Innocent Traitor (Alison Weir)

I listened to this book during my commute, which took several weeks, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and learned a lot about Lady Jane Grey. Alison Weir has written several biographies on the Tudors, so I feel like her novel is very accurate, even if some of the events are fiction. You really feel sorry for Jane and how her family made her take the crown and then abandoned her when she was named a traitor. Overall, a very good book, especially if you love Tudor history like I do.

Listened: March/April 2010
Length: 17 discs (that almost as long as Harry Potter!)

Flabbergasted & Delerious Summer (Ray Blackstone)

After spending WAY too much time reading the Left Behind series in high school, I have tended to stay far far away from religious fiction. It tends to be too cheesey for my taste. And do not even get me started on religious romance novels (except for Francine Rivers, obvi).

But Ray Blackston hits the right balance. Entertaining without being cheesey or preachy. Flabbergasted tells the story of a guy who moves to South Carolina and winds up meeting some church-hopping single girls. And falling in love.

A Delerious Summer is about another guy, a missionary, who ends up in South Carolina on furlough and meets the same group of church-hopping single girls. And falls in love. Admittedly, the descriptions sounds cheesey, but I enjoyed both books. Both are told from the male perspective, which I think takes out some of the cheesiness. Plus Blackston's depiction of the singles department in many churches is dead on. And don't blame me if you are dying to go to the beach or the rain forest after reading these!

Flabbergasted: listened to it sometime in 2006? Or 2007?
Delerious Summer: listened to it in March or April 2010?

Bed of Roses (Nora Roberts)

Bed of Roses is the second installment in Nora Roberts' Bride Quartet series. I read 80% of this on our trip to Spain. It was the perfect, easy read for a vacation - no brain power involved. And even though the book is entirely predictable, I enjoyed reading it! Who doesn't love a fluffy love story every now and then?

This book follows the florist, Emma, as she falls in love and pursues her own happy ending. I can't tell you more than that without giving the whole thing away. Can't wait to read the next one: Savor the Moment. It comes out soon!

Dates: March 18-28

Length: 330 pages

My Life in France (Julia Child)

I enjoyed reading this book and learning more about how Julia Child developed her love of french cooking. In this memoir, she relays several interesting stories and gives you a sense for how she came to adore french food and became interested in learning to cook. Some parts of the book were a little dry (too many details about people they met, etc.) and I had to skim a bit. But overall, the book was worth reading. I was happy that I had seen Julie & Julia first because it gave me a sense of the people/places in the book. I kind of want to rent some episodes of her cooking show just to see how she really was in person. And maybe, just maybe, I will try one of her recipes someday!

Time: March 1-12 & April 1-7

Length: 300 pages

Bonus: This was a library book! Thats why the dates are weird. I had to return the book before our trip and then re-check it when I got back!