This Perfectly Imperfect Life

Taken Sunday, July 7th, at our wee lakeside home. I always have such good intentions and big plans when it comes to my "Summer reading."  But, who am I kidding anymore?!  I take forever to find a book that I enjoy reading and still take more forever to finish reading it.  Not the case with the novel featured in this addition of Off The Shelf , which has been on my radar (aka to-read list) for a while now and is this month's Southern Lit Lovers group read & chat selection. The Lost Saints of Tennessee by Amy Franklin-Willis My (goodreads) rating: 5 of 5 stars From the Atlantic Monthly Press 2012 hardback edition:  (Spoilers Possible -->) "With enormous heart and dazzling agility, debut novelist Amy Franklin-Wills expertly mines the fault lines in one Southern working-class family. Driven by the soulful and intrepid voices of forty-two-year-old Ezekiel Cooper and his mother, Lillian, The Lost Saints Of Tennessee journeys from the 1940s to the 1980s ...

(Having wifi in the house again + a cold = 'command central' for today!) As most of you know already, (and for those of you who don't), I don't write traditional book reviews.  I share my reactions to a book, especially ones I've loved and enjoyed. In today's Off The Shelf , I'm sharing with you an incredible debut novel,  The Silence Of Bonaventure Arrow by Rita Leganski . My journey with Bonaventure began  here  in February and though I finished reading the novel last night, I believe the magic of Bonaventure is far from over! (**Spoilers Possible -->***) Harper Paperback (c)2012 released 2/26/13 synopsis: "Conceived in love and possibility, Bonaventure Arrow didn’t make a peep when he was born, and the doctor nearly took him for dead. No one knows Bonaventure's silence is filled with resonance - a miraculous gift of rarified hearing that encompasses the Universe of Every Single Sound. Growing up in the big house oh Christopher...

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh My rating: 5 of 5 stars Spoilers Possible! From the 2011 Ballantine Books Trade Paperback: "Acacia for secret love , daffodil for new beginnings , wisteria for welcome and camellia for my destiny is in your hands . In Victorian times, the language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions.  But for Victoria Jones, it's been more useful in communicating mistrust and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system and nowhere to go, Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them.  But an unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger has her questioning what's been missing in her life. And when she's forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it's worth ris...

Bed and Breakfast by Lois Battle My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the December group read for my Southern Lit Lovers group  on Goodreads and my nomination for the month which means I'm leading the chat! I've had this book on my living room shelf for years , tried it a couple of times & never finished, but I kept it with my Christmas books because, honestly, I adore the cover! Am I glad I held onto it! I so enjoyed this novel! At times it reminded me of other Southern family novels I've read, but that didn't take away from it. I didn't want to put it down and didn't want it to end once I got there. And ever since visiting the Charleston & Folly Beach areas of South Carolina briefly early this year, I have a better appreciation for & now enjoy novels set in SC as a whole. I also liked the fact this wasn't the usual type Christmas novel I end up reading at this time of year; it's a Southern family novel that happens to take place aro...

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum My rating: 5 of 5 stars What a Remarkable novel. One of the best I feel I've ever read. Remarkable. Disturbing. Horrifying. Painful. Utterly compelling. Shocking. Upsetting. Incredible. Remarkable. I've yet to fully gather my thoughts on it, there are so many!  I am very glad I finally read this novel. View all my reviews

The Tender Mercy of Roses by Anna Michaels My rating: 5 of 5 stars Debut novel by this author and another pleasant surprise! I'm not usually one for mysteries but again, I do love Southern novels and gave this a try based purely on the title. A side of Southern writing I'm not familiar with, woven with Native American Indian lore. Beautiful prose intertwined with a captivating plot and vivid characters. View all my reviews

The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe My rating: 5 of 5 stars What an unexpected gem of a read!  I originally picked it because I've been focusing on novels with a sense of place more like where I live to try & help me with my own writing struggles with sense of place. Yes, I live in NJ and not in a traditional shore town, but, we are right on the coast & directly across the bay from a barrier peninsula.  (I'm still not over Hurricane Irene & the area of our Northwestern NJ home (inland) was hit worse than we were here on the coast! Anyhoo...)  My Aunt loved this book so I thought it was high time to give it a try.  Plus, I love Southern novels. I didn't expect to be swept up into the story of this novel, nor did I expect it to be such a touching & emotional read.  For many this has been & would be a great 'beach read' as it's often referred to!  For me, it touched on areas very close to home ( spoiler: one of the main characters...

The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom My rating: 2 of 5 stars  I was disappointed with this read, it was not what I expected.  Very disappointed, I wanted to like this novel but just couldn't.  Too melodramatic and at times unrealistic, too contemporary (despite it being historical fiction) 'Gone With The Wind' for my tastes.  Too much in one novel about too many people facing nearly every imaginable awful hardship a human can endure at the time it takes place. Emotions are written about but I often couldn't feel them.  There was a lack of depth at times.  And I felt like so many aspects of the novel were familiar, as if I was seeing things from history, other novels and movies. It was hard at times keeping everything strait. I do not shy away from reads that deal with the issues & horrors of slavery and indentured servants but I didn't care for how this novel told those stories.    View all my reviews I am facilitating the chat on ...

Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter by Lisa Patton My rating: 3 of 5 stars Again, different than my usual contemporary southern lit read & pleasantly surprised I ended up enjoying the novel. Cute, light read. Once again also surprised that I'd like to read the follow-up! Back story as to why I bought this book earlier this month: Originally borrowed from my Aunt, I started this last year but returned it to her unfinished. (Timing is everything when it comes to a read for me!) Now that I lucked into the hardback edition for $3, (truth be told, I Love the cover!) it's one of those unfinished books haunting me so I'm determined to finish it once and for all. And I'm glad I did! View all my reviews

Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani My rating: 4 of 5 stars This was the first selection of 2012 for evening bookclub and a welcome change of pace from our many recent serious reads. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! I loved the opening paragraph and once I was into the novel, I didn't want to put it down. I'd definitely like to read the others in this series which is unusual for me. Different than most contemporary Southern reads I've read. Leaning towards the chick-lit side but not so much that it turned me off. A cute, easy read despite a few sad parts. Her descriptive writing is vivid without being fluffy or wordy and she paints a beautiful picture of the mountains in West VA and gives a great sense of place. Just the change of pace I may have needed to give my reading rut the boot once and for all! View all my reviews

Miracle On I-40 by Curtiss Ann Matlock My rating: 5 of 5 stars Summary from Goodreads.com: "A journey home to the heart . . . Lacey Bryant is the ever-hopeful waitress at Gerald's Truckstop Restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a spot that is clear across the country from her home and family in North Carolina. It has been eleven years since Lacey, pregnant and unmarried, ran away from her angry father. Now she wants to go home again. A single mother struggling to raise her own children, she longs for her father's forgiveness, her mother's sweet embrace and to share with her aging parents the grandchildren they have never seen. Cooper is every inch a Scrooge who wants no part of traveling across country with two children, but he has promised to help out a friend, and so he loads Lacey and her brood into his eighteen-wheeler and carries them along with him on his trip down Interstate 40. As the miles roll under the big truck's wheels, it turns ...

Bloodroot by Amy Greene My rating: 4 of 5 stars Incredibly intense, often sad. Despite liking it a lot, sometimes I wanted to be done with it already but I couldn't read through this one quickly nor could I put it down. Amy's writing is simply beautiful and haunting. View all my reviews

The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove: A Novel by Susan Gregg Gilmore My rating: 4 of 5 stars A very good southern read. While it revisits some common themes found in southern fiction set in the 60's and at first I found myself thinking of The Divine Secret Of The Ya Ya Sisterhood, The Secret Life of Bees and Fannie Flagg, it surprised me by finding a voice and story all its' own. View all my reviews The Shack by William P. Young My rating: 1 of 5 stars I can appreciate the loss and re-discovery of faith after suffering a life altering tragedy. I can appreciate what the shack represents. I appreciate the idea of the book as a whole. What I don't appreciate is the writing, which I didn't like and found the tone be at times patronizing/condescending and even insulting. Overall, the story didn't work for me. The fact that “interest in making it into a move” is mentioned at least twice in the last pages at the back of the book as well as on the bo...

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín My rating: 4 of 5 stars It's been an emotional read but I did like it a lot. Toibin does a fantastic job of of painting an emotional picture of what Eilis Lacey is feeling in leaving Ireland for the US and what she experiences in her first years here; I feel like I've been through this journey with her, and as parts of it were very similar to my Nana's, she will remain with me for some time. My Nana never talked in any detail about what she went through before leaving Ireland, during her journey across the sea & once she arrived here and I had hoped reading this novel would give me at least an idea of what she went through. It did more than that and at times was very difficult for me to get through but I am glad I've read it; glad for the understanding it has given me of a woman I love dearly but never fully knew. View all my reviews

Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman My rating: 5 of 5 stars An unexpected surprise of a novel! Different, eccentric, transportive. Incredible. Engrossing. Unique. Any of the 'chapters' could stand alone. A new all time favorite and now my favorite Alice Hoffman novel. View all my reviews

The Rock Orchard: A Novel by Paula Wall My rating: 5 of 5 stars An off-beat and sometimes racy (sexy) Southern read; one of the best southern novels I've read to date. More real, earthy and gritty, less sugar sweet and cliched than many southern reads. These characters will linger with me. (If you offend easily when it comes to 'sexy' stuff or sometimes colorful language, it may not be the read for you!) View all my reviews

Bitter cold, quiet, dark, beautiful, dangerous. Winter. Feeling even more appreciative of our warm home as an frigid air mass has settled over the region dropping our temps into the single digits (or just above) and wind chills well below zero. Our coldest temps since 2005 says the weatherman. I don't mind honestly. (And I know few feel as I do!) I'm enjoying being present in this Winter season and don't have the desire to look ahead for Spring. I'm happy where I am. While Hubby was out with one of the nephews, I spent a cozy day at home. I looked at one thing that needed to be done & did it instead of looking at All that needs to be done and getting overwhelmed so I purged and re-organized the kitchen cabinets this morning along with texting with two of my girlfriends. I accepted my limitations and went to rest on the couch early this afternoon. I had hoped to do a little reading (the novel is pictured above) but I didn't get very far before falling...

A Christmas Carol/The Chimes/The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens My rating: 4 of 5 stars A Christmas Carol is a delightful & vivid read for this time of year and I am very glad I've finally read the entire story. It starts as a moody tale which gets lighter as it moves along but never loses its' engrossing hold. A story which draws me in and lets me see & hear its setting in my minds eye is a great one for me. Dickens is an author I will continue to read throughout my days. View all my reviews

Winter Bloom by Tara Heavey My rating: 5 of 5 stars Top read of 2010 for me. Beautifully and brilliantly written, enchanted me right from the start. As I neared the end, I didn't want it to end. Touched on several subjects close to my heart and on area's I didn't expect. Inspirational and truly heart warming. A definite re-read in the future. View all my reviews

The Christmas Cookie Club by Ann Pearlman My rating: 3 of 5 stars (3.5 stars) Kept my interest though to the end, not as fluffy as one might assume given the title. It wandered for me a little from the middle to just before the end. Overall a good read. View all my reviews