The Widows of Braxton County

When I got the email about this book I was intrigued by the description.  The book did not disappoint.

Description: Family secrets can bind and destroy

Kate is ready to put her nomadic, city-dwelling past behind her when she marries Joe Krause and moves with him to the Iowa farm that has been in his family for more than 140 years. But life on the farm isn't quite as idyllic as she'd hoped. It's filled with chores, judgmental neighbors, and her mother-in-law, who—unbeknownst to Kate until after the wedding—will be living with them.

As Kate struggles to find her place in the small farming community, she begins to realize that her husband and his family are not who she thought they were. According to town gossip, the Krause family harbors a long-kept secret about a mysterious death that haunts Kate as a dangerous, unexplainable chain of events begins.

From the beginning I wanted to smack Kate's husband Joe.  Here's this woman who has married him barely knowing him and she HANDS OVER her savings account to him and he treats her like crap.  His mentality towards his wife in 2012 was NOT that far off from his great-great-grandfather's in 1890 where the book keeps flashing back too. 

Basically, Kate moves in realizes she will be living WITH her mother-in-law who is so not nice and resents her because she's married her baaaaaby.  Any time Kate offers up advice or constructive criticism she is chastised,, made to feel dumb and then finally physically hit.  Thankfully, she did not stay the victim for long and realized her husband was a tool and shacked up with her mother-in-law's enemy to try to work things out.

Then, after a break through I had high hopes for Joe that he was actually turning it around and making an effort to treat his wife like an equal partner and then he didn't get the chance to redeem himself.

Braxton County is a lovely little small town full of small town gossips and I giggled over the little old ladies trading stories and the scenes when conversations would stop when Kate would walk in.  Small town USA.  Gotta love it.

Back to Joe's great-great-grandfather, Joseph.  He was murdered in his bed and ever since the family has been cursed with bad luck.  Is it him or is it Hannah is wife, who not unlike Kate speaks her mind and doesn't stay silent.  Unfortunately for Hannah the 1890s were a lot different in Braxton County than it was in 2012 for Kate.

This book is a great look at how a woman's role in the community and home have changed so much so fast.  And how Kate comes into her own to stand on her own two feet and make her own choices for herself

I read this book in one day, so you know its gotta be good. ;)

Do you know any stories about your great-great-grandparents? Does your family have a family farm or homestead that's been in your family for years? Do you have any special family heirlooms?

I received this book from HarperCollins but all thoughts and feelings are my own.

Time Bomb

I'm so glad I decided to stick with the Alex Delaware series by Jonathan Kellerman.  The books have been picking up and getting better. ;)


Description:  By the time psychologist Dr. Alex Delaware reached the school the damage was done: A sniper had opened fire on a crowded playground, but was gunned down before any children were hurt.   While the TV news crews feasted on the scene an Alex began his therapy sessions with the traumatized children, he couldn't escape the image of a slight teenager clutching an oversized rifle. What was the identity behind the name and face: a would-be assassin, or just another victim beneath an indifferent California sky?  Intrigued by a request from the sniper's father to conduct a "psychological autopsy" of his child, Alex begins to uncover a strange pattern of innocence, neglect, and loss. Then suddenly it is more than a pattern � it is a trail of blood. In the dead sniper's past was a dark and vicious plot. And in Alex Delaware's future is the stuff of grown-up nightmares: the face of real human evil.

This book is full of very interesting characters that all get the Alex Delaware psych once over.  Not only are there interesting characters there is a very iinteresting plot.  Why would a very dull nineteen year old girl who kept to herself shoot up a school? Her super weird father doesn't think she did it and wants Alex to prove it.  The book is full of connections to the Holocaust, radicals from the 60s, local politicians, a grocery store owner, a loner black kid very interested in the Holocaust, and of course the verrrry interesting to Alex, Dr. Overstreet.

There are just so many very interesting characters and through it all you see the best in humanity and the worst.  And nobody is who they first appear.  Just my type of book.  I flew through it!

Have you ever been interested in psychology?

The Almond Tree

“You cannot go back and make a new start, but you can start now and make a new ending”  

Our July pick for book club was The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Corasanti.  Two of us had won it in a goodreads giveaway so we all thought, what the heck.  Wow.  It was loved by all and two of us admitted to reacting so emotionally and thinking, "how could I have not known? how does the world not know?"  It's that moving.  I highly highly highly recommend this.  It's going to the top of the list when people ask me what they should read.

" Good things make choosing difficult .Bad things leave no choice”

Description: Gifted with a mind that continues to impress the elders in his village, Ichmad Hamid struggles with the knowledge that he can do nothing to save his Palestinian friends and family. Ruled by the Israeli military government, the entire village operates in fear of losing homes, jobs, and belongings. But more importantly, they fear losing each other. On Ichmad's twelfth birthday, that fear becomes a reality. With his father imprisoned, his family's home and possessions confiscated, and his siblings quickly succumbing to the dangers of war, Ichmad begins the endless struggle to use his intellect to save his poor and dying family and reclaim a love for others that was lost when the bombs first hit."The Almond Tree" capitalizes on the reader's desire to be picked up and dropped off in another part of the world. It tackles issues that many Americans only hear about on World News or read about at The Huffington Post, such as the Israeli Palestinian conflict, the scholasticide that is being imposed upon the Palestinians in Gaza and the current Gaza blockade. But even more, it offers hope.

“Hatred is self-punishment.Do you think they're feeling bad because you hate them?”

This book.  It's almost too hard for me to talk about it because YOU JUST NEED TO READ IT.  Even in the awfulness of the world there is goodness. 
 
“Before you judge a person, try to imagine how you would feel if the same things had happened to you.”  

I would definitely recommend reading the About the Author from her website.  It really helped put the book in perspective as well.

“Courage, I realised, was not the absence of fear: it was the absence of selfishness; putting someone else's interest before one's own.”

This family suffered so much and all of it stemming from the fact that they were Palestinians in Israel.  I just cannot wrap my head around how it seems okay with everyone that they can be forced from their land, especially by a people who were also persecuted and EXTERMINATED.  And the Palestinians had nothing to do with it.  It is a life I cannot imagine and really really really encourage you to read this book.

“He looked me directly in the eye. 'So you live in America?'
'We do.' I smiled.
He stopped, opened his backpack, pulled out an empty tear gas grenade and handed it to me.
'I believe it was a present from your country.' Majid smiled. 'Tell your friends thanks. We got their grenade.”  

And, no, this is not a memoir but it could be.

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”   - Desmond Tutu

Have you read The Almond Tree? What do you know about the struggle in Israel of the Palestinians and Jews?

Wicked Business

Every once in awhile I like to read fluff.  Hence, my Stephanie Plum obsession.  While I was at the library awhile ago I saw that Janet Evanovich had a new series, Lizzie & Diesel.  So, being the series obsessed that I am, I had to give it a whirl.

Description: When Harvard University English professor and dyed-in-the-wool romantic Gilbert Reedy is mysteriously murdered and thrown off his fourth-floor balcony, Lizzy and Diesel take up his twenty-year quest for the Luxuria Stone, an ancient relic believed by some to be infused with the power of lust. Following clues contained in a cryptic nineteenth-century book of sonnets, Lizzy and Diesel tear through Boston catacombs, government buildings, and multimillion-dollar residences, leaving a trail of robbed graves, public disturbances, and spontaneous seduction.

First off, this is the SECOND book in the series and I didn't realize that until I had already started it and decided, ehhh..

That being said, if you are looking for a laugh out loud ridiculous reading experience this is your book.  I can totally see similarities between these characters and her Stephanie Plum characters and they all crack me up. 

There is innocent Glo who is determined she is a wizard and that her broom has magical powers.  Hatchett who wanders around dressed like a Renaissance man speaking like that and being ridiculous.  Diesel who is hot and flirts.  Lizzie who bakes cupcakes and cooks and does ridiculous things.  It's just perfect for fluff.

It's not something I NEED to read but if I need a quicky mindless book, I will totally read another.

I'd recommend this for those who are fans of Janet's and maybe like a little magic in there stories.

What's your favorite fluff reading?

A few of my favorite links...

It's been awhile since I've shared some of my favorite blog posts and a few of them I really enjoyed recently, so I'd thought I'd share, because sharing is caring! ;)

Planning a trip to Colonial Williamsburg? Check out Kath's first installment of what looks like a really fun weekend! It is now on a list of places I want to see!

I must be in a traveling mood because I also loved the photo recaps from Emily's trip to Lake Michigan.  Lake Michigan is one of MY FAVORITE things about my state.  Northern Michigan on the Lake Michigan side is just GORGEOUS.  Sunsets with a bottle of wine on Lake Michigan shoreline need to happen soon.

Then during a mid-afternoon perusal of the interwebs I came across another informative post by Kath about healthy snacking.  All stuff I know but helpful to read again when it's the middle the afternoon and I want to eat ALL THE FOOD because apparently being home during the summer turns me into a massive snacker.  And I wonder why my kid wants to eat all day.

I've also been hankering (who says hankering? probably people who also use tinkering.  Okay yes that would be me) for good Italian food and wine.  I broke down and made lasagna last week and the very next day Iowa Girl Eats posted this lovely one skillet lasagna recipe.  I'm excited to try this out in the fall when I don't have much time to make dinner but I want some lasagna! YUMMM..

I'm always on the look out for cheap, easy and healthy. The instant oat idea from meals and miles seems like something that I can take with me to school in the fall.  I'm going to be getting there a bit earlier than my normal start time and will need to fuel up there since eating at 6 am does not seem appealing.  I'm more of a roll out of the bed roll out the door, food be damned.  Gah, I must start organizing meal plans soon!

Apple Time had me giggling with the writing and inspired me to share it to see if anyone else had any apple suggestions.

Happy Reading! Anything, you think I need to check out?

Silent Partner

I have a problem with starting series.  I know I know.  Last summer I started the Alex Delaware series by Jonathan Kellerman and read the first three before I fell of the bandwagon until this summer.  My library's used book sale had a TON in the series available and it was fill a bag for $6.00.  Of course I loaded up.   Of course upon further inspection at home I had grabbed a bunch of the newer books and so now I'm all set for when I reach the end of the series but I have a lot of gaps in the beginning.  So off I went back to the library to try to grab the earlier stuff.

Silent Partner by Jonathan Kellerman is the 4th in the series and it gets a little risqué.  I liked it.  Hard to keep in mind that this is set in the 80s so of course there are beepers, phone services, and stopping on the side of the road to use phone booths.  Ahh the good ole days when you could disappear for awhile. ;)

Description: The bestselling author of When The  Bough Breaks, Blood Test,  and Over The Edge delivers the  most stunning novel yet and featuring  psychologist-detective Dr. Alex Delaware. At a party for a  controversial Los Angeles sex therapist, Alex  encounters a face from his own past--Sharon Ransom, an  exquisite, alluring lover who left him abruptly more  than a decade earlier. Sharon now hints that he  desperately needs help, but Alex evades her. The  next day she is dead, an apparent suicide. Driven by  guilt and sadness, Alex plunges into the maze of  Sharon's life--a journey that will take him through  the pleasure palaces of California's ultra-rich,  into the dark closets of a family's disturbing  past, and finally into the alleyways of the mind,  where childhood terrors still hold sway.

Let's just say that these psychologists sure have a heck of a lot of problems themselves! The plot line got a little crazy with characters and the history behind the key players was quite interesting and a little crazy to follow along.  There was a twist I didn't see coming and a few I did.  I like reading these books but they aren't like OMG I NEED TO READ THE WHOLE SERIES NOW books.  I like that I can take some time off and return.  I was a bit lost on Delaware's relationship with Robin but it was easy to pick back up on again.  I'm actually excited to catch up to present day Dr. Delaware and see what's up. ;)

My only issues with the book was the almost creep factor of how lovey dovey Sharon could be on Alex even after being apart for so long and that he actually let her hang all over him and ick, if you read the book you kind of want to say PUSH HER OFF YOU, icky.  It does kind of border the trashy line but I mean in a book that has grandparents who are porn collectors and people who starred in porns you can only expect so much from a book. 

It's not all that skeevy, porn loving grandparents and all.  I actually appreciate the topics covered in Kellerman's books.

Have you read any books by Kellerman? Did my porn talk scare you off from this one? ;) (trust me no porn written in the book!! ha)

Full of Grace

Full of Grace by Dorothea Benton Frank is the second novel by Frank that I've read this summer.  The first Folly Beach, got me even more excited about a possible South Carolina vacation that I decided I needed to check out her other books.

Description: The move from New Jersey to Hilton Head, South Carolina, wasn't easy for the Russo family—difficult enough for Big Al and Connie, but even harder for their daughter Maria Graziella, who insists on being called Grace. At thirty-one and still, shockingly, unmarried, Grace has scandalized her staunchly traditional Italian family by moving in with her boyfriend Michael—who, though a truly great guy, is agnostic, commitment-phobic, a scientist, and (horror of horrors) Irish!

Grace adores her parents even though they drive her crazy—and she knows they'd love Michael if they got to know him, but Big Al won't let him into their house. And so the stage is set for a major showdown—which, along with a devastating, unexpected crisis and, perhaps, a miracle or two, just might change Grace's outlook on love, family, and her new life in the new South.


Okay to be honest I picked this up without read the whole description.  I decided to read this one because it also covered someone moving from Jersey to Carolina (like Folly Beach) so I thought I'd get kinda the same stuff.  While Frank's humor is present in the book it was just kinda eh for me.  I never got behind Grace (the narrator's voice) it seemed kinda whiney and bratty and just no.  I am definitely not done with her books but I was disappointed.  I did still read the book in 24 hours!
I also feel like I've read the premise of the book before and everything was super predictable.  Basically, Grace's love is super ill and she has all these questions about the Catholic church because her family is staunchly Catholic and won't accept her boyfriend and calls him the Irish Baby Killer and then they visit Mexico City and just I felt like I read a book like this before but can't remember all the details. 

That being said her family did crack me up! It kind of reminded me of how Janet Evanovich writes her awesome characters in the Stephanie Plum series.  Hysterical but lovable!

 It brought up a lot of interesting questions that could be used in book discussions.  A lot of moral questions and how you have to look at yourself and see how you want God to be a part of your life and how the Church's position helps you frame your own outlook and guides you to making decisions.

Would you date someone your family didn't approve of? How important is religion in a relationship to you? Do you find yourself in turmoil with your religions 'beliefs'' and your own beliefs?

July Group Read Discussion: Where'd You go Bernadette

I had heard a lot of hype about this book and figured I'd need to check it out eventually, but the description didn't realllly move me so I put it on the back burner until it was chosen for July's Group Read.  I must say, I liked it, but I didn't find it as amazing as some reviews I've read.  It started out a little slow going, albeit funny, and then I got into it but then the end, ehhh.. It was just okay.  The middle was the best part. 

1. Where’d You Go, Bernadette is told from the point of view of a daughter trying to find her missing mother. Why do you think the author chose to tell the story from Bee’s perspective? What light does it shed on the bond between Bernadette and Bee?

2. What are your thoughts on Bernadette’s character? Has she become unhinged or has she always been a little crazy? What, if anything, do you think sent her over the edge? Have you ever had a moment in your own life that utterly changed you, or made you call into question your own sanity?

I think Bernadette was a little to self-involved and too sure of herself when she was starting out as an architect because she was a little eccentric she got more credit than she may have deserved and people encourage her oddities until she became her oddities and she didn't know how to stop.

3. When Bernadette relocates from Los Angeles to Seattle, she must cope with being a transplant in a new city. Have you ever moved, or even stayed put but switched jobs, and had to adjust to an entirely different culture? What was it like?

4.  The idea of going to Antarctica becomes too much for an already frazzled Bernadette to bear, but the trip itself, surprisingly, turns out to be exactly what she needs to get back on track. How do other characters in the novel experience their own breakthroughs? Which character is most transformed?

5. Bernadette often behaves as if she is an outsider. Do you think she is? If so, do you think her feelings of being an outsider are self-imposed, or is she truly different from the other members of her community? Do you ever feel like an outsider?

I think she used being an outsider as a way to protect herself.  If she insulted them first, than it wasn't on her.  She wasn't a very sociable person and I don't think she had the skill to fake polite conversations or just being around people who she may not like.  She just went on the offensive immediately in hopes that no one would talk to her again.

6. The book has a very playful structure. Do you think it works? Why do you think the author chose it rather than a more straightforward, traditional structure? Think about other books with unusual structures and how their formats influenced your reading experience.

Honestly, if it wasn't written in the way it was, I might not have been able to get through it.  I found it easy to follow and very informative about multiple characters without having too much dialogue in the way.

7. What do you think of Bernadette and Elgie’s marriage? Is it dysfunctional?  Is there real love there? How has their marriage changed over time? Think about romantic relationships you’ve been in that have evolved, positively or negatively, and why.

8. Where’d You Go, Bernadette is, at its core, a story about a woman who disappears, both literally and figuratively. Were you able to relate to the book? How and why? Do you feel Bernadette’s disappearance was unique, or do all women, in a sense, disappear into motherhood and marriage?

Thanks for participating! Hope you will join us in August!

Someone Like You

"Someone like you makes it hard to live without Somebody else Someone like you makes it easy to give ..." anyone else? or is it just me??

COULD NOT get this song out of my head while I read this.

Description: Halley has always followed in the wake of her best friend, Scarlett. But when Scarlett learns that her boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and that she's carrying his baby, she's devastated. For the first time ever, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it'll never break--because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever.

Sarah Dessen gets the high school viewpoint.  Halley gets attention from a 'bad' boy and falls in love with him and struggles about whether or not to have sex with him.  I think a very poignant part of the book is when Scarlett is asking her if he loves her and Halley says, yes and Scarlett asks her if he has said it and Halley replies with no, but I know he does.  Also, Halley tells Scarlett that it's not a big deal to Macon so maybe it shouldn't be a big deal to her and I love that Scarlett says, "It is a big deal to girls like us."  There may have been some comparison with another high school girl, but you get it.  It's a good frank conversation about losing your virginity and a good look at how different highschoolers boy or girl look at it. 

“There are some things in this world you rely on, like a sure bet. And when they let you down, shifting from where you've carefully placed them, it shakes your faith, right where you stand.”  

Also, Halley and her mother have always had a rock solid relationship until this summer and then they start drifting apart.  Clearly, they see life a bit differently which is made obvious by their 'fights.'  However, I really did NOT like Halley's mother.  She is supposed to be a therapist and tells other teens and their parents what to do but she SUCKS with her daughter.  She just yells and throws out demands and ultimatum's that most people who deal with teens know THAT WILL NOT WORK.  She does not let Halley talk until finally Halley gets a word in at the end of the book, but then again Halley should not have been lying.  However, she rarely got to finish a sentence so some of her lies were lies of omission or her side was never heard.   

“I watched my mother do what she did best, and realized there would never be a way to cut myself from her entirely. No matter how strong or weak I was, she was a part of me, as crucial as my own heart. I would never be strong enough, in all my life, to do without her.”  

“And that was it; it was so easy for her. My own memories did not even belong to me. But I knew she was wrong. I had seen that comet. I knew it as well as I knew my own face, my own hands. My own heart.”  

“He wasn't what I'd thought he was; maybe he never had been. I wasn't what I'd thought I was, either.”  

I really recommend it! I love a good YA book now and again. 

Have you read any books by Sarah Dessen? What other YA authors do you enjoy?

August Group Read is....

Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler!

 

Description:
BALTIMORE WOMAN DISAPPEARS DURING FAMILY VACATION, declares the headline. Forty-year-old Delia Grinstead is last seen strolling down the Delaware shore, wearing nothing more than a bathing suit and carrying a beach tote with five hundred dollars tucked inside. To her husband and three almost-grown children, she has vanished without trace or reason. But for Delia, who feels like a tiny gnat buzzing around her family's edges, "walking away from it all" is not a premeditated act but an impulse that will lead her into a new, exciting, and unimagined life. .

Kinda funny that our last book was also about a woman disappearing! I'm excited to read and discuss! 

Who is planning on joining? Have you read any other books by Anne Tyler? Our discussion will be on August 30th! Happy Reading!