Stephanie Grace Whitson

I have to be honest. If I'd realized at the library that this book was marked as Christian fiction, I wouldn't have taken it home, because I find most overtly Christian fiction to be smarmy and insincere and I dislike being preached at.

This is a case, though, where that would have meant missing a great novel, a fictional travelogue about a woman who returns to Paris, where she'd been a foreign exchange student as a young girl, after losing her husband, and rediscovers not only romance, but her pre-marital adventuresome self.

Yes, there's relationship angst between the main character and her daughter, but there's also music, and dashing French men, and cute cafes.

And yes, there is talk of god and religion, but it's organic, and true to the characters, and didn't strike me as being preachy or smarmy at all.

I'm not sure I'm willing to read the sequel, but I quite enjoyed this book.

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Clive Woodall

If you enjoyed Watership Down chances are good that you'll like One for Sorrow, Two for Joy, as well.

Set solely among the denizens of Birddom (the world of birds that co-exists with our own), this is an epic tale of politics, romance, and the courage of a young robin named Kirrik. Pretty typically the magpies are evil, the owls are wise and ancient, and the birds in between are all, well, in between.

Enjoyable, if a little tiresome.

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Rebecca Reisert

It's The Scottish Play from the point of view of the youngest of the weird sisters, a young woman who shocks her elders by bathing twice a week, and doesn't care for robbing the dead on the battlefield. Has all the requisite romance and heroism, as well as a fairy-tale ending. Cute, but unsubstantial.

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Mary Sheepshanks

Mary Sheepshanks usually writes manor house stories laced with humor. In Off Balance, however, the humor is sadly lacking, and it ends up being an unexceptional story of relationships (mainly dysfunctional) in a country house in Scotland. Lovely scenery, depressing story.

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I say… And you think… ?

1. Girlfriends:: spa days
2. Here to stay:: our love
3. Call me:: Ishmael
4. Frustrated:: blocked
5. Public school:: system
6. Glitch:: error
7. Cheese:: cheddar
8. Director:: Cecil B.
9. Pivotal:: moment
10. Exclusive:: invitation

Like this meme? Play along here.

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The neighbor's dog has been barking its head off all night, in tones of alarm and distress, changing to a frenzied attack of the fence when Cleo explores the trough on our side. It's either a boxer or a rottweiller, with a head almost as big as Zorro's body. Hence our aversion to peeking over the fence.

I recognize that in rural places dogs are often kept outside, but even then non-stop barking would capture someone's attention. Can someone explain why suburban folk have no problem leaving their animals alone and upset, making enough noise to wake the dead?

Permalink at MissMeliss.com