Swim to Me by Betsy Carter

I received this book as a gift (along with the Jane Austen Book Club) as part of my book club's Christmas book exchange. This is a great book!

Before Walt Disney World, Florida was full of small, kitchy attractions. The greatest was the mermaids of Weeki Wachee Springs. This is the story of Delores Taurus, the greatest of the mermaids. Delores, a 17 year old girl, has left her mother and young brother to start a new life at Weeki Wachee Springs. Being in the water is her one escape from a dreary life. Her father has abruptly abandoned the family and Delores now clearly understands that he is not coming back for her. So she sets off on a greyhound to apply for a job at Weeki Wachee as a mermaid. This is such a great book! It is at times sad, funny and tragic. Well, maybe not that tragic. It made me yearn for the ocean and the hot sun. Great book to read during the cold Ohio winter!

The Cypress House by Michael Koryta

As part of my theme on authors I HAVE liked, I got this book by the author of The Ridge. I liked this book, but probably not as much as The Ridge. That will teach me to read books in the order they were published. In Michael Koryta's case, I think he is getting better.

This book follows Arlen. He can see when death is approaching. He and his young friend Paul are on a train bound for a depression-era work project in the Florida Keys when Arlen sees death in the eyes of all his fellow passengers. He tries to warn them, but no one except Paul will listen. He and Paul leave the train and end up headed on a journey that gets 'curiouser and curiouser'.

I liked this book, though I had figured out portions of it before the end. If you like thrillers, this is a great author to read. I have one other of his books sitting on my shelf. I will let you know how it goes :)

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

This is the first book I read through kindle from my local library. It was odd and I wondered if portions were left out when it was digitized. The story is about the two granddaughters of the founders of a women's club in a mountain town. There are random instances of the supernatural that aren't well seamed into the story and not really commented on by the characters. At times, I wondered if I was going crazy. After finishing the book, I am not totally clear what the title means, which is something that really bothers me. Parts of the story were good but it was just odd in a 'what am I missing?' way.

Saving Ceecee Honeycutt

I love a good, southern, chick-lit book. This one does not disappoint. CeeCee is rescued from a cold, scary home and transported to the lovely south to live with her Great Aunt Tootie and Tootie's maid and best friend Oletta. She is surrounded by crazy southern ladies who are lovely and sweet and who you would love to sit on a porch and drink tea with.

There are,however, real issues in this book. Mental illness and how it is handled. The importance of community. The strength of women and the very real difference between the north and the south. I really liked this book.

Revenge of the Kudzu Debutantes: A Novel by Cathy Holton

Three friends, living outside Atlanta, decide to take control of their lives and get revenge on the husbands who have done them wrong. They will lie, cheat, and blackmail in order to regain control over their lives.

This book is cute and fun and interesting.

A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg

I love Fannie Flagg. She is like fried chicken and gravy....pure comfort reading. The story is centered on a town in Alabama. Oswald, from Chicago, is told he has one year to live so he packs up his bags and ends up in Lost River. He wants to die in peace, but the people of Lost River won't let him. It is a sweet, heart-warming story.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The main characters in this book are Minny, Abilene and Skeeter. Skeeter is a young white woman who has just graduated from college with a journalism degree. She comes home to Jackson, Mississippi to discover that the woman who raised her is gone. On her quest to find out what happened to Constantine, Skeeter starts talking to "the help", the maids of her friends. As Skeeter gets to know "the help" as people, she decides that their stories would be the perfect thing to write about.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. It is homey and comforting yet full of uncomfortable historical facts that really make you understand what the south was like in the 1950s. It is full of fun, tears and cruelty. Did I mention I LOVED THIS BOOK?!

Get it and read it and pass it on...and think how lucky you are that YOU didn't come of age in the 1950s.