This was an OK book, and while mostly the same as other romance stories, the ending was a bit more realistic. While waiting to start her new job, Josie takes a job at an Alaskan Lodge and, you guessed it, falls for someone she meets there. But while fighting her feelings, it becomes clear that what she thought would make her happy is no longer the case.

While a simple and straight forward read, it almost seemed like this should have been a book for children. It is the story of a young Nigerian boy who learns the important lessons of life as he ignores the advice of adults and falls in with other students who lead him astray.

This might very well be the best book I read all summer. It combines two of the genres that I love, fantasy and horror. I am a Stephen King fan, and as I read this, I could hear him commenting “Well done”. A 9-year-old boy who is socially isolated becomes a central part of a series of horrific events, during which he is befriended by an 11-year-old girl who lives near him. But she and her family seem to understand what is happening and provide him with protection. And on top of all this wonderful action, the writer provides the perfect narrative with just the right amount of emotion and description. If you like these two genres, you’ve got to try this!

This story follows the life of a man from young adulthood to death. It examines his work, which is for much of his life, a logger. We get to watch how he changes and views the world as he falls in love and has a family, only to lose those he loves, and with them a large part of himself. It’s about continuing on and staying put at the same time. A very enjoyable read.

This is a good old fashioned detective story where women were “dames” and were “notin but trouble”. The language is fun and the central character is the grounding influence here as everyone else in the story is either crazy or a killer…..and one is both.

While I am not always a fan of his stories set in Scotland, I did enjoy this one. Isabel sets out to get a present for her husband for Valentine’s Day but in the process becomes entangled in a situation which looks like she will either need to renege on a promise or fail to help someone who is truly in need. But leave it to the philosopher in her to work out the right answer.

This was an interesting book about 4 physicians who share a medical practice. Their practice also serves a nearby boarding school. The author does a good job of carefully overlapping the action between the school and the doctor’s personal lives. It’s a good and different read.

This is a most touching story of a grandfather and his relationship with his son and grandson as he devolves into Alzheimer’s. We experience his thoughts as he begins to live inside the past as the present slips away. It is beautiful and sad and told from the grandfather’s point of view. Everyone should read this.

It is always interesting to journey along with Hercule Poirot and see things the way he does. This is a compilation of short mysteries, each of which is set in a different interesting setting. I did this as an audio book on CDs and while I did enjoy it, I think I would have enjoyed it more had I done it as an actual book and been able to do it at a slower pace.

This was an OK romance book; not too sappy and portrayed the female central character as strong and independent. But there were just too many characters and unnecessary short sub-plots. For example, one of the side characters is losing and then does loose his mother to brain cancer. How can you make this a sub plot? And because the side characters were not well developed it took me a while to remember who everyone was.