Update for Patty Picks

Hi! All you readers! There is so much going on to start our 2015! 
I am reading an ARC of My Sunshine Away by MO Walsh and really 
enjoying the writing. This is a coming-of-age novel and I can't 
wait to see how the characters end up by the end of the book. 
Look for a review next week. 
Also readying The Secret History by Donna Tart! This a complicated 
book about complicated characters. We will see when I can return 
to it!! 
Don't forget to celebrate National Reading Day on 1/24/15!
Happy Reading!!

Patty Pick for 1/22/15 is MY SUNSHINE AWAY by MO Walsh

My Sunshine Away
M.O. Walsh

The first thing I noticed about this book was the excellent writing. The rich descriptions immediately put me in the setting of Baton Rouge and the Piney Creek neighborhood. I went back through the book again to find the narrator's name, but realized it was not there for a reason. The reader can put themselves in the story and experience what happened before and after the summer that 15 year old Lindy Simpson was raped on a warm summer night. 
The juxtaposition of a young boy's obsessive love for his ideal girl who he imagines is Lindy and the memories and feelings that came years later after time and history has past. Our grown-up narrator comes to the realization that the adventures and feelings he has for people in his life during his childhood can 
translate to life lessons for him now. This knowledge makes him want a live a full life that is lived in the moment and to pass this knowledge along to his own kids. This is a coming of age book with a healthy dose of thriller as our young narrator tries to find the perpetrator of the rape of his Lindy. He does finally solve the mystery and you will enjoy the journey, but you will be surprised when he finds out who did it! A good book not to be missed! www.bookreaderforlife.blogspot.com

The Patty Pick for 1/8/15 is "leaving time" by Jodi Picoult

Jodi PIcoult has written another amazing book! When you finish "leaving time" you will know more about elephants that you could ever imagine. I did not know that elephants were so fascinating. After finishing the book, I immediately looked up the information on the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, www.elephants.com, and checked out the live elephant cams. Please do the same after you finish this book, Jodi Picoult really brings the elephants and characters to life for us. I did not realize so many of the fascinating elephant facts that Jodi Picoult shares with us. 

The main character, Jenna, is searching for her mother. Alice disappeared 10 years earlier  

when Jenna was a three-year-old toddler. A terrible accident at the elephant sanctuary that her parents run has lead to the death of one of the workers. Jenna's mother, Alice, is found with a head injury and taken to the hospital. Before she can be questioned she disappeared and has not been seen since.

Jenna's father, Thomas, is in a psychiatric hospital and can offer no clues to what happened that fateful night. Jenna hires a disgraced psychic, Serenity, and an alcoholic private investigator, Virgil ,to help her find her mom. As they work togther to follow the clues, the events of that night become more clear. This is a book you will want to read every word as quickly as possible but you do not want to end! You will need to read it for yourself to find out if Jenna finds her mother. 

The Patty Pick for 1/1/14 is Gray Mountain by John Grisham

Loved John Grisham's new novel, Gray Mountain! He touches on the coal industry, which continues to descreate the beauty of our mountains at will. The process of strip mining leaves a huge scar on the Earth and is very dangerous to the people who live around it. Many of them are all ready struggling for their daily existence.  

The main character is a female lawyer named Samantha Keofer, which a nice change from John Grisham's normal strong male leads. Grisham seems to have the whole female pysche down in this book. You will like her for her strength in troubled times but her humanity as well. 

As the recession begins to affect the big law firms, Sam finds herself downsized right out of her high-paying job. She has a choice to work for a non-profit and be able to rejoin the firm after a year or find a new job for herself. Samantha runs away to her parents in Washington DC to discuss her options.  Sam's parents have no contact with each other due to a nasty divorce and the conviction and disbarment served by her Dad for previous shady business dealings.  After listening to both parents' opinions on her future, she decides to check out a few of the non-profits on the list. 
She arrives at the door of the Mountain Legal Aid Clinic run by Mattie Wyatt. Sam also meets Mattie's nephew,Donovan, a fellow lawyer who fights the coal companies after his own struggle against the devastating effects of coal mining. The Mountain Legal Aid Clinic needs a new intern and Sam decides to stay and give try it. She quickly realizes she can touch lives on a more personal basis with this type of law.
Donovan and his brother, Jeff, quickly become her source of information and advice on the coal industry and life in Appalachia. Make sure you read this book to find out more about Samantha and to find out the clients she meets and what lengths the coal companies will go to find out what she knows.     

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a very, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! A big, Thanks! 
for helping to make this year successful for my blog. Hope that I can share 
my love of books with as many people as possible. 
This is the time of year to cherish your family and friends. This life we have 
is too short and everyone should enjoy as much as they can in their time here. 
Happy Holidays and see you in 2015 with a review of John Grisham's "Gray Mountain".

Patty Pick for 12/11/14 is "The Vacationers" by Emma Straub

"The Vacationers" by Emma Straub will have you in stitches half the 

time and hating some of these characters the other half. As the family 

and friends of Franny & Jim's head to Mallorca for a vacation, we get 

to see the outside and inside view of each character. I would have liked 

to know more of the background on this group of family and friends but 

the snapshot of their two weeks together is hilarious in spots.

Jim has recently lost his job due to an affair with a young staffer. 

He and Franny are not sure if their future will be together or separate.

Their son, Bobby, and his longtime girlfriend, Carmen, are trying to 

determine if they will have a relationship after the trip. 

You have to love Sylvia, their long-suffering daughter, who has just been 

dealt a humiliating blow via her best friend and social media. She is ready 

to leave the petty world of high school behind and start fresh at college. Her 

one goal is to lose her virginity first. 

As the family and their close friends, Charles & Lawrence, face infidelity, 

a breakup and the promise of a new baby, the story runs and walks through their

funny adventures. The vacationers will have you laughing and wondering how  

this is all going to turn out. You will enjoy this cute little book as a nice 

break from the real world. At least from my Southern world...

Patty Pick's Best Books of 2014

There were some fabulous books that were published this year but there were also 
some great books all ready on my shelf that I have been waiting to read. If you could 
see my to-read pile you would be scared, very scared. How in the world I had time to 
finish my own book, I will never know. There were many I wanted to include.They were 
very close, but I wanted to make sure if you only have so much time to read, you can 
read some of the best. Life has calmed down a little now for us, so here are my favorite books from 2014 in no order!

1. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
3. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
4. The Pact by Jodi Picoult
5. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
6. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
7. a land more kind than home by Wiley Cash
8. Keep Quiet by Lisa Scottoline
9. The Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
10. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
11. Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
12. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

There you go, a book for every month! That does not seem like too many. 
All of these books will thrill you, challenge you, scare you, make you cry, 
and be ones you will be talking about for some time. 

Please check back with my older posts for a short take on each book. I do 
not give away any secrets from them. There is nothing worse than a long 
and thorough report on a book that ruins it for you. I would love to hear 
from you all throughout the year about the ones you read and like. 
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!