01 December 2010

November

When the weather started hinting at getting cool I reached for a book about living in Mexico. I keep thinking about the beach at Akumal, Mexico and how it looked when we were there in January. WANT TO GO BACK! So, I settled for...
1) Gringos in Paradise by Barry Golson. Retirees from back East decide to locate in a Mexican village. The book covers their move and the building of their home there. Very entertaining. Not near England though!
2) Boy meets Girl by Meg Cabot. Written unconventionally through emails, notes on napkins, texts and every other form of communication, it's a fun read. Amy has to fire someone and then she gets fired and along the way finds true love and revenge. Fun.
3)Revenge of the Middle-aged Woman by Elizabeth Buchan. Loved this book! A woman's husband of 25 years leaves her for her assistant and then she loses her job and home. After a bit of pity and introspection she gets it together and comes out better for it in the end. All set in England and would make a great movie!
4) England Have My Bones by T. H. White. Older book about life in England through the eyes of a gentleman of leisure. Flying, fishing, hunting are covered as well as his pet cats and snakes. It took me a while to get through the fishing chapters as I'm not a fisher woman but the rest was a delight and it definitely was all English!

September and October

September
1) Within Tuscany by Matthew Spencer. Yet another foray into Tuscany! There are a few travel writers who romanticize Italy on the market. Did I really need to read another book about how wonderful it would be to live there? YES!!! This book is a few years old but oh so nice to get an artists perspective. Not a bit English but at least it's Europe.
2) Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. Victorian London, supernatural, gifted people, conflict between good and evil. What's not to like and oh so English.
3) A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Hailey. This was a very nice book set in a time when women were just emerging out from behind menfolk. Navigating the 20th century solo was an interesting story. I liked it. Not a bit English.
4) Love & Biology at the Center of the Universe by Jeannie Shortridge. A most excellent story set in the Northwest. An errant husband destroys a marriage and sends Mira to escape up the coast to Seattle. Her car breaks down in front of a coffee shop and that's where she gets a job and an apt and starts putting the pieces of her life together. I would have preferred another ending but the book was a delight even without a nod to the English.
5) Kisses From Hell(Anthology). All the young impulsive vampire stories a girl could ask for. A bit too young adult for me but enjoyable nonetheless. Richelle Mead among the authors.
6) The Eternal Kiss(Anthology). More paranormal vampire short stories!! Cassandra Clare among the authors.
7) Cathedral Cats by Richard Surman. Neat little book with pictures of beautiful cathedrals and cats that live there. Liked it immensely and it was all in England!

OCTOBER
1) The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wrobleski. This book was a delight. If your a dog person you'll love the story and it's a great story set in the US about a family of dog breeders but specifically a young boy and his special ability to train their dogs. Not an Englishman in sight.
2) Raven's Shadow by Patricia Briggs.The imagination of Briggs at work again. Another world. Other supernatural powers. Good against evil. Good stuff. I gave all the characters English accents. Why not??
3) Ravens Strike by Patricia Briggs. Once again the creativity of Briggs has created a world of wonder. A family of exceptional abilities works together to save each other and the kingdom they live in from evil powers. Still gave the characters English accents...the bad guys were probably French!
4 How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill. Wonderful history of a wonderful people that continue to mesmerize me. This is my favorite period of time and I never tire of the cast of characters. A good effort from Cahill retelling the story of Monks and manuscripts and western civilization. Recommend it most definitely.