#24 If Looks Could Kill by Kate White***

From Amazon: When her young nanny dies of poisoned chocolates meant for her, magazine editor Cat Jones enlists the help of freelance crime writer Bailey Weggins. Bailey's not really an investigator, but she knows the procedure: scope out the crime scene, interrogate possible suspects (including Cat's attractive photographer husband), reconstruct the victim's last hours, consult with pals, etc. Bailey's attention soon turns toward Cat's conniving colleagues at the magazine and farther afield.

#23 Joy School by Elizabeth Berg ***

From Amazon: A 13-year-old girl falls in love with a 21-year-old garage mechanic who saves her life. From this unrequited love and other sorrows, she learns about the joys of life.

06/06/06 This was a sequal to Durable Goods but can easily stand alone. I did enjoy it and was a nice quick read.

#22 Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult ****

After reading My Sister's Keeper by Picoult I just had to read more by this Author!

Plain Truth Philadelphia defense lawyer Ellie Hathaway retreats to her great Aunt Leda's home in Paradise, PA, to get a break from her high-pressure job. Almost at the same time that she arrives, a dead baby is discovered in the barn of an Amish farmer. A police investigation reveals that the mother is an 18-year-old unmarried Amish girl, Katie Fisher, and that the infant apparently did not die of natural causes. Even in the face of medical proof that she recently gave birth, Katie denies the murder charge. Ellie reluctantly agrees to defend her, even though she does not want to be defended. To better understand her client, Ellie moves into the farmhouse with the Fisher family where she begins to see firsthand the pressures and sacrifices of those who live "plain." As she searches for evidence in this case, she calls upon a friend from her past, Dr. John Cooper, a psychiatrist. As Coop and Ellie work together to unravel fact and fiction, they also work to resolve issues in their relationship.

06/02/06 I wasn't disappointed! Great read.

#21 Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay****

From Amazon: Meet Dexter Morgan. He's a highly respected lab technician specializing in blood spatter for the Miami Dade Police Department. He's a handsome, though reluctant, ladies' man. He's polite, says all the right things, and rarely calls attention to himself. He's also a sociopathic serial killer whose "Dark Passenger" drives him to commit the occasional dismemberment.

Mind you, Dexter's the good guy in this story.

Adopted at the age of four after an unnamed tragedy left him orphaned, Dexter's learned, with help from his pragmatic policeman father, to channel his "gift," killing only those who deal in death themselves. But when a new serial killer starts working in Miami, staging elaborately grisly scenes that are, to Dexter, an obvious attempt at communication from one monster to another, the eponymous protagonist finds himself at a loss. Should he help his policewoman sister Deborah earn a promotion to the Homicide desk by finding the fiend? Or should he locate this new killer himself, so he can express his admiration for the other's "art?" Or is it possible that psycho Dexter himself, admittedly not the most balanced of fellows, is finally going completely insane and committing these messy crimes himself?

05/22/06 Loved this fun read. I did have to remind myself not to take this too seriously once or twice in the beginning but once I got the feel for this author and Dexter I enjoyed this book a lot. Lood forward to reading Dearly Devoted Dexter.

#20 Towelhead by Alicia Erian *****

My first 5 star read of the year! This book may not be for everyone. Very sexually charged and deals with the issue of child abuse. Rather dark, however, the main character 13 year old Jarisa walks you through her story in away that is unsettling yet she seems very capable of dealing with these harsh issues in her life.

She has horrible parents! Turning to adult men for the attention she is in great need of, who take in turn take advantage. She is a stronger girl than she gives herself credit for. It was very hard not to get wrapped up in this story on an emotional level. I carried the feelings the book created in me after I had put the book down. Towelhead was very well written the author does a wonderful job of balancing the awful circumstances with honesty and humanity.

From Amazon: Thirteen-year-old Jasira wants what every girl wants: love and acceptance and the undivided attention of whoever she's with. And if she can¹t get that from her parents, then why not from her mother's boyfriend, or her father's muscle-bound neighbor, Mr. Vuoso? Alicia Erian¹s incandescent debut novel, Towelhead, will ring true for readers who remember the rarely poetic transition from childhood to young adulthood. Jasira is a creature of contradiction: both innocent (reading romantic intentions into the grossest displays of lust) and oddly clear-sighted, especially when it comes to the imbalance of power, and the things we do for love. When her mother exiles her to Houston to live with Jasira's strict, quick-to-anger Lebanese father, she quickly learns what aspects of herself to suppress in front of him. In private, however, she conducts her sexual awakening with all the false confidence that pop culture and her neighbor's Playboy magazines have provided.

#19 Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg ****

From Amazon: In Berg's understated and promising fiction debut, a 12-year-old "army brat" comes to epitomize the quality that her father prizes: emotional durability. Narrator Katie lives on a Texas Army base with her 18-year-old sister and volatile father, an officer of unidentified rank. The girls' mother has died of cancer, although Katie never discusses how much time has passed since the loss. Accustomed to a military lifestyle, suspecting that her home will be only a temporary one, Katie leads a fairly ordinary existence. She and her best friend go swimming, talk about puberty and meet boys. When the inevitable happens and the family learns they're being transferred to Missouri, Katie tries to accept the impending change, but her sister, who can no longer tolerate her father's abuse, rebels.

05/11/06 Loved this story. I had read Open House ages ago and hadn't picked up anything else by Berg since. However, I'm glad I took the opportunity to read this and look forward to the follow up book Joy School.

#18 Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt ***

From Amazon: The four Tillerman children finally have a home at their grandmother's rundown farm on the Maryland shore. It's what Dicey has dreamed of for her three younger siblings, but after watching over the others for so long, it's hard to let go. Who is Dicey, if she's no longer the caretaker for her family?

Dicey finds herself in new friends, in a growing relationship with her grandmother, and in the satisfaction of refinishing the old boat she found in the barn. Then, as Dicey experiences the trials and pleasures of making a new life, the past comes back with devastating force, and Dicey learns just how necessary -- and painful -- letting go can be.

05/19/06 This was a nice follow up to Homecoming. Wrapped up some loose ends. I hope to read the rest of the Tillerman Series but no rush.

#17 The Persian Pickle Club by S. Dallas ***

From Amazon: A story of loyalty and friendship in a women's quilting circle. Young farm wife Queenie Bean tells about the brief membership of a city girl named Rita, whose boredom with country living and aspirations to be an investigative reporter lead her to unearth secrets in the close-knit group, called the Persian Pickle Club after a coveted paisley print. Queenie's desire to win Rita's friendship ("We were chickens... and Rita was a hummingbird") clashes with her loyalty to the Pickles when Rita tries to solve the murder of a member's husband, in the process unearthing complicated relationships among the women who meet each week to quilt and read aloud to each other.

05/09/06 This was a sweet read and do recommend it.

#16 The Finishing School by Muriel Spark **

From Amazon: College Sunrise, founded by would-be novelist Rowland Mahler and his practical wife, Nina Parker, is a mobile institution (currently situated in Lausanne) at which very little of use is taught. Rowland does preside over a popular creative writing class (with five students, it boasts more than half the school's enrollment), while Nina takes care of the office business and dispenses delicious advice in her informal etiquette seminars.

Trouble arrives in the form of redheaded, 18-year-old Chris Wiley, who has come to College Sunrise to work on his novel about Mary, Queen of Scots. Chris's authorial insouciance—he is supremely confident of his talents and rather dismissive of historical fact—infuriates Rowland, whose ego was inflated by minor early successes and who has a terrible case of writer's block. Rowland becomes obsessed with the novel and its creator, and their struggle—" 'I could kill him,' thought Rowland. 'But would that be enough?'

05/09/06 This was just okay. Not recommending it. In fact worst read so far this year.

Another challenge for myself

I saw this challenge mentioned at iVillage and then went to check it our on bookcrossing.com. Just trying to give credit where credit is do. Not going to be formal about it but here is the basic idea.

I have over 145 books in my possession that need to be read. I do not take any new books for the next month. If I do get a book I need to get rid of two. Not saying that I won't put them right back on my wish list but at least I'll feel like I'm putting a dent into this terribly self indulgent habit. Starting today May 2, 2006

#15 How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff ****

How I Live Now is another shared read with Layla. She's already almost done so I need to get busy reading.

From Amazon: Possibly one of the most talked about books of the year, Meg Rosoff's novel for young adults is the winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2004. Heralded by some as the next best adult crossover novel since Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, who himself has given the book a thunderously good quote, this author's debut is undoubtedly stylish, readable and fascinating.
Rosoff's story begins in modern day London, slightly in the future, and as its heroine has a 15-year-old Manhattanite called Daisy. She's picked up at the airport by Edmond, her English cousin, a boy in whose life she is destined to become intricately entwined. Daisy stays at her Aunt Penn's country farmhouse for the summer with Edmond and her other cousins. They spend some idyllic weeks together--often alone with Aunt Penn away traveling in Norway. Daisy's cousins seem to have an almost telepathic bond, and Daisy is mesmerized by Edmond and soon falls in love with him.

But their world changes forever when an unnamed aggressor invades England and begins a years-long occupation. Daisy and Edmond are separated when soldiers take over their home, and Daisy and Piper, her younger cousin, must travel to another place to work. Their experiences of occupation are never kind and Daisy's pain, living without Edmond, is tangible.

05/03/06 I really liked this book; a bit of a page turner. However, I'm not sure why I liked it. Left me a bit unsettled knowing there is a deeper under tones to the book yet seen through a young persons eyes who doesn't have the ability to verbalize them the way one would after internalizing and thinking about events that occur in ones life.

Highly recommend it.

#14 Another Part of the House by Winston Estes ***

Another Part of the House was given to me back when I was participating in bookcrossing.com meet ups. Been on my shelf for quite awhile and I look forward to finally getting to read it.

From the back of the book: The dustbowl years were hard in Texas, but for a boy growing up, family love tinged them with magic. For young Larry Morrison these were times of untarnished happiness: cliff-hanging serials at the movies, stickers caught in the feet, swimming down at the pond. But there's pain and loneliness in growing up, too, made bearable only by togetherness. Larry's family is poor, like everyone else in Wordsworth. Then suddenly, death strikes the most loved member of the family and out of his pain and sadness Larry takes the first step toward manhood, as the people and adventures he has known reveal to him the treasure of the vanished innocence of boyhood.

04/27/06 Enjoyed this very much. Sweet and nostalgic. Estes did a brilliant job of depicting depression era Texas.

Loved this quote from the book: "Both of those terrible things had happened in our own family right under my very nose, and here I was still living, eating, sleeping, playing, breathing, and walking around on two legs. Maybe I had been dealing with them all along, as Papa said, and didn't know it. Maybe the dealing with them is what makes the jagged edges smooth and the sharp points dull." The "things" referred to are death and betrayal.

#13 Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt *****

It is set in southern Illinois where Jethro Creighton, an intelligent, hardworking boy, is growing into manhood as his brothers and a beloved teacher leave to fight in the Union and Confederate armies.

My daughter recommend Across Five Aprils to me and I have very high expectations.

04/21/06 My expectations were met and then some! I fell in love with this family that was good and honest during one of the most difficult times our country has faced. Reminded me of why Lincoln is one of my favorite presidents. Oddly felt that this book is very relevant today in regards to the war in Iraq and actually helped me have a bit of a different perspective on views that differ from mine. Not bad for a young adult book.

Audio Books

I am not a big audio book fan because I'm just too easily distracted. However, I've been listening to Dear Zoe by Philip Beard and am really enjoying it. I really thing what is making the difference for me on this one is the reader. So I've decided to start a list of books I'd like to get on CD. I figured here is the best place to compile it so it can easily be referred to. Much easier than some chicken scratch that ends up wilted in my purse after a few months to be finally discarded.

Memory of Running by Ron McLarty/Read by Ron McLarty
Peace Like A River by Leif Enger/Read by Chad Lowe
White Oleander by Janet Fitch/Read by Oprah Winfrey
Narnia Series /BBC version
Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo/Read by Ron McLarty
The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks/Read by David Carradine
The Miracles of Santo Fico By Dennis L. Smith/Read by William Hope
Murder on a Girls Night Out by Anne George/Read by Ruth Ann Phimister
Missing Mom by Joyce Carol Oates/Read by ????
Hunting Fear by Kay Hooper

#12 Island of the Sequined Love Nun by C. Moore ***

Pilot Tucker Case has a weakness--well, Tuck really has two--and the combination of drinking and sex in the cockpit of the pink Mary Jean Cosmetics Learjet puts him on the front page of papers all over the planet. But he finds another job with a mysterious employer--someone with a brand-new Lear 45-- who's willing to pay Tuck generously and ask no questions about his record. The jet and job are on Alualu, a speck in the Pacific Ocean, and Tucker has nowhere else to go. But first he has to get to Alualu, and once there, he faces a hurricane, Shark People, atypical missionaries, and boredom ... and the responsibilities assigned to him by Capt. Vincent Bennidetti, U.S. Air Force, deceased bomber pilot and present-day deity of the Shark People.

#11 Dear Zoe by Philip Beard ***

A 15-year-old girl struggles to cope with private grief in an age of public catastrophe in this awkwardly conceived but sweet, sure-voiced debut. When her little sister, Zoe, dies after being struck by a car on September 11, 2001, savvy, self-aware Tess DeNunzio works through her grief by writing letters to Zoe. Tess's candid observations about her feelings of guilt (she witnessed the accident) and her mourning process give warmth and clarity to her descriptions of daily life in the aftermath. Not sure how to deal with her bereaved mother and uncommunicative stepfather, Tess moves across Pittsburgh to live with her real dad, an underemployed weight lifter with a good heart.

04/12/06 I really enjoyed this audio book. Think the reader was excellent. Never did check out to see who it was and I'm sending it off to someone at paperbackswap.com.

#10 Multiple Choice by Claire Cook ***

From Amazon: A midlife back-to-school adventure propels a suburban housewife into an unlikely radio career in Cook's third novel, set on the South Shore of Massachusetts. March Monroe is the spunky protagonist who left college life behind to marry a civil engineer named Jeff and raise a daughter and son while working as an aerobics instructor, party planner and finally a life coach. With Olivia off to college and Jackson not far behind, March finally takes her husband up on his longstanding offer to send her back to school. The degree requires an internship, and when March explores her limited options she finds herself inadvertently working together with Olivia as fellow interns at a local radio station. Exploiting the friction between March and Olivia, handsome programming director David Callahan proposes that the two do a mother-daughter call-in show that quickly takes off and becomes popular.

03/31/06 This turned out to be a lite fun read. However, I did enjoy Must Love Dogs a lot more. However, worth a read in my opinion.

Reading Slump or would it be a Rut???

Life has been so hectic on a personal level I'm finding it terribly hard to focus on my reading. I've actually started three books and had to put them down and move on to something lighter and still just creep those.

Middlesex
The DaVinci Code
The Rock Orchard

All very good but I'm so distracted with life I feel like I have no clue of what I had read once I pick the book back up. I don't recall the story line and or who the characters are. It really gets me down when I feel like I'm not making any progress on the TBR shelf with 100 + books.

So I'm thinking the solution for now is to just not worry about. I'm going to forget about any "obligation" type reading like the author challenge and/or group reads for boards. Just going to read what ever strikes my mood and if it takes me a month to read 200 pages well so be it.

Hopefully, I'll be back on a reading streak before I realize it.

#9 Crimson Joy by Robert B. Parker ***

I've been rather distracted from my reading attempts lately. I'm putting aside The Da Vinci Code and going to read the quick Parker read. Spenser is always good to me. Hope then to pick back up The Da Vinci Code.

From Amazon: A husband murders his wife imitating the "Red Rose Killer," a serial murderer who has been leaving a rose on the corpses of his victims, middle-aged black women. When the spouse admits his guilt, government higher-ups assure feminist and ethnic pressure groups that the elusive maniac has been caught: case closed. But Spenser's friends in homicide, angered by the cover-up, enlist him and Hawk in an unofficial investigation that seems to implicate some of Susan's patients. Resenting the intrusion on her professional territory, Susan nevertheless cooperates. Spenser and Hawk, as guards, are therefore present during the psychologist's session with the dreaded but pitiable killer and the ensuing tense, final scene.

03/09/06
Fun Spenser read, as always.

#8 Godless by Pete Hautman *****

Godless will be the 4th shared read of the year for Layla and I. She is so hard to keep up with! This was my choice. I discovered while looking through the National Book Award site.

03/24/06 I finished this awhile back ago and just forgot to post on it. I really enjoyed this story. Great sense of humor and made a heck of a lot of sense to me! This is going down as one of my favorites of the year!