The Ladies Book Club: June 2011

Book Read:

The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain

Ladies in Attendance:

7 members

Treats shared:

Fruit pizza, Milano Cookies, M&Ms, Hummus, Olives, Crackers, Corn/Black Bean/Tomato Salsa, Chips, Rice Krispie Bars, Brie and Bread, Lemonade and Limeade. It was all so darn delicious.

To Read or Not to Read:

5 ladies read all of it (one lady was not there)

2 ladies read 1/2 of it.

1 lady did not read it (she just got her copy the day before)

My Reaction:

I usually don't include a synopsis but this story is a little heavy with a lot going on so I am going to include a brief description from Goodreads.

Dear Anna,

What I have to tell you is difficult to write, but I know it will be far more difficult for you to hear, and I'm so sorry…

The unfinished letter is the only clue Tara and Emerson have to the reason behind their close friend Noelle's suicide. Everything they knew about Noelle—her calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her friends and family—described a woman who embraced life.

Yet there was so much they didn't know.

With the discovery of the letter and its heartbreaking secret, Noelle's friends begin to uncover the truth about this complex woman who touched each of their lives—and the life of a desperate stranger—with love and betrayal, compassion and deceit.

We moved the night of our book club for scheduling purposes and it happen to land on the hottest day of the year so far. Over 100 degrees with a dry, hot wind. I have a pretty tiny house with a big back yard and big back porch so I tend to host during the summer when I can take advantage of that.

We suffered through it even though we almost all blew away.

I was happy my club agreed to read this book. We had read another title of hers last summer and all enjoyed it. The publisher and author very kindly sent us copies for my club to read. I even had a few extra to give to my mom and a friend. So everyone was reading this book during the past few weeks.

Chamberlain packs quite a lot in her books. I can tell this after reading only two. There is a lot of drama and emotion. You, as a the reader, are faced with many moral dilemmas during it all and this one in particular left us all a little pissed off and spent.

I was surprised with how much this book was filled with the topics of motherhood and parenting, I was able to keep an emotional distance from it all. I think because the events take on such an extreme that I was able to think, "Gosh, this couldn't happen all the time, right?" I still had a few moments of jaw dropping reaction.

I plowed through this book really fast. Once it got going, you HAD to know what the confession was. There was no stopping me. For that, Chamberlain really has a gifted writing style that holds your interest like that. I enjoyed that pace.

It was pretty intense and upon reflection, I did find some flaws with the story and how quickly it was all wrapped up but overall, if you want a Jodi Picoult like drama filled novel of right and wrong, hope and despair, this would be it for you.

Be warned, it does include some raw details regarding children.

Ladies' Reaction:

Our discussion started out fairly low key. We all thought it was a fast, powerful read with a lot going on. But as time went on, some of the ladies felt very strongly about what happens in the book. I don't want to give away any spoilers but the character of Noelle, the midwife, was picked apart quite a bit. Some felt her character had so many secrets that you never felt like you really knew her or that she was a good friend. Some felt she isolated herself and that she set herself up for her suicide. (this comes out right in the beginning, no spoilers!)

Some of the ladies were angry with the events that took place. Some felt it hit them a bit too personally for them to really enjoy it. Some felt the ending was summed up too quickly and easily for how much happens in the overall book.

We went through the Reading Group Guide but felt that most of them were repeated and produced a lot of the same answers. As the discussion went on, we found ourselves having no trouble discussing our thoughts on the book. We discussed the friendship between Tara and Emerson and their daughters. We discussed the roles of the men, especially in relation to Tara's husband Sam and his close bond with Noelle.

I think the ladies enjoyed it enough to really come together and dish. It was something that not many of them would read on their own and because of that they really were intrigued to read it and bring their thoughts.

It wasn't all positive but it wasn't negative in the sense that any of them said, "Don't read this!" It was more a feeling of caution. This book will pack quite a punch. Beware.

Good Book Club Pick?

Yes, overall. We thought they could have done a little better with the Reading Group Guide questions but we had no trouble discussing it on our own. It had a lot going on and if you can get passed the emotions it may bring up in you, as a parent, as a friend, as a woman, then it could be a good pick for your club.

Author Website:

Diane Chamberlain

* Thank you to Harlequin for sending us copies to read. We all really appreciated the opportunity to read and discuss this novel.

Next Book Up:

The Help by Kathyrn Stockett

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This is one of the books that created a bit of buzz at BEA. I did not get a copy there but met a lovely man from Random House who sent it to me after I got back.

I just started it and I can tell it will be a literary sensation come fall.

If the cover does not enchant you, watch this book trailer.

The Night Circus

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

The Book the Saved BEA

Here is my story of how one book saved BEA for me.

Of course, I had every intention of getting tons of books that I was excited about, but this year I was really enthused about the great children's authors that were going to be there. Most importantly, I was excited about my son's favorite Mo Willems. He writes the fabulous chapter books that feature the serious Elephant and the charming Piggie. We absolutely adore these books in our house and have read them all multiple times.

Mo was #1 on my list to get to bring home for my little kiddo.

He was a ticketed event for Wednesday. I woke up bright and early, like I have mentioned before but when I arrived at BEA at 7:20am (The tickets went on sale at 7), he was sold out.

Well, I cried. Yep, it all came out. It just came over me. I was disappointed in myself. I was missing my son. And darnit, really, 7:20? Not one more ticket? Grr. Argh.

Well, Stacy was a delight and she hopped on Twitter to see if we could get me a ticket. It didn't work but it was a very sweet try on her part.

At this time, exactly, was when I first met Steph and her mother. Not my finest hour but oh well.

There was little I could do at this point so I tried to shrug it off and went on with my day. We headed to the autograph area and I got in line to get another favorite of my son's, the Llama Llama books by Anna Dewdney. I figure I could bring home a close second, that should be okay.

The one great thing about BEA is, I found, that it is easy to chat it up with people in line. So I started doing this again with a few ladies in front of me, all librarians. We got on the topic of the ticketed events and the one lady pulled out a stack of tickets.

I gasped and said "Do you have a Mo Willems tickets?"

And she said, ''Yes, but I don't think I will make it."

I blurted out, "I will pay you for it!"

She kindly said, "You don't have to pay me for it. Here you go."

Well, I started crying again and thanked her and told her she will make my son's day!

She smiled and said "You better get going in line, it's pretty long!"

At this point, I think I shouted out a "Bless your heart" (blame it on Stacy's southern influence!) and ran off.

I actually was one of the first people in line and didn't have to wait for long. Mo was a very nice man when I told him we loved his books.

I tucked his new book, "Should I Share my Ice Cream?" in my bag to bring home, not to ship, so I would have it ready to read the night I got back.

And that's what the pictures are above.

Our facial expressions change to go with the mood of the book as Elephant stresses about whether or not to share his ice cream with Piggie.

Delightful!

I did end up running into that same woman later in the day, in another line and thanked her once again. Not that she would read this post. I don't even think I gave out my business cards at that point so she has probably forgotten her kindness.

But, darnit, I love book people!! Thank you!

Anyway, that's my story of the Book (and the kind librarian) that Saved BEA.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Save me by Lisa Scottoline (review #124)

Save Me by Lisa Scottoline

Genre: Fiction, Mystery

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Format: Library Loan

* Read for 2011 A-Z Mystery Author Challenge

Surprisingly I have never read a book by Lisa Scottoline before. I was curious about this one because SO many patrons at my library were placing holds on it. I kept receiving it in my delivery several times a week and I thought, what the heck, let's try it out. I had to wait a bit but finally got it in on Monday. I read it in 2 days.

The book starts off with a bang. It jumps right in to Rose as a lunchroom mom, keeping an eye on her daughter, Melly. Melly is being bullied because of her large birth mark on her face and her mother wants to see if she can help in any way, hence the volunteer job.

After witnessing Melly's classmate Amanda make fun of her, Rose steps in and tells her to say she was sorry. At this point, the lunchroom is clearing and a teacher approaches Rose to see what was going on. Rose explains that she is trying to make a point that the school doesn't tolerate bullying. The teacher makes it clear that it's not her job to discipline and that they should make their way out of the cafeteria.

At this point the teacher leaves and not more than a few minutes later, an explosion goes off sending Rose into a panic. Melly had run off after the incident and Rose was left with Amanda and two other students that she was now responsible for to get to safety.

But she is torn. Where did Melly go? Did she make it outside or did she go and hide in the bathroom like she is known to do?

Faced with the dilemma to either save her own child or the others, she escorts the three girls half way to the exit door, pointing the rest of the way.

Melly survives and so do the other girls but Amanda is some how critically injured and in a coma. The entire community blames Rose for neglecting to bring the girls out of the building, berating her for choosing her own child over the others.

What follows is a pretty intense, fast paced ride. Rose is tortured in the press and in the community, being called a horrible mother. Wanting to not only clear her name but also find some peace for her daughter, Rose sets out to find out the truth behind the explosion at the school. After some minor digging, she discovers some dirty business going on.

I was enjoying the book up until the almost instant "Rose becomes Super Investigator" part kicked in. Sure, you feel the adrenaline of finding the truth but it all seemed too easy for her to find the truth. And though in the end Rose does good and brings the bad guys out in the light, I still didn't really feel too much towards her. In my opinion, I didn't think her character was written with much depth. She was beautiful former model with a handsome lawyer husband. She managed to get all the answers with, what seemed, like very little effort.

Review: 4/6

Overall, it was a quick, fast-paced read. It read more like a mystery than a contemporary women's fiction novel that it seems it's being marketed for. Her writing was dramatic and absorbing to read. It just fell a little short towards the end and it didn't go where I thought it would. I do wish to read Lisa Scottoline again. I would like to start with some of her older mysteries, rather than some eof her newer novels and see how those turn out.

I would recommend this for fans of mysteries and Jodi Picoult like dramas.

Book Club Pick?

Well, it does get into the drama of parenting, navigating the world of school politics, bullying, etc. I think that would spark some conversation. Also, just the question "What would you do if you were in this situation?" would be intriguing to answer.

Author Website:

Lisa Scottoline

Happy reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

A Quest for Good Manners by Karin LeFranc (review #125)

Title: A Quest for Good Manners

Author: Karin Lefranc

Publisher: Beluga Press

Genre: Children's Picture Book, ages 4-8

Format: Copy given to me by author

Starting this year I have, on occasion, reviewed children's books. Goodness knows I read plenty of them, atleast 5-10 new ones a week with my three year old son. I just don't have time to review all of them! I try to reserve my reviews for some of the books that I feel are special OR that my son really takes a liking to. Then I share them with you all.

A Quest for Good Manners was given to me at the Book Blogger Convention this year. Karin Lefranc, the author, was introduced to me by Sandra Brannan (thanks Sam!) and we starting talking; about books, kids, being a mom, potty training, etc. She was a really down to earth, genuine person and was kind enough to give me the copy she was carrying around.

Karin Lefranc and me

I sent it back with the other stacks of books I got during the week and when it got to my house, it was one of the first books we read. Well, my son took to it right away! He kept calling the dragon (see on the cover), a "really nice dragon" and loved the pictures and the story.

The story is about Princess Rosalind and her dragon, Sparkler. They have really bad table manners and her mother, the Queen, sends them on a Quest to find Good Manners. So they go off and meet several people along the way to help them. They learn to say Please, Thank you and You're Welcome. When they arrive back home, the Queen is impressed and allows her daughter to keep her pet dragon (just so long as there are no flames at the table!)

Rating: 5/6

Children's books to me have to have a good message, first. That is the most important thing to me when I read to my son. Cute, flashy pictures don't mean squat if you are reading about something silly that doesn't bring out good things.

This book had that good message but it also had beautiful illustrations that were colorful and fun to look at. I would recommend it for parents of a young reader.

It's never to early to learn yours Please and Thank Yous!

Author Website:

Karin Lefranc

Thank you to Sam for introducing me to the author!

Thank to you the author for giving me a copy!

Happy reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

BEA/NYC: Day 2,3 and 4

I realized that I did not take a lot of pictures and pictures are the fun thing to look at right?

What does everyone look like? How large is BEA anyway?

Because of my sad lack of pictures, I am just going to combine my posts for the whole week.

Day 2 in NYC I woke up ready for the day. I was rested. I ate breakfast. I was set to go get in line for a ticket to meet Mo Willems, the author of Elephant and Piggie books. This event is its own post, which I will post after this. Bright and early I got a text from the lovely Miss Stephanie from Steph the Bookworm (see above).

We met up with her and her mom, who was also very lovely. It is really hard to "stick" together at BEA, especially with more than one person, so unfortunately our day was spent texting each other's locations and enthusiasms rather than "hanging" out. That's okay, we had to get books!!!

And books we got!

She was delightful and we did get a chance to spend more time together at the Atria Blogger Party at Simon and Schuster, which we shared a cab to and also at the

Book Blogger Convention.

The picture below was taken down at the shipping area of BEA. I kept "running" into Sandra Brannan during the week. On Tuesday, right after I met up with Stacy, she literally jumped up and down in front of me screaming my name and I was so wiped out, I didn't even notice.

:(

Well, there are thousands of people there and you do get a tunnel vision. :(

Anyway, that was a pleasure to catch up on the very first day. The second day I ran into her in the bathroom. Very classy, I know but we chatted for quite awhile away from the busyness of the crowds upstairs. And then on Thursday, the delightful creature that she is, she took Stacy and I out for a beautiful lunch to say thanks!

THIS was one of the two big highlights of the week. Thoroughly enjoyed this afternoon spent with her. Such a genuine person to be around.! I miss her already.

Sandra Brannan

Wednesday night was really fun with the Harper Collins Blogger Party and dinner with Heather from Age 30+...A Lifetime of Books and several others. Stacy and I were pretty beat by the end of this day, rolling in to our hotel around 11pm.

Stacy and I made a lot of contacts on the exhibit floor. With my red hair and her southern charm, we had it down! We both had fun going from booth to booth talking it up with various publishers. We did a good job communicating with one another with what we wanted to do and we would split up and come back together. I thought we worked quite well together.

At the end of the day on Thursday, we got lucky and visited the Scholastic booth right at closing. We ended up talking to the nicest sales gal there and she invited us to a party with Libba Bray, Meg Cabot and Maggie Stiefvater. She also gave us galleys of Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick!!! Stacy and I both squealed a little.

Piggie and Elephant

Thursday night was amazing! Not only did I finally get to see inside Simon and Schuster, one of my favorite publishers, I got to meet the people behind Sandra Brannan. The lovely folks at JKS Communications had a little get together and it was so much fun! I saw Sandra again, met Marissa (who I've emailed back and forth a zillion times!) and Amalie Howard, the author of Bloodspell. SHE WAS SO VERY AMAZING!! I am sad I do not have any pictures of this event or the Book Blogger Convention.

Friday was the BBC and it was even better this year. I saw Melissa from The Betty and Boo Chronicles again! I finally met Natalie from Coffee and a Book Chick and a whole host of others. The panels were great and the author speed dating was really fun too. I met Daphna Ziman, the author The Grey Zone, Chitoka Webb, author of Something Inside of Me and Jim Higley, author of Booble Head Dad, all incredibly inspirational people.

Friday night Stacy and I were pretty wiped from networking we went out for sushi and saw Bridesmaids at the largest movie theater ever in Times Square. I haven't laughed that hard at a movie in a long time. A nice way to wrap up the week.

The next morning we were both up early to head to the airport.

Sad but we were ready to see our families! I can't wait for next year.

Overall, it was wonderful week filled with passionate, caring, like minded, book loving people. I've never felt so comfortable talking to strangers before and I hope that feeling continues in the many years to come.

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child

Lot's Return to Sodom by Sandra Brannan winner

I had to pull myself out of bed to announce the winner of this fabulous book by this fabulous author. It also goes on sale today, so for those of you who did NOT win it, please go buy it!

I had another wonderful time in NYC with Sandra and I will post about that later. I finished this one on the plane ride home. It does not disappoint! A full review to come later this week.

Thank you to all of those that entered!

The winner is...

"thanks for the chance to read this novel...

i haven't had the opportunity to read 'belly of jonah' (yet!)."

karenk
kmkuka at yahoo dot com

Congratulations Karen!! I hope you pick up In the Belly of Jonah soon!

Author Website:

Sandra Brannan

My roomie from BEA is giving away another copy! Check her out.

A Novel Source

Purchase at:

Indie Bound

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Borders

Happy Reading and as always, thanks for stopping by!

red headed book child