my all time favs. This one - was a limp excuse for a Sandra Dallas book. The time period was intesting, it was nice to touch base with one of the other characters from an earlier book, but the plot was phoned in (an older woman tells stories to a younger one) and the ending is ridiculously over the top happy.
Devil's Gate: Brigham Young and the Great Mormon Handcart Tragedy . Not sure why I'm so fascinated with the founding of the Church of the Latter Day Saints and their early history, but this book was just fascinating.
A Reliable Wife Very gothic, the plot had some good twists. It reminded me a little of the Crimson Petal and the White (which I loved).
End of Overeating - Brilliant. I was a little amused, the book went on for 200+ pages about why it's so tough to stop eating sugar, fat and salt. Their final technique (presented in a few short pages at the end) for not eating these foods - well, just don't eat them.
Local News - just okay. It was slow and not much happened, but I think that was the intent.
Dogs of Babel - I really liked Carolyn Parkhurst's Lost and Found but this was very different. I loved this book when it stayed firmly grounded in reality, when it veered into a little bit of surrealness, it lost me a bit. Overall, an excellent, sweet book that made me cry.
Pretty in Plaid - while nothing tops Bitter is the New Black - this book had a few laugh out loud moments. I'm such a big Jen Lancaster fan, I think she's hilarious. We're about the same age, so her memories of 80s fashion/music made me nostalgic. She just seems like a person who would be really fun to have a drink with and some serious girl talk.
Girls in Trucks - turned out to be a series of interelated stories and not a novel. It was just okay for me, dawg. The prose was nice in places.
Citizen Girl - someone in last month's thread posted they hated this book, and I know it's sick, but sometimes I like to read books I hate because hating on books can be fun. So, I checked this one out of the library. I ended up liking it okay- probably because I could identify with the feeling of being a powerless corporate drone with a boss who makes demands that seem impossible to put into action. I hated the "precious" character naming, and it was over the top in places, but overall I liked it.
Life of Pi - everyone keeps saying how fabulous this book is, so I finally read it. I can see why other people liked it, but it was way too religious for me and I dislike books that are surreal. It does get bonus points for the M. Night Shamalayan ending, which nearly redeemed it for me.
Home Safe - Elizabeth Berg is another favorite author but this book kind of sucked. The main character was so helpless and weak. I know there have to be real people like this, but I just wanted to SLAP HER. And negative points for trite happy ending.
Serena - gothic and over the top and I couldn't put it down. Disliked ALL the main characters and didn't understand their motivations, but somehow still compulsively readable.
Next up -
Strain - vampires!
There may be some overlap between the last time I posted, but I think that puts me up to date. Can't wait to see what everyone else is reading this summer - I need to update my library queue.