Moving on over to GoodReads

I'm going to start keeping tracks of books that I've read (along with books I want to read, and books I'm in the middle of reading) with GoodReads. Go to http://www.goodreads.com/librarymary to see the latest stuff on my list!

A Year on Ladybug Farm by Donna Ball

A nice quiet novel about three women friends in their 50s who decide it's time for a change, sell their houses and buy a "fixer upper" in the Shenandoah Valley. Very enjoyable.

Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Dear Tara, Heather, Robert, David, and everyone else who has told me to read Terry Pratchett, You were right. I am really enjoying Wee Free Men. I think I did try to read it before but I must not have been in the right mood. It reminds me of so much funny British fantasy literature that I have enjoyed - Expecting Someone Taller by Tom Holt, and of course Good Omens by Gaiman & Pratchett.  Heather bought me the trilogy, so I'll be reading about Tiffany Aching's adventures for a good long while, and savoring every word.

Books of late

Snow Flower & the Secret Fan by Lisa See -- yes, I know, I'm 5 years late on reading this one.   According to Jane by Marilyn Bryant -- fun chick lit about a woman who shares space inside her head with Jane Austen   Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles Blunt -- just couldn't finish this one, even though it was extremely well written -- not after it started telling the story from the serial killers' point of view. Too much bad mental hygiene.   Mind Your Manners, Alice Roosevelt by Leslie Kimmelman (picture book) -- Fun   Betsy Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace -- can you believe I never read this? I think I would have loved it as a kid.   Sleep While I Sing and A Chill Rain in January, both by L. R. Wright -- not as enjoyable to me as her first novel "The Suspect" because both of these novels involved sociopaths or psychopathic killers and that's just not my thing,

Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor

Oh. My. God.   WHAT a book! Amazingly gripping and gothic and scary and well-done. Set in London in the '30s. I got drawn in by the first paragraph and savored this one to the very end. And with each revelation I became more and more in awe of the author's skill at keeping the tension going so expertly. At the end I actually gave a physical shudder (both of horror at how the book ended and delight that it was done so well). I cannot WAIT to read more books by this author. Why haven't I ever come across him before? Have I been living under a rock? Wow. I'll be recommending this one to pretty much everyone I know, for awhile. Give it a try if you like gothic novels, thrillers, or just a damn good read.

The Suspect by L. R. Wright

I forget where I read about this book (originally published in the mid 80s) but it got a rave review, and I must say I quite enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series!

this weekend's book bonanza

East of the Sun by Julia Gregson. Thanks to Diane D for recommending this book to me - I really enjoyed it. It's about three women who head to India in the '20s and what they find there. Once I started the first page, I was hooked and it was really hard to put down.  The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri -- also a recommendation by Diane D., also a good book. This one is about a tightly-knit group of women in Ireland and how they are changed by the arrival of a young woman who is traveling to escape her painful past.  NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman.   Really a fascinating book on how what we think we know about kids and how they develop may not be entirely true. It also gave me a better understanding about how parents might need training too, in order to get better at helping their babies and kids learn. Seat of the pants works okay, but sometimes it's good to have a little more information.