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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Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a wonderful series and I hope that the upcoming Hunger Games movie does it justice. A very enjoyable read.

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Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I purposely procrastinated reading this book due to the uncomfortable subject matter. Now that I am reading it, I wonder why I didn’t read it sooner. Yes, it touches a deep nerve in the reader that makes the subject matter extremely disturbing. That being said, it is magnificent and I can’t wait to return to reading it. It is honest and raw and Humbert, the middle aged pedophile who seduces the 12 year old girl Lolita, is a witty, charming likeable character. At times, you can actually see things through his eyes and even sympathize with this madman. That shows you the incredible capabilities of the writer. The writing is sheer poetry with perfect diction and syntax. There is a reason that this book gets almost all 5 star reviews and is listed in the Top 100 Books of All Time.   Jeremy Irons reading on the the audio version definitely added to the richness of this exquisite novel

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The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a reminiscing collection of short stories about the Vietnam war. This is raw and captures the emotionally intensity. He captures the fiction and non-fiction, imagination and reality of Vietnam in a way I have never read before. What a powerful writer.

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The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This dystopian novel envisions a world in which religious fundamentalists rule and women are confined to female roles, to the extreme. Atwood's poetry shines in her writing and she captures this world in beautiful sparse phrases. This is my first Margaret Atwood book but, it will not be my last. Thanks Mandy! :-)

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A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I fell in love with Little Owen Meany. The audio book was excellent and made Owen come to life. I could have done without the current day ponderings of John and some of this book felt long but, over all, extremely enjoyable.

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The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A dystopian novel that tells the story of Dorrit Wenger who, shortly after her 50th birthday packs a suitcase of her most prized possessions, gets into a van, and checks into The Unit.

The Unit is a beautiful spa like setting with walking paths, beautiful gardens', wonderful food, medical experiments and body harvesting from their "residents". Their residents are women at the age of 50 and men at the age of 60 who are childless and deemed dispensable.

Despite how it sounds, this novel is not depressing but, is very intriguing and an enjoyable read. Great writing and characters. I loved the Swedish pacing, plot and translations of this novel.

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My New Years Resolution

Tine is short.  Far too short to waste reading a book you aren't enjoying, regardless of the rave reviews.  I have been enjoying a fabulous little book of  'recommended reads' and the author has a great rule that she calls "The Rule of 50".  If you are under 50, then you should read 50 pages before you decide to commit yourself to reading or giving up a book.  As you get older, time gets even shorter so, once you are over 50, then she says to subtract your age from 100, and that is how many pages you should read.

As the author says, no one is getting any points in heaven for slogging through a book they aren't enjoying but think they ought to read.  I am subscribing to this new motto and have even created an "Abandoned/Did Not Finish Category" in honor of it!  I will be more ruthless and try to read only really good enjoyable books.

Did you make any New Years Resolutions?

The Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships by Harriet Lerner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It has been years since I read this book and it is as good as I remember. Clear and simple in how to get to the root of issues, take responsibility (not try to change the other person) and handle things productively. It talks about how when one person over-functions, this allows the other person to under-function (any guesses on which role the woman usually has? ) and how to correct that balance. I think that every woman should read this book! Excellent.

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