It's Not All Downhill From Here by Terry McMillan

 Started: 5/28/20

Finished: 8/28/20

Year: 2020

Pages: 350

Genre: Literature

Grade: B

Reason for reading: Librarything.com giveaway

Blurb: "Loretha Curry's life is full. A little crowded sometimes, but full indeed. On the eve of her sixty-eighth birthday, she has a booming beauty-supply empire, a gaggle of lifelong friends, and a husband whose moves still surprise her. True, she's carrying a few more pounds than she should be, but Loretha is not one of those women who think her best days are behind her-and she's out to prove wrong her mother, her twin sister, and everyone else with that outdated view. It's not all downhill from here. But after an unexpected loss, Loretha must summon all her strength, resourcefulness, and determination to endure heartbreak, pursue joy, heal old wounds, and chart new paths. With help from her friends, of course."

Opinion: Another decent book by McMillan. Follows along the same themes as many of her other books-the emphasis of family and friends and overcoming life's obstacles. If you're a fan of her works, you should enjoy this one.

High Five by Janet Evanovich

 Started: 8/15/20

Finished: 8/21/20

Year: 1999

Pages: 317

Genre: Mystery

Grade: B

Reason for reading: rereading/catching up on the series booksfree.com book

Blurb (from back cover): In the fifth high-octane thriller, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum sets out to find her missing uncle-and along the way smacks slam-bang into: a dead body, a nasty bookie, her stun-gun-toting grandmother, two very sexy men, an angry little man who won't leave her apartment and a Mafia wedding...

"Jersey's favorite bounty hunter has never been better! With high hair, street smarts and plenty of attitude, Steph's sure to nail this case-or risk life and spandex-clad limb trying..."

Opinion: Another fun read. Probably so far the funniest one in the series so far. 

The Nicotine Chronicles Edited by Lee Child

 Started: 8/9/20

Finished 8/13/20

Year: 2020

Pages: 275

Genre: short stories/fiction

Grade: B

Reason for reading: LibraryThing.com giveaway/review

Blurb (from back cover): "In recent years, nicotine has become as verboten as many hard drugs. The literary styles in this volume are as varied as the moral quandaries herein, and the authors have successfully unleashed their incandescent imagination on the subject matter, fashioning an immensely addictive collection."

Opinion: Overall a decent collection of short stories by some well known authors like Lee Child, Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Imperioli to name a few. As with most collections of short stories by different authors, some you'll love, some you'll hate. I'm not a fan of nicotine but it was interesting to see how each other put cigarettes into their stories.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

 Started: 8/2/20

Finished: 8/7/20

Year: 2000

Pages: 272

Genre: Essay

Grade: C

Reason for reading: bookcrossing.com book exchange/TBR pile

Blurb (from Amazon.com): "A recent transplant to Paris, humorist David Sedaris, bestselling author of "Naked", presents a collection of his strongest work yet, including the title story about his hilarious attempt to learn French"

Opinion: I'm probably one of the few that did not think that this was laugh out loud funny. Some amusing stories but none left a lasting impression on me. I'm glad that I read it but won't be seeking out any of his other books.

American Pastoral by Philip Roth

Started: 5/13/20

Finished: 8/1/20

Year: 1997

Pages: 423

Genre: Literature

Grade: C

Reason for reading: 1001 books to read before you die, TBR pile

Blurb (from back cover): "As the American century draws to an uneasy close, Philip Roth gives us a novel of unqualified greatness that is elegy for all our century's promises of prosperity, civic order, and domestic bliss. Roth's protagonist is Swede Levov, a legendary athlete at his Newark high school, who grows up in the booming postwar years to marry a former Miss New Jersey, inherit his father's glove factory, and move into a stone house in the idyllic hamlet of Old Rimrock. And then one day in 1968, Swede's beautiful American luck deserts him.

"For Swede's adored daughter, Merry, has grown from a loving, quick-witted girl into a sullen, fanatical teenager-a teenager capable of an outlandishly savage act of political terrorism. And overnight Swede is wrenched out of the long-for American pastoral and into the indigenous American berserk."

Opinion: My first reaction is eh. An average read. Couldn't get into it-and felt that Swede's reaction to his daughter was over the top in some aspects.