Update

Since I'm getting back into the swing of things, I decided to post a list of all of the books I read while I was not posting. I just want to have a record of my list. My plan going fwd is to post after I have finished a book with my reflections about what I have read.

Black..........................Ted Dekker (inspirational fiction)
Angels........................Marian Keyes (fiction)
The Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch....................
Asylum........................Patrick McGrath (fiction)
Black Notice................Patricia Cornwell (mystery)
Ya-Ya's in Bloom.........Rebecca Wells (fiction)
Green River, Running Red..Ann Rule (true crime)
The Jungle.............Upton Sinclair (classic)
One Tough Cookie............Diana Mott Davidson (mystery)
Blood Orchid......................Stuart Woods (mystery)
The Life of Pi.....................Yann Martel (fiction)
Where is the Mango Princess?.......Cathy Crimmins (nonfiction)
Loop Group............................Larry McMurtry (fiction)
Cider House Rules.................John Irving (fiction)
Abduction...............................Robin Cook (fiction)
The Second Summer of the Sisterhood.......Ann Brashares (fiction)
Beautiful Stranger................Hope Donahue (nonfiction)
Catering to Nobody..............Diana Mott Davidson (mystery)
Rococco..................................Adriana Trigani (fiction)
Kite Runner..........................
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close....Jonathan Saffran-Foer (fiction)
Blowfly.................................Patricia Cornwell (mystery)
My Kind of Place.................Susan Orlean (nonfiction)
Trace......................................Patricia Cornwell (mystery)
Stranger than Fiction............Chuck Palaniuk (nonfiction)
Truth & Beauty.....................Ann Patchett (nonfiction)
Cause of Death......................Patricia Cornwell (mystery)
The Queen's Fool.................Phillipa Gregory (historical fiction)
The Manhattan Hunt Club......John Saul (mystery)
Blankets..........................Craig Thompson (graphic novel)
The Presence.................John Saul (mystery)
Romeo and Julie Get Lucky...Jeanne Ray (fiction)
Unraveled......................Maria Housden (nonfiction)
Confederacy of Dunces.....John Edward Toole (fiction)
Prep.....................................Curtis Sittenfield (fiction)
A Child Called "It".............Dave Pelzer (nonfiction)

The Girl with the Pearl Earring (Tracy Chevalier)

Humm...... what do I think about this book? I'm not entirely sure. I had heard so much about it for so long (it was even made into a movie), but I had never been interested enough to pick it up. I am not generally an historical fiction kind of girl. It just didn't strike me as an interesting read.

But, obviously I picked it up. I ran across it in on CD at the library. In all honesty, I couldn't find anything else. So, the book follows a girl who becomes a maid when her father is unable to work as a tile maker following an injury. She works in the home of the famous painter, Vermeer (sp?). The plot moves from her first days as a maid until she eventually marries a butcher and is able to leave her maid-life behind. During her time with the Vermeer's, she falls in love with the painter. She works secretly as a kind of apprentice to him and he even paints her. She IS the girl with the pearl earring.

So, the novel imagines what life might have been like for the girl in the famous Vermeer painting. A pretty original idea. Overall, I'm glad that I read the book. It's not one of my favorites, but I can understand why it garnered so much attention. I'm not sure that I will see the movie....

Sisters and Lovers (Connie Briscoe)

I listened to this book on tape during my walks over the last week or two. It was a fun, lighthearted read....or listen, I should say. About three black women (Beverly, Chartrese, and Evelyn) who are sisers. The book follows their struggles with the men in their lives. Although their relationships with one another are far from perfect, they are always there for each other.

A very light story. Good for listening. The characters were not overly original, but they were entertaining. I really liked Chartrese and found myself actually getting irritated with both Beverly and Evelyn. It made me wish for sisters.

A Million Little Pieces (James Frey)

This book has sucked me in a major way. I have been interested in how people handle addiction for a long time. I think it started after I read Augusten Burrough's book Dry. This book makes Dry look like a children's book. I had heard that it was intense, but intense is not the word. I'm not sure what the word is, but it is much, much more than intense.

The part that interests me the most is the author's position on AA. He does not believe in AA or a Higher Power or 12 Steps. I've always been a bit skeptical about those programs, so his ideas are interesting. I think that he is sober at present, so I guess that whatever he did was successful. Why is that the experts say that there is no way to handle addiction without working the 12 steps and relying on your Higher Power? Humm..... I might have to find out more.