Started: 3/25/09
Finished: 3/30/09
Years: 1903, 1906
Pages: 288
Genre: Classic
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR pile
Blurb (from book jacket): "The Call of the Wild centers on Buck, a dog bred for a life of ease on a California estate, who is kidnapped and sold to Klondike gold hunters. To survive the biting cold and his ruthless masters, Buck must listen to the Call and learn the ways of the wolf-ancestors who guide him from within.
"White Fang tells the story of a half-wolf, half-dog nearly destroyed by the vicious cruelty of mankind. Brought to the very brink of his existance, White Fang is lucky enough to experience the one thing that can save him-human love. Slowly, the ferocious White Fang grows into a creature capable of selfless bravery, undying loyalty, and affection.
Opinion: A couple of some good classic stories.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
Started: 3/22/09
Finished: 3/25/09
Year: 2009
Pages: 361
Genre: General Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Knitting and life. They're both about beginnings-and endings. That's why it makes sense for Lydia Goetz, owner of A Good Yarn on Seattle's Blossom Streeet, to offer a class called Knit to Quit. It's for people who want to quit something-or someone!-and start a new phase of their lives.
"First to join is Phoebe Rylander. She recently ended her engagement to a man who doesn't know the meaning of faithful, and she's trying to get over him. Then there's Alix Turner. She and her husband, Jordan, want a baby, which means she has to quit smoking. And Bryan Hutchinson joins the class because he needs a way to deal with stress of running his family's business-not to mention the lawsuit brought against him by an unscruptulous lawyer.
"Life can be as complicated as a knitting pattern. Just ask Anne Marie Roche. She and her adopted daughter, Ellen, finally have the happiness they wished for. And then a stranger comes to her bookstore asking questions.
"Or ask Lydia herself. Not only is she coping with her increasingly frail mother, but she and Brad have unexpectedly become foster parents to an angry, defiant twelve-year-old.
"But as Lydia already knows, when life gets difficult and your stitches are snarled, your friends can always help!"
Opinion: Another delightful read by Debbie Macomber. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com in the coming months.
Finished: 3/25/09
Year: 2009
Pages: 361
Genre: General Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Knitting and life. They're both about beginnings-and endings. That's why it makes sense for Lydia Goetz, owner of A Good Yarn on Seattle's Blossom Streeet, to offer a class called Knit to Quit. It's for people who want to quit something-or someone!-and start a new phase of their lives.
"First to join is Phoebe Rylander. She recently ended her engagement to a man who doesn't know the meaning of faithful, and she's trying to get over him. Then there's Alix Turner. She and her husband, Jordan, want a baby, which means she has to quit smoking. And Bryan Hutchinson joins the class because he needs a way to deal with stress of running his family's business-not to mention the lawsuit brought against him by an unscruptulous lawyer.
"Life can be as complicated as a knitting pattern. Just ask Anne Marie Roche. She and her adopted daughter, Ellen, finally have the happiness they wished for. And then a stranger comes to her bookstore asking questions.
"Or ask Lydia herself. Not only is she coping with her increasingly frail mother, but she and Brad have unexpectedly become foster parents to an angry, defiant twelve-year-old.
"But as Lydia already knows, when life gets difficult and your stitches are snarled, your friends can always help!"
Opinion: Another delightful read by Debbie Macomber. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com in the coming months.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts
Started: 3/15/09
Finished: 3/22/09
Year: 2006
Pages: 440
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: booksfree.com
Blurb (from inside page): "Reena Hale's destiny was shaped in the destructive-yet fascinatingly beautiful-fire that leveled her family's pizzeria when she was young. Now an arson investigator, she finds her strength and wits constantly tested-although sometimes the job seems like a snap compared to her love life. But she can't always blame the men. After all, a soot-caked woman barking orders and smelling of smoke isn't the biggest turn-on in the world. Then she meets Bo Goodnight, who seems different. He's been trying to find Reena ever since the long-ago night when he glimpsed her from afar. And now that she's close enough to touch, he has no intention of letting go.
"Nor does the man who has begun to haunt Reena's life-with taunting phone calls and a string of horrifying crimes. And as Reena tries desperately to trace the origins-of the calls, the fires, the hatred aimed in her direction-she will step into the worst inferno she has ever faced..."
Opinion: The beginning dragged a little but Nora Roberts has a way to draw in readers and keep them with the book. The romance wasn't completely overwhelming and had the right mix of suspense and romance.
Finished: 3/22/09
Year: 2006
Pages: 440
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: booksfree.com
Blurb (from inside page): "Reena Hale's destiny was shaped in the destructive-yet fascinatingly beautiful-fire that leveled her family's pizzeria when she was young. Now an arson investigator, she finds her strength and wits constantly tested-although sometimes the job seems like a snap compared to her love life. But she can't always blame the men. After all, a soot-caked woman barking orders and smelling of smoke isn't the biggest turn-on in the world. Then she meets Bo Goodnight, who seems different. He's been trying to find Reena ever since the long-ago night when he glimpsed her from afar. And now that she's close enough to touch, he has no intention of letting go.
"Nor does the man who has begun to haunt Reena's life-with taunting phone calls and a string of horrifying crimes. And as Reena tries desperately to trace the origins-of the calls, the fires, the hatred aimed in her direction-she will step into the worst inferno she has ever faced..."
Opinion: The beginning dragged a little but Nora Roberts has a way to draw in readers and keep them with the book. The romance wasn't completely overwhelming and had the right mix of suspense and romance.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Spiral Hunt by Margaret Ronald
Started: 3/7/09
Finished: 3/15/09
Year: 2009
Pages: 310
Genre: fantasy
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: Review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "They call her 'Hound,' and with her unique supernatural sense Evie can track nearly anything-lost keys, vanished family heirlooms...even missing people. And though she knows to stay out of the magical undercurrent that runs beneath Boston's historic streets, a midnight phone call from a long-vanished lover will destroy the careful boundaries she has drawn. Now, to pay a years-old debt, Evie must venture into the shadowy world that lies between myth and reality, where she will find betrayal, conspiracies, and revelations that will shatter all she believes about herself and the city she claims as home."
Opinion: I'm not a big fan of fantasy novels. This book is unique in the type of supernatural powers people have in it and how it is set in a realistic city. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com in the future months.
Finished: 3/15/09
Year: 2009
Pages: 310
Genre: fantasy
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: Review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "They call her 'Hound,' and with her unique supernatural sense Evie can track nearly anything-lost keys, vanished family heirlooms...even missing people. And though she knows to stay out of the magical undercurrent that runs beneath Boston's historic streets, a midnight phone call from a long-vanished lover will destroy the careful boundaries she has drawn. Now, to pay a years-old debt, Evie must venture into the shadowy world that lies between myth and reality, where she will find betrayal, conspiracies, and revelations that will shatter all she believes about herself and the city she claims as home."
Opinion: I'm not a big fan of fantasy novels. This book is unique in the type of supernatural powers people have in it and how it is set in a realistic city. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.com in the future months.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Obsession by Jonathan Kellerman
Started: 2/24/09
Finished: 3/7/09
Year: 2007
Pages: 445
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR pile
Blurb (from back cover): "Tanya Bigelow was a solemn little girl when Dr. Alex Delaware successfully treated her obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Now, at nineteen, Tanya returns with a curious request: that Delaware investigate her aunt's deathbed confession of murder. While Delaware doubts that Patty Bigelow was capable of such a horrific act, he agrees to look into the matter. Armed with only the vaguest details, Delaware and LAPD detective Milo Sturgis retrace Patty's and Tanya's nomadic and increasingly puzzling life. Then a very real murder tears open a terrifying tunnel into the past, where secrets-and bodies-are buried. As the tension mounts, Delaware and Sturgis uncover a tangled history of desperation, vengeance, and death-a legacy of evil that refuses to die."
Opinion: This was a long book. Probably a little too long. Typical Kellerman with twists and turns. Decent plotline.
Finished: 3/7/09
Year: 2007
Pages: 445
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR pile
Blurb (from back cover): "Tanya Bigelow was a solemn little girl when Dr. Alex Delaware successfully treated her obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Now, at nineteen, Tanya returns with a curious request: that Delaware investigate her aunt's deathbed confession of murder. While Delaware doubts that Patty Bigelow was capable of such a horrific act, he agrees to look into the matter. Armed with only the vaguest details, Delaware and LAPD detective Milo Sturgis retrace Patty's and Tanya's nomadic and increasingly puzzling life. Then a very real murder tears open a terrifying tunnel into the past, where secrets-and bodies-are buried. As the tension mounts, Delaware and Sturgis uncover a tangled history of desperation, vengeance, and death-a legacy of evil that refuses to die."
Opinion: This was a long book. Probably a little too long. Typical Kellerman with twists and turns. Decent plotline.
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