Goodreads: Adventures in Books with the Nieces and Nephews

I have been remiss in blogging! Sorry. I was all excited to start a blog, then I couldn't think of anything to say. How silly!

Thanks to Johnny and Shelby and many of the nieces and nephews, I am now a happy member of "Goodreads". This is almost an on-line book club. Or think of it as your own personal book journal. It's where I keep track of the books I'm reading or listening to, while at the same time I find out what all the kids are reading, as well! Great fun!

When I finish a book, I post it on "Goodreads" and I can rate the book, giving it from one to five stars. Then I can write a paragraph about the book, what was fun about it or what wasn't. I write well, and this gives me something to write about. So I often get carried away and write way too much. I try not to give away too much of the story. Which brings me to one of my pet peeves: those blurbs on the back of a book jacket. They tell you too much! They give away secrets. They spoil the fun and adventure of reading along and having surprises. I refuse to read the back of a book until I have finished reading the book itself.

So I write my book reviews as though they had hired me to write the blurb on the book jacket. I put in stuff to make you want to read the book, but I don't give away any surprises. At least, that's my goal.

Here's a review I wrote today on the book, Skeleton Canyon by J. A. Jance.

This is Book #5 of the Joanna Brady Mystery Series. Wonderful! It starts out at a high school football game and ends up with murder and mayhem. In between you have Romeo and Juliet, nuns, smugglers, wild parrots, an abandoned cemetery, a search for Wedgewood China, Girl Scout camp, flash floods, people who elope, racism, at least three drunks, a flying bra, javelina tracks, a helicopter rescue and the fireworks on the Fourth of July.

Which is better in the hot summer of Southern Arizona, a Crown Victoria with air conditioning or an Eagle SUV without? Well, it depends....are the washes running? If so, then you'd best get in the Hummer! This book takes us from Mount Lemmon to Bisbee to Peoria to the Mexican border. And in charge of it all is Joanna Brady, the sheriff of Cochise County. What a woman! In one day she rides a horse in the parade, hosts a wedding at her ranch in the afternoon and presides over the fireworks show that evening. And she does it all with grace, with authority and a gentle sense of humor. I recommend this book and this entire series to anyone who wants to have a wild adventure in reading!

Go to www.Goodreads.com to see more of my reviews and find out what the rest of the family is reading.