For One More Day by Mitch Albom - By the author of The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays With Morrie I kept seeing this book being promoted at Starbucks (where, I must admit, I spend much more time than anyone should...Venti Skim Chai, No Foam, Please!). I decided to finally pick up a copy and see what all the buzz is about for myself. What transpired was a wonderful, soul-touching story of a mother's love and a son's acceptance...after just one more day.

Chick Benetto lived his life trying to please his absent father, often at the expense of his ever-present mother. Chick chased his father's dream of a career in baseball, shunning his mother's dream of a college education. After a series of downfalls, including losing his job, his wife, and his daughter, Chick attempts suicide and instead is given a chance most of us would do anything to have...he is given a chance to make things right and turn his life around by spending one more day with his mother who died eight years prior. Albom writes simply and directly with phrases that often zing right to the heart. The lessons Chick learns are ones we all need to heed. Several sections are entitled "Times I Didn't Stand Up for My Mother," and "Times My Mother Stood Up For Me." For One More Day is truly a love letter to mothers. Whether you've lost your mother or you're lucky enough to still have yours in your life, this book will strike a cord in your heart and make you think...possibly even more than you'd like.

I HAVE to include the following review since it was written by the author of my most favorite book ever...

"If you had the chance, just one chance, to go back and fix what you did wrong in life, would you take it? And if you did, would you be big enough to stand it? Mitch Albom, in this new book, once again demonstrates why he is one of my favorite writers: a fearless explorer of the wishful and magical, he is also a devout believer in the power of love. For One More Day will make you smile. It will make you wistful. It will make you blink back tears of nostalgia. But most of all, it will make you believe in the eternal power of a mother's love." --James McBride, author of The Color of Water

Marathoning for Mortals: A Regular Person's Guide to the Joy of Running or Walking the Half-Marathon or Marathon by John "The Penguin Bingham and Jenny Hadfield - Considering that I've completely lost all my marbles and have signed up to run in the Indy Half-Marathon in May, I figured I'd better do what I do best...read a book to prepare! Although I'm not a "runner", I want to be, and this was the perfect book for people like me, or, in the words of the authors, running mortals.

The authors offered tons of practical (read here doable!) strategies for preparing for and finishing either a half-marathon or a full-marathon. They covered the entire spectrum of things you may encounter from the decision to start training to crossing the finish line. The best quote from the entire book, the one that has inspired me the most, is: "The miracle is not that you finished, but that you had the courage to start." I need to write THAT on my running shoes!

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson - Two of my best friends told me I had to read this book...that it was one of the best either of them had read. I had my reservations as I try to steer clear of the popular authors when it comes to my own reading pleasure. However, I took the advice. I mean, if you can't trust your best friends, who the heck can you trust? And, of course, they did not lead me astray. This was a quick and compelling read that not only had a wonderfully crafted plot, but also created a place in my heart for the characters: Suzanne, Nicholas, Matt, and Katie. This is their story...

Katie Wilkinson is an attractive, successful editor for a well-known publishing house in New York City. As the book begins, Katie is beside herself with grief. Matt Harrison, the man of her dreams, the man she is totally in love with, has just dumped her, as in dumpster dumped, without warning or excuse. This is disasterous for Katie, but the biggest question she ponders is, of course, why. She knew he had been married, but he had sworn to her that he wasn't married any more. Had he lied about that? What had happened? Then, the day after their breakup, she receives a package from Matt in the mail. Inside is a diary --- Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. Who is Suzanne? Who is Nicholas? She soon finds the answer to those questions and much, much more. Although the tome is at times painful to read, she is compelled to continue reading so she can find out the entire story. For a while she is jealous of Suzanne. However, as the diary unfolds before her eyes, she comes to care deeply for Suzanne and Nicholas. What Katie ultimately discovers at the diary's end will not only change her perspective of Matt, but will open her heart to life and all it has to offer.

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray - The sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty, I'd have to say that this book left me quite disappointed. A Great and Terrible Beauty was such a good book, mixing a historical setting with relevant elements of fantasy. However, in Rebel Angels Bray takes the fantasy too far and totally loses the reader. The reader is confused as to place and time as Gemma, Felicity, and Ann jump back and forth from Spence, to London, to The Realms, without any real flow to the story. I will say that the most interesting part of the book was the girls' struggle against fitting into the mold of most Victorian era girls. They struggle to find their own way and not forsake themselves for the expectations of others. That, probably, was the most redeeming quality of this book. However, for the first time on my book blog, I'd have to say...don't read it. Stop after A Great and Terrible Beauty and let the characters simmer in your mind and leave their imprint on your soul. No further story necessary...