Sunday, June 30, 2013

Sunday's Weekly Book Recap #24

Here's my recap of books that I'm reading or have acquired this week, which I am sharing on the following blogs:


        
                                   
                        Showcase Sunday banner
Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer / Stacking the Shelves hosted by the team at Tynga's Reviews / Showcase Sunday hosted by Vicky at  Books, Biscuits, and Tea . . .


My Week in Books, June 23-29, 2013
Currently reading . . .
      Product Details  Product DetailsProduct Details
Survival Lessons by Alice Hoffman, The View from Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman, and Cocktail Hour by Tara McTiernan

Finished reading . . .
             What I'm Reading   The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

Ebooks downloaded . . .
        Product DetailsProduct DetailsProduct Details
Kindle editions: For the Love of Ireland by July Leslie, Don't You Forget About Me by Suzanne Jenkins, and Do Not Disturb by Karen Kingsbury

This is a smaller haul than usual because over the summer I am trying to read books that I already own.

Which books did you get this week?
 
 
Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Sunday's Weekly Book Recap #24 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Saturday Shorts: Weekend Words

 celestial bodies,comets,meteors,nature,shooting stars,astronomy
"A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness,
leading out into the expanding universe."

~ Madeleine L'Engle, American author (1918-2007)

View the Madeleine L'Engle book list 


Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Saturday Shorts: Weekend Words was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.

Friday, June 28, 2013

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings #3


 16

 It's Friday . . . time to share excerpts from one of my current reads with:

Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.

The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.
 
This week's selection:
 The View from Penthouse B
 The View from Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman
 
Beginning:
1
Fort Necessity
 
Since Edwin died, I have lived with my sister Margot in the Batavia, an Art Deco apartment building on beautiful West Tenth Street in Greenwich Village.  This arrangement has made a great deal of sense for us both: I lost my husband without warning, and Margot lost her entire life savings to the Ponzi schemer whose name we dare not speak.
 
This opening paragraph makes me curious about what the future holds for these down-on-their luck sisters.  Can they overcome grief and financial hardship to put their lives back together again?  I eagerly read on, taking up residence in one of my favorite New York City neighborhoods.

--------------------
Page 56:
"Anthony and I literally wrestle the phone from Margot's hand to keep her from calling Lenore and escalating the battle.  We pour her a drink and we agree: mean.  So mean."
   
--------------------
Overview from barnesandnoble.com:
Unexpectedly widowed Gwen-Laura Schmidt is still mourning her husband when her sister Margot invites her to join forces as roommates in Margot's luxurious Village apartment. For Margot, divorced amid scandal, then made Ponzi-poor, it's a chance to shake Gwen out of her grief and help make ends meet. To further this effort she enlists a third boarder, the handsome Anthony. As the three swap money-making schemes and Gwen ventures back out into the dating world, the arrival of Margot's paroled ex in the apartment downstairs creates not just complications but the chance for all sorts of unexpected forgiveness. A sister story about love, loneliness, and new life in middle age, this is a cracklingly witty, deeply sweet novel from one of our finest comic writers. 
 
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One of the highlights of BEA this year was meeting Elinor Lipman and getting signed copies of The View from Penthouse B and I Can't Complain: (All Too) Personal Essays.  Ms. Lipman was genuinely friendly, and took several moments to chat individually with each person in line as she signed books.  It's no wonder that she is such a popular author.
 
Enjoy life with books...

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings #3 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Thursday Thoughts: Summer Reading Challenge


beaches,hammocks,leisure,magazines,nature,trees,palms,plants,sands,seas,shores









Building on the success of my spring reading challenge, I have decided to take on a summer reading challenge.  Jen E is hosting the perfect summer reading challenge on her blog, mommablogsalot, which I am signing up for.

Since I finished 5 books during the spring challenge, I'll be doubling the number of books for this challenge to 10. 

 summer reading challenge @ mommablogsalot

Here are the books I've chosen for the challenge:
  The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real MagicWhile We Were Watching Downton AbbeyRead Pink The Last Camellia: A NovelSomeday, Someday, Maybe
               The View from Penthouse BThe Art Forger: A NovelA Week in Winter
               Cocktail HourThere Was an Old Woman: A Novel of SuspenseAN Abundance of Katherines
First Row: The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker, While We Were Watching Downton Abbey by Wendy Wax, The Last Camellia by Sarah Jio, Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham
Second Row: The View from Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman, The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro, A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy
Third Row: Cocktail Hour by Tara McTiernan, There Was an Old Woman by Hallie Ephron, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green


Enjoy life with books...  


Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Thursday Thoughts: Summer Reading Challenge was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: New Mystery

 
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about a forthcoming book with other readers.
 
This week's anticipated book:
 Visitation Street
Visitation Street by Ivy Pochoda

Publication Date: July 9, 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Preorder now from online and bricks and mortar bookstores 
 
From barnesandnoble.com:
Summer in Red Hook, Brooklyn, an isolated blue-collar neighborhood where hipster gourmet supermarkets push against tired housing projects and the East River opens into the bay. Bored and listless, fifteen-year-olds June and Val are looking for fun. Forget the boys, the bottles, the coded whistles. Val wants to do something wild and a little crazy: take a raft out onto the bay. But on the water during the humid night, the girls disappear. Only Val survives, washing ashore in the weeds, bruised and unconscious.

This shocking event echoes through the lives of Red Hook's diverse residents. Fadi, the Lebanese bodega owner, hopes that his shop is a place to share neighborhood news, and he trolls for information about June's disappearance. Cree, just beginning to pull it together after his father's murder, unwittingly makes himself the chief suspect in the investigation, but an enigmatic and elusive guardian is determined to keep him safe. Val contends with the shadow of her missing friend and a truth she's buried deep inside. Her teacher Jonathan, a Juilliard dropout and barfly, wrestles with dashed dreams and a past riddled with tragic sins.

In Visitation Street, Ivy Pochoda combines intensely vivid prose with breathtaking psychological insight to explore a cast of solitary souls, pulled by family, love, betrayal, and hope, who yearn for a chance to break free.
 
 
Enjoy life with books...

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Waiting on Wednesday: New Mystery was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution. 

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #19 and Tuesday Teaser


 


First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea. It's an opportunity to share the first paragraphs of a book I am currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.

This week I'm featuring the opening paragraphs from my current read, The Violets of March by Sarah Jio, an ebook I borrowed from my local library.

Read on after the intro for my Tuesday Teaser.

 The Violets of March: A Novel
  Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Publication Date:  April 26, 2011 (ebook version)
Chapter 1
"'I guess this is it,' Joel said, leaning into the doorway of our apartment.  His eyes darted as if he was trying to memorize every detail of the turn-of-the-century New York two-story, the one we'd bought together five years ago and renovated--in happier times.  It was a sight: the entryway with its delicate arch, the old mantel we'd found at an antique store in Connecticut and carted home like treasure, and the richness of the dining room walls.  We'd agonized about the paint color but finally settled on Morocco Red, a shade that was both wistful and jarring, a little like our marriage.  Once it was on the walls, he thought it was too orange.  I thought it was just right."
What do you think?  Would you continue reading?  I learned about author Sarah Jio several months ago after seeing her mentioned on another blogger's website.  Curiosity peaked, I requested a copy of The Violets of March, Jio's first book, which I am enjoying.  I had the good fortune of meeting Jio at BEA last month, and came away with two additional (signed) copies of her novels, The Last Camellia and Morning Glory (which will be published later this year).
------------------------------------
Teaser Tuesdays, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading, is a weekly event where bloggers open to a random page and share a teaser from somewhere on that page--no spoilers allowed.
Here's my teaser from The Violets of March by Sarah Jio:
"'The scene of our demise played out in my mind like a tragic movie, the way it had a million times since we'd been separated.  It opened on a rainy Monday morning in November.'" ~p.11
Enjoy life with books . . .

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader
First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #19 and Tuesday Teaser was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Monday, Monday: Farewell Spring


 books,leisure,reading,summer,sun,sunglasses,season,vacations




It's hard to believe that it's already summer.  This means more time outdoors and lots of summer reading. As I line up which books to read during this season, I'm reflecting on my completed spring challenge, which I took right down to the wire.

My challenge was to "spring clean" my reading piles by participating in Spring Reading Thing 2013 hosted by Sandra at The Musings of a Book Addict.  Here are the five books I chose to read:


                     Beautiful RuinsFonduing Fathers (White House Chef Mystery Series #6)Me Before You
                          The Book of Lost Fragrances  Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles Series #1)                    

These books were wonderful and enjoyable in their own ways.  Briefly stated, Beautiful Ruins and The Book of Lost Fragrances are rich with interesting characters and exotic locales; Me Before You is a thought-provoking look at the impact of a tragic occurrence on family relationships;  Fonduing Fathers is the latest entertaining installment in the White House Chef series which I adore; and Cinder is an imaginative, futuristic retelling of Cinderella.

While this only made a small dent in my book piles, meeting the goal has created an exhilarating forward momentum for more summer reading.

Enjoy life with books . . .

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Monday, Monday: Farewell Spring was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Sunday's Weekly Book Recap #23

Here's my recap of books that I'm reading or have acquired this week, which I am sharing on the following blogs:


        
                                   
                        Showcase Sunday banner
Sunday Post hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer / Stacking the Shelves hosted by the team at Tynga's Reviews / Showcase Sunday hosted by Vicky at  Books, Biscuits, and Tea . . .


My Week in Books, June 16-22, 2013
Currently reading . . .
                                        What I'm Reading Survival Lessons    
The Violets of March
by Sarah Jio; Survival Lessons by Alice Hoffman


Finished reading . . .                                   
                                   The Book of Lost FragrancesCinder (The Lunar Chronicles Series #1)
The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose; Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Ebooks downloaded . . .
 Product DetailsProduct DetailsProduct Details
Kindle:  Blood Orchids by Toby Neal, A Soft Place to Fall by Barbara Bretton, and Subway Dancer and Other Stories by Catherine Ryan Hyde
                                               The Grave Gourmet (Capucine Culinary Series #1)
                     Nook:  The Grave Gourmet by Alexander Campion

Which books did you get this week?
 
 
Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Sunday's Weekly Book Recap #23 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.
                     

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Saturday Shorts: Weekend Words

decorations,decorative elements,designs,floral,flowers,seasons,summer,text
"Summer afternoon - Summer afternoon . . .
the two most beautiful words in the English language."
-- Henry James, American author (1843-1916)

Read this and other summer quotes online at The Quotations Page.


Wishing you a wonderful, memorable summer.

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Saturday Shorts: Weekend Words was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.

Friday, June 21, 2013

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings #2

      16
It's Friday, time to share excerpts from one of my current reads with:

Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.

The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

This week's selection:
The Book of Lost Fragrances
The Book of Lost Fragrances  M.J. Rose

Overview (from barnesandnoble.com):  A Secret Worth Dying For …

Jac L’Etoile has always been haunted by visions of the past, her earliest memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up with as the heir to a storied French perfume company. These worsened after her mother’s suicide until she finally found a doctor who helped her, teaching her to explore the mythological symbolism in her visions and thus lessen their painful impact. This ability led Jac to a wildly successful career as a mythologist, television personality and author.


When her brother, Robbie—who’s taken over the House of L’Etoile from their father—contacts Jac about a remarkable discovery in the family archives, she’s skeptical. But when Robbie goes missing before he can share the secret—leaving a dead body in his wake—Jac is plunged into a world she thought she’d left behind.


Traveling back to Paris to investigate Robbie’s disappearance, Jac discovers that the secret is a mysterious scent developed in Cleopatra’s time. Could the rumors swirling be true? Can this ancient perfume hold the power to unlock the ability to remember past lives and conclusively prove reincarnation? If this possession has the power to change the world, then it’s not only worth living for . . . it’s worth killing for, too.


The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion and suspense in an intoxicating web that moves from Cleopatra’s Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet’s battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. This marvelous, spellbinding novel mixes the sensory allure of Perfume with the heartbreaking beauty of The Time Traveler’s Wife, coming to life as richly as our most wildly imagined dreams.

--------------------
Beginning:
Prologue
China Tells Living Buddhas To Obtain Permission
Before They Reincarnate
Beijing
April 4, 2007

Tibet's living Buddhas have been banned from reincarnation without permission from China's atheist leaders.  The ban is included in new rules intended to assert Beijing's authority over Tibet's restive and deeply Buddhist people. . .
     Excerpted from an article in the Times (UK) by Jane Macartney
  
Questions start to form in my mind as I read this opening passage...how does this newspaper article relate to the story overall?  What significance does it hold for the main characters?  How does it connect to 1799 Alexandria, Egypt,  the setting of Chapter 1?  I am completely drawn in by the puzzle being laid out by the author.

--------------------
Page 56:
"'If it were to get into the hands of the religious zealots, it would give them fuel.  They broke the law two weeks ago.  They claimed they found a reincarnated lama in Lhasa.  Something expressly forbidden.'"

-------------------
I got my signed copy of The Book of Lost Fragrances when I met the author at a BEA event in 2012.  Initially, I started the book a few months ago, when it was the chosen selection for one of my book clubs.  Even though I was enjoying the book immensely, I set it aside when I discovered that a schedule conflict would prevent me from attending the book club meeting. It took a while to get back to it, but I'm happy to say that I am now 50 pages away from finishing this book...and also one step closer to fulfilling the Spring Reading Thing Challenge I'm participating in.

When I resumed reading, I once again became deeply immersed in this historical, mysterious, suspenseful story and the lives of its characters.  M.J. Rose's writing style is wonderfully descriptive as she takes readers to such far flung corners of the world as modern day China and ancient Egypt.  I am particularly enjoying taking up residence in contemporary Paris at the House of L'Etoile, inhaling its legendary fragrances, strolling its garden maze, and living vicariously through the many generations and reincarnations of the L'Etoile family. 

Enjoy life with books...

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings #2 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.