A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.
Joseph Campbell 1904-1987
May 28, 2012
May 26, 2012
Silver Girl By Elin Hilderbrand: Another Thoroughly Entertaining Audio Book!
I had never even heard the term Ponzi scheme until the news broke about Bernie Madoff, and have since given little thought to Madoff’s wife Ruth. Where is she today? Did her friends stick by her or just simply disappear? Did she or didn’t she know what her infamous husband was doing?
Elin Hilderbrand’s Silver Girl may not be a terribly original story, but it certainly is an engaging, entertaining one. Meredith Martin Delinn has it all. She lives with her husband Freddie in a Park Avenue Penthouse. She vacations in Palm Springs, travels the world and thinks nothing of going into a store and dropping thousands of dollars at a time. Her husband adores her and people are just begging her to talk her husband into investing their money. Sound familiar? Everything is wonderful, until the day Freddie is accused of cheating his rich investors out of billions of dollars and sentenced to 100+ years in prison. Meredith loses everything. Her friends turn her back on her and she can’t even get an appointment at the hair salon she has been going to for years. To make matters worse Meredith’s sons are also being investigated so she is not allowed to contact them. She has no one.
There is only one person Meredith can think of to call, her childhood friend Connie O’Brien and even that was not a sure bet. Meredith and Connie had barely spoken in several years, partly because Connie had let Meredith know exactly what she thought of Freddie. When Meredith calls Connie, no questions are asked and Connie picks her up and whisks her away to the O’Brien summer home in Nantucket. Connie is not without her own set of issues. She is still recovering from the death of her husband Wolf and because of something that happened at Wolf’s funeral, her daughter Ashlyn was not speaking to her.
Even the wig and sunglasses Connie bought Meredith to wear were not enough to keep Meredith from being recognized and Nantucket seemed to be full of people burned by Freddie. If it were up to Meredith, she would never even leave the house. She was terrified and with good reason. Someone was out there angry enough to vandalize her safe haven. Why wouldn’t anyone believe that she was a victim too, that she had no idea what her husband was doing? How could she have been so blind to the things that were going on right before her eyes? How was she going to prove her innocence?
Silver Girl is a story about love, friendship and forgiveness. What would you do for an old friend? Who would you turn to when the unthinkable happens? Friendship goes two ways and in many ways Connie needed saving as much as Meredith. I loved listening as Meredith and Connie’s stories unfolded. Silver Girl is Chic Lit at it’s best. A thoroughly entertaining audio book read by Janet Metzger and Marianne Fraulo. How can I not give it 4 omelets?
May 25, 2012
The Friday Morning Bookclub Gives Defending Jacob By William Landay 4 1/4 Omelets
Amazon readers gave Defending Jacobs 4 1/4 stars
Goodreads readers gave Defending Jacob 4 stars
An Unforgettable, Powerful, Excellent, Disturbing, Page turner, Riveting, Upsetting, Lingering, Thought Provoking, Challenging, Suspenseful, Much to discuss, courtroom drama!
May 23, 2012
The Story Of Beautiful Girl By Rachel Simon: A Wonderful Audio Book!
I absolutely loved this audio book. Once I started listening to it, I did not want to stop. Fortunately I was listening to it on a playaway so I could take it with me wherever I went. I listened to it in the car, I listened to it as I cooked. I went to sleep listening to it and when I woke up, after first rewinding it to the last part I remembered before drifting off to sleep, I continued listening to it. The Story of A Beautiful Girl is a beautiful, yet heart wrenching story and a wonderful audio book.
When Martha, a retired school teacher living alone on a farm in rural Pennsylvania hears a knock on her door one rainy night she can’t imagine who it could be. Cautiously she opened the door only to find a young couple, soaking wet. The woman was wrapped in several grey blankets, the man wrapped in large paper business signs. The woman was white, the man black. They look scared and it appears to her as if they were running from something. Against her better judgement, Martha invites the couple in and is surprised to see that the young women is holding a new-born baby. and that the man is deaf. Martha barely has time to find dry clothing for the couple and prepare some food for them when she hears banging on her front door. Officials from the School for the Incurable and Feeble-minded were at her door looking for the two runaways. Fortunately, when the men stormed the house, the baby was quietly sleeping upstairs and the young man manages to escape out the living room window. Before they dragged the young girl off, she manages to whisper two words in Martha’s ear “hide her”.
What will Martha do? Will she honor the wishes of Lynnie, the young mentally challenged girl? And what will happen to Lynnie once she is returned to the “special school” And Homan, or #42 as he was referred to in the institution, will they find him? How will he survive? What will become of baby Julia? Will this family ever be reunited? The Story of Beautiful Girl spans over 40 years, and alternates back and forth between Martha, Lynnie and Homan. We learn how Lynnie, born to a wealthy family and Homan end up in such a horrific place. It gives frightening insight into how the mentally handicapped were treated in years past. It is a beautiful story of love and survival, and yes I cried a tear or two (something I rarely do while reading). The audio book was beautifully read by Kate Reading whose voice brought to life the voices of these brave people.
On a scale of 1-5, I would give the audio book, The Story of Beautiful Girl 4 1/2 Omelets.
May 21, 2012
Defending Jacob by William Landay: A Review By Nancy
Warning: Spoilers!!!!!!!
Our book club met to discuss Defending Jacob the Friday before Mother’s Day, an interesting choice given the mother’s final decision regarding her son!
The book takes place in a small, supposedly family friendly enclave in New England. A 14-year-old boy is found murdered in the park and Andy Barber, the assistant district attorney is called to investigate the crime. He is also the narrator of the story. We learn about Andy’s dysfunctional family which includes a long history of violence through the paternal line. This impacts Andy so greatly that he denies the existence of his father ( who is in prison) and neglects to tell Laurie (his wife) and Jacob (their child) this part of his background. Would Laurie have married him if she had known? Did his denial of this genetic “murder gene” blind him to his son’s tendencies? The investigation finds that Andy’s son had been bullied by the murdered child. The children at Jacob’s school knew Jacob had issues…that kids and animals got hurt around him. Jacob’s mother had a sense that Jacob was different, but there were no therapeutic assessments/interventions for Jacob until he is charged with murder. The book is tightly written, documenting what happens in court and the family’s growing isolation from the neighbors and friends they had known since Jacob was a baby. There are some fascinating twists, and then a growing sense of horror as we learn, after the charges against Jacob have been dropped, that another child who Jacob has befriended has been killed. This is when the mother takes matters into her own hands.
This book raised many discussion points for us: the role of nature vs nurture, can genetics be overcome by diligent parenting? When are the parents absolved of responsibility for their child if they have tried to rear him in a morally responsible way? What causes some difficult children to mature past their maladaptive behaviors, and others not? Would you show support and caring to a fellow parent/friend whose child has been charged with a heinous crime? What happens when bullying behavior is known but not addressed by the adults in charge? How much of our teenagers lives do we really know?
While we might quibble over some not quite believable events ( would the dad really throw away the knife he found in Jacobs’ room….are these the behaviors of 14 year olds, or older children?), we found the book to be an engrossing read and an excellent discussion choice.
May 20, 2012
Quote Of The Week
“You’re the same today as you’ll be in five years except for the people you meet and the books you read.”
-Charlie “Tremendous” Jones 1927 – 2008
May 18, 2012
Join Me At The Gaithersburg Book Festival….May 19th!
Yes, tomorrow is the Gaithersburg book fair! I have been going for the last couple of years and if the weather is nice, which it should be, it is a a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon. You will probably find me hanging out with a few of my book loving friends at the Dashiell Hammett Mystery Pavillion, the Edgar Allan Poe Fiction Pavillion or the F. Scott Fitzgerald Fiction Pavillion. I may just check out the Gertrude Stein Mixed Genre Pavillion and pop by the Rachel Carson Special Interest Pavillion too if time allows. Plan to come? Email me at Susan@Fridaymorningbookclub.com and lets see if we can meet up!
Be sure to check out the featured authors list. It is quite impressive.
:: Gaithersburg Book Festival
May 16, 2012
David Copperfield By Charles Dickens: A Review By Jean
Somehow I got through High School and College without having to read any Charles Dickens, and now, in a way, I am happy for that. I can truly say that reading David Copperfield for the first time, as an adult, was delightful (not a word I use often). I feel that reading this book after having had some life experience myself definitely added to my enjoyment and understanding of it.
Known as the most autobiographical of Dickens’ works, David Copperfield is a coming-of-age epic that was written and takes place in mid-19th Century Victorian England. Beginning with Chapter One, “I Am Born”, we follow David through life, at first with a loving, yet fragile, mother and hateful, abusive step-father, then being bullied and tormented in boarding school, running away to find a better life with his Aunt, a dowager who becomes apoplectic when donkeys stray into her yard, meeting up with the slimy, despicable character of Uriah Heap, falling in love with the idea of love, etc, etc. David must weather some terrible storms in life but always manages to find the inner strength to move forward.
I admit there were many passages that I had to re-read because they were so convoluted, but that became part of the fun for me. Dickens’ ability to vividly paint outlandish and eccentric characters is masterful and kept me engaged and amused the entire 800-some pages and now that I have finished I am truly missing this charming set of characters.
PS There is a fantastic TV production of David Copperfield done by the BBC, staring Daniel Radcliffe as Young David and Maggie Smith as Aunt Betsey Trotwood!
May 14, 2012
Even Taffy Is Reading This Month’s Book: The Lost Wife BY Alyson Richman
In pre-war Prague, the dreams of two young lovers are shattered when they are separated by the Nazi invasion. Then, decades later, thousands of miles away in New York, there’s an inescapable glance of recognition between two strangers. Providence is giving Lenka and Josef one more chance. From the glamorous ease of life in Prague before the Occupation, to the horrors of Nazi Europe, The Lost Wife explores the power of first love, the resilience of the human spirit- and the strength of memory.
The Lost Wife is being described as a beautiful, heart rendering, romantic love story. Please join Taffy and The Friday Morning Bookclub in reading The Lost Wife.
If you have a four-legged reader in your house, please email a pic to Susan@Fridaymorningbookclub.com
May 10, 2012
Defending Jacob…… In Three Words!
Suspenseful, Disturbing, Haunting!
Here is what we have so far:
Unforgettable, Powerful, Excellent, Disturbing, Page turner, Riveting, Upsetting, Lingering, Thought Provoking, Challenging, Suspenseful, Much to discuss!
How would you describe this month’s book Defending Jacob ………In Three Words?
