I had to skip a week because I started several things but didn’t finish anything.
The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree by Susan Wittig Alpert- My mom and I went on a road trip and needed an audiobook. We have very different tastes. She likes mysteries and I like anything but that. This book worked perfectly.
It is set in a small town in Alabama in 1930. The Dahlias are a garden club. There are several mysteries in this book.
1) Where is the convict that escaped from the nearby prison farm last week?
2) Why is the girl that works at the cosmetics counter missing?
3) Who is digging at night behind the Dahlias’ new clubhouse?
4) Is the local bank going to fail?
It hate mysteries where busybodies get involved with things that are none of their business. But this makes sense to me. Because of the sexism of the time the women aren’t taken seriously when they talk to local law enforcement. Since they were dismissed they decide to try to clear their friends’ names when they are mentioned as suspects.
This book was quite funny. It is the start of a series.ÂÂ
The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center – Jenny is dumped by her fiance Dean the night before she goes into labor. Jenny is totally unprepared for motherhood, let alone single motherhood. Her mother tries to help her and she is just getting her footing several months later when Dean reappears.
This book was ok. It is very graphic about pregnancy and motherhood and makes me very glad that I decided to skip all that!
Uglies by Scott Westerfield – I had been meaning to read this and then I found it at a thrift store for $0.90. In Tally’s world, everyone receives an operation on their sixteenth birthday that makes you perfectly pretty. From then on your life is perfect. Tally is two months away from her operation when she meets Shay. Shay isn’t sure that she wants to go through with the operation and introduces Tally to a whole new world of people who choose to stay ugly and live outside the system that she knows.
This is a quick YA read and the start of a trilogy. I’m going to be reading the next book Pretties soon.
Jenna & Jonah’s Fauxmance by Brendan Halpin and Emily Franklin – Charlie and Fielding play Jenna and Jonah on the hottest tween sitcom on TV. They have also been required to fake a romance for the tabloids too since they were 15 years old. Now they are 17 and a tabloid rumor about Fielding blows their cover and gets their show canceled. Without scripts and staged “dates”, what are they going to do with their lives?
This was another quick YA read. Predictable but funny and it threw in some Shakespeare too.
Georgia Bottoms by Mark Childress – For years, Georgia Bottoms has been making ends meet by being a mistress. She has a gentleman caller for each night of the week except for Mondays. None of them know about the others and if they each leave a little “gift” after spending time with her, what’s the harm? Surely, there is no reason for the pastor of the Baptist church she attends (Mr. Saturday Night) to try to out her in a sermon when he feels guilty. She stops him before it can happen but sooner or later all her responsibilities are going to come crashing down. What will happen when everyone in her small Alabama town finds out what she really does at night when she claims to be making quilts to sell?
This was also a quick read about identity and small town life. It was funny if you aren’t too politically correct. Georgia’s mother has dementia and is convinced that Rosa Parks is the root of all evil.
Where Am I Reading Update – Alabama x 2 (NEW), Texas, Fantasy Island, California
I read the Uglies series as well. There are three or four of them after Uglies and they get more and more complicated. They’re just a bit odd if you ask me.
I haven’t read any of the Uglies series, but it does sound interesting. I know quite a few people I know have really enjoyed it!
Georgia Bottoms looks good. Enjoy your books
I really like the Uglies series. I wasn’t a fan of Pretties, though. For some reason, Tally really annoyed me in that book! But I look forward to reading what you think about it!
Georgia Bottoms is shouting at me from my TBR pile, I have to get to it soon!!!
Darling Dahlias, Georgia Bottoms and The Bright Side of Disaster all look like ones I would read. Love your blog! Come visit if you get the chance.
I enjoyed The Bright Side of Disaster…hope you do, too. Thanks for visiting my blog.
It sounds like you read an interesting variety of books this past week. I liked the Uglies series when I read it. My Monday Report is here. Have a great week!
The Darling Dahlias sounds like a good read. I read Uglies a few months back and very much enjoyed it. Haven’t read the others though as I’m taking a break from YA.
Uglies was a page turner for me. Pretties didn’t quite do it for me but I do plan to finish the series.
This coming week is my last week off before summer session. I have a few books I want to finish before school begins. Come see what they are.
It sounds like you have a fun week planned. Enjoy. My Monday: http://www.rundpinne.com/2011/05/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-41.html
Uglies and Georgia Bottoms sound fantastic! Have an awesome week 🙂
I really liked the Uglies series. Georgia Bottoms was hilarious. Enjoy.
Thanks for the reminder, I’ve been meaning to start on Uglies for a while. it must have been pretty good if you’re reading the next one soon.
Have a great week and enjoy your reads 🙂
Sounds like some fun books.
Happy reading!