Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

This is the story of the Dashwood sisters: the logical Elinor (sense) and the emotional Marianne (sensibility). I actually listened to this novel on audio, and the narrator was so good it was difficult to stop listening to get anything else done.  Austen draws us into the world of Regency England, where women are looking [...]

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

Jennifer Weiner’s newest novel tells the story of Addie, a 33-year-old greeting card illustrator–for years a fat girl in a thin world. Her best friend Valerie from childhood, whom she hasn’t seen in years,  shows up at her door one night, and leads  Addie into a bizarre adventure. Weiner really nails the feelings of anyone [...]

Hungry Woman in Paris by Josefina Lopez

In Hungry Woman in Paris, the main character, Canela, feels she has lost her mojo (“la dolce vita”). She skips out on her fiance, her family, and her uninspiring career as a journalist to enroll in a culinary institute in Paris. The stimulus for this inspiring change was her close cousin Luna’s suicide. Still haunted [...]

In Her Own Sweet Time by Rachel Lehmann-Haupt

After reading this book, I felt like singing that old Maurice Chevalier tune, “I’m  Glad I’m Not Young Anymore.” The author takes us through her enigmatic journey looking for a lifelong partner and would-be parent in a rather laissez-faire world (the man’s world). Yes, today’s women do it all– career, travel, and self-fulfillment–but often at [...]

My Remarkable Journey by Larry King

I liked this book. It was an easy, enjoyable, and funny read. It brought back so many wonderful memories of the times in which we lived, the many interviews Larry had (some of which we saw and some of which we wish we had seen). How surprising that a kid from Brooklyn grew into such [...]

Pandora’s Daughter by Iris Johansen

Suspenseful–always another surprise around the corner. Interesting take on psychic gifts, and how there are always those who seek to destroy what they don’t understand. Good pool or beach read. Cherry Hill Library Patron PM

Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

As always, Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum bounty hunter books are a laugh out loud, hold your sides to keep them from splitting fun time. The fact that they take place right around the corner in Trenton NJ  and Evanovich pokes fun at the Garden State adds to the reading pleasure. A great read when you [...]

A Purrfect Romance by Jennifer Blake, Robin Lee, & Susan Wiggs

An enjoyable light read. Each of the three stories was quite different, but all had to do with a feline–a panther in one, an angel housecat in the second, and a feral cat in the third story. Good undemanding stories for the beach or pool. Cherry Hill Library Patron PM

The Third Tower Up from the Road by Kevin Dolgin

If you get nothing else out of this book, at least you will now be aware of the gloriously quirky website, “McSweeny’s Internet Tendency,” from which this collection was culled. The column that the author writes for the aforementioned site, “Kevin Dolgin Tells You About Places You Should Go,” is filled with interesting pieces about [...]

Tide, Feather, Snow: A Life in Alaska by Miranda Weiss

A book for nature lovers and armchair adventurers, this memoir of the author’s first years in Alaska is filled with the observances of the newly smitten.  An Easterner, Weiss heads to Alaska to make a life with a man she fell in love with. Alaska is not for the faint-hearted: the weather is harsh and [...]