Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Absolutely American – Four Years at West Point by David Lipsky – This is a sympathetic portrayal of the college careers of part of the West Point Class of 2002. We listened to this on our trip to Florida. I’m very cynical about anything military and the SO is ex-Army. We both agree that this book made us hate the people at West Point. The only people we liked in the book were those in trouble for not going along with the system. The point of their “education” seemed to be to make them into total a$$holes without a shred of human decency. If they retain any compassion the authorities will try to have them removed from the school by any means necessary. The SO said that he had been told by an officer that he would have been good at West Point Now he thinks that he was insulted instead of complimented.

Dead Beat by Jim Butcher – This is another Dresden Files book. All I have to say about this one is that it includes the battle cry, “Polka will never die!” and uses a one man polka band machine to control a reanimated T. rex. That totally thrilled a good Polish girl like me! Loved it.

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen – Paxton Osgood is renovating a grand old house to turn it into an inn. The first event it holds will be the 75th anniversary of the Woman’s Club, of which Paxton is the president. Willa Jackson’s family built the house and lived there until they lost it for tax evasion in 1936. Now she runs a sporting goods store in town. When a peach tree is removed from the grounds and a skeleton is found, the mystery unites Paxton and Willa. The answer lies with their grandmothers, former best friends who now live in the same nursing home.

The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin – In the late 1800s American heiresses went to England to marry English Lords. They got a title and the men got money to fix up their estates. This novel is the story of what happens after a huge society wedding.

This is a typical romance novel with lots of details about the rich people of the time.

Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West – When a screenwriter reads in the tabloids that her director boyfriend is dating the star of his movie, she runs home to her grandmother to mourn just in time for her father’s engagement party to yet another woman younger than she is. While there she starts to interview the three women in her life – her grandmother, her grandmother’s maid, and her grandmother’s best friend. They tell her the story of her parents’ lives that differs considerably from what she has been led to believe.

This book had a good premise but books about “why doesn’t my daddy/mommy love me?” tend to annoy me. I just want to answer, “Probably because you’re so whiny!”

Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson- audio – The SO has been trying to make me interested in this for years. He brought it on vacation with us to make me listen. It was written in 1919. It is a series of short stories about different people in an Ohio town. It was totally depressing. All of them are horrible, nasty people who hate women and are mean to animals. Everyone is just sneaking out into the woods for sex. I’m surprised there was any room to lay down out there with all the couples in the woods. It was well written but it made me want to shoot myself after hours of depressing stories about ruined lives.

Where Am I Reading? – New York, Illinois, North Carolina, England, Louisiana, Ohio