Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen Covey
2. Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin Van Ogtrop
3. Crush on You by Christie Ridgway
4. Lift  by Kelly Corrigan
5. Slow Heat  by Jill Shalvis
6. They Cage the Animals at Night by Jennings Michael Burch
7. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson
8. Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt
9. The Best Man by Kristan Higgins
10. Old School by Tobias Wolff

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot
2. Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins
3. Stephanie Plum series (starts with One for the Money) by Janet Evanovich
4. Laird of the Mist  by Paula Quinn
5. Seeing Red  by Susan Crandall
6. Kiss An Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
7. The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center
8. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
9. This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
10. The Middle Place  by Kelly Corrigan

The Middle Place

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan

My rating (out of 5 stars):

4 stars—I really liked it!

Description from Goodreads.com:

“Corrigan opens her memoir with these words: "The thing you need to know about me is that I am George Corrigan's daughter, his only daughter." She continues with an unabashed tribute to the first man in her life.George Corrigan emerges as an outsized figure of immense good cheer and spirited disposition. A self-assured adman and former all-American lacrosse player (now part-time coach), he shines brightly, and his daughter appears content to live in his reflected glory.


Kelly considers herself lucky for this great touchstone in her life, and her dad's can-do spirit becomes her greatest asset when she's diagnosed with breast cancer as a young mother. It is her dad's pluck and resolve that will see her through the oncoming battles -- including the realization that her "cure" will mean the end of her ability to bear children and her dream of having a large family of her own.

Though Kelly writes of her husband and daughters, her mother and her brothers, it is her father's love that sustains her. And so, readers fear for her when she reveals that George has been diagnosed with cancer, too. It is at this nadir, facing not only her own mortality but her father's as well, that Kelly finally begins to emerge as a survivor -- a wife, a mother, and more herself. Yet, she will always be her father's daughter.”


My Thoughts:

I could relate to Corrigan and was moved by her story. I was deeply touched by the relationship with her Father. I read this book as I was dealing with some health issues of my own. What impacted me the most was building these important relationships in your life. I hope my children will someday look at me with as much love and respect as Corrigan feels for her Father.

Many reviewers complain about a “whiny” tone in the book. I didn’t see it that way. I felt she was genuine and honest. Overall, beautifully told.  

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This weeks 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
2. Running With Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
3. Blood Vines by Erica Spindler
4. Lift by Kelly Corrigan
5. Sister Queens by Julia Fox
6. Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl
7. Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen
8. The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle
9. Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay
10. A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro

Lift

Lift by Kelly Corrigan

Kelly Corrigan writes a beautifully crafted letter to her children. As a mother, I found this to be uplifting and touching.

Corrigan does not depict motherhood as all sunshine and rainbows, but instead embraces the chaos of raising children to recorgnize the rewards.

Time flies by so swiftly, this book also touches on the fleeting reality of childhood and how a mother's love never ends. This is something every mother can relate to. Sometimes I wish I could pause my children's aging and keep cuddling them for just a bit longer.

I recommend it for the mother's out there! Very sentimental.