Yes, but....

When We Were Friends by Elizabeth Joy Arnold (2011) is one of those books I can't quite decide about. I enjoyed the book and would welcome the opportunity to read others by the same author. I guess that's the bottom line.
At the same time, I'll admit that none of the characters engaged me fully. The narrator, Lainey, had many traits that were admirable but still, she never quite got me around to really liking her. I came closer to honestly disliking Lainey's long-time friend Sydney. Sydney was a liar and a manipulator, and both characteristics were obvious from the first chapter. Actually, most of the plot was apparent very early on. Nonetheless, I liked it.

TRULY OUTSTANDING

DESCENT by Tim Johnston is one of the best books I've read in a long time, and I'm a person who reads almost constantly. I was a little surprised about the way the author's style differs somewhat from most other writers, in that while there are several male characters in the book, and many of them are written about extensively, Tim Johnston is so good that he can begin a new chapter with the word "He" and it only takes a few sentences for the reader to know which "he" is being written about. The story itself is sad and dark and unfortunately, so true-to-life. Congratulations, Mr. Johnston. You've made this kind of tragedy so very, very real 

Talk About Disappointing!

I seldom write about books that I dislike and actually don't write about a lot of the ones I enjoy. It's primarily dependent on the amount of time available for concentrating on something other than my own writing. The following is about a lousy one that I thought had to be self-published, as I thought no publisher would print anything that bad.
The name of the book is Forevermore, written by Kristy Robinett and published this year by Llewellen Publications. In checking on the publisher, I find that they publish supernatural and other materials that are not considered mainstream. If there is a market for it, this company will publish it.

The book was written by a psychic medium who claims that Edgar Allen Poe has been one of her mentors throughout her lifetime. Mrs. Robinett makes many claims about other mentors, seeing dead people, ghosts, etc. and I don't dispute those claims. Maybe she really,truly does. I don't believe the Edgar Allen Poe connection, though.

What disgusts me about the book is that the lady can't write! Here's a quote from page 106: ""Poe loved animals and even had his own cat with his wife Virginia that he doted on, believed to be a tortoiseshell named Catterina."

'nuff said!

Lengthy, but worth it

I finally finished FOX'S EARTH by Anne Rivers Siddons (1981) and no, I haven't been reading it since that time. It has 546 pages in a small font, so it's not a book that you can just zip through. In it, the author tells the story of five generations of Georgia women, so I can't think of any way the size of the book could have been reduced and still tell the complete story. The first generation woman is dirt-poor and married to a man who has a streak of madness. She coaches her one beautiful and smart daughter on ways to escape the beatings and poverty, and the daughter, Ruth, learns her lessons well. Ruth is the central figure in the book, and having attained her primary goal, spends the remainder of her long life protecting her own interests and manipulating others.
There is naturally a lot of dialogue between the central characters and their black servants. This exceptional author reproduces the dialect beautifully, and it keeps the book sounding authentic.
Hey, winter's coming, so you'll be spending more time inside. Find a copy of the book, snuggle down in a warm place and enjoy.

An Invitation

My latest book, A LOT LIKE JOAN OF ARC  has just been published and I'm more than pleased.  This is a book that is lots of fun. Nine-year-old Janie tells her own story and shares her viewpoint on everyday happenings in her life. If you should happen to check it out on Amazon, reading the first few pages will probably make you want to read more.
http://www.amazon.com/Lot-Like-Joan-Arc/dp/1500943053/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411136660&sr=1-1&keywords=a+lot+like+joan+of+arc

At least, I hope so.

A Warm and Gentle Story

In September, the book club I belong to will be discussing My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell. The book was printed in 1956, and the copyright renewed in 1984, so it still might be available in a few places. The book I read was from our local public library, so maybe yours might have a copy too. It's such a nice book.
As far as I can tell, the book is mostly true, with the exception that the behavior of some of the family members might be a tad exaggerated The story is told by the then ten-year-old youngest member of a nutty British family. They obviously have tons of money, and decide to take themselves to the Greek island of Corfu to escape the (sometimes) miserable English climate. There is a sweet, unflappable mother and four unusual entities which she calls her children. The boy telling the story is a budding naturalist who is allowed to roam over the landscape where he collects almost every living thing he encounters --- animals, birds, snakes, insects --- actually, if it breathes, he wants it. Problems usually arrive when he takes his latest acquisition home. It's frequently okay with Mom, but hardly with his brothers or single sister.
There are a lot of funny situations, mixed with some down to earth reality. I enjoyed the whole thing.

A Winner

I just finished reading A Song for Issy Bradley and am absolutely awed by it. The author, Carys Bray, is British, and there is a great deal of modern-day British slang in it, At first, that was rather off-putting to me as I had no familiarity with the words and had no idea what they meant, but I quickly got beyond that and realized that an excellent story was unfolding.
This is not a happy book but it seems very true to life. The father in the family is a Mormon Bishop and tries to hold his wife and children to impossible standards of behavior. The author was born into a Mormon family, so she knows whereof she speaks.
The Mormon faith has so many strange attitudes and practices that it would be easy to hold up to ridicule. This book doesn't do that, but it makes one realize that extremism in any faith moves the practitioner away from the love and compassion that all faiths emphasize.
It is a mark of the author's talent that she made all the characters come alive and become ones we care about.
If you're looking for a good book to read, look no further.