The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Reading Level: Adult

I haven't read this book but I hope to in the future, once I'm done with all of Diana Palmer's books. From the cover it sounds like a really good book. On Rose Edelstein's ninth birthday she discovers that she has a magical gift. Upon the first bite of her mother's homemade lemon-chocolate cake she discovers that she can taste her mother's emotions in the slice. Her mother's emotions aren't happy ones. Her emotions taste of despair and desperation. From then on food becomes a peril and a threat to Rose. Every food she encounters has an emotional story, not all good. This gift forces Rose to confront the hidden truths about her family. As she grows up she realizes there are some secrets that even her taste buds cannot discern.

As a lover of food I would not want to have that gift. The best tasting food can be made by people who are not happy and eating something laced with despair or rage would ruin my food experience. Although that might help me on my diet :).

This looks good so check it out. If you read it before me let me know what you think of it.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Reading Level: Adult Non-fiction

This is a book by Malcolm Gladwell that cannot be put down. Unlike, "The Tipping Point," which gets bogged down in minutia, this book is an easy read. Unfortunately, the information in it is life-changing, as Gladwell joyfully debunks the myths we have about talent and success. In it, step by step, he shows how nurture not nature creates sports stars and musical geniuses. It makes it difficult to read any other biography after this, as, if we accept Gladwell's examples as fact, than the only think that made Mozart a better musician than Salieri was the amount of time he practiced. Reading the book makes it difficult to say that a child is "talented" or "has an aptitude for" anything, but causes the reader to look more deeply into the factors that contributed to someones skill.

He uses examples from various realms, from the Canadian soccer leagues, to the boy billionaires of the computer age, and explains why certain people are pre-determined to succeed. While it is disheartening to read, it is also uplifting when combined with the new book about "Tiger Mothers," for both reinforce the message that it is only hard work and the magical "10,000 hours" that make for success in a particular field.

Submitted by Gertrude

Time flies when you're doing a reading marathon!

Wow, I didn't even realize it has been almost a month since my last post. I have been on a Diana Palmer kick lately and have been breezing through her books pretty quickly. I didn't want all my posts to be about the same author. I really do enjoy Diana Palmer but her books have similar themes. The main male character hates women while the main female character not so secretly loves him but is skittish around men. The man is overbearing while the female is shy but has some spunk. Eventually they wear each other down and fall in love. Sometimes I think the male character is a little harsh. If a man seemed to have that much contempt for me and always hurt my feelings I would tell him to take a hike but that could just be me. I like when the characters have animosity but only when it's not harsh. For the most part it's a playful animosity because the man really does love the woman but he's not ready to admit it to himself or to her. But there has been an occasional character that I would have left and found someone else. I do enjoy her books. They have romance, action, and humor which I love.

So while I'm on my Palmer kick I do have some book reviews to post from patrons and I'll be posting about books that I think would be good to read.

Don't forget that if you send a review my way you can get a free book out of our book sale room. Free is good!

The Lost Saint by Bree Despain

Reading Level: Young Adult
(3/2 out of 5)


Can you keep a secret? You can, good because I have a confession to make. I didn't read this book in it's entirety. The Dark Divine sucked me in and I totally enjoyed it. The Lost Saint did not. I'm not sure if it was Daniel pulling away from Grace or Grace being totally absorbed in wanting to be a super hero. I liked the beginning of the book and the end. I didn't love the end because it leaves you hanging but it kept me interested enough to finish it. So I skimmed the middle. Please don't hate me. I will read the third book because I have to know what happens but I hope it's like the first one where I couldn't put it down.

At the end of the Dark Divine Grace had saved Daniel from his curse, was bitten and infected with the curse by her brother, and her brother ran away. In the Lost Saint you find Grace being trained by Daniel to use her curse for good and not evil. Then she gets a call from her brother warning her that she wasn't safe. She wants to find Jude and make her family whole again but everyone is against that idea. Then Daniel and her father are against her training. So she finds someone who will train her but she slowly starts being taken over by her wolf. It doesn't help that Daniel is pulling away from her. Towards the end of the book you understand why Daniel is pulling away and they both fall into a deadly trap. And then you are left hanging by the ending.

Now I'm not saying you won't love this book because you might. It just wasn't doing it for me. If you have read the book please comment and tell me what you thought of it.

Angel Time by Anne Rice

Reading Level: Adult

An assassin can redeem himself by answering a prayer from the past. He is taken to a city and answers the prayers of a Jewish lady who has lost her daughter. He prevents a riot. He is returned to the present time. We can look forward to another assignment!

Submitted by Rose

Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves

Reading Level: Young Adult

I haven't read this book but it intrigued me enough to want to blog about it. Dia Reeves is a fellow librarian so I thought that was cool.

Kit and Fancy Cordelle are sisters of the best kind: best friends, best confidantes, and best accomplices. They are the daughters of the infamous Bonesaw Killer. And they find themselves starting to give into their deepest desire-the desire to kill. So the killing spree begins and they have learned from their father's mistakes. But when Fancy stumbles upon a mysterious and invisible doorway to another world, she opens a door to endless possibilities.

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

They say all good things must come to an end and I'm okay with Rose's story coming to a close. I'm sure Rose and the rest will make an appearance in Ms. Mead's spin off series called Bloodlines narrated by Sydney. I say I'm okay because after six books I was ready to see who Rose ended up with. It's not a surprise she chose Dimitri but I have a soft spot for Adrian and I hope he is in the Bloodlines series because he needs a good woman by his side. Do I see Jill in his future? But Ms. Mead ultimately did to me what Stephenie Meyer did. I first fell in love with Dimitri and then I was heartbroken when he became a Stigori. It was like when Edward left Bella in New Moon. Then Adrian stepped up his game and I fell for him like I did for Jacob. Then of course they restored Dimitri and Edward did come back. But by then I was head over heels for Adrian and Jacob. Adrian does have his vices but I always seem to fall for the guys who need a keeper. So in the end I was team Jacob and now I'm team Adrian. At least you knew at the end of Breaking Dawn that Jacob had someone. Although it was slightly creepy since Reneesme was only a child at the time, but I digress.

At the start of Last Sacrifice you find Rose being accused of Queen Tatiana's murder. She didn't do it but all the evidence points towards her. So her friends decide to bust her out of jail because her trial is coming up faster than anticipated and the verdict isn't looking good. Once out she is on the run with Dimitri and Sydney. Instead of sitting tight like she was told she convinces Dimitri and Sydney into helping her find Lissa's illegitimate sister so that Lissa can have voting rights. After reading the first five books you know that Rose is going to get into a lot of trouble. Which she does but like in the other books Rose has a way of getting herself out of trouble as well. This book didn't disappoint. It was full of action, intrigue, and romance. Since it was the last book in the series I would have liked more closure but all is forgiven since their will be the spin off and I'm hoping to see characters that I have grown to love.