Waiting On Wednesday – March 31

at Breaking The Spine

Published March 30, 2010

(Product description found on Amazon)

New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins returns to Glory, North Carolina, for another delightful story of love and laughter.She thinks she’s Lois Lane . . .Susan Collins always wanted to be a hard-hitting reporter, but there’s not much call for her talents in sleepy Glory, North Carolina. Then the Murder Mystery Club—a trio of enterprising octogenarians—decides to open their own CSI lab at the assisted-living center. And when strange “accidents” begin to happen around town, Susan senses she could be on to the news story of her dreams.He doesn’t want to be her Superman . . .Mark Tremayne has returned to Glory to take over as CFO of The Glory Examiner.His job is to keep the newspaper profitable, which means covering the annual Baptist Church Bake-Off and selling ads for the county fair—not allowing his too-sexy-for-her-own-good reporter to hare off after a wild story that could alienate some of the townspeople.Together . . . they’re Kryptonite.Mark’s and Susan’s viewpoints could be from different planets, but their mutual attraction is in total alignment. Despite their arguments, the indomitable redhead and the hot accountant are a sexual explosion waiting to happen. And when it does, Glory had better watch out!

A Quick Giveaway – The Season of Second Chances

I’m giving away my Advance Reader’s Edition of

The Season of Second Chances by Diane Meier

* Open to US residents

* Leave a comment and an email address (no address = no entry)

* Giveaway ends: 7pm (EDT) Friday, April 2

Good luck!

Giveaway Closed

The Season of Second Chances by Diane Meier

Joy Harkness receives an offer of a dream job. She’s ready to leave the snobby academia of her current job to be part of a new program at Amherst. After the decision to accept the new job is made she makes the surprising decision to buy a fixer-upper. And even more surprising is Teddy Hennessy, the remodeling contractor who becomes much more.

Teddy and Joy seem as opposite as two people can be but it turns out they have a few things in common. They both experienced the loss of a loved one when they were quite young and were left unable or unwilling to have long-lasting relationships. After a brief marriage, Joy left St. Louis for New York and never looked back. She built her career and thought she was happy. As a young man Teddy started fixing things around his mother’s house and then those of her friends. He built quite a reputation for quality work and an eye for color and detail. When Joy bought her dilapidated house everyone pointed her toward Teddy.

After a few disaster dates with some of the University’s resident coyotes and a spectacular error in judgement (on Joy’s part), she and Teddy fall into a comfortable relationship. Together they become part of a larger group of friends who help each other when tragedy strikes. Joy learns the truth of “there’s the family your born with and then there is the family you choose”.

This is truly Joy’s story. One of the many lessons she learns is that it’s a good thing to really care about people – that they may actually care about her, with no ulterior motives. She learns this at the tender age of 48. Diane Meier’s debut novel is filled with interesting, sensitive, and humorous characters. I think a book group would find a lot to discuss about The Season of Second Chances.

Author website: www.dianemeier.com

Review copy from Henry Holt & Co.

Mailbox Monday – March 29

 

at The Printed Page

 

 

 

Giveaway win from Passages To The Past:

 

Sunday Summary – March 28

 

 

Not a lot of reading last week but what I managed was enjoyable. I read my first Jodi Thomas book – Rewriting Monday – and really liked it. I also listened to the new Joshua Ferris novel and loved it. I think the reason for the book love is because I listened to him read it. I would start each morning with a walk and listening to The Unnamed on my ipod. That’s only interesting because its a book about a guy who walks. Anyway, I think the author did a great job reading his own book – I would continue listening for at least another hour after I finished my walk, and finally gave in and sat on the couch with eyes closed, listening to the last couple of hours.

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I received this virtual basket from Kristi. I’m passing it on to anyone who’d like to participate. You can click on her name to get all the specifics about Hershey’s donations to Children’s Miracle Network.

 

How was your week with books?

Books I read/reviewed last week:

Rewriting Monday by Jodi Thomas

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris

 

Waiting on Wednesday pick:

Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart

 

 

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris

From the back of the audiobook: Tim Farnsworth is a handsome, healthy man, aging with the grace of a matinee idol.

His wife, Jane, still loves him, and for all its quiet trials, their marriage is still stronger than most. Despite long hours at the office, he remains passionate about his work, and his partnership at a prestigious Manhattan law firm means that the work he does is important. And even as his daughter, Becka, retreats behind her guitar, her dreadlocks, and her puppy fat, he offers her every one of a father’s honest lies about her being the most beautiful girl in the world.

He loves his wife, his family, his work, his home.

And then one day he stands up and walks out. And keeps walking.

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My thoughts: The Unnamed is a book that I couldn’t stop reading, or rather, listening to. I was lucky enough to get an audiobook. According to the interview at the end this is the first time Joshua Ferris has narrated one of his books – I think he should always narrate his books. His voice is perfect and I felt I was experiencing The Unnamed the way he intended.

The Unnamed is a story about a man with an illness. The illness hasn’t been diagnosed specifically because it can’t be confirmed as either a disease of the mind or the body. You get an idea, early on, what the disease could be. This is also the story of a marriage and what happens when those easily repeated wedding vows come into play. The whole “for better or worse, in sickness and in health” is put to the test. Tim and Jane give it their all and we get to see how it plays out.

Another aspect of The Unnamed is the subject of mental illness. At what point does one lose his tether to a stable life? At what point does one begin to drift? A lot to think about and maybe rethink.

This is not an easy novel. I’m so glad I listened to it. One thing I want to mention about the audiobook is the music composed by Brendan Feeney. It is hypnotic and beautiful and perfect for the book.

Audiobook from Hachette Audio

Waiting On Wednesday – March 24

at Breaking The Spine

Publish date: May 5, 2010 by Harper

In this new novel by the celebrated author of The Myth of You and Me, a young mother discovers that her husband’s novel about infidelity might be drawn from real life.

Sarah Price is thirty-five years old. She doesn’t feel as though she’s getting older, but there are some noticeable changes: a hangover after two beers, the stray gray hair, and, most of all, she’s called “Mom” by two small children. Always responsible, Sarah traded her MFA for a steady job, which allows her husband, Nathan, to write fiction. But Sarah is happy and she believes Nathan is too, until a truth is revealed: Nathan’s upcoming novel, Infidelity, is based in fact.

Suddenly Sarah’s world is turned upside down. Adding to her confusion, Nathan abdicates responsibility for the fate of their relationship and of his novel’s publication—a financial lifesaver they have been depending upon—leaving both in Sarah’s hands. Reeling from his betrayal, she is plagued by dark questions. How well does she really know Nathan? And, more important, how well does she know herself?

For answers, Sarah looks back to her artistic twenty-something self to try to understand what happened to her dreams. When did it all seem to change? Pushed from her complacent plateau, Sarah begins to act—for the first time not so responsibly—on all the things she has let go of for so long: her blank computer screen; her best friend, Helen; the volumes of Proust on her bookshelf. And then there is that e-mail in her inbox: a note from Rajiv, a beautiful man from her past who once tempted her to stray. The struggle to find which version of herself is the essential one—artist, wife, or mother—takes Sarah hundreds of miles away from her marriage on a surprising journey.

Wise, funny, and sharply drawn, Leah Stewart’s Husband and Wife probes our deepest relationships, the promises we make and break, and the consequences they hold for our lives, revealing that it’s never too late to step back and start over.

Rewriting Monday by Jodi Thomas

My review: Patricia Anne (Pepper) Malone arrives in Bailee, Texas after getting the boot from the Chicago newspaper where she’d been a reporter. She doesn’t have much money and is glad to stay at her great-aunt Wilma’s place while Wilma is at the local nursing home recovering from surgery. Pepper is still recovering from the Chicago incident that got her fired and needs to find a job. She’ll stick around until she has enough money to find a new job in a new city.

Mike McCulloch runs the local newspaper and just happens to need a reporter. He also needs to find out who is trying to harm him and the newspaper. There have been mild threats but they quickly escalate to menacing and violent. So there’s a mystery to solve.

Pepper and Mike, along with several enjoyable secondary characters, make Rewriting Monday a delightful and light mystery/romance. Jodi Thomas’s story made me smile and laugh through most of the book. I really liked her writing style. The banter between Mike and Pepper was great.

I think Rewriting Monday would be a great beach read and I know it’s a great middle-of-a-snowstorm read.

Personal copy

Mailbox Monday – March 22

 

 

Mailbox Monday: at The Printed Page

 

 

 

Giveaway win from Books R Us blog

 

audiobook

 

 

 

 

Giveaway wins from Bookin’ With Bingo

 

 

 

 

 

Review book from Ballantine:

 

Sunday Summary – March 21

Murphy and Bailey on neighborhood watch

Spring arrived with a little snow and most of it is already gone, thank goodness. Murphy, our daughter’s dog, visited last week so I had to get a photo of him and our dog Bailey. Murphy is 13 and Bailey is 11 – they get along surprisingly well.

It was a good week of books. In addition to the titles listed below, I listened to the Blog Talk Radio interview of Rachael Herron, author of How To Knit A Love Song. I really enjoy the BTR shows.

Happy Spring!

Books read/reviewed:

It’s All Greek To Me by Charlotte Higgins

The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Can’t Stand The Heat by Louisa Edwards

Waiting On Wednesday pick: Leaving Harmony by Jodi Thomas