MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MAILBOX MONDAY & WHAT ARE YOU READING? — JULY 9

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:

My mailbox this week held one review book, one contest win, and a book I purchased:

1.  Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch, by Haywood Smith (from Sheila, at Book Journey)

Southern housewife Linwood Breedlove Scott was happily content in her comfortable, complacent thirty-year marriage, but when her husband cleans out their bank accounts and runs off with a stripper, her life takes a hilarious, yet touching, right turn into reality. With no place to go but home, she’s forced back to her insular hometown and the “eccentric” family she escaped by marrying at nineteen: her senile father, her loving-yet-controlling mother, her long-suffering aunt, her crazy uncle, and her good-for-nothing brother. But despite her newly dependent situation and her family’s genteel insanity, Lin begins to stand on her own two feet and wake up to the joys-and perils-of life as a single woman. And she also learns surprising lessons about her family: that things aren’t always what they seem, and that the power of love governs even the most dysfunctional of relationships. This joy-filled, moving, and wise-cracking novel delivers a portrait of Southern life, Southern families, and self-discovery that readers will never forget.

2.  Five O’Clock Follies, by Theasa Tuohy (From Publisher)

In her debut, former Associated Press editor Tuohy describes the Vietnam War through a journalist’s lens. Freelance writer Angela Martinelli arrives in Saigon in 1968, wearing her “greenness” in the form of high-heeled shoes and a gorgeous mane of red hair. As one of the few women correspondents in a war zone, Angela is greeted with misogyny, skepticism or disdain by her male colleagues, except for Nick, who works for a Chicago newspaper and gives her the benefit of the doubt. She soon proves her merit and bravery in the middle of a covert operation in Cambodia, surviving capture by the Viet Cong, living in a bunker during a siege and chasing truths that the military denies and her fellow reporters doubt. Angela also finds romance in the midst of this chaos; eventually she must choose: her career or love.

3.  The Next Best Thing, by Jennifer Weiner

Actors aren’t the only ones trying to make it in Hollywood.…At twenty-three, Ruth Saunders left her childhood home in Massachusetts and headed west with her seventy-year-old grandma in tow, hoping to make it as a screenwriter. Six years later, she hits the jackpot when she gets The Call: the sitcom she wrote, The Next Best Thing, has gotten the green light, and Ruthie’s going to be the showrunner. But her dreams of Hollywood happiness are threatened by demanding actors, number-crunching executives, an unrequited crush on her boss, and her grandmother’s impending nuptials.

Set against the fascinating backdrop of Los Angeles show business culture, with an insider’s ear for writer’s room showdowns and an eye for bad backstage behavior and set politics, Jennifer Weiner’s new novel is a rollicking ride on the Hollywood roller coaster, a heartfelt story about what it’s like for a young woman to love, and lose, in the land where dreams come true.

WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Welcome to another week of reading, blogging, and life.

This past week, as I continued to familiarize myself with my new laptop, I also did a bit of reading and blogging.

In addition to last Monday’s meme, I enjoyed posting a Saturday Snapshot, followed by my Sweet Saturday Sample: Implementing Maeve’s Plan.

Today I posted a Sunday Potpourri and shared the week in review.

Books Read/Reviewed-Click Titles for Reviews:

1.  Terminal Ambition, by Kate McGuinness

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

3.  My Extraordinary Ordinary Life, by Sissy Spacek, et. al.

4.  XO (Kathryn Dance) (e-book), by Jeffery Deaver

WHAT’S UP NEXT? (Click Titles/Covers for More Info)

1.  Paris Without End, by Gioia Diliberto (Review Book)

2.  Island Apart, by Stephen Raichlen (Vine)

3.  Sea Change, by Karen White

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

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That’s my week!  I can’t wait to see what’s on your list…so come on by and share some links.