Barefoot

by Elin Hildebrand

The first 200 pages of this book went slowly and I found my mind wandering when I began to read. Then about half way through the book, I was grabbed by the story and finished the last 200 pages in probably just one day. The story concerns three women with a variety of problems spending the summer in Nantucket. There are flashbacks showing how they got to this point in their lives, remembering past mistakes, and deliberations about how to resolve their personal issues. A young man in the story, Josh, serves as more than a babysitter, plus the husbands of two of the women, life altering decisions, and how to resolve all their situations. On the whole it was a good but not excellent read. Set in Nantucket, there is a little of the summer ocean feeling coming through, allowing us to vicariously experience a vacation setting while enjoying the book.

Lottery

by Patricia Wood

Perry, a happy young man with an IQ of 76, lives a simple life with his Gram, proud of his work in a boating store and friendships with the people in his small circle. Suddenly his Gram dies, and Perry tries to find his way despite family members who have no patience for him, kick him out of his house, take everything of value, and tell him he's on his own.

Perry and Gram always had the habit of buying lottery tickets while shopping so one day, while missing his Gram so much, Perry realizes that he has bought the winning lottery ticket worth $12 million. The story continues with what happens when the people close to him, his family who had washed their hands of him, and the world around him suddenly realize Perry has become incredibly rich.

Perry displays an intellect beyond anyone's expectations when he comes to understand what really matters in the world and that love cannot be replaced by money. He knows who are his true friends and who to watch out for. He has a knack for intuitively understanding business and makes good decisions at his work.

I really enjoyed this book and I know it will remain in my thoughts from time to time in the days and months to come.

Books Read

1. Doyle, Roddy, The Woman Who Walked into Doors, 1-01-08, good but upsetting, account of spousal abuse in Ireland.

1. 2. Martin, Steve, Born Standing Up, 1-11-08, very good, entertaining,
2. 3. Viorst, Judith, Alexander and the Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent, Terrific, Ninety Days, 1-13-08, good.
3. 4. Bohjalian, Chris, The Double Bind, 1-20-08, good but not what I thought it would be.
4. 5. Niffenegger, Audrey, The Time Traveler’s Wife, 1-29-08, excellent, so happy I finally got around to reading it.
5. 6. Follett, Ken, Pillars of the Earth, 2-15-08, second reading, excellent. (3)
6. 7. Borchert, Don, Free for All, 2-20-07, good.
7. 8. Delinsky, Barbara, The Secret Between Us, 2-23-08 good.
8. 9. Follett, Ken, World Without End, 3-21-08, excellent (3)
9. 10. Jin, Ha, A Free Life, 4-02-08, very good, Chinese family immigrant experience.
10. 11. Doyle, Roddy, Paula Spencer, 4-09-08, excellent, Irish woman, recovering alcoholic, her life.
11. 12. Richmond, Michelle, The Year of Fog, 4-15-08, best book of the year, child goes missing.
12. 13. Kinsella, Sophie, Remember Me?, 4-26-08, disappointing, chick lit amnesia young woman
13. 14. Grisham, John, 5-01-08, The Appeal, very disappointing, company contamination in small town resulting in Cancer
14. 15. McCall Smith, Alexander, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, 5-06-08, a little boring, woman detective in Botswana, little quirky
15. 16. McBain, Ed, Alice in Jeopardy, 5-14-08, woman’s children are kidnapped, excellent.
16. 17. Tolle, Eckart, The New Earth, 5-18-08, excellent, memorable.
17. 18. Picoult, Jodi, Change of Heart, 5-24-08, excellent, death penalty with heart transplant case.
18. 19. Walters, Barbara, Audition, 6-05-08, excellent, life story. (2) (add 5)
19. 20. McEwan, Ian, On Chesil Beach, 6-10-08, good, newly wed couple at beach hotel.
20. 21. Ferris, Monica, Embroidered Truths, 6-16-08, so-so, murder mystery in a yarn shop, not impressive.
21. 22. Wolitzer, Meg, The Ten Year Nap, 6-23-08, very good, women’s lib redone.
22. 23. Taylor, Jill Bolte, My Stroke of Insight, 6-29-08, excellent, young brain scientist has a stroke.
23. 24. Macomber, Debbie, Twenty Wishes, 7-04-08, very good, bookstore owner and her widow friends make 20 wishes
24. 25. Dave, Laura, The Divorce Party, 7-08-08, good, a little quirky, couple married 35 yr getting divorce, giving party, surprises.
25. 26. Pols, Mary F., Accidentally on Purpose, 7-10-08, very good, single woman has baby, challenges.
26. 27. Wood, Patricia, Lottery, 7-19-08, excellent, developmentally man wins the lottery and deals with his life and how it is affected.
27. 28. Hilderbrand, Elin, Barefoot, 7-26-08, good. three women with various problems spend the summer on Nantucket.
28. 29. Hilderbrand, Elin, 8-1-08, excellent, woman with responsibilities gets caught up with summer affair, all kinds of complications result; well plotted, much more interesting than #28.
29. 30. Berg, Elizabeth, The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted, 8-6-08, good, short stories featuring middle aged women doing something out of character.
30. 31. Dubus, Andre III, The Garden of Last Days, 8-18-08, excellent, a cross section of people in Florida whose lives get out of control
31. 32. Green, Jane, The Beach House, 8-23-08, quite good, events in a large summer house on Nantucket.
32. 33. Martel, Yann, Life of Pi, 8-30-08, good, took some time to become interesting.
33. 34. North, Darian, Thief of Souls, 9-8-08, so-so, about cults and getting caught up in them.
34. 35. Pattillo, Beth, The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society, 9-14-08, good, small town ladies knitting, reading, and dealing with their lives, a little light.
35. 36. Frey, James, Bright Shiny Morning, 9-24-08, very good, fiction about the people of Los Angeles and events taking place there.
36. 37. Haigh, Jennifer, The Condition, 9-30-08, excellent, New England family with three children and lots of various issues.
37. 38. Siddons, Anne Rivers, Off Season, 10-10-08, good, woman at Maine seaside with husband's ashes reflects on her life.
38. 39. Patterson, James, Sail, 10-18-08, good, reads like a movie, mom and children on sailboat against wicked stepfather
39. 40. Chamberlain, Diane, 10-28-08, The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes, excellent, needy teenager makes decisions resulting in secret life.
40. 41. Davidson, Andrew, The Gargoyle, 11-12-08, horribly burned man and his life, strange and different, a little hard to read.
41. 42. Shreve, Anita, Testimony, 11-18-08, private school situation, excellent.
42. 43. Woods, Stuart, Hot Mahogany, 11-22-08, disappointing. This is an author whose early books were terrific, full of suspense and excellent plots.
43. 44. Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth, M.D. , On Life after Death, 11-28-08, very good.
44. 45. Enger, Lin, Undiscovered Country, 12-4-08, excellent. Teenage boy avenges his father's mysterious death. Well written and memorable.
45. 46. Wroblewski, David, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, 12-15-08, mute boy and a family tragedy, excellent. Beautifully written. Needed more information to complete the ending which was profoundly sad.
46. 47. Lamb, Wally, The Hour I First Believed, 12-25-08, well done, how the aftereffects of a traumatizing event like the shootings at Columbine have long lasting consequences on the lives of those involved and those nearby.
47. 48. Shaffer, Mary Ann, and Barrows, Annie, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, 12-31-08, very good, adventures on the Isle of Guernsey and its characters just after WWII.
    

2007

1. Block, Lawrence, Time to Murder and Create, 1-02-07, good.
2. Crichton, Michael, Next, 1-09-07, very good.
3. Burroughs, Augusten, Running with Scissors, 1-14-07, odd and quirky.
4. Wiesel, Elie, Night, 1-16-07, an important book.
5. Cusk, Rachel, The Country Life, 1-23-07, really good.
6. Delinsky, Barbara, A Woman Betrayed, 1-28-07, excellent.
7. Braselton, Jeanne, A False Sense of Well Being, 1-31-07, so so.
8. Gardner, Lisa, Alone, 2-7-07, pretty good.
9. Hilderbrand, Elin, The Love Season, 2-13-07, outstanding.
10. Jacobs, Kate, The Friday Night Knitting Club, 3-01-07, quite good.
11. Hilderbrand, Elin, The Beach Club, 3-07-07, very good.
12. Delinsky, Barbara, Family Tree, 3-12-07, ok but kind of unbelieveable.
13. Haddon, Mark, A Spot of Bother, 3-19-07, very good.
14. Mullen, Thomas, The Last Town on Earth, 3-23-07, wow, so good.
15. Orenstein, Peggy, Waiting for Daisy, 3-29-07, good.
16. Picoult, Jodi, Nineteen Minutes, 4-4-07, good but disturbing.
17. Kinsella, Sophie, Shopaholic & Baby, 4-12-07, a little silly
18. Binchy, Maeve, Whitethorn Woods, 4-18-07, very sweet Irish life.
19. Davidson, Sara, Leap!, 4-29-07, very good. NF
20. Shriver, Lionel, The Post Birthday World, outstanding, F, 5-08-07
21. Shreve, Anita, Body Surfing, outstanding, F, 5-20-07
22. Dann, Patty, The Goldfish Went on Vacation, N, 5-23-07, good.
23. Vida, Vendela, Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name, F, 5-25-07, really good.
24. Krauss, Nicole, The History of Love, F, 6-01-07, confusing.
25. Ephron, Nora, I Feel Bad about My Neck, 6-04-07, NF, very good.
26. Woods, Stuart, Fresh Disasters, 6-11-07, F, formulaic
27. McCarthy, Cormac, The Road, 6-13-07, F, outstanding
28. Drabble, Margaret, The Seven Sisters, 6-18-07, F, so so, mildly interesting
29. Hood, Ann, The Knitting Circle, 6-22-07, good.
30. Gilbert, Elizabeth, Eat, Pray, Love, 7-02-07, N, very interesting
31. McCaffrey, Anne, Stitch in Snow, F, 7-06-07, dated but readable, about knitting.
32. Ramin, Cathryn Jakobson, Carved in Sand, N, 7-12-07, outstanding.
33. Macomber, Debbie, Back on Blossom Street, F, 7-19-07, very good.
34. Frank, Robert, Richistan, N, 7-24-07, good.
35. Mones, Nicole, The Last Chinese Chef, 8-4-07,F, dragged a little.
36. Wall, Judith Henry, Family Secrets, 8-8-07, F, outstanding.
37. Garr, Teri, Speedbumps, 8-18-07, N, very good.
38. Gardner, Lisa, Hide, 8-20-07, F, very good.
39. Fitzgerald, Laura, Veil of Roses, F, good. 8-27-07
40. Gardner, Mary, Boat People, F, so so but a cultural experience, 9-03-07
41. Bloom, Amy, Love Invents Us, F, 9-08-07, strange.
42. Kuipers, Alice, Life on the Refrigerator Door, F, 9-13-07, very good but very quick.
43. Hosseini, Khaled, A Thousand Splendid Suns, F, 9-15-07, excellent.
44. Evanovich, Janet, Lean Mean Thirteen, F, 9-20-07, good
45. Groh, Brian, Summer People, F, 9-26-07, outstanding
46. Robison, John Elder, Look Me in the Eye, My Life with Asperger’s, N, 10-05-07, very good.
47. Gill, Michael Gates, How Starbucks Saved My Life, 10-09-07, N, excellent
48. Packer, Ann, Songs Without Words, 10-21-01, F, good but dragged a little.
49. Bloom, Amy, Away, 10-28-07, F, not compelling.
50. Walls, Jeannette, The Glass Castle, 11-04-07, outstanding.
51. Penney, Stef, The Tenderness of Wolves, 11-10-07, outstanding.
52. Gruen, Sara, Water for Elephants, 11-16-07, very outstanding
53. Sebold, Alice, The Almost Moon, 12-8-07, disappointing
54. Karon, Jan, Home to Holly Springs, 12-15-07, like a visit with an old friend
55. Tropper, Jonathan, How to Talk to a Widower, very outstanding, 12-18-07
56. Dann, Patty, The Goldfish Went on Vacation, very good, 12-29-07

2006

1. Piercy, Marge, Three Women, 1-06-06, Very good.

2. Evanovich, Janet, To the Nines, 1-16-06, so so.

3. See, Lisa, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, 1-15-06, good.

4. Woods, Stuart, Iron Orchid, 3-2-06, good.

5. Karon, Jan, Light from Heaven, 3-19-06, very good.

6. Coben, Harlan, The Innocent, 3-28-06, good.

7. Evanovich, Janet, Eleven on Top, 4-12-06, so so

8. Lamott, Anne, Plan B Further Thoughts on Faith, 4-25-06 good.

9. Bartlett, Ann, Knitting, 5-07-06, so so

10. Lansens, Lori, The Girls, 5-17-06, excellent.

11. Levine, Judith, Not Buying It, 6-01-06, excellent.

12. Gardiner, Kay, and Shayne, Ann, Mason-Dixon Knitting, 6-03-06, excellent.

13. Rocha, Sharon, For Laci, 6-9-06, good.

14. Holloway, Dave, Aruba, 6-19-06, good.

15. Woods, Stuart, Dark Harbor, 6-23-06, good.

16. Dispenza, Joseph, God on Your Own, 6-30-06, very good.

17. Proulx, Annie, Brokeback Mountain, 7-2-06, interesting

18. Macomber, Debbie, Susannah’s Garden, 7-8-06, quite good.

19. Amick, Steve, The Lake, the River, and the other Lake. 7-24-06, outstanding

20. Chiaverini, Jennifer, Quilter’s Apprentice, 8-06-06, good.

21. Tyler, Anne, Digging to America, 8-14-06, very good.

22. Berg, Elizabeth, We Are All Welcome Here, 8-18-06, very good.

23. Block, Lawrence, Tanner on Ice, 8-30-06, good.

24. Pitlor, Heidi, The Birthdays, 9-8-06, so so.

25. Glass, Julia, The Whole World Over, 10-08-06, excellent

26. Edwards, Kim, The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, 10-20-06, very good.

27. Litzenburger, Liesel, The widower : a novel , 10-25-06, so so 28. Snicket, Lemony, The Ominous Omnibus, 11-10-06, good 29. Snicket, Lemony, The Miserable Mill, 11-23-06, good. 30. Crittenden, Danielle, Amanda Bright@home, 12-05-06, good. 31. Woods, Stuart, Short Straw, 12-10-06, very good 32. LeZebnik, Claire, Knitting Under the Influence, 12-17-06, good. 33. Albom, Mitch, For One More Day, 12-19-06, good. 34. Hiaasen, Carl, Nature Girl, 12-28-06, good.

2005

1. Wolfe, Tom, I Am Charlotte Simmons, 1-03-05, good
2. O’Neal, Tatum, A Paper Life, 1-06-05, good.
3. McLarty, Ron, The Memory of Running, 1-12-05, very good
4. Haddon, Mark, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, 1-19-05, very good
5. Hiaasen, Carl, Basket Case, 1-27-05. so so
6. Buck, Pearl S., The Good Earth, 2-03-05, great
7. Haigh, Jennifer, Baker Towers, 2-08-05, disappointed that it wasn’t as great as Mrs. Kimble
8. Dunning, John, The Bookman’s Wake, 2-16-05, disappointing
9. Compton, Jodi, The 37^th Hour, 2-19-05, very good.
10. Grisham, John, The Broker, 2-26-05, excellent
11. McQuiston, John, Finding Time for the Timeless, 2-27-05, good.
12. Frey, Amber, Witness, 3-01-05, pretty good.
13. Spragg, Mark, An Unfinished Life, 3-05-05, excellent.
14. Block, Lawrence, All the Flowers Are Dying, 3-13-05, excellent.
15. Block, Lawrence, The Burglar on the Prowl, 3-21-05, so-so
16. Picoult, Jodi, Vanishing Acts, 4-02-05, quite good.
17. Bird, Anne, Blood Brother, 4-5-05, good.
18. Shreve, Anita, Light on Snow, 4-20-05, very good.
19. Block, Lawrence, Burglars Can’t Be Choosers, 5-19-05, good.
20. Mitchard, Jacquelyn, The Breakdown Lane, 6-02-05, very good.
21. Wolitzer, Meg, The Wife, 6-7-05, very good.
22. Macomber, Debbie, A Good Yarn, 6-13-05, good.
23. Crier, Catherine, A Deadly Game, 6-24-05, very good.
24. Woods, Stuart, Two Dollar Bill, 7-10-05, so so
25. Inclan, Jessica Barksdale, Walking with Her Daughter, 7-17-05, very good.
26. Fonda, Jane, My Life So Far, 7-28-05, very good.
27. Kinsella, Sophie, The Undomestic Goddess, 8-16-05, so so
28. Wiggs, Susan, Table for Five, 8-25-05, cute.
29. Hosseini, Khaled, The Kite Runner, 9-01-05, excellent
30. Levitt, Steven D. and Dubner, Stephen J., Freakonomics, 9-16-05, excellent.
31. Mystery of reincarnation : the evidence & analysis of rebirth /by Danelek, J. Allan, 1958 so so
32. Siddons, Anne River ,Sweetwater Creek , ; good but not wonderful. 10-09-05
33. Diamond, Diana, The Stepmother, very good, 10-17-05.
34. McMillan, Terry, The Interruption of Everything, very good, 10-28-05
35. Lurie, Alison, Truth and Consequences, excellent, 11-01-05
36. Frey, James, A Million Little Pieces, 11-14-05, excellent
37. Ablow, Keith, M.D. Inside the Mind of Scott Peterson, 11-21-05, good.
38. Ward, Amanda Eyre, How to Be Lost, 11-30-05, excellent.
39. Didion, Joan, The Year of Magical Thinking, 12-06-05, good.
40. McCourt, Frank, Teacher Man, 12-27-05. good.

2004

1. Trigiani, Adriana, Lucia, Lucia , 1-02-04, pretty good.
2. Anderson, Fred, From Chunk to Hunk, 1-5-04, good.
3. Andrews, Mary Kay, Little Bitty Lies, 1-19-04, good
4. Connelly, Michael, Lost Light, 1-26-04, very good
5. Dams, Jeanne, Sins Out of School, 1-31-04, pretty good
6. Bush, Barbara, Reflections, 2-06-04, very good
7. Patterson, James, Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas, 2-10-04, okay
8. Howard, Linda, Cry No More, 2-24-04, quite good
9. Cohen, Adam, The Perfect Store, 3-6-04, quite good
10. Tyler, Anne, The Amateur Marriage, 3-14-04, excellent
11. Grisham, John, The Last Juror, 3-23-04, excellent
12. Tyler, Anne, Earthly Possessions, 3-29-04, so so
13. Patterson, James, Hide and Seek, 4-2-04, so so
14. Block, Lawrence, The Burglar Who Studied Spinoza, 4-6-04, good
15. Scott, Joanna Catherine, The Lucky Gourd Shop, 4-17-04, very good.
16. Block, Lawrence, The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart, 4-29-04, so so
17. Kinsella, Sophie, Can You Keep a Secret?, 5-5-04, great
18. Stossel, John, Give Me a Break, 5-11-04, very good.
19. Picoult, Jodi, My Sister’s Keeper, 5-13-04, very good.
20. Siddons, Anne Rivers, Islands, 5-24-04, quite good.
21. McCain, John, Why Courage Matters, 5-27-04, dry.
22. Winston, Lolly, Good Grief, 6-01-04, excellent
23. Delinsky, Barbara, The Summer I Dared, 6-15-04, good
24. Thayer, Nancy, The Hot Flash Club, 6-22-04, very good.
25. Truss, Lynne, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves, 6-27-04, very good.
26. Lott, Bret, A Song I Knew by Heart, 7-8-04, very good.
27. Macomber, Debbie, The Shop on Blossom Street, 7-18-04, quite good.
28. Haruf, Kent, Plainsong, 7-22-04, outstanding
29. Haruf, Kent, Where You Once Belonged, 7-27-04, very good.
30. Haruf, Kent, Eventide, 8-02-04, outstanding
31. Grafton, Sue, Q is for Quarry, 8-6-04, good
32. Woods, Stuart, Reckless Abandon, 8-16-04, good.
33. Newman, Judith, You Make Me Feel Like an Unnatural Woman, 8-30-04, very good.
34. Reichs, Kathy, Fatal Voyage, 9-11-04, good.
35. Woods, Stuart, Chiefs, 9-28-04, outstanding.
36. Oates, Joyce Carol, The Falls, 10-11-04, good.
37. Chaon, Dan, You Remind Me of Me, 10-21-04, excellent.
38. Binchy, Maeve, Nights of Rain and Stars, 10-25-04, good.
39. Kinsella, Sophie, Shopaholic & Sister, 11-04-04, excellent
40. Hiaasen, Carl, Skinny Dip, 11-15-04, excellent and funny
41. Eugenides, Jeffrey, Middlesex, 11-30-04, excellent
42. Woods, Stuart, The Prince of Beverly Hills, 12-06-04, so-so

2003

1. Kotlowitz, Alex, The Other Side of the River, 1-9-03 so so

2. Allen, Charlotte Vale , Grace Notes, 1-14-03,good

3. Connelly, Michael, Chasing the Dime, 1-20-03, very good

4. Connelly, Michael, Bloodwork, 1-29-03, very good

5. Sebold, Alice, Lucky, 2-5-03, very good

6. Hendricks, Judith Ryan, Bread Alone, 2-14-03, excellent

7. Goudge, Eileen, Taste of Honey, 2-23-03, quite good

8. Cabot, Meggin, The Boy Next Door, 3-1-03, quite good

9. Grisham, John, The King of Torts, 3-8-03, good

10. Faber, Michel, The Crimson Petal and the White, 4-2-03 (833 pgs), excellent

11. Haigh, Jennifer, Mrs. Kimble, 4-5-03, excellent

12. Tolle, Eckart, The Power of Now

13. Woods, Stuart, Dirty Work

14. Kinsella, Sophie, The Shopaholic Ties the Knot

15. Iles, Greg, Trapped, 5-12-03, very good

16. Shreve, Anita, All He Ever Wanted, 5-15-03, very good

17. Taraborrelli, J. Randy, Once Upon a Time

18. Ray, Jeanne, Step Ball Change, 6-22-03 good

19. Berg, Elizabeth

20. Clinton, Hillary, Living History, 7-13-03

21. Kidd, Sue Monk, The Secret Life of Bees soso

22. Steinbeck, John, East of Eden, 8-13-03 excellent

23. Delinsky, Barbara, Flirting with Pete, 8-21-03, good.

24. Dan Brown, The DaVinci Code, 8-28-03, 3.5

25. Rice, Luanne, Cloud Nine, 8-31-03, 4

26. Shapiro, Dani, Family History, 9-07-03, excellent

27. Weisberger, Lauren, The Devil Wears Prada, 9-19-03, good

28. MacComber, Debbie, Change in Habit, 9-21-03, 3.5

29. Feiler, Bruce S. , Learning to Bow, 10-13-03, very good

30. Paton, Alan, Cry the Beloved Country, 10-19-03, good

31. Parkhurst, Carolyn, The Dogs of Babel, 10-27-03, very good

32. Block, Valerie, None of Your Business, 11-05-03, excellent

33. Douglas, John, Anyone You Want Me to Be, 11-17-03, excellent and disturbing

34. Lamb, Wally, Couldn’t Keep It to Myself, 11-29-03, very good.

35. Karon, Jan, Shepards Abiding, 12-1-03, excellent

36. Albom, Mitch, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, 12-3-03, a little disappointing.

37. Goodwin, Stephen, Breaking Her Fall, 12-17-03, great

38. Woods, Stuart, Capital Crimes, 12-19-03, pretty good.

39. Agatston, Arthur, M.D., The South Beach Diet, 9-30-03, pretty good.