Blowing My Cover: My Life As a CIA Spy and Other Misadventures by Lindsay Moran

I finished reading Blowing My Cover:  My Life As a CIA Spy and Other Misadventures by Lindsay Moran late last night and I was sad for it to end.

This is a true story of Moran who became a case officer (spy speak for "spy") with the CIA in latter part of the 1990s. She'd always wanted to be a spy but came to realize it was nothing like we read about in novels or see in movies and TV.

The bulk of the book takes up her training to be a spy with maybe a third covering the often dull and weird world of actually spying, which means finding and recruiting foreign agents (those who will turn on their own country and spy for the U.S.).

Moran was in Macedonia when planes attacked the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon in 2001. This was the beginning of the end for her career, of her own choosing.

If you like spy thrillers even a little, this book is an eye-opener that I just loved reading!

Book Read:  Blowing My Cover:  My Life As a CIA Spy and Other Misadventures

Author:  Lindsay Moran

Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman

I just finished reading Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman. This novel is a fictional account of Sigmund Freud and his relationship with his wife's sister. Some letters resurfaced in the recent past that indicate that the famous father of psychoanalysis probably did have an affair with Minna Bernays. The story was interesting but it sort of drug on for me.

What I did learn is that Freud was a real asshole! What a self-centered egotistical man. Good grief. He may have been a genius but what a guy. Not someone I can respect. 

This book is a fascinating look at the time period, mostly set in 1895 and 1896 in Vienna, Austria, but there is a bit of traveling through Europe. 

Book Read:  Freud's Mistress

Author:  Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman

The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian

I love Chris Bohjalian's novels, and The Light in the Ruins was no exception. This novel was set in Italy during and after World War II. The suspense built till the very end when it was revealed who was killing members of the Rosati family that had a villa in Tuscany during the war. 

Read a bit more about this interesting book here, if you like.

Book Read:  The Light in the Ruins

Author:  Chris Bohjalian

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, an Amazing Novel

I got up this morning, put on a pot of coffee, and finished reading Donna Tartt's amazing novel The Goldfinch. This is one of those epic books that you don't want to end. I appreciated the nice wrap up at the end so I wouldn't feel too discombobulated after finishing it. I'm just sad that's all there is.

At 771 pages, this book is a whopper but well worth the hours it takes to read it. Read my brief review here.

Book Read:  The Goldfinch

Author:  Donna Tartt

Stella Bain by Anita Shreve

I love Anita Shreve's novels. Stella Bain is her latest and I was not disappointed. 

This book was not one of my favorites of hers but it delivered. The story centers around a woman during World War I who leaves her family in America to volunteer in Europe in a field hospital. She loses her memory and the first part of the book deals with her trying to figure out who she is. The second part reveals her true identity and pieces together what led her to leave everything behind.

If you like well thought out books that are so well written the words are a delight to read, pick up Stella Bain.

Book Read:  Stella Bain

Author:  Anita Shreve

This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett

I finished reading this collection of essays by Ann Patchett yesterday. I really enjoyed each one. The variety kept things interesting and I love her writing.

Read more here in my Squidoo article about the book.

Book Read:  This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage

Author:  Ann Patchett

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

I read the third installment in the Bridget Jones books and loved this one! I read the first book, Bridget Jones's Diary. Then I watched the movie and the second one, The Edge of Reason, but I didn't read that one.

I'm glad I read this. It was sad, so sad. I won't give away anything here to spoil it for you, but I loved this book. Helen Fielding is such a funny writer once you get past her random-thoughts way of writing.

Need a page turner that goes fairly quickly? I'd give Mad About the Boy two big ol' thumbs up, nits be damned!

Book Read:  Bridget Jones:  Mad About the Boy

Author:  Helen Fielding