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Under the Tuscan Sun

By: Frances Mayes

Recommended by: Tracy (the coolest librarian I know)
Also recommends:
Trail of The Lonesome Pine by John Fox
Agony and The Ecstasy by Irving Stone
The count of Monte Cristo by Dumes
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
A Walk in the Wood by Bill Bryson
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Took me this long to read it: 1/1/11 - 1/24/11

Frances Mayes--widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer--opens the door to a wondrous new world when she buys and restores an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. In sensuous and evocative language, she brings the reader along as she discovers the beauty and simplicity of life in Italy. An accomplished cook and food writer, Mayes also creates dozens of delicious seasonal recipes from her traditional kitchen and simple garden, all of which she includes in the book. Doing for Tuscany what M. F. K. Fisher and Peter Mayle did for Provence, Mayes writes about the tastes and pleasures of a foreign country with gusto and passion. A celebration of the extraordinary quality of life in Tuscany, Under the Tuscan Sun is a feast for all the sense.

I thought: I thought it was long. Some of the description was long. A whole chapter on a town, or a plant didn't seem necessary. But I think the problem is I saw the movie first. Now normally I think the books are better. And I'm sure a writers point of view the book is better, but I felt like the movie was better. And I think maybe I've seen the movie one to many times, so when the book was nothing really like it I didn't know what to think. I would love to visit her in her house and she can cook for me. That would be very cool. :)

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The Last Sin Eater

Francine Rivers

Recommended by: Jill (the greatest workout

instructor ever)

12/20/10 - 1/1/11

"The first time I saw the sin eater was the night Granny Forbes was carried to her grave."

Cadi Fobes knows it's forbidden, that it will bring curses down on her. But something deep and instinctive moves her to look upon the sin eater anyway. And now the thought of finding him again consumes her.

According to custom, only the sin eater can set her free from the sin that plagues her days and nights, the sin that has stolen her mother's love from her....Must she carry her guilt forever? Or is there Another who will atone for her?

A skillful blend of realistic characters, historical accuracy, and compelling mystery, The Last Sin Eater is a story that will capture the heart and spirit.

My Thoughts:

The above about the skillful blend is so true. This book really showed me that some people live the way they live because they might not know any different. This small village was so far form the rest of the world that the children didn't know any better. Until the Man of God shows up and Cadi believes what the man says. She's scared but with the help of a friend and God she changes the town. It's a great story.