Kari's Recently Read, too!:

1. Let Me Call You Sweetheart is a very classic MHC murder mystery. I got it for Christmas and I think I had actually read it a long time ago in high school. But I couldn't remember it so I re-read it. It has a very twisty plot, kind of a "cold-case" file, suspenseful, and can keep you guessing...even when you know you've already read it! I went through a phase of her stuff a long time ago, but then petered out when they all began to be too much the same.



2. Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton is the first book in a knitting mystery series. It all revolves around Kelly Flynn a corporate accountant who is called back to Colorado from D.C. when her aunt dies under mysterious circumstances. Kelly is suspicious of how the police are handling the investigation of her aunt's death and begins to do some snooping around of her own. Meanwhile, she also learns to knit from friends of her aunt who just happen to have a yarn shop right next door to her inheirited cottage...I'm enjoying the series and especially like how the book include a food and knitting recipe at the end! YUM!


3. A Deadly Yarn is the third book in the knitting mystery series by Maggie Sefton. I know, I know, I read them out of order! Which I hate to do! But I didn't have the 2nd book and couldn't resist going ahead and reading it. Again, a very engaging story...it makes me crave coffee and yarn!! Very inspirational to get me knitting again!



In other news, I joined the paperbackswap.com website this past week! Soooo cool! As you can see, I found the 2nd book to the series above and promptly swapped out the other two! I swapped three books this week! It was very exciting...has anyone tried Starbuck's new honey latte??!!

A Stack of Books

#1 -- About a week ago, I finished reading A Midwife's Story by Penny Armstrong & Sheryl Feldman. ©1986. It was a great read about Penny Armstrong's life as a nurse midwife. She began her training in Scotland and completed it in Philadelphia. While working in hospitals, she was especially upset by inflexible hospital regulations and the lack of respect for the birthing process. After training, she began working in Lancaster County, PA where she brought back dignity to home births and celebrated women's right to be in control of their birthing experience. She became an integral part of the community. In over 1000 births, she experienced only one stillbirth. Pretty amazing. I've had trouble learning anything new about her -- where she is, what she's doing, etc. (Thanks, Kim, for sending this one my direction!)
Then I needed some quick reads after a stressful week... so I picked these off of the YA shelf:

#2 -- life on the refrigerator door by Alice Kuipers ©2007. This first novel by Kuipers, and is intended for a YA audience. It's a series of notes that fifteen-year-old Claire and her mother post back & forth to each other as they go about their busy lives of school and work. Their normal mother/daughter relationship and interactions are shattered by a diagnosis of breast cancer. The format may be short, simple and straight-forward, but the emotions and interactions are poignant and touching. This one will stay with me for a long time.

#3 -- The Readheaded Princess by Ann Rinaldi ©2008. Another fine YA historical novel. It's told in first person by the young Princess Elizabeth (the daughter of King Henry VIII and the ill-fated Anne Boleyn) as she watches first her younger brother Edward and then older sister Mary take the throne of England and then succumb to ill health. The intrigues of court, the changing alliances, the lessons learned from tutors and her wise nanny -- all work together to help create a girl who grows into a great leader. Rinaldi works her magic to bring Elizabeth to life. A great YA read! It reminded me once again why I enjoy historical fiction.

Escape! The Story of The Great Houdini

This is one of the new books I received at school....it has had rave reviews. I started reading it this morning while monitoring the hallway during testing....and got so into it that I had to bring it home!

Fascinating story--extremely well-written! Highly recommend for grades 4-adult.

Sign-off cards...

Hmm, ok, so I think that we need to start signing-off on our books if we have read them!! I was going thru my stack to get Nat a box together and I've no idea if she's read them or not! (Well one or two I'm pretty sure of...) I'll call ya later Nat and check. So, maybe a sticky note in the fronts now? Sign at the top? Then the person who's name is on the top we will know that's the person to ultimately return the book to!! :-) Sound like a plan?

Free Paperbacks!

Do you have some paperback books you don't want to keep? If nobody else wants them, try out PaperBackSwap. Once you join, you can list any books you want to give away, and you can then request titles you want to receive. It's all free. The only thing you pay for is the postage (usually about $2/book) when you send a book to someone. It's quick and easy...and a good way to recycle the books you no longer want on your shelves. I have belonged to PaperBackSwap since last October. I've been able to get rid of lots of the "airport" books I've picked up for light last minute reading on the plane. http://www.paperbackswap.com