Imagine receiving a formal invitation to meet with an individual who turns out to be your Life. Lucy Silchester, a single, late twenties female with a less than challenging job is floating along in life.  After an encounter with a gentleman who professes to be her Life, Lucy is forced to examine how her choices in life have shaped her present circumstances.  Easy to read, Lucy's witty and sarcastic comments catch you off guard as you gradually unravel her lies and motivations.  Her relationships with her family, coworkers, and friends are humor filled and somewhat wretched at the same time. Share Lucy's journey with her Life guy as a guide in this thought provoking, moral tale with a magical twist.

What would you do if you knew the world was coming to an end in a matter of months?  Would you keep on working? In this pre-apocalyptic police procedural set in the United States, Hank Palace is a quirky detective who continues to investigate deaths including a seemingly innocent suicide. In a world turned upside down by a looming asteroid, this fast paced mystery is surprising and intricately plotted while being oddly uplifting. Palace’s dedication to his job forces us to question the worth of a life when all will perish in weeks. Winner of 2013 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, this is the first book in a trilogy. Ben H. Winters currently lives and writes in Indianapolis, Indiana.

From #1 New York Times-bestselling author Nora Roberts comes a novel of a woman who needs nothing, a man who sees everything, and the web of deceit, greed, and danger that brings them together—and could tear them apart . . .
When professional house-sitter Lila Emerson witnesses a murder/suicide from her current apartment-sitting job, life as she knows it takes a dramatic turn. Suddenly, the woman with no permanent ties finds herself almost wishing for one. . . .
 Artist Ashton Archer knows his brother isn’t capable of violence—against himself or others. He recruits Lila, the only eyewitness, to help him uncover what happened. Ash longs to paint her as intensely as he hungers to touch her. But their investigation draws them into a rarified circle where priceless antiques are bought, sold, gambled away, and stolen, where what you possess is who you are, and where what you desire becomes a deadly obsession. . . . 

I really liked the Rear Window-esque plot. Lila enjoys people watching while she house sits in fabulous locations. Her habitual peeping leads to witnessing a murder through her binoculars. Lila, Ashton and several other friends work together to try to solve the mystery of who killed her and why. I was really enthralled by the latest novel in Nora Roberts’ outstanding career. It reminded me of her previous novel, Three Fates, which is still one of my favorites. The almost 500 page novel was thrilling and difficult to put down. I read over 400 of the pages in one day. Another must-read novel by one of my favorite authors!

 

This BBC series is set in the mid-1950s in a poverty stricken area of East London.  Nurse midwives work alongside an Anglican order of nuns to deliver most babies at home, as was the custom at the time.  The characters are all very likable or at least interesting, which adds to the viewer's enjoyment.  The key midwife is young nurse Jennie Lee, although the viewer comes to love ALL the nurses and the nuns that work together.  Smoking was very pervasive at that time and so the series stays true to the period.  For the squeamish, many of the birth scenes are very realistic, but the viewer also is elated to see a baby delivered successfully.   Sometimes there is tragedy, but overall, this compelling series leaves us wanting to view the next season in the series.  The plot lines of the episodes keep progressing in the lives of the nurses and nuns, so if possible watch this series beginning with Season One.  Popular music from the time period is incorporated periodically, which adds to the viewing and listening experience.

Daughter of the warrior queen, Isabella. Infanta of Spain. Queen of England.

To many, Katherine is known as Henry VIII's first wife, the Queen who was pushed off her throne by Anne Boleyn. In Philippa Gregory's bestselling novel, though, readers will be shown that there was far more to Katherine's story than just her marriage to one of England's most notoriuos monarchs. From almost day one, Catalina of Spain was raised knowing that she would one day be Queen of England. At the young age of fifteen, she set out to fulfill her God-given destiny, leaving her family, her home, and even her name behind in order to rule a country that did not welcome foreigners. Not even a year into her marriage, tragedy struck: overnight, Katherine was stripped of her husband, her throne, and her livelihood. Where many would have given up, though, Katherine fought on. Against all opposition, she refused to accept her newly given title of Queen Regent and settle into a life of widowhood. She continued to believe in her destiny and put all of her efforts into making it come true. Efforts that would, after many years, win her the hearts of all of England...

Attorney Mickey Haller is a Los Angeles attorney who owns a small fleet of Lincoln automobiles, which he uses as an office as needed, hence the name "The Lincoln Lawyer".   Mickey owes a big mortgage on an almost empty scenic home, and has two ex-wives who figure prominently in the story, as well as a teenage daughter.  In a brutal assault case, Mickey may actually have found a truly "innocent" client - or is he?  The plot keeps twisting and turning, with a surprising ending.  This 10 disc set read by Adam Grupper is highly recommended.  This title is also available in regular print, large print, and a DVD released in 2011.  I have not seen the movie, but usually the book is better than the movie, so read it or listen to it first!

FBI special agent Kate O'Hare has made it her mission to nail international con artist Nicolas Fox. When she discovers his plot to plunder a venture capitalist's twentieth-story Chicago penthouse of all its cash and treasures while the self-proclaimed "King of Hostile Takeovers" is getting married, Kate is 85 percent--okay maybe 92 percent--sure that she's finally going to bag Nick Fox.

 Problem is, first Kate has to convince her boss, building security, and maybe even herself, that wedding planner Merrill Stubing is actually Nicolas Fox. Second, she has to figure out how to corner and capture him without disrupting the event of the year. And third, what's going to happen once O'Hare finally gets her hands on Fox? It's going take a pro to catch a con before the fireworks over Lake Michigan go off.

 I am a longtime fan of Janet Evanovich’s novels. Readers will be entertained by the quick wit of her characters and the fast-paced action. This new series reminds me of the TV show “White Collar” with the addition of sexual tension between the FBI and the fugitive. Excited to continue on with the characters in the full length novels The Chase & The Heist!

In Such a Pretty Fat, Jen Lancaster learned how to come to terms with her body. In My Fair Lazy, she expanded her mind. Now the New York Times bestselling author gives herself—and her generation—a kick in the X, by facing her greatest challenge to date: acting her age.
Jen is finally ready to put away childish things (except her Barbie Styling Head, of course) and embrace the investment-making, mortgage-carrying, life-insurance-having adult she’s become. From getting a mammogram to volunteering at a halfway house, she tackles the grown-up activities she’s resisted for years, and with each rite of passage she completes, she’ll uncover a valuable—and probably humiliating—life lesson that will ease her path to full-fledged, if reluctant, adulthood.

This is Jen Lancaster's fifth memoir. I have to say that I am in love with Jen Lancaster's humorous view of her own life. "Jeneration X" made me laugh more than anything I've read this year. My favorite technique of hers is her use of footnotes to add in hillarity, irony, and self-depricating humor. It also made me want to look up her other books. Very enjoyable and I highly recommend reading this book and check out her other memiors!