Summer Blowout by Claire Cook - Chapters 1 to 8 February 9, 2008
Posted by Madison in : Romantic Comedy , add a commentIf reading one of Claire Cook’s books doesn’t make you smile, then you need some serious therapy.
What I love most is the way Claire Cook does large families. In Summer Blowout the main set of characters are the sons, daughters, 2 exwives and 1 current wife of Lucky Larry Shaughnessy who owns a chain of beauty salons called Salon de Lucio. Lucky Larry is an Italianophile who would prefer to be called Luciano. Bella Shaughnessy, Summer Blowout’s main character, is the daughter of Mary (Wife A) and sister to Angela and Mario; Tulia (Wife B) is the mother of Didi; and Linda (Wife C) is mother to Sophia. Tulia and Didi have stayed in the family business but work at different salons. Only Mary has left the clan and moved on. At the start of the novel it’s not Lucky Larry’s 3 wives that are at odds, but Bella and Sophia. Sophia is now married to Bella’s ex-husband Craig. You can only imagine the scenes that Claire Cook has created to make these characters and situations come to life. Giving details would only ruin the comedic pace of this book for you.
Even though Bella has sworn off men, you know that a handsome guy has to walk in. Well he does. He is Sean Ryan - an entrepreneur who encourages Bella to create beauty kits.
Another Thing to Fall by Laura Lippman - Plot Set Up Continues - Ch. 1 - Ch. 3 January 25, 2008
Posted by Madison in : Mystery , add a commentLeo (my husband) and I are spending a lot of time in the Baltimore area because of his job. One of our favorite places is Fort McHenry, so I was interested when Lippman’s novel begins with Tess Monaghan rowing down the Patapasco River toward Fort McHenry. Her pre-dawn rowing is interrupted by a film crew’s effort to get the “perfect shot” and ultimately ends up with her in the river screaming for her scull.
As she’s fished out of the river, she begins her relationship with the flim crew of Man of Steel and its executive producer, Flip Tumulty. In the end she is asked to babysit the star of the mini-series Selene Greer. In addition to being difficult she was also the object of interest of a man who just committed suicide - a man who liked to take photographs of her. (The connection to the prologue emerges). Even though he is dead, is it just a coincidence that bad things have just started to happen to filming locations?
Another Thing to Fall by Laura Lippman January 22, 2008
Posted by Madison in : Mystery , add a commentI’ve been a big fan of Laura Lippman since I read her first Tess Monaghan novel, Baltimore Blues, in 1997, so I was really excited when an advanced reader copy of her new Tess Monaghan novel arrived at the bookstore last week. (You should be able to buy a copy in March).
Lippman begins Another Thing to Fall, with a 50-somthing male looking through a camera to a young girl (maybe late teens early 20’s - but it’s hard to tell.). He muses about his “program” and the trust he engenders with children and their parents and moves on to thinking about cameras and changes in photographic technology. In my minds eye I’m assuming he’s a predator. This may or may not be the correct assumption. But the intro ends with the person - who has no name at this point - prophesizing You’ll be the death of me.
While I read the front and back cover of a new book - I never read the summary on the inside jacket, preferring to let the story unfold as the author intended. At this point the book feels as though it could be about a predator, but I’m not sure.
Tags: Bestselling Books, Bookclub Ideas, Mystery Novel, Laura Lippman,
Tina Wainscott - What Lies in Shadow - Take 3 hours and read this INCREDIBLE book!!! January 18, 2008
Posted by Madison in : Romance, Thriller , 1 comment so farI’m not going to give you anything more about this book because I don’t want to ruin it for you! Set aside a few hours to enjoy every plot twist and nuance. I started reading on page 50 at 3:30 and it’s 6:10 and I finished it!
Just think about what would happen if you wrote an anonymous blog, in which you share your most intimate secrets, isn’t so anonymous. And when you try to shut it down, the host says no, and you become the subject of a Boston Globe column! Your readers feel betrayed and gang up on you! In What Lies in Shadaw, Tina Wainscott brings us into a world of deception, blackmail, infidelity, and yes even murder! The characters rang true and the plot absolutely ominous! When you see this book buy it!
What Lies in Shadow- Tina Wainscott - Ch. 1 - Introducing Beth and Dominic January 11, 2008
Posted by Madison in : Romance, Thriller , add a commentAs Jonna warily walks toward her rendevouz with Dominic, she has the strong urge to cancel and calls her best friend Beth for encouragment. Beth was there when she met Rush and now works for him. She also has warned Jonna that Rush is still in contact and working with a woman that he used to date. Beth has also told Jonna that Rush has come on to her as well during the work day. Beth has counseled Jonna that meeting Dominic would be good for her self confidence and payback for Rush’s actions.
What Lies in Shadow by Tina Wainscott - Just starting January 2, 2008
Posted by Madison in : Romance, Thriller , add a commentAfter the Christmas craziness at the bookstore, I needed some mind candy. Not stupid reading, but something that reads easy and really engages. You’d think being in a bookstore all day would make it easy, but nothing was jumping out until an advance copy of What Lies in Shadow by Tina Wainscott arrived last week.
It’s about a woman who impulsively jumped into marriage (at this point we don’t know how long she’s been married) and now feels neglected by her husband’s long hours at the office. To relieve boredom and connect with another human being she begins blogging under the pseudynom “Montene”. Her blog focuses on her marriage and the possibility of an illicit meeting with a blog participant named “Johnny.”
The tone of this book is what really grabbed me. Imagine Carrie Bradshaw in Sex in the City with an ominous undertone - set in Boston.
Ghost by Alan Lightman - Dates on the Blog comments December 30, 2007
Posted by Madison in : Fiction , add a commentWordpress notified me that I was using an outdated version and urged me to update. Well I learned that simply pushing buttons and hoping for the best doesn’t work with wordpress. Inadvertently I deleted all of my blog. I recreated my Ghost posts on 12/30 - I actually read the book from 12/5 to 12/9!
I have purchased Wordpress for Dummies and it will be my next read!
Ghost by Alan Lightman - Is it a Bookclub Book? YES!
Posted by Madison in : Fiction , add a commentGhost is an engaging read with lots to talk and think about. The question of belief in ghosts and the afterlife. It’s relationship to both the New Age movement and traditional religion. Our quest to be in control of our own lives and the world. And understand how we can have different experiences and beliefs and yet still support each other.
It also is a good length for busy people who can’t spend days reading a book.
If you would like to learn more about Alan Lightman. This is the link to his MIT website!
Ghost - Alan Lightman - Wanting to Believe - WARNING ENDING!
Posted by Madison in : Fiction , add a commentTo me this book is finally about wanting to believe. David’s friend Ophelia at the funeral home has become a new age guru trying to influence her own black box. Patrick McConoghy, a funeral home client whose wife died of cancer at 40, turns to his catholic faith obsessively. The Society for the Second World wants to believe in other dimensions, unseen powers, and almost everything else! David has friends at the local university who want desperately to disprove the Second World group and prove there is only science. And David yes he does want to believe terribly in his unseen powers and influence on the world.
Lightman creates a scene where the Second World and University Professors hold a joint experiement with David and the random generator in the middle. The first test shows no influence. A second test shows there might be a possibility of influence. As the “experts” grapple to prove their point - David grapples to understand his inner truth.
He also grapples with the return of his first wife, his relationship with Ellen, and Martin’s death and closure of the funeral home.
I loved the last paragraph of this book where David accepts the differences between him and Ellen and realizes that they are still together and somehow that changes everything.
There used to be a TV series Picket Fences written by David E. Kelly, where the everyday was taken to the absurd to make a point about larger issues. This book had the same feel to me. I really had a hard time buying the reaction of everyone to this little tiny event. But maybe that was the point!
Ghost - Enter the Society for the Second World - I’m up to page 139
Posted by Madison in : Fiction , add a commentTwo folks from the Society for the Second World show up at the funeral home one day. Eventually Theresa Gaignard and Lester Mewhinny convince David to participate in experiments, and Martin to allow them to happen in the Sleeping Room. Gaignard and Mewhinny make David stare into mirrors hoping to see some part of the second world. In a second experiment they have him attempt to affect the actions of a random number generator. While David really doesn’t connect with the mirros, Mewhinny determines that David has in fact altered the randomness of the random number generator.
David doesn’t really know what to make of this and basically goes about his business. He is invited to a Second World conference and does attend. His reaction to the speakers and Mcwhinney (who presents David’s experience and tests) is that they are too sure of themelves. He still does not know what to make of his short experience into the unkown and considers their assessment as inaccurate. But he goes back to Ellen and the funeral home to continue on…Until…
He receives a call from a distressed Ellen. The newspaper has published another article about David - this time focussing on the conference and findings of the Society for the Second World. David’s success with the random number generator is discussed - implying that he has an ability to influence the world around him. It then continues with McWhinney describing a number of bad events in the world such as tornadoes that happened around the time of the testing. Ellen fumes that the Second Society is making a fool out of David.