And the Winners Are...

Spring will soon be here and that means our Annual Warm Reads Event has once again come to a close. Thank you to all of you that contributed to the blog! I hope you enjoyed the reviews posted here and that they inspired you to try some new authors or genres. I know I've discovered new authors thanks to all of you. I've also really enjoyed hearing the thoughts and comments about our new blog that you've shared with me during your library visits.

Please feel free to continue to send your reviews online through the review form on the right. We'll continue to post them. I look forward to hearing about the books you've enjoyed.

Winners of our Warm Reads Raffles over the past weeks include:
Susan Birchman
Helen Lynch
K McDwyer
Joanne Pinello Kaley
Helen Meurs
Rosemary Ragonese
Susan Abolafia
Eileen Cuneo
Elaine Light

Our Grand Prize Winners were:
Judy Acocella
Aimee Heinly
Judy Rosenfeld

Congratulations to our winners!

The Bloody Tower by Carola Dunn

This book is excellent for lovers of cozy mysteries and history. Daisy is one of those people who stumble over bodies with amazing regularity. Since the story is set in the Tower of London in 1925, she still reacts like a lady was expected to when presented with a distressing scene. However, she is a thinker and likes to figure out the puzzle of what happened. Her Scotland Yard detective husband would of course prefer that Daisy stayed out of it but she never does, and it is Daisy who ultimately figures out the murderer. I have enjoyed all of the Daisy Dalrymple mysteries by Carola Dunn. They are entertaining and amusing and just delightful and they never disappoint me.

~Submitted by Karen

America America by Ethan Canin

An Audiobook Review

This is a superbly written story; read
so convincingly by Robertson Dean, that
I felt I was actually hearing the voice
of the main character as he describes
his life events, thoughts and feelings.
Canin's writing is philosophical in nature,
with the main characters pondering many
of the common and not-so-common
experiences in their everyday lives.

The story begins in the 1940s in a
working-class town.  It then follows two particular families.
The first is hard-working and smart, although financially
very modest.  The second, in contrast, is extremely wealthy
and philanthropic heirs to the town's founder. The tale focuses
on the son of the first family, and how his character develops
through involvement with the wealthy and politically savvy
second family; always with the backdrop of his parents
externally simple, but always thought-provoking lives.

The story line is interesting, building up to a climax during
the Vietnam years.  But as good as the plot is, it is the
narrative of a man's life and the forming of his character
that continually held my interest.  The main and secondary
characters are all unique and note-worthy; contrasting and
complimenting one another in such a way as to create a
compelling story. Extremely well-written; a very-good read.

~Submitted by Elaine

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

I just finished reading Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and I absolutely LOVED this story. I have read practically all of Austen's novels and I love the stories and the characters. I have always wondered what it would be like to have lived during the Regency-era and find my own Mr. Darcy. This novel brought to life that fantasy. Courtney, a 21st-century woman living in LA wakes up one morning and find herself in the body of another person in another era. She is now Jane Mannsfield and living in the world of Jane Austen. Rigler's debut novel tells the story of how Courtney copes with living the life of Jane, yet having no memory of Jane's experiences. Who is Barnes and was he a lover? Should she fall in love with the handsome Edgeworth? Why did Austen leave out the less romantic points of the time period - the limited personal hygiene, the tight corsets, the unprotected male seducers? But at the same time Courtney struggles with the dilemmas of Jane's life, she struggles with her own. How will she manage to return to her own life as Courtney? Will she ever find her way back or forever live her life as Jane? Well, of course I won't tell you the answers to those questions! If you love Jane Austen, I would definitely recommend Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.

~Submited by Samantha C.

Sweet Love by Sarah Strohmeyer

The story of a single mom in her 40s, her reunion with the long lost love of her teenage years and her relationship with her mother combined with lots of talk of scrumptiously delicious desserts and some Shakespearean references. Sound interesting, doesn't it? I thought so, too. Unfortunately, the characters seemed one-dimensional and I had a hard time coming to care about them. The plot also seemed contrived and even filled with extraneous characters in some points. The best part was the detailed discussions of all the amazing desserts. All this aside, I stuck with it until the end, as I always seem to, and thought it wrapped up "sweetly".

~Submitted by Lisa

Rules of Deception by Christopher Reich

An Audiobook Review

This was read by Paul Michael who was an excelelnt reader. This book had it all: great locals, primarily in Switzerland, suspenseful story with many twists and turns. I loved that I was not able to figure out the plot twists. Definitely a "pageturner." As the story unfolded I was always with the protagnoist, never discovering anything until he did.

~Submitted by Joanne

I know this warm and wonderful book will be among the best, if not the best, that I will have read for the next few years. Historical fiction, it is set in the present day in London and involves a writer corresponding with the inhabitants of the Channel Islands off Great Britain through a series of letters. The letters recount what life was like during the Nazi occupation of this island during WWII. I learned so much about what the War years were like for those living on the Island during at that time (something I always really appreciate in a story). The depth of character of the letters writers brings the author to the Islands to meet its inhabitants and the story continues. A beautiful tapestry of past and present is the result.

The story has everything a good story should contain. Humor, as the book title suggests, a reflection on the depth (or lack of it) of the human spirit as displayed by the voice of each letter, alongside the poignancy, pain, and beauty of life during the war years and in the present day. An added dividend for those who enjoy listening to their books, as I do, is that different persons read for different characters. A true bonus, indeed, as the characters are portrayed much more realistically this way. This book gets a solid A++, a must read. Enjoy!

PS - For those of you who have enjoyed 84 Charing Cross Road, (also made into a movie with Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins), this book is similar in many significant aspects. For those of you that haven't read the book or seen the movie, I heartily recommend both.

~ Submitted by Elaine