the Myth of You & Me by Leah Stewart

This is about best friends and how things can fall apart.  One moment everything is perfect with the world and the next moment you are tossed into a whirlwind that you are not sure how to get out of.  Cameron runs out on her best friend Sonia after Sonia tells her something that shatters her world.  It seems where the book picks up that all Cameron has done is run.  A major event in Sonia's life looks like it is going to bring them back together.  Throughout the book you learn of what happened and back story for each of the girls and how things shaped their lives.  Stewart did a great job showing the raw feelings that teenagers and young women have and how deep hurt can go.  Many times in our lives we look back and go over things that happened to us and sometimes we can see how they have shaped us and wonder what we could have done differently and how we could change it now.  Everything had a nice flow and as difficult as some of the subject matter was it was a very enjoyable read.

Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon

I read the whole Mitford series and loved it so I knew that I would be sure to love this one too.  She has a very comfortable style that makes me feel right at home when I am reading.  Karon can make you laugh and shake your head and just want to shake some of her characters.  This story takes Father Kavanaugh back home.  He faces many things that he has tried to put behind him over the years.  Painful memories surface as well as things that he never would have expected if he had tried.  He learned more about his family which helped him to understand more of why things had been the way they were.  I think that is something that happens to all of us as we get older.  Of course there is a happy ending and I would expect nothing less.  Karon writes books that make you feel good, question yourself in what you can do and provides something for everyone.

Farm Girl by Francis W. Porretto

A fun story about a girl who happens on a man with some land that he lets her farm.  Their relationship grows as the farm does and ideas about things also change and move forward.  It is a bit racy at times and it is a fairly short read.  The character development was okay, but at times I wanted to know more.  The one thing that was captured was the girls enthusiasm.  This spread throughout the book and I could not help but be pulled into that feeling.  (NOOK)

My eReader

I really did not think that I would ever get an eReader.  I love holding a book in my hand and did not think that I would enjoy reading on something that just seemed impersonal.

I had the opportunity when I was in Charleston, SC visiting some friends to compare, hold and play with a Kindle and a NOOK.  Until that point I was sold on a Kindle.  I just thought it was a better machine and with Amazon behind it I did not think I could go wrong.  Another thing I liked about them was that they did audio.  Well, once I held both of them I  just loved the NOOK.  I loved how it felt in my hands.  It felt more like a book and was very comfortable.  It was easy to use and was just a reader.  Now, it does not have audio but it does have space for an expansion card which really intrigued me.

Terry bought me a NOOK for Christmas.  He could not wait and I have been enjoying it for the past few weeks.  The more I use it the more I love it.  It is very easy to use and it is great to have so many books with me all the time.  A great thing with the NOOK is that it uses Adobe and you can read ePub and PDF's.  I am able to search the web for free books and as long as I can get them in either of those formats I can put them on my NOOK!  I am addicted to looking for books.  Most of the ones I am getting are classics and older novels.  I am having so much fun and really looking forward to reading books I have wanted to or should because they are classics.  And I can do it all for free!!  And I can do it all without loading the boat down with books!!

When I am reviewing books I will make a notation at the end if I read it on my NOOK so you can see how much I am using it and the vast number and types of books you can get for eReaders.  I will only get free books.  If I get it from a library I will also let you know.   Can you tell, I am loving my NOOK!!!

Recycled by Cecilia Peartree

This was a very odd short story, nothing of what I was expecting.  It is about an elderly woman in a community who was attacked and finding out who did it.  There were strange twists and turns and odd characters.  At the end of the story there was a snippet about the author and we were informed that some of the characters introduced here will be part of further mysteries.  If that is the case I may be able to better understand 'Recycled'.  Even in a short story you can develop characters and all Peartree did was tease and confuse me. (NOOK)

A Victorian Christmas Anthology by Catherine Palmer

This was a collection of four stories all taking place around Christmas.  They all also dealt with women who were going to be getting married, either by choice or by arrangement.  Everything takes place in the late 1800's from the mid-west to England.  Not only are these women dealing with a pending marriage they are also dealing with some type of loss, be it a parent, husband or family.  All of these stories also call on God to guide them and showing the men in thier lives the importance of giving themselves to Christ.  As you know, christian fiction is really not my cup of tea, but Palmer did a beautiful job telling these stories, pulling you in and making you feel a part of the story and part of these womens lives.  Palmer is known for her christian ficition and has won awards and I can understand why. (NOOK)

The Glass Case: A short story by Kristin Hannah

This was a very short story, but her writing was as good as ever.  A mother was dealing with where she was in life and with a loss that occurred earlier in her life when an event made her rethink some things and realize many more.  It is hard to say much about the story because I would give it all away.  If you get a chance to read it, do.  (NOOK)

Dispatches from a Public Librarian by Scott Douglas

This was a trip.  Scott Douglas talks about some of the things that happen to him in the library.  The things that patrons ask and the things he has to deal with are things that I had never thought about.  He also has some interesting insights on the state of libraries and the rolls they play within the public venue.  He had a couple essays in the end that did not do much for me, but the dispatches in the beginning were very funny.  I could not help laughing out loud and knowing that I have seen some forms of the  people of which he spoke in my forays to the library.  If you need a good chuckle, find this book!! (NOOK)

Permed to Death by Nancy J. Cohen

A client in a hair salon dies and the only other person around is the owner, Marla.  Marla is an interesting character and due to some things that happened to her in her past she needed to find out what happened to her client.  The story is laid out well, there is tension in the right places and intrigue that makes it hard to figure out who did it.  There is not a lot of drama, but there is the inter personal conflicts that keep you going.  I figured it out who did it before I reached the end but was very pleased with how the book finished.  It was a great little mystery.

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

I loved this book!!  It is told from the servants point of view and you got a feel for the whole family through them.  It never ceases to amaze me what servants and lady's maids did for their employers and how snooty and uncaring the employers could be.  This took place in the early 1900's.  There was much family tragedy and cover up and also glamor and parties, gossip, cheating and adjusting to changing times.  I know that there is a part of most of us who think the rich have it all and have nothing to worry about.  What I noticed in this book, and can't help but put in place today, it the mental unrest and drama that they live in.  What does this person think, what should I wear to this... things were all critically thought out at the time and I wonder how much fun was actually had.  The book was beautifully written, I laughed and even cried in the end.  I really felt a part of the story and got just as stressed as the characters and servants did.  It was a fascinating time and was portrayed very well through out the novel.

A Daughter of the Snows by Jack London

This was one of his earlier books, written in 1902.  I am not really sure if I have ever made it through any of his books before and now I am looking forward to reading more.  This took place in the late 1800's and focused on a daughter returning to her father in the Yukon.  There are many sub-stories that got confusing to me at times, but in the end all melded together.  I loved his descriptions of the Yukon, the gold-rushers, the scenery and how challenging things were at the time.  It was all quite fascinating.  I laughed outloud and shook my head many a time while reading this.  The world was a rough and tumble place and you  had to be able to stand on your own two feet.  I was truly transported back to this time period and he captured it amazingly well. (NOOK)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

I have seen this in the movies in a few forms.  I have seen it in play form and was even old Marley myself in grade school.  But I had never read it.  There is something about seeing it in book form that really made me think about what was going on.  I got very wrapped up in the emotion of it all and even though I knew the ending, could not wait to get to the end to see it all played out.  It really is a wonderful book and we should all take time to read the old classics like these. (NOOK)

A Christmas Holiday by Brendan Gerad O'Brien

It is that time of year and I love to read feel good Christmas stories.  I got this one and was very disappointed.  Yes, there was the idea that the guy was going to surprise his wife with a trip, but she was in a bad mood and he did not tell her right away.  Then he goes to the pub and decides to raffle off the tickets and get more money.  In the end there is a little twist, but it was just stupid, in my opinion.  Yes, it was a Christmas story.  Yes, it was a short story.  And yes, it was free...... thank goodness. (NOOK)