Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Hypnotized By Love by Sariah Wilson
Instagram features:
Monday, February 19th: @aneedleinmybookstack
Tuesday, February 20th: @suzylew_bookreview
Wednesday, February 21st: @mrsboomreads
Friday, February 23rd: @purrfectpages
Friday, February 23rd: @megsbookclub
Saturday, February 24th: @wordnerdbookworm
Sunday, February 25th: @everlasting.bookworm
Monday, February 26th: @subakka.bookstuff
Tuesday, February 27th: @bookapotamus
Wednesday, February 28th: @andrea.c.lowry.reads
Wednesday, February 28th: @thealylifestyle
Thursday, February 29th: @poisedpen
Friday, March 1st: @nsiabblog
Monday, March 4th: @coffee.break.book.reviews
Monday, March 4th: @angelas.book.shelf
Tuesday, March 5th: @suethebookie
Wednesday, March 6th: @bookstasamm
Thursday, March 7th: @a_book_read_in_jersey
Friday, March 8th @cozy.coffee.reads
Friday, March 8th: @bookish.bai
TIKTOK features:
Monday, February 26th: @bethanys_books
Monday, February 26th: @whatkarinareads
Tuesday, February 27th: @lalalifebookclub
Wednesday, February 28th: @thealylifestyle
Thursday, February 29th: @welovebigbooks
Friday, March 1st: @xoamanda.lynn
Friday, March 1st: @jessbeyondthepages
Saturday, March 2nd: @chill_jilland_read
Sunday, March 3rd: @tialala001
REVIEWS:
Saturday, February 17th: @lovemybooks2020
Monday, February 19th: @bookqueenbee
Tuesday, February 20th: @sheplanstoread
Wednesday, February 21st: @bookish.heidi
Thursday, February 22nd: @on_a_sandbar
Saturday, February 24th: @bookishlifeofkels
Monday, February 26th: @books_old_and_new
Monday, February 26th: @whatkarinareads
Tuesday, February 27th: @booksimperfectcondition
Wednesday, February 28th: @randi_reads
Wednesday, February 28th: @dianas_books_cars_coffee
Wednesday, February 28th: A Bookish Way of Life
Thursday, February 29th: Cheryl’s Book Nook and @beastreader
Friday, March 1st: @temmathomas
Saturday, March 2nd: @chill_jilland_read
Monday, March 4th: @shopcoffeekids
Tuesday, March 5th: BookChickDi
Wednesday, March 6th: Pick A Good Book and @pickagoodbook
Thursday, March 7th: Read Eat Repeat
Monday, March 11th: What is That Book About
Wednesday, March 13th: @dana.loves.books
Saturday, March 16th: Girl Who Reads
Monday, March 4, 2024
Kilt Trip by Alexandra Kiley
Friday, February 23, 2024
Friday 5ive- February 24, 2024
Amy Poeppel and Susie Orman Schnall signed copies of their books |
4) I saw the play "Doubt- A Parable" starring Liev Schreiber and Amy Ryan. I bought my tickets months ago when Tyne Daly was scheduled to play Sister Aloysius and I was so excited to see her back on Broadway as I have seen her in other shows and she is amazing. It was announced a few weeks ago that Tyne had to bow out for medical reasons and Amy Ryan was tapped to take over with just a few rehearsals. Amy's role is the biggest one in the show (Meryl Streep played the role in the movie). Amy Ryan was phenomenal, she hit it out of the park and should definitely get a Tony nomination for her performance. The show is set in the early 1960s at a Catholic school. Sister Alyosius suspects that a priest has been inappropriate with a young male student and she looks to a young nun, played so wonderfully by Zoe Kazan, to confirm her suspicions. Liev Schreiber plays the priest and this revival of John Patrick Shanley's 2004 play about doubt and convictions is timely and thought-provoking. Go see it if you can.
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Three Terrific Books For Galentine's Day
Reprinted from auburnpub.com
Valentine’s Day is February 14th but have you heard of Galentine’s Day? Fans of TV’s Parks & Recreation will recognize it as a holiday made up by the main character Leslie Knope to celebrate her friends. It took off in the popular culture and now is celebrated by many people every year on February 13th.
This month’s Book Report features some books that celebrate and honor female friendship and would be perfect gifts to give your best gal pals for Galentine’s Day.
Robyn Carr often writes about female friendships in her wonderful novels, and her latest is titled The Friendship Club. Marni hosts a popular cooking show on television filmed in her fantastic California kitchen (think Ina Garten).
Ellen is the behind scenes person who does much of the creative cooking while Marni is the face of the show followed by millions. Marni is outgoing whereas Ellen is shy and has no interest in being in front of the camera.
Sophia is their young college intern who is just starting a relationship with a man who showers her with attention, perhaps too much attention? Marni’s daughter Bella is awaiting the birth of her first baby, and is uncomfortable at the end of her pregnancy.
The four women bond together and help each other through the day-to-day of life. Marni and Ellen become concerned about Sophia’s boyfriend, fearing that he is trying to isolate Sophia.
There is much to like about this story, and if you enjoy foodie fiction, your mouth may water at the descriptions of the food. It’s also nice to see that romance is not confined to young women, as Ellen and Marni are each delighted to find themselves in relationships with good men.
In a more serious vein, Kristin Hannah’s The Women takes the reader to the Vietnam War in in 1965. Frankie McGrath decides to follow her brother to war when she enlists as a nurse in the U.S. Army.
Frankie is just 20 years old and has led a sheltered life, so life in a war zone is a complete shock. Her two bunkmates- Barb, a young Black tough surgical nurse and Ethel, who plans on becoming a veterinarian when she returns home- take Frankie under their wing and the three become inseparable.
Hannah does a great job putting the reader in Frankie’s shoes, we can feel the unbearable heat, the soaking rains that pour into her living quarters, and the confusion of being under attack from enemy bombs. Frankie goes from not knowing much to becoming such an outstanding nurse whom doctors trust her to do procedures.
We also see the burgeoning anti-war movement growing back home through letters from Frankie’s mother, a conservative woman who doesn’t understand what is happening in her own country.
When Frankie comes back home, she is lost and severely depressed. People spit at her when she arrived back in the U.S., and her service to her country is downplayed and even challenged by her father. She is told time and time again that “Women weren’t in Vietnam”.
Ethel and Barb reach out to Frankie when she is at rock bottom and the three women live together for awhile knowing that not many people understand what they went through, and trying to process how to move forward.
The Women is an emotional rollercoaster, and if you were a fan of TV’s China Beach or M*A*S*H, this is a book you won’t want to miss.
When I think of the perfect Galentine’s Day read, Amy Poeppel’s The Sweet Spot comes to mind. Melinda’s husband leaves her for a hot young successful entrepreneur, Olivia loses her job at the entrepreneur’s fancy store after an unfortunate customer experience with Melinda goes viral, and Lauren designs ceramic pieces for the fancy store while trying to raise her three young children with her husband and deal with her mother-in-law (Evelyn, my favorite character) who comes to stay.
How do these three women end up caring for a baby they are not related to? Well that is the question in this charming and delightful novel that is set in a fantastic New York City neighborhood that makes you feel like you’re sitting on the building stoop with these three women who form an unlikely friendship over a baby. The Sweet Spot will put a big smile on your face.
Happy Valentine’s and Galentine’s Day to all!
The Friendship Club by Robyn Carr- A-
Published by MIRA
Hardcover, $28.99, 336 pages
The Women by Kristin Hannah- A-
Published by St. Martin’s Press
Hardcover, $30, 471 pages
The Sweet Spot by Amy Poeppel- A
Published by Emily Bestler Books
Trade paperback, $17.99, 392 pages
Monday, February 12, 2024
The Last Days of Lilah Goodluck by Kylie Scott
Red White and Royal Blue meets The Last Holiday in this delight of a novel, about a woman who unexpectedly finds "fall in love with a prince" on her bucket list after a fortune teller tells her she only has a week to live. Ideal for fans of Sophie Cousens and Rebecca Serle.
Your boyfriend is cheating on you
You will be passed over for the promotion
5-8-12-24-39-43
Your soulmate is a royal prince
And your time is up a week from Monday
When Lilah Goodluck saves the life of Good Witch Willow as they’re crossing a busy LA street, the last thing she expects is five unwanted predictions as a reward. Who gives someone the lotto numbers then tells them they’ve only got a week to live? And who believes in that nonsense anyway?
But when the first three predictions come true within twenty-four hours, Lilah’s disbelief turns to mild panic. She’s further horrified when she nearly runs a car off the road that belongs to Alistair Lennox, the illegitimate son of the English king.
Alistair is intrigued by her preposterous story, but Lilah is adamant about resisting the heat between her and the playboy prince. If he’s not her soulmate, then the last prediction can’t come true. But as the days count down, they become maybe friends…and then maybe more. Between the relentless paparazzi and his disapproving family, dating a sort-of prince isn’t easy, especially when you have death on your doorstep.
Sunday, February 11, 2024
The Uncharted Flight of Olivia West by Sara Ackerman
1927. Olivia ‘Livy’ Jones is a young and determined pilot with a love of adventure. She’s been bit by the flying bug and yearns to cross oceans and see the world, pioneering the way for other women pilots. When she learns of the Dole Air Race–organized immediately after Charles Lindbergh’s famous flight–a race to be the first to make the 2,400 mile Pacific crossing from the West coast to Hawaii, with a huge grand prize of $25,000–she sets her sights on qualifying. But it soon becomes clear that only men will make the cut. In a last ditch effort to take part, Livy manages to be picked as a navigator for one of the pilots, before setting out on a harrowing journey that will change her life forever.