Friday, August 23, 2013

book club



I haven't been in town/had the time the last couple of weeks to link up so here is what I have read over the last few weeks:

Joyce Maynard's Labor Day

The  unforgettable story of a mother and son forever changed during a long summer weekend when a mysterious man comes into their lives. Labor Day is “a sexy, page turning, poignant story” (Jane Hamilton, author of A Map of the World) that “affirms Maynard’s reputation as a master storyteller and shows her to be a passionate humanist with a gifted ear and heart”
(thanks to her website)

This was nothing special,a different point of view though and a unique story-line,but I almost stopped reading it on numerous occasions because it was rather dull. The characters are so-so and the ending is odd. I wasn't impressed by this book,I thought it would be more drama and action and it is more emotional and sensitive. I give it a C.

Sophie Littlefield's Garden of Stones
Garden of Stones
Lucy Takeda is just fourteen years old, living in Los Angeles, when the bombs rain down on Pearl Harbor. Within weeks, she and her mother, Miyako, are ripped from their home, rounded up—along with thousands of other innocent Japanese-Americans—and taken to the Manzanar prison camp.
Buffeted by blistering heat and choking dust, Lucy and Miyako must endure the harsh living conditions of the camp. Corruption and abuse creep into every corner of Manzanar, eventually ensnaring beautiful, vulnerable Miyako. Ruined and unwilling to surrender her daughter to the same fate, Miyako soon breaks. Her final act of desperation will stay with Lucy forever...and spur her to sins of her own.
Garden Of Stones is a harrowing tale of stolen innocence and survival that echoes through generations, reverberating between mothers and daughters. It is a moving chronicle of injustice, triumph and the unspeakable acts we commit in the name of love.
(thanks to her website)

I thought this story was okay,I liked the characters and I loved that it went back and forth between years/decades. I thought the overall plot though is rather sad...and I don't really understand the title of the book;nor I am that clear on who actually killed Reg. At least it was something different to read and there was some heart in it all. I give it a C.

Craig Johnson's The Cold Dish

The body of a young man is found in Absaroka County, Wyoming. It is possible that Cody Pritchard is the victim of a hunting accident, or is he? After all, he was one of the four boys who lured Melissa Real Bird, a Cheyenne girl with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, into a basement and raped her. Cody and his friends received what amounted to suspended sentences. Is someone seeking revenge? Will the specter of race relations and lingering retribution claim more lives? Or will the only thing that stands between them and a Sharps .45-70 buffalo rifle be Sheriff Walt Longmire?
On the autumnal side of twenty-four years as sheriff of Absaroka County, which is located at the base of the Big Horn Mountains and next to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Walt is looking for a quiet period to finish out his tenure but instead finds himself embroiled in the most volatile and challenging case of his career. With lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, Deputy Victoria Morretti, and a cast of characters tragic and humorous enough to fill in the vast emptiness of the high plains, Walt Longmire attempts to see that revenge, a dish best served cold, is never served at all. 

(thanks to his website)

I watch Longmire on a&e so throughout this whole book I was picturing Walt and the characters that I see every week on the show. I was surprised by some of the subtle differences in Vic's character and even Walt's and there were a few characters that are in this book but not the show. I thought that this book was good and the plot kept me entertained and guessing. I give it a B.

******
Happy Reading!



2 comments:

  1. Hmmmm, it doesn't look like it was a good week for you, book-wise. I'e been in a slump myself, not really loving much, but hopefully you'll find another "A" soon! :)

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  2. I have had Garden of Stones on my list for awhile. The jacket sounded pretty good but I avoided it since I haven't been in the mood for sad lately. Now I'm not sure that it is worth the money. I think I will wait and pick it up at the used book store. Thanks for the heads up.

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