Scarecrow in Gray... Barry D. Yelton

Show me five:

1.  the book I read was Scarecrow in Gray, Barry D. Yelton

2.  Two words to describe it:  Civil War Fiction

3.   The book is set in the south, we follow the last 8 months of the civil war with a young man from Rutherford County who has volunteered, reluctantly to join General Lee's army.  Francis, walks to meet with the army, he meets a neighbor and they stay together throughout the duration of the war.  

4.  What I liked about the book an what I didn't like about the book.

I liked the characters for the most part, I like the fact that these men hated killing in the war, that they felt for the enemy, and each other.  I liked their loyalty to one another, to their families, to their country, and how honorably they served.  I like the faith in God they had, and were willing to share.

I didn't like the fact that it was a bit slow.  It was quite graphic, and I found I had to read it in bits.  The characters were very stereo typical southerners.  I'm ever so glad there were no banjos.  I think anything bad that could happen, happened to this group, a little unbelievable, particularly in the short span of their travel.  Almost like the author needed to tell all the stories he could think of through these characters.  I would have liked to know a little more about what happened to them after their arrival at home. 

5 five stars or less for the book.  While I liked this book, I needed to finish it, just to see what happened.  I knew the main character would live, (too many spoilers throughout the book). I give it a 3.5 stars.  I read this book as part of my Civil War Challenge, I felt I read so many books from the point of view of the Northerners I needed to see the Southerners point of view.  I think the scene that will be in my mind for some time is the "piles of limbs" amputated from many a young soldier on both sides of the battle.   Horrific.

Photo of book I own.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake...

The Book I Read: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Aimee Bender
2 Words that Describe the book I read: a haunting, self discovery/coming of age. (is that a genre)

3. Settings where it took place and characters you met. Rose the main character of the novel, has a unique gift. As the novel progresses we discover that it's not just Rose who is gifted but ... can't tell you more you must read it to discover, but other than the characters the story takes place in California, Rose grows up, falls for her older brothers best friend,and finds she is left at home, trying to fit in.
4. Things I liked or disliked about the book: I loved Rose, I even liked and believed her gift. I empathized with her about her mother's issues and her lack of connection with her dad. I understood her older sibling. I also understood her falling for her brothers friend.
But what I didn't like was how the author dealt with Joseph, Rose's brother's gift. I would have like to think her editor would have said, leave him more of a mystery, and we'll do a book about Joseph. As a matter of fact there was a chapter that started about Joseph and then what happened?
5 Stars or less for my rating. I read this book on the recommendation of Vicki, I think, I needed a break from The Tudor, and I really enjoyed it. Did you ever read a book and think I wish I had not read that chapter, it just killed that book. Well that was it for me, here. I liked the overall experience but found that particular part of the book a little far fetched. So this book gets a 3.5 stars: Make Time For This One.I it Read purely for my own enjoyment. Dealt with subjects I have a weakness for.( lemmon cake) Had the potential to be great but ... Saw flashes of genius but...
This meme is a concept of That's a Novel Idea currently hosted by Find Your Next Book Here.

Show me 5 Saturday

The Book I read this week was, The Last Great Dance on Earth, Sandra Gulland.

2words to describe it. Historical Fiction

3. This was the third book of the Josephine B. Trilogy, so the scenes and characters remained the same with a few new characters, like the Tsar Alexander. oooh I liked him, but for the most part it was a continuation of Napoleon's adventures and Josephine the woman behind the great man.

4. I loved this trilogy. I did not know much about Josephine, and Napoleon when I started these books, and I do believe they are fiction based greatly on historical fact, which I truly admire in a writer. Sandra Gulland did an awesome job. I love historical fiction so unless it's absolutely ridiculously researched I must say I would not shy away from this genre.
I loved how dedicated Josephine and Napoleon were to their country, and the sacrifices they made in that respect.
I loved how Napoleon was so considerate of Josephine's children. He was an awesome step-dad. I would not have thought that the case in these times, but I'm sure it was his love for Josephine that made him so, would that that be true today.
I loved the format of the book, it was easy to read, and difficult to put down.

The only thing I don't love is the fact that I cannot share this trilogy with my niece, with whom I share my reading adventures, she doesn't like historical fiction. Too bad.

5stars or less for my rating. You must know by now I have to give it a 5 star rating. A Must Read. Fully engaged me. Connected with me emotionally. Contained powerful writing, but easily read. Will not soon be forgotten. So much so, that now I need to read the facts about Napoleon, and Josephine. (thanks to Jenners of Find your next book here for her rating system).

I have now completed my 3 of the 3 4 5 challenge. I think it's funny I had to take a break from the Tudors, so I read Napoleon. Hilarious

The Whys and Wheres: I have a friend Carmi who has a Napoleon Obsession and it was because of her and Leslie that I started this trilogy. I think it's important to mention though, that although I read Carmi's art blog daily, I did not read her Napoleon obsession blog throughout this trilogy, I just didn't want to be influenced. Now I'll have to go back and read a few weeks of blog posts. I got all three of these books from my paperback book exchange, remember I said there was someone at our painting group who reads historical fiction and donates almost immediately, I'm grateful for that, even though I'm quite sure I would have purchased these if I were not on my reducing my bookshelf kick.

Show me 5 Saturday is a concept of That's a Novel Idea, hosted by Find Your Next Book Here.

Show me 5 Saturday

Don't you just love this image. And in this case you can tell a book by it's cover.

Welcome to my post on Show me 5 Saturday this meme is a concept of That's a Novel Idea, but currently hosted by Find Your Next Book Here.


1. The Book I read: The Constant Princess, Phillipa Gregory

2 words to describe the book: Historical Fiction

3. Setting where the book took place & characters I met.
The book took place in the house of Tudor, England, that should be houses of Tudor, they seem to move around a fair bit. I love Katherine, or Catalina as I prefer to call her, she was a Spanish princess betrothed to Aurthur the prince of England upon Aurthur's death she was cast off for reasons I shall not get into, (you need to read about this) and later became the wife of Henry, Aurthur's brother. The character of Aurthur was quite endearing, however I love the build up of Henry. Great character development, but Catalina blew me away. way to go Phillipa.

4 things I liked or disliked about the book:
I liked the interpretation of historical characters, the intimate details of their personalities, and certainly their rationalizations for their behavior appropriate or otherwise.

I liked the scene setting.

I liked the intimacy of the style of writing. It was a glimpse into the diary of a very real person.

I liked the whole book. It was easy to read, not too emotional for me, but still difficult to put down. I found myself taking the next train, just so I could go on reading, because you know when you get home you must make supper.

I disliked the place of women in this time, we have come a long way.

5 stars or less for my rating. Once again I'm leaning to 4.99999 since I'm still reading this series for my 3 4 5 challenge, but I must say so far I like this princess the best.

The Whys and Wheres. I got this book at our book swap at my painting group. I'm so glad there is someone with more $ than me and like the books I like.

Show me 5 Saturday

Show me 5 Saturday is hosted by That's a Novel Idea and linked in Find Your Next Book Here.

1. The book you read: Silver Wedding, Maeve Binchy

P.S. This is not a new book.

Settings where it took place or characters you met: Setting: Set in Ireland in the not so long ago.
The characters in this book are typical ordinary people, a priest, with family, a rotten nephew, a weird uncle, and brother, and a background of characters that color the world the Doyle's live in.

4. What you liked/disliked about the book:
I liked the whole book, I love the character development, I love how each chapter is dedicated to each character and then their story explains "the plot". It's not an earth shattering plot just real life. There really wasn't anything I didn't like about the book. I read Binchy when I need a mental break, and just for pleasure. I can't put it down usually, and it's just ordinary life happening. I know I'm going to be somewhat shocked, surprised and yet not. A good short read, and one where I'm not crying on the subway, or scared silly, walking home late at night, I don't have to look around for a vampire, or a murderer, or suspect my husband of cheating, o.k. well maybe that last one, but all in all a pleasure to read, definitely a girly thing.

The one thing I have to say is my "old ladies" at the home don't want to read Binchy because they say there is not enough sexual scenes, can you believe it?

5. Stars or less for your rating?
I'm giving this book a 4, Entertained and educated me ( as to character development). Read it purely for my own enjoyment. Dealt with subjects I found kinda interesting (family life in other cultures than my own.) I'd recommend it to anyone who needs to have a fun read, and doesn't really want to solve the world's problems. (or even know about them).

The Whys and Wheres. I got this book from our painting group book exchange, and since I didn't bring enough to read on the train... I had just finished a book that required a lot of thinking after so it was nice to just enjoy.

This is Jenners star rating criteria, I love it. I've adopted it for this meme, with my own little twist.
# 5 stars: A Must Read. Fully engaged me. Have gravitas and substance. Connected with me emotionally. Contained powerful writing. Are not soon forgotten
# 4.5 stars: Make Time For This One. Involved me fully. Were close to perfect. Might deal with a subject matter I couldn't fully fall in love with.
# 4 stars: Add To Your TBR List. Solid reads but might lack substance. Entertained me. Read purely for my own enjoyment. Dealt with subjects I have a weakness for. Are excellent books but didn't make me fall in love.
# 3.5 stars: When You Get Around To It. Had the potential to be great but had serious flaws. Saw flashes of genius but didn't work for me. Above average for a genre I don't love. Not great but stood out from the pack for some reason.
# 3 stars: Maybe/Maybe Not. Just OK. Might be in a genre that isn't my favorite. Easily forgotten. Didn't set my world on fire.
# 2.5 stars or less: Skip It. Books I actively disliked for one reason or another and probably struggled to finish.

Show me 5 Saturday

Quartet in Autumn i

Show me 5 Saturday is a book meme concept by that's a novel idea and now carried on by Jenners, Find your next book here.

1. The book you read: I read Quartet in Autumn, Barbara Plym.

2. Words that describe it: Human behaviour.

3.Setting: Set in England in the I think late 70's

4. There are really four main characters, Edwin, Norman, Letty and Marcia. These are all individuals who are nearing or reach retirement. Seemingly uninteresting, boring, single individuals. Their strange behaviour is really just that, not very funny as it was meant to be.

5. What you liked/disliked about the book:

I liked the character development. I felt I really knew the characters, and yes they were even believable.

That's it,

what I disliked: The book was boring. I kept waiting for one of the characters to do something out of character and funny, or wonderful. I was a short read. I must say though that I did believe these characters. Having observed many of my mother's elderly friends I believe the writer. I wish she had done something weird with them though,just to dispel our view of aging.

The Whys and Wheres. I got this book from the library, they only had the one by this author. I read it on the recommendation of one of my A-Z Wednesdays for the letter Q. I'd never read this author and I'm not sure I'd rush out to get another.

Show me 5 Saturday, When Will There Be Good News?

Show me 5 Saturday is hosted my "That's a Novel Idea"

1.Book you read and/or reviewed this week
2 Words that describe the book
3 Settings where it took place or characters you met
4 Things you liked and/or disliked about it
5 Stars or less for your rating?


The book I read this week was When Will There Be Good News?
, Kate Atikinson.

I've not read this author before and now I'm hooked. She had me in the first chapter. I immediately identified with the mom and her groceries on a bus with a pram and kids in tow. And then the unthinkable happened... my heart broke.

It's a book about a series of seemingly unconnected occurances that span 30 years. Each character was well developed, and crystal clear, and yet mysteriously unknown. Bravo Kate Atkinson. I love that about this book. We seemingly know everything about a character and yet we need to know more.

I'm not very knowledgeable about Britain and Ireland and Scotland, but that's where this story is set. The characters are real and believable. Broken families and broken lives. I love Reggie and Dr. Hunter, I love Jackson, he's so cool.

I'm giving this book my usual 4.99999 out of 5 stars. even though I think 5 would be appropriate. It was an enjoyable quick read, the plot did not drag out, I reserve the 5 for books that I'll be locking the doors and not sleeping over. I've even gotten a couple more of Kate Atkinson's works, which I'm sure I'll enjoy as well.

The Whys and Wheres of this book, This book was loaned to me by my friend Leslie and I'm so glad she gave it to me, I don't know if I'd have chosen it on my own.

Show me five Saturday, Devils Punch Bowl

Show me 5 Saturday is hosted by That's a Novel Idea.
1.Book you read and/or reviewed this week
2 Words that describe the book
3 Settings where it took place or characters you met
4 Things you liked and/or disliked about it
5 Stars or less for your rating?

After reading several reviews regarding this book, I felt I just had to read it. The Devil's Punch Bowl, Greg Iles.

It's a thriller. Set in the post Katrina days in the Mississippi area. Penn is the main character, it's a cast of characters much like the "Delta Force". I kept envisioning Chuck Norris in the Kelly role. The story line is ugly, hard to believe humans could be so ugly to each other, but perhaps it's true. Tim and Penn are childhood friends, eventhough they have gone their separate ways. Penn of course is the successful Mayor of the small town they grew up in, and he's out to save the town, or at least he was, now he discovers all kinds of horrible things going on in the Casino the town thrives on. Tim is the inside guy that is going to break all the criminals wide open, or is he? I won't go on I think this is one you need to read for yourself, my review does not do it justice. And there's dogs, lots of dogs. and SEX ugly sex. And love and not so much romance.

This is not usually my choice of genre, I like happy little stories, the world is too difficult in reality , but I must say this story kept me glued to the pages. So I guess I liked it. I think the only thing I didn't like about the book was some the believabilty of "big brother watching" with the electronic signals and all, I'm not sure I believe a trace on a cell phone and gps things are so quickly achieved. I'm married to a cop after all and know how much time all of these things take. I do have to say it is making me think twice about going to a Casino, or at least I will be keeping my eyes opened when I do.

I'm going to give it a 4.999 stars.

show me 5 Saturday, the Sugar Queen

Show me 5 Saturday is hosted by That's a Novel Idea.
1.Book you read and/or reviewed this week
2 Words that describe the book
3 Settings where it took place or characters you met
4 Things you liked and/or disliked about it
5 Stars or less for your rating?

1. I read The Sugar Queen, Sarah Addison Allen
2. Family, relationships, romance, mystery all tied up in a nice little package, would certainly describe this book.
3. This story takes place in a ski town, Bald Slope, where the American dream was actualized, by an Italian immigrant, who dies, leaving behind his wife, and an only daughter, or at least that's what the only daughter believes. The characters were all very well developed, you liked who you were suppose to like and disliked who you were suppose to dislike.
4. I liked the main character,Josey, I like the characters she interacted with, I liked her unpredictability, I even understood her "secret". I must say this is one of the few books in which I enjoyed the ending, it caught me by surprise and I loved it.
5. I give this a 4.99, I really enjoyed this book. It was easy reading, and an ending I didn't expect. (even though I was suspicious).

Show me 5 Saturday, The Uglies

Show me Five is a meme hosted by That's a Novel Idea.


1 Book you read and/or reviewed this week
2 Words that describe the book
3 Settings where it took place or characters you met
4 Things you liked and/or disliked about it
5 Stars or less for your rating?

My Choice-- The Uglies, Scot Westerfield. This is a book that has gotten raving reviews from the various book blogs that I frequent. (Doesn't that sound sinister). So I took the plunge.

1. READ, The Uglies, Scott Westerfield
2 DESCRIBED as a, Young Adult futuristic adventure (in my opinion) I forgot to see what Dewey had to say.

3. SETTING in a futuristic world with definite segregation of ugly and pretty people. The main character is Tally Youngblood (I'm sure the surname is a significant choice, a little cheesy for me). David (sort of like David and Goliath),Shay, Dr. Cable and a few more.

4. I LIKED the quickness of the book, I actually read it in less than three train trips. The characters were easy to get to know, and like or dislike. The setting was easy to visualize, albeit a little extreme, but believable. I liked the wee bit of cliffhangers throughout the book from chapter to chapter, (kept me turning pages) I also like the break from sex and violence, even though the violence is implied.

I DID NOT LIKE the idea of the possibility of this whole future world. I did not like the idea of a young adult of 16 having to save the world like this. I did find that portion of this a little unbelievable, but then I might be comparing Tally Youngblood to my own kids. I also found her being so resourceful after being brought up in a very privileged society a little unbelievable, but the author did make it work somehow, it is young adult fiction. This author certainly gave his young readers the power to change their world, which I think is wonderful.

5 Stars or less for your rating? I'm rating this a 4+stars. It was good and if I were purchasing for the library, I would definitely put it on the shopping list.


THE WHYS AND WHERES? I got my copy from the local library, which I'm trying to do more and more, since I've run out of room on my stairs.

Show Me 5 Saturday, Stopover in Venice

This meme is hosted by A Novel Idea or Find Your Next Book Here
1 Book you read and/or reviewed this week(actually took me several weeks, I just couldn't finish it!


2 Words that describe the book, O.K. semi love story
3 Settings where it took place or characters you met
Nel is the main character, Lucy, Matteo, Leo a dog,Lydia, Ronald,Annunziata, and many more. The story takes place in Venice, a old estate formerly a convent.
4 Things you liked and/or disliked about it

I think the thing that made me keep trying to finish the book was the plot of an undiscovered artistic masterpiece. While I thought the characters were O.K. they were not compelling enough for me to want to NEVER put the book down, the end was predictable. I love reading the "found" correspondence from many many years ago, and I was amazed at the expert fields introduced into the story. I'm actually using this book to do my homework. It follows the "formula" for a romance quite true to form. I think however, if I had to do "*an extremely rude interview" of these characters there would still be a great many unanswered questions
I disliked the format, there were no quotation marks, so I had to really pay attention to was this an actual conversation, or was the character just thinking this. I often found myself having to go back to the previous paragraph to keep track of where and who was speaking. Perhaps I'm stupid and this is a novel idea of writing, but one I did not like. I like the cover, the collage was very interesting. The beginning appealed to me, simply because I thought dumping your husband and his entourage would be so rebellious. I liked the "new friend" thingy, but after that ... too ho hum. Would I read it again? I would probably not read it again, I think I might have even abandoned it earlier on, except for the fact that I was stuck on a train with nothing else. I appologize to the author, but not your best work.

5 Stars or less for your rating?

I'm only giving this book a rating of 3, simply because it did keep me wanting to know all about how one decides this is a masterpiece the plot did not keep me interested at all. I wanted "Matteo" to be a little more appealing and Nel I thought was downright boring.

*An extremely rude interview is a series of questions devised by my instructor Dee Lloyd to assist us wantabe writers with character development.