From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8) Immediately

The book arrived on time and it was brand new so I love that. However, this story was not as captivating as the previous once. I am on my last chapter and I can't wait for it to be over and I could move on to the next book and hopefully fall back in to the mystery and last as I did with the previous books.Get more detail about From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8).

Still Alice This instant

Clearly the topic is not easy for everyone to read - but the book is so well written - written from "alice's' point of view the book takes the reader through the life of a healthy, maginficent mind to a mind that breaks down and fails this woman at such a young age...It is heartbreaking and sad but truly and amazing book! I don't think I could of read this book if I was older the 40 as the topic is just too real and hits too close to home...but at the ripe age 36 I was able to read it and not think that it might someday soon be me.Get more detail about Still Alice.

The Man Who Would Be King Top Quality

I love a great story and this is one of my favorites. It conveys the circumstances of an underappreciated newspaper man in the British Colonial era at a minor outpost in what is probably a reasonably accurate way (politically correct by current standards or not).

The characters the writer encounters were likely somewhat common after finishing military duty in a far-off land and being at somewhat loose ends once mustered out. Going a bit "native" was probably not uncommon for those stationed throughout the reaches of the British Empire at its height (and decline). Ideas by those staying behind which appear hare-brained were possibly fairly familiar given the tenuous situation some of the ex-pats may have found themselves in. Heck, it might have even worked if they'd stuck to the original plan! It gives you a lot to think about as far as power vs. ego is concerned.

Read the story first if you haven't already seen the movie. You'll appreciate the writing's compactness and choice of style and flow that way. However, my feeling is that although this is an excellent read and definitely a classic, many readers may find watching the movie (which is absolutely in my top ten favorites of all time) helpful in understanding some of the more subtle aspects of the story. For example, the fairly obscure references to the Masons' rituals (perhaps by necessity at the time of writing) - which are in effect the central underlying theme in regard to the various characters' undertakings - are made much clearer in the film.

Enjoy!Get more detail about The Man Who Would Be King.

Men and Dogs: A Novel

MEN AND DOGS is a fast and well written read marred by the dislikeable characteristics of the two major characters as well as the improbable situations in which they find themselves. The book is basically the story of a thirty-five year old woman named Hannah and her slightly older brother Palmer. The siblings' physician father disappeared on a fishing trip twenty some years before and presumably drowned thus crippling his children's emotional development despite the presence of a decent mother, a generous mega rich stepfather and a caring community.

Hannah has never been able to accept that her father is actually dead (a body was never found) and somehow seems to blame his disappearance for her faithlessness to her husband whom she presumably loves and other instances of impulsive behavior. Her brother Palmer is a successful gay veterinarian who doesn't have any outward guilt about his homosexuality but has always secretly believed it drove his father to disappear. One of my major problems with the book was I could not believe Palmer who the author depicts as cool and fastidious would have chosen a career in veterinary medicine which inherently has many messy and uncontrollable moments. The author explains Palmer is a control freak and that is why he chose to be an animal doc?? I couldn't help but wonder if the author made him a dog doctor just to underline the theme of dogs and faithfulness that inspire the book's title. Anyway when the novel begins Hannah is estranged from her husband and their formerly successful business ("sex toys for rich people") has hit the skids. She moves in to her mom and stepfather's historic mansion for a month to recover from a physical injury caused by trying to break in to her ex's apartment and to put her life back together. Brother Palmer has just kicked his latest boyfriend out because the poor fellow mentioned he might be interested in becoming a parent through adoption or surrogacy. And both siblings are about to encounter old lovers and discover some long held beliefs about their parents are false.

The book has a real sense of time as the present day action takes place in the fall of 2008 when Obama was nearing his election with a few flashbacks with genuine details to the spring of 1984 when Hannah and Palmer's dad disappeared. The setting is Charleston, South Carolina and the author's description of the city and some of its quirky customs and people are among the best parts of the book. This is a quick very readable novel that doesn't quite live up to its lofty themes or overcome the handicap that both leading characters often appear to be spoiled brats despite Hannah's dawning realization that "there won't always be a why."

Get more detail about Men and Dogs: A Novel.

Marked (House of Night, Book 1) Review

Marked is a fun, easy read that is different from all of the other vampire books out right now. I was immediately sucked in from page 1. You should note that this was written with teens in mind and it does have some slang/conversation that could have been a lot better, but overall it was a good, quick, no stress read.

I went to SIHS, and many friends actually had P.C Cast as an English teacher, so having places in the book that I know (SIHS, Philbrook Museum, Jenks Aquarium, etc.) really added an interesting level to reading this book that I have never experienced before.

Overall, it is a strong start to a new teen vampire series and I cannot wait to start reading the rest of the series.Get more detail about Marked (House of Night, Book 1).

Shop For Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life

Like many, I loved Francis Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun, but her sequels just aren't as good. Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life follows the downward trend. Some of the same elements that made Tuscan Sun a winner are there: beautiful prose, well-drawn landscapes, charming local characters, great recipes, but there is a lack of narrative thread to pull the whole thing together. What the reader is left with is a rambling, somewhat self-indulgent memoir. If you're huge fan of Mayes or a lover of everything Italian, then you might be happy with this book. Otherwise, check out Tim Parks' Italian Neighbors.Get more detail about Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life.

Where To Buy Bronte's Jane Eyre (bargain edition typeset for the Kindle)

Jane Eyre along with Charlotte Brontë's sister's Wuthering Heights is a much beloved romantic literary classic.

Personally I don't get it.

In Wuthering Heights I couldn't stand Heathcliff for his moodiness and downright meaness and I found little more to like in Jane Eyre's Rochester- although I will give he's a tad more likeable since he obviously cares for Jane rather than simply being obsessed by her as Heathcliff was for Catherine.


In the story of Jane Eyre, very much unlike what I find with Austen's characters, I couldn't relate to Jane as a character because I little understood her motivations. Sure she endured being cast aside and raised in an institution but much of that is glossed over. She started off with enough steel to stand up to her wretched step brother and step mother but somewhere in the years she lost it, till when she came to Thornfield Hall she almost fades into the background. She falls for Rochester and he her though there's little indication why. Then disaster strikes and rather than corrupting herself morally, she leaves. While away she suddenly becomes an heiress, refuses yet another marriage proposal and then is supernaturally drawn back to Thornfield Hall, hearing Rochester call for her in her imagination. Things have not gone well for Rochester during their separation, but he is now free to marry, and Jane- at last- finds happiness.

A happily ever after, I suppose, but Rochester has little that a modern woman would like and desire despite the fact you get that he genuinely loves Jane. In the end, it was the silliness of the gothic-ness of this novel and it's eye rollingly absurd action that drags the story down for me.

For me the author who does it best, the one who wrote novels with characters that a modern woman can empathize with- despite all the years in between- is Jane Austen.

Oh, the Brontë sisters will remain on my keeper shelf, they are classics after all, but I am quite content knowing I will probably never read them again.Get more detail about Bronte's Jane Eyre (bargain edition typeset for the Kindle).