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...

So far, 2013 has been a diverse and fulfilling reading year! I've since finished four books after The Language of Flowers (which I finished back in January, click here for my reaction) and now it's time to catch up on them with y'all! (Spoilers are likely, so proceed at your own risk!) Let's start with The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot: 5 of 5 stars. From the BroadwayPaperbacks/Publisher paperback edition : "Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells - taken without her knowledge in 1951 - became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and more. Henrietta's cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can't afford health insurance. This phenomenal New York Times bestseller tells a riveting story of the collision between ethics, race, and med...

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...