Before I get to some book reviews let me just say, Yipee!! Why am I so excited? I just found out that I was one of the winners in Literary Feline’s anniversary contest. I’m going to get 14 books from Hatchett Book Group. Isn’t that fantastic? I was in a blah mood today thanks to intense heat (107 degrees) we’ve been having but I’m feeling much better now.

So, moving on to some reviews I’ve been promising…

Apples & Oranges by Marie Brenner is the memoir of a brother and sister and their difficult relationship. I enjoyed reading about the dynamics between the two as told from Marie’s point of view, but the book also had a lot of background on their family history.

The author points out that she felt that if she could figure out about their past maybe that would explain her relationship with her brother Carl. And, I can understand how that would have made sense to her but for a reader I don’t think that really seemed to fit. As the reader I just wanted to know about her and her brother.

To read more about the book, check out my review.

The other book I finished was Mercy Street by Mariah Stewart. I’ve seen her books before but just hadn’t had the chance to check any out so I was happy to read this one, which I believe is the start of a series.

It is billed as a romantic suspense novel and unfortunately I was a bit let down on the suspense issue but I found it very readable. It was just one of those books you can easily get caught up in and breeze through. I wouldn’t mind checking out another of her books or following up on the series later. You can read more about the book by checking out my review.

Those are just two of the books I’ve recently finished. I was looking at my monthly stats and I read 11 books in July! I have no idea how that happened. That’s not my normal amount but I won’t complain. I guess two of my reads were graphic novels but still that’s still more books than I normally read.

This weekend I’ve been reading Murder on Bank Street by Victoria Thompson and Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer. I finished the Thompson book so more on that one soon but for now I’m thoroughly caught up in Heyer’s novel. Aside from a great independent and spirited heroine, the book is filled with a fabulous vocabulary.

Bibble-babble, farradiddles, rake-shame, flummery and gabble-monger just to list a few of the words. Aren’t those fun? I need to find a way to drop one of these in regular conversation. ha.

Hope everyone has a great start of the week.

I’m in Dallas for several days and I think I timed my visit just perfectly. Today I went to a library book sale and I got quite a few goodies. Let me tell you what I got:

• The Long Haul by Amanda Stern. This is a book from Soft Skull Press, one of those indie presses I’ve been meaning to check out for a while now.
• July’s People by Nadine Gordimer. I’ve not read anything by this Noble Prize winner.
• Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Meditations on love, marriage, peace, life…
• The Debut by Anita Brookner. Story of a woman who’s been escaping from life into books. Has she been ruined by literature? Oh this sounds very good.
• The Effect of Living Backwards by Heidi Julavits. A tale of two sisters.
• The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin. A novel of the near future. You know, if it hadn’t been for the Once Upon a Time Challenge that I’ve participated in I don’t know if I’d be so keen to read this. Reading challenges and book blogs have definitely expanded my reading interests.
• Alice in Bed by Cathleen Schine. According to the book jacket this is an exceptionally funny first novel.
• Let Me Alone & A Scarcity of Love by Anna Kavan. I couldn’t find a link to this edition of the two stories but according to a quote on the back of the book these are considered Kavan’s best.
• Beacon Street Mourning by Dianne Day. A historical mystery – you know I love those.
• Pride and Predator by Sally Wright. Literary Feline just reviewed one of the newer books in this series and it sounded really good so I’m glad I snagged this copy.
• What is Mine by Anne Holt. Yep, another crime novel but I do like these.

I’m so excited about my books!

In the next few days I hope to catch up with friends, visit one of my former book groups, go to the grand opening of Paper Source (shh, don’t tell my husband because I’m sure to spend a lot of money!) and of course catch up on some of my bookbinding classes. I’m very excited because I’m learning a new technique which is really neat – I can’t wait to show you pics. And, I definitely plan to visit my old library quite a bit. As much as I love Austin, I really miss my public library.

I know I’ve been promising some book reviews and I will get to those but it’s just that I feel like my brain is fried. Seriously, this heat is getting on my nerves! Plus, I am in Dallas which means a lot of family stuff to take care of but hopefully I’ll get around to those reviews soon.

Anyway, I’m off to find something cold to drink and grab a good book.