book review – Page 4 – Book Journey

Up At Butternut Lake by Mary McNear

Published on May 28, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

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)

Second Chance Friends by Jennifer Scott

Published on May 27, 2015May 27, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

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)

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan

Published on May 19, 2015May 19, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)23 Comments

*Note – you may notice my reading of late has turned to a lighter side. That would be true. In light of my life at this time I have been reading books that are fairly light reads, not too heavy and easy on me. And with a cover like this one, how could I go wrong? 🙂 ~Sheila

When Polly’s life seems to be falling apart with a relationship FAIL, all Polly wants to do is get away and start somewhere new. When she goes with her friend Kerensa to visit a quiet seaside town she finds comfort in the extreme solitude of a small worn down flat above an old closed down bakery. Where Polly sees a new start, Kerensa sees nothing but a run down town with a tide that closes the road to traffic and leaves access to where Polly would live not only inaccessible, but dangerous.

To keep herself busy Polly starts to use her talent of making bread to feed the fisherman that come in by where she lives each day. When her hobby starts to bring more and more people to her door, with the help of a handful of new friends, a goofy but handsome local beekeeper, and a lot of elbow grease, Polly might just be on to something.

The Little Beach Street Bakery is being compared to the likes of Chocolat. My distance from the Chocolat read can neither confirm nor deny this comparison. From what I can recall of the other book, I would say that Little Beach Street Bakery is quite a bit lighter in writing and technique. While there is a little romance kneaded in throughout the read, it is not the deep compassion of Chocolat.

That said, LBSB is a sweet book of finding your own way in the midst of feeling directionless. I could relate to this book. The characters are a mix of fun and quirky – enough so that you never take the book seriously. The book itself could be compared to a hot loaf of bread; it is fresh, looks wonderfully delicious, and it is comforting. The honey on top is just the bit of sweetness it needs to bring it all together.

Little Beach Street Bakery is just the type of book I am drawn to this time of year. A book to read while sitting in the sunshine.

Paperback: 448 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks (March 31, 2015)

Vintage by Susan Gloss

Published on May 18, 2015May 18, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)21 Comments

Violet Turner is the owner of Hourglass Vintage in Madison Wisconsin. Her shop is filled with delightful items from an array of decades. Violet loves her shop, her location, and the stories that the items she sells hold. When she discovers that her landlord is looking to sell the building Hourglass Vintage is in, Violet panics. She has the option in her lease to buy, but nowhere near the money being asked. Violet realizes she can not do this alone.

April Morgan is 18 years old, 5 months pregnant, and hurting from the loss of her mother as well as the broken engagement to be married that came as a shock. When April brings the vintage 1950’s wedding dress to Violet’s shop in hopes to return it, a surprising connection starts to develop…

Amithi Singh brings items of her heritage to Hourglass Vintage, items she had believed she would pass on to her daughter but her now grown daughter has shunned such traditional items. Reeling from shocking news about her husbands fidelity – or lack there of – Amithi is looking to find her way, and she may have made a right step by coming to Violet’s store…. What can these women of very different backgrounds find in common that may be able to help Hourglass Vintage?

Vintage by Susan Gloss was a fun read about a strong woman trying to make it with her dream vintage clothing shop. Each chapter starts with a unique item found in the shop, the description, approximate date of the item, and where it came from. It made for a fun look into a vintage clothing shop and the characters that shop there or the ones that drop off their items. Vintage is a light and fun book and fit in with what I needed at the time I was reading it. There were a couple “hmmmm” moments in the book for me but for the most past this is a book to not take too seriously and just enjoy the read.

Susan Gloss, Vintage, Bookies Book Club Brainerd Minnesota, Book Journey — To surprise the author many of us dressed in “vintage” clothing for the Skype session.

Bookies Review

Our book club the Bookies read this book and we Skyped with the author Susan Gloss. We enjoyed pizza (mentioned in the book), spaghetti, wine, cheese, and desserts. One of the girls in our group had vintage items from her own history which was incredible cool (see pictures below). The Bookies over all rated the book higher than I did. For the most part they found the book to be enjoyable and over all the 16 of us came up with an average rating of 4 out of a high rating of 5 which is pretty good.

Book Journey Vintage by Susan Gloss — Items brought by Laura for the review

How to host a book club event around this book

Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (September 2, 2014)

The Mystery Writer’s of America Cookbook edited by Kate White

Published on March 24, 2015March 24, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)18 Comments

I love books. I love food. I love books about food. One of the things I enjoy about reading is making food mentioned in books. It’s true. I make Pepsi steak to this day because a character did it in a James Patterson book I read years ago and I thought it sounded simple and tasty. My husband loves it.

If you know all of this about me, then as you can imagine, saying yes to review this book was a no brainer. Recipes from wonderful mystery writers that have come from their books. My mouth waters just to think of it.

When the book arrived I was thrilled at how beautiful it is. Sturdy hard cover, thick quality pages…definitely a beautiful gift book to that mystery lover you know.

I enjoyed that each recipe is accompanied by information from the author of where the recipe came from. Gillian Flynn presents Beef Skillet Fiesta, she is a Midwestern girl at heart and says her characters are as well. Laura Childs is known for her Tea Shop Mysteries so her recipe of Killer Sweet Tea should come as no surprise. James Patterson offer us Grandma’s Killer Chocolate Cake which is something I know I need to make. It will be Sandra Browns Mystery Crackers I will be making soon along with Harlan Coben’s offering of Myron’s Crabmeat Dip (which Harlan believes that while Myron’s friend Win makes this dip, he is pretty sure it was one of the many ex girlfriends of Win that told him how to make it.)

For now though…. I could not wait to make Nelson Demille’s Male Chauvinist Pigs In The Blanket. The recipe is simple, it sounds tasty, and I had a friend coming over who could taste test.

Male Chauvinist Pigs In The Blanket

I am not going to rewrite the whole recipe, and it is much cooler in the book than I am about to write here… but here is the basics of this one by Nelson DeMille.

1 package of hot dogs

1 can of crescent rolls (like Pillsbury)

chili powder

a can of beer

mustard

Cut hot dogs at an angle in half. Place in bowl and add beer on top. Leave in bowl until beer is not foamy anymore (I found that happened quickly so I left them in a little longer). Take hot dogs out of beer bath and sprinkle with chili powder (according to DeMille this is the top secret ingredient). Roll hot dog up in crescent roll as you would when making pigs in a blanket. Cook at 375 for about 17 minutes, 5 minutes or so longer than you would if you were following instructions for PIAB on the rolls. Serve warm and with mustard.

The results: Tasty. I am looking forward to making this at book club as the next earliest convenience when I am presented with a male chauvinist character. I can not wait!

Keep this book in mind if you need a gift for a fellow book lover. I have already ordered a copy for just that purpose.

Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Quirk Books (March 24, 2015)
Language: English

Meatless All Day by Taunton Press

Published on March 4, 2015March 4, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)16 Comments

Listing 45 Power Ingredients, Meatless All Day is the right cook book for the ages. With more and more people going vegetarian, and many eating at least one or two vegetarian meals a week, it is good to have go to recipes that are not only meatless but tasty!

I find as I get older (did I just say that?) I enjoy having meatless meals a few times a week. Perhaps as my palate has refined (HA!) I enjoy the textures and tastes more of pasta’s loaded with vegetables, big meaty mushrooms, egg dishes…

In Meatless All Day I found many mouth-watering dishes I am anxious to try. The book is laid out nicely with pictures and recipes with ingredients I can easily obtain. As I read this book while I was on vacation I can not wait to experiment with some of these mouth-watering recipes!

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Taunton Press (March 4, 2014)

In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

Published on January 27, 2015January 25, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)40 Comments

If You have heard of the book/now movie A Million Ways To Die In The West than you must also know there are a million ways to die in Australia; or at least according to humorous author Bill Bryson there is. Crocodiles, poisonous spiders, sharks, and lots of miles of hot desert with no relief in sight are just to name a few.

Bill Bryson shares his adventures of visiting the Land Down Under mixed with true experiences of a killer sun burn, scary hotels, miles of driving to look at famous (or not) spots, as well as a good dose of history in this amazing area; In A Sun Burned Country will give you a pleasant mix of what Australia is like today, and how it was discovered.

When this book showed up in Candace’s guest post about books recommended either about Australia or with Australian authors, this is the one that caught my attention. Why not read a book about the country I was about to visit by an author that was known for his humor. I liked the fact that I was not about to read a dry commentary on Australia and I dug in.

Bill Bryson is definitely an author to experience. Not only did I learn interesting facts about the country of Australia and the places it is known for, but I also laughed along the way as I read. (You must read about the history of the Opera house and what happened to the man who designed it. EEP!) I found myself quoting this book frequently through the trip including reading passages out loud to my fellow travelers.

I read this one on the plane to Australia, and while on the cruise ship. I found it interesting, insightful, and full of fun – exactly the type of book you want to read on vacation. I highly recommend it to anyone who is going to experience (or has experienced) Australia.

Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Broadway Books (May 15, 2001)

Off The Beaten Page by Terri Peterson Smith

Published on January 26, 2015January 26, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)10 Comments

Book Groups who really like to experience their reads will love this book! ~ Sheila

Off The Beaten Page takes a look at a variety of incredible books and quite literally takes you there. If you read Devil In The White City how would you like to take a trip to get a bird’s-eye view of Chicago? The Scarlet Letter or Mystic River could land you in Boston; or in my home state of Minnesota I can go where William Kent Kruger solves his crimes with Cork O’Conner on the north shore, or where F. Scott Fitzgerald (or Charles Lindbergh for that matter), walked and lived in the vast areas of this state.

Off The Beaten Page is a book that will release your imagination to taking the next step within your reading either through the authors or their characters, or their books. No matter where you live, this book will have you looking at your reading in a whole new way.

When Terri Peterson Smith spoke at our local library this past summer I was intrigued by her writing. I love to do the little extras with my own book club like bringing food and drinks that are mentioned in the book to the discussion. We even occasionally will dress the part or “set the scene” for our reading as well… yet Terri inspired me to think beyond the walls of the living rooms we meet in.

Off The Beaten Page not only gives suggestions of books to venture our and explore, but also ideas of where to stay and what to do once you get there. With each state that is suggested, there are a list of books to read that go with the area, sight-seeing suggestions, restaurants, and hotels.

Did you know that Stephen King’s famous book The Shining was created while King stayed in The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado and wound up basing his book off the hotel (the hotel was about to close for the season when King and his wife stayed there, creating the creepy empty atmosphere that led to the book). The Stanley Hotel is now open year around and plays up the book setting well with a maze (eep!) and a Ghost Adventure package.

Books about books are awesome, and this book takes it to the next level of book adventures. It doesn’t matter where you live or how far you are willing to travel, there is a book setting everywhere that you can explore. Off The Beaten Page inspires you to start your own bookish adventures, which I hope to do with our book group as well!

Author Terri Peterson Smith writes a travel blog with suggestions for book clubs. One of her posts I read today was about the “Gone Girl” experience. If you live near Cape Girardeau, a lovely river town in southeast Missouri, you can find much of the movie set as well as the book information. “The Bar” had closed down at the time of the filming of the book, but the owner has reopened it, a now go to place because of the book and the movie. I think… that is SO cool. 🙂

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Chicago Review Press (May 1, 2013)

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Published on January 24, 2015January 24, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)43 Comments

Libby Day was seven years old when her two sisters and mother were murdered by her fifteen year old brother Ben. It was little Libby’s testimony that put Ben behind bars for life and now, 24 years later Libby stands by her testimony and has never went to see her convicted brother.

While Libby was a sole survivor of what was known as the “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.”, the term “survive” is a loose definition. Libby is used to being cared for by a trust fund and has never held down a job. She suffers from bouts of depression and often finds it hard to get out of bed. However, the trust fund is running dangerously low after all of these years and Libby needs to figure out what she is going to do with her life and how to finally take control of her future.

When Libby agrees to be paid to speak to a group called The Kill Club, a group of people who follow true crimes, she thinks this will be an easy task. She is shocked to find out the group has other theories on what really happened that night and they believe Libby’s brother Ben is innocent. For a fee, Libby agrees to take another look at what happened the night of the killings, which means she will have to reconnect with the shadows of her past.

A few years ago a friend of mine recommended I read this book. She described it as being even better than Gone Girl (by the same author) and I meant to read it then, but we know how that can go. Finally, recently I picked up this book and found it engaging right from the start. While Libby is a strange protagonist (lazy at times, disengaged in real life…) she grew on me.

I flew through this book in two days and enjoyed another twisty turny read from Gillian Flynn. I guessed at the ending, and I guessed wrong. It was much more twisted than I had thought and I loved the super craziness of it all.

If Gone Girl was a book you enjoyed to be shocked by, do not miss out on Dark Places. This book will be a movie released in 2015. Be ready… I will be. 🙂

Paperback: 349 pages
Publisher: Broadway Books; 1 Reprint edition (May 4, 2010)

The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin

Published on January 23, 2015January 23, 2015 by Sheila (Book Journey)20 Comments

When Charles Lindbergh visited the Morrow home, everyone thought of the two sisters, surely the famous pilot would fall for the pretty well spoken Morrow sister Connie. To everyone’s surprise, Charles took a liking to the quieter more reserved of the two sisters, Anne who was home for the holidays from college.

Anne not only became the wife of Charles Lindbergh, but also the first licensed female glider pilot in the USA. She also becomes a mother, a mother of not only the sad and well-known story of the Lindbergh child kidnapping, but also went on to have 5 more children.

The Aviator’s Wife tells the Lindbergh story from Anne’s point of view. What was it like to be in the shadow of the man who everyone knew? What was it like to carry on as the happy Mrs. Lindbergh when Charles was away more than he was home and eventually the truth of where he was spending all of his time comes out in the end?

We chose The Aviator’s Wife as a book club read. Having grown up about 30 minutes from Charles Lindbergh’s childhood home, I honestly knew little of the man beyond the famous flights and the kidnapping and death of his first-born. This book seemed like an opportunity to learn a little more about Charles, but even more so, his wife, Anne.

I really enjoyed this read and learned much about the famous first family of the air. While this is a historical fiction read and some liberties are taken with Anne, the basic underline of the true story is there. I did not know about her pilot’s license, the other children, or the fact that she was also an author of several books, including editing Charles own book for him. Engaging. I was surprised by how little I really knew about the Lindbergh’s. I came out of this read with a lot of respect for Anne who had a hard role to play and from this read at least, did the best she could with the life she chose.

I plan to read more on this famous woman, including the book her daughter Reeve Lindbergh wrote, No More Words, which tells the story of her mother’s last years.