THOUGHTS FROM THE INTERIOR: INTROS/TEASERS – “CAMBRIDGE”

Welcome to another Tuesday celebrating bookish events, from Tuesday/First Chapter/Intros, hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea; and Teaser Tuesdays hosted by Should Be Reading.

Today I’m spotlighting one of my Vine review books:  Cambridge, by Susanna Kaysen.

I am coming in late today, but I couldn’t resist posting anyway.

Intro:  It was probably because I was so often taken away from Cambridge when I was young that I loved it as much as I did.  I fell in love with the city, the way you fall in love with a person, and suffered during the many separations I endured.

In the summer before our October departure for England, the screen door to the backyard broke and had to be replaced.  The new door had a hydraulic canister that hissed when it opened or closed instead of smacking, thump, thump, the way the old door had.  I didn’t like this.  Neither did my cat, Pinch.  Cats and children are conservative.  Pinch would use the new door to go out of the house, but she refused to come in through it, and she’d sit by the front door waiting for someone to notice that she’d decided it was time to come home.  After three weeks in England, I felt the same way:  Okay, let’s go home now.  It’s time to go home.  But my parents, looking out their new, hydraulic door in England, didn’t notice me, and, like Pinch, I had to sit there hoping and hoping.

***

Teaser: (In Greece)  My mother was as chic as her cigarettes.  This had happened in Italy, too.  She was a chameleon.  She took on the prevailing look.  (p. 184).

***

Blurb:  “It was probably because I was so often taken away from Cambridge when I was young that I loved it as much as I did . . .”

So begins this novel-from-life by the best-selling author of Girl, Interrupted, an exploration of memory and nostalgia set in the 1950s among the academics and artists of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

London, Florence, Athens: Susanna, the precocious narrator of Cambridge, would rather be home than in any of these places. Uprooted from the streets around Harvard Square, she feels lost and excluded in all the locations to which her father’s career takes the family. She comes home with relief—but soon enough wonders if outsiderness may be her permanent condition.

Written with a sharp eye for the pretensions—and charms—of the intellectual classes, Cambridge captures the mores of an era now past, the ordinary lives of extraordinary people in a singular part of America, and the delights, fears, and longings of childhood.

***

What do you think?  Nostalgic?  Do these excerpts bring back memories for you?

FIRST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014

Happy New Year, and welcome to our First book of the New Year Event, hosted by Book Journey!

This is my first time participating in this event, and I’m excited.  I spent some time handling the various books on my stacks, trying to decide…and when I had narrowed it down to two books, I took some photos.

The winning book was The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion.  And here I am reading it!

Blurb:  THE ART OF LOVE IS NEVER A SCIENCE

MEET DON TILLMAN, a brilliant yet socially challenged professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. And so, in the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.

Rosie Jarman is all these things. She also is strangely beguiling, fiery, and intelligent. And while Don quickly disqualifies her as a candidate for the Wife Project, as a DNA expert Don is particularly suited to help Rosie on her own quest: identifying her biological father. When an unlikely relationship develops as they collaborate on the Father Project, Don is forced to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that, despite your best scientific efforts, you don’t find love, it finds you.

Arrestingly endearing and entirely unconventional, Graeme Simsion’s distinctive debut will resonate with anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of great challenges. The Rosie Project is a rare find: a book that restores our optimism in the power of human connection.

***

My second choice is one I also plan to start reading this week, but since it is a chunkster, with 700+ pages, it may take awhile.

One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to think more about savoring the books and less about the numbers of books read.

Do you have any resolutions for the New Year?  What book is your first choice to read?

 

INTERIOR MUSINGS: WHAT I’M READING NOW

 

Welcome to another week of musings, hosted by Should Be Reading.  My musing today is from this topic:

Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.

***

I am currently reading Starter House, by Sonja Condit, an ARC from Amazon Vine.

 

 

I selected it because of this portion of the blurb:

From the moment Lacey sees the house with the beautiful wood staircase, she knows she’s found her dream home. Growing up rootless with her flighty mother, Ella Dane, a self-proclaimed psychic, Lacey is determined to give her unborn baby the stability she never had.

I love stories about houses.  Love visualizing them, decorating them or watching the characters do that…and yet, there was the next part of the blurb that gave me pause:

But shortly after she and her husband, Eric, move in, the warm and welcoming house becomes cold and dark. There is something malevolent within these walls that wants to hurt her unborn child—a terrifying presence that only she can sense. And there is Drew, a demanding and temperamental little boy who mysteriously appears when Lacey is alone.

To protect her unborn child and save her family, Lacy must discover the truth about her dream house and the troubled Drew—a decades-old mystery involving secrets, violence, and guilt—and confront an evil that has lingered in wait for years.

***

What I’m not enjoying is how the character, Lacey, seems powerless to do anything but “go along” with the “demanding and temperamental boy.”  And I don’t like her husband, Eric, who is not supportive at all.  He dismisses everything she tells him, so she keeps secrets.

But….the story is suspenseful, and after reading it for awhile last night (I’m almost finished), I dreamed about it.  In my dreams, the story had a variety of endings…I wonder which one will actually happen?

***

Do you ever do that?  Pick a book you are not sure about, but you’re drawn to it anyway?  And you keep reading, even when you don’t like the characters?

***

What are you musing about today?

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: MUSING ABOUT UPCOMING BOOKS — SEPT. 9

Welcome to another Monday from the Interior.  Today we’re spotlighting Musing Mondays, hosted by Should Be Reading.

It’s been awhile since I participated, so I’m feeling eager to begin.  Here are some topics:

Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

***

I’m going to talk about books I can’t wait to get my hands on.  I have a little notebook in which I list my upcoming orders.  Preordering books from Amazon is kind of my downfall, and on more than one occasion, I’ve had to cancel one or two because I went overboard.

But here’s what I have coming in the next few weeks:

W is for Wasted, is my eagerly awaited Sue Grafton read (Alphabet Series):

I love this series, and today I had an e-mail that this book is shipping this week!  Yay!

Here’s the blurb:  Two dead men changed the course of my life that fall. One of them I knew and the other I’d never laid eyes on until I saw him in the morgue.

The first was a local PI of suspect reputation. He’d been gunned down near the beach at Santa Teresa. It looked like a robbery gone bad. The other was on the beach six weeks later. He’d been sleeping rough. Probably homeless. No identification. A slip of paper with Millhone’s name and number was in his pants pocket. The coroner asked her to come to the morgue to see if she could ID him.

Two seemingly unrelated deaths, one a murder, the other apparently of natural causes.

But as Kinsey digs deeper into the mystery of the John Doe, some very strange linkages begin to emerge. And before long at least one aspect is solved as Kinsey literally finds the key to his identity. “And just like that,” she says, “the lid to Pandora’s box flew open. It would take me another day before I understood how many imps had been freed, but for the moment, I was inordinately pleased with myself.”

In this multilayered tale, the surfaces seem clear, but the underpinnings are full of betrayals, misunderstandings, and outright murderous fraud. And Kinsey, through no fault of her own, is thoroughly compromised.

And next, I’m eager to read another book by Kristina Riggle…I have enjoyed all of her previous books.  The Whole Golden World sounds like a book I can’t wait to get my hands on, and is coming November 5.

Blurb:   Seventeen-year-old Morgan Monetti shocks her parents and her community with one simple act: She chooses to stand by the man everyone else believes has exploited her—popular high school teacher TJ Hill. Quietly walking across a crowded courtroom to sit behind TJ, and not beside her parents, she announces herself as the adult she believes herself to be.

But her mother, Dinah, wants justice. Dinah is a fighter, and she believes with all her heart and soul that TJ is a man who took advantage of her daughter. He is a criminal who should be brought to justice, no matter what the cost to his family.

Rain, TJ’s wife, is shocked that her handsome, loving, respected husband has been accused of a terrible crime. But has her desperation to start a family closed her eyes to the fault lines in her marriage? And can she face the painful truths about herself and her husband?

Told from the perspectives of these three remarkable women, The Whole Golden World navigates the precarious territory between childhood and adulthood, raising questions about love and manipulation, marriage and motherhood, consent and responsibility. It’s a novel both shocking and unforgettable in its power.

***

I have a few more coming in November, but these are the first ones I’m eagerly awaiting.  What are you musing about today?

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: WHAT ARE YOU READING? — AUGUST 26

 

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.

Today I’m linking up at Monday Reading, hosted by Book Journey.

To check out my Sunday Updates/Mailbox Monday, click the link.  I had a great week, enjoying my reading and a little blogging.

 

MY WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Serendipitous Tuesdays:  Intros/Teasers – “Blue Plate Special”

On Tenterhooks for this One:  “Critical Mass”

Thursday Potpourri:  The Tea is Steeping and the Book is Delicious

August Bookshelf Clearing:  Come on Down!

Friday Potpourri:  Book Beginnings/The Friday 56 –”Accused”

Sweet Saturday Sample:  Another Look at Evan (Excerpt)

Sunday Potpourri:  A Trip to the Library

Review: Townie (e-book), by Andre Dubus III (From Mt. TBR)

Review:  Is This Tomorrow (e-book), by Caroline Leavitt

Review:  Blue Plate Special, by Kate Christensen (Amazon Vine Review)

Review:  The Great Gatsby (e-book), by F. Scott Fitzgerald

 

WHAT’S UP NEXT?

She Can Scream, by Melinda Leigh (Review Book)

 

 

In one moment, high school teacher and single mother Brooke Davenport interrupts a vicious assault, saves a young woman’s life, and attracts the attention of a serial killer.

Sixteen years ago, Brooke lost her roommate to a brutal murder. Now she teaches women’s self-defense, still trying to heal from the guilt and grief that plague her. Convinced the predator knows his victims and is stalking his prey online, she is determined to find him before he strikes again. Her brother’s friend, Luke has the computer expertise to help. But Brooke’s unexpected desire for Luke complicates her investigation, and her fixation with the case provokes a deadly reaction from the killer.

Injured in terrorist bombing overseas, computer expert Luke Holloway is still haunted by flashbacks of his young assistant’s death in the explosion. But Luke can’t refuse the request of a deployed friend to look after his sister, Brooke. Taking on responsibility for Brooke’s safety threatens Luke’s tenuous recovery, especially after he develops feelings for her that transcend a promise to a friend. When Brooke saves a young girl from a brutal assault and becomes a killer’s obsession, Luke vows to protect her at all costs.

 

The Murders at Astaire Castle (A Mac Faraday Mystery) , by Lauren Carr (Sequel Challenge)

 

 

Never tell Mac Faraday not to do something. Spencer’s police chief, David O’Callaghan, learns this lesson the hard way when he orders Mac Faraday to stay away from the south end of Spencer’s mountaintop—even though he owns the property. It doesn’t take long for Mac to find out what lies on the other side of the stone wall and locked gate, on which hangs a sign warning visitors to Keep Out! Topping the list of the ten most haunted places in America, Astaire Castle is associated with two suicides, three mysterious disappearances, and four murders since it was built almost a century ago—and Mac Faraday owns it! In spite of David’s warning, Mac can’t resist unlocking the gate to see the castle that supposedly hasn’t seen a living soul since his late mother had ordered it closed up after the double homicide and disappearance of Damian Wagner, a world-famous master of horror novels. What starts out as a quick tour of a dusty old castle turns into another Mac Faraday adventure when Astaire Castle becomes the scene of even more murders. Mac is going to need to put all of his investigative talents to work to sort out this case that involves the strangest characters he has run into yet—including a wolf man. No, we’re not talking about Gnarly.

 

The Good Daughter (e-book), by Jane Porter (Sequel Challenge)

 

 

Love was given to all, except herself . . .

Kit Brennan has always been the most grounded of her sisters. A Catholic school English teacher for seventeen years and a constant giver, her decisions have been sound—just not very satisfying. Her fortieth birthday is right around the corner, causing Kit to consider some wilder notions, like skipping right past the love and marriage to raising a child all by herself . . .

A girls’ weekend away is just the reprieve Kit needs from school, Mr. Wrongs, and life-changing decisions. It’s there that she meets a man who’s dangerous; a man who challenges who she thought she was, or rather should be. Kit wants to indulge herself this once, but with one of her students in crisis and the weight of her family’s burdens weighing heavy on her heart, Kit isn’t sure if now is the time to let her own desires take flight . . .

 

***

And that is my week!  What does yours look like?  Bring your coffee and let’s chat.

 

 

 

 

 

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: WHAT ARE YOU READING? — AUGUST 19

 

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.

Today I’m linking up at Monday Reading, hosted by Book Journey.

To check out my Sunday Updates/Mailbox Monday, click the link.  I had a great week, enjoying my reading and a little blogging.

 

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED ON MY BLOGS:

Serendipitous Tuesdays:  Intros/Teasers:  Mr. Monk Helps Himself

Thursday Sparks:  Borrowing?

Thursday Potpourri:  Book Drives, Review Books, & Movies

August Bookshelf Clearing:  Come on Down!

Friday Potpourri:  Book Beginnings & The Friday 56 – Is This Tomorrow

Sweet Saturday Sample:  A Great Escape

Review:  We Are Water, by Wally Lamb

Review:  MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood

Review:  The Obituary Writer (e-book), by Ann Hood

Read:  Mr. Monk Helps Himself, by Ty Conrad (Review will be posted on 9/10 at Blog Tour Stop:  Rainy Days and Mondays)

 

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

 

Townie (e-book), by Andre Dubus III

 

 

Is This Tomorrow (e-book), by Caroline Leavitt

 

 

Blue Plate Special, by Kate Christensen (Amazon Vine Read)

 

 

***

 

That’s my plan…let’s see how well I do.  I hope you’ll stop by and chat about your week.

 

 

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: WHAT ARE YOU READING? — AUGUST 12

 

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.

Today I’m linking up at Monday Reading, hosted by Book Journey.

To check out my Sunday Updates/Mailbox Monday, click the link.  I had a great week, enjoying my reading and a little blogging.

 

THIS WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Tuesday Intros/Teasers:  The Interestings

Hump Day Sparks:  Waiting on Thankless in Death

Book Beginnings & The Friday 56:  Ladies’ Night

Sweet Saturday Sample:  Life Throws a Curve

Sunday Potpourri:  Reading, Purging, & Mimosas

(Review) Amy Falls Down, by Jincy Willett

(Review) Necessary Lies, by Diane Chamberlain

(Review) The Interestings, by Meg Wolitzer

(Review)  Ladies’ Night, by Mary Kay Andrews

 

WHAT’S UP NEXT? (CLICK TITLES/COVERS FOR MORE INFO):

We Are Water, by Wally Lamb (Amazon Vine Review)

 

 

MaddAdam, by Margaret Atwood (Amazon Vine Review)

 

 

The Obituary Writer (e-book), by Ann Hood

 

 

***

What does your upcoming (and past) week look like?  Come on by and let’s chat.

 

 

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: WHAT ARE YOU READING? — JULY 29

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.

Today I’m linking up at Monday Reading, hosted by Book Journey.

To check out my Sunday Updates/Mailbox Monday, click the link.  I had a great week, enjoying my reading and a little blogging.  I took my early mornings on the patio.

Here’s what happened this week….

ON THE BLOGS:

Tuesday Potpourri:  Intros/Teasers – Crystal Cove

Moving Day Nightmares:  A Bookish Exploration

Friday Sparks:  Book Beginnings & Friday 56

Sweet Saturday Sample:  Escape to the Beach

Saturday Snapshot:  Mornings on the Patio

READING:  (CLICK TITLES FOR REVIEWS)

The Last Original Wife, by Dorothea Benton Frank

Island Girls, by Nancy Thayer

Chocolate for Two, by Maria Murnane

The Year of the Flood (e-book), by Margaret Atwood (From Mt. TBR)

 

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

The Wednesday Daughters (e-book), by Meg Waite Clayton

 

Daddy’s Gone A Hunting (e-book), by Mary Higgins Clark

 

Someone Else’s Love Story, by Joshilyn Jackson (Vine review)

 

***

What a week!  What did yours look like?   Grab some coffee, come on by, and let’s chat.

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: WHAT ARE YOU READING? — JULY 22

 

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.

Today I’m linking up at Monday Reading, hosted by Book Journey.

To check out my Sunday Updates/Mailbox Monday, click the link.

I hope those suffering from hot weather are managing to stay cool.  I’m indoors, reading and watching movies; I’ve been drinking lots of iced tea.

Here’s what’s been happening on my blogs this week.

 

ON THE BLOGS:

Tuesday Sparks:  Intros/Teasers – Island Girls

Summer Reading – Redux (Booking Through Thursday)

A Little Chocolate on a Friday

Friday Potpourri:  Books, Books, and More Books

Sweet Saturday Sample:  A Budding Romance (An Excerpt)

Saturday Snapshot:  Berlin Artist

READING/REVIEWS (Click Titles for Reviews)

Sisterland, by Curtis Sittenfeld

Something About Sophie, by Mary Kay McComas

Always Watching (e-book), by Chevy Stevens

 

WHAT’S UP NEXT?  (CLICK TITLES/COVERS FOR MORE INFO)

1.  The Last Original Wife, by Dorothea Benton Frank

 

 

Experience the sultry Southern atmosphere of Atlanta and the magic of the Carolina Lowcountry in this funny and poignant tale of one audacious woman’s quest to find the love she deserves, from New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank.

Leslie Anne Greene Carter is The Last Original Wife among her husband Wesley’s wildly successful Atlanta social set. His cronies have all traded in the mothers of their children they promised to love and cherish—’til death did them part—for tanned and toned young Barbie brides.

If losing the social life and close friends she adored wasn’t painful enough, a series of setbacks shake Les’s world and push her to the edge. She’s had enough of playing the good wife to a husband who thinks he’s doing her a favor by keeping her around. She’s not going to waste another minute on people she doesn’t care to know. Now, she’s going to take some time for herself—in the familiar comforts and stunning beauty of Charleston, her beloved hometown. In her brother’s stately historic home, she’s going to reclaim the carefree girl who spent lazy summers sharing steamy kisses with her first love on Sullivans Island. Along Charleston’s live oak- and palmetto-lined cobblestone streets, under the Lowcountry’s dazzling blue sky, Les will indulge herself with icy cocktails, warm laughter, divine temptation and bittersweet memories. Daring to listen to her inner voice, she will realize what she wants . . . and find the life of which she’s always dreamed.

Told in the alternating voices of Les and Wes, The Last Original Wife is classic Dorothea Benton Frank: an intoxicating tale of family, friendship, self-discovery, and love, that is as salty as a Lowcountry breeze and as invigorating as a dip in Carolina waters on a sizzling summer day.

 

2.  Island Girls, by Nancy Thayer  (Amazon Vine Review)

 

 

New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer returns to her beloved Nantucket in a highly emotional, wholly entertaining tale of three sisters forced to confront the past over one event-filled summer on the island.

Charming ladies’ man Rory Randall dies with one last trick up his sleeve: His will includes a calculating clause mandating a summer-long reunion for his daughters, all from different marriages—that is, if they hope to inherit his posh Nantucket house. Relations among the three sisters are sour thanks to long-festering jealousies, resentments, and misunderstandings. Arden, a successful television host in Boston, hasn’t been back to the island since her teenage years, when accusations of serious misbehavior led to her banishment. College professor Meg hopes to use her summer to finish a literary biography and avoid an amorous colleague. And secretive Jenny, an IT specialist, faces troubling questions about her identity while longing for her sisters’ acceptance.

To their surprise, the three young women find their newfound sisterhood easier to trust than the men who show up to complicate their lives. And if that weren’t problematic enough, their mothers descend on the island. When yet another visitor drops by the house with shocking news, the past comes screaming back with a vengeance. Having all the women from his life under his seaside roof—and overseeing the subsequent drama of that perfect storm—Rory Randall might just be enjoying a hearty laugh from above.

Nancy Thayer’s novel insightfully illustrates how the push and pull of family altercations make us whole. It’s how the Randall sisters come to forgive, and learn to open their hearts to love.

 

3.  Chocolate for Two, by Maria Murnane – (Amazon Vine Review)

 

 

Waverly Bryson’s life is officially perfect: She’s engaged to her gorgeous boyfriend, Jake; her Honey on Your Mind TV segment is more popular than ever; and Waverly’s Honey Shop is growing by leaps and bounds. What could possibly go wrong? For starters…everything.

This is Waverly, after all, and drama follows her wherever she goes. Why should her trip down the aisle be any different? Now, before she can marry the man of her dreams, she’ll have to go head-to-head with his high-society mother, whose vision for their wedding isn’t exactly meshing with Waverly’s. Adding to the chaos is the impending departure of Paige, Waverly’s very pregnant retail partner; the arrival of her suddenly secretive best friend, Andie; and the meddling of a new TV producer who’s promising to “shake things up.” Suddenly Waverly’s perfect life feels like it’s about to come crashing down…unless the irrepressible Miss Bryson can prove to the world—and to herself—that she really can have it all.

***

Come on by and let’s chat about books!

 

MONDAY FROM THE INTERIOR: WHAT ARE YOU READING? — JULY 15

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.

Today I’m linking up at Monday Reading, hosted by Book Journey.

To check out my Sunday Updates/Mailbox Monday, click the link.

After many more hot days, our temperatures dropped a little yesterday, but today is at 106.  A little better than 110, but not much!  I have been curled up in the air conditioning today, except for this morning, which was cool…I was reading on the patio for awhile.

Here’s what I’ve been up to this week.

ON THE BLOGS:

A Story About My Reading Habits:  Musing Mondays

Tuesday Sparks:  Intros/Teasers – The Laws of Gravity

Hump Day Potpourri:  Waiting on “The Runaway Wife”

Booking Through Thursday:  The Lovable World of Pets

A Bookish Journey:  Book Beginnings & The Friday 56

Sweet Saturday Sample:  A Friendly Visit (An Excerpt)

Weekend Potpourri:  Cooking, Reading, & Dreaming

READING:  CLICK TITLES FOR REVIEWS:

The Laws of Gravity, by Liz Rosenberg (Amazon Vine Review)

After Her, by Joyce Maynard (Amazon Vine Review)

The Last Camellia (e-book), by Sarah Jio

Don’t Let Me Go, by Susan Lewis (Amazon Vine Review) (Sequel Challenge)

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

1.  Sisterland, by Curtis Sittenfeld (Amazon Vine Review)

2.  Something About Sophie, by Mary Kay McComas (Amazon Vine Review)

3.  Always Watching (e-book), by Chevy Stevnes

***

What does your upcoming week look like?  What did you accomplish last week?  Come on by and let’s chat.