May Book of the Month - Update

Just a quick update on May's Book of the Month... Summer People by Elin Hilderbrand.

Despite being next in line for this book at the library (which was due back May 16th), I have not been notified that I can pick it up... Ugg!

Please do not think that I was slacking off in my reading... I promise to get this book read and reviewed, it just won't be in May.

Side Note - RETURN your books on time people!!

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Wouldn't you know that the minute May ends, I get my notification from the library that Summer People is now ready for pick-up. Go figure. It is next on my list!!

Advance: Silver Girl

How exciting is this... not only did I receive a huge shipment of books yesterday, but when I got home, there was an extra special package in the mail!

With special thanks to Anna Balasi, from Little, Brown and Company, who took the time to read my blog, I have been given the privilege of receiving an advance readers copy of Silver Girl by Elin Hilderbrand.

You may recall, in my earlier blog about this book, I mentioned how excited I was to read it as this author is one of my up-and-coming favourites and a must-read for hot summer days!!

Who knew that having a book review blog would bring not only the reward of writing about and sharing my love of books, but also the joys of receiving books before the general public do.

Needless to say, you will be reading about this book very VERY soon!

A Happy Monday...

It's always a happy Monday when there is a book involved! The birthday bonanza of book purchases continues today...

I believe that my book shelf (top of my closet... sigh) is now adequately stocked for summer reading! Chick-lit, mystery, vampires... it's all there. Come September, my 'to-be-read' list should be significantly shorter... well, maybe not as there are new books coming out every single day!! :)

With three more packages set to arrive (two pre-orders and one missing in action), I am now in need of a LOOOOOOONG vacation and some serious sunshine so I can chill-ax!!

Eek... happy reading!!

Review: If You Were Here

If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster

Pages: 320
Published: 2011
Genre: Fiction, Humour

My Rating: 4/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Told in the uproariously entertaining voice readers have come to expect from Jen Lancaster, "If You Were Here" follows Amish-zombie-teen-romance author Mia and her husband Mac (and their pets) through the alternately frustrating, exciting, terrifying - but always funny - process of buying and renovating their first home in the Chicago suburbs that John Hughes' movies made famous. Along with their harrowing renovation journey, Mia and Mac get caught up in various wars with the homeowners' association, meet some less-than-friendly neighbors, and are joined by a hilarious cast of supporting characters, including a celebutard ex-landlady. As they struggle to adapt to their new surroundings - with Mac taking on the renovations himself - Mia and Mac will discover if their marriage is strong enough to survive months of DIY renovations.

Review:

From the very first page... check that - from the Author's notes, before the very first page, this book was off to a very good start. Having read Jen Lancaster's previous books (memoir style) I could hear her as the voice of Mia and it was hilarious. She was so 'real' that it made each and every step of the process (moving and renovation) so incredibly real that I could see not only Mia (Jen) in that position but also myself. I found that I was laughing out loud at each and every turn of events that Mia and Mac encountered.

Footnotes - normally when a book has footnotes, it is a sure thing that the book has too much detail... having to describe what you are talking about in a 'footnote' generally isn't a good thing. However, the over 100 footnotes in this book were so much fun... each and every one added a personal touch that not only added to the story but made it, once again, so real! The sarcastic comments were perfectly placed. Being a sarcastic person myself, I could actually imagine many of the thoughts myself.

With Mia being a 'Zombie' author, I thoroughly enjoyed all the digs that were taken at Stephenie Meyer (author of the famed Twilight series... aka - vampire). Being a fan of the Twilight series, I loved it! I can imagine Stephenie Meyer reading the book and giggling along with each jab that came her way (or at least I hope she did... see the author's note at the beginning of the book). I was sort of hoping that one of the comments on the book jacket would have been from her.

Overall, a fun, well thought out novel. Jen Lancaster has now officially made her mark in fiction-land and I hope that she is here to stay! Well done!!

Review: Firefly Lane

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Pages: 528
Published: 2009
Genre: Fiction

My Rating: 4/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the "coolest girl in the world" moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seemed to have it all - beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface, they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family that mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamor and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer's end they've become tullyandkate. Inseperable...

From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. In the buttoned-down nineties, it is television that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success... and loneliness.

Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants in to fall in love and have children and live and ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is driven by Tully. What she doesn't know is how being a wife and mother will change her... how she'll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she'll envy her famous friend...

For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy eachother through life, weathering the storms of friendship - jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they've survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart... and puts their courage and friendshop to the ultimate test.

Review:

SOB... (full out ugly cry sobs)

I can honestly say that I have not cried as much, while reading a book, as I did with Firefly Lane. The story of friendship that lasts through thick and thin is so endearing that I could actually imagine both Tully and Kate and the feelings that they had towards one another.

The imagry in the novel was wonderful... I loved that it went from the seventies all the way to present (2006) and reading about each of the decades nuances (fashion, music, hair, make-up) was really cool. Tully, being a cool chick, went through each transition easily while Kate seemed to have a harder time... which I can totally relate to as I am much more a 'Kate' than a 'Tully' in my life.

Reading this book evoked a lot of memories and feelings that I had growing up... relationships that I had with friends that came and went and then those few special ones that seemed to last through it all. Memories that last a lifetime...

Overall, this is a must-read for anyone who is looking for a book about true friendship... one that will stick with you and make you truly cherish those friends that have made a significant difference in your life.

Coming Soon: Elin Hilderbrand

With summer quickly approaching, I am always on the look-out for some great summer reads. What defines a summer read? To me, it is a book that is easy to read... a book that makes you feel like you are on a beach, enjoying a frosty beverage... a book that you thoroughly enjoy!!

One author that I have come to love and rely on for my 'summer reads' is Elin Hilderbrand. Her books all centre around Nantucket and often take place in the summer. Her new book, Silver Girl, seems to be yet another great Nantucket tale.


Due Out: June 21, 2011

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Meredith Martin Delinn just lost everything: her friends, her homes, her social standing - because her husband, Freddy, cheated rich investors out of billions of dollars.

Desperate and facing homelessness, Meredith receives a call from her old best friend, Constance Flute. Connie's had recent worries of her own, and the two depart for a summer on Nantucket in an attempt to heal. But the island can't offer complete escape, and they're plaqued by new and old troubles alike. When Connie's brother Toby - Meredith's high school boyfriend - arrives, Meredith must reconcile the differences between the life she is leading and the life she could have had.

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Not always a light, fluffy story, but definitely one of renewal... one that leads you to feel like a summer away, in a wonderful island setting, can and usually does, cure all of your aches and pains. Both physical and emotional...

Review: Cemetery Dance

Cemetery Dance by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

Pages: 448
Published: 2009
Genre: Fiction, Mystery

My Rating: 3/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Pendergast - the world's most enigmatic FBI Special Agent - returns to New York City to investigate the murderous cult. William Smithback, a New York Times reporter, and his wife Nora Kelly, a Museum of Natural History archaeologist, are brutally attacked in their apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Eyewitnesses claim, and the security camera confirms, that the assailant was their strange, sinister neighbor - a man who, by all reports, was already dead and buried weeks earlier. While Captain Laura Hayward leads the official investigation, Pendergast and Lieutenant Vincent D'Agosta undertake their own private - and decidedly unorthodox - quest for the truth. Their surpentine journey takes them to an enclave of Manhattan they never imagined could exist: a secretive, reclusive cult of Obeah and vodou which no outsiders have ever survived.

Review:

I am starting to get to the 'enough is enough' point with the Pendergast novels. This is book nine in the series and it was too over-the-top.

Generally, I am pretty open to just about anything, including the un-dead (aka. Zombies) but this book just had too much of everything. The story was about 100 pages too long, had WAY too much detail in areas that didn't require it, areas that weren't important to the overall outcome of the story and it didn't have enough details in the areas that, I felt, deserved it. Also, I felt like the story was too jumpy... just when I was getting into a particular character/part of the story, it would flip to a different part and I would have to get into THAT part again. Ugg... sometimes that can be annoying!

However, for all the negative, there were some good parts... I really did enjoy the climax scenes in the book. The fight/the rescue, all great!! It became a page turner as the book neared the end and as a result, I will be adding book 10 to my 'to-be-read' list.

Overall, if you have read the books in this series, you will probably want to pick this one up as well but if you haven't, your life will go on without adding this one to your bookshelf!

Trailer: My Sister's Keeper

One of the sure fire ways of knowing a book is good is when it is turned into a major motion picture... well, that's exactly what happened with My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. The movie stars Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin.



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While I have never seen this movie, I have heard that it is really good and worth watching. You may be asking, 'Why haven't you watched this if it's your favourite book?', well... I heard that they changed the ending and I am not ready for that!! The book was perfect, amazing and I just can't imagine seeing it be any different!!

Check It Out: My Sister's Keeper

Happy Birthday to ME!
Happy Birthday to ME!
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to...
ME!!!!!

In honour of MY birthday, I thought a 'Check it Out' post of my favourite book, My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Being a HUGE fan of Jodi Picoult, I love every single one of her books and would urge everyone to check them out, but this one... AMAZING!!!!!!

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

Pages: 448
Published: 2005
Genre: Fiction

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she had undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. The product of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate - a life and a role that she has never challenged... until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister - and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable, a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves.

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An absolutely MOVING book... it will keep you turning the pages right to that very last one! This was the second book by Jodi Picoult that I read and it was the one that set off my lifetime devotion to her. I have recommended it as a MUST-READ to just about everyone that I have talked to... whether they read or not.

CHECK.IT.OUT!!

Review: Goodnight Tweetheart

Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros

Pages: 221
Published: 2010
Genre: Fiction, Romance

My Rating: 4/5

Summary (from amazon.ca):

Abigail Donovan has a lot of stuff she should be doing. Namely writing her next novel. A bestselling author who is still recovering from a near Pulitzer Prize win and the heady success that follows Oprah's stamp of approval, she is stuck at chapter 5 and losing confidence daily. But when her publicist signs her up for a Twitter account, she's intrigued. What's all the fuss?

Taken under the wing of one of her Twitter followers, "MarkBaynard" - a quick witted, a quick-typing professor on sabbatical - Abby finds it easy to put words out into the world 140 characters at a time. And once she gets a handle on tweets, retweets, direct messages, hashtags, and trends, she starts to feel unblocked in writing and in life. After all, why should she be spending hours in her apartment staring at her TweetDeck and fretting about her stalled career when Mark is out there traveling the world and living.

Or is he?

Review:

A very surprising read... I was not expecting much as this was a very small novel and about something that I really haven't delved into for any great length of time - Twitter.

Having read books using social mediums (e-mail) in the past, I knew that it was something that interested me but seeing conversations take place in 140 characters of less really did make for a quick read. The dialouge flowed and it never felt like I was missing out on any of the necessary details of either of the main characters lives.

Abby and Mark have an instant connection and while it feels a bit 'too good to be true', it is endearing. I was concerned for Abby that she would end up falling in love with some random 'internet creeper', but was happy when it turned out she didn't. Mark is just the man she was hoping. Dreams really do come true... who knew?

Overall, in what should have been a predictable book, there were enough twists and turns that it became a page-flipper. A great read and you don't even have to be a Twitter fanatic!!

Review: Winter Garden

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Pages: 391
Published: 2010
Genre: Fiction, Historical Romance

My Rating: 5/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn't know her mother?

Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as two sisters can be. One stayed home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and travelled the world to become a photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time - and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago.

Alternating between past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

Review:

Resisting the urge to skip ahead so I could find out what happens was a serious problem with this novel. Even though there are a number of stories told in this novel; Meredith's struggles with her marriage, Nina's struggles with love and family, Anya's struggles with her past, and Veronika's story in Russia, everything flows so smoothly.

What starts out as a story of three struggling women turns into a beautiful story... one that literally brough tears to my eyes. I found that this book allowed me to laugh, cry, yell and hurt and a book that does that is a very powerful book.

Overall, this book needs to be read... it deserves a place on anyone's bookshelf! Well done Kristin Hannah, I will be reading many more of your books in the future!

Review: Everyone Worth Knowing

Everyone Worth Knowing by Lauren Weisberger

Pages: 384
Published: 2006
Genre: Fiction, Chick-lit

My Rating: 3/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

What happens when a girl on the fringe enters the realm of New York's chic, party-hopping elite?

Soon after Bette Robinson quits her horrendous Manhatten banking job like the impulsive girl she's never been, the novelty of walking her four-pound dog around the unglamorous Murray Hill neighborhood wears as thin as the "What are you going to do with your life?" phone calls from her parents. Then Bette meets Kelly, head of Manhatten's hottest PR firm, and suddenly she has a brand-new job where the primary requirement is to see and be seen inside the VIP rooms of the city's most exclusive nightclubs. But when Bette begins appearing in a vicious new gossip column, she realizes that the line between her personal life and her professional life is... invisable.

Review:

I have never read The Devil Wears Prada, but I did see the movie and LOVED it so I was very excited about reading Everyone Worth Knowing because it is by the same author. Being very girly and very predictable, as most chick-lit books are, this one was just... okay.

Bette is definitely a character that I could see myself being close friends with. She is a perfect mix of the down-to-earth/head-in-the-clouds type of person that I like. The simple fact that her guilty pleasure is her book club devoted to 'Smut' books (Harlequin Romance novels) is great. Personally, those are not my style of book but I could well imagine the shame that would exist if I was (as a young mom in her early thirties) addicted to them.

Up and down, back and forth, here and there... this book was all over the place. From the beginning of each chapter to the end, the mood swings were intense. While it did make me want to read the next chapter, it was slow... I knew what was coming before it was there and just lacked the excitement that I was looking for. Maybe it is because I was imagining the amazing characters/story from The Devil Wears Prada...

Overall, it was a chick-lit book through and through... a worthwhile read but not one that will change my life. I didn't LOOOONG to be any of the characters, but, as I said, would love to be a friend. So, I would prefer to know someone who knows Everyone Worth Knowing.

Not so Mommy Reading: Bedtime Stories

Okay, so it may not be the most delicate book out there, but for any parent who has dealt with a toddler (through teenager), Go the F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, is a true story of how any parent feels at bedtime... most nights anyways!


Summary (from amazon.com):

Go the F**k to Sleep is a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don't always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland. Profane, affectionate, and radically honest, California Book Award winning author Adam Mansbach's verses perfectly capture the familiar - and unspoken - tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night. In the process, they open up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations, and laugh at their absurdity.



Praise for 'Go the F**k to Sleep':

"Total Genius" - Jonathon Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn

"A children's book for grown-ups! I really did laugh out loud - hilarious" - David Byrne, musician

"This is the most honest children's book ever written. And, it's f**king hilarious" - A.J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically

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This book was HILARIOUS!! As a parent of a desperate to stay up, never tired, always making excuses, 3-year old boy... EVERY SINGLE PAGE was true. I have been in every single situation, thought every single thought and LAUGHED at every single page. I can hardly wait for my son to be old enough to read and enjoy this book as much as I did... maybe another 10 - 15 years!

Check It Out: Diary of a Mad Mom to Be

Even though this book is about a 'mom-to-be', I thought Diary of a Mad Mom-To-Be by Laura Wolf would be a great book to talk about in honour of Mother's Day (Sunday, May 8th).


Pages: 321
Published: 2003
Genre: Fiction, Chick-lit

Summary (from chapters.ca):

Baby of Bust!

When last seen, Amy Thomas, the mad bride-to-be, was working her way through her 70-item to-do list, trying to keep chicken off the reception menu, and vowing never to change her name. Now Amy Thomas Stewart is a newlywed and a career woman, and becoming a mom is the last thing on her to-do list. So why is Amy obsessing about baby clothes and ogling pregnant women on the street?

Suddenly Amy realizes the inconceivable: She wants a baby - even though she's just lost her job, their apartment's way too small, and she doesn't have a clue as to her ovulation cycle. Caught up in a passion to procreate, Amy knows she has to strike while the iron is hot. And if getting pregnant is making Amy this crazy, just think what will happen when the stick turns blue...

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I first was introduced to Laura Wolf with her book Diary of a Mad Bride when I was engaged and looking for wedding related chick-lit. It was EXACTLY what I was looking for.

So, when I got pregnant a few years later, I instantly added Diary of a Mad Mom-To-Be to my must-read list. It was great. Funny, witty and enjoyable to the core!! A great read for any mom-to-be or even for those who have 'been there, done that'.

Now, if only Laura Wolf would come out with a follow up to Mom-To-Be that would tell us all about Amy's life with a toddler, life would be just about perfect!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

May Book of the Month

Summer People by Elin Hilderbrand


Read along or stay-tuned for my review later this month.