Friday, April 1, 2016

March came and went......

So I didn't do great last month. Only 4 books, 796 pages.  I just don't have tons of time that I'd like to devote to reading anymore. I know, that doesn't sound very much like me. But it is what it is. 

Below Stairs by Margaret Powell (212 pages). This was a memoir written in 1968 by a woman who started as a kitchen maid in a big house in England at the ripe old age of fifteen and eventually rose to be a cook. She spills the tea on all the behind the scenes (or below the stairs) events. The maids who were let go when they found themselves "in trouble". The crazy masters and mistresses of the house. It was a very interesting book, especially in light of this being the last season of Downton Abbey!  It took me 21 days to read (but only 4 days of actual reading time)

The Mother Goose Diaries by Chris Colfer (121 pages). This was an extra in the Land of Stories series. And it was super cute. Turns out Mother Goose has been around (and involved) for quite a few centuries. From fighting dragons to getting spurned by Henry VIII to fighting for women's rights, Goose has seen it all!  It took me just a few hours to read. So I decided to start the second extra in the series as well!

Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty by Chris Colfer (120 pages). Another extra in the Land of Stories series. It wasn't quite as much fun as Mother Goose's. But then again, Red isn't always my favorite character in this series. She's funny, but conceited. And more than a little delusional. Her book was the same thing. All about how she's the best queen ever, even though her subjects can't stand her. It was okay. It took me two days to read. 

The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain (343 pages). O. M. G. Loved this book!  When Riley was nearly 2 years old, her older sister committed suicide. The family was never the same. Over twenty years later, Riley's dad dies and she goes home to settle his estate. Little does Riley know that the sister she thought was lost might have actually started a new life.  Why?  Because she was an accused  murderer. As Riley digs further into her family's past, she realizes that her family's future is going to be very different that what she had imagined. It took me 5 days to read (only 3 actual reading days).