Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin was the November book for the FLICKS Book and Movie Club. Sadly, there was a backup of holds on the library system and I did not get it until after Book Club as did half of the other members. Hopefully we’ll be able to have a meaningful discussion in December about it.


I loved this book. Giffin’s work is mostly classified as “chick lit,” and light and fluffy. There was nothing light and fluffy about this novel, which packed an emotional wallop. Marian Caldwell is a 36-year old television producer. She has achieved her dreams and is living the high life, with her one disappointment being that her boyfriend of two years, Peter, has not yet proposed. One day she answers the door only to find 18-year old Kirby Rose, the daughter she gave away at birth. The novel tells the story from both Kirby and Marian’s perspectives. Marian’s story includes how she fell in love with Kirby’s father, but knew that he was not the man that would allow her to achieve her dreams. She made choices, some good, and some terribly bad. The choices have come back to haunt her and with the prodding of Peter, she decides to face them head on.

I really enjoyed the timeline of the book. Marian would be two years older than me (my husband’s age) and I loved her teenage years in the 1990’s. The characters were all vividly drawn and complex. At times I didn’t know whether I loved or hated Marian or her choices. I couldn’t put this book down and thoroughly enjoyed it to the very last page. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait to discuss it.

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner

Jennifer Weiner caught me with Good in Bed. Her infectious humor and witty non-conventional heroines kept me riveted. I’ve enjoyed her books and have enjoyed introducing her to new readers in my book clubs and amongst my friends. I’ve also loved reading her blog over the years. But something has been happening the last couple of years. I no longer find myself entranced with her novels. The Next Best Thing was a good example of this phenomenon.


Ruth Saunders has a dream of writing her own television series. Scarred after a childhood car accident that claimed the lives of her parents, she grew up raised by her loving Grandma. She moves her Grandma and herself to California and starts working towards her dream of creating her own television series. After years of hard work, her TV series has been picked up, but nothing is working the way she dreamed it would. With the network taking charge and the miscasting of characters, the once perfect script becomes a rather lackluster show.

Weiner had her own such experience in creating the ABC Family series State of Georgia. I wanted to like that show, but couldn’t. Her experiences shine through in the plot and made it interesting. My problem with the book though was that I didn’t really ever like Ruth and her love interests were also very lackluster. I want to feel and identify with the character as I have in other Weiner’s books, but I wasn’t feeling it this time around. There was little snappy dialogue or humorous situations. Overall, the plot was interesting, but the lack of depth to the characters really brings this book down. Has anyone else had this experience?

Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library

Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You by Dolly Parton

Title: Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer

Author: Dolly Parton
Read by: Dolly Parton
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Length: Approximately 1.5 hours (2 CDs)
Source: Penguin Audio Review Copy

Dream More is a positive little book with a great message. Dolly Parton is world famous for her singing, song writing, and movie career, and also for her image and body. As she states in the book, people sometimes focus on the outer aspects of Dolly Parton, and ignore her other positive inner aspects. For example, she is a very successful business woman and part owner of Dollywood. She has also started a very successful Literacy Program to help bring reading to all children. I was impressed by how she has spent her life trying to help the people in her home community and people in general. She sounds like a genuinely lovely human being that deserves to be judged for her accomplishments rather than her appearance.

Dream More is actually an extension of a commencement speech that Parton gave at the University of Tennessee. She added to the speech and came up with this great book. She basically gave great words of advice such as how to dream big dreams and work to accomplish and would follow up the advice with a story about how that advice helped her on the path to stardom. She also sang a few songs including “Coat of Many Colors,” which is a truly wonderful and inspirational song.

Dolly Parton read this book herself and gave it her own special charm. I loved listening to it on my way to and from work and would definitely listen to more audio from her. It also has inspired me to put some of her CDs on my wish list.

I recommend this audiobook and think it would be a great gift for the dreamers in your friends and family or maybe for you!

One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathon Tropper

Title: One Last Thing Before I Go

Author: Jonathon Tropper
Read by: John Shea
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Length: Approximately 8.5 hours (7 CDs)
Source: Penguin Audio Review Copy

I will admit, when I first started listening to this audiobook, I was ready to turn it off. Drew Silver leads a very sad and depressing life. He was a drummer with a one-hit wonder band. His fleeting fame cost him his wife and daughter, and he now lives in an apartment building, the Versailles, full of sad divorced men like himself. They are a very sad lot also with depressing stories of lost families and lost self-worth. A lonely life filled with no love and a distance from all of his family members is the hallmark of Drew’s life. He is so down and out now that he and his friend Jack sell their sperm to a study at a local hospital. It was exactly during this description of the process of selling one’s sperm, that I was ready to eject the CD and move on to another book. I didn’t, and I am glad I did not.

Silver discovers that he has a heart condition and he will only live with a life-saving surgery, performed by his ex-wife’s fiancé, a man that he can’t quite bring himself to hate. Silver decides to opt out of the surgery and to spend his days remaining trying to repair his broken relationships and find meaning in life again. His main focus is his daughter, Casey, but he also spends time with his father and ex-wife, Denise. The book gets comical at times, but also remains serious. It overall asks the question, what makes your life worth living?

I will just say that by the end, I loved Drew Silver and his entire crazy family. The ending was unexpected and brought tears to my eyes. I found myself constantly thinking about this book long after its conclusion. I previously read The Book of Joe by Tropper and enjoyed it, but I enjoyed this book even more. It is a masterpiece.

John Shea was a great narrator of this audiobook and gave a real voice to all of the characters.

This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz

Title: This is How You Lose Her

Author: Junot Diaz
Read by: Junot Diaz
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Length: Approximately 5 hours (5 CDs)
Source: Penguin Audio Review Copy

This is How you Lose Her is the first book I’ve read (or listened to) by Junot Diaz, but it will not be my last. This is How you Lose her was a brilliant series of short stories, mostly involving Yunior and his ill-fated love life.

If I would have read this book before I was married, I might have given up in despair. Most of the reason Yunior loses his loves is because he is a very unfaithful man and his girlfriends invariably find out. What brings this beyond a sad tale of a sad man that can’t keep it in his pants is the background story of Yunior. It was interesting how he came to America as a youngster and lived in the shadow of his older brother. As he older brother wasted away from cancer, Yunior tried to find meaning in life and love. By the end, Yunior has come a long way from his youth as an immigrant, but he still has not found the true meaning of love. One quote I loved from the book is “the half-life of love is forever.”

Overall, I enjoyed the story of Yunior. While he was not always a character I could relate to or even like, he had a compelling story full of vivid details of life as a Dominican immigrant. I was fascinated. Author Junot Diaz read the story himself and I now identify his voice completely as Yunior.

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Title: Shadow of Night

Author: Deborah Harkness

Read by: Jennifer Ikeda

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Length: Approximately 24.5 hours (20 CDs)

Source: Penguin Audio Review Copy

Shadow of Night is the second riveting novel in the wonderful Discovery of Witches trilogy. Diana Bishop and Matthew Clairmont continue their search for Ashmole 782 while also escaping from their prosecutors by “time walking” with Diana’s power to Elizabethan London. Once there, Diana meets a new coven and works on improving her use of her powers. Matthew has replaced his past self, which is always a tricky time travel problem when you are an ancient vampire and travel to an era that you once existed during. I’m not sure how I feel about this use of time travel. I think it might have been more interesting to have the past Matthew still there and to try to keep the past and future Matthews apart.

During Elizabethan times, Matthew was a part of the School of Night which included the thinkers of the day such as Sir Walter Raleigh, Christopher Marlowe, George Chapman and Thomas Harriot. Matthew is excited to see his old friends, especially his best friend Christopher Marlowe. Diana enjoys getting to know them all too, except for Marlowe who despises her for the love that Matthew shares with her and not him. They have many adventures trying to find Ashmole 782 and to navigate the dangerous politics at the time to stay alive. Diana tries to learn how to use her power, while falling deeper in love with Matthew.

I loved this book. I loved the romance between the two leads and I especially loved the historical detail of Elizabethan England. The one thing missing was the characters from the 20th century that I had grown to love in A Discovery of Witches. I can only hope they return in Book three. I also was annoyed by Marlowe. I think if I were Matthew, I would have disowned him as a friend long before he did. Anyone else annoyed?

Shadow of Night was a beautifully written and engaging novel and I can’t wait until Book 3. Jennifer Ikeda is the same narrator as in A Discovery of Witches and once again she did a fantastic job of bringing a unique voice to each character. This made the audiobook a joy to listen too. I highly recommend this novel.

Winner of A Walk in the Park by Jill Mansell

The lucky winner of A Walk in the Park by Jill Mansell is Na.  Na was chosen using the power of random.org and was notified via email that she is a winner.  She has one week to send me her mailing address. If I do not hear from her within that time frame, a new winner will be chosen. Congrats to Na!

Thank-you to Jill Mansell for the lovely guest blog, and to Sourcebooks for allowing me to host this giveaway and review the novel.  I always enjoy Jill Mansell's novels. 

As I stated in my other entry, I am still reading/listening, but I have fallen behind on my reviews.  Expect many brief reviews to hopefully be popping up over the next week or two while I attempt to catch myself up and successful end this semester.

Thank-you again for all who entered this giveaway!

Winner of Sacred Treason by James Forrester

I'm sorry that I have been missing from action on my blog for a few weeks.  The end of the semester is proving to be quite hectic trying to get my students to the finish line for this semester while also trying to set up new classes for next semester.  Throwing in the holidays also adds in another level of hecticness.  I've still been reading and listening to audiobooks and need to catch up on reviews - they will probably be brief just to warn you!

I loved Sacred Treason by James Forreser and will hopefully have my review up soon.  It was a fantastic historical fiction thriller and had me engrossed until the last page.  The lucky winner of a copy of Sacred Treason is Kimberlee of Girl Lost in a Book.  Kimberlee has been notified via email and has one week (until December 5th) to email me her mailing address.  If I do not hear from her, a new winner will be drawn.  Kimberlee was chosen using the power of random.org.

Thank-you to James Forrester for the wonderful interview, Sourcebooks for this giveaway and allowing me to review the book, and all of you that entered the giveaway.

A Walk in the Park Guest Blog by Jill Mansell (and Giveaway!)

I am excited today to have author Jill Mansell on my blog.  I have enjoyed reading her novels the past couple of years and look forward to each new one.  She has wonderful way of writing realistic wonderful community of characters that really draw me into the story.  The worst part about her novels is that they end and I can't find out more about them!  Thank-you for your wonderful guest blog today about your new novel, A Walk in the Park. Hello Laura, and thanks so much for the invitation to appear on your lovely blog!

Starting a new book is always an exciting time. I start off with a situation that's been borrowed from real life, but not necessarily my own life - an idea can be sparked by a TV programme, a line from a movie, a story in a newspaper...anywhere really. For A Walk in the Park, the inspiration came from a wedding we attended, of friends of ours. The bride was really really late arriving at the church and we couldn't understand why she eventually turned up in a flustered state. It wasn't until later that we heard the story: a day or two before the wedding, she'd had a falling out with an old friend, who had gone off in a huff. The wedding present from this old friend had been to provide hair and makeup artists for the bride, the bridesmaids and the bride's mother on the day...

So there they all were, at home on the morning of the biggest day of her life, waiting for the hair and makeup artists to arrive and begin the transformation. What they didn't know was that the old friend had cancelled them. The panic was terrible...they were having to peer at YouTube videos to learn how to curl hair into ringlets using straighteners. Luckily my friend is good with makeup, but they had a fraught time getting everyone ready.

Needless to say, the old friend is no longer any kind of friend at all. But, being a writer endlessly in need of ideas, I asked if I could use the story in my new book. (I know, I have no shame!) And luckily my friend was delighted to let me do it. In the story, though, my characters have NO CLUE how to do their own hair or apply make-up. And there's another reason entirely why my fictional hair and makeup artist doesn't turn up...

Creating the cast of characters is more of an organic process, like a gradually expanding cobweb. The main character has to have family...and friends...and work colleagues...and so do each of those people too. It's hard to limit the number of characters in my books - there always seems to be room for more. But I love choosing names and personalities for them. I'm in charge of everything! It's like being God! After twenty five books, I really wish I had compiled some kind of chart or database of names used, as I have a dreadful memory and it's incredibly difficult to keep track and remember if I've used a name before. Surnames are even trickier, because people who enjoy my books might spot that two entirely different characters from different books share a surname...they'll then write and ask me why, and try to work out if they're related to each other in some way!

Finally, choosing personalities for my characters is something I've never had to worry about - that's the magical bit for me. As soon as I create them, I know everything about them and they spring to life. I might not have any clue what they look like - I have to keep a cheat-sheet for that aspect - but I instantly know their personalities inside out.

Thanks so much for letting me witter on, and I do hope you'll enjoy reading A Walk in the Park. When I wasn't struggling with the tricky parts I absolutely loved writing it!

Love,

Jill xx



A WALK IN THE PARK BY JILL MANSELL – IN STORES NOVEMBER 2012

No one could have planned for this...

Lara Carson left her family and boyfriend Flynn eighteen years ago without a word to anyone. Why has no one heard from her since? Does it mean anything that she's suddenly reappeared in Bath just in time for her ex–best friend Evie's wedding? And what about Flynn? Even the most eagle–eyed observer can't tell whether he's happy to see her, or just stunned.

While secrets pile up on secrets, and the gossip mill wings into high gear, the brand–new life Lara's searching for becomes ever more elusive. There's a lot of catching up for everyone to do, and Lara's return is going to be anything but a walk in the park.

Praise for Jill Mansell:

“Bestselling Brit Mansell delivers a romantic and lighthearted story about a woman's struggle to overcome grief—and the quirky people who help her along the way… Enjoy feeling warm and fuzzy.” —Publishers Weekly

“Mansell crafts a lovely story with multiple plotlines, characters and love interests.”—USA Today

“A master storyteller who creates characters with unique personalities that captivate the reader’s imagination and heart.”—Long and Short Reviews

“Exquisitely told... Compelling. The book was irresistible.” —Fresh Fiction

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A New York Times, USA Today and international bestseller, Jill Mansell has written over 20 funny, romantic novels, and has sold millions of books around the world. Jill lives with her family in Bristol, England. For more information, please visit www.jillmansell.co.uk or follow her on Twitter: @JillMansell.

Giveaway Details


Sourcebooks has graciously offered a giveaway of one copy of A Walk in the Park by Jill Mansell.
If you would like to win a copy of this book please leave a comment about what intrigues you about the this book or this great Guest Blog.

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a monte carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents (Sorry!).

No P.O. Boxes.

The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday November 16, 2012.

Please make sure to check the fourth week of November to see if you are a winner. I send emails to the winner but lately I have been put in their "junk mail" folder instead of their inbox.
Good luck!

Winner of A Place Beyond Courage by Elizabeth Chadwick!

The lucky winner of A Place Beyond Courage by Elizabeth Chadwick is FolliesGirl14 (Katy)!  Katy has been notified by email and has until next Monday, November 12th, to send me her mailing address.  If I don't hear from her by that time, a new winner will be drawn.  Katy was chosen via random.org and was the last person to enter the giveaway.  It's never too late to enter, well unless you are after the deadline.  Congrats to Katy!  I hope she enjoys the book as much as I did.

Thank-you to Sourcebooks for allowing me to host this giveaway and thank-you to Elizabeth Chadwick for writing such an excellent book.  Thanks to all who entered the giveaway.

I still have one historical fiction giveaway ongoing as noted on my sidebar.  I also have a women's fiction giveaway that I will be posting shortly so stayed tuned!