Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In Pope County, Kentucky, in the town of Aurora, this story spans the life of Olivia Harker Cross from when she was a little girl until the later part of her life. I enjoyed the telling of her life, including her relationship with her Pap, the self-taught veterinarian and the characters of Junk and Love Alice. There were a couple of twists at the end that I didn't expect (and am still not sure if I cared for) but, overall I really enjoyed this book. This captures the hard life of living in depression era Kentucky and all of the characters felt rich and three dimensional.

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The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a beautiful novel that, through weaving of the past and present, tells the story of a girl in the juvenile system and what happens to her after she turns 18. She has a passion for flowers and uses each flower for their meaning. Elegantly told with lots of heart. Excellent character development, plot and pacing.

The Girl in the Blue Beret by Bobbie Ann Mason
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I liked the premise of this book but, could not feel any empathy for the characters. It goes on my abandoned pile.

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eReader or Paper Books?

Yes, I love technology and the idea of saving trees by not having paper books.  Still, I wasn't sure if I would like an eReader better than a paper book or not.  The answer is a resounding YES!  I love my eReader and rarely ever read anything on paper anymore.  My little Kindle is so handy.  I have it in my purse and can pull it out anytime anywhere and it is loaded with books.  When we travel, I never have to worry about which books to pack and if I will like them or not.

I know many friends who were true die hard paper book readers and couldn't imagine giving up the tactile experience and they too now embrace their eReaders with a passion.  In my experience, anyone who tries an eReader for a month will never go back.

The Dance of Intimacy by Harriet Lerner

The Dance of Intimacy: A Woman's Guide to Courageous Acts of Change in Key Relationships by Harriet Lerner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Normally, I find 'self-help' books a struggle to read and, even if they are informative, I am usually very glad to finish them as the reading is so dry. Not so with Harriet Lerner's books. Whatever book I am reading of hers is always my favorite. The Dance of Anger is excellent in addressing overfunctioning/underfunctioning roles. This book continues to deal with influencing change by focusing on yourself but deals more with understanding triangles. I have already downloaded another Harriet Lerner book to my kindle from the library as I love all of her books.

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My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Le Cirque des Rêves comes to town with no warning. It is only open at night. Inside each of the black-and-white striped canvas tents is a breathtaking unique experience.

I just finished this book and my brain is still swirling. I can see why this is a love it or hate it book. Some reasons that people may hate it are:

• The timeline jumps around from the early 1890's, to 1895, to 1893, back to 1898, up to 1901, back to 1899, etc. It was very struggling to read; she be in 1895 for a chapter, jump around through years for 5 or more chapters, then go back to 1985

• There are a lot of 'main' characters (15 in all!).

• Each chapter is told from a different characters perspective, and if that isn't enough, some chapters are written as if you are the one walking into a tent.

All of this being said, I am definitely in the 'loved it' camp. It takes a skilled author to be able to pull all of this off.  The writing is gorgeous. Don't worry too much about keeping track of everything. Read it and get lost in the magical beauty of the book and the circus.

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Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the story of two boys in China sent to the countryside for 're-education' where they flirt with the seamstress's daughter and devour band books. This has some wonderful story telling and captures what it was like to live under Mao's reign. It also makes you wonder how you would deal in a world without books. I am glad that I don't have to find out.

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