Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

This meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. Hope you enjoy reading what I’m up to this week!

On my TBR List:

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Book Summary:
From the author of The History Boys and The Clothes They Stood Up In

A deliciously funny novella that celebrates the pleasure of reading. When the Queen in pursuit of her wandering corgis stumbles upon a mobile library  she feels duty bound to borrow a book. Aided by Norman, a young man from the palace kitchen who frequents the library, Bennett describes the Queen’s transformation as she discovers the liberating pleasures of the written word. With the poignant and mischievous wit of The History Boys, England’s best loved author revels in the power of literature to change even the most uncommon reader’s life.

My thoughts:  Not quite what I had expected or hoped. I’ll be reviewing this in-depth later today or possibly tomorrow. We’ll see how the day goes.

Nature Girl by Carl Hisaasen

Book Summary:
Honey Santana—impassioned, willful, possibly bipolar, self-proclaimed “queen of lost causes”—has a scheme to help rid the world of irresponsibility, indifference, and dinnertime sales calls. She’s taking rude, gullible Relentless, Inc., telemarketer Boyd Shreave and his less-than-enthusiastic mistress, Eugenie—the fifteen-minute-famous girlfriend of a tabloid murderer—into the wilderness of Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands for a gentle lesson in civility. What she doesn’t know is that she’s being followed by her Honey-obsessed former employer, Piejack (whose mismatched fingers are proof that sexual harassment in the workplace is a bad idea). And he doesn’t know he’s being followed by Honey’s still-smitten former drug-running ex-husband, Perry, and their wise-and-protective-way-beyond-his-years twelve-year-old-son, Fry. And when they all pull up on Dismal Key, they don’t know they’re intruding on Sammy Tigertail, a half white–half Seminole failed alligator wrestler, trying like hell to be a hermit despite the Florida State coed who’s dying to be his hostage . . .

Will Honey be able to make a mensch of a “greedhead”? Will Fry be able to protect her from Piejack—and herself? Will Sammy achieve his true Seminole self? Will Eugenie ever get to the beach? Will the Everglades survive the wild humans? All the answers are revealed in the delectably outrageous mayhem that propels this novel to its Hiaasen-of-the-highest-order climax.

My thoughts: Still only on page 75. Too early to tell, but it’s reminding me of another book I read recently, Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore. Lots of disjointed storylines that I assume will tie together nicely at the end.

The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg

Book Summary:
It begins with the sudden revelation of astonishing secrets—secrets that have shaped the personalities and fates of three siblings, and now threaten to tear them apart. In renowned author Elizabeth Berg’s moving new novel, unearthed truths force one seemingly ordinary family to reexamine their disparate lives and to ask themselves: Is it too late to mend the hurts of the past?

Laura Bartone anticipates her annual family reunion in Minnesota with a mixture of excitement and wariness. Yet this year’s gathering will prove to be much more trying than either she or her siblings imagined. As soon as she arrives, Laura realizes that something is not right with her sister. Forever wrapped up in events of long ago, Caroline is the family’s restless black sheep. When Caroline confronts Laura and their brother, Steve, with devastating allegations about their mother, the three have a difficult time reconciling their varying experiences in the same house. But a sudden misfortune will lead them all to face the past, their own culpability, and their common need for love and forgiveness.

My thoughts: I’m listening to this one on audio. I’m coming to the conclusion that I just don’t like audio books. The past two that I’ve listened to I’ve had issues with the voice of the narrator. Same thing is happening here. I love Elizabeth Berg’s writing, and I’m sure if I was reading this I’d love it a lot more. I’ll withhold my total judgement until I finish the audiobook. Four more CDs to go!

Reading For Review:

Searching for Julia Stone by Deborah Monk

Book Summary:
The hardest truth to face is the one inside…

Throughout her life, Julia Stone has used her passion for dancing as communication between her body and soul to express her feelings about life and her place in the scheme of things. But what happens when you lose touch with the one thing that once made you whole?

To everyone who knows her, Julia Stone appears to live the picture-perfect life. She owns a successful dance studio, enjoys the love of a much younger and sexy man, and bursts with pride over her beautiful teenage daughter. But inside Julia is falling apart. Hiding a terrible secret and fighting self-hatred, Julia faces a huge personal crisis. Can she overcome the demons from her past, forgive herself and save the important relationships in her life? Or will her painful secret rip her world apart.

Searching for Julia Stone chronicles Julia’s search for the answers to these questions, and her coming to terms with who she was, who she is, and who she hopes to become.

My thoughts: About halfway done with this one. I waver between liking the character wanting to strangle her. So … obviously torn.

Finished:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney

I reviewed this yesterday – check out my post here.

Next up:

Not sure! My next review e-book is called “The Vanity Game” and I know nothing about it. I also have a couple of hard copy books for review. I think my next one is called “Tempo Thompson and the Deadly Mountain.” Hope it’s a good one!

As far as what I’ll choose next from my TBR pile, it could be anything. I have probably about 50 at home to choose from. I have a weird system in place of choosing. In the basement I have some TBRs on a shelf that I got either from Borders’ going-out-of-business sale or from my mom. My mom is a big historical fiction fan and most of what she gives me fall into that category. I like to “get those over with” so to speak, because I’m not really into historical fiction, and because every time I talk to her, she asks me if I’ve read them. So I’ll probably choose one of those. Maybe “Lincoln” will be my next read, as that movie is coming out soon.

That’s it for this Monday! Off to see what others are checking out this week and to get ideas for my TBR pile!