Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Teaser Tuesday-Feb. 26

Check out Teaser Tuesdays from Should Be Reading. TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

This week my teaser is from The Secret of Nightingale Palace by Dana Sachs:
She remembered, too, how once, on a whim, she had asked Goldie the secret of her busy social life.  "Make your own party," Goldie had answered.  "Call people.  Never wait for them to call you."

pg. 87

I can't tell you how much I believe in this little nugget I found in this book.  So often, when getting together with friends we would say, "Why don't we do this next time?  Why don't we go there together?"  Well if you don't come out and say it right away the opportunity has passed and it's too late!  Call your friends, start a book club, go have a margarita with the ladies, or start taking walks together.  Friends are important so don't let the great times slide by!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Audiobook Review: A Winter Dream by Richard Paul Evans

Title:  A Winter Dream

Author:  Richard Paul Evans

Narrator:  Fred Berman

Unabridged Length:  5hrs, 3mn

Here is a summary of the book from the publisher's website:

Joseph Jacobson is the twelfth of thirteen siblings, all of whom are employed by their father’s successful Colorado advertising company. But underneath the success runs a poisonous undercurrent of jealousy; Joseph is his father’s favorite and the focus of his brothers’ envy and hatred. When the father seems ready to anoint Joseph as his heir, the brothers make their move, forcing Joseph from the company and his Denver home, severing his ties to his parents and ending his relationship with his soon-to-be fianceĆ©. Alone and lonely, Joseph must start a new life.

Joseph joins a Chicago advertising agency where his creativity helps him advance high up in the company. He also finds hope for a lasting love with April, a kind woman with a secret. However, all secrets hold consequences, and when Joseph learns the truth about April’s past, his world is again turned upside down. Finally, Joseph must confront his own difficult past in order to make his dreams for the future come true.

A Winter Dream is an ingenious modern retelling of the Old Testament story of Joseph and the coat of many colors by the master of the holiday novel. 


My Review:
A couple of years ago my book club read an Evans book around Christmas-time, so I did kind of expect this to be a fluffy book.  It did not fail me in that regard, but I have come to expect that with most Holiday themed books.  I think that Evans did a good job of creating a modern day story with parallels to the bible story of Joseph and the coat of many colors.  He created very believable circumstances, which you don't always find in fluffy novels.

I think Berman did a great job of narrating also, helping to encourage me to continue listening with an acceptable amount of enjoyment.   He really embraced the characters, encouraging me to love and dislike the characters that fell into those categories.

Joseph is a young, hard-working man and probably mostly appreciated among his other siblings by his father.  This creates a tremendous amount of jealousy and turmoil between his siblings, and at the first opportunity they decide to cast Joseph into a life of exile.  This sends him on a journey across the country that will help him to grow both emotionally and intellectually.  The last thing he expects is to fall in love along the way.

Of course, several obstacles come up along the way, allowing him to grow from the challenges he must overcome.  This was a nice story that I'm sure many people will enjoy.  My biggest complaint about the book is that the dialogue drove me batty at times.  With themes of family, forgiveness, and love, I think many fans of Richard Paul Evans will enjoy this book.  I recommend this novel for Evans fans and those looking for a quick and fluffy read.

My Rating:  3/5

Disclosure:  This audiobook was provided to me by the publisher through Audiobook Jukebox in exchange for an honest review.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Teaser Tuesday-Feb. 12

Check out Teaser Tuesdays from Should Be Reading. TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

This week my teaser is from The Secret of Nightingale Palace by Dana Sachs:
Anna turned over, pretending to still be sleeping.  Sometime later, she heard Goldie say, "I've had my bath and I've washed my teeth."

pg. 43

Monday, February 11, 2013

What Are You Reading?

Sheila over at Book Journey hosts this meme that gives you the opportunity to share the books that you have been losing yourself in lately and also the ones that you are looking forward to picking up next.

Here is what I finished:

 

I read Home Front by Kristin Hannah as a book club selection and we all loved it.  I wasn't sure about it in the beginning, but it definitely turned around for me.  I will probably post my review for this one next week.

What I'm reading now:

I decided to pick up The Secret of the Nightingale Palace by Dana Sachs since I am participating in a blog tour this month.  So far, so good!

What's next:
I requested The Queen's Vow by C.W. Gortner through the library for my Kindle, and it finally is available!  Since we've been watching The Tudors, I am especially interested in this one.

So what's keeping you busy lately?

Friday, February 8, 2013

Books That Make Me Go....Ahhhh

So on Fridays I TRY to post a notable excerpt for the week.  These gems that catch my eye deserve much more notoriety besides being written down on a little sticky note in the front of the novel.

This week my excerpt is from Home Front by Kristin Hannah:
Not Jolene, who believed that happiness was a choice to be made and a smile was a frown turned upside down.  Her turbulent, ugly childhood had left her impatient with people who couldn't choose to be happy.  Lately, it got on his nerves, all her buoyant it-will-get-better platitudes.  Because she'd lost her parents, she thought she understood grief, but she had no idea how it felt to be drowning.

pg. 15

So far I'm enjoying this book but not loving it.  The first couple of chapters were just a bit too "sweet" for me.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Review: The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian

Here is a summary of the book from the publisher's website:

This spellbinding tale travels between Aleppo, Syria, in 1915 and Bronxville, New York, in 2012—a sweeping historical love story steeped in the author’s Armenian heritage, making it his most personal novel to date.

When Elizabeth Endicott arrives in Syria, she has a diploma from Mount Holyoke College, a crash course in nursing, and only the most basic grasp of the Armenian language. The First World War is spreading across Europe, and she has volunteered on behalf of the Boston-based Friends of Armenia to deliver food and medical aid to refugees of the Armenian genocide. There, Elizabeth becomes friendly with Armen, a young Armenian engineer who has already lost his wife and infant daughter. When Armen leaves Aleppo to join the British Army in Egypt, he begins to write Elizabeth letters, and comes to realize that he has fallen in love with the wealthy, young American woman who is so different from the wife he lost. 


Flash forward to the present, where we meet Laura Petrosian, a novelist living in suburban New York. Although her grandparents’ ornate Pelham home was affectionately nicknamed the “Ottoman Annex,” Laura has never really given her Armenian heritage much thought. But when an old friend calls, claiming to have seen a newspaper photo of Laura’s grandmother promoting an exhibit at a Boston museum, Laura embarks on a journey back through her family’s history that reveals love, loss—and a wrenching secret that has been buried for generations. 

My Review:
This book roped me in from the opening scene and kept me coming back for more every time I had to put it down.  It brought to life for me a period of history that I didn't even know existed.  If you want to learn more about the genocide committed against the Armenians in 1915 Syria, I highly suggest you read this novel.

Even though a love story unfolds throughout this novel, I want to stress that is not what this book is about.  It starts with a young woman named Laura in present day New York, who begins a journey to learn more about her ancestry, and is confronted with truths and secrets that she learns her grandparents did not even share with one another when they were alive.

In 1915 Aleppo, Syria, young Elizabeth Endicott finds a place in the midst of the genocide, with her father at her side.  The two of them are there with other missionaries, offering their assistance where ever needed.  She cannot believe the horrors the refugees have seen, and she can't help but take a couple of them under wing.  Elizabeth doesn't expect to be swept off her feet by the young Armenian man named Armen, who lost is entire family to the genocide. 

As events unfold from the genocide, Armen and Elizabeth become separated, but their relationship kept its spark through the letters they wrote, although they don't ever expect the other to read them.  We watch Elizabeth's transformation from a selfish girl into a gracious young lady.  She makes a decision that forces her to bury a secret deep in her heart for the rest of her life.

This was an amazing story that I absolutely loved.  The author did a great job transitioning between current day and the past, which doesn't always work for me.  I recall my grandmother telling me that her father was from Armenia, so personally, maybe that is why I enjoyed this book so much.  But honestly, with themes of war, love, and secrets this was an excellent book that would also make a great book club selection.  I highly recommend this novel.

My Rating:  5/5

Disclosure:  This book was provided to me through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.


Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Teaser Tuesday- Feb. 5

Check out Teaser Tuesdays from Should Be Reading. TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

Grab your current read.

Let the book fall open to a random page.

Share with us two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.

You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!

This week my teaser is from Home Front by Kristin Hannah:
He'd made her happy; that was something he'd always known.  What he'd forgotten was how happy she'd made him.

pg 170

I can tell you that this book is turning out to be more of a tear jerker than I expected!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Mailbox Monday-Feb 4

Mailbox Monday is a great meme that has us list the books that we receive.  Different bloggers now have the opportunity to host this meme for a month at a time.  This month you can check out what everyone received over at Unabridged Chick.

I haven't posted a Mailbox Monday post in well over a month, but since I have obtained a couple of books recently, I felt the need to share!

Another Piece of My Heart is actually a book club win!  We were given enough copies for our entire group so we plan to read that one  next month.  So how about you?  Did anything fun show up in your mailbox?