#1 THE MAN FROM STONE CREEK by Linda Lael Miller had the setting of the Haven, Arizona Territory/Mexico in 1903 so I guess it could be labeled as a western romance. I liked Sam, the hero and main character, a tender hearted teacher who constantly takes the downtrodden under his wings. I liked being transported back in time to an era without electricity, where women really worried about reputations, wore tons of petticoats, and had to heat water on a stove to take a bath. There's a crisis or tragedy in every chapter, but it was a simple, brainless read. This was my first book by Linda Lael Miller and I liked it! I couldn't take a steady diet of this kind of writing, but I put her in a class with Mary Higgins Clark or Nora Roberts. - A once in awhile author. Rating: 4/5
#2 MIDDLESEX by Jeffrey Eugenides was a tedious book to forge through. The early chapters get off to a very slow start in which the narrator describes the background of his family tree and his gene predicament. I was so bored having to muddle through the main character's grandparent's relationship starting way back in Greece, and learning mundane and endless details about a war between the Greeks and Turks. Finally the setting changes to America, but here the reader has to view Detroit, Michigan under a magnifying glass as the plot drags along through minute descriptions of prohibition and the depression era. Finally, when the story gets around to a new generation and the early relationship between the main character's parents, it gets just a bit more readable! The book had 529 pages and on about page 361 the crisis of the main character took center stage, and it actually became interesting at times! It wasn't a total waste for me because I learned something new - the topic of hermaphroditism and gender transformation, and I was somewhat horrified by Cal/Callie's plight and wanted answers to fix it! But I never felt much sympathy for Cal. After reading this book, I've decided that the combination of being both a Pulitzer Prize winner and an Oprah pick is a deadly one for me, as it took me a whopping twelve days of July for me to finish this, and halted the great momentum I had going for summer reading. Rating:2/5 #3 A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS by Khaled Hosseini was clearly my favorite this month. Most reading enthusiasts know by now that this is primarily the tale of a strong bond and friendship between two women as they go through thirty years of tragic and heart rending life in Afghanistan. Painful to read at times - yes, but a wonderful, and I think probably, a realistic story. I thought it was a superbly written, mesmerizing page turner, and I actually pulled an all-nighter to finish it.Rating:5/5 #4 EVENING by Susan Minot I read this because I wanted to see the movie and I try always to read the book first. I was really confused and frustrated by countless, not- very-well-explained flashbacks, and numerous too- briefly- introduced characters. The main character had this unintelligible stream of consciousness thing going that drove me crazy! Rating: 1/5 (The movie was actually better than the book.) #5 ON CHESIL BEACH by Ian McEwan was a book that had a great message/lesson to be learned or moral: "...how the entire course of a life can be changed - by doing nothing." It's a book about pride, anger, embarassment, fear - emotions that can paralyze us in our relationships, how they can be the source of much unhappiness and the cause of our total ruin. The setting, early 1960's, pre sexual revolution, pre age of woman's liberation, was important in this book, and made the major plot event very funny. But I was often bored and didn't like the characters much. Rating: 2.5/5 #6 THE LAST SUMMER (OF YOU & ME) by Ann Brashares - I throughly enjoyed this one! To summarize briefly, Sisters Riley and Alice have been spending summers at their ocean home on Fire Island for as long as they can remember. These summers have always included the fierce and loyal friendship of Paul, whose summer home is right next door. Now, all in their early twenties, they have to redefine relationships, boundaries, problems, and grown-up dilemmas. This is a tender love story with so much depth. And I could actually feel the sand between my toes, and smell the ocean breeze as I read this book from the confines of my comfy lounger in our living room! Rating:5/5 Cheers from Donna L. in St. Charles, MO Have you told a friend today? http://bookcrossing.com/tellafriend Archives and email list settings: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BookCrossing Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BookCrossing/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BookCrossing/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
