2011 COMPLETED CHALLENGES

Here's my challenge wrap-up:

100+ Reading Challenge - Did not complete, 7 books short

Read and Review Challenge 2011 - I wrote a mini-review of every book I read this year

Pub 2011 Reading Challenge - Finished with 12 books

Ireland Reading Challenge 2011 - Finished with 4 books

2011 Medical Mystery Madness Challenge - Finished with 4 books

What's in a Name 4 Challenge - Finished with 6 books

Just for Fun Reading Challenge 2011 - Finished with 12 books

Chunkster Challenge 2011 - Finished with 6 books

I'm joining 7 challenges for next year - I'll post them tomorrow.

DECEMBER BOOKS

Can you believe that 2011 is over already?  It's true - the older you get, the faster the time flies.

Here's what I read in December:

1225 CHRISTMAS TREE LANE by Debbie Macomber

RAINWATER by Sandra Brown

OLIVE KITTERIDGE by Elizabeth Strout

ROOM by Emma Donoghue (Just For Fun Reading Challenge 2011)

AN O'BRIEN FAMILY CHRISTMAS by Sherryl Woods

THE CHRISTMAS NOTE by Donna VanLiere

CHARLOTTE FIGG TAKES OVER PARADISE by Joyce Magnin

TOMORROW RIVER by Lesley Kagen

SUCH A PRETTY FACE by Cathy Lamb

RUSH HOME ROAD by Lori Lansens

ANGEL FALLS by Kristin Hannah

Overall, a good reading month.  I didn't read as many of those little Christmas books as I usually do - I didn't see that many new ones that caught my eye.  So I wound up this month with 11 books, for a total this year of 93 books.

I want to wish everyone a safe, happy and healthy New Year!

GOODBYE 2011

This has been an up and down year for me.  Some good things with our family, some not-so-good.  I saw a good friend fight and lose a very short battle with an exceptionally aggressive cancer, which showed me the importance of living every day to the fullest.

Shelby moved back in with us early in the year with her then-boyfriend Mike.  She finally got smart and broke up with him and he moved out in March.  Since then, I've seen some big changes in Shelby.  Her self-esteem has soared.  She realized what she wants in life and is working toward that goal.  She's in school, taking classes in skin care and make-up, and will continue with cosmetology later this year.  She's going with a really nice young man now, one who treats her with respect and caring.  She's happier than she's been in years.  I'm so proud of the young woman she's become.

I've been able to spend more time with my wonderful sister Anne - in fact, I just came back from a few days in Orlando a few weeks ago.  We also went up to Ohio in September to celebrate our cousin's 100th birthday.  She and Sy are coming here for a few days, probably in February.

Dom and I made another trip to Niagara Falls this summer.  It was hot as blazes, but I loved seeing the Falls and my favorite singer, John McDermott.  This time we walked close enough to just about touch the Bridal Veil Falls.  I don't think I could ever get tired of seeing the Falls - I'm totally mesmerized by the water.  One of my all time favorite places to visit.

Dom and I are working toward the day when he can retire fully.  We have a financial goal in mind and have formulated a plan to reach that goal, hopefully this year.

And so I can say goodbye to 2011 and look forward to 2012.  I have a feeling it's going to be a very good year.

 

ANGEL FALLS

ANGEL FALLS by Kristin Hannah

From Amazon.com:

When Mikaela Campbell, beloved wife and mother, falls into a coma, it is up to her husband, Liam, to hold the family together and care for their grieving, frightened children.  Doctors tell him not to expect a recovery, but he believes that love can accomplish what medical science cannot.  Daily he sits at her bedside, telling her stories of the precious life they have built together, hoping against hope that she will wake up.  But then he discovers evidence of his wife's secret past:  a hidden first marriage to movie star Julian True.

Desperate to bring Mikaela back at any cost, Liam knows he must turn to Julian for help.  But will that choice cost Liam his wife, his family, and everything he holds dear?   One of Kristin Hannah's most moving novels, Angel Falls is a poignant and unforgettable portrait of marriage and commitment, of an ordinary man who dares to risk everything in the name of love.

This book was an older book (2000) by Ms. Hannah that I downloaded from my library to my Kindle.  I've read quite a few of Ms. Hannah's books.  This one, for me, didn't measure up to her newer books.

I liked the character of Liam.  He was a man completely in love with his wife who was hurting so deeply as she lay in a coma for over a month.  I felt bad for the two children.  And I really wanted to feel bad for Mikaela, but I found that difficult. She had hidden so much of her earlier life from Liam, and I wondered how he could fully trust her again after he learned of her past.

I like the idea of borrowing library books for the Kindle, but I wish my library would start getting some newer books.

RUSH HOME ROAD

RUSH HOME ROAD by Lori Lansens

From the back of the book:

When five-year-old Sharla is dumped on Addy Shadd's trailer-park doorstep, the old woman doesn't know whether she is up to the task of mothering the willful, curious child.  But she takes the girl in, and soon Sharla's presence begins to spark memories of Addy's own tumultuous childhood in Rusholme, a town settled by fugitive slaves.  What Addy remembers:  strawberry fields, her childhood sweetheart, the church graveyard, Mama Laisa's apple pie, bootleggers, a white layer cake she once baked for her own little girl, and the painful events that ultimately drove Addy away from Rusholme.

By opening this door to the past, Sharla helps Addy make sense of her long, hard life so she can find forgiveness - and finally make the journey home again.

Loved, loved, loved this book.  This makes 3 great books in a row this month!

The story switches from the present with elderly Addy taking care of Sharla and Addy's past, from her teenage years when she was forced to leave Rusholme, to years in Detroit, to her return to Canada to settle down in Chatham.  Addy had a very hard life, but she made the best of the opportunities she was given.  She was such a strong woman and provided the best home she could for Sharla.  She realized that she would not be around forever and was determined to make sure that Sharla would be in good hands.

This was a story about love and hope and strength of character.  Addy was an amazing woman.

I'm looking forward to reading more by Ms. Lansens.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

SUCH A PRETTY FACE

SUCH A PRETTY FACE by Cathy Lamb

From the book flap:

Two years and 170 pounds ago, Stevie Barrett wash wheeled into an operating room for surgery that most likely saved her life.  Since that day, a new Stevie has emerged, one who walks without wheezing, plants a garden for self-therapy, and builds and paints fantastical wooden chairs.  At thirty-five, Stevie is the one thing she never thought she'd be:  thin.

But for everything that's changed, some things remain the same.  Stevie's shyness refuses to melt away.  She still can't look her gorgeous neighbor in the eye.  The Portland law office where she works remains utterly dysfunctional, as does her family - the aunt, uncle, and cousins who took her in when she was a child.  To top it off, her once supportive best friend clearly resents her weight loss.

By far the biggest challenge in Stevie's new life lies in figuring out how to define her new self.  Collaborating with her cousins to plan her aunt and uncle's problematic fortieth anniversary party, Stevie starts to find some surprising answers - about who she is, who she wants to be, and how the old Stevie evolved in the first place.  And with each revelation, she realizes the most important part of her transformation may not be what she's lost, but the courage and confidence she's gathering, day by day.

As achingly honest as it is witty, Such a Pretty Face is a richly insightful novel of one woman's search for love, family, and acceptance, of the pain we all carry - and the wonders that can happen when we let it go at last.

Another fantastic book!  The above synopsis of the book makes it sound interesting, but that's not all the book is about.  It fails to give an idea into where Stevie's problems started - which is told in the prologue of the book.  Since you would read this in the first few pages, I'll tell you here.  Stevie's mother, Helen, threw ten-year-old Stevie and her little sister, Sunshine, off a bridge into a rushing river and then jumped in herself.  Stevie, obviously, survived - her mother and sister didn't.

Add to that tragedy the deaths of her beloved grandparents and being sent to live with her horrible uncle and his family - no wonder Stevie had so many emotional problems in her life.

Ms. Lamb tackled many difficult issues in this book - obesity, anorexia, mental illness, abuse, death, grieving.  With all these deep situations, you would think the book would be a downer.  But it's not.  It's an uplifting story of how one woman faces her problems, little by little, and learns how to recognize love again.

I've read all of Ms. Lamb's books, and can't wait for the next one to come out!

TOMORROW RIVER

TOMORROW RIVER by Lesley Kagen

From the book flap:

During the summer of 1968 in Rockbridge County, Virginia, eleven-year-old Shenandoah Carmody's mother diappeared.  Her twin sister, Woody, stopped speaking, and her once-loving father slipped into a mean drunkenness unbefitting a superior court judge.

As the first anniversary of their mother's disappearance nears, her father's threat to send Woody away and his hints at an impending remarriage spur a desperate Shenny - who was named for the Shenandoah Valley - to find her mother before it's too late.

While struggling to get her mute twin to reveal what she knows about the night their mother vanished, Shenny is ultimately swept up in a series of heartbreaking events that will force her to face the painful truth about herself and her family.

Loved, loved, loved this book!  This is the second book by Ms. Kagen that I've read (WHISTLING IN THE DARK was the first).  Again, she writes in the voice of a young girl.  Shenny is bound and determined to find out what happened to her mother.  She knows that her sister saw something and she needs to know what that was in order to locate their mother.

Ms. Kagen has young girls down to a T.  Shenny's smart, funny, and full of spunk.  I love this description she gives of the town bad boy:

The boy's got red hair.  Not that Howdy Doody kind that's not so bad.  Remmy's is more like Clarabelle's and he's just as honking dumb.  The kid could throw himself on the ground and miss.  (p. 129)

Absolutely love that last sentence!

Here's a link to an interview with Ms. Kagen that I found on BermudaOnion's blog.  Ms. Kagen has made it to my list of authors whose books I'll buy as soon as I hear about them.  Next up, LAND OF A HUNDRED WONDERS and GOOD GRACES.

CHARLOTTE FIGG TAKES OVER PARADISE

CHARLOTTE FIGG TAKES OVER PARADISE by Joyce Magnin

From Amazon.com:

Newly widowed Charlotte Figg purchases a double-wide trailer sight unseen and moves to the Paradise Trailer Park with her dog Lucky.  Unfortunately, neither the trailer nor Paradise are what Charlotte expected. Her trailer is a ramshackle old place in need of major repair, and the people of Paradise are harboring more secrets than Bayer has aspirin.  Charlotte's new friend Rose Tattoo learns that Charlotte played softball and convinces her to rally the women of Paradise into a team.  Reluctant at first, Charlotte warms to the notion and is soon coaching the Paradise Angels.  Meanwhile, Charlotte discovers that the manager of Paradise, Fergus Wrinkel, abuses his wife Suzy.  Charlotte sets out to find a way to save Suzy from Fergus and in the process comes to a difficult realization about her own painful marriage.

This was another free book that I downloaded for the Kindle.  And another one that was worth about what I paid for it.  Not a bad book, exactly - it had some funny moments.  There were some strange characters - a woman covered with tattoos, a little person, and a man with one arm.  A trailer with a huge hand planted in the middle of the front yard.  And a baby being born in a most unusual setting.

Not great literature, but a way to pass a quiet afternoon.

HOLIDAY FUN ON FACEBOOK

I have a small group of friends on Facebook with whom I play FrontierVille.  We've been together, helping each other with missions and such, for a while now.  We decided to have a Secret Santa gift exchange - giving and receiving books - and last night we all opened our gifts at the same time.

What fun!  A few of us had a glass of wine, or maybe a little more, and we were all in a jolly mood.  In fact, we got downright silly after a while.  The only thing that could have made this more fun is if we could have all been together - physically - to do this.  The gifts were all loved, and we agreed to share the books with each other after the holidays.

We'd all love to get together sometime, maybe for a cruise.  Geography is a problem - four of us are on the East coast and one lives west of the Rockies - in the Wild West.  But who knows?

We had so much fun, we've decided to have birthday parties and gift exchanges next.  And guess who has the first birthday of the year!

THE CHRISTMAS NOTE

THE CHRISTMAS NOTE by Donna VanLiere

From the book jacket:

Gretchen Daniels has recently moved into a condo with her two children to be closer to her mother, Miriam.  She and her children are building a life together in a new community.  A mysterious young woman, Melissa McCreary, lives next door to them.  She has few possessions, little personality, and keeps to herself.  One day a local landlord who is looking for Melissa knocks on Gretchen's door for assistance.  Melissa's mother has died and in the coming weeks the landlord needs Melissa to empty her mother's apartment.  Gretchen reaches out and offers to help Melissa, but the apartment is a gut-wrenching shambles of a home.  There is little worth saving except for a few photos and a note that is discovered on the crate beside the bed.  It is unfinished, but in the two scribbled lines Melissa discovers secrets about her family that she never could have imagined.  Can two very different women embark on a journey that explores a long-buried need for forgiveness, hope, and redemption?

I usually love these little Christmas books but this one just didn't do it for me.  I've read Ms. VanLiere's other Christmas books and felt that this one wasn't up to her usual standard.  I really did not like the character of Melissa and thought that her changes in personality were too abrupt and not very believable.  There were too many coincidences in the story.

I'll put this one back on the bookshelf and wait for Ms. VanLiere's next Christmas book and hope that I enjoy it more.

AN O'BRIEN FAMILY CHRISTMAS

AN O'BRIEN FAMILY CHRISTMAS by Sherryl Woods

From the book jacket:

Dating Matthew O'Brien - a playboy and a younger man - cost Laila Riley her career and her parents' respect.  A high price, even for love - and when Laila decides it was just a fling, she breaks it off, despite Matthew's objections.

But the O'Brien family has other ideas, and they conspire to get Laila to join them on a Dublin holiday.  It's a great time to get away from it all, but Laila has reservations about the trip.  Matthew's bound to be there, and she's far from immune.  What if she can't resist temptation?

Meanwhile, the O'Briens are in an uproar over matriarch Nell's unexpected romance with an old flame.  Will she follow her heart despite the risks?  And will Laila discover that some risks are actually once-in-a-lifetime opportunities?

This was a cute little Christmas book with this fun family from Chesapeake Shores.  And set in Ireland - wouldn't that be a wonderful place to spend a holiday?  Lots of romance in the air for different members of this clan.

I've enjoyed all the books in this series so far.  But you really need to read them in order.  There are a lot of things going on that are continued from earlier books.  It took me a little while to remember who was who and what was what.  I'll be waiting for the next installment due out in a couple of months.

ROOM

ROOM by Emma Donoghue was read for the Just for Fun Reading Challenge 2011.

From the back of the book:

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the world.  It's where he was born, it's where he and his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn.  At night, Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where Jack is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it's the prison where she has been held for seven years.  Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him in this eleven-by-eleven-foot space.  But Jack's curiosity is building alongside Ma's own desperation - and she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.

Room is a tale at once shocking, riveting, exhilarating - a story of unconquerable love in harrowing circumstances, and of the diamond-hard bond between a mother and her child.

There has been a lot of hype about this book - and it lives up to every bit of it.  What a fantastic book!

I bought this book in the Orlando airport and started reading it while waiting for my plane to board.  If I hadn't been right in front of the desk, I probably wouldn't have heard them call my flight.  I read it on the plane and didn't realize the plane had taken off or landed.  I read it on the train from the airport and didn't know I had reached the final stop.

It's hard to imagine what life must have been like for Ma and Jack.  Narrated entirely by Jack, it gives a view of the world from his eyes.  Shut up in a room with no windows and only a skylight to briefly see the sky, a television to watch cartoons, and no contact at all with the outside world, Jack has no idea of what Outside is like.  But Ma knows and wants to be out there again, and will do whatever she must to be free of her prison.

Please, if you read any books this year, read this one.  Without a doubt, the best book I have read in a long, long time.

OLIVE KITTERIDGE

OLIVE KITTERIDGE by Elizabeth Strout

From the back of the book:

At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn't always recognize the changes in those around her:  a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive's own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life - sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty.  Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition - its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.

This was an unusual book.  Actually a group of related short stores, each one including Olive Kitteridge.  Some stories were all about Olive and her husband and son; in others Olive was mentioned very briefly, as short as a sentence in some.

I had a hard time liking Olive.  I thought her to be hard and unfeeling at times, not very tolerant of shortcomings in others.  It wasn't until near the end of the book that I saw Olive in a different light - she was a sad, lonely woman with very low self-esteem.  Realizing that fact, I was able to see her in a different light in the earlier stories.

All in all, a very different but interesting book.

RAINWATER

RAINWATER by Sandra Brown

From the book jacket:

The year is 1934.  With the country in the stranglehold of drought and economic depression, Ella Barron runs her Texas boardinghouse with an efficiency that ensures her life will be kept in balance.  Between chores of cooking and cleaning for her residents, she cares for her ten-year-old son, Solly, a sweet but challenging child whose misunderstood behavior finds Ella on the receiving end of pity, derision, and suspicion.

When David Rainwater arrives at the house looking for lodging, he comes recommended by a trusted friend as "a man of impeccable character."  But Ella senses that admitting Mr. Rainwater will bring about unsettling changes.

However, times are hard, and in order to make ends meet, Ella's house must remain one hundred percent occupied.  So Mr. Rainwater moves into her house..and impacts her life in ways Ella could never have foreseen.

The changes are echoed by the turbulence beyond the house walls.  Friends and neighbors who've thus far maintained a tenuous grip on their meager livelihoods now face foreclosure and financial ruin.  In an effort to save their families from homelessness and hunger, farmers and cattlemen are forced to make choices that some with heartrending consequences.

The climate of desperation creates a fertile atmosphere for racial tensions and social unrest.  Conrad Ellis - privileged and spoiled and Ella's nemesis since childhood - steps into this arena of teeming hostility to exact his vengeance and demonstrate the extent of his blind hatred and unlimited cruelty.  He and his gang of hoodlums come to embody the rule of law, and no one in Gilead, Texas, is safe.  Particularly Ella and Solly.

In this hotbed of uncertainty, Ella finds Mr. Rainwater a calming presence.  She is moved by the kindness he shows other boarders, Solly...and Ella herself.   Slowly she begins to rely on his soft-spokenness, his restraint, and the steely resolve of his convictions.

And on the hottest, most violent night of the summer, those principles will be put to the ultimate test.

This was a little bargain book I found a week or so ago.  I've read books by Ms. Brown before and enjoyed them, but this one was so different.  A love story, but not a hot romance book.  More a book about determination.  Ella's determination to keep Solly safe at home with her.  Mr. Rainwater's determination to see that needy people would be helped and that the evil would be defeated.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  I'm so glad I gave in to an impulse and picked it up.

1225 CHRISTMAS TREE LANE

1225 CHRISTMAS TREE LANE by Debbie Macomber

From the book jacket:

The people of Cedar Cove know how to celebrate Christmas.  Like Grace and Olivia and everyone else, Beth Morehouse expects this Christmas to be one of her best.  Her small Christmas-tree farm is prospering, her daughters and her dogs are happy and well, and her new relationship with local vet ted Reynolds is showing plenty of romantic promise.

But...someone recently left a basket filled with puppies on her doorstep, puppies she's determined to place in good homes.  That's complication number one.  And number two is that her daughters Bailey and Sophie have invited their dad, Beth's ex-husband Kent, to Cedar Cove for Christmas.  The girls have visions of a mom-and-dad reunion dancing in their heads.

As always in life - and in Cedar Cove - there are surprises, too.  More than one family's going to have a puppy under the tree.  More than one scheme will go awry.  And more than one romance will have a happy ending!

This little holiday book is the final book in the beloved Cedar Cove series.  I have read and loved every one of these books.  I've felt like the residents of Cedar Cove are all old friends.  This book was a perfect ending.  We got to catch up on all the families who were spotlighted in earlier books.  And a nice touch was that a little bit of their story was given to refresh your memory.

Hats off to Ms. Macomber for ending this series on a high note!

NOVEMBER BOOKS

Where oh where has November gone?  For that matter, where has 2011 gone?

I actually had a pretty good reading month.  I managed to read 9 books this month, and most of them good books.

Here's what I read this month:

THE STOLEN CROWN by Susan Higgenbotham (What's in a Name 4 Challenge)

CODE BLUE by Richard Mabry (2011 Medical Mystery Madness Challenge)

CHASING THE DIME by Michael Connelly

THE LITIGATORS by John Grisham

THE DOVEKEEPERS by Alice Hoffman (Just for Fun Reading Challenge 2011)

EXPLOSIVE EIGHTEEN by Janet Evanovich

V IS FOR VENGEANCE by Sue Grafton

LIFE WITHOUT SUMMER by Lynne Griffin

THE SCHOOL OF ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTS by Erica Bauermeister

So this now brings me to 82 books finished for the year.  In order to successfully complete the 100+ Reading Challenge 2011, I'll have to read 18 books in December.  I read quite a few of those little holiday books - I might be able to do it.  But if I don't, I don't - and I'm not going to worry about it.  Reading is for fun!

What did you read in November?