Sunday, September 12, 2010

It's Monday -- What Are You Reading?



It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at One Persons Journey Through a World of Books. It's is a weekly event to celebrate what we are reading for the week as well as books completed the previous week.

I've been MIA for two weeks:  vacation, 12th anniversary, road-trip, death of a friend, funeral -- very little reading occurred during that period.


FINISHED LAST WEEK:
Nothing!

CURRENTLY READING:

The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson
The Sweet By and By: A Novel
Summary by Goodreads:
Among the longleaf pines and family farms of eastern North Carolina, days seem to pass without incident for Margaret Clayton and Bernice Stokes until they discover each other in a friendship that will take them on the most important journey of their lives. Margaret, droll and whip smart, has a will of iron that never fails her even when her body does, while Bernice, an avid country-music fan, is rarely lucid. Irreverent and brazen at every turn, they make a formidable pair at the home where they live, breaking all the rules and ultimately changing the lives of those around them. Lorraine, their churchgoing, God-questioning nurse, both protects and provokes them while they are under her watchful eye, as her daughter, April, bright and ambitious, determinedly makes her way through medical school. Rounding out the group of unlikely and often outrageous friends is Rhonda, the Bud-swilling beautician who does the ladies' hair on her day off and whose sassy talk hides a vulnerable heart, one that finally opens to love.

I hated The Help -- but I would gladly read it again to save me from this suffering -- it has been a painful reading experience. I must finish -- it is my book club choice this month, and we meet on Thursday.

And:
The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B by Sandra Gulland
The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. (Josephine Bonaparte, #1)

Summary from Goodreads:
Young Josephine Bonaparte shines at the center of a new, sweeping, romantic work of historical fiction by Sandra Gulland: detailed and exhaustively researched, compelling and powerful, The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. is the first in a trilogy of fictional novels tracing the actual rise of a young European noblewoman who would one day stand next to Napoleon.

I started this before all the aforementioned drama -- I hope to resume once I'm finished the above.

Here is to getting back in the reading grove! 

Also, check out my new read along project with Amy at My Friend Amy and Leah at Amused by Books!

What are you reading this week?

10 comments:

NancyO said...

Getting back in the reading groove after a long time away -- been there, done that!

have a lovely reading week!

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Oh, that's too bad about The Sweet By and By...the synopsis sounded good!

Here's my reading week:

Click my name for the URL

Heather said...

I agree. The synopsis sounded good.

Anonymous said...

I thoroughly enjoyed TSBB. It is painful at times, but for most of us, so is the subject matter. Worth it.

Jan von Harz said...

What a shame you are reading something you are not enjoying.Hope this week is a great one for ya.

Bailey said...

It's no fun to be reading something that you don't want to be! Hopefully it'll end soon.

Elise said...

Good luck finishing the book!! Sounds dreary!! I just finished If I Stay by Gayle Forman and Room by Emma Donoghue. Room was AMAZING.

mpartyka said...

Interesting that you didn't like The Help - I thought it was good but I don't rave about it like most who have read it (it was better than One Day which you and I both didn't like). I will stay clear of The Sweet By and By.

I'm reading Room for book club and then hope to move to a memoir next.

I'm sorry about your loss, I have a close friend who is fighting for her life right now - I understand how tragic it is for a young Mom to hope for days (tears in my eyes).

Hugs!

sheisreading said...

Thanks for the well wishes! You're the only person I know who did not like The Help. Hmm..

Sheila (Bookjourney) said...

The Sandra Gulland book looks good. So sorry for the loss of your friend. *hugs*