This meme is hosted by Book Journey.
Hello everyone! Greetings from cold and snowy New England. I hope everybody had a great weekend. My first week of graduate school (second semester) went well and I am bogged down with homework, but when I take a break it is to read Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell. Last week, we had a snow day on Thursday so I was able to finish A Hopeless Romantic (YEA!) by Harriet Evans and post reviews of Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (click on the title to read the review). I have scheduled for this week a review of Ines of My Soul by Isobel Allende, so stay tuned for that!
What are you reading?
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Friday Finds -- 1/28
This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.
Happy Friday! My Friday Find for this week is Girl, Stolen by April Henry. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
Sixteen year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of a car while her mom fills her prescription at the pharmacy. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, their car is being stolen—with her inside! Griffin hadn’t meant to kidnap Cheyenne, all he needed to do was steal a car for the others. But once Griffin's dad finds out that Cheyenne’s father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes—now there’s a reason to keep her. What Griffin doesn’t know is that Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia, she is blind. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare, and if she does, at what price?
Doesn't this sound intense? What was your Friday Find?
Happy Friday! My Friday Find for this week is Girl, Stolen by April Henry. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
Sixteen year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of a car while her mom fills her prescription at the pharmacy. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, their car is being stolen—with her inside! Griffin hadn’t meant to kidnap Cheyenne, all he needed to do was steal a car for the others. But once Griffin's dad finds out that Cheyenne’s father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes—now there’s a reason to keep her. What Griffin doesn’t know is that Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia, she is blind. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare, and if she does, at what price?
Doesn't this sound intense? What was your Friday Find?
Labels:
april henry,
friday finds,
girl stolen
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Review -- Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
Uglies
by Scott Westerfeld
Simon & Schuster, 2005
448 pages
*I borrow a copy from the library
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.
Review: An interesting young adult novel set in the future where all sixteen year old 'Uglies' undergo plastic surgery to become 'Pretty'. The plot starts off slow setting up the reader's understanding of this futuristic world and developing the main characters. Once Tally makes the decision to find Shay, the action picks up and the novel becomes very engrossing and enjoyable. Tally and Shay are both very likable characters being underdogs who are going against societal norms. The book also has a great overarching lesson of being happy with yourself and seeing the beauty within. Overall, a fast and enjoyable read. Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.
by Scott Westerfeld
Simon & Schuster, 2005
448 pages
*I borrow a copy from the library
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.
Review: An interesting young adult novel set in the future where all sixteen year old 'Uglies' undergo plastic surgery to become 'Pretty'. The plot starts off slow setting up the reader's understanding of this futuristic world and developing the main characters. Once Tally makes the decision to find Shay, the action picks up and the novel becomes very engrossing and enjoyable. Tally and Shay are both very likable characters being underdogs who are going against societal norms. The book also has a great overarching lesson of being happy with yourself and seeing the beauty within. Overall, a fast and enjoyable read. Rating: ***1/2 out of 5.
Labels:
review,
scott westerfeld,
uglies
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
3 W Wednesday -- 1/26
This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.
What are you currently reading? I am slowly working on A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans. I started taking classes this week and am working extra hours so my reading time has (unfortunately) decreased.
What have you recently finished reading? I recently finished The Book Club (for book club) by Mary Alice Monroe and Finny by Justin Kramon. I am hoping to get each review posted in the next week or two.
What are you reading next? Well, in my pursuit to be ready for every book club meeting, I will be reading Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill.
What are you reading?
What are you currently reading? I am slowly working on A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans. I started taking classes this week and am working extra hours so my reading time has (unfortunately) decreased.
What have you recently finished reading? I recently finished The Book Club (for book club) by Mary Alice Monroe and Finny by Justin Kramon. I am hoping to get each review posted in the next week or two.
What are you reading next? Well, in my pursuit to be ready for every book club meeting, I will be reading Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill.
What are you reading?
Labels:
a hopeless romantic,
harriet evans,
www wednesdays
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Review -- Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch
Girls in Trucks
by Katie Crouch
Little, Brown & Company, 2008
256 pages
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): Sarah Walters is a less-than-perfect debutante. She tries hard to follow the time-honored customs of the Charleston Camellia Society, as her mother and grandmother did, standing up straight in cotillion class and attending lectures about all the things that Camellias don't do. (Like ride with boys in pickup trucks.) But Sarah can't quite ignore the barbarism just beneath all that propriety, and as soon as she can she decamps South Carolina for a life in New York City. There, she and her fellow displaced Southern friends try to make sense of city sophistication, to understand how much of their training applies to real life, and how much to the strange and rarefied world they've left behind.
When life's complications become overwhelming, Sarah returns home to confront with matured eyes the motto "Once a Camellia, always a Camellia"- and to see how much fuller life can be, for good and for ill, among those who know you best.
Review: I have conflicting feelings about this novel. When I started reading it, I absolutely loved it. The plot was intermingled with short stories about Sarah's childhood, specifically growing up in the South and being a Camellia. As the novel continued on and she focused on her disastrous love life, I felt sad for Sarah. But when she continued to make unbelievably terrible choices and became bitter about her life, then I began to dislike Sarah and the novel. Overall, I would say it was an interesting character story that was well written. Would I read another novel by Katie Crouch? I would like to try Men and Dogs, because I did enjoy her writing style. It's just difficult to like a novel when you grow to dislike the main character so much. Rating: *** out of 5.
Have you read this novel? If so, leave your thoughts or a link to your review in the comments section!
by Katie Crouch
Little, Brown & Company, 2008
256 pages
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): Sarah Walters is a less-than-perfect debutante. She tries hard to follow the time-honored customs of the Charleston Camellia Society, as her mother and grandmother did, standing up straight in cotillion class and attending lectures about all the things that Camellias don't do. (Like ride with boys in pickup trucks.) But Sarah can't quite ignore the barbarism just beneath all that propriety, and as soon as she can she decamps South Carolina for a life in New York City. There, she and her fellow displaced Southern friends try to make sense of city sophistication, to understand how much of their training applies to real life, and how much to the strange and rarefied world they've left behind.
When life's complications become overwhelming, Sarah returns home to confront with matured eyes the motto "Once a Camellia, always a Camellia"- and to see how much fuller life can be, for good and for ill, among those who know you best.
Review: I have conflicting feelings about this novel. When I started reading it, I absolutely loved it. The plot was intermingled with short stories about Sarah's childhood, specifically growing up in the South and being a Camellia. As the novel continued on and she focused on her disastrous love life, I felt sad for Sarah. But when she continued to make unbelievably terrible choices and became bitter about her life, then I began to dislike Sarah and the novel. Overall, I would say it was an interesting character story that was well written. Would I read another novel by Katie Crouch? I would like to try Men and Dogs, because I did enjoy her writing style. It's just difficult to like a novel when you grow to dislike the main character so much. Rating: *** out of 5.
Have you read this novel? If so, leave your thoughts or a link to your review in the comments section!
Labels:
girls in trucks,
katie crouch,
review
Monday, January 24, 2011
It's Monday! What are you reading? -- 1/24
This meme is hosted by Book Journey.
So the weather here is COLD, COLD, COLD, just like the rest of the country and I am trying my best to keep warm and get ready for a new semester because today is my first day of class! I have one class tonight (and every Monday for the next 13 weeks) and one class online, so I will be a very busy student for the next few months. However, I am determined to blog and read for pleasure this semester, so wish me luck!
I am currently reading A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans. This weekend I finished The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe (for book club) and unfortunately was not very impressed. It should be a very good discussion next month and I will have a review in a week or two. Last week, I finished Finny by Justin Kramon and really enjoyed it. This was also for book club's March meeting and we are going to talk with the author. Very exciting!
What are you reading?
So the weather here is COLD, COLD, COLD, just like the rest of the country and I am trying my best to keep warm and get ready for a new semester because today is my first day of class! I have one class tonight (and every Monday for the next 13 weeks) and one class online, so I will be a very busy student for the next few months. However, I am determined to blog and read for pleasure this semester, so wish me luck!
I am currently reading A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans. This weekend I finished The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe (for book club) and unfortunately was not very impressed. It should be a very good discussion next month and I will have a review in a week or two. Last week, I finished Finny by Justin Kramon and really enjoyed it. This was also for book club's March meeting and we are going to talk with the author. Very exciting!
What are you reading?
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Book Club Spotlight -- People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
The library book club will be reading People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks sometime in the next six months. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
The “complex and moving”(The New Yorker) novel by Pulitzer Prize–winner Geraldine Brooks follows a rare manuscript through centuries of exile and warInspired by a true story, People of the Book is a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity by an acclaimed and beloved author. Called “a tour de force”by the San Francisco Chronicle, this ambitious, electrifying work traces the harrowing journey of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, a beautifully illuminated Hebrew manuscript created in fifteenth-century Spain. When it falls to Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, to conserve this priceless work, the series of tiny artifacts she discovers in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—only begin to unlock its deep mysteries and unexpectedly plunges Hanna into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics.
This sounds great. Have you read it? If so, what did you think?
The “complex and moving”(The New Yorker) novel by Pulitzer Prize–winner Geraldine Brooks follows a rare manuscript through centuries of exile and warInspired by a true story, People of the Book is a novel of sweeping historical grandeur and intimate emotional intensity by an acclaimed and beloved author. Called “a tour de force”by the San Francisco Chronicle, this ambitious, electrifying work traces the harrowing journey of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, a beautifully illuminated Hebrew manuscript created in fifteenth-century Spain. When it falls to Hanna Heath, an Australian rare-book expert, to conserve this priceless work, the series of tiny artifacts she discovers in its ancient binding—an insect wing fragment, wine stains, salt crystals, a white hair—only begin to unlock its deep mysteries and unexpectedly plunges Hanna into the intrigues of fine art forgers and ultra-nationalist fanatics.
This sounds great. Have you read it? If so, what did you think?
Friday, January 21, 2011
Friday Finds -- 1/21
This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.
Happy Friday!! My Friday Find this week is Deep Down True by Juliette Fay. My book club read Fay's Shelter Me and absolutely loved it, so I am really looking forward to reading this book. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
Newly divorced Dana Stellgarten has always been unfailingly nice- even to telemarketers-but now her temper is wearing thin. Money is tight, her kids are reeling from their dad's departure, and her Goth teenage niece has just landed on her doorstep. As she enters the slipstream of post-divorce romance and is befriended by the town queen bee, Dana finds that the tension between being true to yourself and being liked doesn't end in middle school... and that sometimes it takes a real friend to help you embrace adulthood in all its flawed complexity.
What is your Friday Find?
Happy Friday!! My Friday Find this week is Deep Down True by Juliette Fay. My book club read Fay's Shelter Me and absolutely loved it, so I am really looking forward to reading this book. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
Newly divorced Dana Stellgarten has always been unfailingly nice- even to telemarketers-but now her temper is wearing thin. Money is tight, her kids are reeling from their dad's departure, and her Goth teenage niece has just landed on her doorstep. As she enters the slipstream of post-divorce romance and is befriended by the town queen bee, Dana finds that the tension between being true to yourself and being liked doesn't end in middle school... and that sometimes it takes a real friend to help you embrace adulthood in all its flawed complexity.
What is your Friday Find?
Labels:
deep down true,
friday finds,
juliette fay,
shelter me
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Review -- Room by Emma Donoghue
Room
by Emma Donoghue
Little, Brown & Company, 2010
321 pages
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits. Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.
Review: This novel's narrator is very unique and author Emma Donoghue does a fantastic job writing the story from a five year old boy's perspective. This novel is intense but you almost are shielded from the danger because at times Jack doesn't feel it. He trusts his Ma almost completely and does what she says. There is also the barrier of a five year old's vocabulary, so the reader needs to infer what is happening to Jack or what some of the objects he is talking about are. Overall, a fantastic, intense, and engrossing read. Many bloggers placed this book on there Top 10 lists for 2010 and deservedly so. Rating: ***** out of 5
by Emma Donoghue
Little, Brown & Company, 2010
321 pages
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits. Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.
Review: This novel's narrator is very unique and author Emma Donoghue does a fantastic job writing the story from a five year old boy's perspective. This novel is intense but you almost are shielded from the danger because at times Jack doesn't feel it. He trusts his Ma almost completely and does what she says. There is also the barrier of a five year old's vocabulary, so the reader needs to infer what is happening to Jack or what some of the objects he is talking about are. Overall, a fantastic, intense, and engrossing read. Many bloggers placed this book on there Top 10 lists for 2010 and deservedly so. Rating: ***** out of 5
Labels:
emma donoghue,
review,
room
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
3 W Wednesday -- 1/19
This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.
What are you currently reading? I am reading A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans.
What did you recently finish reading? Over the weekend, I finished Soulless by Gail Carriger. I also posted reviews for Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin and Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe by Jennie Shortridge. You can click on the titles to check out my reviews.
What are you reading next? Well, classes start on Monday. My main goals are to finish A Hopeless Romantic and The Book Club by Mary Alice Munroe, which is next month's book club selection by Sunday night. Wish me luck!
Labels:
a hopeless romantic,
harriet evans,
www wednesdays
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Review -- Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin
Our Lady of Immaculate Deception
by Nancy Martin
St. Martin's Press, 2010
310 pages
*I received this copy as a gift.
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): Roxy Abruzzo, bestseller Nancy Martin’s latest creation, is a loud-mouthed, sexy, independent-minded niece of a Pittsburgh Mafia boss trying to go (mostly) straight. She’d like to stay completely out of her uncle Carmine’s shady business dealings, though he's trying to reel her in. She'd like to concentrate on the architectural salvage business she runs mostly on the up and up for a tidy profit. She'd like to keep her rebellious teenage daughter on the straight and narrow. But Roxy knows where all the good intentions in the world usually lead, and when she can’t help herself from tucking away an ancient Greek statue that's not really hers, she pays for it by getting caught up in the chaos surrounding the sordid murder of the statue’s former owner, heir to a billion-dollar Pittsburgh steel fortune.
Review: I have a slight bias when it comes to Nancy Martin. I absolutely love her books! This one was no exception. Though I did have a tough time getting started (Roxy is very different from my beloved Blackbird Sisters) and some of the plot was predictable, I really enjoyed the book overall. Martin creates a lot of interesting secondary characters, especially Nooch, Roxy's right hand muscle man. I am looking forward to book number two! Rating:***1/2 out of 5
by Nancy Martin
St. Martin's Press, 2010
310 pages
*I received this copy as a gift.
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): Roxy Abruzzo, bestseller Nancy Martin’s latest creation, is a loud-mouthed, sexy, independent-minded niece of a Pittsburgh Mafia boss trying to go (mostly) straight. She’d like to stay completely out of her uncle Carmine’s shady business dealings, though he's trying to reel her in. She'd like to concentrate on the architectural salvage business she runs mostly on the up and up for a tidy profit. She'd like to keep her rebellious teenage daughter on the straight and narrow. But Roxy knows where all the good intentions in the world usually lead, and when she can’t help herself from tucking away an ancient Greek statue that's not really hers, she pays for it by getting caught up in the chaos surrounding the sordid murder of the statue’s former owner, heir to a billion-dollar Pittsburgh steel fortune.
Review: I have a slight bias when it comes to Nancy Martin. I absolutely love her books! This one was no exception. Though I did have a tough time getting started (Roxy is very different from my beloved Blackbird Sisters) and some of the plot was predictable, I really enjoyed the book overall. Martin creates a lot of interesting secondary characters, especially Nooch, Roxy's right hand muscle man. I am looking forward to book number two! Rating:***1/2 out of 5
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Review -- Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe by Jennie Shortridge
Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe
by Jennie Shortridge
Penguin, 2008
400 pages
*I received a copy from the author.
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): When she learns that her college sweetheart husband has been seeing another woman, Mira Serafino's perfect world is shattered and she wants no one, least of all her big Italian family, to know. She heads north—with no destination and little money— stopping only when her car breaks down in Seattle. She takes a job at the offbeat Coffee Shop at the Center of the Universe, where she'll experience a terrifying but invigorating freedom, and meet someone she'll come to love: the new Mira.
Review: An intriguing novel about finding out who you are without the constraints of family and friends, Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe is an easy and entertaining read. Author Jennie Shortridge introduces the reader to the likable Mira, who through a variety of misunderstandings and misinterpretations, runs away from her small town life to became the manager of a coffee shop. She misses her old life but finds beauty in the new one she creates with the help of the coffee shop staff. The writing is wonderful but the story doesn't have a same magic as Shortridge's Eating Heaven. Many of the supporting characters are annoying and I had difficulty sympathizing with many of them. However, I did enjoy the ending and am looking forward to reading more by this author. Rating: *** out of 5
by Jennie Shortridge
Penguin, 2008
400 pages
*I received a copy from the author.
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): When she learns that her college sweetheart husband has been seeing another woman, Mira Serafino's perfect world is shattered and she wants no one, least of all her big Italian family, to know. She heads north—with no destination and little money— stopping only when her car breaks down in Seattle. She takes a job at the offbeat Coffee Shop at the Center of the Universe, where she'll experience a terrifying but invigorating freedom, and meet someone she'll come to love: the new Mira.
Review: An intriguing novel about finding out who you are without the constraints of family and friends, Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe is an easy and entertaining read. Author Jennie Shortridge introduces the reader to the likable Mira, who through a variety of misunderstandings and misinterpretations, runs away from her small town life to became the manager of a coffee shop. She misses her old life but finds beauty in the new one she creates with the help of the coffee shop staff. The writing is wonderful but the story doesn't have a same magic as Shortridge's Eating Heaven. Many of the supporting characters are annoying and I had difficulty sympathizing with many of them. However, I did enjoy the ending and am looking forward to reading more by this author. Rating: *** out of 5
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Currently Reading!
Over the weekend, I am reading A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
Laura Foster is a hopeless romantic. Her friends know it, her parents know it - even Laura acknowledges she lives either with her head in the clouds or buried in a romance novel. It's proved harmless enough, even if it hasn't delivered her a real-life dashing hero yet. But when her latest relationship ends in a disaster that costs her friendships, her job, and nearly her sanity, Laura swears off men and hopeless romantic fantasies for good. With her life in tatters around her, Laura agrees to go on vacation with her parents. After a few days of visiting craft shops and touring the stately homes of England, Laura is ready to tear her hair out. And then, while visiting grand Chartley Hall, she crosses paths with Nick, the sexy, rugged estate manager. She finds she shares more than a sense of humor with him - in fact, she starts to think she could fall for him. But is Nick all he seems? Or has Laura got it wrong again? Will she open her heart only to have it broken again?
Have you read this? If so, what did you think?
Laura Foster is a hopeless romantic. Her friends know it, her parents know it - even Laura acknowledges she lives either with her head in the clouds or buried in a romance novel. It's proved harmless enough, even if it hasn't delivered her a real-life dashing hero yet. But when her latest relationship ends in a disaster that costs her friendships, her job, and nearly her sanity, Laura swears off men and hopeless romantic fantasies for good. With her life in tatters around her, Laura agrees to go on vacation with her parents. After a few days of visiting craft shops and touring the stately homes of England, Laura is ready to tear her hair out. And then, while visiting grand Chartley Hall, she crosses paths with Nick, the sexy, rugged estate manager. She finds she shares more than a sense of humor with him - in fact, she starts to think she could fall for him. But is Nick all he seems? Or has Laura got it wrong again? Will she open her heart only to have it broken again?
Have you read this? If so, what did you think?
Labels:
a hopeless romantic,
harriet evans
Friday, January 14, 2011
Friday Find -- 1/14
This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.
Happy Friday! My Friday Find for this week is Mathilda Savitch by Victor Lodato. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
Fear doesn’t come naturally to Mathilda Savitch. She prefers to look right at the things nobody else can bring themselves to mention: for example, the fact that her beloved older sister is dead, pushed in front of a train by a man still on the loose. Her grief-stricken parents have basically been sleepwalking ever since, and it is Mathilda’s sworn mission to shock them back to life. Her strategy? Being bad. Mathilda decides she’s going to figure out what lies behind the catastrophe. She starts sleuthing through her sister’s most secret possessions—e-mails, clothes, notebooks, whatever her determination and craftiness can ferret out. More troubling, she begins to apply some of her older sister’s magical charisma and powers of seduction to the unraveling situations around her. In a storyline that thrums with hints of ancient myth, Mathilda has to risk a great deal—in fact, has to leave behind everything she loves—in order to discover the truth.
What is your Friday Find?
Happy Friday! My Friday Find for this week is Mathilda Savitch by Victor Lodato. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
Fear doesn’t come naturally to Mathilda Savitch. She prefers to look right at the things nobody else can bring themselves to mention: for example, the fact that her beloved older sister is dead, pushed in front of a train by a man still on the loose. Her grief-stricken parents have basically been sleepwalking ever since, and it is Mathilda’s sworn mission to shock them back to life. Her strategy? Being bad. Mathilda decides she’s going to figure out what lies behind the catastrophe. She starts sleuthing through her sister’s most secret possessions—e-mails, clothes, notebooks, whatever her determination and craftiness can ferret out. More troubling, she begins to apply some of her older sister’s magical charisma and powers of seduction to the unraveling situations around her. In a storyline that thrums with hints of ancient myth, Mathilda has to risk a great deal—in fact, has to leave behind everything she loves—in order to discover the truth.
What is your Friday Find?
Labels:
friday finds,
mathilda savitch,
victor lodato
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Review -- Star Island by Carl Hiaasen
Star Island
by Carl Hiaasen
Knopf Doubleday, 2010
337 pages
*I borrowed this book from the library.
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): Meet twenty-two-year-old Cherry Pye (nĂ©e Cheryl Bunterman), a pop star since she was fourteen—and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster. Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her “undercover stunt double,” Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too “indisposed”—meaning wasted—to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzo Bang Abbott. Now the challenge for Cherry’s handlers (ĂĽber–stage mother; horndog record producer; nipped, tucked, and Botoxed twin publicists; weed whacker–wielding bodyguard) is to rescue Ann while keeping her existence a secret from Cherry’s public—and from Cherry herself.
Review: This book was a breath of fun, fresh air when I was in a reading slump. Author Carl Hiaasen writes a kooky story filled with eccentric characters and a nutty story line. For me, the book totally worked. I loved the crazy characters (even the obnoxious Cherry Pye) and the demented plot (seriously - Ann gets kidnapped by a crazy man living in a swamp and that is in the first 25 pages or so). The book flew by and left me laughing. It is also a great satire about celebrity culture and the lengths people will go to sculpt their public image. I will definitely read more by this author. Rating: **** out of 5.
by Carl Hiaasen
Knopf Doubleday, 2010
337 pages
*I borrowed this book from the library.
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): Meet twenty-two-year-old Cherry Pye (nĂ©e Cheryl Bunterman), a pop star since she was fourteen—and about to attempt a comeback from her latest drug-and-alcohol disaster. Now meet Cherry again: in the person of her “undercover stunt double,” Ann DeLusia. Ann portrays Cherry whenever the singer is too “indisposed”—meaning wasted—to go out in public. And it is Ann-mistaken-for-Cherry who is kidnapped from a South Beach hotel by obsessed paparazzo Bang Abbott. Now the challenge for Cherry’s handlers (ĂĽber–stage mother; horndog record producer; nipped, tucked, and Botoxed twin publicists; weed whacker–wielding bodyguard) is to rescue Ann while keeping her existence a secret from Cherry’s public—and from Cherry herself.
Review: This book was a breath of fun, fresh air when I was in a reading slump. Author Carl Hiaasen writes a kooky story filled with eccentric characters and a nutty story line. For me, the book totally worked. I loved the crazy characters (even the obnoxious Cherry Pye) and the demented plot (seriously - Ann gets kidnapped by a crazy man living in a swamp and that is in the first 25 pages or so). The book flew by and left me laughing. It is also a great satire about celebrity culture and the lengths people will go to sculpt their public image. I will definitely read more by this author. Rating: **** out of 5.
Labels:
carl hiaasen,
review,
star island
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
3 W Wednesdays -- 1/12
This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.
What are you currently reading? I just started Finny by Justin Kramon and am enjoying it. Finny is such a fantastic character!
What did you recently finish reading? Over the weekend I finished Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (reviews to come). They are such different books starting with genre (Ines is Historical Fiction and Uglies is YA), but they were both wonderful reads that I enjoyed.
What are you reading next? Well, I start my second semester of graduate school in a week and a half, so I really need to get as much book club reading done as possible before starting classes. My goal is to start The Book Club by Mary Alice Munroe (February's pick) and Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (April's pick).
What are you currently reading? I just started Finny by Justin Kramon and am enjoying it. Finny is such a fantastic character!
What did you recently finish reading? Over the weekend I finished Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (reviews to come). They are such different books starting with genre (Ines is Historical Fiction and Uglies is YA), but they were both wonderful reads that I enjoyed.
What are you reading next? Well, I start my second semester of graduate school in a week and a half, so I really need to get as much book club reading done as possible before starting classes. My goal is to start The Book Club by Mary Alice Munroe (February's pick) and Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill (April's pick).
Labels:
finny,
ines of my soul,
uglies,
www wednesdays
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Wanted: Blogs for my Google Reader
I want your blog to be part of my Google Reader!!
Recently, I cleaned out my Google Reader. Mostly, I stopped subscribing or following blogs that haven't had a new post in more than three months. So now I want to fill my reader with all new blogs to check out. That's where you come in!
I am looking for blogs that:
(1) have new posts regularly
(2) have book reviews
(3) cover mostly contemporary and women's fiction (I don't mind a little chick-lit or YA too).
If your blog meets the above criteria, then I would love to follow your blog! Please leave the name of your blog as well as the URL in the comments section. Thanks so much for your help and HAPPY BLOGGING!!
Recently, I cleaned out my Google Reader. Mostly, I stopped subscribing or following blogs that haven't had a new post in more than three months. So now I want to fill my reader with all new blogs to check out. That's where you come in!
I am looking for blogs that:
(1) have new posts regularly
(2) have book reviews
(3) cover mostly contemporary and women's fiction (I don't mind a little chick-lit or YA too).
If your blog meets the above criteria, then I would love to follow your blog! Please leave the name of your blog as well as the URL in the comments section. Thanks so much for your help and HAPPY BLOGGING!!
Labels:
blogs,
discussion post
Monday, January 10, 2011
It's Monday! What are you reading? -- 1/10
This meme is hosted by Book Journey.
Happy Monday! I had a great weekend of reading. I was able to finish Uglies by Scott Westerfeld and Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende (reviews to come). My plan is to start Finny by Justin Kramon later today. Last week, I posted my reviews of Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie and
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens (click on the title to read my review).
What are you reading?
Happy Monday! I had a great weekend of reading. I was able to finish Uglies by Scott Westerfeld and Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende (reviews to come). My plan is to start Finny by Justin Kramon later today. Last week, I posted my reviews of Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie and
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens (click on the title to read my review).
What are you reading?
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Book Club Spotlight -- Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
The last book being highlighted is Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill. Here is the publisher's description:
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.
Sounds intense. Have you read it? If so, what did you think?
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.
Sounds intense. Have you read it? If so, what did you think?
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Book Club Spotlight -- The Book Club by Mary Alice Munroe
Well, the title is very fitting -- isn't it? The Book Club by Mary Alice Monroe is just one of the books selected by the library book club to read over the next six months. Here is what Publisher's Weekly had to say:
Monroe's (Girl in the Mirror) new novel opens as five friends, all members of a monthly book club, face turning points in their lives. Eve's husband dies suddenly, shattering her comfortable lifestyle, while Midge's mother makes an unannounced and unwelcomed reappearance. Annie finally feels ready to have a child, only to find her health and her marriage in jeopardy. Gabriella strains to make ends meet after her husband is laid off; Doris slides into depression as she tries to deny signs of her husband's infidelity. Sometimes close to and sometimes at odds with each other, the friends struggle to face harsh realities and, in the process, gain new independence. The actual book club of the title plays an oddly small role in this celebration of friendship and growth--the books the club reads are mentioned only briefly and often seem irrelevant to the women's struggles. Still, Monroe offers up believable characters in a well-crafted story.
Have you read it? If so, what did you think?
Monroe's (Girl in the Mirror) new novel opens as five friends, all members of a monthly book club, face turning points in their lives. Eve's husband dies suddenly, shattering her comfortable lifestyle, while Midge's mother makes an unannounced and unwelcomed reappearance. Annie finally feels ready to have a child, only to find her health and her marriage in jeopardy. Gabriella strains to make ends meet after her husband is laid off; Doris slides into depression as she tries to deny signs of her husband's infidelity. Sometimes close to and sometimes at odds with each other, the friends struggle to face harsh realities and, in the process, gain new independence. The actual book club of the title plays an oddly small role in this celebration of friendship and growth--the books the club reads are mentioned only briefly and often seem irrelevant to the women's struggles. Still, Monroe offers up believable characters in a well-crafted story.
Have you read it? If so, what did you think?
Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday Finds -- 1/7
This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.
Happy Friday! My Friday Find this week is Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin. I love Nancy Martin's series The Blackbird Sisters Mysteries and am looking forward to reading this new series! Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
Roxy Abruzzo, bestseller Nancy Martin’s latest creation, is a loud-mouthed, sexy, independent-minded niece of a Pittsburgh Mafia boss trying to go (mostly) straight. She’d like to stay completely out of her uncle Carmine’s shady business dealings, though he's trying to reel her in. She'd like to concentrate on the architectural salvage business she runs mostly on the up and up for a tidy profit. She'd like to keep her rebellious teenage daughter on the straight and narrow. But Roxy knows where all the good intentions in the world usually lead, and when she can’t help herself from tucking away an ancient Greek statue that's not really hers, she pays for it by getting caught up in the chaos surrounding the sordid murder of the statue’s former owner, heir to a billion-dollar Pittsburgh steel fortune.
Sound like a ton of fun! What is your Friday Find?
Happy Friday! My Friday Find this week is Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin. I love Nancy Martin's series The Blackbird Sisters Mysteries and am looking forward to reading this new series! Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
Roxy Abruzzo, bestseller Nancy Martin’s latest creation, is a loud-mouthed, sexy, independent-minded niece of a Pittsburgh Mafia boss trying to go (mostly) straight. She’d like to stay completely out of her uncle Carmine’s shady business dealings, though he's trying to reel her in. She'd like to concentrate on the architectural salvage business she runs mostly on the up and up for a tidy profit. She'd like to keep her rebellious teenage daughter on the straight and narrow. But Roxy knows where all the good intentions in the world usually lead, and when she can’t help herself from tucking away an ancient Greek statue that's not really hers, she pays for it by getting caught up in the chaos surrounding the sordid murder of the statue’s former owner, heir to a billion-dollar Pittsburgh steel fortune.
Sound like a ton of fun! What is your Friday Find?
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Review -- Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie
Maybe This Time
by Jennifer Crusie
St. Martin's Press, 2010
352 pages
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): Andie Miller is ready to move on in life. She wants to marry her fiancé and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her before they go their separate ways forever. A very distant cousin of his has died and left North as the guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs a very special person to take care of the situation and he knows Andie can handle anything.
Review: Annie is like a tough, non-singing Mary Poppins to two very smart, very spooky kids. Right from the beginning the reader knows that this is not your regular chick-lit or romance novel because there is a very large supernatural subplot that grows with each turning page. Maybe This Time is an entertaining and fun read but the reader must suspend belief because this is escapism at its best. The characters are eccentric and funny, the plot is non-stop, and the reader can easily get wrapped up in the story and lose track of time (at least that is what happened to this reader). My only criticism is that the romantic triangle was predicable and seemed almost an afterthought in comparison to the rest of the plot. Rating:***1/2 out of 5
Have you read this book? If so, leave your thoughts or a link to your review in the comments section!
by Jennifer Crusie
St. Martin's Press, 2010
352 pages
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): Andie Miller is ready to move on in life. She wants to marry her fiancé and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her before they go their separate ways forever. A very distant cousin of his has died and left North as the guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs a very special person to take care of the situation and he knows Andie can handle anything.
Review: Annie is like a tough, non-singing Mary Poppins to two very smart, very spooky kids. Right from the beginning the reader knows that this is not your regular chick-lit or romance novel because there is a very large supernatural subplot that grows with each turning page. Maybe This Time is an entertaining and fun read but the reader must suspend belief because this is escapism at its best. The characters are eccentric and funny, the plot is non-stop, and the reader can easily get wrapped up in the story and lose track of time (at least that is what happened to this reader). My only criticism is that the romantic triangle was predicable and seemed almost an afterthought in comparison to the rest of the plot. Rating:***1/2 out of 5
Have you read this book? If so, leave your thoughts or a link to your review in the comments section!
Labels:
jennifer crusie,
maybe this time,
review
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Review -- Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
by Chevy Stevens
Summary (from Barnes and Noble): On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a thirty-two year old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever- patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all. Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.
Review: Still Missing is an intense and engrossing tale of one woman's struggle to deal with the aftermath of being kidnapped and abused. This book is not for everyone. It is a thriller that has many hard to read scenes. The main character, Annie, is understandably angry, abrasive, and unable to trust anyone -- even the psychiatrist who she narrators her tale to. Author Chevy Stevens gives the reader little pieces of Annie's story at a time, leaving the reader wanting to know more. Easily a one or two sitting book -- that good. Rating: ***** out of 5
St. Martin's Press, 2010
352 pages*I borrowed a copy from the library.
Review: Still Missing is an intense and engrossing tale of one woman's struggle to deal with the aftermath of being kidnapped and abused. This book is not for everyone. It is a thriller that has many hard to read scenes. The main character, Annie, is understandably angry, abrasive, and unable to trust anyone -- even the psychiatrist who she narrators her tale to. Author Chevy Stevens gives the reader little pieces of Annie's story at a time, leaving the reader wanting to know more. Easily a one or two sitting book -- that good. Rating: ***** out of 5
Labels:
chevy stevens,
review,
still missing
3 W Wednesdays -- 1/5
This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.
What are you currently reading? I am almost finished with Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende and I just started Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.
What have you recently finished reading? I just finished Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch and Our Lady of Immaculate Conception by Nancy Martin (reviews to come). I also recently reviewed Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger and One Day by David Nicholls (click on title to read my review).
What are you reading next? I am hoping to get my hands on a copy of Finny by Justin Kramon this weekend at the bookstore and then devouring it over the weekend -- I am hearing fantastic things about this book!
What are you currently reading? I am almost finished with Ines of My Soul by Isabel Allende and I just started Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.
What have you recently finished reading? I just finished Girls in Trucks by Katie Crouch and Our Lady of Immaculate Conception by Nancy Martin (reviews to come). I also recently reviewed Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger and One Day by David Nicholls (click on title to read my review).
What are you reading next? I am hoping to get my hands on a copy of Finny by Justin Kramon this weekend at the bookstore and then devouring it over the weekend -- I am hearing fantastic things about this book!
Labels:
girls in trucks,
ines of my soul,
uglies,
www wednesdays
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Book Club Spotlight -- Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The library book club will be reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
"In the opening pages of Jamie Ford's debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel. once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades. but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol." "This simple act takes Henry back to the 1940s, when his world was a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father. who was obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While "scholarshipping" at the exclusive Ranier Elementary. where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship - and innocent love - that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. After Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end and that their promise to each other will be kept." Forty years later, Henry Lee, certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko, searches the hotel's dark. dusty basement for signs of the Okabe family's belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot even begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice: words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.
"In the opening pages of Jamie Ford's debut novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Henry Lee comes upon a crowd gathered outside the Panama Hotel. once the gateway to Seattle's Japantown. It has been boarded up for decades. but now the new owner has made an incredible discovery: the belongings of Japanese families, left when they were rounded up and sent to internment camps during World War II. As Henry looks on, the owner opens a Japanese parasol." "This simple act takes Henry back to the 1940s, when his world was a jumble of confusion and excitement, and to his father. who was obsessed with the war in China and having Henry grow up American. While "scholarshipping" at the exclusive Ranier Elementary. where the white kids ignore him, Henry meets Keiko Okabe, a young Japanese American student. Amid the chaos of blackouts, curfews, and FBI raids, Henry and Keiko forge a bond of friendship - and innocent love - that transcends the long-standing prejudices of their Old World ancestors. After Keiko and her family are swept up in the evacuations to the internment camps, she and Henry are left only with the hope that the war will end and that their promise to each other will be kept." Forty years later, Henry Lee, certain that the parasol belonged to Keiko, searches the hotel's dark. dusty basement for signs of the Okabe family's belongings and for a long-lost object whose value he cannot even begin to measure. Now a widower, Henry is still trying to find his voice: words that might explain the actions of his nationalistic father; words that might bridge the gap between him and his modern, Chinese American son; words that might help him confront the choices he made many years ago.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Pictures from the Set -- Something Borrowed
I found a website with pictures from the set of Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin. Enjoy!!
Something Borrowed Pictures from the Set
Anybody thinking about seeing the movie when it comes out?
Something Borrowed Pictures from the Set
Anybody thinking about seeing the movie when it comes out?
Labels:
emily griffin,
movie picture,
something borrowed
It's Monday! What are you reading? -- 1/3
This meme is hosted by Book Journey.
Happy Monday! I am currently reading Girl in Trucks by Katie Crouch and am really enjoying it. I was having trouble putting the book at bedtime last night! I recently finished Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin (love her!) and reviewed Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger (click on the title to read my review).
What are you reading?
Happy Monday! I am currently reading Girl in Trucks by Katie Crouch and am really enjoying it. I was having trouble putting the book at bedtime last night! I recently finished Our Lady of Immaculate Deception by Nancy Martin (love her!) and reviewed Last Night at Chateau Marmont by Lauren Weisberger (click on the title to read my review).
What are you reading?
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Book Club Spotlight -- House Rules by Jodi Picoult
This is one of the books that the library book club will be reading over the next six months. Here is the Barnes and Noble description:
Jacob Hunt is a teen with Asperger's Syndrome. He is hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, though he is brillant in many ways. But he has a special focus on one subject -- forensic analysis. A police scanner in his room clues him in to crime scenes, and he is always showing up and telling the cops what to do. And he's usually right. But when Jacob's small town is rocked by a terrible murder, law enforcement comes to him. Jacob's behaviors are hallmark Asperger's, but they look a lot like guilt to the local police. Suddenly, the Hunt family, who only want to fit in, are directly in the spotlight.
This sounds like a tough subject. Have you read this? If so, what did you think?
Jacob Hunt is a teen with Asperger's Syndrome. He is hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, though he is brillant in many ways. But he has a special focus on one subject -- forensic analysis. A police scanner in his room clues him in to crime scenes, and he is always showing up and telling the cops what to do. And he's usually right. But when Jacob's small town is rocked by a terrible murder, law enforcement comes to him. Jacob's behaviors are hallmark Asperger's, but they look a lot like guilt to the local police. Suddenly, the Hunt family, who only want to fit in, are directly in the spotlight.
This sounds like a tough subject. Have you read this? If so, what did you think?
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Pictures from the Set -- One Day
I recently read One Day by David Nicholls and am very excited to see the movie version. I came across a website with photos from the set and thought I would share.
Anne Hathaway Filming One Day
Have you read One Day? Will you go see the movie?
Labels:
david nicholls,
movie picture,
one day
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