slow year for me! (41-43, plus 16-18 audio)

These books are light and fun. (Not light in the non-dark sense, light in the don't require a lot of thought sense.) They tend to start a bit slow for me and pick up about the mid-point. I liked it well enough, but I'm just not sure they are compelling enough for me to pick up book four.

This was a perfect (if accidental) read for Halloween

This was a good story, crafitly told. I can't tell if it was Morton's debut or not, but even if not it's an impressive feat for a newer author. Though the book was long, I found it fast paced; it didn't take but a couple of pages to get into it (though I suspected the mystery's solution right from the start, and confirmed it well before the end) I was engaged the whole way through.

I REALLY liked it, but there were just some things that bothered me enough not to love it. The end had a bit of a nod to Chick Lit, and at some times I found it soap operaish. My age old question: "What's my motivation?"

Minor quibbles. I will be reading more Morton, but I suspect she has a bit of a formula (back and forth in time) to her stories, and I think it best to spread her out and not read her books too closely together. I suspect her writing will only get better as she gains more experience.

Very short, very fast read about a WWII family in Denmark. This Lowry felt very much more like a children's book than the others I've read by her. I liked it, but it didn't pack any punch.

First I have to gush about the audio. WOW! The narrator was fantastic. Anthony Heald (was in Silence of the Lambs). I will look for more audio read by him.

The rags to riches saga of Wang Lung, who when poor was good and wise, and when rich was indulgent and foolish. The writing was great, the characters were great. I found myself in total suspense and rooting for things like "Come on rain!" "Let them get a bite of food today", and "No ... Don't sell your daughter."

It was sweet and sad, and overall great.