I just wanted to reach out and wish everyone all the joy and happiness they could want this wonderful holiday season.

So, whatever it is you celebrate,

Merry Christmas

Happy Hanukkah

Joyous Kwanza

Happy Festivus

Sweet Saturnalia

Love,

Kerri

Both of my children attend the same high school, so I decided to try to be active in the parents’ association.  When I saw they had a book club, I was like-hell yes!  So I signed up!

Now this was not my first book club.  I did belong to one that consisted mostly of the moms of my kids’ friends, all in my town.  “Book Club” consisted of usually 10-15 of these moms-those lucky enough to have a sitter, or a husband who didn’t work too late that night.  There was spinach dip, cookies, oh and wine, LOTS of wine.  The book cam up once that evening, usually half way through, when someone hesitantly said-“shouldn’t we talk about the book?”  The discussion would last about ten minutes because only 3-4 people had actually read it, then the dessert would come out and more wine, of course.  Now don’t get me wrong- this was enjoyable.  I got to see some friends I didn’t see too often otherwise.  But it was certainly not about the book.  EXCEPT the time they chose to read Fifty Shades of Grey– not kidding.  Then, the entire group not only showed up, but they had ALL read it.  The host even went a little too out of her way to have the snacks tie in with the book.  Less said, the better!

Fast forward to this week, for the new book club.

It was held in a beautiful room in the high school (where I guess they usually ask people for $)  There was water, and salad, some hummus- an actual healthy lunch fro a local place.

And one of the teachers from the English department chose the book-The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian– and was our guest speaker.

And guess what?  It was AWESOME!

Everyone read the book!  People came ready to discuss it!  And the teacher- a wonderful woman who I wish I was friends with- was brilliant.  Not only did she discuss the book, but she asked us about certain themes- Hope, Despair, Racism.  I wanted to take her 9th grade Lit class!

I will confess that I had actually forgotten to read the book before last weekend.  Thankfully it is a very quick read.

But now I am desperate to belong to a book club that actually want to read!  And not trashy books, or quick beach reads.

I will have to see what I can find.  Until then, I will enjoy being a part of this new book club, which unfortunately does not li,it itself to literature or even fiction.  The next guest is a physics professor, and yea has chosen Biomimcry as our next book.  Uh oh…..

By the way- I loved the book.  It will be on my list of favorite reads.  I am so glad my daughter had to read it over the summer.

The Silent Sister

by Diane Chamberlain

published by St. Martin’s Press

October 2014

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

This book really pulled me in and held my interest almost to the end.  I loved the idea of Riley digging up her family’s secrets.  I thought the book was well written and very suspenseful, but I don’t like it when a story wraps up too neatly, which is what I felt happened here.  It’s probably just me, since I have read other glowing reviews for this book.  I have enjoyed this author’s work in the past, and am sure many will enjoy The Silent Sister as well.

Summary

In The Silent Sister, Riley MacPherson has spent her entire life believing that her older sister Lisa committed suicide as a teenager.  Now, over twenty years later, her father has passed away and she’s in New Bern, North Carolina cleaning out his house when she finds evidence to the contrary.  Lisa is alive.  Alive and living under a new identity.  But why exactly was she on the run all those years ago, and what secrets are being kept now?  As Riley works to uncover the truth, her discoveries will put into question everything she thought she knew about her family.  Riley must decide what the past means for her present, and what she will do with her newfound reality, in this engrossing mystery from international bestselling author Diane Chamberlain.

Bookish & Not So Bookish Thoughts

is a weekly meme hosted by Christine over at Bookishly Boisterous, where we post things that are on our minds.  Head over there and check it out!

1.  Fall is in full swing here and the temps are dropping!  Last night it went down to 45 degrees by my home.  We had our first fire-and first pot of soup (potato cheddar) on Sunday and I am loving it! Here is what the yard is looking like-

2.  I am trying to keep myself motivated to exercise everyday, but it is getting harder.  I am doing hot yoga and running, but I am definitely in need of some inspiration.  Or some uppers.

3.  I went to see Gone Girl on Saturday.  Loved the movie- more on that later.  We went to one of those AMC theaters that have the barcolounger seats-big comfy armchairs that recline.  The theater was packed-mid afternoon- with all these reclining people with their vats of soda and popcorn, and it reminded me of the

movie Wall-E a little too much.

4.  Gone Girl– great movie, but knowing what happened takes a little away from it.

5.  Neil Patrick Harris as Desi- totally creepy.  It killed Doogie Howser forever in my mind.

6.  My daughter has joined the Model Congress club at school and has to write a bill for the Homeland Security committee.  Suggestions?

Ebola?  Immigration?

7.  I loved AHS’s last season Coven- not planning to watch the new one called Freak.  Not even once.

8.  My library had its semi annual Book Sale on Saturday, and I came home with about 10 books.  Now I can’t decide what to read.  Seriously.  I need a good recommendations.

9.  It is so beautiful out, that I am stopping here, and taking my dog out for a walk.  Have a great day!!

Hello all and a big SORRY  I have been away from the blog for so long.  It was a crazy summer and I am hoping to be able to put a lot more time and effort into posting!  I figured I would start with a quick FYI of what I am just now starting to read.  I was lucky enough to receive a copy of We Are Not Ourselves through  Librarything’s Early Reviewer program.  I just got it last week and am very excited to crack it open.  Here is a summary-

Born in 1941, Eileen Tumulty is raised by her Irish immigrant parents in Woodside, Queens, in an apartment where the mood swings between heartbreak and hilarity, depending on whether guests are over and how much alcohol has been consumed.

When Eileen meets Ed Leary, a scientist whose bearing is nothing like those of the men she grew up with, she thinks she’s found the perfect partner to deliver her to the cosmopolitan world she longs to inhabit. They marry, and Eileen quickly discovers Ed doesn’t aspire to the same, ever bigger, stakes in the American Dream.

Eileen encourages her husband to want more: a better job, better friends, a better house, but as years pass it becomes clear that his growing reluctance is part of a deeper psychological shift. An inescapable darkness enters their lives, and Eileen and Ed and their son Connell try desperately to hold together a semblance of the reality they have known, and to preserve, against long odds, an idea they have cherished of the future.

Through the Learys, novelist Matthew Thomas charts the story of the American Century, particularly the promise of domestic bliss and economic prosperity that captured hearts and minds after WWII. The result is a riveting and affecting work of art; one that reminds us that life is more than a tally of victories and defeats, that we live to love and be loved, and that we should tell each other so before the moment slips away. 

Epic in scope, heroic in character, masterful in prose, We Are Not Ourselves heralds the arrival of a major new talent in contemporary fiction.

I am half Irish and cannot wait to get into this story!  Have you read it yet?

A Wedding in Provence

by Ellen Sussman

published by Balantine Books

2014

I received this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

My Review

I was very excited to read this book, but about half way in I lost a little.  I love the premise of a family gathering in France for a wedding- must be so many interesting characters and scenes!  Olivia is marrying Brody at her best friends’ inn in Provence, and is expecting her two adult daughters and Brody’s mother to attend.  Her daughters Nell and Carly as as different as night and day and really don’t get along that well.  As the weekend unfolds there are many tears and revelations.

This was a fun book to read and it went very quickly. At first, I really didn’t like any of the characters- Olivia and Brady weren’t really fleshed out, and Carley and Nell just annoyed me.  As the story moved on, I found the characters of the sisters develop and open up and this made the book worth reading.

Summary

What could be more idyllic than a wedding in Provence? That’s what Olivia and Brody think when they invite their closest friends and family to spend their wedding weekend with them. But when Olivia’s older daughter from her first marriage invites a man she met on the plane to join her, the delicate balance of the entire weekend is upset. Soon Olivia’s best friend, the owner of the inn who is hosting the wedding, discovers that her husband has cheated on her. Then Brody’s mother shows up without his father, who has gone into hiding. How can one choose love in the midst of chaos? Told from the point of view of Olivia and her two daughters, A Wedding in Provence is a moving novel about love, trust, secrets and family.

Hello all!  This past June, I really got into reading the great Stephen King.

I was fortunate enough to win a copy of Bag of Bones from Rory over at Fourth Street Reviews for participating in King’s March.  I then decided to tackle my first novella by King, and then timed it totally right to request Mr. Mercedes as soon as it was released from my library.

So, I decided to wrap all this up in one mini review post.

Bag of Bones

Thank you so much Rory!  I don’t think this would have been on my radar, if it had not been recommend to me by you.  I am continually surprised by how versatile a writer Mr. King is.  I first read The Shining, which scared the life out of me.  Next up was The Stand-so very different, but equally captivating.  Now we have Mike Noonan, and his broken heart.  Did Stephen King realize he was writing what is essentially a love story, albeit a haunted, spooky one?  My heart broke with Mike’s grief for Jo, his dead wife.  Don’t get me wrong-this is no fluffy love story.  It is creepy, with lots of bad people, ghosts, and very strange going ons.  But it is amazing how King shows grief, and live, through Mike. I loved this story, and want everyone to read it.

Great lines-

“Any good marriage is secret territory, a necessary white space on society’s map. What others don’t know about it is what makes it yours.”

“A writer is a man who has taught his mind to misbehave.” 

“For men, I think, love is a thing formed of equal parts lust and astonishment. The astonishment part women understand. The lust part they only think they understand.”

Mr. Mercedes

Mr. Mercedes is King’s newest novel, released just last month.  This is the story of a man who ran into a line of people waiting to enter a job fair with a stolen mercedes, and  Detective Hodges who recently retired, leaving this case open.  When the killer contacts Hodges in hopes to drive him over the edge of despair, he piques the detectives interest too much, and pushed him back on the case.  Part of the genius of King’s writing is the belief that evil, and evil people, are right there walking among us everyday, mostly without us knowing.  A great story- definitely recommend reading this.

Great lines-

“Hodges has read there are wells in Iceland so deep you can drop a stone down them and never hear the splash. He thinks some human souls are like that.”

“Never tell a lie when you can tell the truth.”

“Everybody likes the ice cream man.”

Different Seasons

This is a collection of four novellas and is the only one of the three books by King I read last month that I didn’t love.  First, I am not a fan of short stories, though I don’t know why.  Second, it contains two stories that have been made into movies that I love. So, let me review each story-

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption

If you saw the movie, you know the story- Andy Dufrene is sent to Shawshank prison for the murder of his wife and her lover.  The story was good and well written, but-I am cringing when I write this- I liked the movie better.  I think it is an amazing movie and I loved Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in it.  It was slightly different from the book, and whenI read it, these differences bothered me- sort of like it usually bother me watching a movie after I read the book.  It was a good story, but the movie tells Andy story more fully.

 Great lines-

“I guess I just miss my friend”.

“Get busy living, or get busy dying.”

“Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.

Apt Pupil

This was one very creepy story and I did enjoy it.  Todd Bowen, 12 years old, discovers that an old neighbor  was a nazi commander at a concentration camp, and is now in hiding.  He forces Mr. Dussander to tell him all he wants to know or he will expose him.  Todd want to know everything that Dussander did or saw in the camps, in painful detail.   This book has no sympathetic characters, and has been called “pure evil” by some.

The Body

This was the other story that bothered me a bit, but not as much as Shawshank.  Stand by Me-the movie version of this novella, is wonderful.  It is the amazing story of youth and friendship, and I consider it mandatory viewing for parents and preteens alike.  This is the story of four friends, who decide to go look for a dead body during the last days of summer.  Will Wheaton and River Phoenix do an amazing job and its you haven’t seen it, go get it now.  The novella was VERY good, but I couldn’t help compare it to the movie I loved.  The book isn’t very different from the movie-or vice versa- and I think you should experience both.Great lines-

“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12 – Jesus, did you?”

“Am I weird?”

“Yeah. But so what? Everybody’s weird.”

The Breathing Method

A wonderful, creepy tale about Davis, a middle aged lawyer who joins a gentleman’s club, where they enjoy brandy and tell stories- engraved on the fireplace is-“It is the tale, not he who tells it”.  We learn the story of Miss Sandra Stanfield and her illegitimate child.  A wonderful story- short and sweet.