MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — MAY 13

 

Good morning, and welcome to my Monday Memes.  For those who participate in Monday Mailbox, Apple Blossom, of 4 the Love of Books is hosting for May; and, as usual, Book Journey is hosting What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY:

 

This week, I received one e-book (my purchase) and a book from another blogger.

1.  Sweet Salt Air, by Barbara Delinsky (from Diane, at Bibliophile by the Sea)

 

Charlotte and Nicole were once the best of friends, spending summers together in Nicole’s coastal island house off of Maine. But many years, and many secrets, have kept the women apart. A successful travel writer, single Charlotte lives on the road, while Nicole, a food blogger, keeps house in Philadelphia with her surgeon-husband, Julian. When Nicole is commissioned to write a book about island food, she invites her old friend Charlotte back to Quinnipeague, for a final summer, to help. Outgoing and passionate, Charlotte has a gift for talking to people and making friends, and Nicole could use her expertise for interviews with locals. Missing a genuine connection, Charlotte agrees.

 

But what both women don’t know is that they are each holding something back that may change their lives forever. For Nicole, what comes to light could destroy her marriage, but it could also save her husband. For Charlotte, the truth could cost her Nicole’s friendship, but could also free her to love again. And her chance may lie with a reclusive local man, with a heart to soothe and troubles of his own.

 

Bestselling author and master storyteller Barbara Delinsky invites you come away to Quinnipeague…

 

The Lost Husband (e-book), by Katherine Center

 

Perfect for fans of Jennifer Weiner and Emily Giffin, this tender and heartwarming novel explores the trials of losing what matters most—and how there’s always more than we can imagine left to find.

Dear Libby, It occurs to me that you and your two children have been living with your mother for—Dear Lord!—two whole years, and I’m writing to see if you’d like to be rescued.

The letter comes out of the blue, and just in time for Libby Moran, who—after the sudden death of her husband, Danny—went to stay with her hypercritical mother. Now her crazy Aunt Jean has offered Libby an escape: a job and a place to live on her farm in the Texas Hill Country. Before she can talk herself out of it, Libby is packing the minivan, grabbing the kids, and hitting the road.

Life on Aunt Jean’s goat farm is both more wonderful and more mysterious than Libby could have imagined. Beyond the animals and the strenuous work, there is quiet—deep, country quiet. But there is also a shaggy, gruff (though purportedly handsome, under all that hair) farm manager with a tragic home life, a formerly famous feed-store clerk who claims she can contact Danny “on the other side,” and the eccentric aunt Libby never really knew but who turns out to be exactly what she’s been looking for. And despite everything she’s lost, Libby soon realizes how much more she’s found. She hasn’t just traded one kind of crazy for another: She may actually have found the place to bring her little family—and herself—back to life.

***

 

Welcome to our weekly bookish place where we share our adventures in reading.  Come along and join us as we explore other blogs and feel a community spirit.

Another busy week behind me….not a lot of reading.  A little bit of blogging, like Tempting Images on Pinterest, Bookish Treats, & New Obsessions.

Hump Day Serendipity:  Waiting for “No Child of Mine”

Let’s Curl up and Talk Books

Sweet Saturday Sample:  Neighborhood Watch (An Excerpt from Defining Moments)

Sunday Potpourri:  Bookish Tidbits & Treasures

Reading:  (Click Titles for Reviews)

Fly Away, by Kristin Hannah

Instructions for a Heatwave, by Maggie O’Farrell

Finding Lily (e-book), by Lisa D. Ellis (Review will be up on Rainy Days and Mondays on 5/30/13 – Blog Tour)

What’s Up Next?  (Click Titles/Covers for More Info)

Today I’m reading The Bodyguard and the Show Dog, by Christy Tillery French (A Mt. TBR/Sequel Challenge read).

 

 

Walled-In, by J. Elke Ertle

 

 

Just Breathe, by Susan Wiggs

 

***

That’s what my week looked like…and what’s up ahead.  Come on by and share….

 

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — MAY 6

Good morning, and welcome to my Monday Memes.  For those who participate in Monday Mailbox, Apple Blossom, of 4 the Love of Books is hosting for May; and, as usual, Book Journey is hosting What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY:

My physical and electronic mailbox (Sparky) have received four books this week:  two review books and two purchases.

1.  Instructions for a Heatwave, by Maggie O’Farrell (Amazon Vine)

Sophisticated, intelligent, impossible to put down, Maggie O’Farrell’s beguiling novels—After You’d Gone, winner of a Betty Trask Award; The Distance Between Us, winner of a Somerset Maugham Award; The Hand That First Held Mine, winner of the Costa Novel Award; and her unforgettable bestseller The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox—blend richly textured psychological drama with page-turning suspense. Instructions for a Heatwave finds her at the top of her game, with a novel about a family crisis set during the legendary British heatwave of 1976.

Gretta Riordan wakes on a stultifying July morning to find that her husband of forty years has gone to get the paper and vanished, cleaning out his bank account along the way. Gretta’s three grown children converge on their parents’ home for the first time in years: Michael Francis, a history teacher whose marriage is failing; Monica, with two stepdaughters who despise her and a blighted past that has driven away the younger sister she once adored; and Aoife, the youngest, now living in Manhattan, a smart, immensely resourceful young woman who has arranged her entire life to conceal a devastating secret.

Maggie O’Farrell writes with exceptional grace and sensitivity about marriage, about the mysteries that inhere within families, and the fault lines over which we build our lives—the secrets we hide from the people who know and love us best. In a novel that stretches from the heart of London to New York City’s Upper West Side to a remote village on the coast of Ireland, O’Farrell paints a bracing portrait of a family falling apart and coming together with hard-won, life-changing truths about who they really are.

2.  The K Street Affair (e-book), by Mari Passananti (Author Request)

What if a massive corporation, one with political ties on both sides of the Atlantic, decided to start a war?

Hours after a crippling attack rocks Washington, D.C., Lena Mancuso, a talented young associate at one of the country’s best law firms, finds federal agents at her door, bearing unbelievable news.

Lena’s clients may have financed the murder of hundreds of civilians.

The FBI wants Lena’s insider access to spy on her firm’s high-profile roster of international clients, whose ranks include a disgraced K Street lobbyist, a flamboyant Russian oil baron and the future Saudi king – unlikely bedfellows linked by common interests in a massive multinational corporation with lofty but sinister goals: control of the world oil markets and a takeover of the United States government.

Helping the FBI means Lena will endanger herself and everyone she loves, but refusing them feels unthinkable. Armed with a mix of smarts, intuition and grit she never knew she possessed, Lena will risk everything in a race to stop a catastrophic chain of events.

3.  The Obituary Writer (e-book), by Ann Hood (My Purchase)

A sophisticated and suspenseful novel about the poignant lives of two women living in different eras.

On the day John F. Kennedy is inaugurated, Claire, an uncompromising young wife and mother obsessed with the glamour of Jackie O, struggles over the decision of whether to stay in a loveless marriage or follow the man she loves and whose baby she may be carrying. Decades earlier, in 1919, Vivien Lowe, an obituary writer, is searching for her lover who disappeared in the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. By telling the stories of the dead, Vivien not only helps others cope with their grief but also begins to understand the devastation of her own terrible loss. The surprising connection between Claire and Vivien will change the life of one of them in unexpected and extraordinary ways. Part literary mystery and part love story, The Obituary Writer examines expectations of marriage and love, the roles of wives and mothers, and the emotions of grief, regret, and hope.

4.  Dark Places (e-book), by Gillian Flynn (My Purchase)

I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.

The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.

As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to our weekly bookish place where we share our adventures in reading.  Come along and join us as we explore other blogs and feel a community spirit.

My week had a lot more TV/Movie Watching, with a little bit of reading and blogging mixed in.

As a soap opera addict, I was thrilled to be able to again watch One Life to Live and All My Children, that debuted on Hulu.com this week.

Tuesday Potpourri:  Soap Magic, the Online Reboot

Because watching on my laptop seemed a bit tedious, even though I found it fairly easy to do, I discovered something else to make my experience better.  My son hooked my TV to my laptop via an HDMI cable and the show plays out on my TV screen!

Then yesterday, I went to the theater again…yeah, I know, two weeks in a row!  And saw The Big Wedding, with Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Robert DeNiro, Katherine Heigl, etc.

Then last night, I watched Silver Linings Playbook on DVD…and that was a totally engaging film that had me riveted to the very end.

More Blogging:

April Monthly Reading Wrap-Up

What Else?  Sharing at Booking Through Thursday

Sweet Saturday Sample:  Someone is Watching Over Me (An Excerpt)

Books Read/Reviewed (Click Titles for Reviews):

The Engagements, by J. Courtney Sullivan

Cocktail Hour (e-book), by Tara McTiernan

Summer on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber (Sequels Challenge) 

What’s Up Next? (Click Titles/Covers for More Info)

Still Reading:  Finding Lily, by Lisa Ellis

The Submission, by Amy Waldman

Fly Away, by Kristin Hannah (Amazon Vine)

***

And that’s what my week looked like…and what’s ahead.  Enjoy!  Come on by and let’s chat!

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — APRIL 29

Good morning, and welcome to my Monday Memes.  For those who participate in Mailbox Monday, click for Mari Reads in April; and, as usual, Book Journey is hosting What Are You Reading?

 

This week brought a bonanza of books:  two review books in the mail; one e-book for review; and two purchased e-books.

1.  The Engagements, by J. Courtney Sullivan (Amazon Vine)

From the New York Times best-selling author of Commencement and Maine comes a gorgeous, sprawling novel about marriage—about those who marry in a white heat of passion, those who marry for partnership and comfort, and those who live together, love each other, and have absolutely no intention of ruining it all with a wedding.

Evelyn has been married to her husband for forty years—forty years since he slipped off her first wedding ring and put his own in its place. Delphine has seen both sides of love—the ecstatic, glorious highs of seduction, and the bitter, spiteful fury that descends when it’s over. James, a paramedic who works the night shift, knows his wife’s family thinks she could have done better; while Kate, partnered with Dan for a decade, has seen every kind of wedding—beach weddings, backyard weddings, castle weddings—and has vowed never, ever, to have one of her own.

As these lives and marriages unfold in surprising ways, we meet Frances Gerety, a young advertising copywriter in 1947. Frances is working on the De Beers campaign and she needs a signature line, so, one night before bed, she scribbles a phrase on a scrap of paper: “A Diamond Is Forever.” And that line changes everything.

A rich, layered, exhilarating novel spanning nearly a hundred years, The Engagements captures four wholly unique marriages, while tracing the story of diamonds in America, and the way—for better or for worse—these glittering stones have come to symbolize our deepest hopes for everlasting love.

2.  Fly Away, by Kristin Hannah (Amazon Vine)

Once, a long time ago, I walked down a night-darkened road called Firefly Lane, all alone, on the worst night of my life, and I found a kindred spirit. That was our beginning. More than thirty years ago. TullyandKate. You and me against the world. Best friends forever. But stories end, don’t they? You lose the people you love and you have to find a way to go on. . . .

 

Tully Hart has always been larger than life, a woman fueled by big dreams and driven by memories of a painful past. She thinks she can overcome anything until her best friend, Kate Ryan, dies. Tully tries to fulfill her deathbed promise to Kate—to be there for Kate’s children—but Tully knows nothing about family or motherhood or taking care of people.

Sixteen-year-old Marah Ryan is devastated by her mother’s death. Her father, Johnny, strives to hold the family together, but even with his best efforts, Marah becomes unreachable in her grief. Nothing and no one seems to matter to her . . . until she falls in love with a young man who makes her smile again and leads her into his dangerous, shadowy world.

Dorothy Hart—the woman who once called herself Cloud—is at the center of Tully’s tragic past. She repeatedly abandoned her daughter, Tully, as a child, but now she comes back, drawn to her daughter’s side at a time when Tully is most alone. At long last, Dorothy must face her darkest fear: Only by revealing the ugly secrets of her past can she hope to become the mother her daughter needs.

A single, tragic choice and a middle-of-the-night phone call will bring these women together and set them on a poignant, powerful journey of redemption. Each has lost her way, and they will need each one another—and maybe a miracle—to transform their lives.

An emotionally complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, motherhood, loss, and new beginnings, Fly Away reminds us that where there is life, there is hope, and where there is love, there is forgiveness. Told with her trademark powerful storytelling and illuminating prose, Kristin Hannah reveals why she is one of the most beloved writers of our day.

3.  Some Are Sicker Than Others (e-book), by Andrew Seaward (Author Request)

ADDICTION: CUNNING, BAFFLING, & POWERFUL  

In this gripping debut novel by Andrew Seaward, the lives of three addicts converge following an accidental and horrific death.

Monty Miller, a self-destructive, codependent alcoholic, is wracked by an obsession to drink himself to death as punishment for a fatal car accident he didn’t cause.

Dave Bell, a former all-American track star turned washed-up high school volleyball coach, routinely chauffeurs his bus full of teens on a belly full of liquor and head full of crack.

Angie Mallard, a recently divorced housewife with three estranged children, will go to any lengths to restore the family she lost to crystal meth.

All three are court-mandated to a secluded drug rehab high in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. There, they learn the universal truth among alcoholics and addicts:
Though they may all be sick…SOME ARE SICKER THAN OTHERS.

Based on the author’s own personal experience with substance abuse and twelve-step programs, Some Are Sicker Than Others, transcends the clichés of the typical recovery story by exploring the insidiousness of addiction and the harrowing effect it has on not just the afflicted, but everyone it touches.

With the harsh realism of Brett Easton Ellis and the dark, confrontational humor of Chuck Palahniuk, Mr. Seaward takes the reader deep inside the psyche of the addict and portrays, in very explicit details, the psychological and physiological effects of withdrawal and the various stages of recovery.

4.  Somewhere off the Coast of Maine (e-book), by Ann Hood (My Purchase)

 

“Brilliant….[The Vietnam era] is vividly captured by Ann Hood.”—New York Times Book Review

In 1969, as Peter, Paul and Mary croon on the radio and poster paints are splashing the latest antiwar slogans, three friends find love. Suzanne, a poet, lives in a Maine beach house awaiting the birth of a child she will call Sparrow. Claudia, who weds a farmer during college, plans to raise three strong sons. Elizabeth and her husband marry, organize protests, and try to rear two children with their hippy values. By 1985, things have changed: Suzanne, now with an MBA, calls Sparrow “Susan.” Claudia spirals backward into her sixties world—and into madness. And Elizabeth, fatally ill, watches despairingly as her children yearn for a split-level house and a gleaming station wagon. Reading group guide included.

5.  Don’t Go (e-book), by Lisa Scottoline (My Purchase)

Bestselling author Lisa Scottoline has thrilled millions with her emotionally-charged novels that feature strong women exploring the boundaries of family, justice, and love.   In Don’t Go, she breaks new ground and delivers the story of a soldier who discovers what it means to be a man, a father, and ultimately, a hero.

When Dr. Mike Scanlon is called to serve as an army doctor in Afghanistan, he’s acutely aware of the dangers he’ll face and the hardships it will cause his wife Chloe and newborn baby.  And deep inside, he doesn’t think of himself as a warrior, but a healer.

However, in an ironic turn of events, as Mike operates on a wounded soldier in a war-torn country, Chloe dies at home in the suburbs, in an apparent household accident.  Devastated, he returns home to bury her, only to discover that the life he left behind has fallen apart.  His medical practice is in jeopardy, and he is a complete stranger to the only family he has left – his precious baby girl.  Worse, he learns a shocking secret that sends him into a downward spiral.

Ultimately, Mike realizes that the most important battle of his life faces him on the home front and he’ll have to put it all on the line to save what’s dearest to him – his family.  Gripping, thrilling, and profoundly emotional, Don’t Go is Lisa Scottoline at her finest.

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

 

Welcome to our weekly bookish place where we share our adventures in reading.  Come along and join us as we explore other blogs and feel a community spirit.

I’ve done quite a bit of reading, a little blogging, and yesterday I took a break to see  a movie I’ve been eagerly awaiting.

The Company You Keep, with a wonderful cast that includes Robert Redford, Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon, and many others, took me back to a time in my life….and I just sat there absorbing it all.  I haven’t been buying as many DVDs lately (I have 800+ on my shelves!), but this is one I’m going to add.

So after a nice respite, I grabbed my book again.

My Week on the Blogs:

Tuesday Intros/Teasers:  The Smart One

Waiting on Wednesday with Morning Glory

Thursday Potpourri:  Disturbing Midnight Moments

A Guilty Pleasures Treat:  Book Beginnings/Friday 56 – Tapestry of Fortunes

Sweet Saturday Sample:  Awaiting her Fate (An Excerpt from Defining Moments)

Sunday Potpourri:  Moments of Reflection

Reading-Click Titles for Reviews:

Drinking with Men, by Rosie Schaap

The Smart One, by Jennifer Close

The Good House (e-book), by Ann Leary

Lucky Me (Memoir), by Sachi Parker

Tapestry of Fortunes, by Elizabeth Berg

What’s Up Next? (Click Titles/Covers for More Info)

The Engagements, by J. Courtney Sullivan

 

Summer on Blossom Street, by Debbie Macomber

 

Cocktail Hour (e-bo0k), by Tara McTiernan

 

Finding Lily (e-book), by Lisa D. Ellis

 

***

And that’s how my week is unfolding….stop on by and let’s chat!

 

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — APRIL 22

Good morning, and welcome to my Monday Memes.  For those who participate in Mailbox Monday, click for Mari Reads in April; and, as usual, Book Journey is hosting What Are You Reading?

All of my “mailbox” reads this week arrived via download onto Sparky.  I received one review book, one freebie, and one purchase.

Cocktail Hour (e-book), by Tara McTiernan (Author Request)

What if your friend – someone admired, envied, and fervently sought after by everyone who knew her – was really a dangerous sociopath? In her latest novel, Cocktail Hour, mainstream fiction author Tara McTiernan answers that question as she takes you on a wild roller coaster ride of thrilling highs and terrifying lows in this gripping novel about friendship gone horribly wrong.Spring in glamorous uber-rich Fairfield County, Connecticut is a time of beginnings: a new diet for the approaching summer spent out on the yacht, fresh-faced interns being offered up at the office as the seasonal sacrifice to the gods of money, and corporate takeovers galore. Five women in their thirties have a brand-new friendship, too, one that fed and watered regularly at local hotspots over cocktails. With all of their personal struggles – Lucie’s new catering business is foundering due to vicious gossip, Kate’s marriage is troubled due to an inability to conceive, Chelsea’s series of misses in the romance department have led to frantic desperation, and Sharon’s career problems are spinning out of control – the women look forward to a break and a drink and a chance to let their guards down with their friends. And letting their guards down is the last thing they should do in the kind of company they unknowingly keep with the fifth member of their cocktail-clique: Bianca Rossi, a woman who will stop at nothing to have it all.

As each woman’s life is affected by this she-wolf in sheep’s clothing, the truth starts to come out, but will they see it before it’s too late? Or will their doubts about their own perceptions and gut feelings stop them from protecting themselves in time? Exciting, chilling, and emotionally charged, Tara McTiernan delivers a delicious page-turner that will change your view of everyone you think you know.

Lessons from Generation X to Generation Next (e-book-free), by McKenzie McPherson

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

As you read this, take a moment to pontificate about your life, what are some of the lessons you wish the generation that preceded you had left behind in a diary that you could access anytime you needed advice in a non-judgmental way?

As you think about that, also think about the lessons you hope to pass on to the generation succeeding you?

Lessons from Generation X to Generation Next is a compilation of over 3,000 anecdotes that describe some of the lessons the author has learned throughout her life. The book is divided into 10 categories: family, parents,
education, career, health, finances, relationships, pop culture, life, and spirituality.

The book offers real-life guidance to people of all ages that will greatly improve the quality of life for anyone who reads it and perhaps generations to come.

It is not only wise to learn from our mistakes but generationally advantageous to share what we have learned with those who might be heading down the path we are all too familiar with. Eleanor Roosevelt suggested that we won’t live long enough to make them all ourselves and realistically why would we want to?

There are few guarantees in life, but one of the most sobering is that one day we will die, and even though death might capture our bodies, our spirits will forever be liberated in the lessons we pass on from one generation to the next.

Virgin Soul (e-book), by Judy Juanita (Purchase)

From a lauded poet and playwright, a novel of a young woman’s life with the Black Panthers in 1960s San Francisco

At first glance, Geniece’s story sounds like that of a typical young woman: she goes to college, has romantic entanglements, builds meaningful friendships, and juggles her schedule with a part-time job. However, she does all of these things in 1960s San Francisco while becoming a militant member of the Black Panther movement. When Huey Newton is jailed in October 1967 and the Panthers explode nationwide, Geniece enters the organization’s dark and dangerous world of guns, FBI agents, freewheeling sex, police repression, and fatal shoot-outs—all while balancing her other life as a college student.

A moving tale of one young woman’s life spinning out of the typical and into the extraordinary during one of the most politically and racially charged eras in America, Virgin Soul will resonate with readers of Monica Ali and Ntozake Shange.

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to our weekly bookish place where we share our adventures in reading.  Come along and join us as we explore other blogs and feel a community spirit.

I’d like to welcome all bloggers to check out my Five-Year Blogoversary over at Story Corner.  Yes, I know I mentioned it last week, but now it is underway until 4/27.  I will be giving away books from my reading room.

Now…last week, I enjoyed some blogging, like my Tuesday Potpourri:  Book Lust post.

On my Hump Day Sparks, I enthused about what I was waiting for….

And over at my group blog, Betty Dravis shared Why Are These Authors So Happy?

My Creative Journey post took me back:  Spotlighting Moments Along the Way.

Thursday Potpourri revealed Bookish Surprises.

My Sweet Saturday Sample captured moments of Venturing Out (An excerpt).

Sunday Potpourri:  Books Into Movies & Other Sunday Tidbits

Reading-Click Titles for Reviews:

Oodles of Poodles, by Linda O. Johnston (Cozies/Sequel Challenges)

Backseat Saints (e-book), by Joshilyn Jackson (Sequels Challenge)

Heart Like Mine (e-book), by Amy Hatvany

The Sugar House, by Laura Lippman (Sequels Challenge)

What’s Up Next? (Click Titles/Covers for More Info)

Drinking with Men, by Rosie Schaap (Amazon Vine Review)

The Smart One, by Jennifer Close

The Good House (e-book), by Ann Leary

***

And that’s what’s happening here.  Enjoy your week, and come on by and chat!

---

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — APRIL 15

Good morning, and welcome to my Monday Memes.  For those who participate in Mailbox Monday, click for Mari Reads in April; and, as usual, Book Journey is hosting What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY:

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

1.  Tapestry of Fortunes, by Elizabeth Berg (My gift to myself!)

 

In this superb new novel by the beloved New York Times bestselling author of Open House, Home Safe, and The Last Time I Saw You, four women venture into their pasts in order to shape their futures, fates, and fortunes.

Cecilia Ross is a motivational speaker who encourages others to change their lives for the better. Why can’t she take her own advice? Still reeling from the death of her best friend, and freshly aware of the need to live more fully now, Cece realizes that she has to make a move—all the portentous signs seem to point in that direction.

She downsizes her life, sells her suburban Minnesota home and lets go of many of her possessions. She moves into a beautiful old house in Saint Paul, complete with a garden, chef’s kitchen, and three housemates: Lise, the home’s owner and a divorced mother at odds with her twenty-year-old daughter; Joni, a top-notch sous chef at a first-rate restaurant with a grade A jerk of a boss; and Renie, the youngest and most mercurial of the group, who is trying to rectify a teenage mistake. These women embark on a journey together in an attempt to connect with parts of themselves long denied. For Cece, that means finding Dennis Halsinger. Despite being “the one who got away,” Dennis has never been far from Cece’s thoughts.

2.  Drinking with Men, by Rosie Schaap (Amazon Vine)

 

A vivid, funny, and poignant memoir that celebrates the distinct lure of the camaraderie and community one finds drinking in bars.

Rosie Schaap has always loved bars: the wood and brass and jukeboxes, the knowing bartenders, and especially the sometimes surprising but always comforting company of regulars. Starting with her misspent youth in the bar car of a regional railroad, where at fifteen she told commuters’ fortunes in exchange for beer, and continuing today as she slings cocktails at a neighborhood joint in Brooklyn, Schaap has learned her way around both sides of a bar and come to realize how powerful the fellowship among regular patrons can be.

In Drinking with Men, Schaap shares her unending quest for the perfect local haunt, which takes her from a dive outside Los Angeles to a Dublin pub full of poets, and from small-town New England taverns to a character-filled bar in Manhattan’s TriBeCa. Drinking alongside artists and expats, ironworkers and soccer fanatics, she finds these places offer a safe haven, a respite, and a place to feel most like herself. In rich, colorful prose, Schaap brings to life these seedy, warm, and wonderful rooms. Drinking with Men is a love letter to the bars, pubs, and taverns that have been Schaap’s refuge, and a celebration of the uniquely civilizing source of community that is bar culture at its best.

3.  Finding Lily, (e-book), by Lisa Ellis (Virtual Author Blog Tours)

When her newborn baby Lily dies suddenly, Claire Edwards runs away to live in a lighthouse she had fallen in love with as a young child. The lighthouse is reputed by some to have magical powers, but Claire isn’t looking for a miracle. She just wants an escape from her husband Jim’s colder way of grieving, and from their apartment filled with the tiny clothes and stuffed animals they had collected over the past few months. But once Claire is situated in the lighthouse, it begins to illuminate things for her in a new way and she’s suddenly forced to rethink her views on life, death, and her marriage.

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to our weekly bookish place where we share our adventures in reading.  Come along and join us as we explore other blogs and feel a community spirit.

My week brought lovely weather and some fabulous reads.  Not much blogging, however, except for some memes and my Saturday Snapshot post, along with my Sweet Saturday Sample (an excerpt from Defining Moments).

I am looking forward to the five-year blogoversary for my very first blog, Story Corner.  Check in later next week (April 21 is the date of the event) for details about the giveaway.

When you have a lot of blogs, as I do (eleven!), you only celebrate a few of the blogoversaries.

So now, let’s talk about books!

Books Read (Click Titles for Reviews):

1.  The Summer of France, (e-book), by Paulita Kincer (Fellow blogger!)

2.  Me Before You, by JoJo Moyes

3.  The Banks of Certain Rivers (e-book), by Jon Harrison (Review Book)

4.  Glory in Death, by J. D. Robb (Sequel Challenge)

What’s Up Next? (Click Titles/Covers for More Info)

1.   Oodles of Poodles, by Linda O. Johnston (Cozy/Sequel Challenges)

2.  Backseat Saints (e-book), by Joshilyn Jackson (Sequel Challenge)

3.  Heart Like Mine (e-book), by Amy Hatvany

***

And that’s my week!  Come on by and let’s chat.

 

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — APRIL 8

Good morning, and welcome to my Monday Memes.  Today I’ve returned to this blog for my weekly update.  For those who participate in Mailbox Monday, click for Mari Reads in April; and, as usual, Book Journey is hosting What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY:

I received ONE review book in the mailbox this week; from an author.

Walled-In, by J. Elke Ertle

In this true story, two obstacles threaten the freedom and autonomy of a young girl born and raised in postwar West Berlin: The Berlin Wall and the harsh rules her uncompromising parents impose. J. Elke Ertle recounts the mounting East-West tension that leads to the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, and the construction of the Berlin Wall. But the brick-and-mortar monstrosity is not the only insurmountable barrier Elke comes to know intimately. As the only child of uncompromising parents, she is brought up to unquestioning obedience. When she rebels against their unrelenting rules, the ensuing parent-daughter conflict parallels in intensity the Cold War between East and West. Elke finds herself incarcerated behind walls as impenetrable as the one that divides her city. On her 21st birthday, a startling and unexpected revelation strengthens her determination to opt for freedom and to immigrate to the United States. Interweaving history with her personal experiences, Elke takes the reader on a remarkable journey into her closely supervised, yet happy childhood, her youthful disillusionment, and her deliberate, albeit difficult decision to choose freedom.

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

This week has been full of a variety of activities.   I cleared off a lot of dolls from the tops of my bookshelves in the bedroom (all the shelves used to have dolls on them; now, only some of them do!)….and then swept through my office.  To read more about it, check out  Saturday Potpourri:  Editing the Collections.

On Monday, I mused about A Book I Had to Buy.

Tuesday found me looking back at Iconic Times, Images, & Poignant Moments (with an excerpt)

On Wednesday, I announced my upcoming Five-Year Blogoversary at Story Corner (there will be a giveaway!).

Also, on Wednesday, I interviewed Author Colby Marshall, at Dames of Dialogue.

I had a spring moment on Friday and chatted about Gifts of Rainy Days:  April Showers Bring May Flowers.

My Sweet Saturday Sample revealed a Y2K moment for my MC in Defining Moments, in Taking a Leap of Faith.

Now for the Reading-Click Titles for Reviews:

Midnight Sacrifice, by Melinda Leigh

Life After Life, by Jill McCorkle

The Time of My Life, by Cecelia Ahern

Naked in Death (e-book), by J. D. Robb

What’s Up Next? (Click Titles/Covers for More Info)

The Summer of France,(e-book), by Pauline Kincer (Still reading from last week)

Me Before You, by JoJo Moyes

The Banks of Certain Rivers (e-book), by Jon Harrison (Review book)

And if I have time, I want to grab this e-book that’s been sitting on Sparky too long!  For the Mt. TBR Challenge:

Children of the Fog, by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

That’s my week!  I hope you’ll come by and share thoughts about yours!

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — MARCH 25

Welcome to another week of bookish fun.  Join in with those who celebrate Mailbox Monday, hosted in March by Chaotic Compendiums;and What Are You Reading?, hosted by Book Journey.

MAILBOX MONDAY:

I received NO books in my mailbox, but downloaded a preordered purchase to Sparky; and received a review book via download, too.

1.  Heart Like Mine (e-book), by Amy Hatvany (Purchased)

Thirty-six-year-old Grace McAllister never longed for children. But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that, for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom. After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it be?

At thirteen, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents’ divorce, she has been taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother—she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father’s new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they’ll be a family again. But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances—and soon, Grace and Ava discover that there was much more to Kelli’s life than either ever knew.

Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli’s troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant, hopeful portrait of womanhood, love, and the challenges and joys of family life.

2.  The Banks of Certain Rivers (e-book), by Jon Harrison (Review book)

Neil Kazenzakis is barely holding his life together: ever since an accident left his wife profoundly disabled, he’s been doing his best as a single dad and popular high school teacher. He’s also been dealing with Lauren Downey, his sort-of girlfriend of the past two years who’s pushing for a commitment—and for Neil to finally tell his son Christopher about their secret relationship.

Neil’s carefully balanced world begins to fall apart when some questionable footage of him is anonymously posted to YouTube…just as Chris learns about Lauren in the worst possible way. Doubting his own recollection of the events in the online video as he’s threatened with the loss of his job and the ability to care for his wife, Neil must find a way to prove the truth to his family, his community, and himself as he struggles to regain the splintered trust of his son.

Heartbreaking, poignant, and written with devastating humor and warmth, The Banks of Certain Rivers is a shattering story of memory, loss, and just how far a man will go to show the people closest to him the meaning of love.

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to another bookish week.  For those of you who participated  in Bloggiesta this weekend, how did the party work out for you?

I had a lot of fun making over my blog Curl up and Read.  I tend to work on my blogs pretty regularly, but during this event, I go all out.  And I love visiting the other blogs, discovering new things to add to my list after seeing what they’re doing.

There are mini-challenges, and one of mine was Getting to Know You, in which I featured blogger Alexis, from Reflections of a Bookaholic.

Even with all this going on, I managed to put together a Checkpoint for my Mt. TBR Challenge, and realized that I am almost halfway to my goal for the year.

And here is my Bloggiesta Finish Line post.

Earlier in the week on the blogs:

I celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and wrote:  A Guilty Pleasures Nod to St. Paddy’s Day

My Hump Day Potpourri post:  Taking Inventory

Saturday Potpourri:  Blogging Activities & Reading

Sweet Saturday Sample:  Juvenile Probation (An Excerpt from Defining Moments, a WIP)

Row 80 Check-In Post

My Reading Week: (Click Titles for Reviews)

I was distracted early in the week, as Noah was sick and staying with me; I was worried.  Then he got better, and everything picked up, moving along nicely.  But I abandoned one of the books on my list for the week and added a couple of different ones.  An unpredictable reading list.

1.  The Sixes, by Kate White

2.  Messenger of Truth (Maisie Dobbs), by Jacqueline Winspear (Sequel Challenge)

3.   3rd Degree (Women’s Murder Club), by James Patterson (Sequel Challenge, Women’s Murder Club Challenge)

4.  Ctrl Z (e-book), by Danika Stone (Review Book)

What’s Up Next?  (Click titles/covers for more info)

1.   2nd Chance, by James Patterson (Another one for the Sequel/Women’s Murder Club Challenges)

2.  The Storyteller, by Jodi Picoult

3.   The Night Swimmer (e-book), by Matt Bondurant (Mt. TBR Challenge)

***

That’s what last week and my upcoming one look like.  I hope you’ll come on by and chat.

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — MARCH 18

Welcome to another week of bookish fun.  Join in with those who celebrate Mailbox Monday, hosted in March by Chaotic Compendiums;and What Are You Reading?, hosted by Book Journey.

MAILBOX MONDAY:

This week, nothing came in the mail!  At all….but I downloaded a book for Sparky; a book that I can use in my Sequel Challenge.

Backseat Saints, by Joshilyn Jackson

 

Rose Mae Lolley’s mother disappeared when she was eight, leaving Rose with a heap of old novels and a taste for dangerous men. Now, as demure Mrs. Ro Grandee, she’s living the very life her mother abandoned. She’s all but forgotten the girl she used to be-teenaged spitfire, Alabama heartbreaker, and a crack shot with a pistol-until an airport gypsy warns Rose it’s time to find her way back to that brave, tough girl . . . or else. Armed with only her wit, her pawpy’s ancient .45, and her dog Fat Gretel, Rose Mae hightails it out of Texas, running from a man who will never let her go, on a mission to find the mother who did.

Starring a minor character from Jackson’s bestselling gods in Alabama, BACKSEAT SAINTS will dazzle readers with its stunning portrayal of the measures a mother will take to right the wrongs she’s created, and how far a daughter will travel to satisfy the demands of forgiveness.

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to another week of bookish fun, sharing our thoughts about our book and blogging adventures.   Enter the community of book bloggers to find out about books you will want to add to your stacks.  Enjoy the interaction.

Here’s Some of My Blogging Stuff for the Week:

Drooling & Musing Over Upcoming Reads

Hump Day Potpourri:  Stuff I’ve Been Putting Off….

Thursday Sparks:  Mood Reading

Guilty Pleasures:  Living With No Regrets

Sweet Saturday Sample:  Teen Rebellion (An Excerpt from a WIP)

A Creative Journey is Often a Lengthy One:  Row 80 Update

Books Read/Reviewed-Click Titles for Reviews:

1.  The View from Penthouse B, by Elinor Lipman (Amazon Vine)

2.   While We Were Watching Downton Abbey, by Wendy Wax (Publicist Request)

3.  The Tin Horse, by Janice Steinberg (Amazon Vine)

4.  The Lion Is In, by Delia Ephron (Library book)

What’s Up Next?  (Click Titles/Covers for More Info)

1.  The Sixes, by Kate White

 

2.    Harbinger of Evil (e-book), by Meb Bryant

 

3.  Messenger of Truth, by Jacqueline Winspear (Sequel Challenge)

 

***

That’s what my past and upcoming weeks look like.  I’d love to chat with you about your adventures.

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — MARCH 11

Welcome to another week of bookish fun.  Join in with those who celebrate Mailbox Monday, hosted in March by Chaotic Compendiums;and What Are You Reading?, hosted by Book Journey.

MAILBOX MONDAY:

This week, I received one book in the mail:  a contest win from Dollycas Reviews; and I downloaded one free e-book and an e-book for review.

1.   Oodles of Poodles, by Linda O. Johnston (from Dollycas)

Shelter manager and pet rescuer Lauren Vancouver once again takes on the role of amateur sleuth when there’s a murder on a film set . . .

Has Hollywood gone to the dogs? Pet rescuer Lauren Vancouver is observing production on a new movie called Sheba’s Story. The title character—a white Miniature poodle—is played by many similar-looking poodles, and to make sure no animals are harmed, Lauren’s friend, veterinarian Carlie Stellan, and Grant, a handsome representative from the American Humane Association, are on location. But when the film’s director is killed in a suspicious hit-and-run after arguing with Carlie about animal safety, it’s up to Lauren to clear her friend’s name and catch a killer before someone else ends up in oodles of deadly trouble.

2.  Mrs. Lieutenant (e-book), by Phyllis Zimbler Miller

What W.E.B.Griffin’s BROTHERHOOD OF WAR series does for Vietnam-era active duty military personnel, MRS. LIEUTENANT — a 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semifinalist — does for Vietnam-era military spouses.

“Miller captures the freshness and naiveté of those women, all transplanted to an environment that forced them to deal with new challenges.”–Dr. Cathy Goodwin, Top 500 Amazon Reviewer

“I loved MRS. LIEUTENANT. Reading it brought back for me, a military wife, memories of the Vietnam War era, when so many of our young men were in uniform due to the draft, and memories of what it was like being in the sub-culture of the military as a new Army wife.” –Mary Raynor

“This book should be required reading for every contemporary military spouse, the families of our servicemen and women, and civilians who want to understand the lifestyle of our men and women in uniform. The military isn’t just a job or career, it is a WAY OF LIFE that can’t be fully understood by those who haven’t lived it. Phyllis Zimbler Miller’s MRS. LIEUTENANT makes it clear–this is a life she understands at the deepest level.” –Bonnie Bartel Latino, co-author of “Your Gift to Me”

“Phyllis Zimbler Miller’s MRS. LIEUTENANT is one of those stellar reads that keep you engaged from the first word to the last, and how long or how short the book is doesn’t concern you at all. Keep a box of tissues handy, because you’ll need it; I certainly did, and more than once.” –George Polley, author of “Grandfather & the Raven”

When newly married Sharon Gold suddenly finds herself in the unfamiliar culture of the U.S. Army during the unpopular Vietnam War, she quickly realizes she must adapt to this alien world. If she does not learn to “fit in,” the consequences could have a severe impact on her husband’s military career and even his life.

By sharing the unique perspective of these women alongside their men in uniform, MRS. LIEUTENANT provides a compelling look inside the military during a turbulent time in U.S. history (with many parallels to today).

 

3.   Ctrl Z (e-book), by Danika Stone (Author Request)

Indigo Sykes has spent years trying to forget where she came from. She has a degree, a new life, and a quiet existence. Everything she ever wanted… But all of this comes to a screeching halt when an unexpected meeting with computer hacker, Jude Alden, changes her plans. Romance blooms between the mismatched duo, even while entanglements from Indigo’s past threaten to pull the two of them apart.

Dogged by a history of running, Indigo’s hard-won security is shattered when Jude’s illegal activity drags both of them into a dangerous game. As the net of hacking and underworld crime tightens around Jude and Indigo’s dark history is exposed, the two of them must find a way out or risk bringing the consequences down on them both.

 

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to our special event in which we share about our week in reading and blogging.  I especially enjoy the camaraderie and the community spirit that comes with sharing and chatting about our bookish things.

On the Blogs:

A Monday of Musing:  Come Chat With Us

Spring Forward: Or The Times They Are A-Changing

Thursday Potpourri: Random Thoughts & Bookish Things

Saturday Potpourri:  Nostalgia, Movies, & Books

Sweet Saturday Sample:  Coping

Sunday Check-In Post (Row 80)

Blog Tour Stop:  Review of Blue Jeans & Coffee Beans – Rainy Days and Mondays

Books Read-Click Titles for Reviews:

1.  Attachments, by Rainbow Rowell

2.  The Day After Yesterday, by Kelly Cozy

3.  Half Broke Horses (e-book), by Jeannette Walls (Mt. TBR Challenge)

4.  Promises to Keep, by Jane Green

What’s Up Next?  (Click Titles/Covers for More Info)

1.   The View from Penthouse B, by Elinor Lipman.  (Review Book-Amazon Vine)

2.   Midnight Sacrifice, by Melinda Leigh (Review Book)

3.  While We Were Watching Downton Abbey, by Wendy Wax (Review Book)

***

That’s my week….now I’m eager to see what the rest of you are reading/blogging about.

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — MARCH 4

Welcome to another week of bookish fun.  Join in with those who celebrate Mailbox Monday, hosted in March by Chaotic Compendiums;and What Are You Reading?, hosted by Book Journey.

MAILBOX MONDAY:

You know how one week you receive no books?  And then the next week, the books just flow…Well, that’s what happened here.  I received four review books in the mail; one book I purchased; and then I downloaded one e-book onto Sparky.

1.  While We Were Watching Downton Abbey, by Wendy Wax (From Publicist)

FROM THE AUTHOR OF TEN BEACH ROAD AND OCEAN BEACH, A NEW NOVEL OF FOUR FRIENDS—AND A SHARED PASSION THAT COULD CHANGE THEIR LIVES.

When the concierge of The Alexander, a historic Atlanta apartment building, invites his fellow residents to join him for weekly screenings of Downton Abbey, four very different people find themselves connecting with the addictive drama, and—even more unexpectedly—with each other…

Samantha Davis married young and for the wrong reason: the security of old Atlanta money—for herself and for her orphaned brother and sister. She never expected her marriage to be complicated by love and compromised by a shattering family betrayal.

Claire Walker is now an empty nester and struggling author who left her home in the suburbs for the old world charm of The Alexander, and for a new and productive life. But she soon wonders if clinging to old dreams can be more destructive than having no dreams at all.

And then there’s Brooke MacKenzie, a woman in constant battle with her faithless ex-husband. She’s just starting to realize that it’s time to take a deep breath and come to terms with the fact that her life is not the fairy tale she thought it would be.

For Samantha, Claire, Brooke—and Edward, who arranges the weekly gatherings—it will be a season of surprises as they forge a bond that will sustain them through some of life’s hardest moments—all of it reflected in the unfolding drama, comedy, and convergent lives of Downton Abbey.

2.  Midnight Sacrifice, by Melinda Leigh (From Author)

The chilling sequel to Midnight Exposure

One by one, people are mysteriously disappearing from a small Maine town.

Four months ago, a ruthless murderer killed two people and kidnapped three more, including Danny Sullivan’s sister, who barely escaped. Unfortunately so did the killer, vanishing without a trace into the vast wilderness. When the police fail to find his sister’s captor, Danny returns to Maine to hunt him down.

He begins his search with another survivor, bed and breakfast owner Mandy Brown, but her refusal to cooperate raises Danny’s suspicions. What is the beautiful innkeeper hiding?

Mandy Brown has a secret. But sexy Danny Sullivan, his relentless questions, and the desire that simmers between them threaten to expose the truth. A revelation that puts her family in danger. As more people disappear, it becomes clear the killer is planning another ritual…and that he’s circling in on Mandy.

3.  The Tin Horse, by Janice Steinberg (Amazon Vine)

In the stunning tradition of Lisa See, Maeve Binchy, and Alice Hoffman, The Tin Horse is a rich multigenerational story about the intense, often fraught bond sisters share and the dreams and sorrows that lay at the heart of the immigrant experience.

It has been more than sixty years since Elaine Greenstein’s twin sister, Barbara, ran away, cutting off contact with her family forever. Elaine has made peace with that loss. But while sifting through old papers as she prepares to move to Rancho Mañana—or the “Ranch of No Tomorrow” as she refers to the retirement community—she  is stunned to find a possible hint to Barbara’s whereabouts all these years later. And it pushes her to confront the fierce love and bitter rivalry of their youth during the 1920s and ’30s, in the Los Angeles Jewish neighborhood of Boyle Heights.

Though raised together in Boyle Heights, where kosher delis and storefront signs in Yiddish lined the streets, Elaine and Barbara staked out very different personal territories. Elaine was thoughtful and studious, encouraged to dream of going to college, while Barbara was a bold rule-breaker whose hopes fastened on nearby Hollywood. In the fall of 1939, when the girls were eighteen, Barbara’s recklessness took an alarming turn. Leaving only a cryptic note, she disappeared.

In an unforgettable voice layered with humor and insight, Elaine delves into the past. She recalls growing up with her spirited family: her luftmensch of a grandfather, a former tinsmith with tales from the Old Country; her papa, who preaches the American Dream even as it eludes him; her mercurial mother, whose secret grief colors her moods—and of course audacious Barbara and their younger sisters, Audrey and Harriet. As Elaine looks back on the momentous events of history and on the personal dramas of the Greenstein clan, she must finally face the truth of her own childhood, and that of the twin sister she once knew.

In The Tin Horse, Janice Steinberg exquisitely unfolds a rich multigenerational story about the intense, often fraught bonds between sisters, mothers, and daughters and the profound and surprising ways we are shaped by those we love. At its core, it is a book not only about the stories we tell but, more important, those we believe, especially the ones about our very selves.

4.  The View from Penthouse B, by Elinor Lipman (Amazon Vine)

Two sisters recover from widowhood, divorce, and Bernie Madoff as unexpected roommates in a Manhattan apartment

Unexpectedly widowed Gwen-Laura Schmidt is still mourning her husband, Edwin, when her older sister Margot invites her to join forces as roommates in Margot’s luxurious Village apartment. For Margot, divorced amid scandal (hint: her husband was a fertility doctor) and then made Ponzi-poor, it’s a chance to shake Gwen out of her grief and help make ends meet. To further this effort she enlists a third boarder, the handsome, cupcake-baking Anthony.

As the three swap money-making schemes and timid Gwen ventures back out into the dating world, the arrival of Margot’s paroled ex in the efficiency apartment downstairs creates not just complications but the chance for all sorts of unexpected forgiveness. A sister story about love, loneliness, and new life in middle age, this is a cracklingly witty, deeply sweet novel from one of our finest comic writers.

5.   The Storyteller, by Jodi Picoult (My Purchase)

 

 

 

Some stories live forever . . . Sage Singer is a baker. She works through the night, preparing the day’s breads and pastries, trying to escape a reality of loneliness, bad memories, and the shadow of her mother’s death. When Josef Weber, an elderly man in Sage’s grief support group, begins stopping by the bakery, they strike up an unlikely friendship. Despite their differences, they see in each other the hidden scars that others can’t, and they become companions.

Everything changes on the day that Josef confesses a long-buried and shameful secret—one that nobody else in town would ever suspect—and asks Sage for an extraordinary favor. If she says yes, she faces not only moral repercussions, but potentially legal ones as well. With her own identity suddenly challenged, and the integrity of the closest friend she’s ever had clouded, Sage begins to question the assumptions and expectations she’s made about her life and her family. When does a moral choice become a moral imperative? And where does one draw the line between punishment and justice, forgiveness and mercy?

In this searingly honest novel, Jodi Picoult gracefully explores the lengths we will go in order to protect our families and to keep the past from dictating the future.

6.  Obsolete (e-book), by C. T. French

In a dystopian future, an epic battle between the sexes will determine who lives and who dies.

After the Blue Pox pandemic wipes out 99.99 percent of males and 99.95 percent of females,18-year-old Madison is lost and alone. She joins forces with Katherine, a former anthropologist, in search of a safe place to live, and the two find a group of women gathered on the campus of a small college in East Tennessee. Katherine quickly establishes herself as leader and under the influence of Callie, a former prison guard, begins to imprison men for what Madison perceives can only be nefarious reasons. When the prisoners start mysteriously disappearing, Madison suspects Callie and her band of deputies are killing them. Then Callie and Katherine devise a procreation policy, mating the younger women with the male prisoners, and Madison must make a decision to either stay and become puppet to their plans or make her way alone in a desolate, violent world.

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to the first Monday in March.  Let’s gather around our cups of coffee and chat about February…and last week.  Let’s also plot the week to come.

First…let’s look at what happened on my blogs:

Musing & Ranting About Guilty Pleasures, New Reading Habits, & Bookish Love

Author Interview with Alan S. Blood

Author Interview with Kimberly S. Young & Review of The Eighth Wonder

Hump Day Potpourri:  Collections & Bookish Anticipation

Wrapping up February:  Lots of Good Books!

Sweet Saturday Sample:  Mother/Daughter Conflicts

Count Down to the End of the Round

Reading-Click Titles for Reviews:

1.  The History of Us, by Leah Stewart

2.  Blast from the Past, by Lauren Carr (Sequel Challenge)

3.  Knit Two, by Kate Jacobs (Mt. TBR & Sequel Challenge)

4.   Her:  A Memoir, by Christa Parravani

What’s Up Next? (Click Title/Cover for More Info)

1.  Attachments, by Rainbow Rowell

2.   The Day After Yesterday, by Kelly Cozy (Review book)

3.   Half Broke Horses (e-book), by Jeannette Walls (Mt. TBR Challenge)

***

That’s it….unless I finish them all, in which case, I have stacks and stacks of them waiting.  What are you planning this week?  Come on by and share….