A DECEMBERED Grief, Living with Loss While Others are Celebrating 
- by Harold Ivan Smith c.2011

I received this book as a gift right after our son's suicide in 2015. I have been given a lot of books on surviving grief, understanding grief, handling grief, coping with suicide, losing a loved one, etc, etc. and have found that the majority of them, at least for me, were boring and no help at all. A Decembered Grief, by Harold Ivan Smith is the first book I have found interesting and quite helpful. His book offers suggestions on how to handle every type of situation that arises during what he calls, "the three holidays." I wish I had read it sooner. This is an excellent book (which is available in a hardcover gift edition) to give to anyone who has lost a loved one within the last year. The best time to read this is in October to prepare for the holiday season starting with Thanksgiving.

Dead in the Family, Audio edition by Charlaine Harris

I picked up this audio book at a freebie table not really knowing what to expect. After listening to it I discovered it is the 10th book in a series called "The Southern Vampire Mysteries. The TV series True Blood was based on these books. It's a bizarre tale set in Northwestern Louisiana complete with a southern drawl, vampires, shape-shifters, faeries, and werewolves. The main character, Sookie is human, can read minds, is in a complicated relationship with Eric a Viking vampire, her cousin Claude, a gay male stripclub dancer moves in with her after his second twin sister dies, and she is right in the middle of the never-ending turmoil of the supernatural. Except for the occasional over-explicit/described sex, it was a fun novel to listen to.

Someone I Wanted To Be - by Aurelia Wills

I found this to be a dark and depressing view of real life

 as an overweight 15-year old high school teenager with skinny diva friends. Leah's life is the life of millions of high school girls. Her mother, a widow, is over worked, underpaid, and dependent upon her wine to help her finish off her days.

There were no bright spots in this story, yet, I was compelled to read it to the end. 

Unlocked; Audio edition - by Karen Kingsbury

I love Karen Kingsbury's writing style and this one did not let me down; even though I listened to it on a CD instead of reading it.
An interesting concept into the mind of autism. I gave this one a 5-star but it bothered me that through-out the story the parents kept wondering if the vaccinations were the cause of their son's autism. There is no proof of that. BUT, the fact that he was given so many all at one time is something to be questioned.

The Dog That Whispered - by Jim Krause

Every time I read one of Jim Kraus' books I think it's the best one.

I loved the interaction Thurman (the dog) has with Wilson, his owner.
This story was very powerful in focusing on PTSD for veterans and their families of the VietNam War.
The dual storylines came together perfectly, without a rush, at the end.

Giving this one 5 stars!

An Amish Awakening...a tenderhearted sojourn to Heaven and back by Rick Leland

I won this book from LibraryThing's Early reviewers.
I didn't really start to enjoy this book until the 6th chapter. I found if I skipped the Author chapters it was easier to read.It was interesting and gave me a lot to think about. I did like getting a glimpse of the Amish life from a man's point of view.