Michael Cunningham’s The Hours is another novel that I feel I’m the last one coming to. I haven’t even seen the movie, though after listening to it on audio, I don’t think I can bring myself to watch it. Not because I didn’t love it – I truly enjoyed listening to Michael read. (On a side note, I may have to change my stance on author/readers.) But because so much of the richness is in the characters head, and I can imagine that being played out well on screen. And …

I haven’t read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (nor did I see the movie) which is what Ann Brashares is best known for, but I really hope that her popularity carries over to her newest release, My Name is Memory.
Memory has been compared to The Time Traveler’s Wife, and while I understand the comparison, whether you loved or hated Audrey Niffenegger’s best-seller, don’t let that influence your reading of this one. And for the record, I don’t think Memory is as weighty as Time Traveler. It has also …

Life in Spite of Me: Extraordinary Hope after a Fatal Choice is the true testimony of Kristen Jane Anderson. Ghosted by Tricia Goyer, together they tell Kristen’s story – mainly that of her struggle with depression and a costly choice made in a dark hour.
Kristen isn’t unlike most teens. She’s up and down in school, drinks some with her friends, challenges her parents’ authority, has a few acquaintances that die from accidents and suicide, and loses a grandparent as well. What is different for Kristen is that she struggles …

I was misled about Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran. Since it was published in 2003 – and from what I remember, it was all the rage for awhile – I thought it was about a woman who got a group of girls together, a book club of sorts, in Tehran. I was wrong.
Now it begins with the group, and even ends a little with the group, but the group is not what this book is about. What this book is – or what it felt like for me …

I am very sorry that this is late, but things have been, well, excuses…busy. But, that does not temper my excitement over getting to announce the winner of Cindi’s CD! It is…..
Renee G!

Congratulations, Renee. An email should have already reached you. For those of you who didn’t win, but would like to sample Cindi’s music, I encourage you to visit her website  or search for her on iTunes and CD Baby. Remember that several of her songs are on Derek’s CD as well. You can purchase the download for one …

Pamela Binnings Ewen’s third novel takes a personal turn as she tells the story of her grandmother in The Moon in the Mango Tree. Barbara Bond was a young 1920′s suffragette when her new husband returns from the war and announces that they are moving to Siam – more specifically to a remote village that isn’t even on the map. He’s a physician, and a Presbyterian mission has found a place that needs him.
So, fresh in their marriage, the two move halfway around the world so that Harvey can fulfill …

Maybe it is the fact that I’ve recently read two books that read like a collection of short stories, or maybe it is because it hasn’t been that long since I read my last collection by Alice Munro, but Munro’s collection Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage was not all what I wanted it to be.
Now before you begin to think I didn’t like this collection, being let down by Munro is a little like getting used to expensive red wine and then not being overly impressed by your former $10 …

I feel like I’m the last ‘reader’ to experience Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. I was sent a copy of Martel’s newest novel, Beatrice and Virgil, recently, but I wanted to read Life of Pi first. Some how, in all of the “this is a great book!” hoopla, I missed hearing what the book was about. I’m glad I did, because I’m not sure if I would have picked it up had I known.
For the two of you left who haven’t read this book, Life of Pi is the story …

I’ve never done this, but I wanted to share with you post from Nymeth at Things Mean A Lot titled “On the Meaning of Making Time to Read.” It is for anyone who has felt the need to apologize for how much they read. It is an exceptional post, made even more so by the prolific comments! Please enjoy the discussion and take part if you feel led!