Welcome to November! Another page on the calender turned, a few more books curled up with and enjoyed. I love my reading time. Ahh, life is good. My reading is purely a selfish indulgence, so no reviews here. I have included blurbs from authors websites.
Season of Strangers by Kat Martin
Neither sister can explain their "lost day" —nor the blinding headaches and horrific nightmares that follow—but Julie chalks it up to the stress she's been under since her boss's son took over Donovan Real Estate. read more
Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob—knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which? read more
Vertigo by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
A literary novel with suspense and erotic undertones that opens on New Year's Eve 1898. Emma Smith has just informed the reader that "For seventeen years I was a good - some might say exemplary - wife. It is important that you know this about me from the start." That night, she resolves to, during the course of the next year, become "a better person." Her husband John, a writer, suggests that she do so by striking up a correspondence with a convicted murderer who he thinks does not deserve to be in prison for his crime. The prisoner, Chance Wood, initially wants nothing to do with Emma, but then his letters become more heated and Emma learns that the real definition of vertigo is not the fear of falling, but the fear of wanting to fall. read more
Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy
Clara Casey has more than enough on her plate. Her daughters Adi and Linda were no problem during the usually turbulent teens. Now Adi is always fighting for or against something: the environment or the whale or battery farming; while Linda lurches from one unsatisfactory relationship to the next. As if this wasn’t enough, Clara, a senior cardiac specialist, has a new job to cope with and now her ex-husband wants something from her... read more
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
"Stephenie Meyer has written a dazzling grand finale to an epic love story," commented Tingley. "And with the extraordinary excitement surrounding the publication of Breaking Dawn, I'm thrilled that legions of new readers will now discover the saga that has already captivated millions around the world." read more
A Dash of Style The Art and Mastery of Punctuation
by Noah Lukeman (blog link)
*Heat Lightning by John Sandford
John Sandford's introduction of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator Virgil Flowers was an immediate critical and popular success: "laser-sharp characters and a plot that's fast and surprising" (Cleveland Plain Dealer); "an idiosyncratic, thoroughly ingratiating hero" (Booklist). Flowers is only in his late thirties, but he's been around the block a few times, and he doesn't think much can surprise him anymore. He's wrong. read more
* I didn't actually read Heat Lightning this month but I'm putting it on the list anyway. Why? I read it a few months ago and forgot. The worst part is: I special ordered it into the library-again. How embarrassing is that. That's the reason I started this list - so I can remember what I've read in recent history.
Have you ever picked up a book only to realize that you've already read it? Please tell me I'm not the only one.
Best of luck to those of you embarking on NaNoWri Mo!
I used to work in a library and all the came across disappointed patrons returning books that they had forgotten about reading. That's when I decided to keep a written list of all the books I read. So, far it's kept me out of trouble, but I do have a tendency to sometimes forget to write things down.
ReplyDeleteI love Maeve Binchy. When I read her, all I want to do is sit in my armchair with my cup of tea in hand, book in my lap, imagining myself somewhere in Ireland, perhaps a pub in Dublin.
ReplyDeleteI think that's great that you read that much that you occasionally forget what you've looked at before. Sometimes that happens w/ movies for me, but never a book.
ReplyDeleteI love seeing someone else's list of books. Thanks. I just read Julia Glass's new book, thinking it seemed awfully familiar, then realized I read it this summer. Glad I'm not the only one.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've picked up a book only to realize that I've already read it. More than once. When I was teaching I read tons of great YA to find a handful that my reluctant readers would connect to. I should have kept a list, had intended to, but picking up the next great book in the stack was more inticing.
ReplyDeleteI have so started reading a book and realized later that I already read it. You are not alone. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm starting NaNoWriMo tomorrow... I wrote a little today but things were too crazy. I'll tell you why on my blog tomorrow! Hopefully I'll get a good start on my WIP (which is, incidentally, titled "Work in Progress" for real, not temporarily) tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteAlissa-Good to know, and I wish I would have started a list many years ago...
ReplyDeleteAngie-Welcome! Mauve Binchy is an awesome tea in armchair read. I cleaned off my bookshelves this summer and found that I had doubles and even triples of some of her books :)
I stopped by your blog and loved it. Would like to follow but I'm not sure how to go about that on Wordpress... Help!
Bane-It's a disease. I'm so terrified of running out of reading material that I stockpile... I've picked up movies too before that I've already seen. I don't mind re-reading or re-watching, if the material is good and a bit of time has passed.
Deb-I haven't read Julia Glass. *rummaging for pen and paper* Good to know we're not alone!
I do it all the time! I've even gotten half way through a book and realized I've already read it. It's crazy, but no, you aren't the only one. We're both crazy. :)
ReplyDeletePaul-I hear you! The love of the written word does, at times, tend to interfere with our good intentions.
ReplyDeleteRoni-Join the club! The good news is-we're not alone on Planet Forgetful :D
Stephanie-I'll check in tomorrow. Good luck with NaNo!
Susan-Well shoot--now I'm crazy and forgetful :D I guess it just shows that we know what we like to read. Honestly, if it's been ten years or more, I can still be semi-surprised at the end of a re-read.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Bane - I don't typically forget the books I've read, but it happens with movies often. Glad to see we're both not alone!
ReplyDelete"Have you ever picked up a book only to realize that you've already read it? Please tell me I'm not the only one."
ReplyDeleteMy mom does it a lot. For me, one time I bought a book and started to read it. I had the strangest sense of deja vu, but I knew I'd never read the book before. Then I realized that it seemed (to me, anyway) to be a very close corollary to another book I read. I won't say clone because it wasn't, but the book started out very much the same. And the concept seemed to me to be pretty similar to this other book series I'd read. I put the book down because I just couldn't care about it.
Intriguing book list.
It is so sad...I don't have time to read at the moment....someday.
ReplyDeletemuch love
Oh, and I just realized that two of your novels were TWILIGHT books!!! Are you excited for the next movie installment? Or is not worth a long car ride?
ReplyDeleteThanks Deb for a great reading list. If I ever conquer NaNo I will return to my second passion, reading.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the well wishes, I will need every one.
Laura-I haven't seen the Twilight movie yet! It is a long ride to the movies. We usually end up buying DVD's, which is cool too because we don't watch tv but love our movies.
ReplyDeleteStephanie-I was going to say that maybe it's an age thing but I think I was born absent minded... And you're right, there are a lot of books out there with similar concepts/plot lines. Good thing there are also a lot of writers to work new spins into old plots!
Stacey-You're in writing mode - that's a good thing.
Tamika-Making the decision to commit to NaNo is huge! Write, write, write. You can do it!