Knit Two

By Kate Jacobs...this pretty much picks up where Friday Night Knitting Club left off...although Dakota is older and headed to college...romance STILL hasn't happened for Cat...we find out something new about Anita...no she hasn't married yet...and all of the characters return to their lives and struggles. I definitely felt like hugging my friends after reading this book. The drama, the emotion, the situations all seemed vaguely familiar...and as a woman, if you haven't experienced something like it one of your girlfriends have...I really can't wait to read the holiday one! And, yes, I still want to learn to knit!

Dead until Dark

By Charlaine Harris...Sookie Stackhouse book 1, So I did start the series...and I plan to read book two soon! But this was interesting...I had already watched the entire first season of TRUE BLOOD and read this book after. Maybe I should do this the other way around. Much of the book/show is similar...although the show tends to add characters and situations that the book didn't have...although the book was full of situations not in the show. I am still undecided as to which I prefer. I think I will have to read the book (book 2) without knowing what is happening...and then see what I think. For a mystery that keeps the plot rolling, adds some vampire fun and some humor...this is a great read. If you aren't into the vampires...I think you may still enjoy it because it says a lot about how people who aren't mainstream are treated here in America. Maybe it will heighten your awareness. Maybe you will agree...the most exciting thing about books is they keep us talking!

A Touch of Dead

By Charlaine Harris...a collection of Sookie Stackhouse stories. I have started watching TRUE BLOOD the HBO series based on this author's vampire novels...and picked this book up in the library to see what the fuss was all about. I haven't read any of the series...but thought I would try this out. For those of you who love fantasy (genre) you are going to love this. Apparently the world as we know it is full of fantastical creatures...but some of them are more dangerous than others...meet them through Sookie Stackhouse's eyes...and solve some short story mysteries. Entertaining for sure...and got me more interested in reading the book series!

The National Parks

America's Best Idea by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns...okay...I read this in bits...pictures were AMAZING and I definitely want to come back to this book when school is out! But...what an incredible book both for the reader and the non-reader. For the non-reader there are some INCREDIBLE pictures of the National parks and the people who helped make it all happen...and for the readers there is history, politics, stories, and much more about how the parks came into being! I thoroughly enjoyed it! I love the history and then the stories of different families both past and present who have visited the parks! It made me think of the parks that I have visited and the ones I hope to visit in the future!

The Friday Night Knitting Club

By Kate Jacobs...so, last weekend I headed to Seattle once again...on my way there I finished off another JA Jance book...but on my way home I brought something different. I took advantage of our Library's down loadable books and tried this book. Now, I usually don't listen to regular fiction on audio. Most of the time I find the subject matter and the reader to be more lulling than wakeful...and often the content isn't enough to keep me alert on the road. Well, I started the book on the road. And didn't want to quit reading it! When I got home, the NEXT day I was in the Library checking out the book because I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I was blown away by the friendships, relationships and bonds formed by the characters in the book. It made me want to reconnect with old friends and make sure my bonds with new friends were taking off. I wanted to take up knitting...which I am not even sure I have the patience to do...it was incredible! Different people from different walks of life meeting in a Knitting shop and talking about projects and sometimes personal things. The concern for every one's well being made me ache for my girlfriends who live so far away! I can't talk about the book in its entirety or it will spoil the ending and you may not want to know how it ends. Needless to say I will say that I am reading the second book about the characters now...and definitely feel that connection again with the book!

Partner in Crime

By J A Jance...yes, another audio book for me! Listened to it while going to Seattle again. Loved it. This time JP Beaumont meets Joanna Brady and man to do the sparks FLY!! A case that both of them need to work on! It was great! Of course you aren't sure who done it until later in the book, which is always good...and there is always lots of family drama and small town drama as well! I recommend even if you have never read any of the other books!

Stop in the Name of Pants (Book 9)

By Louise Rennison...Ah, book 10 was released and it IS the final one...so I am now able to enjoy book 9. I had been waiting...I really don't want it to be over. My fave brit teen is at it again with plenty of drama, heartache, and fun for everyone! I love all of the language...fun words like lippy, piddly diddly, and poo division. Jimjams, Vati and yes...even her red bottomosity! LOVE IT! Enjoyed the story, enjoyed her inability to decide what she wants...and yes, she is left yet again on the rack of lurve! I can't wait to read book 10!

The Pulitzer Prize Fiction Runners Up

So here is the list of the runners up that I have read...all of them I would recommend!
1986 The Accidental Tourist by Ann Tyler
1999 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
2002 The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

As it turns out I have read less of them...and when I look over the list of authors who have won...I may not have read the book that won...but have read their other work!

Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories

By Elizabeth Strout...LOVED it. Went to hear Nancy Pearl give a talk on book talks...and several people recommended it. It is the Pulitzer Prize winner...and so, I purchased it and have been reading it over the last month and a half or so. I was immediately hooked because it is similar to William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. Each chapter is told from the point of view of another character...which is cool! And..their lives do intertwine...which is also great. It was the perfect book to read in parts...a chapter at a time...because once the chapter was over...that part of the story was over. I had better not say much else about this...but while I am here and mentioning Pulitzer Prize winners...I will list the ones I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. As it turns out these weren't winners without reason...all were well written, interesting and totally suck you in!
1953 The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway
1961 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1975 The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
1981 A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
1983 The Color Purple by Alice Walker
1988 Beloved by Toni Morrison
1992 A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
1994 The Shipping News by E Annie Proulx
1998 American Pastorial by Philip Roth
1999 The Hours by Michael Cunningham
2003 Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
2006 March by Geraldine Brooks

Damage Control (Joanna Brady #13)

By J A Jance...went from the J P Beaumont right into this one..audios keep me occupied when going to and from school, road trips and it is the one mode of "reading" I can justify while in school. I was definitely hooked from the start...and definitely wasn't sure who done it...but more of the drama between Joanna and her mother....relationships between Joanna and Jenny and Joanna and Butch (her husband), things come up from the past...and all while there are mysteries to be solved. Makes for a great read/listen! I thoroughly enjoyed it once again! Looking forward to more!

Injustice For All (J P Beaumont #2)

By J A Jance...okay...headed to Seattle for my sister's surprise weekend...wanted something to keep me awake and guessing...grabbed this audio for my trip thinking it was #2 of the Joanna Brady, imagine my surprise listening to a male character...but I got sucked in none the less. He is a little more rough than Joanna Brady...and he lives and works in Seattle. That made it interesting as I was driving to Seattle listening to a mystery that takes place in and around Seattle! I would definitely listen to another J P Beaumont audio...and I would recommend the mystery to someone who isn't too offended by sex...not that there was a lot in it...but still.