Thankful

There are many things to be thankful for on this glorious Thanksgiving Day, but today I want to
thank my family. My husband and my daughter who make this day and every day before
and after this one very special. They not only give me the most joy but they are my biggest cheerleaders.

When I told them I really wanted to write down the books and stories I had stored in my head over the years, they encouraged me to do it. My daughter suggested I start with a blog, find something else I love and just write and write. Thus this blog, bookreaderforlife, was born. How did she get so smart?

When my husband watched me write my first book longhand while using anything available to me - like an upside-down tray, while sitting in the bed, and just about anywhere else I could find a quiet
spot, what did he do? Buy me one of the most comfortable leather chairs and suggested I change our
old "computer room/extra bedroom" into my writing room. How do you compete with these two?

Yes, I am very blessed. The world is not perfect and everything does not always go the way you plan,
but at the end of the day if you have a family like mine you are very lucky indeed. Sometimes the news this world brings you and the meanness of people around you may be hard to bear, but just look around at your family and know that you are one lucky human being. So when life gives you lemons, hard knocks, or blessings, remember who to share them with. Your family will always be in your corner.
At least mine will, and I am very thankful.

Patty Pick for 11/18/16 is "Truly Madly Guilty" by Liane Moriarty

Liane Moriarty's latest book, "Truly Madly Guilty" was a good read! 
The book centers around an incident that happens at a neighborhood BBQ one afternoon on an ordinary street with ordinary people. Ms. Moriarty has a nice way of dancing around what really happened and keeping you in suspense until well into the book. You must keep reading to find out what the incident was and to see the effect on the characters as the chapters go by.  

One thing about her novels that I have thoroughly enjoyed is her 
character development. She has a way of writing, that most of the 
good writers do, that helps you live inside the character's head - to really imagine these people as someone you know. You develop a relationship with them and you get invested in their lives. In this book, I had a hard time finding one character that I liked at first, but by the end I like most of them.

You would think that tragedy would bind people together, but from personal experience I agree with the direction of this book that hardship and tragedy usually pushes people apart. Don't ask me to explain this strange human truism but it does work out that way more times than not. With Clementine, Sam, Ruby, Holly, Erika, Oliver, Vid, Tiffany & Dakota all in attendance at the meal in question, you get different points of view of the accident and different reactions. 

Not to spoil the plot for you, but it does take a while to get to the what actually happened. Along the way, you get to know the ends and outs of their lives and how they all ended up there that afternoon, but I really, really wanted it to get to the point. But 
by the end of the book, I got the point finally. The "getting there" is the story. It's really 
the story of all of us, how we cope, react, and go on after the bumps in our lives. 

So while this one doesn't use a sledge hammer to make the point, hang on until the 
end and you will get it. A solid 4 Stars!

Patty Pick for 11/10/16 is "Before I Go to Sleep" by SJ Watson

"Before I Go To Sleep" by SJ Watson engendered a lot of discussion among my book club members. We wanted to read a scary book for October, but a lot of us don't like bloody and scary. We once read a very scary book by Dean Koontz called, "Intensity". My advice is only read this one if you are not easily scared and serial killers don't bother you. I will never look at an RV the same again, on the highway or anywhere for that matter. But I digress, back to 
"Before I Go to Sleep." 

Christine is always on rewind. Every night as she sleeps, her memories are erased and she wakes up thinking she is a young 
woman with her life ahead of her. Instead, due to a traumatic accident, she is a forty-seven year-old woman with a husband she does not know or remember. As she wakes each morning, she is terrified and looks in the mirror at a person she does not know. Her husband has placed pictures and clues around the house to help her remember as she goes through her normal routine. Since the accident, she 
can not work, or barely leave the house.  

What her husband does not know is that Christine is meeting with a doctor most days 
to help her remember. His advice is for her to keep a journal as they go along and he 
calls her each morning to remind her to read the journal and then they talk or meet. As Christine reads the journal each morning, she begins to remember some of the same things. She is confused over what memories are true and what memories are just her imagination. Her husband tells her conflicting versions of what she wrote in her journal. 
Who is telling her the truth? And how did she get this type of amnesia in the first place? 


As we read along with Christine down her path to memories, we start to question
everything. I did not see the twist or the ending coming. Very good and it will keep you 
guessing until the final pages. 5 Stars!!

Reading Laine Moriarty's latest, " Truly Madly Guilty" now and not sure it's going to be one of my favorites. Love her writing, but these people are driving me crazy. And she usually 
leaves you one character to like, but I'm not sure if there is one in this novel for me. We 
will see.....

Patty Pick for 10/27/16 are Some Interesting Political Books for the Season

During this election year, we have seen our political process at its best at times, and sometimes at its worst. This will not be the most contentious election ever fought in our country, but it will definitely be written about and remembered for a very long time, no matter your political persuasion. On that vein, I have collected a list of some of the more well-known nonfiction and fiction books on politics and/or our country's presidency. The fact that I can even write this blog openly about our election system and we can all choose who we want to vote for is one of the most cherished and valued parts of being an American.

We, Americans, are a hardy breed. We have survived countless wars and tragedies during the years as America grew into a country and aged into the nation we have now. Through it all we would come together to fight sometimes even each other, but always to mend ourselves back into a united group for the good of all. The one thing that we all have in common is our love for this country we call home. Let's hope that we never forget the citizens that have fought for this right and the struggles our country has endured to find it's way to becoming the greatest country in the world. Why do countless people around the globe try their best to find their way to our shores and become part of the American dream? 

So enjoy these fiction and nonfiction choices if you like. That is our God-given right, that we have fought for over countless generations, choice. And please Vote for the candidate(s) of your choice, be part of the solution. Our country is an amazing place and my hope is that we all remember that going forward. 

There are many good political books and fiction books following political story lines, so I have chosen some of my favorites and some on my to-read list to share with you all. Hope you find some of your new favorites on the list. 

1)  Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
2)    Primary Colors by Anonymous
3)    The Lucky Ones by Doris Mortman
4)    All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
5)    The Run by Stuart Woods
6)    Hartsburg, USA by David Mizner
7)    Game Change by John Heileman & Mark Halperin
8)    Middlemarch by George Eliot
9)    The Race by Richard North Patterson
10)    The Last Election by Gary H. Collins
11)  Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn
12)  Almost anything by Brad Thorr & Tom Clancy

Patty Pick for 10/20/16 is "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah

                                                                                                                         I've heard so much about this book and it definitely lived up to it's reputation! At first, I thought,

"Oh, no, another World War II book." My book club and myself have read so many over the last
few years, but this is not another World War II book. The characters are believable and full. The setting of the war from the view of the French people makes for a mesmerizing look at history.

Isabelle and Vianne are two sisters that are trapped in their lives due to the war and due to their individual circumstances. You will understand by the end of the book that the war in which they are embroiled, does not define their entire lives. They both rise above their doubts and fears to create new, but incredible lives, memorable lives. But war is not easy nor pretty and this novel by
Kristin Hannah does not cut out the ugly parts.

Vianne Mauriac is a young wife living in the quaint town of Carriveau with her husband and daughter. She is a school teacher and they live an idyllic life together in her parents old house.
Vianne is afraid of everything and when her husband, Antoine, go off to war she is left to handle
things on her own. As the war advances and the town is invaded by the Nazi's, she finds herself
living with a Nazi officer. She is trying to walk a tightrope through the war, not giving aid but not
allowing herself, her friends, and her daughter to suffer too much damage. Her younger sister has other ideas.

Isabelle has rebelled her entire life. Since their mother passed away, their father has pushed away
the two sisters. Fighting her way through boarding school after boarding school, she has finally
found her way home to her father and his book store at the start of the war. With the looming
Nazi invasion, her father sends her off with family friends to go stay with her sister, but the pampered
Isabelle faces some of the most harrowing days of the war just trying to get to Carriveau. She meets
Gaetan, a young man determined to fight back, who helps her arrive at her sister's house. Isabelle becomes determined to fight back also and she usually gets her way.

From that start the two sisters fight the war in their own ways. Neither is better or easier for their survival but they bravely fight anyway. With help, love and determination, they fight the Nazi
invasion of their country in their own way. You will not feel how they can survive, but you must
read this book to find out if they do. The story is told in beautiful language that flows across the page and builds vivid pictures of their stories. A huge thumbs up!!

Patty Pick for 10/6/16 is "Dear Carolina" by Kristy Woodson Harvey

What would you do if you were asked to take a baby from one of your
young relatives who realizes that she can not raise it? What drives a
mother to give up her child so it can have a better life than she can give it?
These are some of the hardest questions anyone can ever answer. In "Dear Carolina" two women must face those very decisions. Jodi makes her alone
and Khaki makes her with her loving husband, Graham.

Khaki and Jodi are "cousin-in-laws" and both have their crazy lives. This novel is woven with Southernisms and terms only a Southerner can comprehend at times. Khaki seems to have it all, a wonderful husband, a full and productive life, a child and a successful career. Jodi is her husband's young cousin who has struggled through life with an alcoholic mother and a rash of wrong decisions to her credit. Her father, Graham's brother, has died. When she ends up pregnant by her abusive boyfriend, she decides to have the baby and make a family with Ricky.

Unfortunately Jodi's boyfriend has other ideas. As she realizes what lies ahead for her child, she makes the most difficult decision a mother can make. After Jodi asks Khaki and Graham to adopt her child, life unfolds in different directions for each mother. Khaki worries that Jodi will change her mind and want this new, beautiful baby back from her care. Jodi is torn wanting to be a mother and
overcome her own demons but knowing she made the right decision for Carolina.

Told to us from each woman's perspective as letters to Carolina, we read the story of her life as told to her from the two mothers. This story weaves a distinct flavor of Kinston and North Carolina with a douse of New York decorating culture for good measure. Your feelings will be pulled into the story and the unique way the tale is told will make for a special read. You know how this ends but getting there will be the treat! Thumbs UP for this one!

Patty Pick for 9/29/16 is #BannedBookWeek2016

How in the world did we compile a list of classic Banned Books like the list below! Our country was born on the right of individual freedoms. To think that people are out there fighting for the removal of books from our library shelves today, just blows my mind. If you don't like the subject matter or theme of a book, then by all means do not read it. You have control on what your children read so check out what they are looking at or have picked and talk with them about why they are appropriate or not. Be involved. :)

Books are stories and even though some are better than others they all have a place in this world. There are some very amazing classics on the list below that are some of my favorites, but if you don't like them or want to read them, that's ok. America was formed because our founders wanted to have the freedom to make their own laws and have the freedoms they deserved in life, religion, and all other areas. Check out the full lists of banned books and tools to help you make informed choices at : http://www.ala.org/bbooks/

So please read these or not, but just read!  

1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses, by James Joyce
7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
9. 1984, by George Orwell

11. Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov
12. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

15. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway

23. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
24. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
25. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
26. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
27. Native Son, by Richard Wright
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey
29. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway

*Some of my favorites. Choose your own!