This wasn’t my first time to read The Great Gatsby, but it has been many many years since I last read it. And technically this time I didn’t read it but rather I listened to Tim Robbins read it. That was quite an experience. And let me just say,

I’ve had Garden Spells on my Kindle for at least 8 months but I put off reading it. Not because I didn’t want to read it but because I don’t want to run out of Sarah Addison Allen books to read. She’s written 4 so far, but has a new book coming out this fall. Now that I’ve read Garden Spells I have read three of her

In an unusual post over at Chicklit Is Not Dead, I read a review of The 500 (Matthew Quirk) and couldn’t wait to read it.  This is Matthew Quirk’s first novel and it was captivating.  The 500 is reminiscent of The Firm but it involves more powerful players.

I absolutely loved Arranged by Catherine McKenzie!  After back to back sci-fi books this was an excellent choice for a break.  I first discovered this book over on the Chicklit is Not Dead Blog last May and now I am so sad I waited so long to read it!  Once I started Arranged by Catherine McKenzie I couldn’t

While reading Beautiful Creature (Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl), I realized I probably should add a sci-fi section to this blog since I seem to be stuck in this genre.  I never would have thought of myself as a sci-fi fan, but maybe I am?

I like how the Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card) starts out in the middle of the action.  You aren’t provided details in an easily laid out manner, but rather you have to pick up the details along the way.  It wasn’t until I talked with my sis, Beth, about this book that I realized Ender’s Game was written in 1985. I have

As you can see by the title of the post, I got a little sidetracked from my next read. I was supposed to read Born to Be Brad next, but I didn’t. I started it, then had to make a last minute trip down to Houston so I listened to a book on tape.  Ever since I finished Providence by Jamie McGuire last year, I kept

Luckily for me, no one was waiting in line for The Peach Keeper at the library and I was able to renew my loan for another two weeks so I could actually finish reading the book.  Now that I’ve read a second Sarah Addison Allen I can

My friend Tiffany turned me onto Sarah Addison Allen.  I had her book The Peach Keeper on my “to read” list on Goodreads but hadn’t gotten to it just yet.  Tiffany hooked me up with a gift certificate to Amazon so I could get any

I made a quick trip to Houston this weekend to go to Beth & Brent’s first wedding shower and decided I wanted to listen to a book on tape to make the drive go by more quickly.  So I looked over my list of books “to read” on Goodreads and then went through those books on Audible to see if any of them were less than 8 hours.  After looking I settled on “On the Island” by Tracey Garvis Graves.

When I read the description of On the Island, I was a little nervous about about this choice because the description starts out with: “When thirty year old Anna Emerson agrees to tutor 16 year old T.J….” I couldn’t help but wonder if this were going to be a really uncomfortable read.  But fortunately I was wrong.

T.J. is a 16 year who has fought cancer and won.  Anna is a 30 year old teacher in Chicago stuck in a relationship that seems to be going no where, so when she was offered the chance to spend a summer on a tropical island tutoring a teenager whose cancer was in remission, she couldn’t say no.

Anna and T.J. take a chartered plane to meet up with T.J.’s family who left a few days ahead of them, only they never make it.  As they are headed to the island their plane crashes.   Anna and T.J. both survive the crash and make it to the deserted island near by.  It doesn’t take them long to figure out that the likelihood of them being found is very small.

As days turn into weeks and the weeks into years, T.J. and Anna discover quite a bit about themselves as they are trapped On the Island and about each other.  This endearing story of survival and love will draw you in and leave you rooting for T.J. and Anna in more ways than one.

I know that I listened to On the Island and didn’t actually read it, but I would still assume this is a pretty quick read and would be a page turner.

Girl Unmoored was a free download a few weeks back on Amazon and I had seen this book mentioned a couple of places, so I thought I’d get it.

If you are looking for quirky and entertaining then you’ve got to read Girl Unmoored.  The setting is 1985 or there about and the story revolves around a young girl named Apron.  Apron’s mother has passed away and her dad has a new girlfriend that doesn’t seem to particularly like Apron.

As if her home life being uneasy isn’t enough, Apron’s best friend decides it’s time to trade her in for a more popular model.  Copping with all of these changes leaves Apron confused and unhappy, then she meets Jesus.  Okay not the guy up in the sky but rather the actor who plays Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Mike.  Mike and his partner Chad own a flower shop and develop a friendship with Apron that seems help them all cope with their unusual circumstances.  Despite being young Apron is able to teach Mike and Chad how to survive the loss of a loved one and still go on with life, while Mike and Chad teach Apron to not hate.

I don’t think Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas is technically a chicklit but it’s definitely a romance.  I had never heard of this book or this author before finding it on the She Knows Book Club website.  This was the June book of the month, so as you can see I’m way behind!

According to Goodreads and Amazon Rainshadow Road is book #2 in a series but I never read the first one and I didn’t feel like I was lost or behind.  As I started reading, the first chapter didn’t really do anything for me; I was disappointed and thought about switching to a different book to read next.  But I kept trucking along and I have really enjoyed this book.  Now I realize the first chapter was just to build a little background and help you understand the relationship between the main character Lucy and her sister Alice.

In Rainshadow Road, Lucy is a glass artist living in the Pacific Northwest.  Not long after you meet Lucy as an adult, she is abruptly dumped by her boyfriend Kevin.  She is completely blindsided and thought things were going really good.  As if being dumped by Kevin wasn’t heart wrenching enough, he also tells her that he has meet someone else and is in love, it’s Alice, Lucy’s sister.