Books I read in July 2013

 Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber ***

This book was pretty good.  It was about a group of women who were all at sort of sad crossroads of their lives and they decided to make twenty wishes and make things happen in their lives.  It blends in my mind with the knitting book I read recently which was also about women who supported each other.  (But the knitting book was better...even though I can't remember the exact title.)  The characters weren't very believable in this book.  They always said the thing you expected them to say.

Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool***

We read this book for book club and those are usually good.  It is young adult fiction set in Manifest, KS.  A girl was sent there by her father and while she was there, she uncovered stories about him and the town.  It was good.  I like good YA fiction.

Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple***

This book was very entertaining.  It is set in Seattle and I enjoyed the satire of some of the people that inhabit Seattle.  Sometimes I laughed out loud and had to read parts to Adam.  It was an engaging story with funny characters.  The language was a little sketchy so if that matters to you...

The Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri***

This was another good book.  It was set in Ireland in Glenmara, a small town that was sort of dying out.  A woman from Seattle was traveling and happened upon the town and ended up staying.  I liked the characters and I liked the setting.  The romance was a little suspect.  I like a romance that feels real.  I don't know how to write it myself but I recognize it when I read it.  (For example:  Pride and Prejudice: yes!  Romantic!  Twilight: no! Lame!)

1916 by Morgan Llewelyn **

This book was immediately interesting to me.  I like historical fiction.  This book is about the Irish Rebellion.  I loved the fiction parts of this book.  The history was too much.  It started to feel like homework so I quit reading.  In case you're wondering, why yes, I am shallow. 

Good in a Crisis by Margaret Overton *

I tried to read this.  I thought this time I'd actually read a memoir--which for some reason I want to do.  I try to like them and usually don't.  I liked the breezy style of writing and felt immediate sympathy for the writer.  Then she enumerated (over and over) all of the losers she met on Match.com and how she got WAY too intimate with them when she didn't like any of them--and went on to mock them in her memoir.  I quickly lost sympathy for her and gave up on the book.