December 31, 2012

How to be Lovely

Author: Melissa Hellstern
Genre: Biography
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2004
Pages: 208
Rating: Recommend


SynopsisLiving is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book and remembering- because you can’t take it all in at once. —Audrey Hepburn On many occasions, she was approached to pen her autobiography, the definitive book of Audrey Hepburn, yet she never agreed. A beloved icon who found success as an actress, a mother and an humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn perfected the art of gracious living. More philosophy than biography, How to Be Lovely revisits the many interviews Audrey gave over the years, allowing us to hear her voice directly on universal topics of concern to women the world over: careers, love lives, motherhood and relationships. Enhanced by rarely seen photographs, behind-the-scenes stories, and insights from the friends who knew her well, How to Be Lovely uncovers the real Audrey, in her own words. While she would have been the last to say so, Audrey Hepburn was an expert in the art of being a woman. How to Be Lovely imparts whatever wisdom and insight she found along the way to the millions who grew up, or will grow up, wanting to be just like her. Published to coincide with Audrey Hepburn’s would-be seventy-fifth birthday, How to Be Lovely offers a rare glimpse into the woman behind the mystique and the definitive guide to living genuinely with glamour and grace. 

Review: This was an interesting format for a biography, and certainly easy to read. I love Audrey Hepburn's timeless and insightful quotes and phrases. Now, I just need to watch a few of her movies. I don't think I've seen any.

December 2, 2012

The Handmaid and the Carpenter

Author: Elizabeth Berg
Genre: Christian Lit, Christmas
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 2008
Pages: 192
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: In this wonderful novel about love and trust, hope and belief, Elizabeth Berg, the bestselling author of We Are All Welcome Here and The Year of Pleasures, transports us to Nazareth in biblical times to re-imagine the events of the classic Christmas story.
We see Mary–young, strong, and inquisitive–as she first meets Joseph, a serious-minded young carpenter who is steadfastly devoted to the religious traditions of their people. The two become betrothed, but are soon faced with an unexpected pregnancy. Aided by a great and abiding love, they endure challenges to their relationship as well as threats to their lives as they come to terms with the mysterious circumstances surrounding the birth of their child, Jesus. For Mary, the pregnancy is a divine miracle and a privilege. For Joseph, it is an ongoing test not only of his courage but of his faith–in his wife as well as in his God.
Exquisitely written and imbued with the truthful emotions and richness of detail that have earned Elizabeth Berg a devoted readership, The Handmaid and the Carpenter explores lives touched profoundly by miracles large and small. This powerful and moving novel is destined to become a classic.

Review: In many ways this short novel stayed true to the Christmas story, but the author admits taking some liberties. It's a moving account of the birth of the Christ and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This was a great way to kick off the Christmas season and to reflect on the true meaning.

December 1, 2012

The Bible of Unspeakable Truths

Author: Greg Gutfeld
Genre: Politics, Humor, Philosophy
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing, 2010
Pages: 283
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Greg Gutfeld, the acclaimed host of the popular, nightly Fox News show Red Eye, has packed this book full of his most aggressive (and funny) diatribes -- each chapter exploring Unspeakable Truths that cut right to the core and go well beyond just politics. Greg deconstructs pop culture, media, kids, disease, race, food, sex, celebrity, current events, and nearly every other aspect of life, with Truths including but not limited to: "if you're over 25 and still use party as a verb, then you're beyond redemption," "the media wanted bird flu to kill thousands," "attractive people don't write for a living," "death row inmates make the best husbands," and "the urge to punch Zach Braff in the face is completely natural."
With an irreverent voice, incredible wit, and a firm take on just about everything, this is a manual for how to think about stuff, by a guy who has thought about precisely that same stuff. And, even if you disagree with Greg, this book will make you laugh--guaranteed.*
*Not guaranteed

Review: People need to sit up and pay attention. Definitely a worthwhile read.

November 19, 2012

Book of Mormon Girl

Author: Joanna Brooks
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2012
Pages: 217
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: From her days of feeling like a "root beer among the Cokes" -- Coca-Cola being a forbidden fruit for Mormon girls like her -- Joanne Brooks always understood that being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints set her apart from others. But, in her eyes, that made her special; the devout LDS home she grew up in was filled with love, spirituality, and an emphasis on service. With Marie Osmond as her celebrity role model and plenty of Sunday School teachers to fill in the details, Joanna felt warmly embraced by the community that was such an integral part of her family. But as she grew older, Joanna began to wrestle with some tenets of her religion, including the Church's stance on women's right and homosexuality. In 1993, when the Church excommunicated a group of feminists for speaking out about an LDS controversy, Joanna found herself searching for a way to live by the leadings of her heart and the faith she loved.


The Book of Mormon Girl is a story about leaving behind the innocence of childhood believe and embracing the complications and heartbreaks that come to every adult life of faith. Joanna's journey through her faith explores a side of the religion that is rarely put on display: its humanity, its tenderness, its humor, its internal struggles. In Joanna's hands, the everyday experience of being a Mormon -- without polygamy, without fundamentalism -- unfolds in fascinating detail. With its revelations about a faith so often misunderstood and characterized by secrecy, The Book of Mormon Girl is a welcome advocate and necessary guide.

Review: Understand that my review may be swayed  because through my research it became clear that Brooks will be voting for Obama in the 2012. As an American, I cannot see what people like about him so much, particularly after 4 years of misery. 

Now that we have that covered. . .the book.


I started this book on my flight to Chicago back in October. However, my nerves don't really allow me to focus on reading when I'm 20,000 miles (and then some) above terra firma. So, it took me over a month to get through this. It's very good and I enjoyed it. I think I stalled because there was a lot of food for thought. While I agree with some basic principles of Mormon faith, a few others leave me scratching my head.


The struggles of this author are not unlike the struggles of many who believe in organized religion. Churches, of every religion, are flawed because the human beings who make the church a church, are flawed.

It was a good read, and I'm sure one that will stay with me in some ways for a long time. Read it with an open mind; I'm sure you'll take something away from it.

September 28, 2012

Long Gone

Author: Alafair Burke
Genre: Psychological Suspense
Publisher: HarperCollins Publisher, 2012
Pages: 384
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: After months of struggling, Alice Humphrey finally lands her dream job managing a trendy new Manhattan art gallery. According to Drew Campbell, the well-heeled corporate representative who hires her, the gallery is a passion project for its anonymous, wealthy owner. Everything is perfect until the morning Alice arrives at work to find the gallery gone—the space stripped bare as if it had never existed—and Campbell's body on the floor. Suddenly she's at the center of a police investigation with the evidence stacked against her, and the dead man whom she swears is Drew Campbell identified as someone else entirely.
When the police discover ties between the gallery and a missing girl, Alice knows she's been set up. Now she has to prove it—a dangerous search for answers that will entangle her in a dark, high-tech criminal conspiracy and force her to unearth long-hidden secrets involving her own family . . . secrets that could cost Alice her life.

Review: Maybe it's because I listened to this on CD, rather than reading it myself, but I found parts of this novel difficult to follow. There were also a lot of unanswered questions or things that are alluded to, with no forthcoming answer. By the end, everything is tied up neatly, but getting there was frustrating at times.

Speaking of the ending, I was determined not to be caught off guard and have it figured out, and to a degree I did, but the author still got me. Definitely a red herring in this one.

September 22, 2012

Someone Knows My Name

Author: Lawrence Hill
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Norton, W.W. & Company, 2008
Pages: 512
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Kidnapped as a child from Africa, Aminata Diallo is enslaved in South Carolina but escapes during the chaos of the Revolutionary War. In Manhattan she becomes a scribe for the British, recording the names of blacks who have served the King and earned freedom in Nova Scotia. But the hardship and prejudice there prompt her to follow her heart back to Africa, then on to London, where she bears witness to the injustices of slavery and its toll on her life and a whole people. It is a story that no listener, and no reader, will ever forget.


Review: I can only imagine the amount of research that went into this book.


The Washington Post says, "
Hill's hugely impressive historical work is completely engrossing and deserves a wide, international readership." They hit the nail on the head. It is engrossing, a true page turner. Meena comes alive for the reader.


As a student of history, as a woman, as a mom. . .I loved this novel on every level.

September 20, 2012

More Than Friends

Author: Barbara Delinsky
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins, 2010
Pages: 484
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: More Than Friends is a moving, unforgettable story of friendship, love, and forgiveness—a classic from New York Times bestselling author Barbara Delinsky.
The Maxwells and the Popes have been friends forever. The women were college roommates, their husbands are partners in the same law firm, their kids have grown up next door to each other, and the two families share both vacations and holidays.
All is beautiful and serene in their "perfect" shared suburban Eden—until a tragic accident forces these very close friends and neighbors to look more deeply beneath the surface. And when their idyllic lives are unexpectedly shattered by a moment that can never be erased or forgotten, their faith in one another—and in themselves—is put to the supreme test.

Review: I'll admit that the plot seems trite. However, Barbara Delinsky never disappoints in weaving a story that is more than fluff and more than skin deep. This novel is thought provoking and you can't help but sympathize with all the characters, even if you don't agree with them. 

Publisher's Weekly states that, "Delinsky skillfully turns a somber scenario into intriguing women's fiction" and I wholeheartedly agree.

I listened to this on CD and it certainly made the time fly. Being back in school (my last class) makes reading in the evenings difficult. Besides, I had forgotten how much I enjoyed listening to CDs in the car.

September 12, 2012

Beneath the Shadows

Author: Sara Foster
Genre: Fiction / Psychological Suspense
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2012
Pages: 320
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: When Grace’s husband, Adam, inherits an isolated North Yorkshire cottage, they leave the bustle of London behind to try a new life. A week later, Adam vanishes without a trace, leaving their baby daughter, Millie, in her stroller on the doorstep. The following year, Grace returns to the tiny village on the untamed heath.  Everyone—the police, her parents, even her best friend and younger sister—is convinced that Adam left her. But Grace, unable to let go of her memories of their love and life together, cannot accept this explanation.  She is desperate for answers, but the slumbering, deeply superstitious hamlet is unwilling to give up its secrets. As Grace hunts through forgotten corners of the cottage searching for clues, and digs deeper into the lives of the locals, strange dreams begin to haunt her. Are the villagers hiding something, or is she becoming increasingly paranoid? Only as snowfall threatens to cut her and Millie off from the rest of the world does Grace make a terrible discovery. She has been looking in the wrong place for answers all along, and she and her daughter will be in terrible danger if she cannot get them away in time.

Review: Excellent. This was a guilty pleasure. I was kept guessing until the very end. I would have loved more secrets and glimpses into the past. While this is along the same lines as Gone Girl, this one blew that one out of the water.

September 10, 2012

Sisterhood Everlasting

Author: Ann Brashares
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Random House Publishing, 2012
Pages: 384
Rating: Do Not Recommend


Synopsis: On the cusp of turning thirty, Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget are now living separate lives, out on their own. Yet despite having jobs and men that they love, each knows that something is missing: the closeness that once sustained them. Carmen is a successful actress in New York, engaged to be married, but misses her friends. Lena finds solace in her art, teaching in Rhode Island, but still thinks of Kostos and the road she didn’t take. Bridget lives with her longtime boyfriend, Eric, in San Francisco, and though a part of her wants to settle down, a bigger part can’t seem to shed her old restlessness. Then Tibby reaches out to bridge the distance, sending the others plane tickets for a reunion that they all breathlessly await. And indeed, it will change their lives forever—but in ways that none of them could ever have expected.

Review: To follow up a series that was as successful as the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, one had better make sure there is substance, character growth, and an interesting plot. Brashares knew avid fans of the Sisterhood would descend upon this book, and exploited that fact. She gave us fluff. Very disappointing. 

September 8, 2012

The Wilder Life

Author: Wendy McClure
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2011
Pages: 352
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: Wendy McClure is on a quest to find the world of beloved Little House on the Prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder—a fantastic realm of fiction, history, and places she’s never been to, yet somehow knows by heart. She traces the pioneer journey of the Ingalls family— looking for the Big Woods among the medium trees in Wisconsin, wading in Plum Creek, and enduring a prairie hailstorm in South Dakota. She immerses herself in all things Little House—exploring the story from fact to fiction, and from the TV shows to the annual summer pageants in Laura’s hometowns. Whether she’s churning butter in her apartment or sitting in a replica log cabin, McClure is always in pursuit of “the Laura experience.” The result is an incredibly funny first-person account of obsessive reading, and a story about what happens when we reconnect with our childhood touchstones—and find that our old love has only deepened.


Review: I expected something more from someone who's an editor of children's books. The book was lacking something - an authenticity perhaps. The writer's style was abrasive., although midway through she seemed to settle into writing her story and it improved. Since this is about Laura Ingalls Wilder I think I wanted something warmer and something fuzzier. This memoir just didn't do it for me. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. If you love Laura Ingalls Wilder you will probably read this and at least like it. If you never read the Little House books, this book won't inspire you to do so and you'll probably feel as though you wasted your time.

August 28, 2012

Where You Left Me

Author: Jennifer Gardner Trulson
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2011
Pages: 249
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: LUCKYthat’s how Jennifer would describe herself. She had a successful law career, met and married the love of her life in Doug, had an apartment in New York City, a house in the Hamptons, two beautiful children, and was still madly in love after nearly seven years of marriage. Jennifer was living the kind of idyllic life that clichés are made of.
Until Doug was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center, and she became a widow at age thirty-five—a “9/11 widow,” no less, a member of a select group bound by sorrow, of which she wanted no part. Though completely devastated, Jennifer still considered herself blessed. Doug had loved her enough to last a lifetime, and after his sudden death, she was done with the idea of romantic love—fully resigned to being a widowed single mother . . . until a chance encounter with a gregarious stranger changed everything.
An unlikely love story set in the wake of September 11, Where You Left Me is a quintessentially New York story—at once Jennifer’s tribute to the city that gave her everything and proof that second chances are possible.

Review: Heartbreaking, sweet, funny, and uplifting. This is an amazing memoir and a definite must read. 

August 21, 2012

The Rebel Wife

Author: Taylor M. Polites
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2012
Pages: 320
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: Brimming with atmosphere and edgy suspense, The Rebel Wife presents a young widow trying to survive in the violent world of Reconstruction Alabama, where the old gentility masks continuing violence fueled by hatred, treachery, and still powerful secrets.
Augusta Branson was born into antebellum Southern nobility during a time of wealth and prosperity, but now she is left standing in the ashes of a broken civilization. When her scalawag husband dies suddenly of a mysterious illness, she must fend for herself and her young son. Slowly she begins to wake to the reality of her new life: her social standing is stained by her marriage; she is alone and unprotected in a community that is being destroyed by racial prejudice and violence; the fortune she thought she would inherit does not exist; and the deadly fever that killed her husband is spreading fast.
Augusta needs someone to trust if she and her son are to escape. As she summons the courage to cross the boundaries of hate, The Rebel Wife presents an unforgettable heroine for our time.

Review: There is so much wrong with this novel - undeveloped characters and at least 100 pages in the middle that could have been (read: should have been) cut out - to start.

For example (this is just one, but there are many instances of this happening), Eli's room was searched about 50 times too many and the reader gets the details of the search each of those 50 times. As an editor / professional writer I wanted to take my red pen to the pages and slash, slash, slash.

Oh, and during reconstruction, servants didn't serve - they hung around eavesdropping and acting in mysterious ways.

I felt like screaming to Augusta, "be you daft woman?" I suspect women were intelligent beings in the 1800s, but you wouldn't know it from the author's portrayal of Augusta. Which, by the way, is a perfectly lovely name but one that the author shorts to "Gus". Why?

I will say that the last 2-3 chapters were fast-moving, action-packed and did end the novel on a high note, but the pain of the prior 22 chapters did not make reading this novel worth it.

The Kirkus Review on B&N.com states, "As for plot, progress is leaden until the final apocalyptic sequence of violence, revenge and just desserts."  I absolutely agree.

There was great potential here, but the author failed to deliver. 

August 19, 2012

Kindred Spirits

Author: Sarah Strohmeyer
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2012
Pages: 336
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: After one fateful PTA meeting, four young mothers—Lynne, Mary Kay, Beth, and Carol—discovered they had more in common than they ever thought possible. Meeting once a month, the women would share laughs and secrets, toasting to their blossoming friendship with the clink of their sacred martini glasses.

Two years later, when Lynne passes away suddenly, she leaves behind one simple request: that her old friends sort through her belongings. The women reunite to rummage through her closets, and buried deep within Lynne’s lingerie drawer, they find an envelope addressed to their little society…

Inside is a letter that reveals Lynn’s shocking secret and last wish, sending the women on a life-changing journey that will reveal to them that nothing is more powerful than the will of a true girlfriend—and a good, strong martini.

Review: I wasn't "wow"ed by this novel. It wasn't a story that hasn't been told before. There was nothing written about friendships and relationships that hasn't been said before. That said, Sarah Strohmeyer has a companionable writing style and solid storytelling skills. 

Likeable story, but nothing noteworthy about it.

August 18, 2012

Dream New Dreams

Author: Jai Pausch
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group, 2012
Pages: 240
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: "Jai is such a giver that she often forgets to take care of herself," Randy Pausch wrote about his wife. "Jai knows that she’ll have to give herself permission to make herself a priority."

     In Dream New Dreams, Jai Pausch shares her own story for the first time: her emotional journey from wife and mother to full-time caregiver, shuttling between her three young children and Randy’s bedside as he sought treatment far from home; and then to widow and single parent, fighting to preserve a sense of stability for her family, while coping with her own grief and the challenges of running a household without a partner.

 Jai paints a vivid, honest portrait of a vital, challenging relationship between two strong people who faced a grim prognosis and the self-sacrificing decisions it often required. As she faced life without the husband she called her “magic man,” Jai learned to make herself a priority to create a new life of hope and happiness—as she puts it, to “feel a spark of my own magic beginning to flicker.”

     Dream New Dreams is a powerful story of grief, healing, and newfound independence. With advice artfully woven into an intimate, beautifully written narrative, Jai’s story will inspire not only the legions of readers who made The Last Lecture a bestseller, but also those who are embarking on a journey of loss and renewal themselves.


Review: I loved Randy Pausch's Last Lecture, so I was looking forward to reading this one as well. Written by his wife this is the story of his diagnosis and death from her perspective as wife, mother, and caregiver.

Jai Pausch comes across as a likeable, intelligent woman who, even before meeting Randy, went through a divorce and some tough times. Certainly she is no slouch. Because of Randy though she has financial means that most of us in her situation would not. She does not have to work full-time, although she is very busy with speaking engagements and is on the board for a pancreatic cancer institution. At times I felt myself getting frustrated with her complaints about how stretched she was when in fact, she had more resources than I would ever have in the same situation.

That said, this is an excellent read and plenty of good insight.

August 9, 2012

This Life is in Your Hands

Author: Melissa Coleman
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2012
Pages: 352
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: A true story, both tragic and redemptive, This Life Is in Your Hands tells of the quest to make a good life, the role of fate, and the power of forgiveness.
In the fall of 1968, Melissa Coleman's parents pack their VW truck and set out to forge a new existence on a rugged coastal homestead. Inspired by Helen and Scott Nearing, authors of the homesteading bible Living the Good Life, Eliot and Sue build their own home by hand, live off the crops they grow, and establish a happy family with Melissa and her two sisters. They also attract national media and become icons of the back-to-the-land farming movement, but the pursuit of a purer, simpler life comes at a price. In the wake of a tragic accident, idealism gives way to human frailty, and by the fall of 1978, Greenwood Farm is abandoned. The search to understand what happened is at the heart of this luminous, heartbreaking, and ultimately redemptive memoir.
Review: Wonderfully written this memoir is fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time. Choosing to live in such a primitive manner does not sound like fun to me, but I'm a moth to flame to read about it.

The author is able to make farming actually sound rewarding. I'm not exactly nature-girl, but this memoir has me thinking that maybe I'd like to plant a little garden next summer.

This is a memoir that will stay with me for a long, long time.

August 7, 2012

Off Balance

Author: Dominique Moceanu
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Touchstone, 2012
Pages: 256
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: At fourteen years old, Dominique Moceanu was the youngest member of the 1996 U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team, the first and only American women’s team to take gold at the Olympics. Her pixyish appearance and ferocious competitive drive quickly earned her the status of media darling. But behind the fame, the flawless floor routines, and the million-dollar smile, her life was a series of challenges and hardships.
Off Balance vividly delineates each of the dominating characters who contributed to Moceanu’s rise to the top, from her stubborn father and long-suffering mother to her mercurial coach, Bela Karolyi. Here, Moceanu finally shares the haunting stories of competition, her years of hiding injuries and pain out of fear of retribution from her coaches, and how she hit rock bottom after a public battle with her parents.
But medals, murder plots, drugs, and daring escapes aside (all of which figure into Moceanu’s incredible journey), the most unique aspect of her life is the family secret that Moceanu discovers, opening a new and unexpected chapter in her adult life. A mysterious letter from a stranger reveals that she has a second sister—born with a physical disability and given away at birth—who has nonetheless followed in Moceanu’s footsteps in an astonishing way.
A multilayered memoir that transcends the world of sports, Off Balance will touch anyone who has ever dared to dream of a better life.
Review: I imagine this book raised one or two eyebrows in the world of US Gymnastics, but what a story. You watch these girls perform on a stage such as the Olympics and don't imagine anything but a fairytale life for each of them.

Then you grow up and realize no one's life is perfect. We all have our crosses to bear.

Although repetitive at times, Moceanu does a good job of letting the reader into her life. Time, distance, and maturity can do wonders for the soul and I'm sure in some way writing this memoir was healing and a kind of therapy.

August 6, 2012

Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Fiction, Thriller
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group, 2012
Pages: 432
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: 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.

Review: I don't know what it takes to be able to write a novel like this. I thought I had pieces figured out and then I didn't. Twisted and dark, but oh so good too.

I hope there isn't a sequel. I'd be unable to avoid reading it and it could only end badly.

Interesting to note - on my 5th wedding anniversary I told my ex I was leaving. That's as juicy as it gets.

August 5, 2012

Calico Joe

Author: John GrishamGenre: Fiction
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2012
Pages: 208
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Whatever happened to Calico Joe?

 It began quietly enough with a pulled hamstring. The first baseman for the Cubs AAA affiliate in Wichita went down as he rounded third and headed for home. The next day, Jim Hickman, the first baseman for the Cubs, injured his back. The team suddenly needed someone to play first, so they reached down to their AA club in Midland, Texas, and called up a twenty-one-year-old named Joe Castle. He was the hottest player in AA and creating a buzz.
 
In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen.  The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records.
 
Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever…
 
In John Grisham’s new novel the baseball is thrilling, but it’s what happens off the field that makes Calico Joe a classic.

Review: In keeping with the theme of this summer, I decided to read a book about baseball. I've been to a Pirates, Cardinals, and Indians game, all on each of the team's home turf. It's been so much fun, and when I saw John Grisham wrote a novel about the game how could I resist?

This was good, not great. The father / son storyline was more interesting to me than the all the baseball history so it began slow, but ended on a high note. Grisham could have spent more time developing the main character and his father, but it was solid enough.

August 1, 2012

A Year and Six Seconds

Author: Isabel Gillies
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Voice, 2011
Pages: 256
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: A Year and Six Seconds opens on the winter day Isabel Gillies arrives in Manhattan, two young sons in tow, after her husband has left her; she's moving back in with her parents until she can figure out what to do next.In scene after sweet, hilarious scene, Gillies exposes her attempts to feel strong and lovable and to cross items off a staggering to-do list that includes: break down only in front of best friend, not in front of children; get along with parents in tight quarters; find preschool spot for son mid-school-year in Manhattan; receive one great, romantic kiss. She makes lists, she dates, she cries; she and her whole crowded family get the flu; then, just when Gillies least expects it, she falls in love. A Year and Six Seconds is a buoyant, true romantic comedy with a universal human undercurrent reminding us that we can all struggle and stumble, but somehow come out just fine on the other side.

Review: I read Happens Every Day shortly after filing for divorce from my ex-husband and thoroughly enjoyed it. A Year and Six Seconds, while very good, was not exactly what I expected. I wanted to know more about the "after" and not so much about recovering from a divorce.

That said, there were a couple lines that jumped out at me:
  • Everyone has value; you just have to know what to take away.
  • Finding love might be more about being willing than ready.
I'm in a serious relationship now too - two years after leaving my ex. Sometimes I wonder if it's too soon to be talking about marriage and starting over, but like Isabel points out it's a leap of faith no matter when you do it and when it's right, it's right. I know my first marriage was very very wrong. Time has given me ample opportunity to look back and see the problems that should have been so obvious, but weren't to my 20 something self.

If I do this again, I am in a much better place and not so naive. I've suffered enough because of bad decisions in the past. Maybe this is my reward.

July 25, 2012

The Orchid House

Author: Lucinda Riley
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Atria Books, 2012
Pages: 464
Rating: Highly Recommend


Synopsis: Spanning from the 1930s to the present day, from the Wharton Park estate in England to Thailand, this sweeping novel tells the tale of a concert pianist and the aristocratic Crawford family, whose shocking secrets are revealed, leading to devastating consequences.
As a child, concert pianist Julia Forrester spent many idyllic hours in the hothouse of Wharton Park, the grand estate where her grandfather tended exotic orchids. Years later, while struggling with overwhelming grief over the death of her husband and young child, she returns to this tranquil place. There she reunites with Kit Crawford, heir to the estate and her possible salvation.
When they discover an old diary, Julia seeks out her grandmother to learn the truth behind a love affair that almost destroyed the estate. Their search takes them back to the 1940s when Harry, a former heir to Wharton Park, married his young society bride, Olivia, on the eve of World War II. When the two lovers are cruelly separated, the impact will be felt for generations to come.
This atmospheric story alternates between the magical world of Wharton Park and Thailand during World War II. Filled with twists and turns, passions and lies, and ultimately redemption, The Orchid House is a beautiful, romantic, and poignant novel.

Review: FABULOUS. What an amazing story. No wonder it's an international best seller. I wish I had Lucinda Riley's talent for storytelling.

Mystery, romance, adventure. This book has it all.

I rarely scramble to read an author back-to-back, but I'm wondering how I'm going to wait for her next novel which isn't due out until October.

July 23, 2012

Nothing Daunted

Author: Dorothy Wickenden
Genre: Historical Biography
Publisher: Scribner, 2011
Pages: 304
Rating: Highly Recommend


Synopsis: In the summer of 1916, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, bored by society luncheons, charity work, and the effete men who courted them, left their families in Auburn, New York, to teach school in the wilds of northwestern Colorado. They lived with a family of homesteaders in the Elkhead Mountains and rode to school on horseback, often in blinding blizzards. Their students walked or skied, in tattered clothes and shoes tied together with string. The young cattle rancher who had lured them west, Ferry Carpenter, had promised them the adventure of a lifetime. He hadn’t let on that they would be considered dazzling prospective brides for the locals.
Nearly a hundred years later, Dorothy Wickenden, the granddaughter of Dorothy Woodruff, found the teachers’ buoyant letters home, which captured the voices of the pioneer women, the children, and other unforgettable people the women got to know. In reconstructing their journey, Wickenden has created an exhilarating saga about two intrepid women and the “settling up” of the West.

Review: This book is the culmination of extensive research. What a reward.

Our lives are really just a snapshot in time. The women in this book come alive and left me longing in for a simpler time. They also grabbed life by the horns and experienced adventures most people only read about.

July 18, 2012

Charlotte au Chocolat

Author: Charlotte Silver
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2012
Pages: 258
Rating: Do Not Recommend


Synopsis: Like Eloise growing up in the Plaza Hotel, Charlotte Silver grew up in her mother's restaurant. Located in Harvard Square, Upstairs at the Pudding was a confection of pink linen tablecloths and twinkling chandeliers, a decadent backdrop for childhood. Over dinners of foie gras and Dover sole, always served with a Shirley Temple, Charlotte kept company with a rotating cast of eccentric staff members. After dinner, in her frilly party dress, she often caught a nap under the bar until closing time. Her one constant was her glamorous, indomitable mother, nicknamed "Patton in Pumps," a wasp-waisted woman in cocktail dress and stilettos who shouldered the burden of raising a family and running a kitchen. Charlotte's unconventional upbringing takes its toll, and as she grows up she wishes her increasingly busy mother were more of a presence in her life. But when the restaurant-forever teetering on the brink of financial collapse-looks as if it may finally be closing, Charlotte comes to realize the sacrifices her mother has made to keep the family and restaurant afloat and gains a new appreciation of the world her mother has built.
Infectious, charming, and at times wistful, Charlotte au Chocolat is a celebration of the magic of a beautiful presentation and the virtues of good manners, as well as a loving tribute to the author's mother-a woman who always showed her best face to the world.

Review: In a word. . .disappointing.


The prologue had such promise, and I hung in there, waiting for this to get good. It wasn't terrible, but I kept wondering. . ."where's the lesson", "where's the reflection". It felt more like a fiction novel  than a memoir.


The first purpose of a memoir is to entertain. Sure, there's more in it for author's than pure entertainment, but in order to keep an audience they must be entertained. This was lacking true entertainment value.


There are better memoirs out there. Keep looking.

July 16, 2012

Worth Fighting For

Author: Lisa Niemi Swayze
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Atria, 2012
Pages: 336
Rating: Highly Recommend


Synopsis: Lisa Niemi and Patrick Swayze were married for thirty-four years. When they first exchanged vows, Lisa promised to be with her husband “till death do us part.” Worth Fighting For is a remarkably candid look at what losing a partner really entails—how to care for him or her, how to make it through each day without falling into despair, and how to move forward.


Lisa Niemi Swayze shares the details of Patrick’s twenty-one-month battle with Stage IV pancreatic cancer, and she describes his last days, when she simply tried to keep him comfortable. She writes with heartbreaking honesty about her grief in the aftermath of Patrick’s death, and she openly discusses the challenges that the years without him have posed.

While this is an emotionally honest and unflinching depiction of illness and loss, it is also a hopeful and life-affirming exploration of the power of the human spirit. Like The Year of Magical Thinking and A Widow’s Story, this book is both a tribute to a singular marriage and a celebration of the healing power that each day holds, even in the most difficult of circumstances.

Review: I have a stack of 15 books at home and knowing that I probably won't get through all of them before my final class in my master's program begins I have to pick the ones that seem the most interesting and focus on them.


I read the book jacket and the synopsis and I just wasn't sure if this one would make the cut, but I decided to read the first chapter and see if it was any good. (I still contend that in most cases if a book doesn't have me hooked on page 1, it's probably not going to get any better.)

I was reeled in, hook, line, and sinker by the end of page 1 and had to keep reading. It was almost midnight (I have a rule to not read after midnight - no book or ending makes 3 or 4 hours of sleep worth it the next day). I read through Chapter 3 and reluctantly put the book down for the night.

Lisa's writing style and conversational tone are perfect for a memoir. Plus, I had loved Patrick Swayze since Dirty Dancing and just recently re-watched that movie for probably the 5,000th time.

Can't believe I almost let this one go without reading it. If you love a good memoir, this one won't let you down.

PS - Expect to cry. It's impossible not to, and may we all be so lucky to find a love as strong as theirs.

July 14, 2012

Juliette Gordon Lowe

Author: Stacy A. Cordery
Genre: Non-fiction
Publisher: Penguin Group, 2012
Pages: 400
Rating: Recommend


Synopsis: In celebration of the Girl Scouts' centennial, a lively salute to its maverick founder.
Born at the start of the Civil War, Juliette Gordon Low grew up in Georgia, where she struggled to reconcile being a good Southern belle with her desire to run barefoot through the fields. Deafened by an accident, "Daisy" married a dashing British aristocrat and moved to England. But she was ultimately betrayed by her husband and dissatisfied by the aimlessness of privileged life. Her search for a greater purpose ended when she met Robert Baden-Powell, war hero, adventurer, and founder of the Boy Scouts. Captivated with his program, Daisy aimed to instill the same useful skills and moral values in young girls-with an emphasis on fun. She imported the Boy Scouts' sister organization, the Girl Guides, to Savannah in 1912. Rechristened the Girl Scouts, it grew rapidly because of Juliette Low's unquenchable determination and energetic, charismatic leadership.
In Juliette Gordon Low, Cordery paints a dynamic portrait of an intriguing woman and a true pioneer whose work touched the lives of millions of girls and women around the world.

Review: I have a thing for visiting the homes of famous or historically significant people. I believe this interest started with my visit to Juliette Gordon Low's birthplace in Savannah, Georgia when I was in third grade. We were just passing through on our way to Orlando, Florida. Since I was in Girl Scouts and my mom was a troop leader, my parents thought this might make an interesting stop.


This is the 100 year anniversary of the Girl Scout Organization and I thought it fitting to read this newly published novel.

This biography started out strong, but somewhere in the middle I just wanted it to end. I'm not sure what kept me reading it (as an English major I read far too many books because I had to and now I read solely for pleasure). However, I'm glad I stuck with it. Once the author delved into the creation of Girl Scouting and how tireless Daisy was to grow the organization, it was fascinating on many levels.

It's interesting history, it's place in world/US History, and just how clear it is to me that some people are destined to do great things. The stars align and somehow, someway a vision becomes reality.

I wish Gordon Low would have written a memoir. It was would have been a fascinating read. It's probably the one thing in her life she didn't do.

Highly recommend this for all Girl Scouts or former girl scouts, but for the general population. . .recommend.

July 9, 2012

11/22/63

Author: Stephen King
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Scribner, 2011
Pages: 864
Rating: Highly Recommended


Synopsis: On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back?
In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King—who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer—takes readers on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.
It begins with Jake Epping, a thirty-five-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching GED classes. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives, and one essay blows him away—a gruesome, harrowing story about the night more than fifty years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a sledgehammer. Reading the essay is a watershed moment for Jake, his life—like Harry’s, like America’s in 1963—turning on a dime. Not much later his friend Al, who owns the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to the past, a particular day in 1958. And Al enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination.
So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson, in a different world of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere. From the dank little city of Derry, Maine (where there’s Dunning business to conduct), to the warmhearted small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love, every turn is leading eventually, of course, to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and to Dallas, where the past becomes heart-stoppingly suspenseful, and where history might not be history anymore. Time-travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying.

Review: My first Stephen King novel and I thought it was excellent. It's no wonder he's such a successful author - what an amazing storyteller. 


This one is a page turner - only took me about 2 days to read 842 pages, and I hung on every word. The ending wrapped everything up quite nicely, but I still felt let down a little. I wanted "more".

I did love this novel though.