Quick, spooky read!

Jenine finds a camera that takes pictures of ghosts. The story gets creepier when she starts seeing and feeling the ghosts. Brings new meaning to the Sixth Sense line "I see dead people"!

My favorite book! Three major factors helped me determine this 1) After reading it, I continued to think about the characters and, even days later, wondering what happens next. 2) When reading other books, I find myself disappointed that the characters and plot aren't like Gap Creek. 3) I use my feelings about Gap Creek as a gauge for rating other books.

In the pioneer days of the Appalachian Mountains a very young, naive girl marries a man she barely knows (which wasn't unusual for that time) and struggles to make a life. In a world where money, food, and resources are hard to come by, this girl grows into a woman. Through laughter, tears, and hard work she makes a life for herself and her family. A truly touching story that makes a reader appreciate how privileged we are in today's society.

Can't wait to read the sequel!!

P.S.
If you like Gap Creek, I recommend The Hinterlands also by Robert Morgan.

This book is the story of three pastors' wives: Ruthie, Ginger, and Candace. The book begins with Ruthie and Jerry as our main characters. All we really know about Ruthie and Jerry as a couple is that they met in college, got married (possibly against her parents' wishes because Ruthie is Catholic and Jerry is not) and went to work in non-religious fields. The book never mentions if either Ruthie or Jerry even attended church before Jerry received his “calling”. The book quickly changes focus when Jerry is hired and accepts a position (without an interview or even a visit to the church) as an Associate Pastor and right-hand man to Senior Pastor Aaron at a megachurch in Georgia called Greenleaf.

Each wife has her own challenges to face…

Ruthie struggles with her faith and her husband’s new career. Ginger has essentially become a single mother due to the mission work of her husband, Timothy (who happens to be the son of Pastor Aaron and Candace). Ginger is constantly under the microscope of her mother-in-law who is impossible to please. These two stories intertwine with Candace’s story, but Candace is the real star of the show. Candace is the wife of Senior Pastor Aaron and has control of ALL THINGS GREENLEAF. She dictates everything involving Greenleaf from the cars all the church staff drive (green Prius) to the architecture and landscaping of the houses in the church’s private housing development (Paradise Estates). Candace has the impossible job of juggling show more all aspects of Greenleaf without letting any of the balls drop.

I really like the idea behind this book…how to be married to a man who is also married to God. The wives behind the men of God are, by nature, supporting roles. Making the wives the focus of the book is a nice change, but the book isn’t meant to be strictly inspirational. It is mostly pure entertainment with a religious premise.

However, I believe the author began the book thinking of Ruthie as the main character and ended up with a much stronger character when she created Candace. This is where the book lost me. The majority of the book was about Candace, her church, and her family. Then, all of a sudden, it seemed the author remembered Ruthie and decided to wrap her story up in a few pages at the end.

The plot could have been the same but the focus should have been on Candace. The entire book could be written about Candace and her constant disaster stopping actions. Candace’s character was written perfectly. (I could see her in a movie. Jessica Lange would play her part!) Just when you think, “Man, this pastor’s wife is walking a thin line between good and evil!” she starts quoting the Bible and praying for guidance. She’s got just enough ambition and determination to be cunning but just enough spirituality to make it all work.

Three stars for a good plot and a great –not so lead—character, but poor arrangement kept it from receiving higher marks. A few important details were missing that made this reader go….”hmmm?”. Library lovers and news buffs will appreciate the mentions of Google Alerts and LexisNexis! show less

Great reference book! This book covers everything! It starts out with the basic supplies one would need for sewing and moves along to fabrics, patterns, stitches, and techniques. The last section provides many projects that use the techniques described in the book. I particularly like that each technique and project has the difficulty level listed. This is nice for a beginner since it isn't always easy to tell when a project is particularly difficult.

This book covers almost every sewing project imaginable using step-by-step photos with instructions. The instructions are thorough and the photos are good quality. The fabrics, styles, and designs in the photos seem dated despite the somewhat current copyright. However, the instructions are for standard sewing techniques, which never seem to become outdated. I would recommend purchasing this book if you are a beginner. It would be a great reference book to keep near the sewing machine.

This book has some beautiful photos with vibrant color. Using ribbon as an embellishment isn't a new idea but the author certainly takes it to a new level! For me, John Loecke's use of ribbon is "too much of a good thing". A few ribbon embellishments in a room is nice...EVERYTHING in the room covered with ribbon is too much! It looks a bit juvenile.

I am always appreciative of other people's creativity. Loecke is very creative and I did get a couple of ideas from his book. I hope to use the decorative hanging plates idea in my dining room! If you LOVE decorating with ribbon, I highly recommend this book. If you are looking for some crafting ideas for home decorating, there are many, many other resources.

Logan, a marine, finds a photo of an unknown woman while serving in Iraq. He’s convinced the photo has saved his life through three tours in Iraq and that this woman is his lucky charm. After Logan’s military time is over, he sets out to find the mystery woman. He finds her (Elizabeth); they fall in love and Logan struggles with whether to tell her about the photo.

Their obstacle…Elizabeth’s ex-husband, Keith. He’s a crooked cop who has his position because his grandfather owns everything in the small town and his father is the sheriff. Even though Keith doesn’t want to be married to Elizabeth, he doesn’t want her to love anyone else either. He has been sabotaging all her relationships since their divorce.

Keith has met his match in Logan. Logan is much smarter so Keith’s typical tricks aren’t working. Of course, this infuriates him and leads to the climax of the story.

This is a classic Nicholas Sparks novel. If you are a Sparks fan, you’ll like it. The book is close to 400 pages but it is a very quick read. It’s a typical romance so it’s pretty predictable but still a touching love story. I particularly liked that it ended well. I don’t always like how his novels end…usually with me in tears!

This book wasn’t bad for a debut novel. Don’t believe the cover quotes stating that it is “spooky” or “bedeviling”. If you like to read about witches, there’s a good chance there’s nothing in this book that will spook you. However, the author does prove that she is knowledgeable in the history of the Salem witch trials and colonial history.

My biggest complaint about the book was that it was SO predictable!!! It was so bad that I had everything figured out before the rapid climax. That’s pretty incredible for me because I don’t even try to figure things out. I just like to let the book, with all the usual twists and turns, reveal itself to me as I go. Would it have been so hard to include just one twist the reader wouldn’t expect?!

Also, I didn’t think the main character, Connie, was believable as a Harvard PhD candidate. For example, the book opens with Connie sitting for her oral qualifying exam. After the exam she meets with her advisor and we find out that she has no clue what her dissertation is going to be about?!?! What exactly has she been going to HARVARD for?! Then, all of a sudden, Connie inherits an old house, finds the name Deliverance Dane, discovers it’s the name of an unrecorded Salem witch and -- too perfectly -- that this witch had a physick book of “recipes” that she believes she can find. Voila, she has a “unique, perfect primary source” for her dissertation!

As a librarian, the most appealing part of this book was the show more many libraries Connie visits during her search for the physick book. It was fun to read about the use of the card catalog and indexing terms to find out where the book would have been located. There was some mention of library rules and protocol for different collections. **Spoiler** The author doesn’t tell how Connie gets the book out of the library after she finally finds it. This is strange after all the hoops she’s had to jump through on her journey. It seems that when she finally finds the 300 year old book, she’s able to just walk out with it…I don’t think so! I was disappointed that the librarians were very stereotypical. Having met a couple of Harvard librarians, I can testify that they all do not have the typical librarian buns and glasses slid down their noses. :)

I just returned from a trip to Boston. The mention of Boston landmarks was nice; it reminded me of a very fun trip and the places I enjoyed seeing…and the places I’d like to visit if I ever get to go back. This book was an easy read. If you like the Boston area and reading about the Salem witch trials, you should add this to your collection. If you’re looking for a spooky book about witches, skip it and go for The Witching Hour by Anne Rice. show less

I love reading about the packhorse librarians! What great women they were to travel on horseback in all kinds of weather to deliver books to the poor people of the Appalachian mountains. This story was particularly touching because we don't only get the story of the librarian, we get to see the difference these librarians made in the lives of their patrons.

My only problem with the book is the use of the appalachian dialect. I live in the mountains of Southwest Virginia so I hear and speak it every day. It feels a little over exaggerated to me...like the author was trying to force the language to make the point that the speech is different here. There were some words that I had never heard. Needless to say, it was a little difficult to read this aloud to my daughter.

This book is definitely worth reading but have a southern friend handy to translate! :)

This book is so relevant to women (and men) and the issues we face every day. The entire book can be applied to many areas in my life. In fact, I was so impressed with the amount of information covered in this short book, I found myself wondering which of my friends to lend it to first!

We all have stress in our lives and sometimes life seems so overwhelming that it’s hard to know how to start dealing with our tension. Here are just a few of the topics Jean Lush covers in this book: anger, grief, job stress, unmet needs, low self-esteem, hormones, and the list goes on. This book gives examples of real life cases from the author’s practice and from her own life. You won’t find out how to raise your children the “correct” way or fix all the problems in your marriage but it will make you understand why you handle problems in the ways that you do and will make you think about how you could handle them a little differently.

Even though the author uses religion as a basis for peace, this book is not preachy. Many people use religion, or some sort of meditative/spiritual practice, for stress management. Jean Lush doesn’t insist that you become religious in order to deal with stress, she illustrates how she uses religious beliefs to give her comfort and hope in times of despair. However, religion is a large part of this book and for those who are not believers this could be a turn off.

I particularly liked the chapter on empathy. It seems that we are so wrapped up in show more our own lives that we forget to see how situations impact others. Empathy can allow us to take a step back and think about why other people react to things in the ways they do. Using this technique, we can change the way we react to others. I hope I can actively practice being a little more empathetic!

Jean Lush is very insightful…in fact, if she were alive, it would be wonderful to be able to discuss some of my stress issues with her! show less

Being from the mountains of Appalachia, this book's geographical focus and its relation to slavery is the reason I read it. My hometown is a small coal mining town in a very mountainous part of the Appalachian region. Even though slavery is a popular topic covered in different media (i.e. books, movies, oral histories, etc.), I have never really heard of anyone discussing the use of slaves in my portion of the region. I hoped this book would shed some light on the topic.

The first half of the book was difficult to read. It included a lot of statistical, geographical, industrial, and agricultural information. Though difficult to read, it was necessary in order to provide the reader with as much information about the region as possible. The last part of the book discussed slave life. It was interesting to read of the obstacles and the benefits the mountains provided in the runaway attempts of slaves.

I didn’t really find out anything I didn’t already know (or suspect) about slavery in the mountains of Appalachia. Slaves were mostly used in logging and coal mining. Because of the mountainous terrain, it was difficult to prosper through agricultural crops so slaves were not used as much in the “fields”. This part of the region was (and in some parts still is) poor and whites were often poorer than slaves. The white population was typically landless and worked alongside slaves; often depending on slaves to steal food and bring it to them.

The era of slavery was such a show more sad and shameful time for our nation. Even though I love the south, I have always hated that slavery was a part of its history. As odd as it sounds, I have a satisfying feeling knowing that my Irish ancestors probably did not own slaves and were thought of as less than slaves. show less

Before reading this book I read reviews and even an author interview. I was really excited to start reading. That ended when I found out that the author has a top 5 list of musicians (which we find out in Chapter 1). REALLY…how could anyone who claims to love music ever create such a limited list?!?!?! Apparently she got this idea from the book High Fidelity. I admit, I didn’t read High Fidelity and, after this book, I have no plans to!

So books are supposed to make us feel something, right? This one sure did…frustration, aggravation, confusion, anger. You get the picture. I was under the mistaken impression that I was going to read a book about how and why females collect the music they do. Instead, it felt like a series of stories about "this was the song/album I played when (insert name of guy of the month) broke up with me." From the stories and music opinions the author shares, it’s clear she only listens to angry girl bands and indie rock with Elvis Costello thrown in for good measure.

How can anyone possibly write a book about music collecting and leave out complete genres of music and some of the most influential artists in history?? The only mention of Elvis Presley was when she talked about musicians’ wives vs. groupies! That paragraph wasn’t even about Elvis. It was about Priscilla! There was virtually no mention of country music and forget about classical, jazz, blues, reggae…you name it…it wasn’t in there.

While reading this book, I kept show more wanting to scream, “Get a life!!”. This is pretty ironic since I live in a VERY rural coal town where going to the movies and to the new Walmart is what we do for fun. :) It was very frustrating to read about the author’s life and her thoughts about music given all the wonderful experiences she must have had/is having living in a big city, working for MTV, and hanging out with musicians. Instead of using her experience to write a guidebook for music collecting, she uses it as an outlet to talk about all her crappy relationships.

I have many other complaints about this book but I’ve wasted too much time on it already. My words of advice…if you’re looking for a book to help you understand why you collect the music you do, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!

--So, why did I give this book a whole star if I disliked it so much? The author has a chapter about The Beatles vs. The Rolling Stones...she chose The Beatles! Also, even if I didn't like the book, I found myself talking (complaining) about it to anyone who would listen...that's got to count for something. :) show less

A great read for the Christmas season! Since this is a short book, things seem to happen rather quickly. Fortunately, that doesn't take away from the meaning of the story. The characters are dealing with a number of problems: running a business in a slow economy, the pressures of Christmas gift giving, and spending the holidays without close relatives (for various reasons)...just to name a few. This made it easier to find a character to relate to.

Even though the story is somewhat predictable, I found myself tearing up at the end. The spirit of the season is felt in the kind and loving heart of Mrs. Miracle. This is a heartwarming story in a world where it sometimes seems impossible to find solutions to the problems we are all facing. It makes me hope I have a special angel out there looking over me!

Good illustrations. Slightly dated. Consists mostly of lists of instructional steps and corresponding pictures. I prefer the Droid Pocket Guide, 2nd. It provides the same information but is more recent and easier to read.

Great pocket guide! Topics were quick, easy, and to the point. Language was personal with a few jokes thrown in. Made a technical book easy to read. Highly recommend to those who want to immediately start using their phone and all it's cool features. It's a great reference to pick up for a quick answer.

Shelley has worked hard to graduate med school and has landed the dream job in the Upper East Side. Where I come from, we have a saying, "They're gettin' above their raisin'." That's exactly what happens to Shelley.

Shelley gets caught up in the glitz and glamour of high society and forgets where she came from and the morals/values that she learned from her loving (and overwhelming) family. She loses everything she truly loves and discover that the grass may be greener on the other side, but still has to be mowed. Then she returns to her roots.

This book was a quick, easy read but very predictable. I didn't like that the entire ending happened in the very last chapter (a whole SIX PAGES!). It's like the author couldn't think of any other situations to put Shelley in and decided it was time for her to "see the light". Bam! Just like that, everything was neatly wrapped up in the predictable ending.

The best part of the book was Shelley's interactions with her patients and their over-the-top celebrity parents.

People are different. This book showcases all the many ways we are different. Of course, the major theme of this book is race but we also see differences in social class and moral beliefs.

I truly enjoyed reading this book and getting to know the characters. Set in the middle of the civil rights movement, this book is about how colored maids were treated by their Southern white women bosses and how a controversial book turns their world upside down. It is also about compassion and friendship.

This book is divided into sections written in the point of view of a certain character. Each section ends with a cliffhanger making the reader want to continue on to find out what happens. I didn't want this book to end! I want to know what happens next!

Can't wait to watch the movie!!

Great Disney World resource! I can't imagine there is anything this book doesn't cover! It is so easy to get overwhelmed when planning a trip to WDW. It's nice to have a book like this to use as a reference. The authors have really tried to give readers honest answers and recommendations based on years of research.

We've all wondered what our lives would have been like IF ______?? IF I took that job? IF I went to that school? IF I didn't lose my first love? Ellen Dempsey wonders what her life would be like if she reunited with "the one that got away".

After running into her ex-boyfriend, Ellen struggles to figure out if she "settled" when she got married because her one true love was unattainable or if she really loves her husband.

This book was VERY predictable. It was so obvious what choices Ellen would make way before she made them. She tried too hard to justify her actions. Maybe I was so disappointed because I expected it to answer that age-old question?

What a great book! A little boy and his grandmother work together to try and destroy witches all over the world. Unlike some children's books, this book portrays witches as creepy, scary, and mean. This makes it perfect for an older child. The story of the boy and his grandmother really touches the heart. It's a great read for autumn and I will definitely be reading it with my daughter when she is older.

Once upon a time (before Twilight & True Blood) this book may have been good movie material. Hollywood screenwriters and directors could have taken the authors' ideas and made a really good story. Unfortunately, good ideas also need good writers to make a good read.

The book had several characters but their storylines were not managed well. The book jumped from character to character and storyline to storyline. Sometimes I had to go back to make sure I hadn't miss something.

For me, a good book is when I can relate to a specific character and put myself in the story. Personally, I didn't really like any of the characters so I didn't care what happened to them.

Many details in the book are repeated over and over. I suppose since the recent vampire explosion in books and on film, the authors felt the need to thoroughly explain the specific abilities of their vampires. For example, some of these vampires can go out in the day time and they can eat food (other than blood). However, it was quite tiresome to hear again and again that Luca likes coffee but cannot reap the benefits of the caffeine.

So, the story in a nutshell...
Luca is a blood born (both his father and mother were vampires) and, therefore, has special abilities. Because he is so powerful he is the vampire executioner. He sometimes works for the vampire council as their enforcer.

Chloe is a conduit. A conduit is someone whose ancestor is a warrior from a different realm and needs a conduit to "call them over" to show more fight in major battles.

Rebel vampires want to take over the world and take humans as slaves. The ancient warriors are using their conduits all over the world to come over and fight the battle against the rebel vampires. The vampires are trying to kill the conduits before the warriors can make it over. Luca vows to protect Chloe and, of course, they fall in love. show less

This book was pretty disappointing. I didn't find anything in this book that I didn't already know (and I know next to nothing about construction!) or couldn't figure out.

The last half of the book included lists of contacts for various HUD, federal, and state offices. This was probably helpful for the first year or two after publication but I'm sure that information is now outdated.

It seemed the author's advise was always, "read the manual." If you've invested the time to borrow/buy and read this book, you've probably already read the manual and are looking for addition "what are they not telling me?" information.

This is a great love story with a little something extra! I loved the SciFi aspect of this book. After reading (and hating) The Time Traveler's Wife, I was really afraid I would hate this one as well. Surprisingly, I was quite intrigued by the storyline. While on a second honeymoon in Scotland, Claire literally falls between two rocks and travels back in time. She falls in love with a Scot and is torn between her two great loves (one in the 1900's and one in the 1700's). Claire's many adventures make it a true pageturner.

I have to admit I was a little uncomfortable by some of the events in this book. For me, it's hard to "feel" the same about Jamie after the descriptive account of his "torture" by Randall. However, I really want to know what happens to Claire & Jamie. There are so many unanswered questions that I might just continue with the series.

This book wasn't exactly what I expected from James Patterson. Witch & Wizard is an easy and fast read about a sister (Wisty) and brother (Whit) who have just discovered they are a witch and a wizard. Wisty and Whit are kidnapped and imprisoned by the New Order (a political party that has taken over the world) because of their powers. The brother and sister must travel through different worlds learning to use their new powers in order to free other prisoners and find their way back to their parents.

The story was a little disappointing but entertaining. I believe this is supposed to be the first of a series. I don't think I will read book 2.