Review: A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve

Here is a summary of the book from the Goodreads website:

At an inn in the Berkshire Mountains, seven former schoolmates gather to celebrate a wedding--a reunion that becomes the occasion of astonishing revelations as the friends collectively recall a long-ago night that indelibly marked each of their lives. Written with the fluent narrative artistry that distinguishes all of Anita Shreve's bestselling novels, A Wedding in December acutely probes the mysteries of the human heart and the endless allure of paths not taken.

 My Review:
Although A Wedding in December takes place over a weekend, Shreve gives us enough backstory of our characters that allows us to know each of them intimately.   The classmates are reuniting at a beautiful inn in the Berkshire Mountains to share in a wedding celebration.  

Our main characters were the best of friends during school, Bridget and Bill were even lovers, but none of their relationships would survive the real world.  As the weekend unfolds, the characters reminisce about the past as they embrace their rekindled friendships.  A few have stayed in touch over the years, but most left that world behind, locking away the memories and the secrets.  As they discuss events of the past we learn what happened long ago sending these good friends in opposite directions.

One of the characters of the story is working on a novel that takes place during the Halifax explosion.  Throughout the story bits of the Halifax novel are brought to life for us.  Personally, I did not care for this part of the book.  It seemed to take something away from the real story for me as sometimes whole chapters were made up of the Halifax event.  Since this was a new piece of history to me, I did find it interesting, I just didn't care for it being a part of this book.

The wedding takes place under tragic circumstances, giving everyone a new appreciation for each other.  Both friendships and romances are rekindled as the friends join for the celebration.  Except for the novel within the novel, I appreciated how everyone's story was shared.

I enjoyed this novel with themes of love, regrets, and secrets.  We did read this as a book club selection in December hoping it would have a Christmas element to it, but that was not the case.  Although my book group wasn't overly impressed with this pick, I have to say that it did make for an interesting discussion.  I recommend this book for personal leisure or as a book club selection.

My Rating:  4/5

Disclosure:  This book is from my personal library and I read it for my own entertainment and as a book club disucussion.

Teaser Tuesday-Feb. 11

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 Funeral Dress by Susan Gregg Gilmore:
"Seen too many women stitch their fingers together.  Just last week Ida Lawson done stitched her tit."

Pg. 17
***Please note that this is from an Advanced Reading Copy so the final printing may change.

I was reading this part during my lunch hour and I couldn't help myself from laughing out loud!

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.

I finished:

I finished The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker and I absolutely loved it.  Most of the ladies in my book club enjoyed it as much as I did.

What I'm reading now:

The Funeral Dress by Susan Gregg Gilmore has been on my TBR pile for almost a year, so I decided to try to sneak this one in before my next book club selection.

What's next:

Our next book club selection is The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith.  These books are usually fun and delightful to read so I am looking forward to it!

So what have you been reading lately?

2014 Goodreads Reading Challenge

Last year I signed up for this challenge just intending to keep a list of the books I read throughout the year.  I signed up for 40 last year and ended up reading only 35 books.  I know it seems like it should be easy to read 35 books, but life has gotten crazy busy for me!  I have even gone 2 weeks without posting a book review for goodness sakes!  How embarrassing!  Oh well...I will not give up!  This year I am just lowering my expectations and decided to try to read 30 books.  I will list the books on this post and hopefully you will be able to click on the title after my review has posted.

1.  A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve--Completed 1/11/2014
2.  Red Hill by Jamie McGuire--Completed 1/11/2014
3.  The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion--Completed 1/30/2014
4.  The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker--Completed 2/5/2014
5.  Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand--Completed 2/20/2014
6.  The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith--Completed 3/6/2014
7.  American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar--Completed 3/7/2014
8.  The Funeral Dress by Susan Gregg Gilmore--Completed 4/7/2014
9.  The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley--Completed 4/7/2014
10.Moving Target by J.A. Jance--Completed 4/7/2014
11.Fallout by Sadie Jones--Completed 4/18/2014
12.The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory--Completed 5/1/2014
13.Wonder by R.J. Palacio--Completed 5/06/2014
14.Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolaus Butler--Completed 5/21/2014
15.The Supreme Macaroni Company by Adriana Trigiani--Completed 6/2/2014
16.Carrie and Me by Carol Burnett--Completed 6/5/2014
17.The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman--Completed 6/19/2014
18.Kicking the Sky by Anthony De Sa--Completed 7/03/2014
19.China Dolls by Lisa See--Completed7/16/2014
20.Love Life by Rob Lowe--Completed 7/16/2014
21.The Innocent by David Baldacci--Completed 7/27/2014
22.Breathless by Dean Koontz--Completed 8/2/2014
23.Safe With Me by Amy Hatvany--Completed 8/2/2014
24.A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith--Completed 9/7/2014
25.Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King--Completed 9/11/2014
26.The Women of Duck Commander by Kay Robertson--Completed 9/20/2014
27.Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline--Completed 10/1/2014
28.The Bully of Order by Brian Hart--Completed 10/8/2014
29.The White Princess by Philippa Gregory--Completed 11/3/2014
30.An Unexpected Grace by Kristin von Kreisler--Completed 11/3/2014
31.And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini--Completed 12/10/14
32.All Fall Down by Jennfer Weiner--Completed 12/28/2014
33.The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst--Completed 12/28/2014

Audiobook Review: Lookaway, Lookaway by Wilton Barnhardt

Title:  Lookaway, Lookaway

Author:  Wilton Barnhardt

Narrator:  Scott Shepherd

Unabridged Length:  16 hrs, 10 mn.

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

Jerene Jarvis Johnston and her husband Duke are exemplars of Charlotte, North Carolina’s high society, where old Southern money—and older Southern secrets—meet the new wealth of bankers, boom-era speculators, and carpetbagging social climbers. Steely and implacable, Jerene presides over her family’s legacy of paintings at the Mint Museum; Duke, the one-time college golden boy and descendant of a Confederate general, whose promising political career was mysteriously short-circuited, has settled into a comfortable semi-senescence as a Civil War re-enactor.  Jerene’s brother Gaston is an infamously dissolute bestselling historical novelist who has never managed to begin his long-dreamed-of literary masterpiece, while their sister Dillard is a prisoner of unfortunate life decisions that have made her a near-recluse.

As the four Johnston children wander perpetually toward scandal and mishap. Annie, the smart but matrimonially reckless real estate maven; Bo, a minister at war with his congregation; Joshua, prone to a series of gay misadventures, and Jerilyn, damaged but dutiful to her expected role as debutante and eventual society bride. Jerene must prove tireless in preserving the family's legacy, Duke’s fragile honor, and what's left of the dwindling family fortune. She will stop at nothing to keep what she has—but is it too much to ask for one ounce of cooperation from her heedless family?

In Lookaway, Lookaway, Wilton Barnhardt has written a headlong, hilarious narrative of a family coming apart, a society changing beyond recognition, and an unforgettable woman striving to pull it all together.

My Review:
Barnhardt weaves a story for us about a well-known Southern family that seems to be slowly losing their grasp on upper society.  Jerene and Duke Johnston have fought to keep the family status that comes with the Johnston name, but how will they be able to continue after the fortune has dwindled.

We hear the story first-hand from all of the Johnston family members.  The book opens with the youngest daughter, Jerilyn narrating.  The young debutante has her life ahead of her as she starts her life in college.  When unspeakable events take place to Jerilyn, her mother sweeps in taking care of the situation in a ruthless and effective way, deciding to never speak of it again.  This sets a tone for Jerilyn's future as she never confronts her emotions from this life event.

Jerene Johnston may seem like the heartless matriarch only concerned that her family comes out of any storm unharmed.  If they are even to make a profit from the troubles, then that is even better.  When we hear Jerene's story, we come to learn what made her the woman she is today.

I could go on about all of the characters, but I will just share that we learn the intimate secrets and details of the entire family.  Shepherd was an enjoyable narrator to listen to, but I couldn't help but think I would have enjoyed a woman's narration more.  The women seemed to dominate the novel to me so I believe that a female narrator with a Southern drawl would have reeled it in for me.  I think I also would have enjoyed it more if the story was told from less points of view.

I did enjoy listening to this entertaining story of Southern money and high-society.  With themes of Southern society, family, and secrets, you may enjoy this novel even more than I did.  I recommend this novel for either personal leisure or as a book group discussion.

My Rating:  3/5

Disclosure:  This book was provided to me by the publisher through the Audio Jukebox program in exchange for an honest review.

Teaser Tuesday-Feb. 4

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 from The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker:
That was one thing I always knew Serena Jane envied about me.  She thought I never had to worry that there wasn't enough of me to go around, but she finally found out she'd been completely wrong.

pg. 106

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.

What I finished:

I finished listening to The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion and what can I say about this one before posting my review?  How about-it was one of the most sweet and delightful books I have read or listened to in a long time!  Watch for my review coming soon.

What I'm reading now:

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker is our current book club selection so this is what I'm reading on my Kindle.  I'm really enjoying this story and I can't wait to see what the other ladies think about it on Wednesday!  I'm just hoping a snowstorm doesn't cause us to cancel our meeting again!

What's next?

I am sick of this cold and snow so I decided to listen to Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand.  I've listened to a few of Hilderbrand's novels and although it has a sad tone I am finding it enjoyable.

So what has been keeping you up at night?