Sunday Salon, Bloggy Book Club and All Girls Book Club Combo

I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen for this month's Bloggy Book Club and for the first ever...All Girls Book Club, which is a book club that meets once a month. While I have loved blogging for Sunday Salon and for Bloggy Book Club and I love reading the comments of fellow reading enthusiasts on this blog and others...it was very gratifying to hear every one's opinion about this book in "real time"!

Water for Elephants was a great read...I know that I do write that phrase many times ...I am not a critic...I enjoy reading a story and I am led easily into it. I take the story for what it is...

In the Authors Notes in the back of the book, Sara Gruen writes that the idea of this book came about unexpectedly while researching for an entirely different book. The Chicago Tribune ran an article on Edward J Kelty, a photographer who followed traveling circuses around America in the 1920's and 1930's. The photograph that was included fascinated her so much she began researching Circuses and had abandoned her first idea for a book entirely instead deciding to write about the train circuses.

This is a story about a young man and his loss of both his parent's during the Depression and his adventure of running away with the circus. Sara Gruen contrasts the world of a showman's glamor and equestrian pageantry with the senseless cruelty of a sleazy sideshow.
This is also the story of an old man and his aged memories and his real fear of losing control of his mind and his life...and those memories he holds so dear.

The All Girls Book Club met and discussed this book at length and all of us either liked or loved this book very much! It is a great historical fiction and I liked it very much!
We decided that we will all go to the movie that is being made out of this book starring Reese Witherspoon, Sean Penn and Robert Pattinson

Sunday Salon...Read Along

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell is a great book that I am re-reading ...The subtitle of this book is How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.
I enjoyed this book when I first read it and reading again at a new place in my life has been rewarding for me. I love to watch people and how they respond to one another...this book will make you see those interchanges in a new light! Change is inevitable but it is human nature for most of us to not respond favorably when we feel it is happening.

Because I like driving myself somewhat crazy and I just plain love to read...I am reading three other books right now...all good!
I am missing a great Sunday School class today because I am working but the book we are reading for that class, and while I am only on the second chapter it has been very interesting! It is by Paul F. Knitter and it is called Without Buddha I could not be a Christian.
It's probably an intriguing title to Christians and to Buddhists but I have found it to be sensitively written and very thought provoking!

I am reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen for Blogging book Club this month and for my brand-new-no-name-yet-in-real-life-thank-God-I-have-it-book-club!
I do like it and I will share more later in the month!

The fourth book I am just finishing up is a must-have for any young woman leaving college or as I am, any woman reentering the work force. It is Cathie Black's Basic Black...this book is terrific and has given me just the pep-talk I needed!

I am off to work today and I am actually happy to as I will be at the Florida Fairgrounds working at a booth for work ...which is fun for me!
Happy Sunday and Happy Reading!

Bloggy Book Club...so late!

When last we left our sweet heroine she said something about reading The Lost Symbol for Bloggy Book Club and that was way back in November...

Well, she ...uh, I did! I just didn't blog about it!

So...Bloggy Book Club for November was The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown and I did enjoy it with some small reservations.

From the front cover: When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon- a prominent Mason and philanthropist- is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and-never-before-seen-locations- all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.

Sounds good....doesn't it? It was! I enjoyed it because of the interesting, historical and mysterious plot but this is my third time reading about Robert Langdon's experiences and frankly it read a little formula-like and became very predictable for me and that was disappointing. Even though the story is somewhat different...you basically know who the "bad" guy is and what is going to happen, because it is a very similar story line in all three books! This was an interesting storyline about The Masons and I did find that part of it intriguing.

But, the most annoying part for me is that while telling the story Dan Brown chooses to only honor some of Robert Langdon's past...he always has these characters who appear who are old dear friends who weren't mentioned in his past books. You then find recent characters you just read about in the last books aren't mentioned in the new book, which would be fine if he didn't reference events that occurred in the past book. It annoyed me that the author mentioned details from the last books and then doesn't mention anymore about any of the "dear friends" from the other books! It seems odd for his character to have these relationships that don't carry over to the other books.
This may not bother others...just me but it did distract me from an otherwise great storyline!

It is a great historical, fiction who-done-it?

For Bloggy Book Club in January we are reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Join in by blogging Sunday, January 31, 2010... Happy Reading!

Bloggy Book Club

I am late with this post as with some book reviews I have done!
I have been in the midst of a pity party and if you have ever had one or been an invited guest...
then you know they aren't that much FUN !

I am reading Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol for October's book club and I am actually quite excited to read it! I could use some excitement...right about ... NOW!
Rules are easy...
Read and Blog Sunday, October 25, 2009.

Bloggy Book Club : Rage Against the Meshugenah

This month's Bloggy Book Club choice was Rage Against the Meshugenah by Danny Evans who is the author of a very popular blog Dad Gone Mad. His writing has appeared in Good Housekeeping, Southwest Airlines Spirit, Orange Coast, and other national and regional publications.

From the back cover:
In his revealing, funny, and no holds-barred memoir, Danny Evans takes us on his "heartbreaking and hilarious" odyssey from having it all one moment and plunging into a crushing depression the next. He confronts his dependency on beer and porn, his innermost demons, and the hidden truths about his family in a raw and honest account. Nothing is off limits on his quest- not even analysis of the most embarrassing and inconvenient sexual side effects of his get-well medication. It's enough to drive a man insane. But Danny learns the hard way that he may have to go a little crazy in order to find his way home.

While my brother was in college and I was living the life of a busy young mother, my brother recommended I read A Time to Kill by John Grisham. It has a lovely dedication to his wife, and then on page two a 10 year old is raped and... I.stopped.reading. My brother asked me a month later how I liked it and I told him I couldn't read it...it was too difficult. He begged me to pick it up and finish it and I did and to this day it remains one of my favorite books.
That experience taught me a lesson, when I get to a difficult part... I... keep... reading.

Rage Against the Meshugenah had some difficult parts for me but I kept reading and I am so glad I did. This is a very good book about a topic I don't think many people have written so graphically and honestly about.
Depression affects many people and I think even more go undiagnosed in this country and we all have different methods of trying to cope or self-medicate.

I was uncomfortable with the authors detailed description of his porn dependency issues...
I am sure I am some kind of repressed feminist but it still made me uncomfortable. But, this author's honesty was transparent and I appreciate the courage that took to express that struggle.

That being said..."It is laugh out loud funny"....
I was reading this book in public many times...laughing loudly.
Someone would always ask what are you reading...I would explain it was a memoir about a man's crushing depression and his dependency on porn and beer!

That would look genuinely perplexed and I would reply...

"It's a comedy!"

This is a great book but not for the faint hearted!

PS...At the end of the book he has a touching acknowledgement to Sharon his wife...
Well, let me just say John Grisham couldn't have done better!

Bloggy Book Club

Because as Angie reminds us....It's Not All About You (ME)




September's Bloggy Book Club is a recommendation from one of my favorite bloggers, Coachblogger. He has a friend who wrote a book and Coachblogger said it was GREAT!

He actually said many good things about the book but I am just summing it up!

Danny Evans, who's blog Dad Gone Mad is very funny and irreverent has written a book Rage Against the Meshugenah...Why It Takes Balls to Go Nuts.

(I haven't read it yet but this might contain some four letter words...which I of course will be shocked...shocked to read!)

Please join me in reading Rage Against the Meshugenah and blogging about it September 27th!

Danny Evans

MESHUGENAH [meh-shuh-geh-nuh] adjective

1. mad; crazy;
2. mentally deranged; demented; insane

[origin: 1892, from Heb. meshugga, part. of shagag "to go astray, wander." The adj. has forms meshugener, meshugenah before a noun]

In his early thirties, Danny Evans had it all—a hot wife, a new baby, and a steady advertising job. Then, in the span of one week, a series of inauspicious events plunged Evans into a crushing depression. At turns poignant and uproarious, RAGE AGAINST THE MESHUGENAH vividly traces Evans' journey through the minefield of mental illness from a modern man's point of view.

The stigma surrounding clinical depression is ominous enough to prevent many men from discussing it, but Evans (author of the wildly popular DadGoneMad.com) holds nothing back. Through his confrontations with sexual side effects, his self-medication with beer and porn, and even his private therapy sessions, Evans boldly details his odyssey to get back to being himself.

More about Rage Against the Meshugenah

Kathryn Magendie's Tender Graces

This month's Bloggy Book club choice was Tender Graces by Kathryn Magendie.

(I have started this first sentence three times each differently trying to say the same thing...without it sounding like a cliche.)

It is a great novel.
I care about these characters as they are beautifully described and their words seem authentic.
I was sad to reach the end of the novel as I knew I wouldn't be spending time with them anymore.

Back Cover states:
The death of her troubled mother and memories of her abused grandmother lure a woman back to the Appalachian hollow where she was born. Virginia Kate Carey, the daughter of a beautiful mountain wild-child and a slick, Shakespeare-quoting salesman, relives her turbulent childhood and the pain of her mother's betrayals. Haunted by ghosts and buried family secrets, Virginia Kate struggles to reconcile three generations of her family's lost innocence.

My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and while these books are dissimilar ...the stories are equally powerful and I equally care for the character of Virginia Kate in the same ways that I care for Jean Louise "Scout" Finch.

I loved Tender Graces and Kathryn Magendie has written a story of triumph over sadness and the release that comes with the acceptance of all the frailties of our lives.

I found out that this author is writing another novel based about Virginia Kate by reading her blog ... and now... I want to leave comments asking...

Are you rested? Are you getting enough sleep?
I am wondering if she has enough to eat...Can I make you a sandwich or anything?
Is she working lovingly on this next book?

... as I miss my time with Virginia Kate.

Seriously...no cliche...I enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to the next one!

Can I Just Say Grace or Do I Have to Mean It?

I have read the most amazing novel... Tender Graces by Kathryn Magendie. I literally haven't stopped thinking about it...it is the kaleidoscope I view all that has happened these last few days. It is through this lens I view my mothering and certainly many of my choices.

When I think of the word grace...I think of forgiveness although I know it has many different meanings and it is a word of significance for Christians in particular.

I struggle with accepting grace and giving grace...but I am ashamed to say that I struggle with forgiving others. My husband on the other hand is a very forgiving person who has shown me incredible grace as well as to others...He just does!
I on the other hand ( y'know the one you want to cut off...) revisit the trauma and ruminate until it's all fresh and new! Why?
I honestly don't know...I do the very thing I do not want to do.

I have been hurt in my life but no more than I have hurt others I am sure...
Why do I keep this record of wrong doings...when it is not what I want to do!

I do know that this flaw in my nature has kept me close to God...I mean I don't think he would like someone like me to roam too far away!

I loved this book...it has a few broken and interesting characters ...like me!

How about you? Is it easier to receive grace or to give it?

Bloggy Book Club: Tender Graces by Kathryn Magendie

Bloggy book club choice for August was recommended by two different bloggers....Elizabeth and Jeanne... both women are great bloggers...Jeanne is also a great writer!
The really great news is the author for this month is a fellow blogger, but more than that...the book is a beautifully written.

I am not a writer but ...I am a reader...I love to have a book transport me to another life, another place and to be immersed in all of it's telling. I was reading two other books...which I have now put aside, the day my package arrived (I am not saying what I was reading!)

My package came on Thursday from Amazon and in it was my copy of Tender Graces by Kathryn Magendie...

I opened it at once and read the first paragraph...
I rarely care about what others say on the outside flap...
It is the first paragraph of a book that captures me and this one surely did...

All my tired flies out the window when I see Grandma Faith standing in the mountain mists that drift in and out of the trees. She's as she was before, like one lick of fire hasn't touched her, whole and alive and wanting as she beckons to me. Grandma whispers her wants as she's done all my life.

...and like that...I could not put it down.

Join me in reading for the month of August Tender Graces by Kathryn Magendie and stop by her blog and say "Hi"!

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

My guest blogger for July's Bloggy Book Club is Lauren, my future Daughter-in-law and she loves reading as much as I do.


The Art of Racing in the Rain was a pleasant surprise and probably not a book I would have picked up on my own. I have a bad habit of sticking with the same authors and I am trying to branch out. The story is written from the family dog’s perspective which presents a completely different light to the triumphant and tragic events this family endures. Garth Stein does an incredible job capturing what the dog feels; a difficult task when the character is not capable of talking. You fall in love with the characters and find yourself crying when tragedy happens and rejoicing when grace falls upon them.

I believe that anyone, not just those who love dogs, should invest in this book. There are a great number of lessons learned along the way that anyone can relate to. One that I took away with me was you will stay here on Earth until whatever it is you are supposed to do is accomplished. Sometimes people die unexpectedly and no one really understands it, but just as the dog learns in the book it merely means their job here is done.

As a dog owner, I often wonder how my dog views the world in which he lives. He experiences my life in the most unfiltered way possible. He is a witness to fights, growing in relationships, tragedies, and triumphs. I am able to be vulnerable in front of him because I do not have any fears of him judging me. He loves me unconditionally and never questions the things I do wrong. Maybe this is because he cannot talk? Or maybe not? I truly believe that dogs are sensitive, caring creatures and that even if they could talk they would help you learn from your mistakes and, just like a mother or a sister, be behind you every step of the way.

July's Bloggy Book Club

July's Bloggy Book Club choice is The Art of Racing in The Rain by Garth Stein and my guest blogger will be Lolo my future daughter-in-law who likes to read even more than I do!
I have already read this book and I loved it...it is written in a unique and captivating way...the narrator is a dog. I love this book...it will be one of my all time favorites and I look forward to reading what Lolo thinks. This is a great read and great story told by Stein and his character Enzo the dog.

Guest Blogger...Here's Rhonda!

I am having technical difficulties with this post...it has now briefly disappeared...this is my attempt to recreate Rhonda's post and my earlier post...sorry!

My guest blogger for Bloggy Book Club is Rhonda from A Day in Rhonda's Life...she is one of my favorite bloggers...she is funny, witty and charming. This month's Bloggy Book Club choice was The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.

The Lovely Bones is a story of young Susie Salmon, her tragic death, and how she is able to watch her family, and her murderer, from Heaven. It is a heavy, sad novel of tragedy, vengeance and ultimately of healing.

Stories of children in this context are never easy reads. It would not be a novel I would recommend for some light beach reading. It is, however, a story that makes you think.

I have often wondered what happens after you die. This viewpoint is how I like to think of it. No matter how I go, I want to be able to watch down on my family. I don’t want to miss graduations and weddings and babies being born. I like to think that this is possible.

Watching my family struggle, however, would be horrendous. Susie has a front row seat as her family copes with their loss. She sees her family fall apart. She watches her murderer live among them. Her friends. She witnesses horror and sadness, revenge and grief, and finally, acceptance, healing and love.

I’m not entirely certain whether or not I’m to assume you’ve read the novel and give away the ending. So I will anyway. It was a huge disappointment to me that there was no REAL ending. Yes, her family and friends were able to move on. We find out what comes of her murderer. But I needed them to find HER. I needed that closure. And that never happened. In life, yes, parents never find bodies of their children. People are left for years wondering. I know this is a real-life ending. But they were so close! I wanted to jump in and start screaming “She’s right there!! LOOK!”

I read for enjoyment. I read because I love a good story. I like a book with a beginning, a middle and an end. If you are like me, then you may want to avoid this book. It isn’t a happy read. It is difficult to get through at times, although it is well written. Sort of like The Shack in many ways. I think this stems from the real life experiences of the author, Alice Sebold. Her story, Lucky, is one you may want to read if you enjoyed The Lovely Bones.

I look forward to hearing other people’s thoughts on this novel! Thanks, Ronda, for letting me be your guest blogger today!

Thank you Rhonda, I agree with everything you wrote. I found this an interesting read and Alice Sebold is a great writer...it was interesting how she used the dead child's voice to tell the story. I found the author's idea of heaven intriguing. But, like you I wanted the child's body found and I wanted "the bad guy" caught and it was very unsettling for me that it did not happen in the context of the story. Perhaps, that is what she intended for her readers to feel...unsettled.

I do think a hallmark of a good book, for me at least is my willingness to pick up and reread a book through however, because of my feelings of this story...I wouldn't do it.

She does writes beautifully...it was her story I had issue with.

The Lovely Bones

Bloggy Book Club

May's Bloggy Book Club: The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain

Guest blogger, my daughter Rachel, reviews this month's selection.

First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting this at least 24 hours ago. I've been experiencing these annoyingly vivid flashbacks from middle school of my mother nagging me to finish my book reports. So...I've been distracted :) 

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes was a pleasant surprise. After reading the synopsis, I'll be honest, I didn't see what all the fuss was about...So what?!? It's another book about a mother with a past full of deception and secrets - The Memory Keeper's Daughter anyone?

However, this was my first Diane Chamberlain book. Wow. She writes with such eloquence and purpose. Prior to reading the book, I read one review that said Chamberlain does not develop her characters well in this book...I completely disagree. 

Not only do I know and adore CeeCee, Eve, Corinne, Jack, and Dru of The Secret Life, but I missed the characters when I finished the book. I was on the roller coaster with CeeCee when she made her life-altering decision. I felt her panic as the novel's conflict unfolded, as well as supported AND justified the horrific path she chose. I followed her down the road of unimaginable consequences. I felt sick for Eve when Tim's truth was revealed. I laughed when Dru defended her mother to Corinne's critical fiance ...For several nights, my poor husband had to fall asleep in bed with all the lights on because I didn't want to stop reading this book (I guess I could have invested in a book light...). I think I finished all 528 pages in less than a week. 

Although, I could continue to talk about this book all night (and I already have for one of my book clubs), I will just say that The Secret Life brings to light some great discussion topics - the importance of a mother/daughter relationship...and lack thereof...the repercussions of a young woman's choices, and ... capital punishment (!!). 

The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes had me intrigued from the opening chapter and kept me captivated through to the last words. I will be reading more of Diane Chamberlain! 

That Girl...Reads and Writes!

This will be my guest blogger for Bloggy Book Club on Sunday, May 31...My Daughter!
Bloggy Book Club hasn't really gone anywhere since I started it...well, it's really a membership of "one" ...Me! Rachel's book club that meets in real life just finished up The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain .....so...since I am changing Bloggy Book Club a little and asking for guest bloggers who have read the book that I choose for that month. Rachel will be the first...she doesn't blog yet but that may change. She is an English major from UF and she loves to read!

So, if you have suggestions for June's Bloggy Book Club and you would like to guest blog or just have me link to your blog for June the 28th ...let me know!
This picture was taken in Orlando over the Memorial Day weekend...for more friday fotos visit Cute Candid Carrie!

Bloggy Book Club

April's Bloggy Book club book was Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell, the cover states...
Leaving behind her private forensic pathology practice in Charleston, South Carolina, Kay Scarpetta takes up an assignment in New York City where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured patient on Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric prison ward. The handcuffed and chained patient, Oscar Bane, has specifically asked for her , and when she literally has her gloved hands on him, he begins to talk and the story he has to tell turns out to be one of the most bizarre she has ever heard...

Since I had a lot of driving to do this month...I chose to listen to this book on CD...it is long 15 hours!

I had been an earlier fan of Patricia Cornwell and have enjoyed the Scarpetta series in the past although I have missed two or three of the last novels. I thought I was fairly familiar with the characters and could pick up with them...my feelings are that her characters have not aged well! Many of them have more than flawed characteristics but rather all seem rather jaded...
one character who I had enjoyed seem to have committed a violent sex crime in a past novel which I had not read. While this had been a colorful character, there wasn't anything in any past novels to indicate this behavior and this action didn't ring true. Actually it makes Scarpetta and others seem ineffective because of it...because of this and a few other details ...the entire story didn't ring true for me. I didn't care for the characters. I solved the crime early and too many coincidences needed to happen for the story to even unfold.
I was disappointed in this novel almost from the beginning... I love a good forensic mystery... but I just couldn't buy into this story!

If anyone else would like to give it a try...let me know and I will mail you the box CD set!

April's Bloggy Book Club

April's Bloggy Book Club Choice Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta

Read and Blog April 26th.

Galway Bay...A Great Novel

March's Bloggy Book club choice was Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly and it is a beautifully written historical novel.
From the prologue

We wouldn't die and that annoyed them. They'd spent centuries trying to kill us off, one way or another, and here we were, raising seven, eight , nine of a family on nothing but potatoes and buttermilk. But then the blight destroyed the potato. Three times in four years our only food rotted in the ground. Nothing to eat, the healthy crops sent away to England. We starved. More than a million died- most of them in the West, which is only a quarter of the country, with Ireland itself just half the size of Illinois. A small place to hold so much suffering. But we didn't all die. Two million of us escaped, one reaching back for the next. Surely one of the great rescues in human history. We saved ourselves, helped only by God and our own strong faith. Now look at us, doing well all over the world. We didn't die.

Honora Keeley Kelly
born 1882. Told to her great-granddaughter Agnella Kelly,
Sister Mary Erigina, born 1889, and
reported to the author, Honora's
great-great-granddaughter.

The prologue had me...I hadn't even read the first page and this quote pulled me into the novel.
The statement... "Two million of us escaped, one reaching back for the next." just seemed so sad and beautiful at the same time!

Galway Bay is a novel about one family's epic journey from Ireland to America...it is a journey of great tragedy and sadness but shows what incredible strength and resilience people can have. This novel spans six generations from the Great Starvation to the Civil War...it is beautifully written and inspired by the author's family history.

Bloggy Book Club...Not!

It's time for Bloggy Book Club...only I am not finished...so embarrassing getting sort of...caught...not prepared! I have just had too much excitement this month!!!
Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly is a great book and I am still reading it and I will blog when I am done.
It took me about 10 hours to notice that when I changed my post title yesterday from Life is Precious to Life and Love ...I didn't change the IS to an ARE...so maybe blogging isn't such a good idea when you are this busy!!!
I am visiting my grandmother!
My Mom is also home from the hospital!
Enjoy your Sunday!

March...Bloggy Book Club

First...an update... Sara Nelms did not win a spot but I thank each one of you who voted for her and I ask that you keep her name in your memory because some day this sweet girl will be a star!
If you are interested in the winners go here!

Bloggy Book Club choice for March is Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly and it is a historical fiction novel set in Ireland during the potato famine.
It is about a family's epic journey to survive that takes them to America. A natural disaster that takes three crops of potatoes out of four years crops, a callous government and uncaring landlords turn it into The Great Starvation that kills a million people in a country smaller than the state of Illinois.

I chose this book because of the excellent reviews done by Tiffany of Lattes and Life and Elizabeth of Thoughts from an Evil Overlord and because I needed to read a book about survival!
The news is depressing these days but I know our country is made of good people...America was built on people who would not die but would survive in a new land...not just Irish but many immigrants who would work hard for a better life...America offers this even now!
Also, I love Ireland and have fallen in love with this country at first sight!
So, in honor of upcoming St. Patrick's Day...I choose Galway Bay by Mary Pat Kelly.