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!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope that everyone has a Happy and Full Thanksgiving Day filled with family 
and love. There are not too many days in our lives that we can concentrate 
on those we love without work and life getting in the way, so enjoy today. 
Don't shop, don't work, (unless you have to), just enjoy! Whether it's you 
or you and your special loved one, or you and twenty family members  - just 
enjoy the day! They go away all too quickly. SO HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! 

Blog Takes Back Seat to Life

Patty Picks is working on a list of my favorite books from this year. There have been 

many good new ones and old ones. I will try to have get this put together by the 

first of December and post it then. 

On a personal note, our family is getting a close look at the devastating effects of 

Alzheimer's right now. My time has been well spent with that member of our family instead of my blog. Please take the time to hug your loved ones today!

Be back next Thursday with a review of The Vacationers by Emma Straub!

Patty Pick for 11/6/14 is Still Alice by Lisa Genova

After reading about half of this book I thought for sure I had Alzheimer's disease. There were many similiarities between the main character, Alice Howland, and my current frantic life. Still Alice by Lisa Genova is not an easy book to read but it should be a neccessity. With a large part of the population being touched by dementia or 
Alzheimer's in their life personally or via a loved one, everyone should research this issue.
There are many health problems to research today, but finding the key to this disease should be a priority.  Especially considering the sheer number of people that will be effected in the their lives. 

Alice Howland is a successful Harvard professor with a great husband and wonderful life. One day while she was out taking her normal daily run, she could not remember how to get home. Where was that memory? It was lost to her for some reason. As the disease progresses for Alice, we experience the effects on her and her family. Through their daily struggles the devastating details of this disease are revealed. Alzheimer's robs a person of who they are and all that they know. Read this book and then hug your loved ones. Then live fully and richly every single day!

Patty Pick for 10/30/14 is The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

The Good Girl started exactly the way I expected it to, after reading the 

cover. It was scary and interesting at the same time. Everything revolves around 

the abduction of Mia. Mia, the daughter of Eve and Judge Dennett, has been 

taken by Colin Thatcher. Colin is a small time thug who is conflicted from 

the start over being involved in the kidnapping. The characters reveal what 

happened before and after in no apparent order, but it is actually leading you to an unexpected ending.

Mia has amnesia and does not remember what happened during her abduction.

Detective Gabe Hoffman is trying to follow the leads and find Mia while at the same time

falling for Mia's mother, Eve. As Gabe chases down evidence and works toward the 

conclusion, you know there is more to come. The novel is leading you on a chase to the end and as each detail is uncovered you are more confused. You will have the ending figured out in your head but it will surprise the heck out of you. What did you think happened?