The Snapshot Review

What I Liked: The diverse range of women’s voices represented in this wonderful collection of stories about first periods.

First Line of First Essay: The chronology: I learn, I cry, I wish, I get, I divulge. (Louise Story, “Oh, Brother, 1993”)

Ms. Bookish’s Very Quick Take: This is the book that I wish someone had given me before I got my first period; it is most certainly one that I will gift the young girls in my life in celebration of the first period. And it’s one that boys and men might find very enlightening.

Read the Full Review of <%= My Little Red Book %>

The Snapshot Review

What I Liked: Complex plot with lots of twists, and great series characters.

First Line: It took no more than a match, nestled beneath the crumpled paper and foil crisp packets.

Ms. Bookish’s Very Quick Take: An intricate mystery that’s difficult to put down, In a Dark House is well worth the read.

Read the Full Review of In a Dark House

Here are the books that arrived at the Ms. Bookish household this past week:

Mystery: Bones, by Jonathan Kellerman. I have read all of Kellerman’s previous Alex Delaware books, and I’m definitely looking forward to this latest one – I’ve been waiting and waiting for it to come out in paperback (which it did before my turn came up for the hardcover version at my local library). Kellerman’s mysteries are complex and intricate, and since I know they’re difficult to put down, I’m waiting for a nice chunk of time when I can sit and read this one from cover to cover. (If I don’t, and give in to impulse, I’m almost guaranteed a 3 am bedtime as a result, and I’m getting a little long in the tooth for that kind of thing these days.)

Romance: Married in Seattle, by Debbie Macomber. I actually bought this book by mistake. I’ve been meaning to read Jodi Picoult, but I couldn’t remember her name (that long in the tooth thing again) and when I saw the name Debbie Macomber, I thought, that must be who I was thinking of. Only it wasn’t.

Mystery: In a Dark House, by Deborah Crombie, via Bookmooch. I just finished reading this a few days ago – the review is on my to-do list. I read the first Kinkaid/James mystery last summer and enjoyed it, and after stumbling on a few reviews of other books in the series, I decided to pick up In a Dark House – and I am extremely glad that I did! I am determined now to read all the books in the series. Yes, it was that good.

Update: Forgot this one (not sure why, since I’m actually in the middle of reading it – oh wait, that long in the tooth thing, again, right?): Chick Lit: It Would Be Funny … If It Wasn’t My Life, by Lisa Dow. This one’s a fun one, so far.

Mailbox Mondays is hosted each Monday over at The Printed Page – it’s a great way to see what other book bloggers are adding to their TBR piles.

The Snapshot Review

What I Liked: Commander Adam Dalgliesh and all the much-loved regulars are back; the suspects and victim are well-characterized as usual; the mystery is complex and intelligent.

First Line: On November the 21st, the day of her forty-seventh birthday, and three weeks and two days before she was murdered, Rhoda Gradwyn went to Harley Street to keep a first appointment with her plastic surgeon, and there in a consulting room designed, so it appeared, to inspire confidence and allay apprehension, made the decision which would lead inexorably to her death.

Ms. Bookish’s Very Quick Take: Another Adam Dalgliesh novel from P.D. James is always cause for celebration, and this one definitely does not disappoint.

Read the Full Review of The Private Patient

From the back of the book:

Dear Martin,

I’m sorry the note I left you was so abrupt. I just wanted you to know I was safe … I won’t be back for awhile. I’m on a trip. I needed all of a sudden to go, without saying where, because I don’t know where. I know this is not like me, I know that. But please believe me, I am safe and I am not crazy, I felt as though if I didn’t do this I wouldn’t be safe and I would be crazy …

And can you believe this? I love you.

Nan

The Snapshot Review

Great quote: I think I will not use a map. And I think I would like to stop at a house now and then and ask any woman I find there, how are you doing? No, but really. How are you doing?

Ms. Bookish’s Very Quick Take: This is a beautiful story about a 50-year-old woman’s coming of age. The writing is at times truly gorgeous; it’s definitely a novel to be savoured.

Read the Full Review of The Pull of the Moon

It’s time for Mailbox Monday again – Mailbox Monday is hosted each Monday by the Printed Page, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to check out the books people have added to their TBR piles in the last week.

Here’s what arrived in my home this week:

Chick lit: Midori by Moonlight, by Wendy Tokunaga. I won this book in a giveaway over at S. Krishna’s Books and I’m really looking forward to reading it.

Mystery: The Spellman Files, by Lisa Lutz. This one caught my eye while I was out shopping – it looks like a fun quirky mystery kind of like the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovitch.

Paranormal: Marked, by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. This is the first in the House of Night series.

Young adult: Family Affairs: Secrets of My Hollywood Life, by Jen Calonita. This isn’t the first in the series, but I bought it anyway – it just looked too interesting to resist.

Non-fiction: The Towering World of Jimmy Choo, by Lauren Goldstein Crowe and Sagra Maceira De Rosen. I love shoes – need I say more? ARC courtesy of Bloomsbury.

Children’s Books: Little Skink’s Tail, by Janet Halfmann. This delightful picture book has already reaped a tower of awards; I’m definitely looking forward to reviewing this one. Review copy courtesy of the author and Sylvan Dell Publishing.

What books came into your house this past week? And don’t forget to hop over to the Printed Page to see what treasures have arrived at other book bloggers’ houses, too!