Tuesday, May 31, 2011

I Close My Eyes

This is a video of my area. The Tiki Bar is only a few miles from my house, and Matlacha (pronounced Matt-la-shay) is one of my favorite places on earth. I'm not a beach person, but I love quaint fishing towns and art areas, which is what Matlacha really is. (Funny that he portrays Matlacha as a beach area, too. I've never seen a real beach at Matlacha! It's a tiny little stretch of land allowing for a two-lane road with restaurants, fish mongers, art galleries and homes on either side of the road, and it leads out to Pine Island-- another of my favorite places on earth).


REVIEW: Mothers & Daughters by Rae Meadows

Synopsis

A rich and luminous novel about three generations of women in one family: the love they share, the dreams they refuse to surrender, and the secrets they hold

Samantha is lost in the joys of new motherhood—the softness of her eight-month-old daughter's skin, the lovely weight of her child in her arms—but in trading her artistic dreams to care for her child, Sam worries she's lost something of herself. And she is still mourning another loss: her mother, Iris, died just one year ago.

When a box of Iris's belongings arrives on Sam's doorstep, she discovers links to pieces of her family history but is puzzled by much of the information the box contains. She learns that her grandmother Violet left New York City as an eleven-year-old girl, traveling by herself to the Midwest in search of a better life. But what was Violet's real reason for leaving? And how could she have made that trip alone at such a tender age?

In confronting secrets from her family's past, Sam comes to terms with deep secrets from her own. Moving back and forth in time between the stories of Sam, Violet, and Iris, Mothers and Daughters is the spellbinding tale of three remarkable women connected across a century by the complex wonder of motherhood.
  • Pub. Date: March 2011
  • Publisher: Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
  • Format: Hardcover , 272pp
  • ISBN-13: 9780805093834
  • ISBN: 0805093834
  • Edition Description: First Edition

About the Author
from the author's website

Rae Meadows is the author of Mothers and Daughters, Calling Out, which received the 2006 Utah Book Award for fiction, and No One Tells Everything, a Poets & Writers Notable Novel. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Awards and Citations:

  • Honorable Mention, Anne Powers Book-Length Fiction Prize, 2008
  • “Notable Novel” selection, Poets & Writers, 2008
  • First Prize, Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops Short Story Contest, 2008
  • Winner, Utah Book Award for Fiction, 2006
  • “Best Books of the Year” selection, The Chicago Tribune, 2006
  • One of five Poets & Writers “Debut Writers to Watch,” 2006
  • “Must Read” selection, Entertainment Weekly, 2006
  • Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, 2006
  • Book Sense Notable Book, 2006
  • First Prize, Authors in the Park Short Story Competition, 2000
  • Runner-up, The Mississippi Review Fiction Prize, 2000

Rae’s Favorite Books:

  • Jesus’ Son, by Dennis Johnson
  • As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner
  • The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
  • Unless, by Carol Shields
  • Gilead, by Marilyn Robinson
  • Beloved, by Toni Morrison
  • Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson
  • To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
  • Last Night at the Lobster, by Stuart O’Nan
  • In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim O’Brien


My Thoughts
Sam was hungry for pound cake. Or at least for the making of it, for the recipe's humble simplicity-- one pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar-- which had a certain elegance.
Town/Location/Environment:


A portion of this book took place in my neck of the woods here in south Florida. In fact, my town of Fort Myers is even mentioned a couple of times, as well as neighboring Sanibel, a resort island that I visited just a few weeks ago.

Other parts of the story take place in New York, Wisconsin, and a train ride across the country.


You know, I’m not a mother, but I am a daughter. And even my mother has begun to send me “Mother’s Day” cards, because although I am 41, divorced and childless, and it appears I will likely never birth a child, she says I am still a “mother” to many in the world and care for many. I'm a mother at heart, if not in function. So I
could identify with this book and its characters on many levels.

There was a lot for me to relate to in this book, despite my not having children.

Her mother had offered gruff hugs and the occasional kiss on the top of the head as comfort, usually accompanied by, "Buck up, Iris. It's not that bad." Nothing, in her mother's eye, had ever been that bad. Not the chickenpox, or cod liver oil, or a sprained ankle, or a dead bird, or a broken heart. (p. 127)
That her children were not close wasn't surprising, given their ten-year age separation, but it was still a disappointment. (p. 176)
(It was actually a 6-year age separation for me, not 10)

This story was about three generations of women. Grandmother Violet, mother Iris and daughter/granddaughter Sam. I think that Violet as a young girl was my favorite character, although I also loved that of Iris at the end of her life as well.

This book perfectly captured the stereotypical mother-daughter relationship:
She felt a momentary pique-- she ordered the same thing everytime-- but, as she reminded herself, this was not the stuff of tragedy. It did not have to be symbolic or weighted or tucked away to add to a pile of resentments. It was just dinner. (p. 230)
 Quotes:
Iris decided that her birthday would be a good day to die. That gave her three more weeks. (page 34)
She had always thought cancer would be a banal way to go, but in fact it felt personal, almost intimate, an insidious march beneath the surface of her skin. (page 34)
Her mother had been tough and capable, a woman who’d done man’s work readily and never complained. She didn’t talk about herself and seemed to have no needs of her own. “How is it you are my daughter?” she said sometimes to Iris, who’d been lazy at chores, a girl given to daydreams and wandering. (page 36)
The Cover: I like the cover, which has a little girl wearing butterfly wings standing in a field. What I really like is the fact that it came packaged in a special cover that made it look like a box, which ties into the story.

My final word:
This book was very easy to read, and often stirred my emotions. I would love to try something else by author Rae Meadows, and would recommend this book in a heartbeat!



My Rating: 8 out of 10


Disclosure:
I received a copy of this book for review from Henry Holt Publishing in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof, but I confirmed that the quotes mentioned were included in the actual published version.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Mailbox Monday (05-23-11 edition)

Image licensed from bigstockphoto.com
Copyright stands

Mailbox Monday is now hosted monthly by a different blog. Here is the official blog of Mailbox Monday.  Here is what I received over the last couple of weeks:

The Season of Second Chances by Diane Meier
Won from The Eclectic Reader

A world of possibilities opens up for Joy Harkness when she sets out on a journey that’s going to show her the importance of friendship, love, and what makes a house a home 

Coming-of-age can happen at any age. Joy Harkness had built a university career and a safe life in New York, protected and insulated from the intrusions and involvements of other people. When offered a position at Amherst College, she impulsively leaves the city, and along with generations of material belongings, she packs her equally heavy emotional baggage. A tumbledown Victorian house proves an unlikely choice for a woman whose family heirlooms have been boxed away for years. Nevertheless, this white elephant becomes the home that changes Joy forever. As the restoration begins to take shape, so does her outlook on life, and the choices she makes over paint chips, wallpaper samples, and floorboards are reflected in her connection to the co-workers who become friends and friendships that deepen. A brilliant, quirky, town fixture of a handyman guides the renovation of the house and sparks Joy’s interest to encourage his personal and professional growth. Amid the half-wanted attention of the campus’s single, middle-aged men, known as “the Coyotes,”and the legitimate dramas of her close-knit community, Joy learns that the key to the affection of family and friends is being worthy of it, and most important, that second chances are waiting to be discovered within us all.


Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Won from Review Room

A richly imagined new novel from the author of the New York Times bestseller, People of the Book. 
 
Once again, Geraldine Brooks takes a remarkable shard of history and brings it to vivid life. In 1665, a young man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Upon this slender factual scaffold, Brooks has created a luminous tale of love and faith, magic and adventure. 

The narrator of Caleb's Crossing is Bethia Mayfield, growing up in the tiny settlement of Great Harbor amid a small band of pioneers and Puritans. Restless and curious, she yearns after an education that is closed to her by her sex. As often as she can, she slips away to explore the island's glistening beaches and observe its native Wampanoag inhabitants. At twelve, she encounters Caleb, the young son of a chieftain, and the two forge a tentative secret friendship that draws each into the alien world of the other. Bethia's minister father tries to convert the Wampanoag, awakening the wrath of the tribe's shaman, against whose magic he must test his own beliefs. One of his projects becomes the education of Caleb, and a year later, Caleb is in Cambridge, studying Latin and Greek among the colonial elite. There, Bethia finds herself reluctantly indentured as a housekeeper and can closely observe Caleb's crossing of cultures. 

Like Brooks's beloved narrator Anna in Year of Wonders, Bethia proves an emotionally irresistible guide to the wilds of Martha's Vineyard and the intimate spaces of the human heart. Evocative and utterly absorbing, Caleb's Crossing further establishes Brooks's place as one of our most acclaimed novelists.


The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield
Won through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers

Every first Sunday in June, members of the Moses clan gather for an annual reunion at “the old home place,” a sprawling hundred-acre farm in Arkansas. And every year, Samuel Lake, a vibrant and committed young preacher, brings his beloved wife, Willadee Moses, and their three children back for the festivities. The children embrace the reunion as a welcome escape from the prying eyes of their father’s congregation; for Willadee it’s a precious opportunity to spend time with her mother and father, Calla and John. But just as the reunion is getting under way, tragedy strikes, jolting the family to their core: John’s untimely death and, soon after, the loss of Samuel’s parish, which set the stage for a summer of crisis and profound change.

In the midst of it all, Samuel and Willadee’s outspoken eleven-year-old daughter, Swan, is a bright light. Her high spirits and fearlessness have alternately seduced and bedeviled three generations of the family. But it is Blade Ballenger, a traumatized eight-year-old neighbor, who soon captures Swan’s undivided attention. Full of righteous anger, and innocent of the peril facing her and those she loves, Swan makes it her mission to keep the boy safe from his terrifying father.

With characters who spring to life as vividly as if they were members of one’s own family, and with the clear-eyed wisdom that illuminates the most tragic—and triumphant—aspects of human nature, Jenny Wingfield emerges as one of the most vital, engaging storytellers writing today. In The Homecoming of Samuel Lake she has created a memorable and lasting work of fiction.


Purchased from Barnes and Noble:

Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 by Simon Winchester

The legendary annihilation in 1883 of the volcano-island of Krakatoa — the name has since become a byword for a cataclysmic disaster — was followed by an immense tsunami that killed nearly forty thousand people. Beyond the purely physical horrors of an event that has only very recently been properly understood, the eruption changed the world in more ways than could possibly be imagined. Dust swirled round die planet for years, causing temperatures to plummet and sunsets to turn vivid with lurid and unsettling displays of light. The effects of the immense waves were felt as far away as France. Barometers in Bogotá and Washington, D.C., went haywire. Bodies were washed up in Zanzibar. The sound of the island's destruction was heard in Australia and India and on islands thousands of miles away. Most significant of all — in view of today's new political climate — the eruption helped to trigger in Java a wave of murderous anti-Western militancy among fundamentalist Muslims: one of the first outbreaks of Islamic-inspired killings anywhere. 

Simon Winchester's long experience in the world wandering as well as his knowledge of history and geology give us an entirely new perspective on this fascinating and iconic event as he brings it telling back to life.


Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters by Matt Ridley

A fascinating tour of the results of the most momentous scientific endeavor of our time--the Human Genome Project--cleverly told in 23 essays, one for each chromosome.

Following in the tradition of James Gleick's Chaos, Matt Ridley vividly brings to light the most profound scientific discovery of the century--the mapping of the human genome. In charmingly witty and lucid prose, Ridley describes what the human genetic code is, how it works, and demonstrates how this newfound knowledge will affect medicine, the pharmaceutical industry, business, politics, and our own lives. Genome is divided into 23 chapters, one for each chromosome, each of which tells the story of a particular gene and how it affects an individual: from intelligence and personality to disease and sexual behavior. Examining a scientific achievement on par with--and with as many dire implications as--the splitting of the atom, Genome makes clear who we humans are--and where we may be going.

A former editor of the Economist, Matt Ridley is the author of The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature and The Origins of Virtue: Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation. He lives in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England, with his wife and two children.


Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
An ambitious and startling debut novel that follows the lives of four women at a resort popular among slaveholders who bring their enslaved mistresses.

wench \'wench\ n. from Middle English "wenchel," 1 a: a girl, maid, young woman; a female child.
Tawawa House in many respects is like any other American resort before the Civil War. Situated in Ohio, this idyllic retreat is particularly nice in the summer when the Southern humidity is too much to bear. The main building, with its luxurious finishes, is loftier than the white cottages that flank it, but then again, the smaller structures are better positioned to catch any breeze that may come off the pond. And they provide more privacy, which best suits the needs of the Southern white men who vacation there every summer with their black, enslaved mistresses. It's their open secret.

Lizzie, Reenie, and Sweet are regulars at Tawawa House. They have become friends over the years as they reunite and share developments in their own lives and on their respective plantations. They don't bother too much with questions of freedom, though the resort is situated in free territory–but when truth-telling Mawu comes to the resort and starts talking of running away, things change.

To run is to leave behind everything these women value most–friends and families still down South–and for some it also means escaping from the emotional and psychological bonds that bind them to their masters. When a fire on the resort sets off a string of tragedies, the women of Tawawa House soon learn that triumph and dehumanization are inseparable and that love exists even in the most inhuman, brutal of circumstances–all while they are bearing witness to the end of an era.

An engaging, page-turning, and wholly original novel, Wench explores, with an unflinching eye, the moral complexities of slavery.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (5-21-11 edition)

NOTE: A reminder that you are free to email me about any giveaways that you are having, if you want me to blog them, and I'll be happy to try to post them even if I am not entering them. Just include a link to the giveaway, what you are giving away, how many copies are being given away, and the deadline in order to assure being included. Email me at nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com.

Here is a list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld*. Please note that new giveaways that were added this week are indented in Blockquotes:

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away The Sandalwood Tree. Deadline is May 21. US/Canada only.

Bookish Delights is having a Blogoversary giveaway with several different prizes! Deadline is May 22. International!

Hist-Fic Chick is giving away a copy of The Confession of Katherine Howard. Deadline is May 23. US only.

Deranged Book Lovers is having a 6-month blogoversary giveaway for the Metrozone series. Deadline is May 25. International!

Down the Rabbit Hole is giving away your choice of a book. Deadline is May 26. International!

*Courtesy Note: Please keep in mind the many, many hours of work that goes into me compiling this list each week. Please be courteous and thoughtful, and do not steal my text. Either recreate your own list, or link to this list and direct your readers here for giveaway information. Thank you so much for your consideration.

Friday, May 20, 2011

I Wanna...America Pacifica by Anna North

America Pacifica by Anna North

Eighteen-year-old Darcy lives on the island of America Pacifica--one of the last places on earth that is still habitable, after North America has succumbed to a second ice age. Education, food, and basic means of survival are the province of a chosen few, while the majority of the island residents must struggle to stay alive. The rich live in "Manhattanville" mansions made from the last pieces of wood and stone, while the poor cower in the shantytown slums of "Hell City" and "Little Los Angeles," places built out of heaped up trash that is slowly crumbling into the sea. The island is ruled by a mysterious dictator named Tyson, whose regime is plagued by charges of corruption and conspiracy.

But to Darcy, America Pacifica is simply home--the only one she's ever known. In spite of their poverty she lives contentedly with her mother, who works as a pearl diver. It's only when her mother doesn't come home one night that Darcy begins to learn about her past as a former "Mainlander," and her mother's role in the flight from frozen California to America Pacifica. Darcy embarks on a quest to find her mother, navigating the dark underbelly of the island, learning along the way the disturbing truth of Pacifica's early history, the far-reaching influence of its egomaniacal leader, and the possible plot to murder some of the island's first inhabitants--including her mother.


(I thought that this sounded interesting. I'm always a sucker for a good dystopian or post-apocalyptic.)

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

OFF TOPIC: When to step in...

The other day I was sitting outside of a restaurant in front of Target when I heard a child crying and screaming. I looked up to see a mother and child half a parking lot away. The young child was probably about 2 years old and sitting in a shopping cart, throwing a fit. Perhaps she had just been woken up from her nap, after arriving by minivan to their destination. As I looked up, I saw the young mother standing in front of the cart, one hand on the cart while the other held her head. My senses went on alert, as I sensed a mother who had about reached her limit. I decided I wasn't going to take my eyes off this pair until I knew that the mother could get a hold of herself. Suddenly she grabbed up the little girl and swung her back into the minivan and raised up her hand and swung, twice striking the little girl, the little girl screaming even louder. The mother then slammed the door of the van shut while she calmly went to grab the shopping cart that had rolled away. I continued to watch, on edge, wondering at what point do I get involved? I don't like the fact that parents hit their children, but there is no law against it. Parents are permitted to discipline their children in whatever way they see fit, as long as they don't leave marks on the child. How can you tell from a half a parking lot away whether or not a parent may be leaving marks? Is it the height of the hand? Does it matter that her hand was raised up over her head as she swung at the small girl? Is it the virulent anger in which it is done? When do you step in?

It all ended a couple of minutes later, when the mother got the little girl back out of the minivan, now quiet and no longer screaming, and put her back into the shopping cart to now take her into the store.

So where is the line? The line between a parent's right to discipline their child, and the child's right of protection? How do you know when someone has crossed it, and it is time to step in and defend a child? Not having any children myself, I'm especially perplexed by this line. Is child abuse like obscenity, and you just "know it when you see it"?

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Startling statistics regarding books and reading...

Here are some statistics aggregated on Erma Bombeck's website. I'm not sure how accurate they are, especially those from the Jenkins Group, as some of them seem pretty hard to believe...

1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
(Source: Jerold Jenkins, www.JenkinsGroupInc.com)

53 percent read fiction, 43 percent read nonfiction. The favorite fiction category is mystery and suspence, at 19 percent.
55 percent of fiction is bought by women, 45 percent by men.
(Source: Publishers Weekly)

A successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies.
A successful nonfiction book sells 7,500 copies.
(Source: Authors Guild, www.authorsguild.org)

Each day in the U.S., people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.
(Source: Veronis, Suhler & Associates investment banker)

Some of these are hard to swallow. I can only think of one person that I know that doesn't read. Pretty much everyone else I think reads at least sometimes. Some read non-fiction, some read fiction, some read heavily while others read only a book or two a year. But nearly everyone I know reads at least some. I just can't imagine that 42% of college graduates "never read another book after college" and 33% of high school graduates "never read another book for the rest of their lives" after high school.  That is just really hard to swallow. If it is true, then that is pretty frightening and disheartening!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (05-14-11 edition)

NOTE: A reminder that you are free to email me about any giveaways that you are having, if you want me to blog them, and I'll be happy to try to post them even if I am not entering them. Just include a link to the giveaway, what you are giving away, how many copies are being given away, and the deadline in order to assure being included. Email me at nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com.

Here is a list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld*. Please note that new giveaways that were added this week are indented in Blockquotes:

Misfit Salon is giving away your choice of a selection of books. Deadline is May 16. International!

SusieBookworm is giving away 2 copies of Caleb's Crossing. Deadline is May 18. US/Canada only.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away The Sandalwood Tree. Deadline is May 21. US/Canada only.

Bookish Delights is having a Blogoversary giveaway with several different prizes! Deadline is May 22. International!
Hist-Fic Chick is giving away a copy of The Confession of Katherine Howard. Deadline is May 23. US only.
Deranged Book Lovers is having a 6-month blogoversary giveaway for the Metrozone series. Deadline is May 25. International!

Down the Rabbit Hole is giving away your choice of a book. Deadline is May 26. International!

*Courtesy Note: Please keep in mind the many, many hours of work that goes into me compiling this list each week. Please be courteous and thoughtful, and do not steal my text. Either recreate your own list, or link to this list and direct your readers here for giveaway information. Thank you so much for your consideration.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Win a Kindle from author Wendy Wax

Author Wendy Wax is giving away an Amazon Kindle and an e-copy of her new book Ten Beach Road! I just recently completed Ten Beach Road, and I would recommend it as a great summer read!

To enter, just go to her Facebook page and fill out the entry form.

This contest is for US residents only.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

WINNERS: The Nobodies Album and Blogoversary winners

I have winners for my last two giveaways.

First the winners of the The Nobodies Album. The winner of my gently read copy of The Nobodies Album is...


The winner of the new copy of The Nobodies Album is...


The winner of my blogoversary giveaway is...


I'll be contacting all of you. Please get me your shipping addresses this week, and I'll get these out to you all. Thanks so much for entering!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Mailbox Monday (5/9/11 edition)

Image licensed from bigstockphoto.com
Copyright stands

Mailbox Monday is now hosted monthly by a different blog. Here is the official blog of Mailbox Monday.  Here is what I received over the last couple of weeks:

The Philosophical Breakfast Club by Laura J. Snyder
Won through Read It Forward

The Philosophical Breakfast Club recounts the life and work of four men who met as students at Cambridge University: Charles Babbage, John Herschel, William Whewell, and Richard Jones.  Recognizing that they shared a love of science (as well as good food and drink) they began to meet on Sunday mornings to talk about the state of science in Britain and the world at large.  Inspired by the great 17th century scientific reformer and political figure Francis Bacon—another former student of Cambridge—the Philosophical Breakfast Club plotted to bring about a new scientific revolution.   And to a remarkable extent, they succeeded, even in ways they never intended.

 Historian of science and philosopher Laura J. Snyder
exposes the political passions, religious impulses, friendships, rivalries, and love of knowledge—and power—that drove these extraordinary men.  Whewell (who not only invented the word “scientist,” but also founded the fields of crystallography, mathematical economics, and the science of tides), Babbage (a mathematical genius who invented the modern computer), Herschel (who mapped the skies of the Southern Hemisphere and contributed to the invention of photography), and Jones (a curate who shaped the science of economics) were at the vanguard of the modernization of science.

This absorbing narrative of people, science and ideas
  chronicles the intellectual revolution inaugurated by these men, one that continues to mold our understanding of the world around us and of our place within it.  Drawing upon the voluminous correspondence between the four men over the fifty years of their work, Laura J. Snyder shows how friendship worked to spur the men on to greater accomplishments, and how it enabled them to transform science and help create the modern world.

The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
Won through Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

From the author of Where the River Ends, comes this page-turning story of love and survival.

On a stormy winter night, two strangers wait for a flight at the Salt Lake City airport.  Ashley Knox is an attractive, successful writer, who is flying East for her much anticipated wedding.  Dr. Ben Payne has just wrapped up a medical conference and is also eager to get back East for a slate of surgeries he has scheduled for the following day.   When the last outgoing flight is cancelled due to a broken de-icer and a forthcoming storm, Ben finds a charter plane that can take him around the storm and drop him in Denver to catch a connection.   And when the pilot says the single engine prop plane can fit one more, if barely, Ben offers the seat to Ashley knowing that she needs to get back just as urgently.   And then the unthinkable happens.  The pilot has a heart attack mid-flight and the plane crashes into the High Uintas Wilderness-- one of the largest stretches of harsh and remote land in the United States. 

Ben, who has broken ribs and Ashley, who suffers a terrible leg fracture, along with the pilot's dog, are faced with an incredibly harrowing battle to survive.   Fortunately, Ben is a medical professional and avid climber (and in a lucky break, has his gear from a climb earlier in the week).  With little hope for rescue, he must nurse Ashley back to health and figure out how they are going to get off the mountain, where the temperature hovers in the teens.   Meanwhile, Ashley soon realizes that the very private Ben has some serious emotional wounds to heal as well.  He explains to Ashley that he is separated from his beloved wife, but in a long standing tradition, he faithfully records messages for her on his voice recorder reflecting on their love affair.  As Ashley eavesdrops on Ben's tender words to his estranged wife she comes to fear that when it comes to her own love story, she's just settling.  And what's more: she begins to realize that the man she is really attracted to, the man she may love, is Ben.

As the days on the mountains become weeks, their survival become increasingly perilous.  How will they make it out of the wilderness and if they do, how will this experience change them forever?

Both a tender and page-turning read, The Mountain Between Us will reaffirm your belief in the power of love to sustain us.


Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Won through Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh My!

An American journalist researches the notorious roundup of Parisian Jews and uncovers her French family's war-era secrets.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Won through the Dewey's April 24-Hour Read-a-thon

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together. 
 
Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell. 

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

The Zombie Autopsies by Steve C. Schlozman, M.D.
Won from Zombie Girl Shambling

As the walking dead rise up throughout the world, a few brave doctors attempt to find a cure by applying forensic techniques to captured zombies. 

On a remote island a crack medical team has been sent to explore a radical theory that could uncover a cure for the epidemic. Based on the team's research and the observations of renowned zombie expert Dr. Stanley Blum, THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES documents for the first time the unique biology of zombie organisms.

Detailed drawings of the internal organs of actual zombies provide an accurate anatomy of these horrifying creatures. Zombie brains, hearts, lungs, skin, and digestive system are shown, while Dr. Blum's notes reveal shocking insights into how they function—even as Blum and his colleagues themselves begin to succumb to the plague.

No one knows the ultimate fate of Dr. Blum or his researchers. But now that his notebook, THE ZOMBIE AUTOPSIES, has been made available to the UN, the World Health Organization, and the general public, his scientific discoveries may be the last hope for humans on earth.

The Hidden Gifts of Helping by Stephen G. Post
Received from the author for review

Research has revealed that when we show concern for others—empathizing with a friend who has lost a loved one, mowing the lawn for an elderly neighbor, or volunteering to mentor a school-aged child—we improve our own health and well-being and embrace and give voice to our deeper identity and dignity as human beings. 

In this moving book, Stephen G. Post helps us discover how we can make "helping" a lifetime activity. The Hidden Gifts of Helping explores the very personal story of Post and his family's difficult move and their experience with the healing power of helping others, as well as his passion about how this simple activity—expressed in an infinite number of small or large ways—can help you survive and thrive despite the expected and unexpected challenges life presents. 

Post's story is intertwined with supporting scientific research and spiritual understanding. This book can become your companion and guide to the power of giving, forgiving, and compassion in hard times.

The Hidden Gifts of Helping will leave you with the unshakable feeling that the world can be a good place, if we act to make it so.

The Story of Moses by Jennifer Talbot Ross
Received for review from author

From surviving the wilds of the Texas Hill Country to a devastating battle with cancer, this is the story of Moses -- a beautiful, big, white dog who, from all indications, began his life as a livestock guard dog on a ranch in Texas (as do many dogs of his breed, the Great Pyrenees). Moses was taken in by a pet rescue group after having wandered onto a ranch in central Texas...homeless. After a few short months in foster care, Moses found his forever family and the road to immortality through their love and devotion. 

In an authentic voice, the author tells the story of her beloved dog, Moses. Fate brought them together and something terrible ended their story far too soon. The Story of Moses recounts how Moses gained celebrity with friends, neighbors and strangers and earned the love and trust of both his human and four-legged family. As Moses illness is discovered and advances, life unravels like a loose thread in a well-worn sweater. 

But, Moses' story is much, much more. It is the story of joy and hope and sorrow. It is the story of the wonderful dogs that came before, opening the door for Moses to walk through. It is the story of those left to remember and cherish. It is the story of survival in the midst of great loss-- of loving again, sheltering again, and living in the moment. It is knowing that, however painful, love remains and is the ultimate blessing. 

The cast is a rich tableau of canine characters. There's Cleopatra, the first matriarch who won the author's heart and whose story is one of intelligence and grace and love. The story continues to unfold with Odin -- a fiercely loyal and protective dog whose will could not be broken and who loved Cleo immeasurably and grieved deeply and hauntingly through her loss. Odin was a mountain of a dog whose passing left a big hole in the lives of his owners and provided the impetus behind the search that led to Moses. Moses and his 'siblings' Bess, Samantha and Pax provide the next generation of antics and challenges in which Moses shines through with strength, willfulness and gentleness unmatched - a true, gentle giant. Though Moses' life ended tragically, his loving spirit lives on. 

The book celebrates the individuality, intelligence and unconditional love of man's best friend. The book also dispels the myth of shelter and rescue dogs being undesirables while frankly exploring the pain and sorrow of loss and the soothing balm of trusted companions. 

Animal lovers will delight in the stories of the amazing dogs that grace the pages and empathize over the ruthless destruction of canine cancer. Readers looking from the outside in who have not yet experienced the joy of pet ownership may well find themselves moved to do so.

The following books were received from the Book Bloggers & Publishers Online Conference:

Songs of Love & Death by many authors

IN this star-studded cross-genre anthology, seventeen of the greatest modern authors of fantasy, science fiction, and romance explore the borderlands of their genres with brand-new tales of ill-fated love. From zombie-infested woods in a postapocalyptic America to faery-haunted rural fields in eighteenth- century England, from the kingdoms of high fantasy to the alien world of a galaxy-spanning empire, these are stories of lovers who must struggle against the forces of magic and fate. 

Award-winning, bestselling author Neil Gaiman demonstrates why he’s one of the hottest stars in literature today with “The Thing About Cassandra,” a subtle but chilling story of a man who meets an old girlfriend he had never expected to see. 

International blockbuster bestselling author Diana Gabaldon sends a World War II RAF pilot through a stone circle to the time of her Outlander series in “A Leaf on the Winds of All Hallows.” Torn from all he knows, Jerry MacKenzie determinedly survives hardship and danger, intent on his goal of returning home to his wife and baby—no matter the cost. 

New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher presents “Love Hurts,” in which Harry Dresden takes on one of his deadliest adversaries and in the process is forced to confront the secret desires of his own heart. 

Just the smallest sampling promises unearthly delights, but look also for stories by New York Times bestselling romance authors Jo Beverley and Mary Jo Putney, and by such legends of the fantasy genre as Peter S. Beagle and Tanith Lee, as well as many other popular and beloved writers, including Marjorie M. Liu, Jacqueline Carey, Carrie Vaughn, and Robin Hobb. This exquisite anthology, crafted by the peerless editing team of George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, is sure to leave you under its spell.

Day by Day Armageddon: Beyond Exile by J.L. Bourne

START INTERCEPTArmies of undead have risen up across the U.S. and around the globe;there is no safe haven from the diseased corpses hungering for human flesh. But in the heat of a Texas wasteland, a small band of survivors attempt to counter the millions closing in around them.INTERCEPT COMPLETE

Survivor, Day by day, the handwritten journal entries of one man caught in a worldwide cataclysm capturethe desperation—and the will to survive—as he joins forces with a handful of refugees to battlesoulless enemies both human and inhuman from inside an abandoned strategic missile facility.

But in the world of the undead, is mere survival enough?

Dying to Live by Kim Paffenroth

A lone survivor in a zombie-infested world, Jonah Caine wandered for months, struggling to understand the apocalypse in which he lives.

Unable to find a moral or sane reason for the horror that surrounds him, he is overwhelmed by violence and insignificance. Then Jonah comes across a group of survivors living in a museum-turned-compound. They are led by Jack, an ever-practical and efficient military man; and Milton, a mysterious prophet who holds a strange power over the dead. Both share Jonah’s anguish over the brutality of their world as well as his hope for its beauty. Together with others, they build a community that reestablishes an island of order and humanity surrounded by relentless ghouls. But this newfound peace is short-lived, as Jonah and his band of refugees clash with another group of survivors who remind them that the undead are not the only—nor the most grotesque—horrors they must face.

Fierce Eden by Jennifer Blake

A widow at twenty-five, beautiful Elise Laffont had been taught by her brutal husband to hate sex and men. She was quite content to manage her small Louisiana farm alone -- until a Natchez Indian uprising forced her to flee.

To secure safe passage for herself and her neighbors, Elise agreed to become the mistress of Reynaud Chavalier, son of a French nobleman and a Natchez princess.

But what began as sacrifice soon became pleasure, as his sensuous touch awakened her to the ecstasies of love...


Eternal on the Water by Joseph Monninger

From the day Cobb and Mary meet kayaking on Maine's Allagash River and fall deeply in love, the two approach life with the same sense of adventure they use to conquer the river's treacherous rapids. But rivers do not let go so easily...and neither does their love. So when Mary's life takes the cruelest turn, she vows to face those rough waters on her own terms and asks Cobb to promise, when the time comes, to help her return to their beloved river for one final journey. 

Set against the rugged wilderness of Maine, the exotic islands of Indonesia, the sweeping panoramas of Yellowstone National Park, and the tranquil villages of rural New England, Eternal on the Water is at once heartbreaking and uplifting -- a timeless, beautifully rendered story of true love's power.

Mercy Blade by Faith Hunter

Jane, a shapeshifting vampire-hunter-for-hire, crosses paths with a stranger who has arrived in New Orleans, enlisted to hunt vampires who have gone insane-or so he says... 




Thanks so much to everyone! 

Sunday, May 8, 2011

REVIEW: Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax

Synopsis

Madeline, Avery, and Nikki are strangers to each other, but they have one thing in common. They each wake up one morning to discover their life savings have vanished, along with their trusted financial manager- leaving them with nothing but co-ownership of a ramshackle beachfront house. 

Throwing their lots in together, they take on the challenge of restoring the historic property. But just as they begin to reinvent themselves and discover the power of friendship, secrets threaten to tear down their trust-and destroy their lives a second time.

Pub. Date: May 2011
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Format: Paperback , 432pp
ISBN-13: 9780425240861
ISBN: 042524086X

About the Author
from her own bio

All of my class pictures from Sunshine Elementary School are displayed at the Gulf Beaches Historical Museum on Pass-a-Grille,” says Wendy Wax, speaking about her childhood in St. Pete Beach, Florida. “Fish Broil was the big event every fall and the best days were when we had recess or art class on the beach, but what I remember best is running loose with my friends and exploring every inch of the beach we called our own. Is it any surprise it’s still one of my favorite places in the world? Or that it ended up as the setting in one of my books? It was bound to happen someday.”

Someday came when Wendy began reading about how the lives of so many people, from so many different walks of life, changed dramatically as a result of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. It wasn’t long before she was imagining a scenario in which three women face bankruptcy at the hands of an unscrupulous money manager. At the end of the day, these three strangers discover that all that’s left of their savings is shared ownership of a once-glorious beachfront mansion. They’re faced with a choice. They can cut their losses and sell for whatever amount of money they can get, or—in a bid for solvency—accept the backing of a local contractor in order to restore the historic property themselves, bit-by-backbreaking bit.

The basics of her plot and the themes Wendy imagined—women facing adversity, making choices, redefining themselves and discovering the strength of friendship—gave her a wide range of possible settings for TEN BEACH ROAD. When it came time to embrace ambiance, architectural styles, and local color, she chose a place she knows well, her hometown of St. Pete Beach. It was right for so many reasons. Its tropical climate, dual cultures of vacationers and residents, and even the current real estate market fit her story well, and presented challenges her characters might not have faced elsewhere. Of course, it also gave Wendy an opportunity to indulge in researching the Mediterranean-Revival architectural style she so admires and the history of the area, as well as to share her pleasure in magnificent Gulf sunsets and some of her favorite spots in Historic Pass-a-Grille.

Among her fondest memories are visits to her local library. Wendy read voraciously as a child, becoming fast friends with Nancy Drew and Anne of Green Gables. Her love affairs with language and storytelling paid off beginning with her first shift at the campus radio station while studying journalism at the University of Georgia.

Wendy returned home, graduated from the University of South Florida and then worked for the Tampa PBS affiliate, WEDU-TV, behind and in front of the camera. Her resume includes on air work, voiceovers and production work on a variety of commercial projects and several feature films. She was best-known in the Tampa Bay area as the host of Desperate & Dateless, a radio matchmaking program that aired on WDAE radio, and nationally as host of The Home Front, a magazine format show that aired on PBS affiliates across the country.

The mother of a toddler and an infant when she decided to change careers, Wendy admits it may not have been the best timing in terms of productivity. “I’m still not certain why I felt so compelled to write my first novel at that particular time,” she says, “but that first book took forever.” Since then she’s written six others, including Magnolia Wednesdays, the Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist The Accidental Bestseller and Single in Suburbia. Her novel 7 Days and 7 Nights was honored with the Virginia Romance Writers Holt Medallion Award. Her work has been sold to publishers in ten countries and to the Rhapsody Book Club, and her novel, Hostile Makeover, was excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine.

Wendy lives in Atlanta, which she has called home for 14 years. A former broadcaster, she spends much of her non-writing time speaking to writer’s groups and book clubs, enjoying time with her husband and sons, and visiting her family in St. Pete. She continues to devour books.

Find out more from her website.


My Thoughts

Three women from very different backgrounds find themselves thrown into a common situation after they all become victims of a Ponzi scheme and lose everything, except for a single rundown beach house in south Florida of which they learn they are co-owners. Knowing this is their only shot to survive, they work together to renovate Bella Flora and get her ready for the market.

Town/Location/Environment:

This story takes place in Pass-a-Grille, FL, a little north of Tampa (and therefore just a couple of hours north of me!) A Mediterranean Revival-style home located on the beach in a small town, and I imagine it looked a lot like this...

I liked this book. It was a simple story- there weren’t any great mysteries to keep me on my toes- but the characters were relatable, with interspersed moments of emotion and levity.

There is something for everyone to identify with in this book: painful childhoods, the trials of motherhood and marriage, loss, heartbreak, sexual tension that expresses itself in a combative nature, economics, strained family ties, and on and on.

This book is written in an easy-to-read style. There’s no need to interpret the meaning of things, no symbolism to unravel. It simply gets to the heart of the matter.

I didn’t really identify too much with any woman individually. However each of the women are a piece of me. Atleast each of the main characters, Maddie, Nichole and Avery. I could identify with Maddie’s nurturing, maternal side, with Nichole’s tough exterior, with Avery’s strong will. These were women that I could like and spend time with (and, in fact, did spend time with through the course of this story). If I had to pick one that I identified most with, it would probably be Nichole. She’s a little more spoiled and more used to the good things in life than me, but the way she presents a tough exterior to the world that masks a softer side that is trying to do the right thing is something that I can relate to, as well as identifying with living in poverty as a child (although my mother was very good at hiding the fact that we were living below the poverty level. She’s one of those people that CAN squeeze blood from a turnip, and would get everything possible out of nickel, and then some!).

Content Rating: There was some occasional vulgarity, but it was far and few between. Mild sexuality. I’d give it a strictly PG-13 rating.

My final word: The only real "negative" that I have (which wasn't significant enough to really be a negative) is that while I enjoyed the story, I found the ending slightly less than satisfying. I can’t get into “why” without involving spoilers, but suffice to say that the ending was “okay”, but not totally fulfilling for me.

If you like stories of small towns, friendship, family and trials and tribulations (or if you like the works of  Karen White), give this one a try. This was my first experience with author Wendy Wax, and I would be happy to give another of her works a shot in the future. It's a solid story, and a fine read!


My Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Disclosure:

I received a copy of this book to review through Joan Schulhafer Publishing & Media Consulting, in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not financially compensated in any way, and the opinions expressed are my own and based on my observations while reading this novel. The book that I received was an uncorrected proof.

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (5-8-11 edition)

NOTE: A reminder that you are free to email me about any giveaways that you are having, if you want me to blog them, and I'll be happy to try to post them even if I am not entering them. Just include a link to the giveaway, what you are giving away, how many copies are being given away, and the deadline in order to assure being included. Email me at nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com.

Here is a list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld*. Please note that new giveaways that were added this week are indented in Blockquotes:

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away a copy of The Uncoupling. Deadline is May 14. US/Canada only.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away 2 copies of The Bird Sisters. Deadline is May 14. US/Canada only.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away Miles from Ordinary. Deadline is May 14. International!
Misfit Salon is giving away your choice of a selection of books. Deadline is May 16. International!
SusieBookworm is giving away 2 copies of Caleb's Crossing. Deadline is May 18. US/Canada only.
Peeking Between the Pages is giving away The Sandalwood Tree. Deadline is May 21. US/Canada only.

Deranged Book Lovers is having a 6-month blogoversary giveaway for the Metrozone series. Deadline is May 25. International!

Down the Rabbit Hole is giving away your choice of a book. Deadline is May 26. International!

*Courtesy Note: Please keep in mind the many, many hours of work that goes into me compiling this list each week. Please be courteous and thoughtful, and do not steal my text. Either recreate your own list, or link to this list and direct your readers here for giveaway information. Thank you so much for your consideration.

Monday, May 2, 2011

GUEST POST: Author Wendy Wax

Today I am happy to welcome author Wendy Wax, whose latest book Ten Beach Road hits the shelves tomorrow. I am currently reading the book, and am really enjoying it. Please stay tuned for my forthcoming review. For now, please join me in welcoming Wendy!

Bernie Madoff Made Me Do It;
the Ponzi Scheme that inspired TEN BEACH ROAD
Wendy Wax


The most asked question by far at talks and book clubs is ‘where do your ideas come from?’ The quick answer is anywhere—and everywhere.

Sometimes an idea begins as a tiny seed of…something…that springs up in your brain and refuses to go away.  Sometimes a character simply presents itself, demanding attention, and … once again, refusing to go away.  Other times it’s a television show or a headline. Or a line in a song that trips through your mind and starts your thoughts down some unimagined path.  It can get really crowded up there with all those seeds and images sprouting up, vying for space.

In the case of Ten Beach Road, my latest novel, it was Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme that leaped from the headlines and forced me to pay attention. Like most people, I was horrified that someone could abuse his client’s trust on such a mammoth scale. I was fascinated by how this wolf had dressed up in sheep’s clothing, playing hard to get to reel in clients and, ultimately, offering returns that were far too good to be true.

As I inhaled the articles and books and television specials, I was appalled by how much he stole and from how many people. Entire life savings disappeared. Charities were bankrupted. Even more terrifying, people and institutions that didn’t even realize their money had ended up with Madoff, lost everything they owned.

How could a person sink so low or live with himself afterward?

At first I was consumed by the details of how he did it. I read about other Ponzi schemes—Madoff was not the first or the last—and I was surprised to discover how many of them were perpetrated on friends and close family.

And then the inevitable happened—at least in my writer’s world. I started imagining what that kind of loss would feel like. What it would do to my life, my family. How it would feel to lose absolutely everything.

After I finished shuddering, the words ‘what if’’ formed in my brain. “What if that happened to us?” And then, more specifically, ‘What if I wasn’t even involved and it still happened to me?  Which was followed by, “What if my husband lost everything we had, including his job, and then didn’t have the nerve to tell me?” With this first series of ‘what ifs’ Madeline Singer, the primary protagonist of Ten Beach Road, and her husband Steve, were born.

I thought about them a lot. I gave them two children who would have to face this loss, too. And a mother-in-law whose money disappeared along with theirs. 

And then, because I typically write books that involve multiple female protagonists whose stories are interwoven, I began to imagine others fleeced by this same thief.

I thought, ‘what if I was a woman who’d escaped poverty and then lost everything?  And what if the person who stole it from me was the younger brother I’d raised and bankrolled, whom I’d trusted more than anyone, and who the FBI was now looking for? How awful would that feel?  And what would I do? With that Nicole Grant, well known dating guru and matchmaker was born.

Or… what if I lost the father who raised me after my mother walked out on us and then lost that father’s estate before I ever received it? And what if this happened right after my marriage and my career collapsed?  Before I knew it Avery Lawford, whose now ex-husband has just pushed her out of their HGTV show, sprang to life.

I worked with my ‘what ifs’ for a while, finally coming up with three very different women, who begin as strangers who’ve lost everything except co-ownership of a dilapidated beachfront mansion, which they’ll spend a long, hot summer trying to rebuild.

Of course, each author approaches this process in his or her own way. And although a well plotted book will seem exactly as it ‘should’ be, in reality any book can go in any number of directions.

I don’t want to spoil the story by telling you too many of the things I decided or which possible paths I ultimately followed. But there’s no doubt in my over-crowded mind that Bernie Madoff made me ask that very first ‘what if…’ 


Thanks so much for stopping by, Wendy! I have personally experienced what you describe, and am even "suffering" through it right now. Storylines that just get stuck in my head. I have a friend who uses the image of a toy car hitting a Tic Tac on the floor and getting stuck on it. I know that feeling!

I'm sure everyone joins me in thanking Wendy for stopping by, and congratulates her on the release of her latest book Ten Beach Road. Here's to your continued success!

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Book Giveaways in Blogworld (5-01-11 edition)

NOTE: A reminder that you are free to email me about any giveaways that you are having, if you want me to blog them, and I'll be happy to try to post them even if I am not entering them. Just include a link to the giveaway, what you are giving away, how many copies are being given away, and the deadline in order to assure being included. Email me at nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com.

Here is a list of some giveaways going on in Blogworld*. Please note that new giveaways that were added this week are indented in Blockquotes:

21 Pages is giving away your choice of book. Deadline is May 1. International!

Suko's Notebook is giving away $25 to Amazon. Deadline is May 2. International!

Confessions of a Bookaholic is giving away Miles from Ordinary. Deadline is May 3. US only.

Read Me Bookmark Me Love Me is letting you pick your choice out of  eleven YA books. May 5. International!

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away 2 copies of The Peach Keeper. Deadline is May 7. One is US/Canada and one is International!

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away a copy of Song of the Silk Road. Deadline is May 7. US/Canada only.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away a copy of The Uncoupling. Deadline is May 14. US/Canada only.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away 2 copies of The Bird Sisters. Deadline is May 14. US/Canada only.

Peeking Between the Pages is giving away Miles from Ordinary. Deadline is May 14. International!
Peeking Between the Pages is giving away The Sandalwood Tree. Deadline is May 21. US/Canada only.
Deranged Book Lovers is having a 6-month blogoversary giveaway for the Metrozone series. Deadline is May 25. International!
Down the Rabbit Hole is giving away your choice of a book. Deadline is May 26. International!
*Courtesy Note: Please keep in mind the many, many hours of work that goes into me compiling this list each week. Please be courteous and thoughtful, and do not steal my text. Either recreate your own list, or link to this list and direct your readers here for giveaway information. Thank you so much for your consideration.