Alice's Tulips (Sandra Dallas)

Why I have this book: Because I have read other books of the this author's and enjoyed them. It was one of my Amazon Gift Card purchases.  :)

I am so torn on this one… Just FYI, the whole book is a series of letters from the protagonist to her sister.

What I liked about the book:

* The way it shows the protagonist growing and maturing through the years.

* The relationship between women and how they need each other and defend each other.

* The quilting theme.

* It definitely kept my interest, and as the story went on, the depth of the characters increased. I was pretty well invested by the end, especially because the main character became more mature and likable as it went on.

What I didn't like:

* The sexual comments. I just don't think women would converse quite like that back then. It was only a handful of times, but it was so unneeded and actually surprising (and disappointing) in a book like this.

* The protagonist's voice seemed to change through the book, even sounding a bit more educated. Is it just because she has matured?  It just seemed an unlikely change, since she wasn't at school or anything.

So… I liked the book in general, but I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone simply because of those few lines throughout the book that were sexual in nature. They were just weird and inappropriate and unnecessary. And it makes me leery of buying more of the author's books. (I think I do have one more of hers that I already purchased. I hope it is clean.)

Sexual assault is briefly talked about at one point. There is also some light-hearted (but yucky) sexual comments in the written conversation between the two sisters.

A fun new challenge...

So I was looking at the many, many books on my Kindle, wondering what to read next. So many choices!!! So I thought, "I wonder if I can read a book for every letter of the alphabet…" I looked through all my books in my cloud, and sure enough, I have at least one book for each letter of the alphabet that I haven't read yet… except X, Y, and Z.

So here's what I'm going to do…

When I'm stumped for what to read next, I'll go off the next letter in the alphabet. (I'll make a chart on the right to keep track.)  It doesn't mean every book I read will go in order. I might have a book club book to read, or more than one book in a series… so I'm not being strict on going in alphabetical order. I'll just move to the next available letter when I'm stumped… like I am today.

I might take some time to fill in some of the titles I've already read this year if I need to round things out as the year goes on.

So… starting with "A"… right on my Home Page of my Paperwhite, I have two books that start with A: Alabama Moon and Alice's Tulips. Whichever shall I choose…???

(First world problems.)

Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (Ben Carson, M.D. and Cecil Murphey

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library. I had heard of Ben Carson, most recently in political discussion, and I thought his story sounded interesting.

To be honest, I was a little uncomfortable with how much self-adulation came across in this book. I really think all his accomplishments and talents and everything else amazing about him would have been better promoted in a biography rather than an autobiography. To be sure, he has a great story… and tremendous gifts. I definitely would want him in my corner if someone I loved needed brain surgery. It just felt awkward to hear him talk about his own achievements (academic and otherwise) over and over.

The second half of the book had a lot of cases from his medical career. They were very interesting (much more interesting for me than the first half of the book) and somewhat emotional to read. I had thought about giving up on the book around Chapter 9, but I'm glad I kept going. It really is amazing what modern medicine can achieve, and how blessed we are that there are men and women who truly do have gifts from God that can heal and/or treat those who are suffering.

Also, the first part of the book seemed like it was written for upper elementary reading levels. The second half (with the medical cases) seemed more directed at an adult level. I'm not sure who the target audience was meant to be. And I was a little perplexed by one of Dr. Carson's stories regarding his faith. I'll just leave it at that.

One more thing… I was surprised to see him refer to conjoined twins as "Siamese twins." I thought the PC term was "conjoined." Maybe I'm mistaken on that.

So all-in-all… it was somewhat disappointing, but his is an interesting and inspiring life.

Clean. He does use the "n" word as he describes events in his younger years.

The first two books in the Cobble Court Quilt Series (Marie Bostwick)

A Single Thread
A Thread of Truth

Why I have these books: I bought the first one with my Amazon Gift Card money, and I enjoyed it enough to buy the second one.

I have looked at this series a few times over the years, and finally took the plunge. I do enjoy them quite a bit, but I really don't want to pay $10 for each one. (The second one was under $6, so that was good.) I noticed several of the series are available to borrow with the Kindle Unlimited program, so I was tempted to do the one month trial and read them all before I cancelled. :) But the third one is not one of the ones that can be borrowed, so I'm a little stumped on what to do. Luckily, I have a lot of other books I can read, so I'll think on it for a while. I wish the ebook library had them…

Anyway, I did enjoy these books. They both covered fairly heavy topics (breast cancer in the first book and domestic violence in the second), but there was a good balance of friendship and other relationships to keep things from being depressing. Although there was a couple instances of sexual assault that I didn't love reading about in the second book… but since her goal, I think, was to raise awareness of this subject, it probably needed to be there.

In any case, I will read the rest of the series. I just need to figure out how to do that without having to spend so much on each book. (Why are Kindle books getting so expensive lately? I thought that whole class action suit was supposed to fix that?)

There was a bit of swearing in these books… not really much, but maybe a handful. The second book does describe some seedy events, in addition to attempted sexual assaults. There is a thread (no pun intended!) of faith in God that is somewhat unexpected, but nicely woven into the story.

Change or Die (Alan Deutschman)

Why I have this book: A friend recommended it after someone else recommended it to her. I looked on Amazon, and it was around $10, which I thought was too much. Then I looked the next day and it was under $5, so I bought it. I just looked again and it's back up to $10! So… lucky me.

I actually found this book interesting to read. The case studies - even those about IBM and General Motors - were engaging. I thought I might get bored with it, but I really didn't. However, I finished the book without a real clear understanding of his "three keys to change." I could remember the first one: Relate. I agreed with the purpose there… find someone to inspire you, someone you relate to...

The second one: Repeat. Yep, got it. Make it a habit.

The third one is "Reframe." I'm still not sure on that one. I think it means to change how you see things or change how you think of things? Obviously I missed the point on that one.

Then the last few paragraphs of the book took this new, upbeat vibe after being somewhat textbook'ish throughout. I just didn't feel it, because it felt like a bit of a contrast to the rest of the book.

So, all-in-all, it was an interesting read that made some sense to me. I'll think about it, I'm sure.

I'm glad I got it for under $5, though.

There was a bit of swearing in this book.

Beyond This Moment (Tamera Alexander)

Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the ebook library. (See previous post)

Ahhhhh… I just really like these books. This Kindle edition had some weird formatting here and there, but other than that small distraction from time to time, I was just sucked into the story.

I should be embarrassed that I read the whole book in the last day, but I did do housework in between chapters. I just wish the third book was available to borrow right now. (I'm #6 on the list with only one book! That means it could be weeks until it's available. Argh!)

Clean, although it deals with some moral issues that are handled in a Christian context.

From a Distance (Tamera Alexander)

Why I have this book: I put this whole series on hold on the ebook library after reading another series by the author a couple of weeks ago.

I loved this book. To be honest, I almost stopped reading it a little bit in... it just wasn't grabbing my interest. But I kept going for a while longer, and then I was committed. I really, really liked the three main characters and their interactions. It put a smile on my face... unless, of course, it was a more intense/sad part of the book. :)

So happy that as I checked my email after finishing this book, I saw the notification that the 2nd book in the series is now available to borrow. Perfect timing.

I appreciated the details in this book, and I also enjoyed the author's note at the end.

One sentence made me chuckle. If I wasn't loving the book so much, I'd probably get annoyed by what seems to me to be an editing issue, but instead it just made me laugh: "The statement caught her off guard. She frowned, smiling. "Why?"

Is it possible to frown and smile at the same time? Lol. I actually tried, but I couldn't make it work. Haha... I still chuckle a bit every time I read that sentence...

This Christian historical fiction/romance is clean, though there are emotional and difficult subjects involved in the story. 

ETA: If I'm remembering correctly, there is the use of the "n" word more than once, as racism is also part of the storyline. I'm writing this 11 days later, so I'm hoping I've got the right book!

Unsung Lullaby (Josi S. Kilpack)

Why I have this book: I had it on hold at the ebook library because Josi is one of my favorite LDS authors.

I liked this book very much. It involves infertility, repentance, consequences, forgiveness, loss, hope, marriage, faith, adoption, friendship, despair, and love.

(I think I covered it all.)

I really liked it a lot. Just saying that again.

Clean. It does cover some difficult topics, but it's all in a moral context.

Wedding Cake (Josi Kilpack)

Why I have this book: It's the last book in the Sadie Hoffmiller culinary mysteries series. I've read them all!

I'm sorry to see this 12-book series end! I've really enjoyed it, all the way through. I'm not even really a mystery fan… I get freaked out too easily. Even so, I tried the first book in this series and then kept on going.

I'm not gonna lie… this wasn't my favorite of the series. I'm sure it's hard to write the series finale, though, and have everything tie up just right while also fleshing out all the details of the mystery at hand. Don't get me wrong… it was good. I still enjoyed it. It just felt like a… finale.

I was kind of surprised by the intensity of the ending, and the Epilogue just didn't give me the satisfied *sigh* I was hoping for. Maybe that's because I was too busy trying to see what happened to one of the characters. (I never did find a reference to him in the Epilogue and I feel like I'm left hanging.)

So… that's it, then. I'm done with the series. :(

Thanks, Josi, for entertaining me for the last couple of years!

Clean. Just a bit of intensity and creepiness thrown in for good measure.