Happy Birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder

Photo Source:  britannica.com

 "I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all."

--Laura Ingalls Wilder, 1867-1957

February 7 is the birthday of Laura Ingalls Wilder, born in Wisconsin, and author of the popular Little House series of books, based on her own childhood in a pioneer family.  

Information about the author's life and work is available at biography.com. Fans will also enjoy visiting the websites of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Memorial Society.

Many readers grew up with her books and Little House on the Prairie, the television series based on them.

The Little House Books:

1. Little House in the Big Woods
2. Little House on the Prairie
3. Farmer Boy
4. On the Banks of Plum Creek
5. By the Shores of Silver Lake
6. The Long Winter
7. Little Town on the Prairie
8. These Happy Golden Years
9. The First Four Years

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Happy Birthday, Laura Ingalls Wilder was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Waiting on Wednesday--New February Fiction

 The Waiting on Wednesday concept is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about a forthcoming title that is on my radar screen with other readers. 




Today's anticipated book . . .The Comfort of Lies by Randy Susan Meyers
 
Publication Date:  February 12, 2013
Publisher:  Atria
Preorder now from online and bricks and mortar bookstores

From barnes& noble.com:

"Happiness at someone else’s expense came at a price. Tia had imagined judgment from the first kiss that she and Nathan shared. All year, she’d waited to be punished for being in love, and in truth, she believed that whatever consequences came her way would be deserved."

Five years ago, Tia fell into obsessive love with a man she could never have. Married, and the father of two boys, Nathan was unavailable in every way. When she became pregnant, he disappeared, and she gave up her baby for adoption.

Five years ago, Caroline, a dedicated pathologist, reluctantly adopted a baby to please her husband. She prayed her misgivings would disappear; instead, she’s questioning whether she’s cut out for the role of wife and mother.

Five years ago, Juliette considered her life ideal: she had a solid marriage, two beautiful young sons, and a thriving business. Then she discovered Nathan’s affair. He promised he’d never stray again, and she trusted him.

But when Juliette intercepts a letter to her husband from Tia that contains pictures of a child with a deep resemblance to her husband, her world crumbles once more. How could Nathan deny his daughter? And if he’s kept this a secret from her, what else is he hiding? Desperate for the truth, Juliette goes in search of the little girl. And before long, the three women and Nathan are on a collision course with consequences that none of them could have predicted.

Riveting and arresting, The Comfort of Lies explores the collateral damage of infidelity and the dark, private struggles many of us experience but rarely reveal.

My thoughts:   This novel, from the author of The Murderer's Daughters, promises a compelling tale of how far some people are willing to go for love and the resulting consequences as lies and lives unravel.  Meyers's previous book has been described as an emotional roller-coaster ride, and was compared to Janet Fitch's White Oleander and Jacqueline Mitchard's The Deep End of the Ocean.  The Comfort of Lies is likely to tug at readers' heartstrings in a similar manner. 

Enjoy life with books . . .

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Waiting on Wednesday--New February Fiction was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Tuesday Tidbits--He Wrote What??

 

Last week, New York City's former mayor, Edward Irving Koch, died.  He was an ardent advocate for the city he loved and a prolific author.  Over the years, Koch wrote many non-fiction books--titles including Politics (with William Rauch in 1985), All the Best: Letters from a Feisty Mayor (with Leland T. Jones in 1990), and I'm Not Done Yet: Keeping At It, Remaining Relevant, and Having the Time of My Life (with Daniel Paisner in 2000).  Not surprising.

Koch also wrote two autobiographies--Mayor (with Willilam Rauch in 1984) and Citizen Koch: An Autobiography with Daniel Paisner in 1992).  Again, not surprising.

But what IS surprising is that Ed Koch also co-authored a series of mystery novels and two children's books.  Who knew?  I had no idea!

The Ed Koch Series of mysteries debuted in 1995 with Murder at City Hall (co-written with Herbert Resnicow), and introduced Koch's alter ego turned amateur detective.  This Ed Koch solves murders all over his beloved city.  There are three other books in the series, which were co-written with Wendi Corsi Staub--Murder on Broadway (1996), Murder on 34th Street (1997), and The Senator Must Die (1998).

      

Koch's two children's book, co-written with Pat Koch Thaler--Eddie: Harold's Little Brother and Eddie's Little Sister Makes a Splash--were published in 2004 and 2007 respectively.

                       

Enjoy life with books . . .

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Tuesday Tidbits--He Wrote What?? was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.



        

Monday Musing--More Book Recommendations

Downton Abbey Cast (Photo: pbs.org)

While the Crawleys continue to mourn the loss of their beloved family member, episode 5 of Downton Abbey had some moments to celebrate--the most notable being the exoneration of Mr. Bates.

 

Librarian Lisa Schimmer continues her episode-related book recommendations on the NoveList blog, Reading the World of Downton Abbey, with these latest suggestions:

 

                                         

                               

 Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier; The Tortoise and the Hare by Elizabeth Jenkins; Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed

I read Falling Angels and enjoyed it immensely.  The story, by the author of Girl With a Pearl Earring, opens as England mourns the death of Queen Victoria and ushers in the Edwardian era.  It is the beginning of the twentieth century, and the country is on the verge of great social change.  Chevalier brings class struggles and the suffragist movement to life through the voices of both upper and working class characters, delivering a vibrant, fascinating look into a historical era.  And the book has one of the most memorable openings I've ever read:  

 

January 1901 

Kitty Coleman

I woke this morning with a stranger in my bed. The head of blond hair beside me was decidedly not my husband's.  I did not know whether to be shocked or amused.  Well, I thought, here's a novel way to begin the new century.

--Falling Angels, p. 9, Nook version

Enjoy life with books . . .

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Monday Musings--More Book Recommendations was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

 

Sunday Post-Weekly Book Recap

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  It's a place to share weekly book recaps and other news.  Here are the books that caught my attention this week...

  My Week in Books...January 28--February 3


Started reading . . .

  Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi, a pre-publication Advanced Readers Copy

Downloaded on my Nook . . .
                       
eBook:     The Demi-Monde: Winter by Rod Rees, Book One in the Demi-Monde Saga
Samples:  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green; Remembering Whitney: My Story of Love, Loss, and the Night the Music Stopped by Cissy Houston

Downloaded on my Kindle iPad app . . .
 
eBooks:  Somewhere in Time by Barbara Bretton; The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey

Enjoy life with books...

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Sunday Post--Weekly Book Recap was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Saturday Shorts--Weekend Words

 

 "A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled."

--Raymond Chandler, American Author (1888-1959)

Read this and other Raymond Chandler quotes on Quoteland.com

Enjoy life with books...

Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Saturday Shorts--Weekend Words was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.

Friday Focus--Forgotten Books

As we all know, it's easy to find information about current books and books soon to be published. Amazon and Barnes and Noble have top 100 book lists; major newspapers publish bestseller lists; and blogs, magazines, and a variety of media outlets highlight popular books.  But for bibliophiles or others interested in obscure or forgotten books, there is a wonderful website overflowing with information about books that are out of vogue.  It's called The Neglected Books Page. 

The site is a labor of love that the editor has been working on for nearly seven years and reflects an almost three-decade passion for forgotten books.  Among the features related to the thousands of books included are book covers, book excerpts, and featured authors.

You'll also find reviews, reader recommendations, and links to even more resources.  Enjoy a "surf" down memory lane!

 Catherine

Follow me on Twitter: @bookclubreader

Friday Focus--Neglected Books was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without express written consent.