What I'm Reading (January)

I thought it would be nice to share what I've been reading this month. I'll go for the highlights.

Unsurprisingly, I didn't read much over the holidays. We spent lots of time with family, which is sometimes far more exciting that fiction :) The first book I read this month was All He Ever Wanted (Anita Shreve). Shreve is from Dedham, MA and I am a great fan of her writing. For some reason, All He Ever Wanted did not strike a cord with me. The premise: a man is obsessed with a woman and his obsession dooms their future together. The story takes place at the turn of the century (20th century, that is) and the author is reminiscing events some 30 years later. If you like period pieces, you may like this one. I struggled over the first 150 pages (partly why I only have a few books to talk about this time) then the reading got easier.

I needed a mindless, fun book for my next read, so I read Free Fall (Fern Michaels), book #7 in the Revenge of the Sisterhood Series. Light reading, not really believable, but it was exactly what I was looking for. In this installment, Yoko seeks her revenge.

The next book for the month was The Double Bind (Chris Bohjalian). I have to say my reaction was -- "WOW!!!" I really liked it. The writing was superb and the story drew me in. I simply did not want to put this one down. The twists, turns, and intrigue kept me reading. The story: a women who was assaulted in college withdraws from her life and begins working at a homeless shelter. There she meets a man who prizes -- and protects -- his photo collection. When he dies, the main character is drawn into the man's life through his work. I liked Bohjalian so much that I queued up four of his other books for future reading (The Law of Similars, Trans-Sister Radio, The Buffalo Soldier, and Before You Know Kindness).

Yesterday I finished The Pact (Jodi Picoult). Though this novel was written in 1998, the content is gripping and timeless. The tale twists through the emotions and experiences of its two teenage characters. I cried through the first three pages, and I couldn't wait to turn to the next page, and to the next page, to understand more about the kids involved. This book was absolutely phenomenal. Picoult has an amazing way of looking at all sides of a controversial, earth-shattering experience. I practically felt the pain of the characters as my own. Each day I gave Mike the update on what was happening in the book because I was so involved with it.

I am wrapping up the month with Born in Death (J.D. Robb). This is book # 29 in the In Death series featuring Eve Dallas. Mavis, Eve's long-time dear friend is ready to deliver her baby and on of Mavis' friends disappears. I am about 60 pages in and love it (as I do all the In Death books). The series currently has 32 books, but I intentionally stay behind in my reading so that there is always another book waiting in my stack.

Toodle-loo!