Aliadam started this last month and it is a GREAT idea! Let's post our book reviews for July here!


I am still reading the Harry Potter books. Once I start I can't stop. I have to start at the beginning, too. Can't pick and choose my favorites, lol.

Deleted my message.

__________________

I've never read the Harry Potter books.

Right now I'm reading The Front by Patricia Cornwell. It's good so far.

ChickyHip love your tag at the end!

I just finished The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr. I liked his first book, The Alienist much better. Both are set in New York City at the turn of the last century and focus on the introduction of criminal psychology and forensics to solve crime. They also describe New York w/all its warts and all. You definitely learn a lot about history. Character description is excellent too. You learn about people from all walks of life. For these reasons I like the books.

However, The Angel of Darkness was almost too grim. Everything seemed perpetually hopeless for the crime solvers. It was just a little too depressing for me. The plot centered around a women who may have killed her own children and went on to murder others. One of the main questions was whether she was mentally ill or not.

There was also a court room drama in the book. (Again w/the odds stacked depressingly high against the crime solvers.) It's funny but through this I realized that I'm just not interested in reading about court rooms dramas. (I usually don't watch them on TV either.)

The location of this book moved from New York City to the casinos of Saratoga Springs and the town of Ballston Spa. The descriptions were interesting too.

I don't think it was the subject matter that depressed me but just that the crimesolvers always appeared to be so hopelessly challenged.

If Caleb Carr came out w/another novel w/these characters I would probably read it. I would just hope the plot wasn't as heavy as this one.

I think I'm ready for a beach read now!

__________________
Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without.

WWII saying

I am currently reading " Twice Loved" by LaVryle Spencer.
It's a historical romance set in Maine and revovles around the whalers and ships. The female character married her childhood sweetheart and he left for sea she waited for him, he becomes lost at sea and presumed dead. Meanwhile after he goes missing she discovers she is pregnant with his child. Alone and scared for her future, thinking her husband is dead at sea, she married his best friend. 5 years later her missing husband suddenly returns. Now she has to decide what to do. Stay married to a good man who helped her thru her sorrow and raised her child as his own, or go back to her first husband. It's pretty good so far, LaVryle Spencer is one of my favorite romance authors!

__________________
"Go on, get outside, get the stink blown off ya!!"

Currently reading the Other Boelyn Girl - loving it so far. I am assuming most here have already read it.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I just finished two kid books -- Bridge To Terabithia (read it as a kid, my DS just read it, and I wanted to read it from an adult perspective) and Jeremy Fink and the Meaning Of Life (wanted to see if this would be the right age for DS).

I'm going to start Three Cups Of Tea today. I think it is about a man who discovers local people on his vacation in Iran(?), sees their poverty, and vows to build a school for them. Since then, he has dedicated his life to building schools in impoverished areas. I am interested to see why he changed his life to take on this challenge.

Marlene

I just finished Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen - I loved it. It was very light reading, which is what I look for in the summer, but it wasn't your typical chick lit - it had a little bit of substance.

I'm reading "The End of Faith - Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason."

It's quite a slow read, and quite scary. My uncle gave it to me when I was visiting him a couple weeks ago, so I know he's going to ask me about it next time we talk.

__________________