The Divorce Party, by Laura Dave

October 22, 200911 Comments

Finished audio 10-22-09, rating 4.5/5, fiction, pub. 2008

Narrated by Susan Ericksen

If you knew that your marriage would end in a divorce party 35 years later, would you still go through with it? What’s the distance between staying and walking away? Gwyn and Thomas are part of the Hampton elite, rich, beautiful, two kids, grandchild on the way, and they are getting divorced because Thomas has found Buddhism. Or is this true?

Their son, Nate and his fiancee, Maggie begin the day of the divorce party at home in Brooklyn with secrets of their own that only get more complicated once they arrive in Long Island. Maggie is about to meet Nate’s parents for the first time at a party she can’t quite come to terms with. And Nate has kept his immense wealth from her. Why and is there more he’s not saying?

I love books and movies about marriages. The happy, the sad, the damaged. There is something so complicated about this relationship and no two are ever the same. Gwyn is facing the end of her marriage, but there is still something there, love or hope, or both. And Maggie is faced with a future husband who is willing to keep the most basic truths about himself a secret from her. The chapters alternated between the two women and I loved it. It was thoughtful and thought-provoking, meaningful and sad and I could not stop listening until it was done.

I have to be in the right mood for a book like this, but if you are I think you will really take something away. I was totally caught up in the lives of Gwyn and Maggie for 6 hours and I wouldn’t have missed a minute of the Divorce Party.

I checked this audio book out of the library.

Rough Country, by John Sandford

October 21, 2009October 21, 20092 Comments

Finished 10-21-09, rating 3.5/5, mystery, pub. 2009

Book #3 in the Virgil Flowers series.

Walking out to the dock, Johnson said, “The old bag kinda climbed my tree.”

“One rule when you’re dealing with people close to a murder victim,” Virgil said. “Try not to laugh.”

Chapter 2

Virgil Flowers works with Lucas Davenport (the Prey series) in the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, investigating high profile crimes. When Lucas sends him to solve a crime at a women’s retreat in northern Minnesota, single and always available Virgil, is happily surrounded by women. But most of them aren’t looking twice at Virgil, they are too busy eyeing each other.

A successful businesswoman is shot while canoeing and her love life leads him to an all-girl band with a talented singer going places. The singer, Wendy, has an active love life and a crazy brother and dad, leading Virgil to link another murder to the one of the businesswoman.

Virgil is a laid back, good looking man who exudes charm and cool and he is also the most successful closer in the Bureau. The contrast between his humor and sexuality to his quoting Bible verses when the situation fits makes for an interesting character. I like Virgil and would love to hang out at a bar listening to music with him (and my husband, of course)

This is another solid mystery by Sandford, but I did have an issue with the heavy handed way he dealt with gay women in this one. I know people use derogatory language for many different groups and it usually doesn’t bother me if it defines the character, but in this case a few too many characters had issues. And some of the storylines involving gay women seemed stereotypical.

And for some reason there were numerous breaks in book, the kind that usually tell you the action has ended and you’re going somewhere else. Except after the break you were back at the same place, with the same people, and still in the middle of conversation. This didn’t really take enjoyment away from the story, but it did make me wonder what the point was.

This was a library book.

Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon

October 20, 2009October 23, 200910 Comments

I don’t know who came up with this great button for Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon, but I’m thinking my husband may be more supportive if he sees it 🙂

This will be my first read-a-thon and I am really looking forward to it. I have a stack of books (you can see some of them here), mostly less than 300 pages and have even got a few audio books to rest my eyes. I like challenges and this one is right up my alley. And because I sometimes can’t stop myself from going too far, I am making it a goal to stay awake and read for the whole 24 hours! This is only a goal, sometimes a body does what it wants, but I think I can do it. Of course, sometimes I’m a delusional.

So, have you signed up and are you aiming for the whole 24 hours?

Teaser Tuesday – Rough Country

October 20, 200916 Comments

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!). Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

“George is a drunk,” Sanders said. “Every day that he works, he stops at the liquor store and picks up a fifth and he takes it home and drinks it. He’s trying to drink himself to death. He did that last night. He was in no shape to ambush anybody.”

“Any particular reason he’s doing that?” Virgil asked.

“Not as far as I know. I think he’s tired of being here,” Sanders said.

Chapter 3

John Sandford is a favorite of mine and this is his latest. So, what are you reading today?

What Book Is That? Quiz

October 19, 2009November 2, 200925 Comments

Lat week’s quiz here. Still time to participate.

Can you identify these books by their censored titles? Leave a comment with the number, title and author. If you get the correct answer first you will be entered to win a free book from me Details here.

I don’t usually do this two weeks in a row, but this doubles as a look at my Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon pile and as a way to use the gorgeous leaves in my yeard 🙂

oct 19 blog 1

1. THE DIVING BELL & THE BUTTERFLY by Jean-Dominique Bauby

2. The Housekeeper & the Professor by Yoko Ogawa – Wordlily

3. SAM”S LETTERS TO JENNIFER by James Patterson

4. The Funny Thing Is by Ellen Degeneres – Wordlily

5. TRUE TO FORM by Elizabeth Berg

oct 19 blog 2

6. DAMAGE by Josephine Hart

7. A GRACIOUS PLENTY by Sheri Reynolds

8. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver – Julie H.

9. Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh – Julie H.

10. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James Cain – Strangelove

The New Earth From Above: 365 Days, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

October 18, 2009October 20, 20092 Comments

Finished 10-18-09, rating 4.5/5, Natural History, pub. 2007

This outstanding book is part photography and part environmental lesson. At the beginning of each month there is an essay written about major issues for the planet. They include: sustainable development, climate change, forests, biodiversity, seas and oceans, freshwater, agroecology, renewable energy, mobility and equity, poverty, humanitarian work, and free trade. These are long enough to learn something, but not too long that you stop reading and skip to the photos.

The 365 photos are amazing. They are all shot from above (shocking given the title, I know) and so many look otherworldly. I cannot say enough how much I loved these photos, some showcasing the natural beauty of our planet and a few showing the harsh pressure our actions place on the Earth. The photo on the cover is from Montana.

With each photo is a description that usually involves history, statistics, and some reality for those of us in the United States. For instance, did you know that 40% of felled trees go to the manufacture of paper? That’s hard to read for a book lover!

This book is not for the person who wants to live life ignoring his or her place in the world. It was shocking, beautiful, and easy to appreciate. I read a month at a time, it took me a few weeks and I loved it. There will quite a few friends who will be receiving this for Christmas! There are several different editions, this was a second version published in 2007 and there was a new one published in 2009. I plan on getting that one too.

My one and only complaint was that so many of pictures were of France. The photographer is French, so it is understandable, but of the 365 photos taken of countries all over the world, 32 of them were of France. I’m okay with the United States not getting extra just because we expect it, and it did not detract from the importance of the book, but maybe the next one will pick another favorite country.

This was a library copy.

Challenge Completed!

October 15, 200911 Comments

readown3 I completed my second challenge with my review of The Appeal yesterday! It was the 50th book that I read this year that was on my shelves before January 1. This is the first challenge I signed up for this year and one that fills me with satisfaction now I’ve accomplished it. I had so many books that had languished on my shelves or boxes for years and now I’ve made a dent.

Here’s the link to the books I’ve read for this challenge. Here are a few of my favorites-

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (powerful memoir of the Holocaust)

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (heartwarming coming-of-age story)

Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil by John Berendt (spend a little time in Savannah)

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (love me some Mr. Darcy)

The Time Machine by HG Wells (original time travel classic)

Watchers by Dean Koontz (if you love dogs, you must read this book)

MizB hosted this challenge and will be doing it again next year. I plan to commit to another 50! You should think about joining us 🙂

The Appeal, by John Grisham

October 14, 20093 Comments

Finished 10-14-09, rating 3/5, fiction, pub.2007

“There are two fees. First, a million as a retainer. This is all properly reported. You officially become our client, and we provide consulting services in the area if government relations, a wonderfully vague term that covers just about anything. The second fee is seven million bucks, and we take it offshore. Some of this will be used to fund the campaign, but most will be preserved. Only the first fee goes on the books.”

Carl was nodding, understanding. “For eight million, I can buy myself a supreme court justice.”

Wes and Mary Grace Payton have been fighting a huge chemical company in the courts for years, trying to get justice for a small Mississippi town decimated by years of poisoning by Krane Chemical Corporation. Carl Trudeau doesn’t take this lawyers seriously and is shocked when the jury sides with the plaintiff for $42 million and decides that it is time to put his money to work and buy an election.

This story has a bit of courtroom drama and lots of the ugly side of politics. There was a clear contrast between the haves and the haves nots, the rich and the poor, the power players and the powerless, and it was easy to root for the Davids as they battled Goliath. Most states still elect state supreme court justices and this books shows how easily these elections can be bought. And it is only the voters who suffer from the manipulation.

This was a cynical and probably very accurate look at the election process we have in place and it will anger you. Many of you know that I have been working at the elections the past few years and I encourage everyone to vote, but more than that I want people to vote with knowledge. This book shines a spotlight on this problem. I could go on for a while about this, but that’s a whole different post.

I really liked the first half of the book with the environmental focus, thought the middle was slow with way too much detail on the campaign play-by-play, and really hated the end. If you are interested in politics or are a Grisham fan you may like this more than me. Although, I’m interested in politics and I didn’t love it.

This came from my own library.

Teaser Tuesday – The Appeal

October 13, 200914 Comments

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: Grab your current read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!). Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mr. Bintz was about forty years old, short and thin, intense, with the smugness that Yankees can’t help but exude when they venture into decaying towns of the Deep South.

How could anyone live like this? their smirks seemed to ask.

Chapter 9 of The Appeal by John Grisham

That’s what this Yankee is reading today, what about you?

What Book is That? Quiz

October 12, 2009November 5, 200916 Comments

Answers to last week’s First Lines Quiz here.

blog oct 09 1

1. AUDREY HEPBURN”S NECK by Alan Brown

2. Still Life by AS Byatt – Jackie

3. Summer in the City by Robyn Sisman – Strangelove

4. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner – Wrighty

5. I Do (But I Don’t) by Cara Lockwood – ‘Nise

blog oct 09 2

6. LORD JOHN & THE HAND OD DEVIL’S by Diana Gabaldon

7. THE SLEEPING DOLL by Jeffery Deaver

8. The Husband by Dean Koontz – Wrighty

9. Dear John by Nicholas Sparks – Thoughts of Joy

10. WAR & PEACE by Leo Tolstoy

Stacy's Books

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Tag: Books