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!

---