MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — NOV. 5

Good morning, and welcome to another Monday, in which we celebrate our reading, blogging, and life.  Mailbox Monday is hosted in November by Bermudaonion;  and Book Journey brings us another edition of What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY:

This week’s mailbox included one review book; and then I bought a book at the Barnes & Noble bargain table.

1.  She Can Tell, by Melinda Leigh (Amazon Vine)

When a terrible accident abruptly ends her riding career, Rachel Parker returns to Pennsylvania to rebuild her family’s horse farm. But her welcome home is anything but warm. Her sister’s abusive husband and a violent vandal threaten Rachel’s new business and her life. Someone is systematically trying to destroy her. Someone who knows private things about her. Someone who’s been watching her. Now Rachel must face the fact that the sins of her carefully hidden past have returned to haunt her…

Police Chief Mike O’Connell never had trouble drawing the line between his personal life and his job—until he met Rachel Parker. Mike’s investigation uncovers a shocking number of secrets and suspects. But the stalker’s escalating violence convinces him he doesn’t have much time to sort through it all. Whoever is watching Rachel wants her dead. Mike and Rachel race to untangle a web of deceit and lies that stretches two decades into the past—before her stalker strikes again.

2.  The Search, by Nora Roberts

To most people, Fiona Bristow seems to have an idyllic life—a quaint house on an island off Seattle’s coast, a thriving dog-training school and a challenging volunteer job performing Canine Search and Rescue. Not to mention her three intensely loyal Labs. But Fiona got to this point by surviving a nightmare.

Several years ago, Fiona was the only survivor of the Red Scarf Killer, who shot and killed Fiona’s cop fiancé and his K-9 partner.

On Orcas Island, Fiona has found the peace and solitude necessary to rebuild her life. But all that changes on the day Simon Doyle barrels up her drive, desperate for her help. He’s an intensely private wood artist and the reluctant owner of an out-of-control puppy named Jaws.

As Fiona embarks on training Jaws, and Simon begins to appreciate both dog and trainer, the past tears back into Fiona’s life. A copycat killer has emerged out of the shadows, a man whose bloodlust has been channeled by a master with one motive: to reclaim the woman who slipped out of his hands . . .

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to another week of sharing our love of reading, blogging, and life.  Come on by and chat about your week; and then visit some other blogs to enjoy the famous community spirit.

Let’s talk about our weeks.  Mine wasn’t too bad, despite Halloween and even though I managed to fiddle away a whole day on Thursday waiting for a Fed Ex delivery.  Watching the clock and wondering why it was taking so long!  I was a bit distracted and didn’t read a lot that day.  But here’s what I did accomplish:

On the Blogs:

MONDAY POTPOURRI:  MUSINGS – ONLINE BOOKISH FRIENDS

HALLOWEEN CHOCOLATES:  MY FAVORITE TREATS

A STALKER WAITS:  AN EXCERPT FROM “AN ACCIDENTAL LIFE”

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  REVIEWING OCTOBER

OCTOBER SHELF-CLEARING:  COME INTO MY READING ROOM!

SWEET SATURDAY SAMPLE:  TROUBLED THOUGHTS

WEEKEND POTPOURRI: BOOKS, MOVIES, & STUFF

CHECK-IN POST:  MIXED FEELINGS

Reading: (Click Titles for Reviews)

1.  Afterwards, by Rosamund Lupton

2.  Between the Lines, by Jodi Picoult and Samanta Van Leer

3.  You Tell Your Dog First, by Alison Pace

What’s Up Next?

Currently Reading:  (Click Titles/Covers for More Info)

1.  Happier at Home(e-book), by Gretchen Rubin

2.   The Death of Bees, by Lisa O’Donnell

3.   Finding Casey, by Jo-Ann Mapson

4.   The Glass Butterfly (e-book), by Louise Marley

This weekend has been one of movie watching and lazing about.  I was totally absorbed by a favorite series from the past:  Lipstick Jungle.  I have one more DVD left to finish Season Two, and I’ll finish it tonight.  And then I’ll watch The Good Wife.

I also rearranged my dining room again.  I was dying to see what the room would look like with the Baker’s Rack in a more prominent spot.  Here’s what I came up with….

By tomorrow, I’ll be ready to read again.  What are the rest of you up to?  I hope you’ll stop by and share….

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

 

 

Good morning, and welcome to another Monday, in which we celebrate our reading, blogging, and life.  Mailbox Monday is hosted in October by Mailbox Monday blog;  and Book Journey brings us another edition of What Are You Reading?

 

MAILBOX MONDAY:

 

What a great mailbox week!  I received an unexpected book from an author; I received a banned book contest win; I received a preordered book from Amazon; and impulsively downloaded an e-book to Sparky.

Here’s my haul:

1.  You Tell Your Dog First, by Alison Pace (Author for Review)

 

You Tell Your Dog First…

About the date you just had…about the questionable results of a medical test…about the good and the bad…about everything.

For years, award-winning author Alison Pace was a dog person without a dog. And then, she got Carlie—a feisty and fluffy West Highland white terrier. She could weed out bad boyfriends with a sniff of her button-black nose and win the hearts of lifelong friends with an adoring gaze. Suddenly, Alison had a constant companion and confidante, who went with her on long morning rambles in Central Park, on trips to the country and the beach, and on her search for inner peace, love, and happiness. Through Carlie, Alison found herself connected to the world as never before.

With her trademark warmth, wit and humor, Alison shares her stories…the tales of a dog person who found her dog.

2.  Forgotten, by Catherine McKenzie

Emma Tupper is a dedicated lawyer with a bright future. But when she takes a month-long leave of absence to go on an African vacation, she ends up facing unexpected consequences. After she falls ill and spends six months trapped in a remote village thanks to a devastating earthquake, Emma returns home to discover that her friends, boyfriend, and colleagues thought she was dead—and that her life has moved on without her.

As she struggles to re-create her old life, throwing herself into solving a big case for a client and trying to reclaim her beloved apartment from the handsome photographer who assumed her lease, everyone around her thinks she should take the opportunity to change. But is she willing to sacrifice her job, her relationships, and everything else she worked so hard to build?

In Forgotten, Catherine McKenzie tweaks a classic tale of discovering who we really are when everything that brings meaning to our lives is lost.

3.  Killer Takes All (e-book)  by Erica Spindler

The White Rabbit beckons you to follow him, down the rabbit hole, into his world. He’s a deceiver, a trickster. You won’t know what is truth and what is a lie. He aims to best you. Beat you. And when he does, you die.

A friend’s brutal murder turns former homicide detective Stacy Killian’s life upside down. Unwilling to trust Spencer Malone, the overconfident New Orleans detective assigned to the case, Stacy is compelled to return to the investigative role she had fled.

The investigation leads Stacy and Spencer to White Rabbit, a cultish fantasy role-playing game. White Rabbit is dark, violent—and addictive. As the body count mounts, they find themselves trapped in a terrifying game that’s more real than life and death. Because anyone can die before the final moment when White Rabbit is over…and the killer takes all.

 

4.  The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (Contest Win from The Key to the Gate’s Rebecca)

 

The Grapes of Wrath is a landmark of American literature. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. Although it follows the movement of thousands of men and women and the transformation of an entire nation, The Grapes of Wrath is also the story of one Oklahoma family, the Joads, who are driven off their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity.

First published in 1939, The Grapes of Wrath summed up its era in the way that Uncle Tom’s Cabin summed up the years of slavery before the Civil War. Sensitive to fascist and communist criticism, Steinbeck insisted that “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” be printed in its entirety in the first edition of the book—which takes its title from the first verse: “He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored.” At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s fictional chronicle of the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s is perhaps the most American of American Classics.

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

 

Welcome to our Monday reading event where we come together to share our reading, blogging, and life adventures, and where we find a great community of book bloggers.

While you’re hopping around the blogosphere today, I hope you’ll pop in at Curl up and Read, where my Third Blogoversary Giveaway is going on!!

 

This week was a really productive one for me.  Not only in terms of reading, but blogging as well.  Here’s some of what happened on the blogs this week:

On the blogs, I’ve done several non-meme posts:

Round Four Check-In (for ROW 80);

Savoring Our Guilty Pleasures, One Moment at a Time;

Three-Year Blogoversary & Giveaway;

Thursday Potpourri:  Shifting Perspectives & Objects of Affection;

What Sparks My Enthusiasm on a Thursday;

Unraveling the Web – An Excerpt (at Story Corner);

Sweet Saturday Sample:  Blue Monday;

Weekend Potpourri:  New Perspectives;

Wendy Wax:  Guest Post – Ten Reasons to read Ten Beach Road in October.

Books Read/Reviewed:  Click Titles for Reviews

Review:  Sweet Tooth, by Ian McEwan

Review (Coming Nov. 13 during Blog Tour) Curiosity Killed the Kat, by Elizabeth Nelson

Review:    The Things That Matter, by Nate Berkus

Review:     Blackberry Winter, by Sarah Jio

Review:     Tuesday’s Gone, by Nicci French

 

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

1.  An Order of Coffee and Tears (e-book), by Brian Spangler

2.  Play Him Again (e-book), by Jeffrey Stone

3.  Dead on Ice, by Lauren Carr

 

***

And that’s my week!  I hope you’ll stop by and share your own adventures.

TEN BEACH ROAD IS NOT JUST FOR THE BEACH — WENDY WAX TELLS US WHY — OCT. 19

 

 

Top 10 Reasons to Spend Time at TEN BEACH ROAD in October

TEN BEACH ROAD is hitting the shelves anew this month as part of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Penguin Group’s READ PINK® program.

The READ PINK® program was created by my publisher, Penguin Group (USA) to promote public awareness of breast cancer and breast cancer research and to support and recognize the contributions of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®(BCRF) by connecting the cause to books written by, for and about women.

For the past two years, Penguin’s Read Pink donation has sponsored 500 hours of research time and I’m incredibly proud and honored to have my book on the shelves with the Read Pink Seal on the cover and information about BCRF in the back of the book.

But… it’s October!  My books usually hit the stores when temperatures are rising, school is out and we’re either headed to the beach or at least daydreaming about sand, surf and sun.  So this got me thinking about what makes a book a beach book, and why we should throw caution to the wind and read them all year long.   After all, if some fashionista somewhere can decree that white pants are acceptable all year long, then why can’t we do the same with beach books?

Not convinced?  Well, let me share my “Top 10 Reasons to Spend Time at TEN BEACH ROAD in October” list with you and see if we can get on the same page.  (Pun fully intended!)

1.    Since school is back in session, it’s important to set a good example for your kids by reading.  If you pick up TEN BEACH ROAD, you’ll be enjoying a sweat-soaked summer with Maddie, Nicole, and Avery as they rehab a dilapidated beachfront mansion in Pass-a-Grille, Florida.  Your kids will just think you are very smart and studious.

2.    If you need something to warm you up, the men of TEN BEACH ROAD are hot.

3.    Now that I think about it, I’m not sure why books that really take you away are necessary in the summer.  What better time for a good mental escape to the beach than a cold, rainy day in October?

4.    When you’re looking ahead to long cold months with the sun setting earlier and earlier each day, you can at least feel good that you have not lost everything in a Madoff-style Ponzi scheme like the women of TEN BEACH ROAD.

5.    If your neighborhood is getting too cold and windy for DIY projects, you can read about Maddie, Nicole and Avery’s work on Bella Flora and just tell your hubby that you’re in the “planning stages” for next spring and summer.

6.    Did I mention that there are some hot guys in TEN BEACH ROAD?

7.    Reading beach books in the summer can make you feel bad about not being quite bikini ready… but in October, you can pull out a big cozy sweater and some chocolate cake and know you have months before you have to worry about that again!

8.    If beach vacations are not just for summer, then beach books shouldn’t be either.  October is actually a good time to head to the beaches in Florida.  The crowds have thinned and the temperatures are still warm.  You could leave the kids with Dad, grab your girlfriends, a few copies of TEN BEACH ROAD and call it a book club weekend!

9.    Friendships are timeless, and so are troubles.  TEN BEACH ROAD is the story of three women who are thrown together when they lose everything.  It could be set in Aspen in March, Boston in December or Dubuque in May.  The story is about the women, their lives, and their bond.  So reading it in October wherever you live will work.  I promise.

10.    I think I have mentioned that there are some hot guys in the book, but it bears repeating!  If you’re looking for a way to warm up, there’s nothing better than picturing Joe Giraldi running shirtless on the beach.  (Not sure who Joe is?  Pick up the READ PINK® edition of TEN BEACH ROAD to find out)!

So, show the world the kind of woman you really are: brave, fearless, and bold.  Wear white pants after Labor Day, drink a Piña Colada in December and proudly show off your copy of TEN BEACH ROAD in October.  You’ll be the envy of the neighborhood, and you can be proud knowing you’re supporting a great cause!

Visit Wendy at her Amazon Author Page.

 

 

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

Good morning, and welcome to another Monday, in which we celebrate our reading, blogging, and life.  Mailbox Monday is hosted in October by Mailbox Monday blog;  and Book Journey brings us another edition of What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY:

This week’s mailbox held two books:  one review book and one contest win.  And I received a download to Sparky for review.

1.  Dead on Ice, by Lauren Carr (Review from Author)

Dead on Ice is the first installment of Lauren Carr’s new series (Lovers in Crime) featuring Hancock County Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Thornton and Pennsylvania State Police homicide detective Cameron Gates. Spunky Cameron Gates is tasked with solving the murder of Cherry Pickens, a legendary star of pornographic films, whose body turns up in an abandoned freezer. The case has a personal connection to her lover, Joshua Thornton, because the freezer was located in his cousin’s basement. It doesn’t take long for their investigation to reveal that the risqué star’s roots were buried in their rural Ohio Valley community, something that Cherry had kept off her show business bio. She should have kept her hometown off her road map, too—because when this starlet came running home from the mob, it proved to be a fatal homecoming.

2.  Curiosity Killed the Kat (e-book), by Elizabeth Nelson (Review for Blog Tour-11/13)

Katherine (“Kat”) thought she had the perfect marriage to International Lawyer Steven Flynn. Until he tried to kill her.

Katherine was the perfect obedient wife. She would do anything for her husband. That is, until she discovers he’s the ring leader of a human trafficking organization. The action is fast and furious, the dialogue smart and the sex scenes hot. Meet Katherine in Curiosity Killed The Kat as she goes farther and farther down the rabbit hole of political intrigue, sex, and revenge. Will she let herself be saved by love or will curiosity and a thirst for killer justice kill the Kat?

3.  Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut (Contest Win from Suey’s books)

Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous firebombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim’s odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we fear most.

And that’s my mailbox!

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to our Monday reading event where we come together to share our reading, blogging, and life adventures, and where we find a great community of book bloggers.

For some reason, my reading week seemed to take on a snail’s pace, partly because I was reading longer books, especially my third one, an historical novel full of dense details.

But I can’t blame the books entirely.  I was also caught up in the blissful obsession of two new toys:  my new TV, which I enjoyed way too much this week; and my new printer/scanner/fax machine.

Since buying Louisa May, my new laptop, I have been without my old printer and scanner—incompatible with the computer.

But my youngest son arrived with a combination device that has brought me back into the world of scanning.  I used it yesterday to post some of my Saturday Snapshots.

On the Blogs:

I posted my Row 80 Round Four Check-In; and then, later in the week, featured my Sweet Saturday Sample:  After the Bliss; followed by my Weekend Potpourri post:  Cozy Moments.

Reviews:

1.  More Than You Know - by Penny Vincenzi

2.  Dangerous Affairs, by Diana Miller

3.  The Heir, by Barbara Taylor Bradford

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

1.  Sweet Tooth, by Ian McEwan (Review Book)

2.  The Things That Matter, by Nate Berkus (Review Book)

3.  Curiosity Killed the Kat (e-book), by Elizabeth Nelson (Blog Tour – Review on 11/13)

So the week looks busy enough, but relaxed, too.  What does your week look like?

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

Good morning, and welcome to another Monday, in which we celebrate our reading, blogging, and life.  Mailbox Monday is hosted in October by Mailbox Monday blog;  and Book Journey brings us another edition of What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY:

This week, I received one review book (Amazon Vine) and two books I purchased.

1.  The Things That Matter, by Nate Berkus (Vine)

 

Does your home tell the story of who you are?

In The Things That Matter, Nate Berkus shares intimate stories from his life, introduces us to people who influenced him and helped him forge his sense of style, and opens up about the remarkable experiences that have left him forever changed, all of which find expression in how he lives today. From his most cherished flea market finds, to his beloved books and photos, to the many extraordinary mementos he’s collected in his travels, every piece defines who he’s become and what endures in his world.

Berkus invites readers into his own home as well as into twelve others, including a sleek steel-and-glass high-rise that soars above Chicago, a rustic cottage in the Hudson Valley, an ultra-chic atelier that maximizes every inch of space, a Greenwich Village townhouse that holds multiple art collections, and a study in meaningful minimalism in Marfa, Texas. The distinctive interiors beautifully displayed in this book offer revealing portraits of their owners’ lives and the inspiring choices that have made them who they are today.
 
The Things That Matter convincingly lays out Nate Berkus’s philosophy that things do matter. Our homes tell our stories, they reflect the places we’ve been and the people we’ve loved along the way—and there can be no more beautiful design for living than that.

2.  Tuesday’s Gone, by Nicci French

Nicci French, the bestselling author of “What to do When Someone Dies and “Losing You”, returns with the second book in the gripping new series that began with Top Ten Bestseller “Blue Monday”. Fans of Peter James’ “Roy Grace” series and Peter Robinson’s “DCI Banks” series will love central character psychotherapist Frieda Klein, who is consulted on a grisly and seemingly unsolvable crime. For Frieda Klein the days get longer, the cases darker…Psychotherapist Frieda Klein thought she was done with the police. But once more DCI Karlsson is knocking at her door. A man’s decomposed body has been found in the flat of Michelle Doyce, a woman trapped in a world of strange mental disorder. The police don’t know who it is, how he got there or what happened – and Michelle can’t tell them. But Karlsson hopes Frieda can get access to the truths buried beneath her confusion. Painstakingly, Frieda uncovers a possible identity for the corpse: Robert Poole, a jack of all trades and master conman. But the deeper Frieda and Karlsson dig into Poole’s past, the more of his victims they encounter – and the more motives they find for murder. Meanwhile, violent ghosts from Frieda’s own past are returning to threaten her. Unable to discover quite who is telling the truth and who is lying, they know they are getting closer to a killer. But whoever murdered Poole is determined to stay free – and anyone that gets too close will meet the same fate. A gritty heroine, a gruesome crime and a terrifying hunt for a psychotic killer, “Tuesday’s Gone” is not to be missed by fans of psychological thrillers. “Nicci French knows just how to play on our worst fears”. (“Daily Mail”). Nicci French is the pseudonym for Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. The couple live in Suffolk and have written twelve other bestselling novels including “Beneath the Skin” and “Blue Monday”, the first thrilling instalment in the Frieda Klein series.

3.  Finding Casey, by Jo-Ann Mapson

 

Glory Vigil, newly married, unexpectedly pregnant at forty-one, is nesting in the home she and her husband, Joseph, have just moved to in Santa Fe, a house that unbeknownst to them is rumored to have a resident ghost. Their adopted daughter, Juniper, is home from college for Thanksgiving and in love for the very first time, quickly learning how a relationship changes everything. But Juniper has a tiny arrow lodged in her heart, a leftover shard from the day eight years earlier when her sister, Casey, disappeared-in a time before she’d ever met Glory and Joseph. When a fieldwork course takes Juniper to a pueblo only a few hours away, she finds herself right back in the past she thought she’d finally buried.A love story, a family story, a story of searching and the bond between sisters, Finding Casey is a testament to human resilience. This completely stand-alone novel, featuring beloved characters from Solomon’s Oak, will charm Mapson’s readers and move her into a larger sphere.  (I loved Solomon’s Oak!).

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

 

Welcome to our second week in October, and to our weekly event that offers the opportunity to share our reading, blogging, and life experiences, along with a way to connect with the community of book bloggers.

What a whirlwind of activities around the blogs this week!  After last weekend and the Bloggiesta makeovers, we were thrust into Banned Books Week.

There were reviews and giveaways all around the blogosphere.  My review and giveaway of The Catcher in the Rye is at Rainy Days and Mondays.

Other Blogging:

Monday Potpourri: Musings – Distractions

Tuesday Potpourri:  Finding a Balance

September Reading Wrap-Up

Sweet Saturday Samples:  Reexamining the Past in Light of the Present

Weekend Potpourri:  Lazy Day Activities

I read and reviewed two books: (Click titles for reviews)

1.  The Probable Future, by Alice Hoffman

2.  Barbra:  The Way She Is, by Christopher Andersen

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

I’m still reading More Than You Know, by Penny Vincenzi

New Ones on the List:

Dangerous Affairs, by Diana Miller (from Amazon Vine)

The Heir, by Barbara Taylor Bradford (From my Old TBR Stacks)

***

And that’s my week…a nice slow pace.  What are the rest of you reading?  Come on by and chat!

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — JULY 30

Good morning, and welcome to another Monday, in which we celebrate our reading, blogging, and life.  Mailbox Monday is hosted in July by Mrs. Q Book Addict; and Book Journey brings us another edition of What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY:

 

This week brought two review books…and I downloaded one book for Sparky.

1.  Grace Grows, by Shelle Sumners (Amazon Vine)

Grace Barnum’s life is precariously balanced on sensible choices and uncomfortable compromise. She dutifully edits textbooks that, she fears, may be more harmful than helpful to kids. She is engaged to a patent attorney who is study and reliable. She has a cautious relationship with her fascinating father, a renowned New York painter, and she prefers her mom slightly drunk.

Always a planner, Grace feels prepared for most eventualities. Until the responsibility-challenged Tyler Wilkie shows up. Fresh in town from the Poconos, Tyler has warm eyes, a country drawl, and a smile that makes Grace drop things. Worst of all, he writes devastating songs. About her.

Tyler reaches something in Grace, something she needs, but can’t admit to. Something she wants, but won’t succumb to. Tyler Wilkie loves Grace Barnum and ruins everything.  And Grace grows.

2.  Those We Love Most, by Lee Woodruff (Amazon Vine)

A bright June day. A split-second distraction. A family forever changed.

Life is good for Maura Corrigan. Married to her college sweetheart, Pete, raising three young kids with her parents nearby in her peaceful Chicago suburb, her world is secure. Then one day, in a single turn of fate, that entire world comes crashing down and everything that she thought she knew changes.

Maura must learn to move forward with the weight of grief and the crushing guilt of an unforgivable secret. Pete senses a gap growing between him and his wife but finds it easier to escape to the bar with his friends than face the flaws in his marriage.

Meanwhile, Maura’s parents are dealing with the fault lines in their own marriage. Charismatic Roger, who at sixty-five, is still chasing the next business deal and Margaret, a pragmatic and proud homemaker, have been married for four decades, seemingly happily. But the truth is more complicated. Like Maura, Roger has secrets of his own and when his deceptions and weaknesses are exposed, Margaret’s love and loyalty face the ultimate test.

Those We Love Most chronicles how these unforgettable characters confront their choices, examine their mistakes, fight for their most valuable relationships, and ultimately find their way back to each other. It takes us deep into the heart of what makes families and marriages tick and explores a fundamental question: when the ties that bind us to those we love are strained or broken, how do we pick up the pieces?

Deeply penetrating and brimming with emotional insight, this engrossing family drama heralds the arrival of a major new voice in contemporary fiction.

3.  Gone Girl (e-book), by Gillian Flynn

Marriage can be a real killer.
One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. The Chicago Tribune proclaimed that her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.
On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?
As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

***

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

 

Welcome to another week of contemplation about the week just past…and what lies ahead.

My blogging has been erratic this week, but I did post a ROW 80 Check-In: Lazy Week, on Creative Journey; and in my Hump Day Potpourri, I talked about happy events coming.  My Sweet Saturday Sample on Snow Chronicles was about The One That Got Away.

Reading-Click Titles for Reviews:

I read and reviewed three books this week.  One book was a DNF…enough said about that.

1)  One Breath Away, by Heather Gudenkauf (Fabulous Five Star Read!)

2)  What I Did For Love, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (fun read!)

3)  Summer Breeze (e-book), by Nancy Thayer (Great summer read)

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

1)  Gone Girl (e-book), by Gillian Flynn (I’ve already plunged into this one!)

2)  The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge, by Christine Nolfi (Review book)

3)  Zero Day (e-book), by David Baldacci

***

And that’s my week!  Hope you’ll stop by and share about yours....

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — JULY 23

Good morning, and welcome to another Monday, in which we celebrate our reading, blogging, and life.  Mailbox Monday is hosted in July by Mrs. Q Book Addict; and Book Journey brings us another edition of What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY:

This week brought two books into my mailbox.  One is a review book from the publisher, and the other is a book I purchased.

1.   Where’d You Go, Bernadette - Maria Semple (Publisher)

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she’s a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she’s a disgrace; to design mavens, she’s a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette’s intensifying allergy to Seattle–and people in general–has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence–creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter’s role in an absurd world.

2.  Small Damages - Beth Kephart

Juno meets Under the Tuscan Sun

It’s senior year, and while Kenzie should be looking forward to prom and starting college in the fall, she discovers she’s pregnant. Her determination to keep her baby is something her boyfriend and mother do not understand. So she is sent to Spain, where she will live out her pregnancy, and her baby will be adopted by a Spanish couple. No one will ever know.

Alone and resentful in a foreign country, Kenzie is at first sullen and difficult. But as she gets to know Estela, the stubborn old cook, and Esteban, the mysterious young man who cares for the horses, she begins to open her eyes, and her heart, to the beauty that is all around her, and inside her. Kenzie realizes she has some serious choices to make–choices about life, love, and home.

Lyrically told in a way that makes the heat, the colors, and the smells of Spain feel alive, Small Damages is a feast for the heart and the soul, and a coming-of-age novel not easily forgotten

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WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to our week in review and our anticipation for the new one.

My week has included some intriguing titles and some blog posts.

On the Blogs:

At Story Corner, I posted about Cooler Days Ahead:  Reading, etc.

My Creative Journey included a Check-In Post:  Goal Tweaking; and I posted an excerpt from Interior Designs at Snow Chronicles:  Internet Dating: “Post-Mortem.”

Reviews-Click Titles:

Rain, (e-book), by Leigh K. Cunningham

Keepsake (e-book), by Kristina Riggle

The Roots of the Olive Tree, by Courtney Miller Santo

The Shadow Queen, by Rebecca Dean

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

One Breath Away, by Heather Gudenkauf

 

 

What I Did For Love, by Susan Elizabeth Phillips (From Mt. TBR)

Summer Breeze (e-book) , by Nancy Thayer

Red (e-book), by Kait Nolan

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That is my week!  Hope to visit many of you and discover what you’ve been up to…and come on by and share your comments and links.

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

Good morning, and welcome to another Monday, in which we celebrate our reading, blogging, and life.  Mailbox Monday is hosted in June by Burton Book Review; and Book Journey brings us another edition of What Are You Reading?

MAILBOX MONDAY:

My mailbox is reasonably full this week, but all are books I purchased or downloaded.  Yes, I threw caution to the wind and bought books!

Here’s What I Grabbed from Amazon:

The Last Summer of Her Other Life, by Jean Reynolds Page

Thirty-nine and pregnant by a man she’s decided to leave behind in California, Jules’ life is changing. Always the protected daughter, she must now relinquish that role and prepare to be a mother herself. But her efforts are upstaged by shocking allegations from a local teen in her North Carolina hometown. The boy has accused her of what the police are calling “inappropriate sexual contact.” Three men rally in her defense: Lincoln, her brother, who flies in from New York to help her; Sam, her high school boyfriend, who after so many years still offers unconditional support; and Walt, the uncle of the teen, who charms Jules with his intelligence and unanticipated kindness.

Her search for the truth about the troubled teenager becomes, for Jules, a first step toward discovering the woman she wishes to be. But with so many wrong choices behind her, how can she trust herself with the future of her unborn child?

Sea Change, by Karen White

For Ava Whalen, a new marriage and a move to St. Simons Island means a new beginning. But what she doesn’t realize is that her marriage will take her on an unexpected journey into the deep recesses of her past that will transform her forever…

For as long as she can remember, Ava Whalen has struggled with a sense of not belonging, and now, at thirty-four, she still feels stymied by her family. Then she meets child psychologist Matthew Frazier, and thinks her days of loneliness are behind her. After a whirlwind romance, they impulsively elope, and Ava moves to Matthew’s ancestral home on St. Simons Island off the coast of Georgia.

But after the initial excitement, Ava is surprised to discover that true happiness continues to elude her. There is much she doesn’t know about Matthew, including the mysterious circumstances surrounding his first wife’s death. And her new home seems to hold as many mysteries and secrets as her new husband. Feeling adrift, Ava throws herself into uncovering Matthew’s family history and that of the island, not realizing that she has a connection of her own to this place—or that her obsession with the past could very well destroy her future.

Summer Breeze (e-book), by Nancy Thayer

In Summer Breeze, the author of Beachcombers and Heat Wave tells the wonderfully moving story of three women who forge a unique bond one sun-drenched summer on New England’s Dragonfly Lake.

Morgan O’Keefe feels trapped in a gilded cage. True, the thirty-year-old mother agreed to put her science career on hold to raise her young son while her husband  pursued his high-powered job. But though Morgan loves many things about staying home with her child, she misses the thrill of working with her colleagues in the lab. She’s restless and in dire need of a change.

Fed up with New York City’s hectic pace, Natalie Reynolds takes up her aunt’s offer to move to the Berkshires and house-sit her fabulous lakeside house for a year. Passionate about applying brush to canvas, Natalie is poised to become the artist she has forever longed to be. But life on Dragonfly Lake is never without surprises, and for a novice swimmer like Natalie, the most welcome surprise proves to be the arms of a handsome neighbor pulling her up from the water for a gulp of air.

When her mother breaks her leg, Bella Barnaby quits her job in Austin and returns home to help out her large, boisterous family. Among her new duties: manning the counter at the family business, Barnaby’s Barn, an outdated shop sorely in need of a makeover. While attractive architect Aaron has designs on her, Bella harbors long held secret dreams of her own.

Summer on Dragonfly Lake is ripe for romance, temptation, and self-discovery as the lives of these three women unexpectedly intertwine. Summer Breeze illustrates how the best of friends can offer comfort, infuriate, or even—sometimes—open one’s eyes to the astonishing possibilities of life lived in a different way. This captivating novel displays a prestigiously gifted writer at the height of her storytelling powers.

Wallflower in Bloom (e-book), by Claire Cook

From the acclaimed bestselling author of Must Love Dogs comes a winning and witty new novel about a woman who emerges from the shadow of her overbearing family and finds herself “dancing with the stars.”

Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it’s just not her own. She’s the around-the-clock personal assistant to her charismatic, high-maintenance, New Age guru brother, Tag. As the family wallflower, her only worth seems to be as gatekeeper to Tag at his New England seaside compound.

Then Deirdre’s sometime boyfriend informs her that he is marrying another woman, who just happens to be having the baby he told Deirdre he never wanted. While drowning her sorrows in Tag’s expensive vodka, Deirdre decides to use his massive online following to get herself voted on as a last-minute Dancing with the Stars replacement. It’ll get her back in shape, mentally and physically. It might even get her a life of her own. Deirdre’s fifteen minutes of fame have begun.

Irresistible and offbeat, Wallflower in Bloom is an original and deeply satisfying story of having the courage to take a leap into the spotlight, no matter where you land.

Zero Day (e-book), by David Baldacci (Satisfies the “Z” letter in the A-Z Challenge!)

John Puller is a combat veteran and the best military investigator in the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division. His father was an Army fighting legend, and his brother is serving a life sentence for treason in a federal military prison. Puller has an indomitable spirit and an unstoppable drive to find the truth.

Now, Puller is called out on a case in a remote, rural area in West Virginia coal country far from any military outpost. Someone has stumbled onto a brutal crime scene, a family slaughtered. The local homicide detective, a headstrong woman with personal demons of her own, joins forces with Puller in the investigation. As Puller digs through deception after deception, he realizes that absolutely nothing he’s seen in this small town, and no one in it, are what they seem. Facing a potential conspiracy that reaches far beyond the hills of West Virginia, he is one man on the hunt for justice against an overwhelming force.

David Baldacci is one of the world’s favorite storytellers. His books are published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with over 110 million copies in print. David Baldacci is also the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America.

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WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Good morning!   Welcome to another week of sharing about our reading and blogging.

It’s been pretty hot in these parts, but so far, the triple digit days are mixed in between those in the nineties.

For those of you who didn’t attend BEA, did you participate in Armchair BEA?  Did you enjoy it?

I took part in the first two days…and then got sidetracked to other activities, as sometimes happens.

But the first day was awesome, and here’s my Who Am I? post.  On the second day, we talked about Best Reads of 2012.

Over the next few days, bloggers described their blogging experiences and what they hope will happen next.

On the weekend, I wrote A Therapist Ponders the Empty Space in Her Life:  An Excerpt (Forest Journey); and my Sweet Saturday Sample:  Bread, Wine, and Thou was an excerpt from my WIP Interior Designs.

And I read some books that I really enjoyed.

Books Read- Click Titles for Reviews:

The Girl Below, by Bianca Zander (****)

When Madeline Was Young, by Jane Hamilton (***)

Where We Belong, by Jane Green (*****)

Murder Uncorked (e-book), by Michele Scott (****)

And I’m still reading:    American Legacy:  The Story of John and Caroline Kennedy, by C. David Heymann – I’ve managed to polish off 200 + pages from reading mostly at night.

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

The Long Way Home, by Karen McQuestion (Amazon Vine)

Scotsmen Prefer Blondes, by Sara Ramsey (Review Book – Publicist)

The Red Book (e-book), by Deborah Copaken Kogan

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So that’s what I’m planning this week….Hope to visit many of you to see what you’re up to, and I hope you can come on by and share.

WEEKEND THOUGHTS FROM THE INTERIOR — DEC. 3

Thoughts From the Interior

This past week seemingly flew by, as so many have lately.

What did I accomplish?  I guess I did some reading; I even reviewed the notes from the Beta reader for Defining Moments; and I did a little Christmas decorating.

Last weekend’s get-together with family left me nostalgic, though; as I unpacked the decorations, my thoughts took me to the moments when I had collected each item.

Many of them I acquired during recent years, but there was that one Santa sleigh that I have had since the 1980s, when my kids were young, and we were living in that cute little apartment surrounded by wicker.

Santa Sleigh on the Left -- A Reminder of Times Past

 

Here’s a shot of the kids, amongst the wicker:

 

That shot, of course, was not taken during the Christmas season.

Do you ever think about the clothes, decor, and other remnants of a particular time in your life?  Sometimes I even wonder what possessed us to dress or decorate that way.  But those were the times.

Then, I guess, we thought it was cool.

I drove a little VW Bug back then, and recall stashing many a “find” in the car and driving home.  Sometimes with the ends sticking out the side windows.

We probably couldn’t get away with something like that now!

I am trying to stay in the moment, though, and enjoy the life that surrounds me now.  Like grandchildren.  Here’s a shot taken just last weekend.

 

Does the holiday season stir up memories for you?  What do you like to remember, laugh about, or even sigh about?

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — OCT. 17

Reading Corner

Every week, I say the same thing to myself:  I can’t believe it’s Monday again!

But in a good way.  Unlike the days when I went out of my home to work, Mondays are good.  I like the feeling of accomplishment, when reviewing what I’ve done in the past week.  And I love the clean slate of looking ahead to more exciting reads.

Mailbox Monday is hosted through October by Savvy Verse & Wit.

Sheila, at Book Journey, leads the It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? meme.

MAILBOX MONDAY:

I received NO BOOKS in the mail.  But I downloaded something for Sparky, my Kindle.

When She Woke, by Hillary Jordan, is a book I’ve been noticing, and considering my foray into more Margaret Atwood books, this continues that journey.

‘Hillary Jordan channels Nathaniel Hawthorne by way of Margaret Atwood in this fast-paced, dystopian thriller. Unputdownable’Valerie Martin, author of The Confessions of Edward Day‘Not only one of the best books of the year, but it’s everything the dystopian genre was made for . . . An instant classic for the 21st century’Publisher’s WeeklyPRAISE FOR HILLARY JORDAN:‘Hillary Jordan writes with the force of a Delta storm’Barbara Kingsolver‘Jordan’s tautly structured debut . . . confronts disturbing truths about America’s past with a directness and a freshness of approach that recalls Alice Walker’s The Color Purple.’The Times‘The winner of Barbara Kingsolver’s Bellwether Prize for a novel ‘promoting social responsibility,’ Hillary Jordan is happily a writer who puts her duty to entertain first’ The Independent…

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WHAT ARE YOU READING?

It’s been a typical October week, with briskness in the air, a new reading corner for me that allows the breeze to drift over me, and a few great books.

Here’s what’s been happening on the blogs:

DANGEROUS CHOICES: AN EXCERPT

HUMP DAY POTPOURRI

FINDING MY MUSE

WEEKEND THOUGHTS FROM THE INTERIOR

INTERRUPTIONS & RECONNECTIONS – AN EXCERPT

Review:  The Summer Before the Dark, by Doris Lessing

Review:  Still Missing, by Beth Gutcheon

Review:  Tall Pine Polka, by Lorna Landvik

What’s Up Next?

1.  Weekend Warriors, by Fern Michaels

2.  Payback, by Fern Michaels

3.  Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination, by Helen Fielding

4.  Dumpster Dying, by Lesley A. Diehl

Still Reading:  Janeology, by Karen Harrington

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So that’s my week!  Hope you’ll come on over and share yours.