Book Reviews

I readily admit that I've always been a bit on the bookish side. But, since we've got TiVo and high speed internet access, time I previously spent reading gets divided three ways (and not always in equal or appropriate proportions!). During the long holiday break, both hubby and I turned off the gadgets and got reading. I'd like to share with you a couple of the books I've read recently. I hope to keep this a recurring topic as a way to keep me on the path of reading as I always feel like I am doing something good with my limited free time when I read.

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani. It is apparently the first in a trilogy and the story takes place in the coal mining regions of West VA. The author creates some colorful characters and has an easy way of writing so that you are quickly drawn into the storyline. It made for a quick and fun read. Perhaps the best way to describe it is "Chick Lit, medium roast"....by that I mean it isn't as light and goofy as some chick books nor was it as sappy of a love story as perhaps the works of Nicholas Sparks. I think I will look for the next two at the library. Not such a great work that you need it for your own library collection but definetly worth a look when you might be trying to get back in the routine of reading.

4th of July by James Patterson. This is a book that kept me up way too late in the days leading up to Christmas. Hubby remarked, must be some good book for you to stay up past 10. Well, if you've read any of Patterson's works, you understand, once you have been hooked, you just can't put it down! You just keep reading to figure out who did it and why! This book is in the series set in SF Bay area which I find so intersting since the inlaws live there and I can easily relate to the various geographical landmarks he references. I can visualize the setting and it makes it all that more enjoyable. And since all my favorite crime shows were in reruns, I got my "fix" by reading how Lt. Lindsey Boxer and her female pals solve who was killing off couples in the Half Moon Bay area. Again, it was a quick easy read and something you can easily read in the 3 week library time allotted. More like 24hrs once you get sucked into the plot line!