Emma Embraces Books

Emma Embraces Books

I have such a love of books, I have tried to pass it along to my children and grandchild.  Books have always been a gift in our family.

Emma is my granddaughter.  We have surrounded her with books and we read to her on a daily basis.

Today, her choice is What’s Up, Duck?  A book of opposites by Tad Hills.  It is fun to watch her eyes light up as you read to her.  She is learning new things every day from her books.

Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann

Tigers in Red Weather 

Author: Liza Klaussmann
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Pages: 368
Format:  ARC
Goodreads:  Summer seemed to arrive at that moment, with its mysterious mixture of salt, cold flesh and fuel.


 Nick and her cousin, Helena, have grown up sharing sultry summer heat, sunbleached boat docks, and midnight gin parties on Martha’s Vineyard in a glorious old family estate known as Tiger House. In the days following the end of the Second World War, the world seems to offer itself up, and the two women are on the cusp of their ‘real lives’: Helena is off to Hollywood and a new marriage, while Nick is heading for a reunion with her own young husband, Hughes, about to return from the war. 
     
Soon the gilt begins to crack. Helena’s husband is not the man he seemed to be, and Hughes has returned from the war distant, his inner light curtained over. On the brink of the 1960s, back at Tiger House, Nick and Helena–with their children, Daisy and Ed–try to recapture that sense of possibility. But when Daisy and Ed discover the victim of a brutal murder, the intrusion of violence causes everything to unravel. The members of the family spin out of their prescribed orbits, secrets come to light, and nothing about their lives will ever be the same.
   
 Brilliantly told from five points of view, with a magical elegance and suspenseful dark longing, Tigers in Red Weather is an unforgettable debut novel from a writer of extraordinary insight and accomplishment.



Ope’s Opinion: I received this book at BEA.  This book was intense.  The characters had a lot of flaws.  The story moved fast, but was in an odd sequence.  It went back and forth from present to past, but it was noted.   Each character had the chance to tell the story from their perspective.  


This is not my usual read.  The foul language in this book distracted me.    I don’t know too many people to pass it on to.  If you like complicated story lines, you may really enjoy this one.



Rating: Two Chairs – I may have one friend who might like this book.






FTC – Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of   charge from BEA.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.



A Month of Blogging

A Month of Blogging


If you had asked me a year ago at this time if I would ever blog, I would have given you a wide eyed look and shook my head  no.  Both of my daughters, Kristin of Kritters Ramblings  and Jennifer of The Underestimated Mom have been blogging for some time.  I encouraged them, but never pictured myself blogging. 
It has been a month of blogging now.  I have learned how to post, how to add links, how to add pictures ( which makes everything more interesting ) and how to talk “blog” language!  It has come easier then I expect, but only because my girls have guided me and given me immeasurable support.
Becoming a part of the blogging community has been fun.  I have met a few new people.   I am looking forward to BEA next year too and reconnect with people I met this past year.
My next celebration I hope will be at my first year of blogging.  At this point I am taking it one day or one week at a time.  I hope if you are contemplating blogging that you have as much help and support along the way.  

Charlotte’s Birthday



Charlotte’s Birthday
This is my grand fur baby’s third birthday!  Her parents are in Florida this week, so she is celebrating with me.  This is her first car seat – she is growing up!  This is her gift from her grandparents.

Charlotte’s mom left her a new toy and some birthday treats.  

My granddaughter Emma gave Charlotte her first dog treat for her birthday!

Charlotte devoured her treat!
Watch your fingers!!

Happy Birthday Charlotte!!

These Girls by Sarah Pekkanen

These Girls  by Sarah Pekkanen
Publisher:  Washington Square Press
Pages:  336
Format: Book
Goodreads:  In her third novel, internationally bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen examines the lives of three women working and living together in New York City and shows that family secrets may shape us all, but it’s the rich, complicated layers of friendship that can save us.


Cate, Renee, and Abby have come to New York for very different reasons, and in a bustling city of millions, they are linked together through circumstance and chance.

Cate has just been named the features editor of Gloss, a high-end lifestyle magazine. It’s a professional coup, but her new job comes with more complications than Cate ever anticipated.

Cate’s roommate Renee will do anything to nab the plum job of beauty editor at Gloss. But snide comments about Renee’s weight send her into an emotional tailspin. Soon she is taking black market diet pills—despite the racing heartbeat and trembling hands that signal she’s heading for real danger.

Then there’s Abby, whom they take in as a third roommate. Once a joyful graduate student working as a nanny part time, she abruptly fled a seemingly happy life in the D.C. suburbs. No one knows what shattered Abby—or why she left everything she once loved behind.

Pekkanen’s most compelling, true-to-life novel yet tells the story of three very different women as they navigate the complications of careers and love—and find the lifeline they need in each other.



Ope’s Opinion:  Sarah Pekkanen is an awesome writer.  She is also a wonderful person.  I met her at one of her book signings.  Then I saw her at another authors signing and she remembered me and took the time to talk to me about what I was reading  ( not just her books).  If you have not read one of her books – look into them.  She wrote Skipping a Beat and The Opposite of Me. 

In These Girls, she made all three girls come alive.  I cared about each one of the girls.  I wanted to know where they came from and what brought them to this point in their lives. It was great to see these girls defend each other and care about each other, even though they didn’t know each other for  a long time.   It was fun to read.   


Rating:  Four Chairs – I like this book so much I know several friends to share it with.







The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield
Publisher:  Random House
Pages: 352
Format:   ARC

Goodreads:  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. InThe Homecoming of Samuel Lake she has created a memorable and lasting work of fiction.

Ope’s Opinion: I received this book at BEA. This book was hard for me to review.  This is not my usual genre.  Jenny Wingfield set the book in the 1950’s.  There was a lot of abuse that was difficult to read and think about.  The story had a fast pace to it.  It showed a family who truly loved and took care each other.  Each person in the book had flaws, so it made you feel they were real.  The violence in this book really bothered me.  This book isn’t for everyone.




Rating:  3 Chairs – I like this book enough to suggest it to a friend or two, who might also share it.
FTC – Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from BEA.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Library Sale

Loudoun Library Sale

This became a family event.  Both my daughters, Kristin of Kritters Ramblings and Jennifer of The Underestimated Mom  went to the book sale with me.  It was so much fun!  This event is held in an elementary school.  There were books for everyone.  We made a whole day out of it, lunch, buy books and read, read, read!!
These are just a few of the titles I brought home:  Margaret Maron’s Ritual of the Season,  Lisa Scottoline’s Lady Killer,  Sarah Strohmeyer’s The Penny Pinchers Club and  Susan Wiggs Table for Five.  I am excited about all of them. 
 I was able to pick up  a couple of books for a friend and introduce her to authors she has never read before.   What a fun place to find older books by authors I know I enjoy reading and exploring new authors.  We will definitely make this an event we schedule  each year.  Soon my granddaughter will join us on us on this excision!! 
                                                      What fun!