Beginning Again

Now here's a first to our book club: An eShort story called Beginning Againby Sarah Pekkanen, who happens to be one of our all-time favorite authors.  This selection is a special treat since it also contains an excerpt from her next book, The Best of Us,due to release on April 9, 2013.

Meanwhile, let's check out a few reviews before diving in:

“Sarah Pekkanen will never let you down. I absolutely loved Beginning Again, especially how she's tying in characters from her novels into this short story. The ONLY thing I don't like.. is in fact that it's so short! This was actually longer than her other short stories, but I loved this character and wanted to hear more and I really wish it was a novel! If you haven't read any of Sarah Pekkanen's short stories your missing out and I HIGHLY recommend them!!!! "
~ 5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!, December 13, 2012 by Amanda

“I enjoyed this next short story in the series; especially hearing a little bit more about Becca from These Girls!"
~ 5.0 out of 5 stars Keeps me wanting more!, November 29, 2012 by Loves those books

I'm already reading... are you?

A Winter Dream

Ah what the heck, let's go ahead and read A Winter Dreamby Richard Paul Evans too while we're in the holiday spirit. So here's a little bit of background from the author himself:

Total page turner, right? Boom, let's read.

The Tiger's Wife

Taking another about face, our next book selection is called The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht. To be honest, the paperback's book cover design is what initially attracted me to the book, but then the exotic setting described on the back cover led me to actually make the final purchase. So what are reviewers saying about it?  Here goes:

“[A] spectacular debut novel…[Téa] Obreht spins a tale of such marvel and magic in a literary voice so enchanting that the mesmerizing reader wants her never to stop…Obreht will make headlines as one of the most exciting new writers of her generations, a young artist with the maturity and grace that comes of knowing where one is from, and of honoring those who came before." – Entertainment Weekly, Grade: A

"[A] brilliant debut…[Téa] Obreht is an expert at depicting history through aftermath, people through the love they inspire, and place through the stories that endure; the reflected world she creates is both immediately recognizable and a legend in its own right. Obreht is talented far beyond her years, and her unsentimental faith in language, dream, and memory is a pleasure." – Publishers Weekly, starred review

Ready, set, GO.

The Christmas List

With the holidays flying by at breakneck speed, The Christmas Listby Richard Paul Evans is the perfect book selection for the occasion.  In fact, take a look at how readers reacted to the book and see why we took the leap in choosing it:

Did someone just say the book should be mandatory reading and that it would make a great movie?  Well, alrighty - let's get on it then.

Anyone But You

In an entirely new direction, let's read Anyone But Youby Jennifer Cruisie.  This book promises to be a witty, romantic novel that has absolutely nothing to do with apocalyptic dystopianism, thank goodness.  Straight from the source, take a peek at a synopsis of our book:

“For Nina Askew, turing forty means freedom—from the ex-husband whose career always came first, from their stuffy suburban home. Freedom to have her own apartment in the city, freedom to focus on what she wants for a change. And what she wants is something her ex always vetoed—a puppy. A bouncy puppy to cheer her up. Instead she gets…Fred.

Overweight, smelly and obviously suffering from some kind of doggy depression, Fred is light years from perky. But for all his faults, he does manage to put Nina face-to-face with Alex Moore, her gorgeous, younger downstairs neighbor.

Alex looks great on paper—a sexy, seemingly sane, surprisingly single E.R. doctor who shares Fred’s abiding love for Oreos—but a ten-year difference in age, despite his devastating smile, is too wide a gap for Nina to handle. Ignoring her insistent best friend, some interfering do-gooders and the ubiquitous Fred—not to mention her suddenly raging hormones—Nina thinks anyone but Alex would be a better bet for a relationship. But with every silver-haired stiff she dates, the more she suspects it’s the young dog-loving doctor she wants to sit and stay!" [more]

– Jennifer Cruisie, Anyone But You

OMG, people.  Where has this book been hiding?!

The Age of Miracles

On with our next selection called The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, a debut novel by an author who is new to the Chicken Lit Bookclub.  Alrighty then, so let's take a look at a few reviews to get an idea about what we are getting into:

“Karen Thompson Walker’s harrowing and graceful first novel, The Age of Miracles, would be fascinating to read at any time. But in the summer of 2012, when the country is being wracked by record-high temperatures, freak storms, devastating droughts, wildfires and floods, it is almost disturbingly well timed… The Age of Miracles is as thrilling as any fantastic mystery, and in its echoes of reality magnified, impossible to forget. ”
– Buffalo News

"Written in a voice that’s as familiar as your own junior-high diaries, Walker’s debut is a classic coming-of-age story, one that’s made all the more heartbreaking by the realization that Julia may never get the chance to come of age. It perfectly captures what it’s like to be a teenager: always feeling like the world is going to end, waiting for the day when life goes back to normal, until you grow up and discover that it never really does.”
– Entertainment Weekly

How exactly can we NOT read this one?

When in Doubt, Add Butter

Straight from the book cover's inside flap is a description of our next selection, When in Doubt, Add Butter by Beth Harbison - who just so happens to be another favorite author of the Chicken Lit Bookclub:

"From the New York Times bestselling author of Shoe Addicts Anonymous and Always Something There to Remind Me comes a delicious new novel about the search for true love and all the ingredients that go into it."

And what exactly are readers saying about the book?  Here are a couple of online snippets:

“When in Doubt, Add Butter is an airy, happy story where the bad things are uncomfortable but not too bad, and the good things are easy and happy. I think this book is less of a beach read, but a better choice for a rainy day or when you need something to cheer you up... When in Doubt, Add Butter is a happy story that shines softly, recommended to anyone looking for a few hours of escape and a lovely ending. ”
–  E. Griffin

"Like many of the other reviewers, I really enjoy Beth Harbison's characters. Gemma has a unique voice, and the DC setting is a fun change from the usual NYC/LA plots that appear in books like these. This was a great poolside read, and though the plot is not even close to being plausible, I enjoyed the novel. Harbison has a way of writing characters that readers truly root for and care about, and Gemma is indeed compelling. Fun book! ” –  Kristen

 Looks to be the perfect escape-y kind of choice to follow up our last @600 page trilogy selections.  We're so ready for this one.

Shadow of Night

... and now, as promised, we are ready to continue on with the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.  We are now reading the second book in the series called Shadow of Nightand if this book is anything like the first, we are in for a serious treat.

Looks like our hopes are confirmed - check out these reviews:

“Enchanting, engrossing, and as impossible to put down as its predecessor, Shadow of Night is a perfect blend of fantasy, history and romance.  Its single greatest flaw is, after almost 600 pages, it’s over.  If you’ve already read and enjoyed A Discovery of Witches, picking up Shadow of Night is an absolute requirement.  Otherwise, pick up both, and consider your summer reading list complete.” – The Miami Herald

"We literally fell head over stilettos in love with volume one in the Trilogy Of Souls series – it even kick-started the GLAMOUR.com book club because of our enthusiasm! If you loved Twilight but need to sink your teeth into a much more meaty, intelligent and feisty story – with an addictive love thread to boot – then read A Discovery Of Witches quick to whet your appetite for book two.” – Glamour Magazine UK)

 So there you go.  Reading this book is "an absolute requirement."

The Dog Stars

Taking a little break before reading the second book in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, our next novel is called The Dog Stars written by Peter Heller. Yes, this story is a complete about face in comparison to the Trilogy but promises to be just as powerful, nonetheless.

Speaking of which, here are just a couple reviews as proof of such powerfulness:

“Gripping…Heller’s surprising and irresistible blend of suspense, romance, social insight, and humor creates a cunning form of cognitive dissonance neatly pegged by Hig as an 'apocalyptic parody of Norman Rockwell'—a novel, that is, of spiky pleasure and signal resonance.” – Booklist, Starred Review

"A heart-wrenching and richly written story about loss and survival — and, more important, about learning to love again….'The Dog Stars' is a love story, but not just in the typical sense. It’s an ode to friendship between two men, a story of the strong bond between a human and a dog, and a reminder of what is worth living for. As Hig ponders early in the novel: 'So I wonder what it is this need to tell. To animate somehow the deathly stillness of the profoundest beauty. Breathe life in the telling.' ” – Minneapolis Star Tribune

 Let the reading adventure begin.

A Discovery of Witches

Just in time for Halloween, here we go with a wizardry-related book (or so we think by the summary printed on the back cover) called A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.  This book happens to be the first in the All Souls Trilogy, meaning if we like it the second book is ready and waiting for us.  And if we don't, well... moving on is not a problem. 

So what exactly are other readers saying about Harkness' novel?  Check out these review snippets:

“Not merely a fanciful supernatural romance; A Discovery of Witches intellectualises their existence, theorising on the role of genetics, DNA, evolution and extinction; as well as contemplating the pervasiveness of racial prejudices and segregation. … Blending fact and fiction, history and present, delicate courtship and tempestuous tantrums, understanding your identity and losing yourself: it is a beautiful work of fiction that fastens onto your heart and feeds your mind. In other words: probably perfection.”
–The Truth About Books, December 2010

February 2011 Indie Next List — “I lost a good deal of sleep turning the pages of this tale of adventure, suspense, and romance. . . . The author did her homework and the history rings as true as the passion.  I can’t wait for the sequel!”  Annie Leonard, The Next Chapter, Knoxville, TN

 ... perfection and lost sleep?  We MUST read this one.

The Casual Vacancy

We just wouldn't be a legitimate book club if J.K. Rowling's first adult fiction novel The Casual Vacancy were not first and foremost on our reading list.  So there you have it - our next book.  Critics are not all that impressed by Rowling's new release, but that is why we are here - to formulate our own opinions on it.

On that note, check out the author as she reads a few highlights:

The Time Keeper

Alright, so our next book club selection that we chose even before Hoda announced it as her favorite thing on Today is called The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom.  This book of fiction is about the legend of Father Time and the real meaning of time.  In fact, take a look at the author's video in which he describes the story in his own words:


And here's this, readers: it's a short read at only 222 pages.

Let's read.

The Light Between Oceans

Fall reading is underway with our next book,  The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman. A brief synopsis describes the book as:

A novel set on a remote Australian island, where a childless couple live quietly running a lighthouse, until a boat carrying a baby washes ashore.

 

Talk about intriguing.

The Newlyweds

Technically summer is still hanging around, but why not kick off the unofficial start of fall with a new read?  Let's nominate The Newlyweds as the first book in our fall reading lineup.  In this novel, Nell Freudenberger writes about a Bangladeshi woman who meets an American suitor via online dating.  After the two are married and living in the United States, many culture-related issues come into play. And if that isn't enough to interest you in reading the book, a Huffington Post interview with the author reveals that the "story was inspired by a woman you (Freudenberger) met on a plane." [read more here]

How cool is that?

So now all you need to do is pick up a copy and get your reading on.

A Walk in the Woods

The next book club selection found me while I was browsing the shelves at Books-A-Million. Bill Bryson is the author of this adventure tale entitled A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, a book describing the author's "experience while walking the Appalachian Trail" as he "reflects his opinions relating to those experiences." So with summer hiking and outdoor adventures underway, why not right?

Just to show a little support for this read, let's hear what others are saying about it:

"Bryson is...great company right from the start--a lumbering, droll, neatnik intellectual who comes off as equal parts Garrison Keillor, Michael Kinsley, and...Dave Barry. [Readers] may find themselves turning the pages with increasing amusement and anticipation as they discover that they're in the hands of a satirist of the first rank, who writes (and walks) with Chaucerian brio."
~ The New York Times Book Review

"The Appalachian Trail...consists of some five million steps, and Bryson manages to coax a laugh, and often an unexpectedly startling insight, out of every one he traverses...It is hard not to grin idiotically through all 304 pages...sheer comic entertainment."
~ Kirkus Reviews

Yep, we know how to pick 'em.

These Girls

What better way to kick off Summertime Book Club reading than with a novel by a favorite author, Sarah Pekkanen.  The book is called These Girls and has already received so much praise by other bestselling authors that you cannot help but want to know what the hype is all about.

Speaking of which, here's what's going around:

"Pekkanen's latest celebrates the healing power of female friendship for three very different young women sharing a New York City apartment.  You'll wish you could move in with these girls."
~ Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Pekkanen again proves her innate understanding of women's relationships.  With a style that's both wry and heartfelt, readers will absolutely recognize themselves and their friendships on these pages."
~ Jen Lancaster, Bestselling author of Bitter is the New Black

Yet Another Annoying Subliminal Message: Pick up a copy and read it now.