I crave books

I recently listened to the second novel by this author (Sugar Queen) and really enjoyed it. So I decided to read her first novel, which was equally enchanting.

The Waverleys are a curious family with their mysterious garden in Bascom, North Carolina. Claire is a successful caterer who prepares dishes made with her mystical plants. Her elderly cousin, Evanelle is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. Then there’s Claire’s rebellious sister Sydney, who fled Bascom at 18. But she’s back, with her daughter Bay in tow, and turns Claire quiet life upside down.

I enjoyed this - it’s a quick read and features some of the same plot elements as The Sugar Queen (the magic, the star crossed lovers, the house that is almost a character itself, absent fathers).

The audio version of this was recommended by a friend, and I was enjoying it so much that I pulled the book off the shelf to finish it.

This a young adult novel focusing on the family secrets of 17-year-old Odella. Mistik Lake is where her mother grew up and where her family has a summer cabin. This is a novel of family secrets, sisterhood and falling in love. It’s a typical YA problem novel, and packs in pretty much every issue imaginable, but it’s handled well and is believable. The narration shifts from Odella, to her great aunt and to her love interest Jimmy. Normally I don’t like this switching of perspectives, but this was done quite well.

This is a sparse lyrical story. The audio book was well done - the narrator had excellent skills in differentiating the various character voices.

Found this while browsing the library shelves and the title and premise appealed to me.

June Parker was in a car accident, where her passenger, Marissa, dies. June barely knew Marissa but when she finds Marissa list of “20 things to do before my 25th Birthday” June decides to complete the list for her. The tasks are varied (run a 5K, go braless, change someones life).

This was a fun read. There’s a great cast of quirky characters and I did laugh out loud at times. I enjoyed June’s character and was rooting for her. And the lesson in the end was quite poignant. I think I’m going to pick up the author’s first book, Flip-Flopped since I enjoyed this so much. Look for a review here soon!

I picked up this book because it’s set in Portland, Oregon, which is where I grew up. It focuses on Ellen Flanagan, who is getting divorced and in the process selling her beloved home. The home means everything to Ellen and she keeps trying to figure out ways to get it back. Plus she’s confused by the feelings she having for her ex-husband and the man who bought the house.

This is an okay read. The plot was a little thin for me, but I did enjoy the descriptions of Portland, which rang true to me. I’m curious since the jacket says the author lives in northern Virginia why the novel is set in Portland and what led her to that.

This is the second book by the author of the Friday Night Knitting Club (which I loved - see this post for proof).

This was a slow starter for me, but once it got going (around page 150) I really got into. I think my problem with the first part was too much setting up of back story - there’s a large cast of characters (sort of like FNKC - all different people thrown together). I did like how she finally told one character’s secret - instead of having the character tell it through flashbacks, she told it to another character who was not familiar with it). There were two good twists - one that I thought was believable and one that stretched credibility a little for me. And I did laugh out loud several times during the book - there are some great lines and I was a little weepy by the end. So what’s this book about?

Well, Augusta “Gus” Simpson is turning 50, and isn’t that thrilled about it. She’s the successful host of a tv cooking show, and has raised two daughters. But then the executives at the Cooking Channel decide her show needs a ratings boost so they bring in Carmen Vega, former Miss Spain, to co-host with her. Gus re-formats her show as an on-air cooking class, bringing together her friends and family. And the fireworks fly. The cast includes her daughter Sabrina, just engaged for the third time; her over serious daughter Aimee; Troy, Sabrina’s ex-boyfriend; Hannah, Gus’s shy neighbor; and Oliver, the new culinary producer.

I had a soft spot for Troy, who grew up on an apple farm in Hood River, Oregon. As that’s near my old stomping grounds. Plus Troy was an ad-exec who quit to open his own business (love his business idea - read the book though).

Anyway this is a story about finding yourself (at any age - it’s a multiple generation cast), friendship, motherhood, and love.

In fact, one theme I noticed that was consistent between FNKC and Comfort Food, was absent fathers. Gus is a widower and how she and the girls handled the death (18 years ago) is a good plot point during an otherwise hilarious (description wise) teambuiliding retreat.

Wow. What a great, short, ya novel.

18 year old Michael Kerrigan is ready for the spring of his senior year. This is his spring to go all the way in track and field. And then it’s off to college and out of Scranton. He’s working at the Scranton Observer in order to get experience before he writes his great American novel. But then during a weekend raid, four joints are found in his locker. And he’s faced with a choice - expulsion from high school or ratting out his childhood friend.

A quick read, great tight prose, and an interesting dilemma. Also a great example of how we can be knocked down but how to get back up. This is also about telling the truth - your truth, not what people sometimes make up as the truth. All in all an excellent novel.

In 1984, 10 year old Kate Meaney is training to be a detective. She and Mickey (her stuffed monkey) have opened Falcon Investigations and find suspects to trail at the newly opened Green Oaks shopping mall. Her only friend is Adrian, the son of a local shopkeeper. But the Kate disappears and Adrian is a suspect, so he leaves too. Fast forward to 2003. Adrian’s sister is the assistant manager at a music store in the mall. Lisa is unhappy in her own life, and one day in the staff corridors she finds a stuffed monkey, which connects her with Kurt, the mall security guard who caught a glimpse of a little girl on the mall’s surveillance cameras. Lisa and Kurt begin to investigate how these sightings might be related to Kate’s disappearance - as well as the history of Green Oaks itself.

This book has generated some early buzz in Britain, along with starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. It was a good read and the ending twist was a surprise to me. A good debut. I really liked Kate’s character and the adrift life of Lisa and Kurt rang true as well.

I confess. I’m a fan of Tori Spelling. I was a huge fan of 90210 (oh Dylan) and now my guilty pleasure is Tori’s reality show, Tori and Dean: Inn Loveon Oxygen. So of course I wanted to read her autobiography. And I was not disappointed. It’s short (276 pages with acknowledgements) but covers her childhood, the alleged feud with her mom, her first marriage, her relationship with Dean, basically it’s her side of everything we’ve seen play out in the tabloids for the past 3 years.

Her writing style is direct, she doesn’t pull any punches and it rings true to me. Also I totally appreciate how she didn’t just name drop the entire time. And I appreciated her candor about money. I would’ve liked to hear more about how she feels about “her gays” and being a cult figure in the gay world. Her brother Randy is conspicuously absent. This isn’t a trashy tell-all. This her really her side of the story, focused primarily on the past 5 or so years. When talking about her relationship with Dean McDermott, (who was married when they met & fell in love) she says nothing negative about why his marriage broke up/wasn’t working/the custody battle basically nothing negative about his ex-wife. And I totally respect her for that. As she says, it’s not her story to tell.

All in all this book just made me like Tori more and confirmed what I’ve thought for awhile - she’s smarter than everyone gives her credit for.

I enjoyed the author’s first book, The Dog Walker, and so when I saw this on the shelf at the library I pulled it off.

Jeannie Sterling is the host of a light night New York City talk show about ethical behavior. Then her long absent father shows up, the friend she’s loved for years finally wants to be with her, and her best friend is acting hinky. Then her radio station is bought by mogul Nicholas Moss and her career descends into chaos as well.

This was an interesting read due to the way it’s written. There are short chapters (with great titles) and transcripts from Jeannie’s radio show. The viewpoint switches a lot and sometimes it’s hard to tell where you are until the second paragraph. I didn’t feel completely vested in Jeannie (In fact in my head I referred to her as Jennie) and I kept waiting for the big plot moment. And when it came I was a tad disappointed. I didn’t believe it.

However, I didn’t hate this book. I guess I feel indifferent. It was ok. I’m sure some people really liked it. Sort of smart people’s chick lit with a little family drama and friendship thrown in.

edited to add: I forgot until I re-read the author’s comment that a part I did enjoy was the ethical dilemna of not returning library books. That was a great part. I should make a list of books that have great librarian/library sub-plots. And yes, I did return my library book!

The title of this book cracks me up. And it’s a book club pick. So don’t read too much into the fact that I’m reading this book. We thought it would spark some good conversations at book group. The subtitle: inside the hearts and minds of people in two relationships led me to believe that we might understand more about people’s motivations in having affairs. And it seems that in most of the books I’ve read lately (Tenth Circle, Beach House) so I was interested in learning more about the thought process.

However, while I thought this was an interesting read it was not what I expected. What this book is really about is how 1/3 what the psychology of an affair is and then 2/3 how people in a love triangle can select the appropriate solution (stay with spouse, pursue lover, choose neither) so they’re not in two relationships. The decision making process was interesting and I think it contained relationship advice that people could use in evaluating their own long term relationships. Also, there’s a short chapter on “Building the Future” which contains good general relationship advice.

An interesting topic and should make for good discussion this month.