one book at a time Archives | Page 2 of 17 | The 3 R's: Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness

November 3, 2011 reading

BlogHer Book (Club) Talk: Theodora, by Stella Duffy

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore: A Novel Stella Duffy (Twitter) (Twitter as Theodora) Penguin (Non-Classics) (2011), Paperback (ISBN 0143119877 / 9780143119876) Fiction (historical), 352 pages Source: Publisher Reason for Reading/Disclosure: BlogHer Book Club review and discussions (This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club, but the opinions expressed are my own.) Opening lines: “…The girl tried to lift her head. She knew if she could only see her older sister, Comito would confirm the answer, but the […]

November 1, 2011 reading

Shelf Awareness Book Talk: True Strength, by Kevin Sorbo

True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal–and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life Kevin Sorbo Da Capo Press (October 2011), Hardcover (ISBN 0306820366 / 9780306820366) Memoir, 296 pages Portions of this review were originally published in Shelf Awareness for Readers (10/21/11), which supplied an Advance Reader Copy (furnished by the publisher) and payment. All opinions expressed are my own. Kevin Sorbo played the title role in the popular action drama Hercules: The Legendary […]

October 27, 2011 reading

Book Talk: You Are My Only, by Beth Kephart

You Are My Only Beth Kephart EgmontUSA (2011), Hardcover (ISBN 1606842722 / 9781606842720) Fiction (YA), 256 pages Source: ARC from publisher at BEA 2011 (pub date October 25, 2011) Reason for reading: favorite author Opening lines: “My house is a storybook house. A huff-and-a-puff-and-they’ll-blow it down house. The roof is soft; it’s tumbled. There are bushes growing tall past the sills. A single sprouted tree leans in from high above the cracked slate path, torpedoing […]

October 24, 2011 reading

Book Talk: The Family Fang, by Kevin Wilson

The Family Fang: A Novel Kevin Wilson (blog) Ecco (a HarperCollins imprint), 2011, Hardcover (ISBN 0061579033 / 9780061579035) Fiction, 320 pages Source: ARC from publisher (pub date August 2011) Reason for reading: Review copy Opening lines: “Mr. and Mrs. Fang called it art. “Their children called it mischief. “‘You make a mess and then you walk away from it,’ their daughter, Annie, told them. ‘It’s a lot more complicated than that, honey,’ Mrs. Fang said […]

October 11, 2011 reading

Book Talk: Fathermucker, by Greg Olear (TLC Book Tour)

Fathermucker: A Novel Greg Olear (Facebook) (Twitter) (tie-in blog) Harper Paperbacks (2011), Edition: Original, Paperback (ISBN 0062059718 / 9780062059710) Fiction, 320 pages Source: Publisher provided Reason for Reading: TLC Book Tour Opening lines: “Fatherhood is fear. Fatherhood is disappointment. Fatherhood is anger and envy and lust. And the surest guarantee of fatherly success is a Spock-like mastery of those base emotions. Mister Spock, not Doctor. “Good fathers conquer fear. They become One with their phobias. Like […]

October 6, 2011 reading

BlogHer Book (Club) Talk: How to Be an American Housewife

How to Be an American Housewife Margaret Dilloway (Facebook) (Twitter)Berkley Trade (2011), Edition: Reprint, Paperback (ISBN 0425241297 / 9780425241295)Fiction, 352 pagesSource: PublisherReason for reading: Selection for the BlogHer Book Club (Review, promotion, and discussion participation compensated by BlogHer.com) Opening lines: “I had always been a disobedient girl. “When I was four, we lived in a grand house with a courtyard and a koi ﬁshpond. My father worked as a lawyer and we were still rich, […]

September 28, 2011 reading

Shelf Awareness Review: Stasiland: Stories From behind the Berlin Wall, by Anna Funder

This is a compensated review originally published in Shelf Awareness for Readers and is reprinted here with permission. The cover image shown is an affiliate link to IndieBound.org. Stasiland: Stories From Behind the Berlin Wall Anna Funder Harper Perennial (2011) trade paperback original (ISBN 1862075808 / 9781862075801) History, 304 pages The Berlin Wall existed for forty years as both a physical and symbolic barrier in a city and a country divided by ideology; it’s been over […]

September 26, 2011 reading

Book Talk: Forbidden, by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee (Faith & Fiction Roundtable)

Forbidden (The Books of Mortals) Ted Dekker (Facebook) (Twitter) and Tosca Lee (Facebook) (Twitter) Center Street (2011), Hardcover (ISBN 1599953544 / 9781599953540) Fiction, 384 pages Source: ARC received from publisher at BEA 2011 Reason for reading: Faith & Fiction Roundtable discusssion Opening lines: “There was never a body. “Not even at a funeral. Mourners sat angled to one another in the stiff pews to avoid looking directly at the empty casket and the destiny hanging […]

September 22, 2011 reading

Book Talk: A Year and Six Seconds, by Isabel Gillies

This is a compensated review written for Shelf Awareness for Readers and is posted here with permission. A Year and Six Seconds: A Love Story Isabel Gillies Voice (August 2, 2011), hardcover (ISBN 9781401341626) Memoir, 256 pages Isabel Gillies believes it takes a full six seconds to fall in love. However, one has to be ready and willing to experience those six seconds. After Gillies’ first marriage ended, it took about a year for her to […]

September 19, 2011 reading

Book Talk: Where You Left Me, by Jennifer Gardner Trulson

This is a compensated review originally written for Shelf Awareness for Readers and is posted here with permission. Where You Left Me Jennifer Gardner Trulson Gallery Books (August 30, 2011), hardcover (ISBN 9781451621426) Memoir, 256 pages The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center took their single greatest toll on the financial-services firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost more than 600 employees. Jennifer Gardner’s husband Doug was a senior executive at Cantor, and was […]

September 12, 2011 reading

Book Talk: The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood

Book Blogger Appreciation Week programming will be joined in progress tomorrow. When I scheduled the wrap-up for the group read of The Handmaid’s Tale for this week…well, I kind of forgot that it would conflict with BBAW. Oops! The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood (Twitter) (Facebook) Anchor (1998), Trade Paperback reprint (ISBN 9780385490818) (original publication date 1986) Fiction (speculative), 320 pages Source: personal copy (Note: This is the publication info for my original copy of the […]

September 8, 2011 reading

BlogHer Book Club Talk: Slow Love, by Dominique Browning

So far – 24 years into my chosen career – I’ve never lost a job. My fingers are crossed that the streak will continue, but who knows? The recession we can’t shake has hit a lot of mid-career workers at a point where they might have expected security and stability, setting them adrift at an awkward age – too old for entry level, too young to retire. When House & Garden magazine shut down in […]

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