Category: Book Review

 

If you ever seen the movie Pretty In Pink than you have to remember the delightful and magnetic Duckie… and if you do, then you know Actor now Author, John Cryer in his earliest roles.  In So That Happened, John shares what it is like to be an actor when you don’t carry the natural confidence that many actors do… in fact, John Cryer will tell you that he is actually a lot like the character he plays on Two and a Half Men, Alan Harper.  John speaks openly about his co-workers including Molly Ringwald, John Hughes, Robert Altman, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, and of course…. Charlie Sheen.

 

 

 

In full disclosure….  (embarrassing full disclosure) it was not until recently that I realized that “Duckie” from Pretty In Pink was John Cryer.  True statement.  I clearly know him from Two and a Half Men and I think the role from then to now was so different… I just didn’t pick up on that.  That said, I picked up this audio because I do enjoy Two and a Half Men and I do enjoy books written and narrated by actors I enjoy.

As I listen to a fair amount of audio books narrated by actors, I know I enjoy hearing the stories behind the shows, the acting, the co-stars, funny happenings….  What I don’t like is whining about missed parts, what is believed to be unfair casting, and well whining in general.

This audio has a mix of both.

I of course wanted to hear about John’s role in Pretty in Pink and of course his many years of being on Two and a Half Men and working with the unpredictable, eventually fired Charlie Sheen.  For the record, the later does not get mentioned until disc 6.  The first 3 to 4 cd’s of this audio book are interesting however John has a lot of strong opinions of fellow actors as well as about others taking credit for something that was his doing.  To me… that felt a bit whiny.  At the same time I imagined an editor saying “John, be vulnerable, be angry… niceties do not get the book sales!”  So, that said… perhaps John was coerced.

I did enjoy the later half of the audio where the real meat of the book seemed to be.  When John talked about Two and a Half Men and what was happening there it seemed a bit more real.

Looking at the rating of this one on-line, I am in the minority.  For the most part people have found this memoir to be hilarious and well done.  This can very well be a case of “it is not John, it is me”.

I would love to hear from others who have read or listened to this one.

 

 

• Audible Audio Edition
• Listening Length: 9 hours and 8 minutes
• Program Type: Audiobook
• Version: Unabridged
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Audible.com Release Date: April 7, 2015

 

 

 

 

In apparently continuing with my trend of reading foody books (they feel pretty safe), I bring to you a review of a woman, her dog, a restaurant, and learning to let go.  ~Sheila

Elena Alvarez has just been offered the deal of a lifetime.  She has been offered the opportunity to run her own restaurant, something she has only dreamed about.  Being an experienced Chef, this is the first time she will be in the leading role from staff hiring, restaurant look and feel, and the menu planning.  Haunted by an accident that she alone survived with her back broken in 4 places, Elena knows what it is like to withstand the odds.  Arriving in Aspen Colorado with a restaurant project may just be the change she needs to reboot her life and it doesn’t hurt that her new boss, Movie Writer Julian Liswood is easy on the eyes.

For Elena, every move she makes is a risk.  The restaurant business is physically hard on her body and the ghosts of the past, do not let go easy.

There is a lot to like about The Lost Recipe For Happiness.  I liked the idea of a fixer upper project with Elena the one to call the shots.  I do like a good project!  I also found I liked Elena.  For what she has literally lived through, she is a strong independent woman with dreams and goals.  I also enjoyed the back up players in this book, while I never did get a full handle on Ivan, I think (I think) I liked him.  Patrick is wonderful and you have to love Julian and his daughter Portia.  Ivan the dog?  Also pretty awesome.

What I didn’t like so much was there are a couple off intimate descriptions that the wording actually made me cringe… I think the opposite of what the author would be looking for at that moment.  It also took me a while to understand the ghost part of the book and the first appearance of Elena’s sister, well, I thought she really was there.

All in all I think there is a lot of cultural history within this book that is slowly mixed in and that was interesting because I did not know about the Day Of The Dead traditions, or about the meal.  While the book was not an over the top “wow” for me, I did find it interesting enough to follow it all the way through.. curious about the Julian and Elena storyline, as well as the restaurants success.

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Discovery (December 30, 2008)

 

The final book in the Butternut trilogy.  The past two days I have reviewed Up At Butternut Lake and Butternut Summer.  This final installment of the series is an excellent completion that left me wanting more time at Butternut Lake.  ~Sheila

Mila Jones is running from her past.  When an opportunity comes up for her to take a Home Care Nurse position over 200 miles from her current situation she takes the offer.  After all, staying in a cabin on a lake in a quiet town like Butternut Minnesota sounds like the perfect escape.  Taking care of a wheelchair bound man named Reid Ford sounds like a pretty easy task compared to the life she is trying to escape.

Reid Ford however turns out to be anything but easy.

After Reid’s car accident that left him wheelchair bound, Reid has become a bitter shell of the confident always on the go man he once was.  Hating to rely on anyone for help, Reid has already chased off many in home health care aids with his biting sarcasm and unwillingness to help himself in any way.  When Reid takes one look at the young small woman named Mila he sees someone else who will be easy to run off.  Yet Reid notices something in Mila’s eyes he did not see in the other home care aids, a stubborn look of determination.

This…

could get interesting.

I really enjoyed Moonlight on Butternut Lake, perhaps even to the point of saying it was my favorite of the three books.  I liked Mila’s background story.  Reid is the brother of Walker Ford who we meet in the first book which helps the reader have a peek into the man that Reid was before the accident.  The change in him is startling and believable.  I found this book to have strong topics that felt realistic and I enjoyed how the characters from the past books play a role as this final story plays out.

Mila and Reid make for great protagonists.  Their differences played well off one another.

I have to admit, the Butternut Lake books brought me a nice comfort while I spent time with them.  I enjoyed how they all were separate books but together lay out quite a nice story about the powers of a small town in Minnesota.

• Series: The Butternut Lake Trilogy (Book 3)
• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (May 12, 2015)

 

Yesterday I reviewed Up At Butternut Lake, the first in this trilogy.  While Butternut Summer can be read as a stand alone, I think you will find that you may enjoy the residents of Butternut Minnesota enough to want to meet them all.  I would recommend the whole series.  ~Sheila

Caroline has had no trouble running a diner and raising her now adult daughter Daisy on her own.  That said, you can imagine her shock when her ex-husband Jack who she has not seen in 18 years strides in one day looking tan, strong, and healthy.  Double the shock when Caroline discovers that this is her daughter Daisy’s doing.  When Caroline learns Jack is trying to make amends for his leaving them all those years ago she is furious with his confidence, and admittedly a little flattered that he would try….

Daisy is also finding herself in unusual circumstances.  Always the girl who put her schooling before pleasure she finds herself to be distracted by a guy she used to know in High School.  Did Will always look this good?  Has he changed his bad boy ways?

One thing Caroline and Daisy can be sure of…. summer can bring about a lot of things and change is certainly in the air.

Butternut Summer is the second book in the Butternut trilogy.  While characters from the first book pop in and out of the story line it is not a necessity to read the first book to know what is happening.  Butternut Summer is mainly centered around Caroline and Daisy, Jack and Will. I found this book to not be as good as the first one.  Many situations in Butternut Summer seem to resolve themselves too easy.  On one page a character may be upset but it never escalates and all is forgiven in another page or two.  While an ok read and I was very happy to spend more time in Butternut Minnesota, this one is my least favorite of the trilogy due its easy resolutions and non happenings.

Still…  enjoyed the pace of the read.

• Series: The Butternut Lake Trilogy (Book 2)
• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Original edition (August 12, 2014)

 

It is amazing what the right timing can do when reading a book… Up At Butternut Lake has been on my shelf since last fall, now in this season of my life I not only read it but devoured the two follow-up books in this trilogy as well.  Yes – bonus – all three books are available AND I will be reviewing them over the next three days.  ~ Sheila

When Allie Beckett’s husband left for Afghanistan, Allie had no idea that would be the last time that she and her three your old son Wyatt would see him.  Now after two painful years Allie moves with Wyatt back to a family cabin located on Butternut Lake in Minnesota.  What Allie is hoping for is a quiet slower pace than the city life she is used to and hopefully a fresh start for her and Wyatt.

The Beckett’s are warmly welcomed by Jax, Allies high school friend, and by Caroline the owner of the local diner, Pearl’s.  There are also new faces, like Walker Ford who lives in a large cabin across the lake from Allie’s.  Walker pretty much keeps to himself until he takes an interest in the young pretty woman with a sadness in her eyes and her little boy.  Allie however is not likely to get to know Walker in the ways he would like to know her.  Still carrying the loss of her husband and his memory on her finger, she is not looking for anything more than peace and healing.

Yet there is something about Butternut Lake and all of its tranquility that seems to soften ones heart and open you up to possibilities never thought possible.

Up At Butternut Lake was a perfect read for my mood.  It was a gentle story set in my home state which helped me to picture the sweet solitude of a cabin on a lake.  Going through my own loss at this time, I could relate to Allie’s story of trying to find a new normal and all the while not wanting to let go of what was.  For a time, in these pages, she and I were kindred spirits.

I enjoyed this book immensely.  The writing style felt a little like the comfortable writing of Nicholas Sparks.  Smoothly written, no big surprises, and an engaging read that left me picking up the second book in this trilogy as soon as I closed the last page.  This is exactly what the type of book I look for when I am looking for good summer reading.  I know that not everyone can find their way to Minnesota to a cabin on the lake, however opening up this book can be the next best thing.

• Series: The Butternut Lake Trilogy (Book 1)
• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; First Edition edition (April 8, 2014)

 

I was drawn to this book because I do enjoy books about friendships as well as the fact that this author Jennifer Scott wrote The Accidental Book Club which was a fun read.  This one does not disappoint.  ~ Sheila

Three women in a local diner one morning are witnesses to a horrible accident right outside the diner window.  While each of these women are alone and do not know the others, they are drawn back to the diner weeks later in a state of shock and acceptance and eventually… a friendship.

Karen has an adult son who can not get it together.  Constantly in and out of jail Karen is bailing him out and dealing with his most recent girlfriend and mother of his child who is always looking for a handout and using the child as a bargaining tool.  This time he is in jail for a fight that has left a man in a coma.  Karen’s patience and wallet are growing thin.

Melinda the paramedic loves what she does. She has a husband who is so excited to start a family and the whole time Melinda is hiding the fact that she is taking birth control with a fear of bringing a child into such an unstable unknowing world.

Joanna has a loving and loyal boyfriend while she hides a deep secret that even she wonders if she can accept.  Really can the life and lie she is leading really be so bad if it keeps everyone else happy?

And then there is Maddie, a now widowed soon to be mother. The accident outside the diner took the life of her husband who she loved with all of her heart.  Maddie has lost all desire to go on and she is pretty sure she does not want the child growing inside of her, a symbol of the love she has lost.

As Karen, Melinda, and Joanna start meeting at the diner and sharing life stories while developing a friendship, they decide it is up to them to try to help Maddie out of her depression and help her see that there really is a reason to go on, as painful and as new as this world may seem… and maybe, just maybe, helping Maddie, helps each of these women see what is truly important.

Second Chance Friends was a little hard for me in parts due to the subject matter.  Thankfully the accident in the book is in the beginning and while it is the glue of the book – it is not the soul.  The soul of the book is what I appreciated and that was the friendships that came out of nowhere.  A wise person once said (my son), that people come into our lives for a reason.  Those who do not get you will drift away and that is ok because better people will come into your life who will genuinely love you.  This is what makes Second Chance Friends a good read.  The friendships that come out of tragedy.  Seeing what is real and what is important and as you will see in this book (as I see in my own life), sometimes we grab onto the wrong thing and put all of our time and energies into trying to make that work when what we are doing is wasting our time on something that will never work.

A good read on friendship and life choices.  I found this book to be another good read from Jennifer Scott, an author I will be watching.

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: NAL (May 5, 2015)