Be The Hero Of Your Book Club (2017)

“We love to buy books because we believe we're buying the time to read them.”― Warren Zevon

Time. I'm fresh out of it. Might have something to do with kids home from college and our new furry four-legged friend named Charlie. Sadly, time doesn't come wrapped up with the purchase of a new book, so once again, I'm getting creative. Odds are you are too. Since busy seems to be the new normal (blah) the pressure to pick a winner for book club can be pretty daunting. No one has time to read bad books and heaven forbid you be the one to pick a dud. Gasp. Thankfully, we've got your back with this year's list of guaranteed crowd pleasers (for last year's list, click here). 

BEST BOOKS FOR A GREAT DISCUSSION

A Gentleman in Moscow (read our review here)

Girl at War (read our review here)

FOR HISTORICAL FICTION FANS

News of the World (read our review here)

FOR THOSE CRAVING A REAL WHODUNNIT

The Dry (read our review here)

BEST BOOK WE HAVEN'T READ YET

Beartown (We've got high hopes)

Posted by Rachel

A Maid's Tale

“Mama used to say, you have to know someone a thousand days before you can glimpse her soul.”

We got skunked. Not one post outta us last week.  Rachel at least has an excuse—she’s got a brand new baby at her house.  A baby with hair and a tail that wakes up in the night.  Opting for a new pup is just one more proof that Rachel has more compassion than me. I, however, have no excuse…for not posting and for not being more compassionate. But it’s a new day.

My boys and I are almost finished with Jonah’s latest kid lit pick. So for now, I thought I’d post about another young adult fave. If you haven’t met Shannon Hale, it’s time to make an introduction. She’s a fantastic young adult author; for me, she has yet to disappoint. Book of a Thousand Days is set in far off Mongolia. Lady Saren and her maid, Dashti, are locked in a tower for 7 miserable years. Told in journal form, Dashti chronicles their imprisonment because Lady Saren refused her father’s command to marry a fiend who happens to be a Lord. The women finally make an escape, only to encounter more ironic twists.  The ending will surprise you, and Hale’s prose will delight you.  This was an entertaining read—it feels like a modern day Grimm.

Posted by Tracy

New Gift Guide

"People who say that I'm hard to shop for must not know where to buy books." —unknown

Happy news! We've updated our gift guide with our favorite picks for moms, dads, and grads! Feel free to help yourself to a few while you're at it. You deserve it.

So Long, Sweet Scout

Dogs speak words

But only poets

And children

Hear

—Patricia MacLachlan

Scout, our sweet golden, died in February. He was diagnosed in late December with lymphoma and the vet gave him two to six months to live. Turns out six weeks was all we got. His medicine stopped working, his tail stopped wagging, and his eyes, oh those eyes, told me what my heart couldn't bring itself to see, and I knew. The house, once full of the sounds of a large tail thumping, claws clicking across the wood floors, and the happiest growl you've ever heard, is now audibly and achingly silent.

It's taken me a good long while to be able to write about it. For days after dear friends did what dear friends do best: pour out love. Tray, of course, sent comfort between the pages of the perfect book. She knew I'd be reaching for reads that lift and The Poet's Dog did just that. Beautifully.

It's a story of two children, lost in a snowstorm, rescued by a dog named Teddy who is lost in grief. The three find refuge in the cabin that once belonged to Teddy's owner, Sylvan—a gentle poet who died just days earlier. As the snow continues to pile up outside and the wind howls, a friendship forms that will begin to heal Teddy's broken heart and help him see that Sylvan hasn't really left at all.

This little story of love and loss, written by Newbery-winning Patricia MacLachlan, will help children (and grownups) navigate their way through grief with the quiet assurance that those we love never leave us completely. They are there, if we only remember to look with our hearts, continuing to watch out for us through the love and friendship of others. I know it's so with my own gentle poet gone too soon and dear dad whose twinkling eyes made my world feel safe. And now sweet Scout is there with them, as they wait, and watch, and pour down love.

Posted by Rachel

Throwback Thursday

“Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.” 

Steph Curry is draining buckets. Heart Emoji. He just banked in a threeee! What a great way to end the day. Throw in a little chatter about books and I’m golden. It’s Thursday, so time to talk of reads gone-by. Maybe sports on the brain brought Mitch Albom to mind? Albom, originally a sports columnist, has written several best sellers—the very best of which is Tuesdays with Morrie. 

If you haven’t read Tuesdays with Morrie, promise me you will. Soon. This book is portable magic. What began as a labor of love to help Albom’s sociology professor pay mounting medical bills commensurate with a terminal illness, resulted in the best-selling memoir of all time. The accomplished journalist reconnected with his dying professor for the final months of his life. I’m grateful to have gotten a glimpse into Morrie’s study each Tuesday, where he shared irresistible wisdom with his “former” student. Wisdom about how to better live and how to better love. Morrie is the consummate teacher. And his finest classroom proved to include a hospital bed and an oxygen machine. Just thinking about this gift of a book reminds me, once again, that “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and let it come in.” 

Posted by Tracy

Top Bins

“A good book is an event in my life.” ―Stendhal

Rachel can attest that a soccer sideline is my home away from home.  Can’t say that I’ve ever written a blog post at a soccer game before, but I’m all about trying new things these days.  Besides, I’m trying to appear efficient.  Key word: appear.  I didn’t bring a book with me. Clearly, I have failed to implement Rachel’s advice, which would allow me to maximize these halftime minutes.  I’ll just have to settle for the temperate spring sun warming my face.  

I’m hoping you’ll settle for some famous authors' YA picks on this sunny kid-lit Tuesday.  I’ve chosen a couple that I’d like to read with the boys.  Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl, admitted that “The Westing Game completely charmed [her] as a kid: the clever mystery, the complex characters and the nasty, fantastic Tabitha Ruth Wexler.  I still read it once a year.” A book that commands an annual read?  I’m in like Flynn!

Why have I never heard of Eleanor Estes’ Rufus M.? I’d like to think it’s because I’m too young for a children’s book published in 1943.  But there should be a trickle-down effect where Newbery Honors are concerned, no?  Author Dick Cavett fell in love with Rufus at the precocious age of three. The fact that this book is still in print says a lot.  That Estes wrote The Hundred Dresses might say as much, if not more.  I’ve gotta say the prospect of a new read is just as exciting as the goal our team just headed in the net!

Posted by Tracy

Throwback Thursday

“He saw things in a way that others did not, so that a city I had lived in all my life seemed a different place, so that a woman became beautiful with the light on her face.” 

Honestly, there are times when throwin’ it back yields good things: Nestle Quik, Elmo, ripped jeans, Banana Bikes, Air Jordans, Chiclets tiny size gum, and Rankin & Bass Christmas specials to name a few. Books are no exception. Countless reads from the past cry out from my bookshelf for a re-read (a re-relish) and make me wish I could control the flow of time. Reads that make me think so many books, so little time. 

If you’re a better negotiator with the clock than I, Girl with a Pearl Earring is a book you could check out with the assurance of good literary vibes. You don’t have to be knowledgeable about or a fan of the Dutch Golden Age, Johannes Vermeer, or art to enjoy Tracy Chevalier’s most celebrated novel.  Griet, just sixteen years old, experiences servitude when her father was blinded by a kiln explosion. To help her family survive their collective tragedy, Griet takes up her post as a maid in Vermeer’s home. The unlikely bond that forms between master and servant inspires the charming portrait that has long secured a place in history. I agree with the reviewer who said, “This is a completely absorbing story with enough historical authenticity and artistic intuition to mark Chevalier as a talented newcomer to the literary scene." The novel does Vermeer’s painting justice: it’s beautifully written. You’ll likely remember it long after everything else goes out of style.

Posted by Tracy

May Book Club Selection

“Only different people change the world,” Granny used to say. “No one normal has ever changed a crapping thing.” ― Fredrik Backman, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry

Calling all Ove-lovers, a new Fredrik Backman was released today to raving reviews. Of course. He must have heard we needed a guaranteed winner for May book club. That Fred is one thoughtful guy. 

Clearly, we're not letting the fact that we've yet to review The One-in-a-Million Boy or even crack open A Word for Love keep us from movin on to May. Don't worry about us, we'll catch up eventually. We may not be known for our punctuality, but we can be counted on to spy a good read and we've got our book-lovin eyes on Beartown.  

While Backman's other offerings have all been good, none have left me feeling Ove-level love. If Amazon's Adrian Liang is to be believed, Beartown may be the one to do just that:  "Masterful in its storytelling and honesty, this is another winner for Backman, surpassing even his much-lauded A Man Called Ove." 

Posted by Rachel