Tsjmom's Book List

[tsjmom]

1. 'The Sparks Fly Upward' - D. Norman
2. 'And Only to Deceive' - T. Alexander
3. 'The House on Tradd Street' - K. White
4. 'Toujours Provence' - P. Mayle
5. 'The Serpent Garden' - J. Merkle Riley
6. "The Insiders" - C. Hickman
7. 'The Reader'
8. 'The Tender Bar' - JR Moehringer
9. 'Outlander' - D. Gabaldon
10. 'To Dance with Kings' - R. Laker
11. 'The House at Riverton' - K. Morton
12. 'Snowflower and the Secret Fan' -L. See
13. 'Dragonfly in Amber' - D. Gabaldon
14. 'Foreign Tongue' - V. Marsot
15. 'Madame Bovary' - G. Flaubert
15. 'The Secret Life of Bees' - S. Monk
16. 'The Seduction of the Crimson Rose' - L. Willig
17. 'Night' - E. Wiesel
18. 'Mistress of the Sun' - S. Gulland
19. 'A Poisoned Season' - T. Alexander
20. 'Game of Patience' - S. Alleyn
21. 'Emilie's Voice' - S. Dunlap
22. 'A Game of Spies' - J. Altman
23. 'Into a Paris Quartier' - D. Johnson
24. 'In a Dark Wood Wandering' - H. Hasse
25. 'The Wednesday Sisters' - M. Waite Clayton
26. 'The Rose Grower' - M/ de Kretser
27. 'The Linz Testament' - L. Perdue
28. 'Silent in the Grave' - D. Raybourn
29. 'Charlotte Gray' - S. Faulks
30. 'The Temptation of the Night Jasmine' - L. Willig
31. 'A Far Better Rest' - S. Alleyn
32. 'Sarah's Key' - T. de Rosnay
33. 'Cavalier of the Apocalypse' - S. Alleyn
34. 'Queen from Provence' - J. Plaidy
35. '27' - W. Diehaus
36. 'The Help' - K. Stockett
37. 'Figures in Silk'
38. 'By Honor Bound' - H. Rosburg
39. 'The Dead of Winter' - R. Airth
40. 'The Big Steal' - E. Jenkins
41. 'Gardener to the King'
42. 'A Gathering of Spies' - J. Altman
43. 'The Devil's Queen' - J. Kalogridis
44. 'Blame It On Paris' - L. Florand
45. 'Where Eagles Dare' - A. MacLean
46. 'Death in the Garden' - E. Ironside
47. 'Bluebird, or The Invention of Happiness' - S. Kohler
48. 'Green Darkness' - A. Seton
49. 'Sobs of Autumn's Violins' - A.R. Homer
50. 'Daughters of Silk' - L. L. Chaiken

[LoisAnn]

And so ... ??? What did you think of Sparks Fly Upward ... ???

[tsjmom]

Sorry LoisAnn getting back to you so late. I hadn't added a book to my list. I actually read 3 books halfway thru but just couldn't get in to any of them.

I really liked SFU. I'd give it a 4/5. I like that there were strong female characters, the suspense of the Terror. I know I'm in the minority here, but reading stories about English gentility and their parties (ie Jane Austen :O) is quite boring to me.

[Leyland]

What did you think about Tradd Street? I really enjoyed Karen White's The Color of Light, especially since I grew up around Pawleys Island. I couldn't get all the way through her Pieces of the Heart though. I have The Memory of Water and have hesitated to start it. Tradd Street looks good -maybe as good as Color of Light.

[tsjmom]

I have to say I really liked Tradd Street. There's a follow up with the two main characters due summer 2009. I liked the history and the eeriness of the ghosts. It was something different for me from my MIL. It was a fast read, and I enjoying trying to figure out the ending in suspense novels. 4/5.

I'll check out COL, thanks for the rec.

[tsjmom]

I made myself finish The Serpent Garden (2/5) just b/c I've started a couple of books recently, got half way thru, was disappointed/no into it, and didn't finish them.

All I have to say is TSG is WEEEEEIRD :X What the heck was she on when she wrote this?

Now I need a really great book to redeem this one.

[tsjmom]

So I reread 'To Dance with Kings'. It'd be 17 yrs so I figured that was an acceptable length of time between reads ;) I had a gc to Borders and decided that since I loved this book so much I should have it in my permanent collection.

It was great to read again b/c I completely forgot the first third of the book (the part that centers around Margeurite). Highly recommend :)

[tsjmom]

Didn't think I would based on the time in history, but have to say I really liked 'Outlander'. My DH would probably like the fighting and clan scenes, but I think what really drew me into it was the very real and deep love between Jamie and Claire. I'm a hopeless romantic!

[diamondlil]

It is such a great book!

[tsjmom]

I'd give 'The House at Riverton' 4.5/5!! Taking a little off because it was a little drawn out, especially the first half. I was relieved that it wasn't as eery as some other novels I've read based on this time period (late Victorian to WW2) like The 13th Tale.

It was an easy read with suspense thrown in. Highly recommend!

[tsjmom]

I forced myself to finish Dragonfly in Amber. After they came back from France it was just toooo slow for me until the end (battle).

[MLE]

Dragonfly in Amber is where the whole series got stuck for me. There they sit on my shelf, all fat and paid for, but despite all the rave reviews (including my daughter) I can't seem to make myself finish that snoozer of a sequel.

[tsjmom]

Once again, I forced myself to finish a book - 'Madame Bovary'. I'll admit the last 100 pgs were scanned. It takes place in my beloved France, so how could I not like it? Boring, boring boring!

On the flip side, 'Secret Life of Bees' was lovely. Although some of the issues were sad, the way it's written was hopeful and warm. I just wanted to give Lily a big hug.

[tsjmom]

Re: The Seduction of the Crimson Rose', who the heck was the 'Crimson Rose' in the novel? Was it supposed to be Vaughn, or Mary? Pretty unclear whom ever it was supposed to be.

Sadly, none of her follow up novels have been nearly as good as the 'Pink Carnation'. They are all rather obvious. Will that stop me from reading them? Nope ;)

[tsjmom]

No surprise, this Francophile loved 'Mistress of the Sun'! Although the first 100 pgs were a little slow, once Louise went to Blois I found the details very interesting. I also learned a few new things about life in the court of Louis XIV.

[tsjmom]

I loved 'In a Dark Wood Wandering'!!! How could I ever have missed a HF about France for so long? It gave me insight into 1400s France (which I didn't know anything about) and a time when kings and princes actually had to battle for their places. Highly recommend - 4.5/5. (The part when Charles d'Orleans is in England slows it down)

[tsjmom]

I read 100 pgs of 'The Lacemaker' and just couldn't see reading the rest (500 pgs total). It was so slow and depressing.

[tsjmom]

I know 'The Wednesday Sisters' isn't exactly HF, but a friend gave it to me. I found it heartwarming and cozy. How I wish I had a group of friends who'd shave their heads for me. It was interesting (I really mean appalling) to read what women's lives/rights were like in the 1960s, not to mention health care. To this day I still can't believe or understand why every single person doesn't have the same exact rights.

[tsjmom]

I was going to give 'The Rose Grower' 2/5 simply b/c it was soooo sloooow. It had a good concept but was pretty boring giving all the minute details. After the ending, though, I'll give it a 3/5. The ending was exciting, unexpected, and with the times, so much that it salvaged the novel for me.

[tsjmom]

I highly rec The Linz Testament. 5/5. Although I wish it had focused more of the story during WW2, it's exciting, fast-paced, and suspenseful. I definitely like DH would enjoy it. The ending is a bit unrealistic and there are a whole lot of dead bodies, but all in all a fun read!

[tsjmom]

Wow. I am speechless after reading 'Sarah's Key' in one nite (up until 1 am). Rarely have I ever been so engrossed with a book that I absolutely could not put it down. It's haunting, moving, sad, horrific, typically things that would not draw me to a novel. I try to escape reality, but SK is so powerful and touching that it captured me heart and soul.

Please RUN, do not walk, to get 'Sarah's Key'.

[tsjmom]

Try as I might, I just couldn't do it. I thought I was intelligent. Maybe it's all the bleach I've put on my hair over the years. I don't know, but I just couldn't read, much less understand, 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog'. Way too much psycho babble, depressing thoughts, negativity, and hoity toity language for me:rolleyes:

So I'll admit it now: I'm a light weight reader and proud of it:D. I like action, romance, mystery, and happy endings in my HF!

[Miss Moppet]

Try as I might, I just couldn't do it. I thought I was intelligent. Maybe it's all the bleach I've put on my hair over the years. I don't know, but I just couldn't read, much less understand, 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog'. Way too much psycho babble, depressing thoughts, negativity, and hoity toity language for me:rolleyes:

So I'll admit it now: I'm a light weight reader and proud of it:D. I like action, romance, mystery, and happy endings in my HF!

Or maybe the Hedgehog just wasn't a very good book. Just because a book is pegged as literary fiction doesn't actually mean it is any good.

This one has been on my radar and I intend reading it sometime but I'm not expecting that much.

[tsjmom]

MM, let me know what you think about it. It appears to have won some awards and been a bestseller in France. I just couldn't get into it or care about the characters.

[tsjmom]

Well, another unfinished book added to my 'Can't Finish' pile - 'Loyalties', about spies during WW2. I read 180/450 pgs, but that was over almost 2 wks. I never got into it or the whiney @ss characters.

[tsjmom]

I really liked 'By Honor Bound'. I mean, why wouldn't I? It has decadence, romance, history, tragedy, Chenonceau and Versailles, nobility - it just doesn't get much more perfect for me ;) It's a 5/5 for me!

[tsjmom]

I'm on a roll with the last 3 novels I've read - loved them!!

The Devil's Queen told Catherine de Medici's story thru her own perspective. It's an interesting take, but I'm not buying it.

Blame It On Paris, although not HF, was one of the most enjoyable books I've read. Not only does it tell the author's story of falling in love with a NICE Frenchman and the marrying of 2 cultures/families, but it does so with such great DRY humor. She has a gift for writing.

[tsjmom]

'Where Eagle Dare' gets a 3/5. I really liked all the twists and turns, and there are a lot of them. However, the total implausibility of a few of these spies constantly able to defy the odds was just too ridiculous to tolerate. I mean, is a handful of agents really going to be able to break into the Gestapo's HQs? Can someone with a broken hand really hang on to the roof of an icy cable car at a 45 degree angle for hundreds of feet?

IMO this novel could have been so much better if it had been more realistic.