How fun! Thanks to Hachette, I am able now to give five sets of these wonderful books away! I have just drawn my winners using random.org and our winners are:
(ahem…. bring on the drum roll please)
WORDLILLY
DIANE
DIANA
JACKIE LESTER
AMY STEELE
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! ENJOY THE BOOKS – WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED BY EMAIL
A girl and a tree… which one really has the deeper roots? Which one really is the stronger? ~ Sheila
Synopsis
A moving coming-of-age story set in the 1900’s, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the lives of 11-year-old Francie Nolan, her younger brother Neely, and their parents, Irish immigrants who have settled in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Johnny Nolan is as loving and fanciful as they come, but he is also often drunk and out of work, unable to find his place in the land of opportunity. His wife Katie scrubs floors to put food on the table and clothes on her childrens’ backs, instilling in them the values of being practical and planning ahead.
When Johnny dies, leaving Katie pregnant, Francie, smart, pensive and hoping for something better, cannot believe that life can carry on as before. But with her own determination, and that of her mother behind her, Francie is able to move toward the future of her dreams, completing her education and heading oft to college, always carrying the beloved Brooklyn of her childhood in her heart.
My Thoughts:
A tree grows in Brooklyn was a pleasant read for a classic. By saying that I mean that some of the classics we have read in the past have just been hard reads – hard to understand and hard to get into. This books writing was smooth and I could follow the story easily. The book is centered around Francie and her family in the back drop of World War One. Told from the perspective of Francie, I quickly was engrossed in the absolute and utter level of poverty they were.
Food is a big theme in this book and while they had very little, Francie’s mom Katie could work wonders with it. There is always stale bread and crushed pies, and bone marrow to spread on bread as a treat after the bone has been used in soups. Meat was a rare treat. This book reminded me a bit of The Book Thief as far as the poverty and making the best of what they have.
I enjoyed the theme of the book, yet found it for the most part non eventful. The book goes page by page through Francie’s life, what she sees in her parents (her dad drinks too much and her mom works hard cleaning homes to make ends meet). You see Francie is school and you learn her love for books and for learning. The book carries you through Francie’s life and through this I see comparable to the tree that grows outside their home… the tree seems to represent Francie – strong and yet with struggles, continuing to grow.
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn was published in 1943. The book sold 300,000 copies in the first six weeks after it was published. How amazing is that! I find it astonishing that I have never read this book before. This as well as most of the other greats were never required reading in our local schools.
This was our book club read for October. Each October we pick a Classic and this was the pick for 2009. We gathered at my home and we potlucked around the theme of the book. I made minestrone and strata, which is an egg bake with sautéed onion and mushroom and peppers. It was actually pretty good and it was fun to cook for the group. Some of the other book club members brought bread pudding, and desserts. We even had Klondike Bars in honor of the Klondike dance that takes place in the book.
We found Katie’s sister Sissy the most colorful character by far. She was truly a woman who was 100% true to who she was and even today you have to find those people who do not wear masks, refreshing. We discussed how Betty wrote this book to show people what Brooklyn was like in that day.
We also discussed the pride that people had then. Although they were all levels of poor, they would not be the one to raise their hand when pie was offered in class. Friends and neighbors were more – well friends and neighbors. You helped one another get through and that is not always the case today.
Overall this book rating by the Bookies came up as an above average read and that would be our highest rating we have had yet on a classic.
I just now drew (using random.org) a winner for the wonderful giveaway from Cami , author of The Sister Pact (which I really enjoyed!) This winner will receive an autographed copy of the book from the author.
And…. our winner is….
Congratulations! Remember to sign up for more giveaways happening here under the Giveaway Tab
I am on the Caribbean Island of Nevis with Meg Owen looking over her newly inherited property of an old plantation house. I am getting a sense that there is something more here… piano music playing at odd hours of the night, a diary, and the rumors of ghosts….
I have to wonder what could have happened here on this property so many, many years ago? Does it lie with the secrets of the Dall family who used to live on the property? What has caused the restlessness of the spirits and what can I help Meg do to put them to rest?
This is one of those mornings. It was pitch black outside when I woke up this morning at 7 am. Honestly I think the only think that made me move was knowing that Coffee Cup was waiting for me. 🙂 So I got up and tried to think of something witty for this mornings post. And…
Nothing.
Nada.
I am coming up empty here….
Thank goodness for book topics! I will never run out of things to talk about with books. One of my first favorite authors… Oh, let me define what favorite author means to me:
Favorite Author (as defined in DeChantal’s Dictionary): An author who’s books can not – will not, no way, no how, be missed…. having waited months for said book to come out it is quickly devoured and then mourned as it is over and now the reader is left hungry for more and chasing down tips on Google as to when the next book will be out and why oh why can they not write faster??????
Ok. That said…. one of those authors for me started in my teen years and that was Dean Koontz. The man – could write no wrong. (Until he did – but that’s another story). And today as I am picking my brain for a fun topic and at the same time knowing I am in an odd caffeine stimulated mood…. I find out Dean Koontz does have a book coming out soon, and here it is:
Isn’t it beautiful? The thing is that even though Dean Koontz was one of my first favorites… as years have gone by and my reading palate has grown to crave the taste of so many different genres, so many different authors, that now I could not choose a favorite. Of course… my hearts till skips a beat when I see a book such as Breathless and know that there is a pretty good chance that there is a spectacular story between the hard cover binding.
I looked at this book this morning and while it is not being released until November 24, it is currently marked at $9.00. WHAT???? Needless to say I have preordered to lock in that price and I keep looking at it thinking I am missing something to explain this low price…
So how about you? Do you have any favorite authors or once favorite authors that you never miss(ed) a book?
Laugh out loud… Mp Kavanaugh writes in a style that caused me to open up the book, read the first page and my legs gave out from under me as I hit the couch and did not put it down until the end. ~ Sheila
Synopsis
Family Plots is a fresh and funny autobiographical novel about a young mother trying against all odds to create a normal family life with her new husband, a criminal attorney, who—it turns out—is committing a few crimes of his own. The novel offers readers a wry, unsentimental account of a marriage barreling toward calamity. In an attempt to find romance, family, and financial stability, its struggling heroine stumbles into a world of pseudonyms, fake weddings, and hidden bank accounts. Events that land many of the players into the family cemetery plot also reveal unexpected secrets and stashes that manage, in small ways, to transform a tale of seeming tragedy into one of surprising healing and redemption.
Book Tour
My Thoughts:
So here I am again… tiptoeing into a book that makes me wonder what I am about to read. With a title like Family Plots, Love, Death, and Tax Evasion… I admit I am concerned yet intrigued. As I started reading chapter one I relaxed into what I can say is a pleasant and easy read. The words flowed off the pages and I was instantly there – with Mary – at the mailbox, studying her neighbors whose life she envisions as near perfect, and I am there as she pulls the letter out of the mailbox on page 4:
Dear Mary,
I am very sorry to hear that you still haven’t set any kind of wedding date. You surely must want to give your darling Rachel a family name, or just what is it today? Are you one of the turncoats of today? There is just no morality any more and soon the United States will be a mess, as you will probably live to see. I thought you said your college boyfriend Kevin was a wonderful man. Also you told me that he was a catholic. You are 27 years old and a mother! What on earth is wrong with you? Get yourself married and be decent. You’ll be lot happier.
Love and prayers, Grandma Hazel
I thought about showing the letter to my “college boyfriend Kevin” also known as the Impregnator-a nickname I’d invented recently, after struggling to find a proper title when asked if he were my husband.
Ok – ha ha…. I was in! When I picked up this book the plan was to to just read a few pages to get the flow of the read and then get back to it later. Instead, I found myself sinking on to the couch in the position that I was going to get back up any minute and read on later. Uhhh… yeah… about that… 2 hours later I am still onthe couch but now curled up and engrossed deeply into this delightfiul read.
M P Kavanaugh writes in a style that reached out from the pages and pulled me in. As our main character mary leaps out of one relationship into another, changes career choices and finds herself in a situation that is spinning her out of control. I laughed out loud many times (thank goodness I was usually alone while reading!) and have to say that the publishers that passed on this one made a mistake.
M P Kavanaugh says that much of this book is based on actual happenings…. well, whatever it was that made this book happen – I am all for.
The Author – Mary Patrick Kavanaugh
Mary Patrick Kavanaugh has a lively work history that includes time served in a wide range of professions, ranging from private investigator to Avon Lady. Being bossy and entrepreneurial by nature, she has spent the majority of her adult career providing executive management and strategic marketing planning for start-up businesses and organizations.
A writer since the age of eight, Mary’s award winning creative non-fiction has been published in Alligator Juniper, Room of One’s Own, San Jose Mercury News, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Her professional writing has appeared in numerous trade journals. Mary is the 2003 recipient of the nonfiction award from the Soul Making Literary Competition sponsored by the American Pen Women, and winner of a 2004 honorable mention. She was awarded writing fellowships at The David and Julia White Artist Colony, Hedgebrook: Women Authoring Change, and The Vermont Studio Center. She recently published her first book, Family Plots: Love, Death, and Tax Evasion.
Despite public displays of disappointment over the rejection of her novel, the author celebrates having one perfect daughter, one happy marriage with a loving (but now dead) husband, one well-adjusted cat that prefers to live with her aunt, a great day job, and a confusing, yet fun, personal life. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from University of San Francisco (2003), a BA in History from San Francisco State University (1988), good teeth, and an excellent credit rating. Mary currently serves as director for an educational peer networking organization at the University of California at Irvine.
Talk about your author with a great sense of humor! After her book was rejected by sixteen (16!) top NYC publishers, Mary self published her book and then had a funeral for her dreams of landing a mainstream book contract. The following video clip is this funeral.
This book was given to me for review from Pump Up Your Book Promotions
This is a weekly Meme from J Kayes Blog. Today I am actually into two books. I am reading Receive Me Falling by Erika Robuck and just getting into the rhythm of the book. I am also casually reading What To Do When The Roof Caves In by Marilyn Meberg. While Catch Me Falling is a historical fiction read… What To Do When The Roof Caves In is a humorous look into the issues that rain down on us in our life times and how to handle these “opportunities” with grace. I just seen Marilyn Meberg speak over this past weekend and she continuously cracks me up with her candid way of telling her story.
If you have not had the pleasure of ever hearing Marilyn speak – here is a clip to get a little sample:
For this week I am finishing up the two books I just mentioned above and Family Plot is a book tour today and I have that one almost ready to go. My main reading this week is going to be focussed on The Help by Kathryn Stockett as this is going to be our first book review for and discussion for the Word Shakers online book club. I am nervously excited as we have quite a group reading this book and then we are going to have a group post here next Monday as well as links to the other reviews. I have never done anything like this before so I am hoping I can do it well and hold the interest of the group and of course the readers.
What are you reading?
Be sure to stop by J Kaye’s Blog and link in so others may check out what you are reading as well! 🙂
Yesterday was a relaxing day. I am dealing with an abscessed tooth until I can get into the dentist (hopefully today!) I was back from the Women of Faith Conference in ST Paul and wiped out from the weekend of tooth pain and the conference itself. I am a person who recharges my batteries by being alone – events with lots of people and action exhausts me and alone time was just what I needed.
Other than a bit of laundry and some cooking, I pretty much just read a little bit and caught up on my blog hopping a lot. So today I want to show you the links to the books I seen while traveling the blogesphere that I now want to add to my wish list….
Over at My Fluttering Heart, I was looking to see what Aimee received in her mailbox last week. AT first I seen a Philippa Gregory book that she had posted about but then… below that was the book that stopped me. Lady of The Butterflies by Fiona Mountain looks wonderful! What a great cover! I have linked the post here so click your way over to Aimee’s blog and see this book for yourself. It is going under the Wishes Tab for me!
Then I was visiting over at Rebecca’s Blog, Everything To Do With Books and seen Libyrinth by Pearl North a fascinating sounding book and another gorgeous cover!. But – that’s not all…. in this same In My Mailbox post Rebecca also had a book called The Crossing by Mandy Hager that I dont know if I would call cover love, but the cover certainly caused me pause and then reading about the book… well we can add two more books to my Wishes Tab. Pop over and see Everything To Do With Books… you may just find something for your wish list as well! 🙂
Then as I hopped around the blogesphere I landed at Maw Books where Natasha shared a book that is drop dead gorgeous – inside and outside! Climbing The Stairs by Padma Venkatraman caught my eye with the wonderful cover, but it was the story inside that Natasha touches on that sold me. This is another one I encourage you to check out. And yes, this too is heading on to my Wishes Tab.
So as Coffee Cup and I start our day today I am adding these books to the Wishes Tab and feeling pretty good (besides the tooth – but I am on codeine so even that is mild). I swear I think it is the weather that makes me so book hungry. Looking out my window it is another cold dreary morning here in Minnesota. Overcast skies in that depressing grayish color that kind of hangs on throughout the next 5 months… yeah, I think that is why I crave to read and go the places the books take me – to hopefully sunny skies and warmer areas of the world with characters that warm my heart.
So here is something I have been pondering lately… do we read different styles/genres of books at different times of the year? I was reading a post earlier today at Ryan’s Wordsmithonia and he mentions how as the weather gets colder he starts looking forward to spooky movies. I think this applies to books as well.
I know this is true of myself. In the summer I love light chick lit fun friendship books. I love books about beaches and beach houses, fictional travels – I think just overall what you could probably call beach reads (although I rarely ever make it to the beach). Its not set in stone and of course there are other reads in there as well.
As fall comes in – I do notice a change in my reading. Shorter days that bring darkness to our area by 7:30 pm, cool nights that require the heat on and usually a warm blanket to throw over myself as I watch a movie or dig into a book. And those books I tend to crave? I seem to feel like reading a good mystery. Visions of Agatha Christy and Johnathon Kellerman… maybe the latest Grisham or my new found author Michael Connelly. It almost seems like as those of us in Minnesota are taking out our crock pots and planning heartier meals of soups and chili’s… I am also looking for a heartier read.
So my question today to you is – are you a seasonal reader? Do you seem to crave different reads at different times of year? Share a little here about that. I would love to read your thoughts on this. 🙂
WORDLILLY
Synopsis
my home and we potlucked around the theme of the book. I made minestrone and strata, which is an egg bake with sautéed onion and mushroom and peppers. It was actually pretty good and it was fun to cook for the group. Some of the other book club members brought bread pudding, and desserts. We even had Klondike Bars in honor of the Klondike dance that takes place in the book.
Isn’t it beautiful? The thing is that even though Dean Koontz was one of my first favorites… as years have gone by and my reading palate has grown to crave the taste of so many different genres, so many different authors, that now I could not choose a favorite. Of course… my hearts till skips a beat when I see a book such as Breathless and know that there is a pretty good chance that there is a spectacular story between the hard cover binding. Synopsis
investigator to Avon Lady. Being bossy and entrepreneurial by nature, she has spent the majority of her adult career providing executive management and strategic marketing planning for start-up businesses and organizations.
This is a weekly Meme from J Kayes Blog. Today I am actually into two books. I am reading Receive Me Falling by Erika Robuck and just getting into the rhythm of the book. I am also casually reading What To Do When The Roof Caves In by Marilyn Meberg. While Catch Me Falling is a historical fiction read… What To Do When The Roof Caves In is a humorous look into the issues that rain down on us in our life times and how to handle these “opportunities” with grace. I just seen Marilyn Meberg speak over this past weekend and she continuously cracks me up with her candid way of telling her story.
ave that one almost ready to go. My main reading this week is going to be focussed on The Help by Kathryn Stockett as this is going to be our first book review for and discussion for the Word Shakers online book club. I am nervously excited as we have quite a group reading this book and then we are going to have a group post here next Monday as well as links to the other reviews. I have never done anything like this before so I am hoping I can do it well and hold the interest of the group and of course the readers. 
was back from the Women of Faith Conference in ST Paul and wiped out from the weekend of tooth pain and the conference itself. I am a person who recharges my batteries by being alone – events with lots of people and action exhausts me and alone time was just what I needed.
So here is something I have been pondering lately… do we read different styles/genres of books at different times of the year? I was reading a post earlier today at Ryan’s Wordsmithonia and he mentions how as the weather gets colder he starts looking forward to spooky movies. I think this applies to books as well.
As fall comes in – I do notice a change in my reading. Shorter days that bring darkness to our area by 7:30 pm, cool nights that require the heat on and usually a warm blanket to throw over myself as I watch a movie or dig into a book. And those books I tend to crave? I seem to feel like reading a good mystery. Visions of Agatha Christy and Johnathon Kellerman… maybe the latest Grisham or my new found author Michael Connelly. It almost seems like as those of us in Minnesota are taking out our crock pots and planning heartier meals of soups and chili’s… I am also looking for a heartier read.
Book Journey 