Forgotten Road by Randall Arthur

Published on December 11, 2012December 11, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

29-year-old Cole Micheal’s had the world at his fingertips… a wonderful career as a musician, a loving wife and a three-year old son that had stolen his heart the moment he was born. Cole thanked God all the time for the incredible blessings in his life.

And then tragedy strikes and all that Cole held near slips through his fingers and there is nothing he can so but painfully watch it go.

How could a loving God allow something like this to happen?

Broken and angry, Cole starts down a path of self-destruction, doing anything to drown out the pain and find peace – and he tries to find it in the bottom of every bottle…

And tragedy strikes again.

Now in prison Cole is swallowed up by his anger. Where is this loving God that his Pastor spoke of? Where is the God who blesses those who live a good clean life? Where is he now that Cole needs Him more than ever?

Or does he need Him? Because who really needs this level of grief?

I have to share a little background story. Many years ago I discovered this author Randall Arthur. I read Wisdom Hunter, Jordon’s Crossing, and Brotherhood of Betrayal. I loved that his books were faith-based, but not sugary sweet. They had real meat to them. Hard issues. Real issues and real situations with three-dimensional characters. I devoured his books and waited for more. And waited and waited. Finally after watching for more books for a couple of years, I forgot about him, although I continued to recommend his books.

A little over a month ago I received an email from…. yup, Randall Arthur. He had a new book out, and seen that I had once talked about his books here. He was wondering if I would consider reviewing Forgotten Road if he sent me a copy.

Seriously, I was floored, not wanting to seem to fan-girly I quickly emailed back a definite YES.

It’s hard when an author you have raved about comes out with a book after many years of drought. You, as the reader have to wonder if the book will live up to the wondrous experiences you have had in the past, you wonder if your memory serves you right – or if over the years you have elevated the writing to a level of fictitious quality…

I need not worry here.

Forgotten Road was everything I had appreciated about Randall Arthur’s writing. This book is not your run of the mill “tragedy, lost God, found God, all was roses for ever and ever…”. Instead, you feel like you could be living in Cole Micheal’s town. You can imagine that you knew this great song writer and fiddler and feel the pain when tragedy strikes his family, not once but twice in rapid succession.

AND you can imagine what you would feel like to hear that this once great man, respected by his community goes off the deep end, drinking and soaking in a deep dark pain. All of this felt like I knew Cole Michael’s…

Written in a way that flashed back to earlier times as piece by piece you get the entire story, occasionally painful – I admit to crying twice while reading.

AND then, along side this story line is another story of a boy named Jesse who is abused at home and very VERY angry. He finds out he is adopted and while that is a relief to know that the man who puts him down and beats him is not his real father, he can not help but hold in contempt the people who gave him up and left him to this hell like life. As Jesse gets older his anger overcomes him and he becomes this beast of a person….

and you have to wonder as his chapters slip between Cole’s what one has to do with the other…

How do I describe such a book? Powerful comes to mind. Out of the cookie cutter Christian fiction box is another. And of course I have to add, a must read. Randall Arthur was worth the wait on this one. Beautifully and well written, if you read Christian fiction or not I am going to tell you that you will not be disappointed with this incredibly real read that even as it came to a close, shocked me again, which to this reader, is a big compliment to the author.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Published on November 27, 2012November 27, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)29 Comments

If you are not familiar with the name Steve Jobs, you are familiar with the name brand Apple as in Apple Computers, or I Pod, Or I Phone, or I Tunes… all are associated with Steve Job. While Steve was not the lone creator, not even really the mastermind behind actually making these things work, he is indeed the mind that made them what they are today.

Steve dared to dream things that no one thought could be, or should be dreamed. He pushed the envelope as far as it would go, nay sayers be dammed, and in some cases friends and family too… nothing stood in his way.

No one ever would claim that Steve was a layed back easy-going guy. No. He was temper mental, known to cry when he did not get his way, insist that things did go his way including color of products, and how to advertise. While you can easily argue that he was an impossible man…

he was also a brilliant man.

In this audio of Steve’s life from adoption to billionaire, Dylan Baker narrates this audio to a perfection even Steve would have to approve of.

Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

Although Jobs cooperated and encouraged this book, Jobs waved all rights to read or approve what people said of him in this book. A no holes barred telling of an incredible man who fought his own demons all his life, dying of cancer in October 2011.

1a1 — Steve Jobs in the beginning with the apple, years later, the IPAD

When this book first came out I did not know if I wanted to read it. I had heard that Steve was not a very likeable man and I did not want to commit the time to read or to listen to his story. Yet, it was the story itself that drew me to the book. Steve, and people like him, fascinate me. The big dreamers. The ones who step out of the box no matter what people say – see the vision and make it happen. It’s the same reason I appreciate JK Rowling so much.

I finally downloaded the audio and once I turned it on I had a hard time shutting it off. From the beginning Jobs story grabbed me, while he was rough and cruel at times, It seemed he always felt he had something to prove. And brilliant? On my word!

I was particularly fascinated by the part where he introduced the 1984 ad. It was his vision, it was risky and it only aired one time on tv, at the 1984 Super Bowl and to this day is one of the most popular commercials of our time. The clip I have below is when Steve showed the video the one time before the Super Bowl and while it is a 6 minute clip I highly encourage you watch it. It is amazing to see a young and enthusiastic Steve. He sure could bring out confidence in himself and his products.

I loved this audio and am looking for the book now to have in my collection. Brilliant and informative, I learned a lot about how the I products came to be, the ideas behind them, the Pixar/Disney battle for the top and how Steve was involved, and more. I encourage you to check this one out.

The Language Of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Bookies Review)

Published on November 25, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)13 Comments

Victoria was one of those kids who fell through the cracks of the foster care system. Placed time and again in homes that did not fit for her, or were flat-out… abusive. The Foster Care program felt it was Victoria, she was labeled as difficult and uncooperative… and so Victoria continued moving home to home until at 18 years of age she outgrew the foster care age –

and then was on her own.

One home however, haunts her dreams in a painful loss sort of way and if filled with the “what if’s” of life. When Victoria was placed with Elizabeth a woman who grew up surrounded by flowers and their meanings , Victoria soon learned the secret language as well…. aster meaning patience, honeysuckle for devotion, plum meaning keep your promises….

But a poor decision leads to an unthinkable tragedy and Victoria once again shuts down, holding within her secrets and not trusting anyone with her heart. She finds herself in a world of flowers and in almost an unreal way she flourishes, knowing exactly what those looking for the right bouquet want and need… and while this keeps her busy and is fulfilling…

she still longs for what she came so close to having if not for her secret, and Victoria is about to learn that your past has a way of finding you… and that isn’t always a bad thing…

My book club the Bookies chose this book for our November read. On synopsis alone, I wasn’t sure about this one… I had some sort of 70’s flower child image in my head, however the girl who recommended this one is usually spot on with her book suggestions and she had already read it and said it was wonderful.

The Language Of Flowers, as it turns out is wonderful and an incredible discussion book for reading groups. The beauty we found within the pages of Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s story line here was well worth discussing. While Victoria is not always likeable, that makes the story even deeper. She is flawed. She will annoy the crap out of you (and did). AND her decisions do not always fall back on her child hood and the “oh look what she has been through though!” My response to that is, “yeah well, we have all been through stuff.”

However….

Victoria is three-dimensional, while you can not put her on a pedestal, you also can not fully dismiss her. She makes you want to know more about the way she thinks and the underlining flow of flowers and their language is not only fun but interesting. I highly recommend this read not only for flower lovers but also for discussion groups as there is so many ways to discuss this book further.

BOOKIES THOUGHTS

The Bookies over all rated this one a steady 4 out of 5. While we differed somewhat on how we felt about Victoria, we still enjoyed the read and the characters. The flower discussion was good and I had printed out lists for everyone of Victoria’s Dictionary Of Flower, found on-line and created by the author.

Fresh flowers of course adorned our get together as well as flower book marks. Our food for the review looked like this:

The foods served were some mentioned in the book. I went with Zucchini Linguini because Zucchini starts out as a flower. 😉

The Language of Flowers makes for a wonderful discussion book for book clubs.

Also submitted to Beth Fish Reads, Weekend Cooking Meme.

Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace

Published on November 10, 2012November 10, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)11 Comments

Jason Priestley’s life is somewhat…

dull.

After giving up a teaching career, he now writes restaurant reviews for a free newspaper that nobody seems to read. He lives in an apartment above a video game store. His ex girlfriend has just announced her engagement and the most exciting thing in Jason’s life is his last Facebook update “Jason Priestley is eating soup.”

*Sigh* Something needs to change.

Then, on a chance encounter, Jason helps an attractive young woman get herself and her multiple shopping bags into a taxi on Charlotte Street. When the taxi pulls away Jason discovers that the girl has dropped a disposable camera. He picks it up, hoping that this bit of “opportunity” that has dropped at his feet will give him an excuse to find her and perhaps get to know her.

This one idea consumes him. Before you know it, Jason is scanning Charlotte Street any chance he gets to hopefully spot her. When this seems to be a colossal waste of time, his roomy and buddy Dev talks him into developing the pictures to see if they left clues to her hangouts. What ensues is a comic of errors including an encounter with a free-spirited gal named Abbey, a hot-tempered ex- student of his goes postal, and many blunders when it comes to moving on from his ex.

Yet slowly, steadily, despite the life mines (my term for land mines) Jason is moving towards the mystery girl one photo at a time…

1a1a1 — So kind of fun…. this book is set in London and there is a Charlotte Street in London.

I thought the idea behind this book was a smart one. Take a camera dropped by a “ooh I would like to see you again” stranger and try to make the encounter happen by following picture clues. Meanwhile, the mystery woman starts a blog which pops up not in alternating chapters, but sporadic chapters building on the story line.

Ummmm….

sort of.

While I loved the idea and a lot of where the story was going (yes, I had several laugh out loud moments), overall this book reminded me a bit of one of those crazy rides at an amusement park… you know the ones, you are going full speed one way and then you abruptly stop and either go backwards just as fast freaking out because you do not know where you are going, jerk sideways, or you free fall into darkness.

*whew*

Yeah, I think that sums it up.
The book was not what I thought it would be and that is not a bad thing, it just wasn’t all I had hoped (also, not necessarily a bad thing). I guess since the main point of the book was boy meets girl… boy tries hard to meet girl again, I thought that would have a bigger bang to it then it did. While funny and interesting, over all the book felt choppy, many different stories within the story and that did not work so well for me. And, I just have to say while the play on the name Jason Priestley (“no, no… not the one who was the actor on 90201 – ha ha”, was funny – it wasn’t that funny to keep being mentioned over and over and OVER in the book.)

Alright. Enough snarky. 😀

While yes parts annoyed me – it wasn’t a bad read.. you know how I like witty books and there are some good moments within which would cause me to give author Danny Wallace an “I would read another book of yours” partial thumbs up.

The Wizard Of Oz by Frank Baum (Bookies Book Club done BOOKIES STYLE!)

Published on October 10, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)26 Comments

You probably know the story… (I hope you know the story!) There’s this chick named Dorothy who is kind of ungrateful living on a farm with her aunt and uncle with her dog Toto. Then one day a tornado hits (in my book it was a cyclone) and Dorothy winds up flying in her home to another place called – yup you guessed it … Oz, where she works hard (and this is the big plot line) to find her way home AND in the mean time makes some friends with a Tin Man, a Scarecrow and a Lion – but not a scary lion because he really is rather skid-dish.

Toss in a spooky green witch who wants Dorothy and her little dog too… a crazy Oz man who liked to refer to himself as the “Great and Powerful Oz” (I know like mid life crisis or what? Why doesn’t he just get a sports car?) and you have quite a little story going here….

**Yeah… a few of us dressed up. Can you guess which one is me?**

So… this was out October Classic read for Bookies book club. When we chose it back in July we thought we were brilliant because although we knew about the Wizard Of Oz from the movie… none of us had read the book. Well, seriously – what a blast we had… the food the awesome and the discussion was fun.

There are so many differences between the book and the movie it was kind of fun because of course – the book was more detailed. For instance, did you know that in the book Dorothy’s shoes are silver and not red? They were made red for the movie because red stood out more. AND originally the yellow brick road was supposed to be red?

SO many more details! The book has a chapter where there are people made of China – yes, china like the plates! It was interesting to think that this book was so forward thinking for a book written in 1900.

Oh, and another fun fact – Judy Garland was originally supposed to be in the movie Gone With The Wind but bowed out of that role to play Dorothy! At the time the movies were made, there was no way of knowing the hits they both would come to be!

Our book review consisted of a little trivia and a lot of good food… just see for yourself:

**An Oz review would not be complete without witches brew…**

**Its hard to see but my cupcakes have red Dorothy shoe book marks in them 🙂**

**And I am guessing that you guessed that I was Elphiba (as named in the book Wicked) The Wicked Witch Of The West. 🙂**

Over all our group rating was 3.8 out of a 5 possibility. A few preferred the movie, I as well as a few others enjoyed the book more because it introduced things that were not in the movie. I highly recommend the Wizard of Oz for a fun book discussion. We really had a great time!

A Wilderness of Error by Errol Morris

Published on October 9, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)14 Comments

WARNING: This book is based on a true crime and the details in this synopsis may be a bit graphic and disturbing.

It was February 17th, 1970 in North Carolina. Jeffrey MacDonald, a Green Beret Doctor had discovered his two-year old daughter Kristen had wet his side of their bed, so after cleaning her up and putting her to sleep in her own bed, Jeffrey decided to sleep on the couch and deal with the clean up in his own bed in the morning. It was late, and he was tired. Hours later, he was startled awake by a noise, screaming actually, and seen several people in his home. When he got up, startled, he was hit by an object and knocked out.

When Jeffrey regained consciousness he called the police for help. It was 3:42 am and his life had just changed forever.

What the police found, was the beginning of a nightmare for all involved. MacDonald’s pregnant wife and two daughters had all been brutally murdered. The word “PIG” was written in blood on the master bedroom wall.

Jeffrey MacDonald told the story of what he had seen when he woke up, four young people, one being a woman, chanting and holding candles. He believed drugs were involved. The police felt that MacDonald’s story didn’t fit with the evidence they seen. In 1979, MacDonald was convicted of killing his entire family and remains in prison to this day.
But…

Was clear evidence in this crime ignored? Were there people who were possibly connected to this crime that were never investigated? Is Jeffery MacDonald an innocent man who was wrongly imprisoned?

Why did I want to read this book? I admit I have always been drawn to true crime. That sounds terrible. Ugh. I think I am curious about what would make people act that way. What would bring one human to the brink of harming another – killing another in love or hate or whatever….

Author Errol Morris writes a story that definitely falls under reasonable doubt in this case. The book is filled with police reports, and interviews that definitely bring the results of this case into question for this reader. I found myself turning page after page, gathering my own evidence – even looking back through what I had already read, checking my own “facts” again and again. I even found myself looking up things about the case on line, to get another perspective to go by.

I like books that make me think and Errol Morris covered that with A Wilderness Of Error. I felt I came into this case cold, as honestly, prior to this reading I had never heard of Jeffrey MacDonald or this crime that took place right along the time of the Manson murders.

The book’s title comes from a poem by Edgar Allen Poe:

What chance—what one event brought this evil thing to pass, bear with me while I relate… I would fain have them believe that I have been, in some measure, the slave of circumstances beyond human control. I would wish them to seek out for me, in the details I am about to give, some little oasis of fatality amid a wilderness of error.

I was bewildered by how this case was handled – granted these were the days before CSI and all the things we have in today’s world to track evidence but if you go by Errol Morris’ account, this case was truly misguided. There is even a woman, Helena Stoeckley, who admitted time and again that she committed these murders, but was written off as being an unreliable drug addict.

I found the book to be very interesting and well written.

In the end – I personally can’t say if MacDonald did it or not. MacDonald himself, now 68 years old, still claims he is innocent.

For more information about the evidence surrounding this crime and how Errol Morris came up with is facts, see this interesting site.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for allowing me to be a part of a jury by reading this amazing book.

October Mourning by Leslea Newman (A song for Matthew Sheppard)

Published on October 6, 2012October 6, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)8 Comments

It was October 6th, 1998,a crisp fall evening, when 21 year old Matthew Shepard left a Wyoming bar with two young men about his own age. Matthew was gay, and he was under the assumption that these men were as well. In fact, that was not true.

Instead, Matthew was driven to a remote area, beaten horrifically and tied to a fence. At that time the two men left in their truck .

Several days later after Matthew was found, he died of his severe injuries.

Matthew never regained consciousnesses from the time he was tied to the fence to die.

At this time, Gay Awareness week was just beginning for Wyoming University and the keynote speaker Leslea Newman was scheduled to be in town days after Matthew’s beating. The crowd in light on the resent tragedy was much bigger than expected.

October Mourning is Leslea’s novel in verse of her thoughts of what happened that night…

Why did I want to read this book?

The Matthew Shepard story is one that has always touched me deeply. Hate crimes boils my blood but they also break my heart. When I see this book on Shelf Awareness and that the anniversary date was coming up, I knew I wanted to read it.

First of all I have to admit when I ordered this book after seeing that above video, I did not pick up on the fact (my error) that this was a book of free verse poetry. In my haste, I thought it was a book being told from Leslea Newman’s perspective of the happe.nings of that tragic event and about the speaking engagement she had shortly after. I am not a big fan of free verse books

I did read October Mourning and I have to say many of the poems were touching. Her first poem in the book, Outnumbered (which she also reads in the video clip, is breathtaking. I honestly can not even imagine…

I truly can not imagine.

This book will remain on my shelf and while it was not what I thought I was getting, it did inspire me to pick up another book I own called The Meaning Of Matthew written by Matthew’s mom, Judy Shepard.

I would like to say the world has grown since that tragic day in 1998, but sadly I am not sure if that is true. There are still people out there hating people. Please take a moment today to think about and or pray for Matthew Shepard and his family. And if you want to know more about Matthew’s story, I have just mentioned two books here that may be of interest to you.

Sad Desk Salad by Jessica Grose

Published on October 4, 2012October 4, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)15 Comments

Alex Lyons loves her job as a writer for Chick Habit ‘s website. After all who wouldn’t love a job where you get to sit at home on your couch scouring the web for hours looking for the next big story. Celebrity mishaps is Alex’s bread and butter, and she knows she is only as good as her last story.

When a juicy tip comes in about a squeaky clean Ivy League daughter, Alex in on that like white on rice. This tip is too hot and way to good to pass on… but will Alex’s “tell all” be worth the pain and destruction it will cause in the girl’s life? And what will it do to Alex’s own life?

Why did I want to read this book? Helloooooo… look at that fun title! Right away I was curious about this and had to (had to!) know more!

Sad Desk Salad is a fun read for anyone who enjoys on-line blog reading (like me!) Alex is witty and clever, and hey – so is author Jessica Grose who sprinkled the magic dust that made Alex come to life in this “snort out loud” tale of the blogging world from a tabloid like atmosphere. (And really – why not? As author Jessica Grosse happens to be editor of a site called Jezebel and Slate. )

The title refers to the fact that the fictional Chick Habit’s website in the book gets the most hits over the work day lunch hour when the women are at their desks eating their sad salads and scanning the internet for their favorite gossip.

While Alex is not always awesome – clearly her “work from home” hygiene habits need some literal “cleaning up”, she was surrounded by enough secondary characters that leveled her out so I was able to take her faults in stride. Mostly I enjoyed the way the book held my attention and whenever I had to sit it down (darn life stuff like work and errands!) I found myself thinking about how it would all play out.

A good debut novel about online blogging and where to draw a line when it comes to privacy in today’s highly social networking world. Worthy of taking a look at and maybe enjoying this lite read over a few or your own lunch breaks.

We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver (book and movie thoughts)

Published on September 24, 2012September 24, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Eva Khatchadourin is a smart, fun loving free spirit who falls for and marries the more conservative and level Franklin. When Eva finds herself pregnant she is unsure of herself for the first time in her life, never really feeling the “mom gene” like so many women do.

When Kevin is born Eve continues to struggle as she tries to master parenthood and finds herself failing time and again. Kevin cries and cries no matter how she rocks him or feeds him or takes him for long walks in the stroller. Exhausted and frustrated she shares her feelings and concerns with Franklin who feels that Kevin is just doing what babies do and she needs to lighten up.

As Kevin grows, his manipulation towards his mother does as well, ignoring her when she tries to teach him things but lights up when his dad enters the room. Years later when Eva finds herself pregnant again she fears for the safety of her baby daughter, Celia. An accident that happens when Celia is around 5 makes Eva wonder if it truly was an accident. Her feelings towards Kevin puts strains on her marriage.

Through letters Eva shares her concern through the time that Kevin is born, all the way through to the school massacre when Kevin kills seven of his fellow students in high school.

My book club and I read this book in May of 2006. At the time this book was a book in the bag from the library where we could borrow 10 books at once. My notes from that years review says,

We Need To Talk About Kevin was a different style of read for us. This book led to a deep discussion about motherhood. While some in the group questioned if Eva’s love was real or put on for her son, others felt that Eva felt her freedom was taken away with the birth of Kevin. While most of the group found the book to be hard to read due its topic and content, I enjoyed it – finding it frightening and an honest portrayal at the same time. On a scale of 1 -5, even now I am surprised to see that over all average of this read was a 4. (I remember it as most of the group not liking it and now looking back I see that while a hard read, it seems to have been appreciated.)

The thing I remember most about We Need To Talk About Kevin, is that Kevin is not likable. He is dark, manipulative, cruel, and moody. I can not even imagine what it would be like to be his mother. Honestly, I don’t know how much I could have taken if I had a child that treated me that way. If you have even read Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Piccoult, while the story line is similar, the boys in the stories are not. In Piccoult’s book (was his name Peter?) the boy is picked on by his school mates. He is a sympathetic character and in the end, honestly I felt bad for him. Not so in We Need To Talk About Kevin. In this case I feel bad for his mom.

The book all these years later still sticks with me. A hard read, but I think an important one.

Movie

Just this past week I rented the movie version that came out earlier this year of We Need To Talk About Kevin. And after renting it, it sat on the end table for about a week. I could not get myself in the mood to watch it. I knew from the book that it was a hard story and as much as I wanted to see how it compared to the book, I knew I had to be in the right frame of mind to handle it.

When I finally did watch it with my hubby, I found the beginning to be confusing. Told differently in the book it started with a series of flash backs and forwards and to current time that if I had not read the book I dont know if I would have followed. Even having read the book, I struggled as I tried to explain to my husband what was happening in the first 30 minutes of the movie.

When the movie finally does get to the story of Kevin it levels out and is much easier to see what is going on and what the past and present flashes mean. John Reilly plays the part of the dad and that threw me off a bit as I am used to him playing all these goofy roles in movies – or maybe that is just the movies I seen him in. Tilda Swinton (The Whole Witch in Narnia) however felt spot on.

I recommend read the book, and then watch the movie. Both are spectacular.

This One Is Mine by Maria Semple (Bookies Book Club Review)

Published on September 21, 2012September 21, 2012 by Sheila (Book Journey)24 Comments

Violet Parry is bored. She is bored with what her life has become. Once vibrant and full of life (her rock and roll manager husband David used to call her “Ultra Violet”) Violet is now a stay at home mom. Sure, life is good, she hand-picked the house they live in and money is certainly not an issue, but Violet has lost her zip. Their toddler Dot has become an anchor holding her back from living, and she still has not lost the baby weight around her middle… and possibly her thighs… and for sure her rump… and David? Well David is busy being David. Closing deals, running around the country…..

So when Violet meets Teddy, small time rock and roller with a bad boy image who seems to take an interest in Violet, she suddenly recalls a bit of her old spark…

Then there is Sally, David’s sister who is determined to land the perfect husband on her schedule. When her eyes land on Jeremy who she foresees hitting the big time soon, she sets her plan in motion. FAST motion… as in she has given herself a few weeks to meet (yeah, did I mention they had not met yet?), fall in love and ~~get the ring~~… er, I mean get married.

Both women throw caution to the wind and disaster awaits around every corner.

Why did I want to read this book? When it was nominated for book club I knew I had this one on the review shelf. This was an opportunity to not only read it, but read it with a group which is always fun. I was also in charge of dessert for this meeting and I wanted to try to make this cover so badly…

So… This One Is Mine. It has been a long long time since I have disliked a book so fully. From the very beginning I found Violet to be spoiled and selfish… yes, I agree her marriage needed work – but she never gave it the opportunity to work. Poor poor Violet *laced with sarcasm. and peas, because I really do not like peas either*

And then there was Sally. Almost more unlikable then Violet. Almost. Depends on the chapter. Selfish and determined to have her way no matter who was in her path. Sally’s actions time and again throughout the book were not funny to me, but despicable, horrifying, and just down right gross. There was nothing – NOTHING redeeming about her…. each page made me groan a little more.

Now I don’t have to like characters to enjoy a book…. but this one left so little to even hope for I just turned page after page hoping there would be something… but in the end, I found nothing. I was reading this at our cabin recently and another girl from our book club was with me… I was about 50 pages in front of her and she kept asking, “does it get better”…. it did not.

My only silver lining in the book was 3/4 of the way through when an event went terribly wrong and by this time my mind was so filled with the sick that was Violet and Sally that I evilly wanted to rejoice…. but then… even that poofed out before I was satisfied.

Now I get that this is a harsh review, but it is an honest one. I loathed this book. Now, if you look at Amazon reviews… I am in the minority, others loved this and found it hilarious. I do not get these people. 🙂 Perhaps they were thinking of a different book…

Bookies Book Club Thoughts…

This was our book club read for September. Prior to the group meeting a few that could not join us that night sent in their thoughts by email. The emails were scathing. Words used to describe the book were … well, I am not going to say here.

The review itself was interesting as I thought it would be. We are such a diverse group of readers and I was curious where we would land on this one. In our eleven years of this book club, this book rated the lowest rating we have ever given as a whole (and there are 18 of us!) On a scale of 1 – 5 the highest rating for this book was a 1. Many of the ratings fell below zero, I myself gave it a goose egg because I could not rate such a book.

We marveled at the Amazon reviews. We wondered if our thoughts on the book had to do with that we were from the mid west and perhaps we were more conservative readers (but please note many in this book club have read books in all sorts of genres and situations and enjoyed them so that can’t be it…). Plus, I added to the group, through our years we have read other books in that environment and did not come out the last page with this much…. this much…. BLAH.

We did of course have food to go with our book: (HAZAH!)

**I did make the cupcakes, with help from a friend with the flowers. They were delicious! They are called high top cupcakes, recipe is on the Martha Stewart site.**

**Crackers and hummus and a couple hot dishes…**

20120911_185637 — **It was our first skyped in member meeting…. “Hey Suzanne!”**

Not pictured (my bad – I thought I did take this pic) was the Ultra Violet Vodka (UV) which was funny because that was Violet’s nickname.

Now all that said… this author has a new book out called Where’s You Go Bernadette that I have been hearing good things about. I have this one on my shelf and plan to read it soon. A few in the book club have started this one on their own and have said it was good.