I went to the 5:45 am Group Power Class with my friend Wendy. At this point I am not sure which of us is crazier… she who is now on her way to work until 7 pm tonight, or me who needed to come home, get ready for a breakfast date at 9 am and packing to leave town right after a quick stop at the library after breakfast.
I am itchin’ for spring and for activity and I think I am finally starting to see things coming up that are exciting! In three weeks (oh man… it may be less now) I am in for the Polar Plunge is Edina Minnesota for Special Olympics. I have never done this before… but enjoy adventure. Although today is currently -4 for a temp so really thinking more and more about that icy water.
Then – yesterday a group of my friends were planning a girls weekend that I thought at first I would not be able to attend as they had picked a weekend I had other commitments… and then – the email came and the date has changed and I am in!!! IN!!!! AND we are seeing Rick Springfield in concert which is oh so 80’s of me… but that’s the way I roll.
Rick Springfield.... then and now
May 1 is the first Minnesota bike ride of the year and my friends Amy and Wendy are committed to doing this with me and I am super uber pumped to do this ride -and hopefully this year the weather is nice enough for us to do the 75 or 100 mile route instead of the 30 due to poor weather the last two years.
And the end of May – is BEA.
And from there – spring and summer means bike rides and a garden and apparently a run this year that still freaks me out a bit but…. I feel I need to do things now because some day I might not want to. 🙂
This weekend, well today actually I am going to our cabin up North for the first time since November. I am taking time to get away and write. I will be back on Sunday. Posts will still go up as I should have internet when I go out for coffee at a cafe in Silver Bay. A 3 hour drive each way means lots of audio time too… and I am thinking about a stop at Barnes and Noble in Duluth…. just because. 😀
Oh and yes, I have a winner from the Literary Blog Hop. My winner using random.org is: Amy from The House Of Seven Tails. She chose The Things They Carried by Tim O’ Brien. Congratulations Amy!
16th-century Prague, Wishnia’s outstanding debut convincingly transforms a Jewish sexton and his rabbinic mentor into a plausible pair of sleuths. Just before the start of Passover, the discovery of the bloody corpse of Gerta Janek, a blond girl, maybe seven years old, inside the store of Jacob Federn, a Jewish businessman, triggers the inevitable revival of the blood libel and threat of mass retribution against the entire Jewish community. Benyamin Ben-Akiva, the newly arrived shammes, has three days to prove that someone other than Federn is guilty of Gerta’s brutal murder. He faces opposition from his own people, but manages to win the respect and support of the legendary Rabbi Loew, who helps him gain access to the body so that a rudimentary examination can be done, though many Gentiles are offended by the very notion.
I love reading about different cultures and that is what initially drew me to this book. That, a little historical fiction and I do love a good mystery.
Highly detailed and full of 16th century imagery – this part of the book I really enjoyed as author Kenneth Wishnia truly has a way with words. And speaking of words… on the flip of that this is a book that would be a delight for those who love learning languages as the Hebrew, German, and Yiddish words are used throughout. For me – it started to feel a bit like work to stop and roll the words through my mind, however I can see me going back and reading this book again when I have more time to really spend time in the language of it. (*There is a glossary for the words in the back of the book). The Fifth Servant opens up to many colorful characters and much of the book is seen through Benyamin Ben Akiva eyes and as such is a witness to the hideous murder. This book reminds me strongly of another that I have read but for the life of me I can not seem to put my finger on that tile.
While maybe not so historically correct – I did like the way women were portrayed in the book as strong and capable. That was refreshing for someone who like me enjoys reading about strong women.
There were parts that I did not enjoy – at times it felt like the religious/political aspect of the book became more important than the mystery itself and the plot felt lost for a time until suddenly the ending pulled me back into the story.
Final thoughts… there was more to this book then I originally anticipated but still I found it to be a good read. Due to my own procrastination I started this book later than I should have and feel I could have spent more time in it, working through some of the details. This is one I will probably pick up again soon and spend a bit more time with it.
I have many things bouncing around my head … things I need to do, things I want to do, things I am considering… I work today – have breakfast with friends tomorrow morning and if (IF) all goes as planned I am heading out-of-town after that tomorrow to our cabin for a weekend of writing and just getting out of Dodge…. errr…. Brainerd. 😛
As wired up as I am right now… watch me forget something important like … my notes.
I have no idea why this is in my head right now…. but I am thinking of an episode of friends about a book they were ready. For the record – I used to really love the Friends episodes.
(Yes…. sorry I guess you have to watch it on you tube)
Well.. for me all book discussions in sit coms are pretty funny…
Ok so I am off to start my day and while my plate if FULL FULL FULL… tomorrow…. is not. Tomorrow kicks off to a weekend of….
possibilities. 😀
Have a super day everyone – don’t let anyone take your wind! 😀
(wow…. that was cheesy…. I really do need a break. :shock:)
Olive is a big woman… she is big boned, big faced… and a big presence in the lives that surrounds hers. A retired math teacher in Crosby Maine… Olive bowls people over like a bowling ball heading for a strike. She is abrupt, judgmental, and not the person you stop in announced for a chat or a cup of coffee.
Yet in this series of short stories by Elizabeth Strout, Olive plays a part in every one… sometimes large, and sometimes she is merely acknowledged by another character or by a hand wave…. and as the stories unfold around Olive’s home town…. we get a glimpse of who Olive may really be.
♦ ♦ ♦
Hmmmm…. I still find myself trying to sort out my thoughts about this book. I am not a fan of short stories. I prefer really digging in and getting to know characters and plot lines and the short snippets have never really done it for me. Yet, as part of a reading project with my book club, I hand-picked this title out of a list of book options.
Why?
I believe I chose it because something about the synopsis, and yes even a series of stories around one character intrigued me. It was like a puzzle I wanted to solve and envisioned that was what author Elizabeth Strout was going to do – create a series of story pieces that in the end were a whole. I have always been a fan of unique tales, original writing styles… I prefer the breaking of the molds….
As I read this book I found myself at first confused. The stories seemed choppy… little glimpses – but of what. A bit of Olive here…. a bit of Olive there…. many characters were introduced and in times it was their story that held the chapter, their tale of – well, tragic life mostly…. and yet, somewhere there was still Olive.
It took me more than a few chapters to get the flow of the book and even then…. I am not sure if I truly did or I just became used to the way this book was put together. What I felt we were seeing was not the whole story – and for that I give Elizabeth Strout much credit. I dislike a book that spells it out for me, preferring to have something to figure out while I read. I believe this was Elizabeth’s goal – to give the reader a glimpse – but left much to the imagination. Who was Olive – really? This complicated woman, this woman who for most of book I did not even really like…. but I did want to figure her out.
There are moments when Olive (with help from our author) speaks so beautifully – so deeply that I am left with words that I want to post somewhere as reminders…. one such phrase came out of the short story ‘Starving”:
When Olive is confronted with an anorexic girl, Nina, this conversation takes place:
Olive finished the donut, wiped the sugar from her fingers, sat back and said, “You’re starving.”
The girl didn’t move, only said, “Uh… duh.”
“I’m starving too,” Olive said. “Why do you think I eat everything in sight?”
“You’re not starving,” Nina says with disgust.
“Sure I am. We all are.”
“Wow,” Nina said, Heavy.”
Moments like that in the book caused me to see a bit behind their thin veil that covered the real Olive.
In the end… I can’t say I felt I really knew Olive Kitterling, but I think I had an idea. Elizabeth Strout does write a compelling story and I give her a ton of credit as while at times I found this book difficult to read and follow, I can imagine that writing such a multi layered book, folding one chapter into another had to be pretty complicated in itself and Elizabeth Strout does a fine job doing so in a writing style that gave me pause – in a good, thought-provoking way.
*If you read this book – do make time to read the interview in the back of the book with Elizabeth Strout and Olive Kitteridge. It is hilarious and I think it will give you some additional insight to Olive.
Amazon Rating
Bookies Review:
As I mentioned before – this was a bonus review for my book club and it was to be centered around the food that makes up this book. Let me just say – if you are going to do a potluck around the food in a book – this one would be an excellent choice… the book is literally filled with food… my group came up with: Beef stew, hot bread, olive cheeseballs, funeral meatballs, seafood stuffed mushrooms (the ones Olive gets sick on in the book), homemade butterscotch sauce (where Olive winds up getting all over her towards the end of the book), carrot soup and a lovely red wine)
Our thoughts on the book were that Olive was a hard woman who seemed to keep a wall of protection around herself as some people tend to do when they don’t want people to see them too closely. This led to a good discussion of people like that in our own lives and how we handle them. We all felt that author Elizabeth Strout did a good job of giving us clues to Olive without spelling it out for us… we were left to come up with our own opinion of who this woman was.
Overall we came up with a slightly below average rating for the book. We found this book to be more work than entertaining to read. While we appreciated the good writing, we really never found a true connection to Olive.
For those that wish… I am posting a few of our recipes from last night that were wonderful compliments to the book:
Olive-Cheese Balls
Olive Cheese balls
– 2 cups (@ 8 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese – 1 1/4 cups flour – 1/2 cup margarine, melted – 36-48 small pimento-stuffed green olives
Mix cheese and flour, add in margarine. Work dough with hands, if necessary. Mold @ 1 tsp dough around each olive, shape into ball. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until set – 15-20 minutes. Best served warm.
Carrot Soup
Carrot Soup
– 1 large sweet onion, cleaned and chopped – 1/4 cup margarine – @ 1 1/2 lbs carrots, cleaned and chopped – 1 large white (russet) potato, cleaned and sliced – 1 large sweet potato, cleaned and sliced – 32 oz chicken broth – ginger – rosemary – savory – marjoram – pepper – chili powder – garlic – Emeril’s original Essence – 12 oz V-8 juice – 4 oz cream cheese, cubed – 1 handful shredded sharp cheddar cheese
In Dutch oven on cook top, melt margarine, add onion. Cook til tender (5 minutes or so). Add carrots, potatoes, chicken broth, and spices. (Use whatever spices appeal to you.) Heat to boil, cook til vegetables are all tender (20 minutes or so). Remove from heat. Use immersion blender (or let cool some and use regular blender) to puree vegetables to desired consistency. Return to heat, add V-8 juice and cheeses, stirring til well-blended. Could serve now. I had to juggle errands, so I put the soup in my crock pot and left it on low for a couple of hours. This may have caused the flavors to blend more.
The couch comes into view again. Kerry Monroe is drinking a tumbler of brown stuff- the whiskey she was offering earlier, Olive suspects- and while Kerry’s lipstick remains bright, her cheekbones and jawline still impressively proportioned, it’s as though inside her black clothes her joints have become loosened. Her crossed leg swings, a foot bobs, some inner wobbliness is there. “Nice service, Marlene,” Kerry says, leaning forward to pick up a meatball with a toothpick. “Really nice service; you’ve done him proud.” And Olive nods, because she would like Marlene to be comforted by this.
Marlene’s Funeral Meatballs
Funeral Meatballs
2 pounds ground beef
1 c. evaporated milk
2 c. bread crumbs
onion, minced to taste
1 tsp. seasoned salt
sauce:
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 Tbsp. catsup
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix hamburger, evaporated milk, bread crumbs, onion & seasoned salt. Shape into meatballs. Bake for 15 minutes or until browned. Reduce heat to 325 degrees. In a saucepan, combine sauce ingredients; bring to a boil. Pour over meatballs. Cover and bake for 25-30 minutes more.
Downstairs she went, into the white basement. Stepping into the little closet of a bathroom, she flicked on the light, and saw in the mirror that across her blue cotton blouse was a long and prominent strip of sticky dark butterscotch sauce. A small feeling of distress took hold. They had seen this and not told her. She had become the old lady her Aunt Ora had been, when years ago she and Henry would take the old lady out for a drive, stopping some nights to get an ice cream, and Olive had watched as Aunt Ora had spilled melted ice cream down her front; she had felt repulsion at the sight of it. In fact, she was glad when Ora died, and Olive didn’t have to continue to witness the pathetic sight.
Butterscotch Sauce
Butterscotch Sauce
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. half & half
1 Tbsp. corn syrup
3 Tbsp. butter
Combine all ingredients together in a saucepan. Stir over medium heat until boiling. Simmer 3-4 minutes. Let cool then serve over ice cream.
I am going to make this quick as I just seen to be running behind today and I soooooooo hate that.
Last night we had a small book club group gathering. This was a bonus review that we agreed to do this month and next. We are reviewing a book around the food within it. This was an optional read for our group and those who felt they would like to and were able to read the additional book as well as participate in the food bringing were invited to do so.
Really…. that’s the background story of shy I was straightening the front room to my home… it’s a small friendly room that I often refer to as the friendship room as it is brightly decorated and is comfy to sit in and chat with a few friends. We usually do book club when it is at my house in the family room downstairs as that is bigger, but I did not need that much space last night and left the downstairs to Chance and Al to chill and watch tv while we met upstairs.
(Wow…. I digress today! LOOK!!! Something shiny!!!!) 😛
Ok…. my POINT is that while cleaning the room I was organizing a basket of books that I have next to a chair in the room. That basket of books has been more decorative than anything and these books have not rotated out of this basket in years. As I looked at what was in the basket I pulled out a book called The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin. It surprised me as I do not recall having heard of Justin Cronin before The Passage came out this past year. Yet, there in the basket was an earlier writing of his, and by the looks of it… a softer read as well.
(Really – this sounded much more interesting when I started typing it)
I know I picked this book up because of title… It really does have a gorgeous cover and now as The Passage is so deeply written and interwoven in this futuristic world of vampire (virals) like creatures… I am super curious what this one is about.
Have you ever done that? read something by an author you believe you have not heard of before – only to find you own something by them already? Or is that just me? Crazy chick in Minnesota. 😛
Last nights book club was sooooooo awesome. I need to get the review up today for Olive Kitteridge but currently have run out of time to do so and was too tired last night so we shall see if I can squeeze in some time to do this later this afternoon. I should have been more organized – but honestly I unwound last night by watching Amish Grace on Netfix which is the true story of the Amish School shootings in 2006, the book I read recently about that was Think No Evil.
Oh and winner from yesterdays Sarah Pekkanen day using random.org is: Kavyen from Reading Between The Pages!
This is an exciting chat for me today as this is the first time I have had the honor of interviewing an author – twice. Last year Sarah Pekkanen and I chatted about her book Opposite Of Me. I am beyond thrilled today to have her back to talk about her book that hit the shelves today: Skipping A Beat.
Sarah is one busy lady so I will not keep her waiting with a bunch of chit-chat… please welcome an incredible author, Sarah Pekkanen.
Sarah Pekkanen
First off…. wow! A second book was released today! I am so excited for you! What does that feel like?
Sarah: It feels amazing. I’ve wanted to be a writer since I was a young girl, and walking into bookstores and seeing my name on the cover of a book is an indescribable feeling. I just grin from ear to ear and lurk around, wondering if anyone will buy it when I’m there (yes, I’m a bookstore stalker)!
I just finished Skipping a Beat on Saturday evening and I was up until 1:00 am crying and feeling… wonderful if that makes sense. When you sent this book off to the publisher, what did that moment feel like for you? really I want to know… did you bawl like a baby too?
Sarah: Thank you! I’m so glad Skipping a Beat touched you this deeply. It’s what I was hoping for when I wrote it. I go through that same tumble of intense emotions when I write. And when I send off the final version of the book, it’s with a mixed sense of elation and sadness and reflectiveness. It’s bittersweet, really, because the process of writing a book can be so tough and intense, yet you miss it so deeply when it’s over.
Sarah I have now read both your books and found that you have a gift for creating characters that feel so real that I would know them if the were three-dimensional and walking down the street. Could you share with me how these characters come to be that you can write them so well?
Sarah: Wow, another amazing compliment – you are making my day! I tend to be a visual person, so I “see” my characters, if that makes sense. I can picture what they look like and their mannerisms. It’s one part of the process, at least, that comes easily for me.
The main character in Skipping A Beat, Julia and Michael, have extended family issues on both sides…. what was your reasoning for building this into the story line?
Sarah: I really wanted to show how our families shape who we become as adults, and how we can hold on to the good in that, while releasing the bad parts. I think we carry with us the lingering shadows of our families and our awareness of that can really help us make authentic choices that are good for us, rather than reflexive reactions to situations.
Often I hear about authors writing the story without knowing the outcome until it flows out of them later in the writing. Without giving anything away – when you started writing Skipping A Beat, did you know how it would end or did the ending come as you wrote?
Sarah: I did know the ending – some twists during the middle of the book surprised me, but I felt all along that it needed to end this way. I plotted out this book fairly loosely, with plenty of room for inspiration, but the broad outline of the book remained just as I’d originally planned it.
What are your hopes that readers take away from this book?
Sarah: It’s a simple message, but one I think we can never hear enough: Love is the most important thing in this world.
That is a great take away message. What is next for you?
Sarah: This will be a very happily busy week. Skipping a Beat comes out today, and I’m doing a signing tonight at my local Barnes & Noble. Then I’m heading to New York to meet with my publisher and do a book signing in the city! And while I’m at my publisher’s office, we’ll be talking about my third book, which I need to turn in by May 1. It’s the story of three very different women who become roommates in New York.
Oh! I can not wait for the third book it sounds wonderful! So, for purely selfish reasons I have to ask, will you be at BEA this May?
Sarah: Yes – and I so hope to see you there! I’m also hoping to go to the Book Blogger Convention because I’ve gotten to know quite a few book bloggers, like you, and it’s wonderful to meet up in person. You guys are great to hang out with!
You are too sweet! Since I interviewed you before and have already asked for a little known fact, my new question for you is – what fictional character(s) would you like to hang out with and why?
Sarah: It’s been a long few weeks – I’m getting over the flu and am a bit run down – so I’m up for a bit of fun. I think for a good girls’ night out, you can’t beat Bridget Jones!
Thanks so much Sarah for chatting it up with me and best wishes with the new book! I am still gushing about it!
Sarah: Thank you Sheila! It’s always good to talk to you and hope to see you again soon! xoxo
Readers: Please take time to check out Sarah at her website: sarahpekkanen.com
In high school they were Julie and Mike and they were inseparable. In college they were room mates and then they were married. In the early years they scraped by on what little they had working hard and dreaming big. Julie started a party planning business that took off and she was able to start putting a little away. Then Mike, always the dreamer came up with an idea that changed the look of health drinks forever. As production rolled out on the flavored waters, Mike, now a more sophisticated Michael, became more and more caught up in the business and the sweet generous man Julie once knew, became second to the business… a mistress, she could not compete with. Her compensation becomes the material things they now own, the large multi million dollar home, the cars, the jewelry, and travel. Julia wants for nothing. Anniversaries were missed, replaced instead by delivered flowers with notes of promises to be there for the next one… and nights became cold and lonely as Julie, now going by Julia, slept alone as Mike traveled for work for more nights than not.
Then a brush with death changes everything for Michael. Suddenly he sees more clearly what is important, and money becomes meaningless to him. Yet Julia gave up on love a long time ago and has grown accustomed to doing things alone and living the high life. Now it looks like Michael wants to turn his back on it all, give it all up, and put his full attention on Julia.
Julia feels that it is too little….
too late.
Last May I had the opportunity to read The Opposite Of Me by Sarah Pekkanen and LOVED it. I enjoyed Sarah’s style of writing and how in touch she was with family life and all the quirks that go with it. When I seen Skipping A Beat was coming soon, I was thrilled when I was sent an advanced copy to see what Sarah was up to this time around.
Honestly? I loved this book even more than her first! I connected well with the characters of Julia and Michael and found that these two well-developed characters left me feeling like the best friend in the middle. I completely understood Julia’s reluctance to be hurt by letting Michael in after the years of absence in their lives. Her fear was all too real to me as she struggles to hang on to what has become the norm in their lives. Once she had created herself around the world she lived in, it was not a fit for it to suddenly change.
I could relate to Michael too…. he was doing what he could to change the way things had become – but his complete about-face was way too much – too soon.
Another relationship in the book that I found to be amazing was Julia’s best friend Isabelle. I love this aspect of the book as Sarah Pekkanen shows the importance of having that friend that you can share anything with, and with everything else happening Isabelle is that person for Julia.
What I really loved about this book was how real it all felt. I have heard many times how once someone is forced into a different mold for a while we can adjust to new things and many times find the changes welcome, even if we did not think we would. Sarah Pekkanen writes a story that touched me deeply as this couple struggles to find their way… and in the process…
well, you are going to have to read this one to find out more.
I had a hard time putting this book down and highly recommend this book, as one of the best books I have read this year. An original writing that left me wanting more! Totally two thumbs up and a three tissue read. 😀
Good morning! yes it is true… Minnesota is buried in snow and as much as that irritates me to no end….. I refuse to let that get me down!
Today one of my favorite authors has a book released and today is going to be all about the book and the author.
If you have been doing a little blog hopping the last few days you may have seen the reviews start to pop up for Skipping a Beat by Sarah Pekkanen. I finished it over the weekend and let my just say if COFFEE CUP and I were book critics our vote would be two mocha lattes and a hand full of Kleenex up – yes…… it is that good.
So let the festivities begin! Here’s the layout – in a few hours my review of Skipping a Beat will be posted. A few hours after that please pop in again for my author chat with the wonderful Sarah Pekkanen.
Here’s a quick story about how I met Sarah Pekkanen: Last April I entered a contest on Twitter that Sarah was tweeting about in honor of book bloggers. She was giving away a trip to New York for BEA – airfare, food allowance, two nights hotel, tour of Simon and Schuster, and the Book Blogger convention to attend with her. I entered this much like I would sign up the freezer full of goodies they sometimes offer at your local grocery store and you just sign up because – why not?
Well…. I won.
SSSQQQUUUEEEEEE!!!! I know right? I couldn’t believe it! She sent me an email telling me I won this amazing package to BEA and I thought it had to be spam. I called her number which she put in the email and she laughed and said, “Wow, I sent that email like 3 minutes ago!”
I remember telling her that I was at work and I was trying really hard not to scream and jump up and down with excitement. 😀
Winning was great – but even better was meeting Sarah. She is incredibly down to earth and fun to chat with. I had read her book Opposite of Me and loved it. I could not wait to see what she came up with next.
So – because Sarah is so incredible and I want you to have a chance to know how incredible she is too – I am giving away a copy of her book Skipping A Beat. This giveaway is for today only and you will be entered for commenting on this post and/or on the other two posts that will go up today. If you comment on all three posts – that will be three entries (max of 3). I will announce the winner tomorrow morning in the meandering.
I hope if you have not read Sarah Pekkanen that you do try her. I adored both her books!
Tonight I have the bonus book club review and potluck around the book Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. The food people are bringing sounds good – and I am excited to see what the group thought of this unusual read. Have an awesome day everyone. 😀
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.
I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. I offer a weekly contest for those who visit 10 or more of the Monday Meme participants and leave a comment. You receive one entry for every 10 comments, just come back here and tell me how many in the comment area.
Congratulations! Please choose an item out of the PRIZE BOX (♥selections updated!♥) and email me your choice with your mailing address as well! journeythroughbooks@gmail.com
I had a pretty fun week this past week and had prepped enough of my pending reviews to schedule them to go live all week-long which was nice and is always the plan… just doesn’t always work out that way. Here is what happened at Book Journey this past week:
Oh and note that the Literary Blog Hop is still going on through Wednesday, 30 blogs, including this one offering giveaways on great literature! Check it out! 😀
I am still cleaning up a few reads and plan to keep it light this week as I have a huge week of meetings in the evening and I need to do a little book catch up. This is the plan to work on this week:
I have actually finished this book because I really wanted my review to go live on release day which is this coming Tuesday. Let me just say that this book is one of the best books I have read so far this year and I have read some pretty good books this year. Author Sarah Pekkanen and I will also be chatting it up this week about the book, the feeling of release day and more! 😀
This is our book club read for March and time to get started on it I think…
Four slave women accompany their masters to a resort in the free state of Ohio in the mid-1850s. Lizzie actually loves Drayle, the father of her two children—a brown-skinned boy named for his father and a girl white enough to pass. Reenie is the half-sister of her owner, a cruel man who passes her along to the resort manager. Sweet is pregnant and has a relatively amiable relationship with her master, while Mawu is a wild red-haired woman bent on freedom from a cruel and violent owner. Frustrations mount as they consider their options, tempted to take advantage of the help offered by free blacks and a Quaker woman. But they are guilt-ridden about the prospect of leaving their children behind. The women rely on each other for support as they come together for three summers, catching up on their lives of woe and occasional joy. Drawing on research about the resort that eventually became the first black college, Wilberforce University, the novel explores the complexities of relationships in slavery and the abiding comfort of women’s friendships.
With Wondrous Strange not complete, I have moved on to a new one for my IPOD, 1st To Die by James Patterson. I have always wanted to try this series but once a series gets into so many books I usually back away from it because I do not want to commit to what it will take to catch up. So far this one is seeming to be pretty interesting!
If all goes well I would love a chance to start this book this week as well. Hannah at Wordlily had a whole week about this author and really peaked my interest in her writing. I checked a few of her titles out from the library and think I would like to start with this one.
So that is the plan. I am hoping to get to our cabin this coming weekend to write which would mean audio both ways for a total of 7 hours! I am thinking I could get a good jump on a story there! 😀
And now I am so excited to see what you are all reading! Last week was a tough on for Mr Linky and the upgrade and due to all the time I spent trying to figure out what was happening with Linky I did not get around to all of your blogs as I had hoped too. This week though, I worked extra hours this weekend and now have Monday off so I will have time to go and check all your posts out!
Be sure to link your post below where it says “click here” and have a SUPER MONDAY and the rest of your week as well!
Powered by Linky Tools
Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…
This is a post that has been in my head for a while and I never see anyone addressing this subject so maybe it is just me…. but I am going to get on my little soap box anyway and see what conversation can be started around this topic.
I am curious if readers enjoy watching book trailers. Book trailers are used to promote book much like movie trailers promote movies. On the pro side, I have heard that the book trailer can motivate reluctant readers to decide to read a book. It is said that librarians and teachers give a shout out that they love them…
So why don’t I?
Lets start with Movie Trailers. I love them. If I hear about a movie I think I would like to see I actively seek out the movie trailer. What I see on the movie trailer is what I will see on the big screen… the actors, the action, the dialogue… Nothing changes from the trailer to the movie.
However, a book to me is a world hidden within the pages. There is a reason this blog is called Book Journey. Books are journeys… tickets to other countries, to other worlds, forward and backward in time and space. Within the world of a book that the author has developed – I still hold a little creative license with it. While the characters may be well described, we still all get a chance to create him or her in our mind. I love it when the author breathes life into the characters. We as readers develop the character in our mind as the author gives us details, height, age, hair color, attitude.. the same goes for the development of the space in which this character lives – home, town, state, country…
When I see a book trailer, the trailer puts images in my mind that I carry throughout the book. Now I have an idea of what the character looks like or the place he/she lives because of what I have seen in the trailer. That image has now overridden what I would have hoped to discover for myself within the book.
Last fall I read a book I enjoyed very much. After reading and reviewing the book I came across a book trailer for that same book and thought I would give it a viewing. When they brought out the male character, he was nothing like the description of the man in the book. He looked too young to be who I had just read about, and he was shorter than the book had described…. and suddenly this was now the character that over shadowed the one I had envisioned.
Yes, you could say, “But Sheila…. wouldn’t that happen anyway if the book becomes a movie?”
Absolutely – that could happen. I don’t have all the answers here… I an just chatting. 😛
I personally discover books I want to read by reading reviews, stalking my favorite authors online, book sites, and from book lovers I know personally in my day to day life. If someone gushes about a book… that interests me.
I am not saying book trailers are bad, I am just curious what other readers think of them. I can see where they may help the reluctant reader to pick up a book but do you think that a visual book trailer is more powerful than a friends raving?
As readers, what do you think? Do you enjoy seeing a book trailer? Does it motivate you to want to read the book? Has a book trailer ever turned you off from a book?
I would be curious to hear from authors too…. do book trailers enhance sales? What advice would you say is a must if you are going to provide a book trailer for your book?
(*Please do not mention specific trailers in a negative way, however feel free to use positive examples – this post is not to bash book trailers but to gather thoughts about them in general. I am offering my thoughts here and am not aiming at any trailers personally. I am basing this post as more conversational, and I am open to your opinions on this topic.) 😀
Book Journey 