Thursday, January 30, 2014

Bookworms Anonymous Volume II

Coming Soon:  Bookworms Anonymous Volume Two!

If you enjoyed the first volume, you'll love this one!  

Part memoir, part cook book, part love letter to reading, Bookworms Anonymous Volume Two allows the reader to attend meetings of everyone's favorite book club.  Enjoy more book reviews, more recipes and an updated list of Bookworms Anonymous Stamp of Approval books.

Watch for it on Amazon.com, available on or before February 7, 2014. 

Don't just sit there, read!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Bunheads by Sophie Flack

BunheadsBunheads by Sophie Flack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book on the recommendation of the Curtis (Michigan) Library Reading Group, and it was fantastic!  The story takes you into the inner workings of a ballet company in Manhattan.  Hannah Ward, the main character, is nineteen years old and has been with the company for 5 years already.  Hannah is dedicated to ballet, but she struggles with the singular focus required to continue to improve her dance.

This is a fascinating look into a world most of us never see.  Great book!


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Saturday, January 18, 2014

Me Before You

Me Before YouMe Before You by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When the diner where Louisa Clark works closes and she loses her job, she tries a few unpalatable positions (including one at a chicken factory) before finding a position as a caretaker for a quadraplegic man.  Will Traynor had led a big life before he was hit by a motorcycle and all but died.  He's resentful of the remnants of his life, and hates relying on others for every aspect of his care.  Louisa gradually warms to him, and this is the tale of their relationship.

It's also the story of Louisa's family and their various relationships, and of her boyfriend and how she fits in (or doesn't) with his circle of friends. It's about loners and dreamers and hope and fear.


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Thursday, January 16, 2014

Lone Wolf

Lone WolfLone Wolf by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's a Jodi Picoult...what can I say?  It's engrossing, has multiple narrators with interesting personalities, and it finishes with a satisfying ending.

Luke Warren enjoys a minor celebrity status for his enthusiastic wolf studies, which include living with the wolves in the wild as well as raising a wolf pack at his own park, where people can come and watch him interact with them in an enclosed fence.  Known for being larger than life, Luke has just survived a car accident only to be trapped in his own body in a vegetative state.  His daughter, also in the car at the time of the accident, suffered a shattered shoulder.  His son, estranged for the past six years and living in Thailand, hops on the first flight home.  His ex-wife, now re-married and the mother of twins with her second husband, struggles to help everyone maintain all tenuous familial relationships.  The question is: Who should decide whether or not to pull the plug?  Luke's son wants to pull the plug; his daughter wants to wait until Luke heals, whether that takes twenty days or twenty years.

I learned a lot about the psychology of wolves and wolf packs, and cheered for each character as I discovered their individual motivations.  There's courtroom drama, family drama, teen angst, secrets revealed...all the good stuff is in here.

It's a thick book that reads so fast you won't believe it.  Enjoy!


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