BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY — COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU! — APRIL 28

Welcome to another edition of Booking Through Thursday.  Today’s prompt has us turning books into movies.

If you could see one book turned into the perfect movie–one that would capture everything you love, the characters, the look, the feel, the story–what book would you choose?

When I thought about it, I was torn between a couple of different books.  I think something with suspense and intrigue would be perfect, so, of course, I chose Still Missing, by Chevy Stevens.  A young realtor who is kidnapped for unknown reasons and held captive by someone frightening and mysterious…I can see all kinds of heart-pounding moments.  The cabin, the forest, the mysterious elements:  all could elicit the attention of the movie-goer.

Then I also thought about a drama I read recently:  Jodi Picoult’s Sing You Home.  There is plenty of interaction, and the characters can show us the emotions that range from fear to anger, etc.; the scenes in a lovely New England setting would be mournfully poignant.

So what delightful movie productions have you envisioned?  I hope you’ll stop by and share!

MONDAY MEMES: MAILBOX & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — APRIL 25

MONDAY MEMES

Welcome to our Monday Memes, in which we share books received in the mail, talk about what we did last week, and what we’re planning to do next.

Mailbox Monday is hosted through April by Passages to the Past.

What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Journey.

MAILBOX MONDAY:

I received no books this week.  However, I did download my eagerly anticipated copy of The Bird Sisters, by Rebecca Rasmussen.

Rasmussen’s debut novel begins like a typical coming-of-age story, but reveals itself to be a singular portrayal of familial sacrifice and loss. As elderly women, sisters Twiss and Milly live alone in the house where they grew up in Spring Green, Wis. They spend their days tending to injured birds and roaming their land, lost in memories. For Milly, there is the constant reminder of what could have been. Twiss spent her childhood happily trailing behind their golf-pro father, but Milly dreamed about a family and children that never happened. There was hope for a young Milly, until an accident strips their father of his golfing abilities and sets in motion a series of events that rips apart the already unstable family. Dad retreats to the barn, and mom bemoans her choice to marry for love, leaving behind her wealthy family; a cousin who was thought to be a friend becomes an unexpected rival; and the sisters are left with only each other. As young women, and as old ones, they learn that their relationship is rewarding, but not without consequence. Achingly authentic and almost completely character driven, the story of the sisters depicts the endlessly binding ties of family. (Apr.)

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WHAT ARE YOU READING?

This has been a great week.

Here are some blog posts I enjoyed:

Four Things Meme

Booking Through Thursday – Covers

Three Year Blogoversary & Giveaway

Weekend Potpourri – Reorganization

Saturday Snapshot – Favorites

Books Read & Reviewed-Click Titles for Reviews:

1.  Manic, by Terri Cheney

2.  Life After Forty, by Dora Heldt

3.  Night Road, by Kristin Hannah

Ongoing Read: (Just Finished!)

Ten Beach Road, by Wendy Wax (Just posted my review and Q & A…click the title for the post).

What’s Up Next?

1.  Old Loves Die Hard, by Lauren Carr

In this sequel to It’s Murder, My Son, Mac Faraday is settling nicely into his new life at Spencer Manor when his ex-wife Christine shows up—and she wants him back!  Before Mac can send her packing, Christine and her estranged lover are murdered in Mac’s private penthouse suite at Spencer Inn….

2.   Friday’s Daughter, by Patricia Sprinkle

A contemporary novel of sisterhood, the South, and matters of the heart.

3.  The Tapestry of Love, by Rosy Thornton

A warm and uplifting story of how a woman falls in love with a place and its people: a landscape, a community and a fragile way of life. A rural idyll: that’s what Catherine is seeking when she sells her house in England and moves to a tiny hamlet in the Cévennes mountains. With her divorce in the past and her children grown, she is free to make a new start, and her dream is to set up in business as a seamstress. But this is a harsh and lonely place when you’re no longer just here on holiday. There is French bureaucracy to contend with, not to mention the mountain weather, and the reserve of her neighbours, including the intriguing Patrick Castagnol. And that’s before the arrival of Catherine’s sister, Bryony…

4.  Domestic Pleasures, by Beth Gutcheon

If Rosamunde Pilcher lived in 1980s Manhattan, she might come up with a romantic novel like this one. A large cast of characters is involved in various sorts of relationships; at the center are illustrator Martha Forbes and lawyer Charlie Leveque. Following the death of her ex-husband, Raymond, in a plane crash, Martha is dismayed to learn that Charlie, the lawyer who handled Raymond’s hostile divorce proceedings, is now in charge of the estate. Although the two have little in common–except broken marriages and one teenager apiece–they’re forced to work together. Gradually, the superficial barriers between them fall and they find themselves in love–and beset by other problems….

So that’s my week!  What are the rest of you up to this week?  I hope you stop by and share.

PARALLEL UNIVERSES — COPING WITH GRIEF — A REVIEW

What if your perfect life morphed into something dark and dreary, with one day following the next in slow motion? And what if you tried all the suggestions of your friends—like grief group, or keeping busy—until finally, one day, you just had to try something completely off the grid?

In Rabbit Hole, we meet Becca and Howie eight months after their four-year-old son is killed when he chases his dog into the street. They are living like soldiers in parallel foxholes—or rabbit holes, if you will. The connections they once shared are slowly disappearing. And then we see them putting one foot in front of the other until the journey seemingly brings them back to one another.

Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart are fabulous as the grieving parents. Diane Wiest portrays Becca’s mother, a slightly ditzy and graying woman who frequently puts her foot in her mouth, but who at one point, shares something kind of deep about the nature and longevity of grief. She tells her daughter that it is always there, but eventually, it’s like you come out from under the weight of the loss; it turns into something smaller, like a brick, that you carry in your pocket…always with you, but you’re not always aware of it. It’s familiar and you don’t mind it as much anymore.

A sad, yet uplifting journey of recovery that earned five stars from me.

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY — HERE, HOME, HOPE — APRIL 20

Welcome to another edition of Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill, at Breaking the Spine.

Today I’m spotlighting a book that’s coming soon:  May 1, 2011.  Here, Home, Hope, by Kaira Rouda, is all about finding happiness in yourself.

Kelly Mills Johnson becomes restless in her thirty-ninth year. An appetite for more forces her to take stock of her middling middle-American existence and her neighbors’ seemingly perfect lives. Her marriage to a successful attorney has settled into a comfortable routine, and being the mother of two adorable sons has been rewarding. But Kelly’s own passions lie wasted. She eyes with envy the lives of her two best friends, Kathryn and Charlotte, both beautiful, successful businesswomen who seem to have it all. Kelly takes charge of her life, devising a midlife makeover plan.

From page one, Kelly’s witty reflections, self-deprecating humor, and clever tactics in executing that plan–she places Post-it notes all over her house and car–will have readers laughing out loud. The next instant, however, they might rant right along with Kelly as her commitment to a sullen, anorexic teenager left on her doorstep tries her patience or as she deflects the boozy advances of a divorced neighbor. Readers will need to keep the tissue box handy, too, as Kelly repairs the damage she inflicted on a high school friend; realizes how deeply her husband, Patrick, understands and loves her; and ultimately grows into a woman empowered by her own blend of home and career….

What delightful new books are you eagerly awaiting?  Please stop by and share….

MONDAY MEMES: MAILBOX & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — APRIL 18

MONDAY MEMES

Welcome to another reading week by celebrating our Monday Memes.

Mailbox Monday is hosted this month by Passages to the Past.

What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Journey.

MAILBOX MONDAY:

This week, I received one review book and purchased two books from Amazon.

1.  Old Loves Die Hard, by Lauren Carr (ARC Review Book)

In this sequel to It’s Murder, My Son, Mac Faraday is settling nicely into his new life at Spencer Manor when his ex-wife Christine shows up—and she wants him back!  Before Mac can send her packing, Christine and her estranged lover are murdered in Mac’s private penthouse suite at Spencer Inn….

2.  I’m Over All That, by Shirley MacLaine

At a certain time in life, we all come to realize what is truly important to us and what just doesn’t matter. For Shirley MacLaine, that time is now. In this wise, witty, and fearless collection of small observations and big-picture questions, she shares with readers all those things that she is over dealing with in life, in love, at home, and in the larger world . . . as well as the things she will never get over, no matter how long she lives.

Among the things that Shirley is over: people who repeat themselves (“when you didn’t care what they said the first time”); conservatives and liberals; ill-mannered young people; the poison of celebrity (“Why do so many people want to be famous when they see how it can destroy your life?”); being polite to boring people (“If they won’t stop talking, I go into a trance and meditate”); getting older in Hollywood (“How peaceful it is not to have to look particularly pretty anymore or to wear a size 6”)….

3.  Save Me (e-book), by Lisa Scottoline

Suburban mom [Rose McKenna] is forced to make a split-second decision after an explosion goes off in the school cafeteria in which she volunteers. Should she rescue her own daughter, Melly, trapped in the bathroom, or lead the girls standing in front of her, who constantly bully her daughter, to safety? Her choice reverberates throughout the little town of Reesburgh, Pennsylvania, as she is cast as the villain by the local news anchor, parents, and the school. While her attorney and husband construct a defense plan that includes filing a lawsuit against the school, [Rose] sets out to seek the truth behind this mysterious, accidental fire. With the help of a construction worker who may know the cause of the explosion as well as an incognito visit to a local factory, [Rose] slowly unravels the truth and along with it some hidden secrets in Reesburgh’s dark past, including one horrifying buried memory of her own. At the quick pace of a thriller, Scottoline masterfully fits every detail into a tight plot chock-full of real characters, real issues, and real thrills. A story anchored by the impenetrable power of a mother’s love, it begs the question, just how far would you go to save your child? –Annie McCormick

So that’s it for my mailbox!

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WHAT ARE YOU READING?

In this event, we showcase our previous week in blogging, reading, and life.

Here Are Some Blog Posts:

My Interview at Gatekeepers

Saturday Snapshot – Moments

A Bit of Me (Me) – Artistry

Booking Through Thursday – Know Me Through My Books

Books Read & Reviewed- Click Titles for Reviews:

1.  Magical Thinking, by Augusten Burroughs

2.  Waiting for Spring, by R. J. Keller (Amazon Vine)

3.  Down Came the Rain, by Brooke Shields (memoir)

4.  Every Secret Thing (e-book), by Laura Lippman

Ongoing Read:

Manic, by Terri Cheney (a memoir about bipolar disorder)

What’s Up Next?

1.  Life After Forty, by Dora Heldt (Amazon Vine Review)

When Christine’s husband of ten years dumps her over the phone while she watches a Hugh Grant film she is sent spinning on a cathartic, self-medicated journey to the land of self-acceptance and self-reliance. Surrounded by her sister and a strong support group of friends, Christine learns how to deal with the horrors of dating, finding new appliances, and the exhilarating feeling of shopping without consequence.

2.  Ten Beach Road, by Wendy Wax (Publisher Review Request)

When I review this one, I’ll be posting a Q & A with the author.

Madeline, Avery, and Nikki are strangers to each other, but they have one thing in common. They each wake up one morning to discover their life savings have vanished, along with their trusted financial manager- leaving them with nothing but co-ownership of a ramshackle beachfront house.

Throwing their lots in together, they take on the challenge of restoring the historic property. But just as they begin to reinvent themselves and discover the power of friendship, secrets threaten to tear down their trust-and destroy their lives a second time.

3.  Night Road, by Kristin Hannah

For eighteen years, Jude Farraday has put her children’s needs above her own, and it shows—her twins, Mia and Zach—are bright and happy teenagers.  When Lexi Baill moves into their small, close knit community, no one is more welcoming than Jude.  Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, quickly becomes Mia’s best friend.  Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable.

Jude does everything to keep her kids on track for college and out of harm’s way.  It has always been easy– until senior year of high school.  Suddenly she is at a loss.  Nothing feels safe anymore; every time her kids leave the house, she worries about them.

On a hot summer’s night her worst fears come true. One decision will change the course of their lives.  In the blink of an eye, the Farraday family will be torn apart and Lexi will lose everything.  In the years that follow, each must face the consequences of that single night and find a way to forget…or the courage to forgive….

So that’s my week…in review and up next.  What are you reading?  I hope you’ll stop by and share….

THE LONG JOURNEY TO HEALING — A REVIEW

A long line of people have rejected Tess Dyer, even before the final rejection from her husband Jason. The husband who had been a childhood friend, a town star, and the one who had promised to love her forever.

So what will happen next to a woman whose heart is frozen, like the soil that is hard before the Spring thaw?

She moves a few miles away, to another small Maine town, hoping to start over. To create a new life and new memories. And she meets Brian, who fills her heart and life…for awhile.

Waiting For Spring is all about new beginnings, new hopes and dreams, and thawing the cold heart that needs to heal.

The journey is long, and it takes many false starts before Tess can finally get it right. A long, difficult road to finally breaking through the hard core that covers up the first deep wounds: the harsh words from a cold mother. Probing those depths will also help Tess finally acknowledge that her own mother’s legacy of hurt preceded the pain she had administered.

Tess was an intriguing character whose voice is real, a little harsh at times, but very honest. I liked her and enjoyed getting to know her. There were times in this book when the voices felt repetitive. Perhaps they were there over and over for emphasis, but I think the story did not need them. Otherwise, the book was spot on in its ability to shed light on those wounds that stay buried, even frozen, and that those old hurts can still be healed. The journey to healing is the primary theme, and one that resonates. Four stars.

MONDAY MEMES: MONDAY MAILBOX & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — APRIL 11

MONDAY MEMES

Good morning, and welcome to our Monday Memes, in which we share about the books we’ve received, books we’ve read this past week, and what’s up next.

Mailbox Monday is hosted through April by Passages to the Past.

What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Journey.

 

MAILBOX MONDAY:

 

This week, I received four books.  One e-book; one review book; and two books purchased from Amazon.

 

 

1.  Ten Beach Road, by Wendy Wax (review book)

2.   Once Upon a Time There Was You, by Elizabeth Berg

3.   I’ll Walk Alone, by Mary Higgins Clark

4.   The Uncoupling (e-book), by Meg Wolitzer

 

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WHAT ARE YOU READING?

 

This past week, I’ve enjoyed my reading very much.  And today, I’ve written a couple of blog posts that I’d like to share.

Sunday Salon

Sunday Potpourri – Book Treasures

Reading:

Books Read & Reviewed-Click Titles for Reviews:

1.   Mothers & Daughters, by Rae Meadows

2.   Pictures of You, by Caroline Leavitt

3.   Sing You Home, by Jodi Picoult

 

DNF:

My Hollywood, by Mona Simpson

STILL READING:

Every Secret Thing, by Laura Lippman

WHAT’S UP NEXT?

1.  Magical Thinking, by Augusten Burroughs – (from my TBR pile)

A collection of “true” short stories from the author of Running with Scissors, etc.

2.  Waiting for Spring, by R. J. Keller (Amazon Vine)

A recently divorced woman trudges out of one small, Maine town and into an even smaller one, hoping to escape her pain. Instead she finds herself surrounded by people who are trudging on, just like her. Waiting for things to get better. Waiting for spring. Waiting For Spring takes readers beyond the lighthouses and rocky beaches tourists visit and drops them instead into a rural Maine town that is filled with displaced factory workers who struggle with poverty and loss, yet push onward with stubbornness and humor….

3.  Manic, by Terri Cheney (from my TBR stacks)

“Cheney brilliantly brings us along on her haunting and riveting journey of bipolar disorder. …MANIC is extremely powerful.” (Andy Behrman, author of Electroboy: A Memoir of Mania )

“[a] gritty, vibrant, memoir brings this chaotic frenzy to life…through disaster and despair to end in hope. ” (Peter C Whybrow MD author A Mood Apart )

4.   Down Came the Rain, by Brooke Shields (TBR piles)

The actress shares her experience with postpartum depression after the birth of her first child.

 

In glancing over my list and the book descriptions, I am in for a week of turbulent emotional upheaval, varying from bipolar disorder to severe depression.  At the very least, the characters I join this week will be struggling….

How did this happen?  I was seemingly drawn to these books.

What are your book choices this week?  I hope you’ll stop by and share….and maybe cheer me up!

LIVES CAPTURED THROUGH A LENS — A REVIEW

Like capturing the world through the lens of a camera, the author shows us bits and pieces of the characters. We catch a glimpse here, with some shadowing; then we see something illuminated; and finally, when we see the whole, it is transformed. But then again, we see the focus shifting.

In this extraordinary and mesmerizing tale, we first meet the women whose lives intersect tragically on a foggy night on the Cape, three hours from their homes. Coincidentally, the two women have been living in the same town, but like ships passing in the night, haven’t connected. Then, out of nowhere, the driver of one car (Isabelle) comes upon another car stopped in the middle of the road, and the impact is unavoidable.

April, the other driver, dies, but her son Sam lives. But the mystery that brought each of these women to that place continues throughout the story, and how Isabelle’s “survivor guilt” motivates some of her behavior in the upcoming weeks is the thread that continues to connect these characters.

What happens when Isabelle finally meets Sam and Charlie (April’s husband)? Why does Sam feel the need to maintain the connection with Isabelle? How does Isabelle’s photography cement the bonds between her and Sam? What effect do these connections have on the three of them? Will the events of one fateful night tie them together forever, or will the circumstances that follow sever those ties inexplicably? And will Charlie finally learn where April was going on that foggy night?

In the final pages, surprising twists saved this story from any kind of predictability, and just when I thought I knew how it would end, I discovered how wrong I was. Throughout Pictures of You, I could almost feel a paranormal influence in some of the events. A nice segue that turned this tale into something unique and almost spiritual. Five stars.

MONDAY MEMES: MAILBOX & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — APRIL 4

MONDAY MEMES

Good morning, and welcome to our first Monday in April.  Today, and for the rest of April, Mailbox Monday is hosted by Passages to the Past.

What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Journey.

 

MAILBOX MONDAY:

 

This week, I received one review book and bought one e-book.

 

1.  Life After Forty, by Dora Heldt (Amazon Vine)

When Christine’s husband of ten years dumps her over the phone while she watches a Hugh Grant film she is sent spinning on a cathartic, self-medicated journey to the land of self-acceptance and self-reliance. Surrounded by her sister and a strong support group of friends, Christine learns how to deal with the horrors of dating, finding new appliances, and the exhilarating feeling of shopping without consequence.

An uproarious look at the suddenly single life of a divorcee, Dora Heldt’s first book to appear in English captures the zeitgeist of the new millennium with searing insight while never deigning to take itself too seriously. Sparkling dialogue and unforgettable characters create a vibrant world of sardonic, take-no-prisoners women who hold their own in a world geared toward acceptance of their younger selves. Not since Bridget Jones’ Diary or Sex in the City has anything like Life After Forty so accurately and thoroughly expressed the modern female point of view with such startling clarity….

2.  Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, by Stacy Juba

Spring Sale – limited time! Kris Langley has always been obsessed with murder. She blames herself for the violent death of her cousin when they were kids and has let guilt invade every corner of her existence. Now an editorial assistant and obit writer for a Massachusetts newspaper, Kris stumbles across an unsolved murder while compiling “25 Years Ago Today” items from the microfilm. She grows fascinated with the case of a young cocktail waitress who was bludgeoned to death and dumped in the woods. Determined to solve the case and atone for the death of her cousin, Kris immerses herself in the mystery of what happened to Diana Ferguson, a talented artist who expressed herself through haunting paintings of Greek mythology. Not only does Kris face resistance from her family and her managing editor, she also clashes with Diana’s suspicious nephew, Eric Soares – until neither she nor Eric can deny the chemistry flaring between them. Kris soon learns that old news never leaves the morgue and that yesterday’s headline is tomorrow’s danger, for finding out the truth about that night twenty-five years ago may shatter Kris’s present, costing her love, her career, and ultimately, her life….

 

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WHAT ARE YOU READING?

 

 

This past week has been full.  Lots of reading, lots of blog posts.

Some Blog Posts — In Case You Missed Them:

MARCH READING WRAP-UP

INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR CAROL CRIGGER

ROW 80-ROUND TWO GOALS

LIVING FOR THE PEACEFUL MOMENTS-EXCERPT

IT MUST BE LOVE-EXCERPT

SATURDAY SNAPSHOT

 

Books Read & Reviewed-Click Titles for Reviews:

1.  In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote

2.  Tuck Your Skirt in Your Panties and Run, by Lucy Adams

3.  Found (a memoir), by Jennifer Lauck

4.  Untied (a memoir), by Meredith Baxter

 

Still Reading:

My Hollywood, by Mona Simpson

 

What’s Up Next?

1.  Mothers and Daughters, by Rae Meadows (review book)

“Rae Meadows has written a richly textured novel of three generations of mothers and daughters who by finding each other, find themselves. In these beautifully interwoven stories of birth and death, love and loss, Violet, Iris, and Samantha explore the genetic threads that connect each to the others. Mothers and Daughters is a powerful novel of women’s secrets and strength.” – Sandra Dallas, New York Times best-selling author of Prayers for Sale and Whiter Than Snow….

2.  Sing You Home, by Jodi Picoult

“Sing You Home deftly personalizes the political, delivering a larger message of tolerance that’s difficult to fault.” —Entertainment Weekly

“An immensely entertaining melodrama with crackerjack dialogue that kept me happily indoors for an entire weekend.” —USA Today

“[Jodi Picoult] has crafted another winner. . . Picoult cleverly examines the modern world of reproductive science, how best to nurture a child and what, exactly, being a family means.” —People

3.  Pictures of You, by Caroline Leavitt

The Boston Globe describes Pictures of You “as part literary mystery, part domestic drama, and part psychological examination,” and, indeed, the novel kept most critics on their toes the entire time. A novel of loss, redemption, forgiveness, and self-discovery, the intertwining stories grapple not only with the tragedy but also with the mystery of April’s hasty departure from her family. Reviewers commented that what could have been a maudlin, predictable storyline instead becomes fresh with Leavitt’s direct, unsentimental writing; her you-are-here details; and her fully convincing characters. Readers who enjoy both fine storytelling and writing will be sure to savor this novel….

 

And that’s it for this week.  What are the rest of you reading?  I hope you’ll pop in and share….

 

A COURAGEOUS INTERIOR JOURNEY — A REVIEW

Meredith Baxter’s memoir, Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame, and Floundering, burrows into her childhood moments and what it was like growing up the daughter of an actress; then we discover her feelings of loss and abandonment when she believed herself to be simply an afterthought in the lives of her parents. The story gives the reader a peek into her life before celebrity; and then takes us on the journey to that particular destination.

What we’ve known about this actor is the life we’ve only imagined, based on her performances and what we might have read in celebrity magazines. From her star-studded celebrity and her partnership with costar David Birney (from Bridget Loves Bernie), we see an entirely different kind of life behind the scenes. Behind the televised moments, we learn about Meredith’s feeling of having “no voice” in the marriage; we learn about the emotional and sometimes physical abuse; and about the overwhelming feeling of always being “wrong.” From there, we discover the role alcohol played in her life; the symptom of her “thinking” problems that would continue for years afterwards, until finally she reached a point in recovery where she could examine how her thinking, her choices, and her belief systems had controlled her life. An interesting point she makes, which she gleaned from a sponsor, is that, in looking at a particularly “painful” relationship or individual, she must consider that the person is “not the wound, but is the sword in the wound.”

Rediscovering who she was and forming a new and separate identity without a man in her life led to another unexpected pathway—her choice to accept and embrace her lesbian lifestyle and the compatible partner she now has. This decision came after much thought and examination. Previous relationships had been based on the familiar, playing out the more damaging aspects of familial relationships. In the latter portion of the book, she states: “Then I had to think about most of the previous relationships I’d settled for, where I’d been so lonely, lying to myself, pretending I wasn’t hurt, trying not to feel, not being able to share, not showing up….”

Like many memoirs I’ve enjoyed, this one gave me a lot to think about. Why we choose our paths in life and what emotional triggers govern us. How our own childhood experiences color everything we do, but also how we sometimes go in opposite directions, thinking we are taking control of our lives—and yet how we’re still reacting to those previous experiences. Developing insight into our behavior sometimes takes a lifetime, and the mistakes we make can also be the lessons we learn for the future…if we are courageous enough.

Five stars…definitely!