When life gets a little bit nuts.

    When life gets a tad crazy and stressful sometimes we turn inwards or escape into books that  while entertaining may not be of the highest literary calibre. While I do not dismiss these novels as being trivial or poorly written I will say that the several I have read over the past few months  tend to become muddled and mixed up in my mind. Entertainment, certainly, great and powerful literature, no. First off I will say that I finally read THE DRESS LODGER by Sheri Holman. I know it received outstanding reviews when first published but frankly, after the first 150 pages I was underwhelmed. The premise of the book is fascinating, the actual delivery, not so much. I cannot in good consciousness recommend this book to anyone, save those who wish to plod through the muck and miasma of a plague-filled history of England and her less than likable denizens.I also read two books by Sarah Addison Allen: THE PEACH KEEPER and GARDEN SPELLS. Honestly I cannot differentiate from either of them; they were that similar. I know I enjoyed them but trying to critique them separately is like trying to figure out which shoe goes on which foot when you're in pre-school. It is nigh on impossible. I also read THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN by Kate Morton. Her writing and her plot is very similar to one of S.A.A's books (don't remember which.....SIGH......) but I kind of remember it as being better written. Who knows. I am sure there are many many people who would absolutely love these books and their protagonists but when I read I prefer to encounter a plot, a storyline and characters that stay with me well after I have finished the book. The novels I have mentioned here all tend to fall into what I would call the  "Chinese food" category: tasty and delicious but after several hours one is hungry and has forgotten what one has eaten.