It's Monday! What are you reading?

I used to do this on Book Journey  but evidently she is no longer hosting it.  She still has a great site though and wonderful book reviews.  You should visit her if you haven't already.  She's a much faster reader than I am. LOL!

I finished this Pulitzer Prize Winner and I did learn things from it that I didn't know before but for the most part it was a struggle to read.  There were passages that were very clear and I would think..."ok, here we go now...it's getting better."  But alas, she would go off on some tangent like she was on some drug or smoking something and she would lose me.  Maybe I'm just not smart enough to grasp these types of books but I did learn so all was not lost.  There were definite moments of brilliance in content and writing but it never seemed to last very long.  I'd be interested to know if anyone else has read this and what they thought.  Maybe I expect too much from these "prize winning"  pieces of literature.   I was very happy when I reached the end.  Ha! Ha!

In case I forgot to mention this is a non-fiction about nature which I have read and enjoyed many of in the past.  I owned this book and have since donated it to the local library.

This book was a hoot and thoroughly enjoyed.  It didn't take me long to finish as it was such a pleasure to read.  This author has written 2 books and this is the second one.  Cute and funny characters living in a small Southern town.  Left me smiling as I drifted off to sleep.  I hope she writes some more.  This was my fiction book from the library.

Below was my audio book.  I try to read a fiction and a non-fiction, a magazine, an audio, and a book of my own and one from the library.  This was an excellent audio book and the readers were all different based on the character.  It was more like a theater production than an audio book.  Excellent!  I'm going to look for more audio books put out by Focus on the Family radio theater.

This was such an enjoyable audio book!  There is something about Southern writers and especially the "genteel" type from South Carolina.  I had never heard of this author but the cover caught me and the title and it did not disappoint.  I don't think she writes 'series' but she has other books she's written.  It has everything, drama, comedy, great characters, great descriptions of the surroundings, love and "family values"! LOL!  It's about 3 generations of a family living all their lives in the low country of South Carolina. It takes place currently and is a jewel of a find!
I listen to my audio books in the kitchen when I'm washing dishes, cooking and ironing.  It was so good I caught up on all my ironing! LOL!  It was also a big audio book.....10 cds!

INTERMISSION picture before I show what I am reading currently...............
aren't they just gorgeous and still going strong!  I highly recommend Pro Flowers.  Thank you again to Uriah, Ben and Amanda! 

I went to the library and BINGO!  I hit the jackpot this week!  Did you know Jan Karon has a new book out?  Where have I been?  I've read everything she's written and I even have her cookbook.  She is most famous for her Mitford series books which take place in the small town of Mitford with Father Tim Kavanagh as the main character but everyone in Mitford becomes a favorite.
"After 5 hectic years of retirement from Lord's chapel, Father Tim Kavanagh and his wife, Cynthia, return to Mitford from a so-called pleasure trip to the land of his Irish ancestors."  And thus the story begins.  I have all the books and I may have to start over again reading the series as it is probably my most favorite and reminds me most of my childhood home.  If you have never read these books you are missing out on one of the most cherished series of all time!  

Oh, I'm still reading Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier and it is very depressing and I am not enjoying it but hoping the ending makes it all worthwhile....I'm almost finished.

  I picked up another book by Dorthea Benton Frank........Shem Creek another Low Country tale!  So far I am enjoying it although the reader for The Hurricane Sisters, Robin Miles was so good with her Southern accent it really made the story come alive and you felt like you were there.  "Meet Linda Breland, a single parent of two teenage daughters.  The oldest, Lindsey, who always held her younger sister in check, is leaving for college.  And Gracie, her Tasmanian devil, is giving her nightmares.  Linda's personal life? Well, between the married men, the cold New Jersey winters, her pinched wallet, and her ex-husband, who's married a beautiful, successful woman ten years younger than she is-----let's just say, Linda has seen enough to fill a thousand pages.
As the story opens, she is barreling down Interstate 95, bound for Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, the land of her ancestors.  Welcomed by the generous heart of her advice-dispensing sister, Mimi, Linda and her daughters slowly begin to find their way and discover a sweeter rhythm of life."
 I'm halfway through it and it is a very pleasant read.  I'm really liking this author!

You probably know, if you've read this blog, that I am a knitter therefore I do love me some KNIT LIT!  I had previously read Kate Jacobs' The Friday Night Knitting Club and loved it.  It was her first book and then she wrote another called Comfort Food about a celebrity chef and that was also good.  Now, there's Knit Two, A Friday Night Knitting Club novel and I can't wait to dig into it!  It picks up where the other one left off so you might want to read the first book if you haven't read it.

This book, The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton, was recommended by someone but I can't remember who or where.  Sometimes, I jot book titles down from other blogs or PBS or any number of places I visit.  Usually not Oprah though.....I tried her "book club" nominees and most were too depressing for me.  After what she went through as a child I am always surprised by the type of books she reads.....put it behind you , girlfriend!  So, anyway, I cannot remember who or how I discovered this book but there it was on the library shelf so I grabbed it!  It's a big one too...550 pages!
"From the internationally bestselling author of The House at Riverton, an unforgettable new novel that transports the reader from the back alleys of poverty of pre-World War I London to the shores of colonial Australia where so many made a fresh start, and back to the windswept coast of Cornwall, England, past and present."  The author is Australian and lives in Brisbane, Australia.  I am looking forward to reading this one.

My reading eyes were bigger than my reading time allows but I couldn't resist reading Debbie Macomber's The Shop on Blossom Street.  I might have read this before but I'm not sure and it is a "knitting series" so  I am all over it! 

 For my non-fiction I am listening to this audio, Half-Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls.  It is a 'true life' novel.  "Jeanette Walls, acclaimed author of The Glass Castle, presents the story of her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith.  Born tough, Lily shoed her first horse at age six, moved to the western frontier at age fifteen, and soon learned to drive a car and fly an airplane.  Always filled with adventure, Lily's life held witness to several disasters, heartbreaks, and wars."

I know this post was a bit lengthy and I have been way over due to blog and to visit but I am "swamped" here on the homestead between a broken dryer, storms, and so much work I feel overwhelmed most days but my goal is to pack and move so my blog is suffering.  Summers are busy for me anyway and I appreciate the fact that anyone visits me at all here!  I know you all are busy too!  I hope all is well in your lives and you are enjoying this Spring!
Happy Trails!