This Week, Next Week: reading, running & more

WHEW – my work project is behind me! I’m looking forward to catching up on email, answering the ANNA read-a-long questions and starting the discussion – everyone must be waiting for me (HA). I am really enjoying Anna Karenina.

This week: I did manage to finish reading Men and Dogs – I really enjoyed this book. I bought La’s Orchestra Saves the World a few months ago, when I saw it was available as an audio book at the library I decided to listen instead. I will post the reviews for both of these books soon.

I was a guest on That’s how I Blog this week. I wasn’t sure what we would talk about for an hour so imagine my surprise when I realized we talked for almost two hours. We had a great book club discussion.

MMBC Update: I’m not sure what to say if you missed our discussion Wednesday night other than… I’m sorry. Everyone on the call is still on a ‘high’ from our talk with Jancee Dunn , author of Why is my Mother getting a Tattoo. The call was scheduled for 45 minutes but we talked for almost 90.  I have A LOT of editing to do – I can’t tell you how many times someone shared something only to say “you will edit this out, right?”.

UPDATE Friday afternoon:  Click here to read the recap post and find the link to listen/download the audio. 
The winner’s of the April book drawing have been notified – we will be discussing The Yellow House with Patrica Falvey on April 21st.

Next Week: The Omaha Bookworm’s are meeting Tuesday evening to discuss The Help. I read The Help last spring so I was excited to read Ti’s (Book Chatter) review of the book which posted this week. Now I’m ready for our discussion! I hope we will be able to announce our book selections for the rest of the year soon – we will be discussing the list next week. Do you have any book suggestions for us? Have you read any books recently that you want everyone to read? I would love some suggestions.

Running update: I am running with a purpose these days. We have snow in the forecast so I’m not sure how much running I will get in this weekend. If the forecast holds I hope to get in a 3 hour run Sunday afternoon. Next week I will be able to run at least 90 minutes daily, with the long runs over the weekend. Goodbye snow!

Weekend update: I kept the weekend open in case we decided to take a quick trip but our plans fell through, hopefully we will be make the trip in the next few weeks.  This will give me time for spring cleaning, running, folding the many loads of clean laundry waiting for me and relaxing this weekend.

What are your plans this weekend? Is there a book that you are looking forward to reading?

Read more...

THIB recap and answers to your questions

Thank you Nicole for a great discussion Tuesday’s night! If you haven’t had a chance to listen the show it is available on iTunes or you can listen here:

A second thank you to everyone for sending questions for our discussion. Nicole did ask several of your questions on the call, below are my answers to some of the fun questions we didn’t get to:

What author (past or present) would you like to meet in person? I would love to meet William Shakespeare.  Can anyone set this up for me?

If you were stuck in the dessert with just 5 books, what would you take? If I can only 5 books forever… they will be long!

-  Anna Karenina (Tolstoy): I need to find out how this one ends

-  Wolf Hall (Mantel): I have had this since last fall and really want to read it

-  Words to live by: a daily guide to leading an exceptional life (Easwaran): This book is with me all the time, travels with me, it grounds me.

-  The Poisonwood Bible (Kingsolver): I have never reread a book before but I would like to read this one again.  Africa holds a special place in my heart and the plot is just so good

-  Ultra Marathon: Confessions of an all-night runner (Karnazes), This book is so inspiring!

You just got hold of a time machine where would you visit based on the books you read? Gorilla's in the Mist (Fossey): I would love to visit the African rain forest and spend time with the gorilla's.

If you could trade places with other character for a week, with whom would it be? Elizabeth Bennett

Read more...

Review: Happiness Sold Seperately

How many times have I walked by this book at the bookstore? I have even picked it up thinking I really want to read it, but a book club selection usually gets in the way.  Last weekend I saw Happiness Sold Seperately sitting in the lobby of the library, this must have been a sign (ha). I picked up the audio version and was entertained all weekend while running and working out.

From the author’s website: Lolly Winston, born and raised in the glamorous insurance capital of Hartford, Conn., Lolly Winston holds an MFA in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College. In the early eighties she went to Hawaii for eight days and stayed for eight years, boogie boarding and working as a corporate copy writer and public affairs officer at a local trauma hospital. She lives with her husband in Northern California.

Click here to read an author Q&A

Synopsis: Elinor Mackey has always done the right things in the right order-college, law school, career, marriage-but now everything's going wrong. After two painful years of trying, Elinor has learned that she can't have children. All the doctors can tell her is that it's probably because of her age. As she turns forty, she withdraws into an interior world of heartbreak.

Elinor's loving husband, Ted, a successful podiatrist, has always done the right thing, too. Then he meets the wrong woman at the wrong time, and does the wrong thing. Ted's lover, Gina-a beautiful and kindhearted nutritionist-always eats the right thing, but is unlucky in love and always falls for the wrong men. Soon Ted has to fight to make everything right again.

Can Elinor and Ted's marriage be saved? The answer is alarmingly fresh and unexpected as New York Times bestselling author Lolly Winston introduces us to characters as memorable as those of Anne Tyler and Nick Hornby, but who are indelibly all her own.

Type: Fiction, 320 pages, Trade paperback

Quick Take: This novel grabbed me in the first five minutes and kept me wanting to listen.  We follow Elinor as she discovers her husbands affair (on the first page), confirms the affair and confronts the other woman in an unexpected fashion (I loved this moment) - all of this happens very quickly in the book.  Written with whit and tenderness I was connected to the story and wanted to know what would happen to Ted and Elinor.  Do they find their way back to each other?  You have to read it to find out. 

I did enjoy the ending to this story.  It doesn't end exactly like you might expect, which was a pleasent surprise. 

Source: Library (audio)

Read more...