Thanks to Jennifer McMahon and her novel Promise Not to Tell, I now have even less desire to ever venture out into the woods at night. Or follow child-sized footprints in the snow. Or eat a potato.
This was our book club's read for the month of November. I actually finished one, on time! This is our second book pick from author Jennifer McMahon. We typically go with something suspenseful this time of year. The favorite still seems to be The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield.
Back to the book... I am, once again, disappointed in how the author ties up the suspenseful ending. I was really put out by the first book we read, Don't Breathe a Word. I loved it until the ending began to pan out. What a disappointment. The plot just sort of fell apart, too many questions were left unanswered and principal characters were just sort of flung to the wayside - when there really should have been some better resolution - especially when it came to the Faerie King. The last few lines of the book, though, were awesome. This current book was a better read, overall. The plot line was more realistic and followed the classic formula for whodunit. But the ending... seriously? I liked every aspect but the channeling-the-spirit-of-the-Potato-Girl part. That just ruined it for me. I'm not sure I will continue on with the other titles.. maybe. It is good suspense, and a nice break from chick-lit.
I also promised, long ago, that I would say a word about Kathleen Grissom's The Kitchen House. This was a difficult book to read because I don't really care for the subject matter - it is painful and depressing to read about slavery and how difficult daily life must have been. But. One should also never forget the past, and we need to constantly remind ourselves that we need to act like decent human beings and treat everyone with respect and dignity. Now this book certainly had that satisfying, plausible ending. It always feels good when the underdog comes out winning.
I also finished.... drum roll please?!...... Watermelon! Yeah for me! I started it in June. Life just sort of grabbed away any down time, and squeezing in reading time has been a challenge. This was my first book of the Walsh Family series, and I really enjoyed it. I love Marian Keyes' thinking-out-loud writing style - so witty and off-the-cuff. And brash. LOVE that. I also love that Claire got her man. I think that I had a hard time getting through it because it brought up some painful memories for me (about a cheating husband who leaves...) and I appreciated how Claire worked through that - even after all these years it helped me put some of my own experiences into perspective.
Good reads, overall.
I currently have The Brightest Star in the Sky, by Marian Keyes, and One Hundred Names for Love, by Diane Ackerman on my bedside table. Nothing is currently in the Kindle. I have been meaning to check out a way to get stuff from the library onto the Kindle, but I haven't looked into it yet. I love it, I just need to use it more.
One of the best reading tools I've found of late is the app called ReadMore by Navel Labs. I've been using it for about a year now. It tracks your reading time, number of pages you have read, your progress through the book, and projects how long it will take you to finish. I like that it records when I read a book - because I can't seem to remember otherwise. Great app - check it out!
