Welcome

Hi! My name is Margot. My blog is about the things I love to do. That could be what I'm reading, places we visit, my family, food, or whatever else is happening. I hope you'll stay and visit a while. Contact me by email: joyfullyretired (at) gmail (dot) com.

What I’m Reading

Saying It Well

Justice

Forever

The Sense of an Ending

Wish You Were Here

A Moveable Feast

Clarissa

The Odyssey

My Book Rating System

A = Excellent in every way
B = Very good story
C  = Good/Average
D = Poor
F = So Bad I couldn't finish it

Archives

Book Review: The Spellman Files

Author: Lisa Lutz Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2007 Genre: Mystery My Rating: B+ Summary (from the author’s website): Isabel Spellman, the uncompromising—okay, obstinate—twenty-eight year-old San Francisco private eye in Lisa Lutz’s riotous debut novel, THE SPELLMAN FILES has her share of problems. And those problems all happen to be named Spellman.Her parents, Albert and Olivia, [...]

Book Review: The Western Lit Survival Kit

Full Title: The Western Lit Survival Kit: An Irreverent Guide to the Classics, from Homer to Faulkner Author: Sandra Newman Publisher: Gotham, January 3, 2012 Genre: Nonfiction Back when I was in college one of the graduation requirements was a two-semester course called Survey of Western Civilization. Although it was challenging, it remains one of [...]

Book Review: Growing Up Amish

Author: Ira Wagler Publisher: Tyndale House, 2011 Genre: Nonfiction/Memoir My Rating: B+ It’s my opinion that most of us who read books featuring the Amish are fascinated by the simple and wholesome life-style. While living in Indiana I passed their farms and buggies and shopped with them at quilt and fabric stores. I have no [...]

Book Review: Falling to Pieces: A Shipshewana Amish Mystery

Author: Vanetta Chapman Publisher: Zondervan, October 1, 2011 Genre: Amish, Mystery My Rating: B+ I like to read an occasional Amish novel, although lately I’m on an Amish roll. They are usually a good clean, non-complicated story with a background of faith. Falling to Pieces is all of that and then some. There are some [...]

Book Review: Drop Shot by Harlan Coben

I’m not sure why I haven’t read one of Harlan Coben’s books before but, I saw an audiobook of his at the library prior to the Read-A-Thon and decided to try it. It was just right for the Read-A-Thon. I had chicken-duty and other chores that day, so it made a good accompaniment. There were [...]