Book Journey

This is definitely the most disorganized First Book event I ever hosted. Yet despite my lack of creating the event, posting my intention on Good Reads, and overall communicating – many of you came through with a first book! HUZZAH!
That said – if you did not get in on this year, I am extending photos to come in through January 7th. You can Facebook Message me (Sheila DeChantal) or email me sdechantal@gmail.com) I will update this post next Saturday.

For those of you who sent in – thank you! I believe I captured all of you in the following photos – if I missed you let me know. Below the photos, you will see the list of the books selected this year with links for you to find them yourself. You will also find several authors in the mix – and for myself… I show up twice as I could not make up my mind. 😀
It was an interesting year with few duplicates unlike past years – a diverse set of reads!

Thank you again! Happy New Year!

• Look Back by Tatsuki
• Josie and Vic by Debra Thomas
• Keeper Of The Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger
• The Book Of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
• The Last Summer by Karen Swan
• Brotherless Night by VV Ganeshananthan
• The Little Old Lady Who Broke All The Rules by Catharina
• Book Lovers by Emily Henry
• The Book Haters Book Club by Gretchen Anthony (2 selected)
• The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
• A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella
• A Wish For Winter by Viola Shipman
• Lavender House by Lev AS Rosen
• The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
  Killers Of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (2 selected)
• In The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
• A Good Neighborhood by Theresa Anne Fowler
• Fairy Tale by Stephen King
• Fallen by Linda Costello
• Part Of Your World by Abby Jimenez
• Breath-Less by Amy McCulloch
• Babel by RF Kuang
• Have You Seen Luis Velez? by Catherine Ryan Hyde
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (2 selected)
• The Shoemaker’sWife by Adriana Trigiani
• The Address by Fiona Davis
• Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult
• Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
• A Million Things by Emily Spurr
• Hang The Moon by Jeanette Walls
• The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson
• City Under O8ne Roof by Iris Yamashita
• The Choice By Nora Roberts
• Spearhead by Adam Makos
• The Sound Of One Hand Clapping by Richard Flanagan
• The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
• The Return Of The Gods by Jonathan Cahn
• The Chef by James Patterson
• My Heart Is A Chains8aw by Stephen Graham Jones
• The Ways We Hide by Kristina McMorris
• All The Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham
• They’re Going To Love You by Meg Howrey
• A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab
• We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
• Beyond The Point by Claire Gibson
• Bill Bailey’s Remarkable Guide To Happiness
• Verity by Colleen Hoover (3 selected)
• It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
• The Last Chairlift by John Irving
• The Ski Jumpers by Peter Geye
• Tomorrow and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
• The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey
• The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt
• The Secret Life of Sunflowers by Marta Molnar
  The Circus Train by Amita Parakh
• Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
• Country of Glass by Sara Katz
• How Not To Die by Michael Greger MD
• Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak
• The Story Of Edgar Sawtell by David Wroblewski
• The Secret Bridge by Amy Le Feuvre
• Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
• Heart Bones by Colleen Hoover
• A World Of Curiosities by Louise Penny
• BREATH by James Nester
• Murder In An Irish Village by Carlene O Conner
• The Little Red Riding Book by Brandon Royal
• Brood by Jackie Polzin
• LIVID by Patricia Cornwell
• Night Flight by Antoine de Saint Exupery
• How To Be Perfect by Michael Schur
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
• HORSE by Geraldine Brooks
• The Art Of The Catapult by William Gurstelle
• Well Read. Well Fed.
• Parenting From the Inside Out by Daniel J Siegel
• Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
  

It’s Happening! I am excited to announce that this is the 10th Year of The First Book Event! If you put “First Book” in the search on this page you can bring up the years of fun posts and pictures of people all over the world with their first book of the year that they are planning to read or are reading into the New Year! It’s a great way to get ideas on what is being read and what to add to your own To Be Read list!

So what is First Book?  First Book is the first book you plan on reading in the New Year.  It can be a long-coveted read you have not had time for, a guilty pleasure read like a re-read of a favorite…  really it can be anything – it is…after all…YOUR First Book.

Make it AWESOME.

Then, once you have picked what it will be, email/ Facebook message/ text me a picture of you with the book (send it to sdechantal@gmail.com).  This adds to the excitement of the First Book.  You have between now and December 31st to send in your choice.  On January 1st I will post all the pics in a collage format of all of you around the world that are doing First Book.  I do hope you will join me – friends, family, fellow book lovers, a friend of a friend of a friend… you there in the corner looking at this crazy site for the first time – you as well.  I enjoy putting this together every year and seeing all the great books and pics come in really makes my heart smile.

Here are just a few of the over 100 books that came in last year:

It’s fun. It’s easy to do.
1. Take a photo of you with the first book you plan to read for 2023

2. send it to me – sdechantal@gmail.com – or if you have my number text it to me or send it on messenger through Facebook.

Have FUN!!!! Happy Christmas!!!

~Sheila

In 1860, When Elizabeth Packard didn’t believe in religion in quite the same way her husband did, having her own beliefs and speaking her mind – her husband did what he had every right to do – he had her put in an asylum.

Mother of six, intelligent, and independent Elizabeth was sentenced on her husband’s word alone – no trial – to the Illinois State Hospital in Jacksonville, Illinois, overseen by Dr. Andrew McFarland. The conditions are horrific, and unclean, with the inability to go outside. Elizabeth quickly discovers she is not the only sane woman in the asylum – imprisoned for such things as – laziness, opinionated, and crazy – decidedly so by no court – but an opinion.

Elizabeth stays strong in her beliefs, fueled by the reality of what she is seeing, and makes it her mission to not only secure her own freedom – but of those who are also wrongfully accused – not only for the present but for the future as well.

My book club read this book for our September 2022 discussion. I for one was amazed I had never heard of Elizabeth Packard and the great strides she made for women. The book was engrossing and at times hard to read. I found myself looking things up to go deeper into the research of what had happened – including the list I found of things that women were sent away for. By that list, as you can see in the above picture of my book club that was present the night of the discussion – we all could have been put away for something.

I have been talking about this book to anyone who will listen. An important read that brought forth a deep discussion of the current changes in our world. Highly recommended. This was my favorite book discussion so far this year.

Sheila

From the wealthy community of the Sydney Suburbs, parents do what it takes to put not only their children in the lime lite – but themselves as well.
Amanda, newly relocated to this school is trying to make connections with the right women… in seemingly in all the wrong ways.
As the school’s Trivia Night fundraiser arrives in all of its glory the night takes a turn when the alcohol flows a little too freely and conversations go from polite to partner swapping to …

well, you are just going to have to read it for yourself.

Sigh.
Don’t get me wrong – I enjoyed Big Little Lies when it read it – AND I enjoyed it as a mini-service as well. The theme was fun and the book was good. When I read the synopsis of this book it gave me all the vibes of BLL, which in most cases is a cookie-cutter repeat no is a no in my book – however, I thought I would give it a try.

Let’s say – there is A LOT going on here. The multiple characters and changes lead to a confusing (for me) listen (I did this on audio). While parts were funny and I loved the narrator – there was a heck of a lot going on here and continues to pile on hitting all the hot issues throughout the book.
The opportunity (IMO) is that you never really get a chance to feel for any of the characters because there is no in-depth connection to them. With the players switching often, it took energy to follow who was who and in the end, it felt like I read a book I could not tell you a whole lot about.
It could have been me. Wedding season as an Event Coordinator splits my downtime into shreds and quite possibly my feelings about this one could be I did have the bandwidth to follow it as I properly should have. I would love other opinions on this one as for me – it was not the win I thought would be.

Sheila

Basked in the era of Titanic, Madeleine is seventeen years old when she catches the eye of John Astor. While Madeleine comes from money and is already seen as a high-class socialite, the name ‘Astor’ is nothing to scoff at. Recently divorced and 29 years her elder, John captures Madeleine’s hand and the attention of the Press’s pen. As they embark on a wonderful long honeymoon and Madeleine soon finds herself with child – the press is at bay even if some are still clucking their tongues about the second /Mrs. Astor.

As the couple makes plans to return home in April of 2012, they find themselves aboard the luxury ship, Titanic, about to set out on its maiden voyage. On that fateful night of April 14th, as Madelaine is placed into a lifeboat she has no idea that this is the last time she will see her husband.

Gorgeously written, this historical love story is both engaging and heartwrenching. There are many touching moments throughout the book ( oh the dog!!!) as well as a personal look behind the scenes of Madeleine and John’s relationship. I enjoyed this different look at those who held a first hand experience of Titanic.
For lovers of Historical Fiction, do not miss out on this book – or enjoy it on audio as I did.

Sheila

At first read, you would want to believe this is historical fiction – it has all the feels of one. So much so – I used “The Google” to see if there was an actress this was based on (oh, don’t pretend you didn’t check too ;P). Author Taylor Jenkins Reid was partially pulling from Elizabeth Taylor’s life, who had been married eight times – seven different men, as well as a few other actresses of the era including Ava Gardner who hired a ghost-writer to share openly in the book, The Secret Conversations. However she came up with the combination, it was brilliant.

But – I’m getting ahead of myself,

The Seven Husbands Of Elizabeth Hugu, is about an aging Hollywood Actress preparing to auction off a few gowns she famously wore in her hit movies. While many publications are chomping at the bit to get an exclusive to this story, Elizabeth chooses an unknown journalist,  Monique Grant.

While Monique is thrilled, she too is curious as to why she was selected. Even more so when Elizabeth discloses that she did not choose Monique to write about the dress auction, but instead, to write her memoirs – the truth of her life and each of her husbands, to be released upon her death.

What follows is an engaging tale of Elizabeth’s hard-won steps to stardom and the compromises she makes along the way. While Monique shows up day after day to record the star’s story there is much to reveal as well as a big reveal that is sooooo worth the wait. Quite literally, unputdownable as page after page pulls you into the storyline.

Hurrah for Taylor Jenkins Reid! I read this author years ago: Forever Interrupted and After I Do, and while these books were light and fun, they do not hold a candle to the TSHOEH. Admittedly, I have not read Daisy Jones and The Six (yet), which to my understanding is also a pretty amazing read.

My thoughts: Read The Seven Husbands Of Elizabeth Hugo. I believe you will be glad you did. Netflix is saying they are making a mini-series out of this book – exciting stuff (I will watch it) but as always – read the book first.

Holy missing blogger Batman! Where the heck have I been?

Well, I am here… and I am reading…. it just seems like there are not enough hours in a day to do “all the things.” (and I really really want to do ALL the things.)

I did however want to check-in to tell you about something that I hope is going to be cool. If you know me, you may also know that I have a huge passion for banned books. You know… it’s like someone picking on my friends…. and that – just can not happen. I will be hosting a live webinar this coming Tuesday, June 21 from noon to 1:30 pm Central Time. I will be covering the history of book banning as well as the current climate on banned books.

I hope you can join in! There will be an opportunity to send in questions during the webinar as well as those registered for this live event will be entered to win a few great titles!

Registration Link
Minnesota Association Of Library Friends

Good morning. *Insert COFFEE here*

I’m going off the beaten path this morning to talk about Encanto, one of Disney’s delightful movies. I had the opportunity to see this one in the theater, and then again more recently at home.
I loved it just as much the second time.

I won’t bore you with details – you probably know about the movie and that each one of the Madrigal family remembers receives a magical gift once they turn a certain age. Some of the gifts are more useful than others – but hey, it’s the luck of the draw… or in this case, it’s the turn of a knob.

The storyline centers around Mirabel, who, when it is her turn to receive her gift… nothing happened.
Zippo.
Nada.
Nothing.

Awkward.

Don’t worry – the movie plays on and all is wonderfully well in the end. The question of course is, why didn’t Mirabel receive her gift like all the others in her family?
I am certain there are a gazillion theories as people dig into the clues and fun easter eggs that Disney is so great at tossing into their moves for those who like to level up. I have a thought and I am curious what your thoughts are as well.

*Spoiler Alert*
If you have not watched the movie – we are going into spoiler territory.
My thoughts on Mirabel in a nutshell….

she was the gift.

While the others all received a specific gift, I feel that Mirabel was meant to be the one to carry on after her Grandmother no longer can. Of all of her family, members she is the one who appears to be more carrying of others, more grounded, and accepting. A simple door to a room was not a big enough gift for her –
and the house knew it.

And….

I could be completely off.


That’s my thoughts…. if you have seen it, what are your thoughts on Mirabel’s delayed gift?
(If you haven’t seen I recommend that you do!)

Penn and Rosie have a houseful of boys. Four to be exact. When Rosie becomes pregnant for the 5th time, both Penn and she feel this time it will be a girl; but alas they find they have another perfectly wonderful boy.

Claude is a complete joy and the perfect addition to the happy family. When Claude chose to play dress-up over trucks, Penn and Rose were happy to oblige. When Clause wished for his hair to grow long, they let his hair grow. When Claude wanted to wear a party dress for his first day of school and carry a purse as a lunch box; while his parents hesitated, ultimately they want their child to be happy and comfortable in his choices, so a party dress it was.

And here is where it begins.

While Penn and Rosie could keep their child perfectly happy when he was in their home, the outside world was not so open.

When the school called to say the way Claude was dressing was a distraction to the other students.

When people whispered when the family went on outings.

When the kids begin to tease…

“For my child, for all our children, I want more options, more paths through the woods, wider ranges of normal, and unconditional love.”
― Laurie Frankel, This Is How It Always Is

This is a book you must experience.

Admittedly, this took me a while to write this review. I wrote… I deleted… I wrote again. I wanted to get it right. There is so much that is so good in this book.

Is it perfect? No. And it shouldn’t be. Rosie and Penn are amazing parents. Weaved within the pages, Penn, a stay-at-home novelist, tells a wonderful story to the children centered around a non-descriptive character called Grumwald. Rosie, a Doctor, balances a career and her family. As Claude encounters new obstacles, the parents make decisions that they hope will be for the better of all; upending their lives in ways that can and will spin out of control.

I really enjoyed reading this book and found it to be different than anything I have read before. It made me think. My only small complaint is the end wraps up a little too quickly and neatly – but again, that could be my perception and perhaps I am just bitter that it had to end at all.

A timely read. This would be a wonderful discussion book as there are so many things to discuss. I can’t wait for others to read this book because I really do want to talk about it.

*Author Laurie Frankel writes this as a fictional book, that also touches a little on her own experience of raising a transgender child. Be sure to check out her website (I recently downloaded another of her titles: One, Two, Three. )