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This is one of the books in the Elm Creek Quilt series by Jennifer Chiaverini, her seventh. Although it’s the seventh book she’s written in the series, this one takes us back in time to a few years before the Civil War in the United States, a time frame that is chronologically the earliest of all the books in the Elm Creek series.

Dorothea Granger is the main character. She and her parents now live with her Uncle Jacob, her mother’s brother. The move to Uncle Jacob’s farm happened because Dorothea’s parents’ farm was lost to a flood. Not only is the farm underwater, but so are most of the family’s possessions including Dorothea’s hope chest and her completed quilt tops.

Dorothea’s Uncle Jacob is a stern and rigid man who demands a lot of everyone in the household. Dorothea’s parents don’t argue with Uncle Jacob because they hope he will leave his farm to Dorothea’s brother Jonathan who is currently studying to be a physician in Baltimore.

Daily life on the farm is hard work. Dorothea is glad for the teaching position she has, but early in the book we learn that position is being given to someone else, Thomas Nelson. He comes to Creek’s Crossing under mysterious circumstances. Rumor is that he had been in jail, but that his influential father arranged for his release and had him sent to Creek’s Crossing where the family’s homestead is.

Thomas eventually offers Dorothea a position at the school teaching the younger children while he teaches the older ones. Although Thomas and Dorothea have been at odds with each other Dorothea comes to realize he is a good teacher and is good with children.

At Uncle Jacob’s farm, springtime is when there are long days spent at the farm’s sugar camp boiling maple sap into syrup and maple sugar. Even when it’s not sugaring time, Uncle Jacob spends a lot of time alone at the sugar camp and everyone in the family is too afraid of him to question why.

Like many young women of that time, Dorothea has excellent needlework skills. She enjoys quilting the most. One evening, out of the blue, Uncle Jacob asks her to make a quilt for him. Dorothea is surprised but agrees to do so. Uncle Jacob says he wants it in a design he remembers from a quilt of his mother’s and he proceeds to render the sketches for each of the squares and gives them to Dorothea. She has some problems with working on the quilt because Uncle Jacob doesn’t give her all the sketches at once; and she draws his anger when he finds that she hasn’t done a square exactly how he drew it because Dorothea mistakenly thought he had goofed up on one of his drawings. She doesn’t dare question why Uncle Jacob is so particular about each square but she rips out the incorrect work and finishes the quilt for him.

After giving the quilt to Uncle Jacob, Dorothea is shocked and upset to find that Uncle Jacob has dirtied and soiled the quilt so much that it is impossible to get all the stains out. Also, instead of keeping the quilt on his bed as Dorothea thought he would, he keeps it at the sugar camp.

When Uncle Jacob dies and one of his colleagues comes to pay his respects, Dorothea learns a shocking thing about Uncle Jacob and the sugar camp. The sugar camp is a stop on the Underground Railroad and Uncle Jacob spent so much time there because he was helping fugitives slaves escape and get to the next station. Dorothea learns the quilt she made has been left at the sugar camp because it’s a marker, a map that tells the fugitives the directions to the next station.

Dorothea takes up Uncle Jacob’s work and, with new danger to herself and her family, joins in the fight to get slaves to freedom.

There are other subplots in the book and Chiaverini weaves them all together very well. I was intrigued by one thing in particular though. I wondered if quilts really had been used as markers, or maps, in the Underground Railroad so I did a little online research. There seems to be a lot of debate on that subject. Some say it’s a myth, others say the quilts were used as markers, although I was unable to find any documented stories from slaves who had used to Underground Railroad and who mentioned the use of a quilt as a map.

The quilt being used as a marker is an interesting part of the story of this book though.

I found the book interesting and well written.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 8 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺☺

Mary Higgins Clark is the author or co-author of over 30 books, many of them best-selling suspense stories. Carol Higgins Clark is her daughter and has written several books of her own along with a few that she’s co-authored with her mother.

Because I’ve read most of Mary Higgins Clark’s books and have enjoyed most of them, I decided to read this book, released in November 2006.

The book centers around a cruise that takes place between Christmas and New Year’s. It is the first voyage of a small independent cruise ship that has been refurbished by Randolph Weed and is named the Royal Mermaid. The cruise ship is where Commodore Weed (as he likes to be called), wants to spend the rest of his days, entertaining paid and unpaid guests.

The maiden voyage of the ship is scheduled for January, but because ticket sales have been very poor, Dudley Loomis, his public relations man, suggests hosting a completely free cruise between Christmas and New Year’s for people who have “made the world a better place this past year.” The guest list is 400 people who have given of themselves or who have given a sizeable sum of money to worthwhile and charitable causes. Also included on the cruise are 10 Santa’s, who have been chosen lottery style from all over the country.

In keeping with the theme of the cruise, the 10 Santa’s are asked to wear special lightweight Santa costumes, including black sandals, that Dudley Loomis had made, while on the cruise.

Commodore Weed’s nephew Eric is also part of the crew. Unknown to anyone else on the ship, Eric has made a deal to stow away two runaway criminals because the ship’s only stop is at Fishbowl Island, where authorities don’t extradite wanted criminals to the United States.

Also integral to the story is Alvirah Meehan, a lottery winner and amateur sleuth. She’s on the cruise because of placing a winning bid on the cruise at a charitable auction. Because she placed such a high bid, she is offered, as a bonus for her generous contribution, the last two empty cabins for guests of her choice.

Although there’s a glimmer of hope at the beginning of the book as the storyline is set up, the book was a huge disappointment to me. It was boring and predictable with too many coincidences and unbelievable parts.

For example, how believable is it to have Alvirah jump off the ship to escape criminals, but not hurt herself. Granted the ship wasn’t moving at the time, but she was still jumping into an ocean from the deck of a ship, had already been injured and was recovering, and isn’t exactly a spring chicken. A jump like that could easily injure a young, healthy person.

I don’t recommend the book. If you feel you must read it, borrow it from your local library. Don’t waste your money on it.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 1 ☻☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

Christmas Letters is the third Debbie Macomber book I have read. What I like best about her books is the close knit communities she builds in her books. It makes me feel a little removed from today’s hustle and bustle world where people don’t know and don’t care to know their neighbors; where some people only shop at malls and big box stores instead of at their neighborhood and hometown stores; and where holidays are so commercialized that many people don’t ever take the time to think about the real reason those holidays are being celebrated. This books centers around the Christmas holiday. Christmas is no longer just a Christian holiday. People from many faiths and some that don’t believe in a higher being celebrate Christmas as a time of family and friends, celebrating life, and giving to others.

Katherine O’Connor, or K.O as she is referred to in the book, is single woman who has put herself through school and is currently supporting herself by doing transcription out of her apartment and with a little sideline business of writing Christmas letters until she can find a public relations job.

The Christmas letter business started by accident when someone read one of K.O’s letters and wanted her to make their Christmas letter as witty and interesting as hers were. One example in the book is when K.O. is asked to write a letter by a man whose family highlights include his son being in a detention home and his daughter moving in with her bum of a boyfriend and announcing she’s pregnant. K.O. puts her own spin on events and writes a letter that talks about how the son “had an opportunity he couldn’t turn down and is currently away at school,” and how his daughter and her boyfriend have decided to “deepen their relationship” nothing that “who knows, there might be wedding bells – and perhaps even a baby – in our daughter’s future.” She definitely makes lemonade out of lemons!

The Christmas letters are only a subplot of the book. The main storyline involves K.O. meeting Dr. Wynn Jeffries, a child psychologist who has written a book about how children should be free to make their own choices because they will naturally choose to do the right thing. K.O.’s younger sister Zelda has read the book and is now using it as a bible in raising her young twin daughters. Since Zelda has started using the “free child” philosophies, her daughters have gone from being well behaved and well adjusted children to demanding little monsters who aren’t much of a joy to be around. K.O. thinks the philosophy of the entire book is a bunch of garbage and that it’s ruining her nieces.

K.O. and Wynn discover they have chemistry with each other, but will their completely different views get in the way of their having a relationship? If you read the book, you’ll find out.

The book was enjoyable and easy to read. I liked it even though the storyline was predictable. If you’re looking for a fun lighthearted book to read, especially at Christmastime, read this one.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 8 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺☺

If you’re familiar with Hannibal Lector (he was the main character in “Silence of the Lambs,” another book by Thomas Harris that was made into a highly successful screenplay), this is the book that gives some insight into what made Hannibal into the evil and disturbed person many of us first read about in Red Dragon (the first novel Harris wrote about Hannibal Lector). “Hannibal” is the other book written by Harris about Hannibal Lector.

If you want to read the books in chronological order, start with this one, “Hannibal Rising.” then “Red Dragon,” “The Silence of the Lambs,” and lastly, “Hannibal.” But it’s not necessary to “Hannibal Rising” first because it was the last book written.

Harris writes in a style I find it hard to describe but one that I think of as descriptive and flowing. He has a gift for using the right word at the right time and is great at describing things well enough for a person to be able to produce a vivid picture in their mind, but not so long and drawn out that it gets boring.

In this book we learn how Hannibal’s mind was incredibly keen and sharp even as a child. His father recognized Hannibal’s intelligence and hired him a tutor. We also learn how World War II affected Hannibal and his family, and how he went through things that no child should have to endure.

If you’ve read any of the other books about Hannibal, it’s hard to believe he has a heart, but in this book we find out that Hannibal’s heart belongs to his little sister, Mischa, and that Hannibal would do anything to protect her and to seek vengeance in her name.

This book is not for the weak of heart or weak of stomach, but if you enjoy thrillers you’ll likely enjoy this book too.

Although it doesn’t answer all the questions I had about Hannibal as clearly as I wanted it to, it does talk about how Hannibal’s memory palace, the place he created in his mind, came to be. Hannibal’s memory palace has ornate and spacious rooms. And when Hannibal goes within his mind and places a memory in a specific room he has to take care to not put dark memories against a dark background because then it’s too difficult for him to retrieve that piece of information.

Not everything in Hannibal’s mind lives in his memory palace however. Some things, things he cannot remember because he cannot bear to go there, live outside the palace. Those memories and events are the horrors and fragments of Hannibal’s dreams that he’ll eventually try to remember so that he can seek justice and vengeance.

Although “Silence of the Lambs” is my favorite book about Hannibal, this is a good one too. Thomas Harris is a talented writer and tells a good, but creepy, story.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 9 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺

This was a great easy reading book; at times sad, happy, touching, and heartwarming.

Richard Paul Evans also wrote “The Christmas Box” which was a great book so I had high expectations for this book and I wasn’t disappointed. After Evan’s mother, who was his biggest supporter and fan, passed away in February 2006, Evans decided to write a story for her. This book is that story.

The book was able to evoke strong emotion from me and I quickly felt myself drawn into the story about Macy and Mark; two young people who have had to deal with difficult pasts and who come into each other’s lives in a way that seems completely accidental but maybe really wasn’t.

Macy had been put into foster care when she was a child and was separated from her sister whom Macy embarks on a journey to find now that she’s an adult.

Mark is, in some ways, running from his past. He moved away from home to attend college and missed his mother’s funeral. Because his relationship with his father had never been all that good, Mark doesn’t want to go back home even with the urging of his Aunt. Mark does finally go back, talk to his father, and finds out something surprising.

Joette, another important character in the book, deeply touches both Macy’s and Mark’s lives. Joette helped Macy out when she was at her lowest, and she helps Mark understand that some people are worth fighting for.

I highly recommend this book. I wasn’t able to put it down and finished it in one day.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 10 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻

Ever since my husband read a self improvement book last year that recommended a person go wild and really de-clutter their living quarters (and after being harassed about doing it so long that I finally gave in and did it just so my husband would quit bugging me), I’ve become more aware of how much stuff I have and how much of it I don’t need. By the way, the de-cluttering was painful but my house looks much better and I can easily find something I’m looking for, mostly because I no longer have very much stuff to look through.

Also my daughter is an environmental major at college, so I’ve been taught lots about what people from highly industrialized countries, especially people in America, are doing to our planet. It’s not a pretty story.

That’s a long introduction to why I wanted to read this book. I’ve been trying to simplify my life and be more conscious of what I’m purchasing, so I was intrigued by the thought of someone taking a whole year to not buy anything other than items the author and her partner deemed necessities.

Although there were interesting parts in the book, I didn’t think it spent enough time talking about how the author and her partner managed to not buy things. After all, they did live in New York City part of the year and that’s not exactly a place where you can dig up a patch in your yard and plant a big garden to help sustain you. Yes, the author explained how they repaired their toaster and her watch instead of buying new ones; but those stories were a minor part of the book instead of the main focus. I was disappointed by that.

Instead I learned a lot about the author’s philosophical and political views on various topics including the state of New York City’s library system.

Yes, the author talked about topics that were thought provoking, such as how Americans consume and waste much more than people of other countries and how, if everyone consumed at the rate people in America do, that we would need three planets to sustain the people of the world.

Although I will never diminish how hard it must have been to forgo dining out and purchasing items like clothing for an entire year, I also wonder how much of a stockpile of things they had if it took until August of the year of “not buying it” to finish the last jar of hoisin sauce they owned.

Do I recommend the book? Yes, I do. It will get you thinking about your consumer habits and maybe get you to think twice before you purchase un-necessary items. But be aware that you will be reading about a lot more than someone’s one year journey in life without shopping for un-necessary things.

Did I enjoy the book and learn as much as I thought I would? No. More stories and strategies directly related to getting by without purchasing things would have made the book much more enjoyable to me.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 5 ☻☻☻☻☻☺☺☺☺☺

This is the ninth book in the Elm Creek Quilt series although this is the first one I’ve read. I will be going to my local library to look for copies of the other books in the series so I can read them too.

The concept of this book was new to me, but very interesting. Two of the teachers/artists at Elm Creek Quilts are leaving so new people have to be hired to take their place. In chapter one we learn about Maggie, one of the applicants. We find out what her life is like now, how she came to the decision to apply for a position at Elm Creek Quilts, and we get to be there with her as she has her interview.

In chapters two, three, four, and five, we meet four of the other applicants, Karen, Anna, Russell (yes, a male quilter whose story of how he started quilting is touching), and Gretchen. All five of these people who we come to learn about are interviewed for the open positions, but not everyone is hired because only two positions are open.

In chapter six of the book, the interviewers discuss the applicants they interviewed, make their decision, and extend offers to those people. You may or may not agree with who they choose to hire (I only agreed with one of their choices), but because the book brings you into the lives of all five of the final applicants, you wish they could all be hired.

I thought the chapters on each applicant and their interview was a clever concept. I really enjoyed the book. I’ll definitely read the tenth book in the series when it’s released on April 2007.

The book didn’t take me long to read. I finished it in two nights and enjoyed every page.

But because the books are in a series, I was wondering how important it was to read them in the order they were written because with some series books I’ve read reading them in chronological order was important to know what was going on and to not have plot lines spoiled; but in other series order didn’t matter.

So I checked Jennifer Chiaverini’s web site. She says she wasn’t planning on writing a series when she first started and that she wrote all the books to stand on their own. But she cautions that later books will give away plot lines in earlier books. But the order she wrote the books differs a little from their chronological order. If you want to read the series in chronological order (books 1 through 9), read them as follows:
The Sugar Camp Quilt
The Quilter’s Apprentice
The Christmas Quilt
Round Robin
The Cross-Country Quilters
The Runaway Quilt
The Quilter’s Legacy
The Master Quilter
Circle of Quilters

If you want to read the series in the order it was written then read it as follows:
The Quilter’s Apprentice
Round Robin
The Cross-Country Quilters
The Runaway Quilt
The Quilter’s Legacy
The Master Quilter
The Sugar Camp Quilt
The Christmas Quilt
Circle of Quilters

Personally, I plan to go back and read the rest of the books in chronological order. As I read each one I’ll review it and post that review on this web site.

My rating (0-10 smiley faces): 9 smiley faces ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺

Milk Glass Moon is the third book in a series of books about Big Stone Gap. I recommend reading the books in order which means reading “Big Stone Gap,” then “Big Cherry Holler,” then “Milk Glass Moon,” and then “Home to Big Stone Gap” which as of the writing of this review is the latest book in the series. I have read all four of the books and recommend them

Milk Glass Moon once again brings us into the life of Ave Maria Mulligan MacChesney. Her daughter is growing up which brings new joys, disappointments, and challenges to Ave Maria’s life. Teenage years can be very difficult for a mother and daughter and Ave Maria and Etta deal with their share of conflict. Etta makes a decision that Ave Maria has a very difficult time accepting and it threatens to ruin their relationship.

Her marriage to Jack MacChesney is going well. After a rocky patch in the marriage that was a big part of the last book, Big Cherry Holler, Ave Maria and Jack are still together and happy.

What I like about the books in the Big Stone Gap series is that they talk about real life situations and how people deal with them. At any one time a person may have several things happening to deal with and this book is written in that style. Ave Maria has to juggle her time to keep things going at her job at Mutual’s and work on her relationships there; she needs to take time to be with a dear friend when she is faced with a life threatening situation; she has to work on her marriage because a marriage takes time and hard work; she needs to find enough time to not let her other friendships go by the wayside; and she has her daughter which is the center of her life to love, guide, and help along the way as she grows up and finds her own life.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 8 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺☺

If you are looking for a light reading book, this is a decent choice. Because the plot isn’t complicated or hard to follow, it’s a good book to read while traveling or while on vacation because you can put it down, pick it back up again later to read more, and easily get back into the story.

When I was reading the book, I found myself much more intrigued by the characters than by the plot which was average and predictable. The main character is “B” or Bartolomeo di Crespi if you want to try and pronounce his whole name. He’s an interior decorator who seems to be happy living the life of a bachelor. During the course of the book he celebrates his 40^th birthday, but that’s not the main plot.

His biggest dream as an interior decorator is to renovate and redecorate his church, Our Lady of Fatima. When he hears the church is about to hire an interior decorator, he thinks the job is his since he has been the one who has made the altars look fabulous for many years and because he is devoted to his church. Plus, he’s the only local interior decorator. “B” is shocked, saddened, and angry when he finds out Father Porporino awards the job to an out of town firm.

B wants to go into hiding but his family and friends will only let him have a “pity party” for himself for a short time. In a sudden twist, Father Porporino decides he didn’t make the correct choice of interior designers and gives the job to B. Later in the book we find out why Father Porporino changed his mind.

The story got a little boring to me during the middle when B went to Italy looking to look at the beautiful architecture of churches there in order to get inspiration Our Lady of Fatima. Along the way he purchases statues of the children of Fatima which later play an important part in the story.

While dealing with planning and executing his renovation there are several other characters in the book which liven the story up. There’s his divorced sister who starts dating a married man which is funny and ironic because her divorce was caused by her husband cheating on her. She’s a funny and enjoyable character.

Then there’s his friend Capri and her mother who is holding out hope that Capri and B will get married. Is marriage and romance in the future of B and Capri? And why, halfway through his renovation project does the benefactor pull the remaining funds leaving B scrambling for money to finish it? You may or may not be surprised by the answers to those questions.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 6 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☺☺☺☺

Because John Grisham is a best selling fiction author you may not be aware this book is a non-fiction book, his first one. I didn’t realize it was non-fiction when I got it. Because I’ve enjoyed most of Mr. Grisham’s previous books I automatically assumed this one was another fiction book.

It’s the story of Ron Williamson. His dream was to play major league baseball, a dream he thought was going to be realized when he was drafted by the one of the major league teams in 1971. But he was plagued by injuries, mental problems, and substance abuse problems.

Several years after the death of a cocktail waitress, Ron and a friend of his named Dennis Fritz were arrested and charged with murder of the cocktail waitress. Both were eventually convicted and sent to prison.

This story is sad and maddening. Through errors and misguided beliefs, these two innocent men were put in prison for crimes they didn’t commit.

Although the book can be a little dry at times because it covers a lot of legal information, John Grisham does a good job of telling the story and getting the reader to think about the fairness, or the possible lack of fairness in the justice system along with bringing up the issue of the death penalty. In this book you’ll read about real people’s lives and the anguish and agony they go through because of mistakes and assumptions of a few people in law enforcement.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 7 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺☺☺