The Richest Season By Maryann McFadden

In The Richest Season A corporate wife has had enough and runs away to Pawley island, she ends up as a caretaker for a dying woman. So she and her husband realize there is more to life than material success.

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The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

The Patron Saint of Liars: Rose’s story kept me turning the pages, even though I despise most of her choices. The relationships between the characters were very well developed by the author. This is great book for discussion.

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I’m a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson

I'm a Stranger Here Myself: I’m a big fan of Bill Bryson’s writing and while I like his more contiguous books, such as “Notes from a Small Island," this was an enjoyable read that gives the reader some insight into Bill Bryson the person.

SBC

Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen

Rise and Shine: Two sisters and their two different worlds! Set in New York City, you’ll be turning the pages all night reading about the one transforming event that proves that nothing can shatter the bond between these siblings.

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Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos

Belong to Me: A woman moves from the city to suburbia and slowly learns to fit in. Her biggest obstacle: The lady next door whose best friend is dying and whose husband wants a divorce. Her best friend is a woman who isn’t who she says she is.

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We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg

We Are All Welcome Here: Although the author did not write a non-fiction book, it is based on an actual set of facts…a beautiful free-spirited mother with polio in an iron lung and her daughter who desires to please her yet wants to be independent. This is a mixture of tragedy and humor.

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The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen is a lovely fictional history filled with personal experiences that inspired the writing of “Sense and Sensibility,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “Mansfield Park,” Emma,” “Persuasion” and “Northanger Abbey.” Perfect for Jane Austen fans like me!

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Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Moning

Beyond the Mist: Adrienne De Simone is a beautiful young woman who got caught up with a beautiful but dangerous guy. She ends up on the run. One night she’s stroking her kitty, Moonshadow and seconds later she’s sitting in the lap of an ugly rogue with a handful of teeth and groping hands on her breast. Long story short, she’s forced to marry a man to keep peace between clans in the sixteenth century. There is much beefcake, fairies and peril. And let’s throw in a bit of “Taming of the Shrew” for good measure. I don’t read chick lit, paranormal or romance and this book is all that. I still won’t be picking up this kind of book in the future, but I now know why they are popular.It is a page turner (I read it in a day), has easy dialogue and this particular author is funny. The dialect is fairly modern even though it’s set in the sixteenth century. There are some detail that would have been nice, like how she continued living in a nice home with a housekeeper. At times it was a little campy but the steamy scenes were nice distractions.

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Who Moved My Cheese?

Who Moved My Cheese? : An Amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life / Spencer Johnson.
While the message is pretty simple and criticized by some for not presenting anything new, I think what the critics are overlooking is one of the basic tenets of the book: stop overanalyzing and employ the basics. I enjoyed the parable and the clear, uncomplicated characters of the story. I think most readers can find a character or combination of them they can easily identify with, and the signpost that Haw posts along the way do strike a chord with me. I appreciate the reminders, particularly the one about fear: Acknowledge it and then move in spite of it. I’m glad I read Who Moved the Cheese? It reminds me of what I have overcome and what I can do to continue growing and changing.

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The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

I love a historical fiction where I learn about a country I have not visited. The author’s characters in, The Bastard of Istanbul, are “alive” with vivid descriptions. The two families’ tangled pasts give me a better understanding of Istanbul.

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Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres

Excellent choice for Book Review Clubs. There are many issue to discuss in Jesus Land, a memoir. Julia, Caucasian and her adopted brother David, black, both 16 years old move to rural Indiana in the mid 1980’s – a distant mother, a violent father, racism, church missionaries; heartbreaking!

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