Tag: garden spells

WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesdays—July 20, 2011

Posted on by Dana

WWW WednesdaysTo play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

I’m currently reading a book my mother passed on to me called [amazon_link id=”B000BLNPIW” target=”_blank” ]More Than You Know[/amazon_link] by Beth Gutcheon. It was published over a decade ago, and I think she found it at a library or paperback book sale. I’m over 1/3 the way in, and it’s really good so far: New England setting (love those), ghosts, and an ax murder that has a familiar Lizzie Borden taint. I hadn’t actually heard of this book or seen it mentioned on book blogs. Let’s bring it back! I’ll save more for my review.

This week, I finished reading [amazon_link id=”055338483X” target=”_blank” ]Garden Spells[/amazon_link] (review) and [amazon_link id=”0553384848″ target=”_blank” ]The Sugar Queen[/amazon_link] (review) by Sarah Addison Allen since my last WWW Wednesdays update. Both of them were very enjoyable, but I liked Garden Spells better. I will probably read the rest of Allen’s books. It’s fun to find a new author you like.

The next book I read will probably be [amazon_link id=”B001P3OLEM” target=”_blank” ]Burning Bright[/amazon_link] by Tracy Chevalier. She’s another author I enjoy, and this is one of only two books of hers that I haven’t read, the other being [amazon_link id=”B000234N76″ target=”_blank” ]Falling Angels[/amazon_link]. Also, how did I not know that Tracy Chevalier was on Twitter? Followed. If I don’t read Burning Bright next, I’m not sure what I’ll read, but I have a huge TBR pile, and I daresay if you are at all interested, you’ll find out what book I pick next soon enough. 😉

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Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen

Posted on by Dana

[amazon_image id=”055338483X” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” class=”alignleft”]Garden Spells (Bantam Discovery)[/amazon_image]Sarah Addison Allen’s first novel [amazon_link id=”055338483X” target=”_blank” ]Garden Spells[/amazon_link] is the story of Claire and Sydney Waverley, two sisters from Bascom, North Carolina. The Waverleys are odd. Claire seems to be able to influence the moods and attitudes of people who eat the food she caters, and she’s become a wildly popular caterer as a result. Sydney is restless and wild. She left Bascom right after high school to run away from her Waverley heritage, but returns ten years later with her daughter Bay after escaping an abusive relationship. The two sisters must reconcile their pasts and open their hearts to the possibilities of their present and future.

Allen’s books won’t appeal to everyone. Like [amazon_link id=”0553807226″ target=”_blank” ]The Peach Keeper[/amazon_link], Garden Spells strains at credulity with magical realism and a hint of witchcraft—perhaps even more so than The Peach Keeper, but in the context of the story, it seems to make sense. I liked all of the characters, particularly Evanelle, a Waverley relation who has strange urges to give objects to people, and the objects always prove useful later. I really liked the apple tree in the backyard, too—if you eat an apple from the tree, it will show you the most significant moment of your life, and for that reason, the Waverleys tend to avoid the fruit and bury the apples it drops before wayward townspeople can sneak into the garden and eat because after all, who wants to find out what the most significant moment of your life will be? That’s dangerous.

This is a fun summer read. It’s light and funny and captures the setting and characters. I do love a book with great characters. I’m a Sarah Addison Allen fan for sure after two great books in a row. You will not find writing that takes your breath away, but you will find a solid story with great characters to love.

Rating: ★★★★★

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WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesdays—July 13, 2011

Posted on by Dana

WWW WednesdaysTo play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

I just started reading Sarah Addison Allen’s first novel, [amazon_link id=”055338483X” target=”_blank” ]Garden Spells[/amazon_link], which I obtained through PaperBackSwap. I am enjoying it as much as I did [amazon_link id=”0553807226″ target=”_blank” ]The Peach Keeper[/amazon_link] so far. I’m convinced I just don’t read paperbacks as fast I read Kindle books, though. I have a nonfiction book going on my Kindle—[amazon_link id=”1439170916″ target=”_blank” ]The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer[/amazon_link] by Siddhartha Mukherjee. So far, it’s fascinating. It reads almost like a thriller novel, or at least the first five percent has done so. Mukherjee described how leukemia was discovered and treated many years ago. I can already tell it will be a five-star read only a few chapters in.

I recently finished Jennifer Donnelly’s “Rose” trilogy: [amazon_link id=”0312378025″ target=”_blank” ]The Tea Rose[/amazon_link] (review), [amazon_link id=”1401307469″ target=”_blank” ]The Winter Rose[/amazon_link] (review), and [amazon_link id=”1401301045″ target=”_blank” ]The Wild Rose[/amazon_link] (review). Very enjoyable reading, and I discovered that Jenners read them, too, and you can read her review, too.

I think next I’ll read Sarah Addison Allen’s [amazon_link id=”0553384848″ target=”_blank” ]The Sugar Queen[/amazon_link], which I also obtained from PaperBackSwap. Aside from that book, I’m not sure. I have a few interesting books coming via PaperBackSwap: [amazon_link id=”0452289661″ target=”_blank” ]Burning Bright[/amazon_link] by Tracy Chevalier, [amazon_link id=”B000V5WH7S” target=”_blank” ]All the King’s Men[/amazon_link] by Robert Penn Warren (which I am reading for my challenge), and [amazon_link id=”1400031702″ target=”_blank” ]The Secret History[/amazon_link] by Donna Tartt. I might want to save the Tartt for the R.I.P. Challenge—would it fit, anyone who has read it? I am thinking I probably will save Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs for the R.I.P. Challenge, much as I want to read it now.

What about you? What are you reading?

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WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesdays—July 6, 2011

Posted on by Dana

WWW WednesdaysTo play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

I am reading the second novel in Jennifer Donnelly’s trilogy, [amazon_link id=”1401307469″ target=”_blank” ]The Winter Rose[/amazon_link]. I am enjoying it so far. Not as many of the plot points turn on coincidence (which was a weakness of [amazon_link id=”0312378025″ target=”_blank” ]The Tea Rose[/amazon_link]), so it has more of an air of plausibility. It’s still fun, but I like the characters profiled in the first book better.

I did just recently finish The Tea Rose (review). I also recently finished Dexter Palmer’s [amazon_link id=”B003A7I2PU” target=”_blank” ]The Dream of Perpetual Motion[/amazon_link] (review). Really enjoyed the former, but not the latter.

The next book I plan to read is [amazon_link id=”1401301045″ target=”_blank” ]The Wild Rose[/amazon_link], the third and final installment of Donnelly’s trilogy. I have a galley copy on my Kindle. After that one, I’m not sure what will be next. Maybe Sarah Addison Allen’s [amazon_link id=”0553384848″ target=”_blank” ]The Sugar Queen[/amazon_link] and [amazon_link id=”055338483X” target=”_blank” ]Garden Spells[/amazon_link], which are on their way to me courtesy of PaperBackSwap.

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Friday Finds

Friday Finds—July 1, 2011

Posted on by Dana

Friday FindsJuly already? Really? My summer is going to be gone in the blink of an eye (sigh).

I managed to find a few interesting looking books this week. I claimed [amazon_link id=”055338483X” target=”_blank” ]Garden Spells[/amazon_link] and [amazon_link id=”0553384848″ target=”_blank” ]The Sugar Queen[/amazon_link] by Sarah Addison Allen on PaperBackSwap, and they should be arriving in my mailbox shortly.

I think [amazon_link id=”1439167397″ target=”_blank” ]The Map of Time[/amazon_link] by Félix J. Palma crossed my radar some time ago, but I hadn’t added it to my to-read list yet. It’s there now. Looks like fun.

Did you discover any interesting books this week?

[amazon_image id=”055338483X” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Garden Spells (Bantam Discovery)[/amazon_image] [amazon_image id=”0553384848″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Sugar Queen (Random House Reader’s Circle)[/amazon_image] [amazon_image id=”1439167397″ link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]The Map of Time: A Novel[/amazon_image]

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