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The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax

By: Dorothy Gilman

Recommended by: Rella (the sweetest MOPS mentor ever)

Also recommends: Star Dust on my Pillow by Patsy Clairmont
Dates: 1/25 (i think) - 2/8

     Although the young C.I.A. man who interviewed her seemed rather startled, Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, saw nothing extraordinary about her desire to become a secret agent. She was a widow with grown, married children; she was tired of attending her Garden Club meetings; and she did want to do something for her country.

  Thus begins an utterly charming tale of suspense, as Mrs. Pollifax finds herself being briefed on her next "job". Her assignment in Mexico City didn't sound dangerous-but that was before something "went wrong," and Mrs. Pollifax became embroiled in a quite hot Cold War. Of course, that was also before her country's enemies became entangled with Mrs. Pollifax...

My thoughts: I thought is book was cute. I didn't know till I was done that there are others. I'll have to read them later. I wish I knew someone like Mrs. Pollifax. I love older people who kick butt. Especially when you think they can't. A charming book I would recommended to people.

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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.

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The Year of Fog

Michelle Richmond

Recommended by: Mindy (a rock star mom I know from workout)
Also recommends: Amazing Grace By: Danielle Steel

12/9-16 the fastest I've read a book yet on this project

Here is the truth, this is what I know: I was walking on the beach with Emma. It was cold and very foggy. She let go of my hand. I stopped to photograph a baby seal, then glanced up toward the Great Highway. When I looked back, Emma was gone.

From this moment unfolds the spellbinding story of Abby Mason--photographer, fiancee, soon-to-be-stepmother--and the consequences of her greatest error. A riveting drama of how life can change in an instant, of a family torn apart by the search for the truth behind a child's disappearance, and of one woman's unwavering faith in the power of love, The Year of Fog is a profoundly original glimpse into the mysterious and wondrous workings of the human heart, all made startlingly fresh through novelist Michelle Richmond's incandescent sensitivity and extraordinary insight.

My Thoughts: What a amazing, great and wonderful book! I loved it!! It's written very easy and with short chapters, which I like cause I feel like I can pick it up and do some reading and stop after a few chapters. I will admit I held on a little bit more to my kiddos while reading this book. The thought of losing one of my children is so scary to think about. I love that Abby didn't once give up. Even after Emma's dad did. Now the ending did surprise me alittle. I had a feeling they were going to find her. Just the way the book was going. But I thought it would be a kind of happy ever after thing and it was a not really happy ever after ending. On the side I like the photography part. I use to really enjoy taking pictures, before digital. So that part was inspiring. Great book!

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Title: Elleander Morning

Author: Jerry Yulsman

Recommended by: Julie (mother of the lovely Kara

and the best neighbor in the world)

Dates read: 11/19 - 12/8

This is where I would normally type up the back of the book. But the copy I read has no cover and I haven't been able to find anything. (I didn't try very hard, I'll be honest). If I do I'll update later. So on with....

My thoughts: I loved it. It starts in 1913 with a shooting. Then takes you to 1983 with Lesley Morning going to visit her father who dies before she can get there. Soon she learns more of her grandmother Elleander Morning. The story has lots to do with World War Two, which never happened. But a book gets out and it might happen, just a later date. Lesley, like her grandmother, takes matters into her own hands and saves the day. Some parts about the war I don't understand. But over all a great story. It makes you wonder how the world would be if certain thing didn't happen.

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The Glass Castle

Jeannette Walls

Recommended by: Marla ( my rock star partner at MOPS)
Also recommends: The Space Between Us by Thirty Umrigar
Dates read: Nov. 5  - Nov. 12

The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resiliencee and redemption, and revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant.When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.
The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.
The Glass Castle is truly astonishing--a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.

My Thoughts:
I not normally a fan of memoirs. They sound whiny alot. But I did like this one. It made me love my family more and made our deals seem not so bad. I did like the way the author wrote, it was easy to keep with the story. And you could enjoy the humor even when she telling something kind of sad. Cause really the way that family lived was pretty sad. I thought is was good.

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The Oath

Frank Peretti

Recommended by Erica (one of my favorite people in the world)

Dates read: 10/5- 11/1

An ancient sin. An ancient oath. A town with a deadly secret.....

Something sinister is at work in Hyde River, an isolated old mining town in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

Something evil.

Under the cover of darkness, it strikes without warning, taking life in the most chilling and savage fashion. The latest victim, nature photographer Cliff Benson, was brutally killed while camping in the mountains.

With little hard evidence to go on, Sheriff Les Collins closes the case, chalking it up to the work of a rogue bear-just like so many other unsolvable deaths and disappearances that have plagued Hyde River over the years.

But wildlife biologist Steve Benson refuses to let the cause of his brother's death remain a mystery. He is joined in his investigation by attractive, auburn-haired Sheriff's Deputy Tracy Ellis. She has grown up in Hyde River. She's seen enough things swept under the rug by local law enforcement to know that something's amiss.

The harder townsfolk are pressed for information, the more they close ranks, as if sworn to secrecy. It is only when Steve gains access to old letters and diaries of the town's forefathers that he begins to peel away the layers of mystery surrounding Hyde River. Steve and Tracy are drawn closer to each other and to the town's terrible secret. What they discover is a predator more terrifying than anything they had imagined and a town in the grip of unspeakable evil.

My thoughts:

I loved the ending!! I'll amitt the beginning is a little slow. But on my last day reading it I did nothing but read. I couldn't put it down. I love the good vs. evil. I read a review that Frank Peretti is the Christan version of Stephen King and they were right. It had all the good stuff and a great message. I enjoined all the charatchers, the twist and turns the book takes you through. Erica recommended it because she had a hard time reading it and wanted me to read it for her. But it's hard to explain unless you read it. Great book!