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42nd out of 211 books
—
108 voters
A Life of Bright Ideas
by
Sandra Kring
A secret tore best friends Evelyn “Button” Peters and Winnalee Malone apart. Now, nearly a decade later, a secret brings them back together.
Nine years ago Button and Winnalee began recording observations in their Book of Bright Ideas, a tome they believed would solve the mystery of how to live a mistake-free life. Now it’s 1970, a time of peace, love, war, and personal he...more
Nine years ago Button and Winnalee began recording observations in their Book of Bright Ideas, a tome they believed would solve the mystery of how to live a mistake-free life. Now it’s 1970, a time of peace, love, war, and personal he...more
Paperback, 448 pages
Published
February 7th 2012
by Bantam
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In 1961, Button and Winnalee became best friends. Two very different little girls, they were drawn together by life's circumstances. Opposites attracting, they complimented each other. Together they began recording life lessons, titling it, "The Book of Bright Ideas". The purpose was to learn from not only their mistakes, but from observing those of others.
It is now 1970, and the girls are reunited when Winnalee suddenly appears in the small northern Wisconsin town, again. Though grown, time and...more
It is now 1970, and the girls are reunited when Winnalee suddenly appears in the small northern Wisconsin town, again. Though grown, time and...more
Feb 03, 2012
Book Sp(l)ot
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of Sarah Ockler, Billie Letts
Recommended to Book Sp(l)ot by:
Sandra Kring
Shelves:
2012-release
A Life of Bright Ideas is the stand-alone sequel to The Book of Bright Ideas - it continues Winnalee and Button's story but you don't have to have read The Book of Bright Ideas (I have not yet) to read, follow and enjoy A Life of Bright Ideas.
Synopsis: A Life of Bright Ideas, set nine years later in 1970, finds Button (real name Evy, short for Evelyn), just having graduated high school moving out of her father's house into the her grandmother's old home. The house, across the street from her aun...more
Synopsis: A Life of Bright Ideas, set nine years later in 1970, finds Button (real name Evy, short for Evelyn), just having graduated high school moving out of her father's house into the her grandmother's old home. The house, across the street from her aun...more
Sandra Kring’s The Book of Bright Ideas is one of my favorite books, so when I saw Kring recently wrote a sequel called A Life of Bright Ideas, I didn’t hesitate to purchase it immediately on my kindle.
The novel picks up seven years after the first ends, and instead of the main characters being little girls, they’re now teenagers. As much as I wanted to know what happened to the characters that I loved so much in the first novel, I think the age of the characters hindered the novel. Kring has th...more
The novel picks up seven years after the first ends, and instead of the main characters being little girls, they’re now teenagers. As much as I wanted to know what happened to the characters that I loved so much in the first novel, I think the age of the characters hindered the novel. Kring has th...more
I really, really enjoy Sandra Kring's books. Each book gets better as she progresses as a writer. This book, her latest is, to my mind, her best. I read The Book of Bright Ideas when it first came out and was smitten with the two little girls, Winnalee and Button. This newest novel finds the girls ten years into the future and reunited after the world has whacked them both like a pinata. The gains so painfully made in the first book are almost forgotten memories. This should be depressing but i...more
Jan 22, 2012
Mrs Mommy Booknerd http://mrsmommybooknerd.blogspot.com
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
favorites,
tiaras-book-club-pick
"It's weird, though, how I never noticed until a few minutes ago, that this isn't one thick root, like I thought it was. Look. It's made up of many roots entwined together." (Kring, p. 385)
That quote captures the powerful relationships at work in Kring's newest novel, A LIFE OF BRIGHT IDEAS. Readers who fell in love with Winnalee and Button will be thrilled to revisit their friendship 9 years after they last parted in THE BOOK OF BRIGHT IDEAS. Many things have changed in both Winnalee and Butto...more
That quote captures the powerful relationships at work in Kring's newest novel, A LIFE OF BRIGHT IDEAS. Readers who fell in love with Winnalee and Button will be thrilled to revisit their friendship 9 years after they last parted in THE BOOK OF BRIGHT IDEAS. Many things have changed in both Winnalee and Butto...more
As a sequel to The Book of Bright Ideas, I had high hopes for A Life of Bright Ideas, but was somewhat, but not entirely, disappointed.
This novel takes place in 1971, nine years after the first story. The main character, Button, is now eighteen and high school graduate who works in her mother's bridal shop although her mother was killed in a freak accident years earlier. She still misses her childhood friend, Winnalee who along with her sister (who is actually her mother), changed all their live...more
This novel takes place in 1971, nine years after the first story. The main character, Button, is now eighteen and high school graduate who works in her mother's bridal shop although her mother was killed in a freak accident years earlier. She still misses her childhood friend, Winnalee who along with her sister (who is actually her mother), changed all their live...more
Liked the story. Was frequently annoyed (especially later in the book) by things someone should have caught: a chapter opening "When I was kid" with the "a" a left out; someone seeing a character coming toward them, but then in the next paragraph that character hadn't gotten out of the car yet; referring to Button's car as the van when she's taking Winnalee to work because her van is broken; having a scene take place downstairs but then writing that they heard a car horn downstairs. Things like...more
Button and Winnalee shared a long ago summer, a summer that emotionally impacted their lives. Kring does such a fantastic job of evoking the sixties, from a hippie van, to Woodstock, peasant dresses and music. After nine years Winnalee returns, reunites with Button and once again they are fantastic firends, remembering the past and trying to find a future. There were, however, secrets in the past and they resurface in the present changing their lives once again. Alternately funny, Buttons six ye...more
A Life of Bright Ideas: A Novel
by: Sandra Kring
I won this book on Goodreads/First Reads
I can't say enough about how much I liked this book. It brings up so many things. Sandra Kring does such a wonderful job writting such great characters. I kept reading this character and that character and thinking "I have an aunt just like that" and "I remember when so-and-so did that" and "my mother" use to say things like that. It really touches your heart. This book is about friends finding each other agai...more
by: Sandra Kring
I won this book on Goodreads/First Reads
I can't say enough about how much I liked this book. It brings up so many things. Sandra Kring does such a wonderful job writting such great characters. I kept reading this character and that character and thinking "I have an aunt just like that" and "I remember when so-and-so did that" and "my mother" use to say things like that. It really touches your heart. This book is about friends finding each other agai...more
As I have read many books since the first "Bright Ideas" book (which I LOVED!), I was very apprecative that Kring took the time to remind the reader of what happened in the first novel. She did so in a gentle, conversational way, not wasting the time of the reader. I enjoyed this book but in my mind it is hard to make it as great as the first, simply because of the age of the characters in this book. The first book had the appeal of the innocence of childhood. This book focused on naivety or imm...more
After reading The Book of Bright Ideas by Sandra Kring, I was excited to see she had this sequel in the works. From the sound of it, I thought I'd like this book even more. On first starting A Life of Bright Ideas though, I thought to myself that you just can't force a sequel.
After a slow and rocky beginning, the story kicked in and grabbed a hold. Set in the 1960's, we see Button and Winnalee reunited as they come into adulthood. At times, I thought Winnalee was a pest, and trouble and I wonder...more
After a slow and rocky beginning, the story kicked in and grabbed a hold. Set in the 1960's, we see Button and Winnalee reunited as they come into adulthood. At times, I thought Winnalee was a pest, and trouble and I wonder...more
Feb 28, 2012
Sandi
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
High School and up
Recommended to Sandi by:
Firstreads
I liked the first in this (to be a series) series, The Book of Bright Ideas. It was a fast, easy read but nothing I'd find myself needing to reread. However, with the continuation, A Life of Bright Ideas, I fell in love all over again with the characters, old and new, and the story. I read this book every chance I got (which wasn't near enough), in the car, when I should have been working, in waiting rooms, etc. More realized and with humor and language that leaps off the pages, I thoroughly enj...more
I don't know how many books can make me cry within the first twenty pages, but this one easily did. The biggest reason is that the first book holds so much meaning to me, because I had a friend who I shared that book with, and we were ultimately Button and Winnalee to a T. So it shouldn't be a surprise that Kring comes back six years after I read that first book and I'm not only a blubbering mess of emotion, but I'm also shocked that she seems to have written out the story of our lives once agai...more
I waited soooo long for this sequel to 'The Book of Bright Ideas' and oh, the wait was worth it. I read this on vacation and couldn't put it down. Delightful, earthy, tragic yet redemptive...and oh so wonderful to meet up with the characters once again to see what had happened in their lives. And there was plenty! Sandra Kring has the true gift of capturing people in their simple lives, warts and all...and then helping you see that even the worst mistakes a person can make, are something that ca...more
We're in that place called "bittersweet." That place, I reasoned when I was a girl, that sits between happy and sad. The place where you can almost feel God's hand on your head and just know, deep down inside, that there was a good reason for every single thing that happened.
Bright idea #90: After you play beauty shop, your husband might say you look like a beauty queen or he might just ask you where the Phillips screwdriver is. Either way, it doesn't matter, as long as your new hair makes you t...more
Bright idea #90: After you play beauty shop, your husband might say you look like a beauty queen or he might just ask you where the Phillips screwdriver is. Either way, it doesn't matter, as long as your new hair makes you t...more
I know that when I pick up a book by Sandra Kring, I'm in for a wonderful reading experience. Her books always leave me feeling good.
I so often wondered what had become of Button and Winnalee from The Book of Bright Ideas and now we have the continuation of their story. We pick up 9 years after Winnalee and Freeda left town. Winnalee comes racing back into Button's life in a colorful VW van and shakes it up. I won't go into much detail because you have to pick this one up yourself. It's filled w...more
I so often wondered what had become of Button and Winnalee from The Book of Bright Ideas and now we have the continuation of their story. We pick up 9 years after Winnalee and Freeda left town. Winnalee comes racing back into Button's life in a colorful VW van and shakes it up. I won't go into much detail because you have to pick this one up yourself. It's filled w...more
I liked Kring's earlier book about these characters and I started to like this one, too. Then, Winnalee showed up. What a total stereotype of a free-love, pot-smoking, devil-may-car hippie. I just didn't find it realistic that Button would renew her friendship with Winnalee. And the way the six-year-old brother tore around ruining anything he touched grew tiring quickly. I rarely don't finish a book: I didn't finish this one.
I read "Book of Bright Ideas" last year and was so excitied to see that the follow up, "A Life of Bright Ideas", was being released. I pre-ordered it and was thrilled to be reading it on the release date. I was not disappointed. I love the characters in these two books. I can relate so well with the story of Button and Winnalee. Growing up in the 60's and 70's, I could relate to their feelings and emotions, and the situations of that time.
Sandra Kring will make you cry, laugh and smile. Flower...more
Sandra Kring will make you cry, laugh and smile. Flower...more
So, I would really give this book a 2.5 rating. I think it was good until the end when she tied everything up in a neat little bow in five pages. I knew it was headed that way chapters ahead, but I was hoping she wouldn't do it, but she did. I have to admit, I didn't really read the last several pages - I skimmed them. Too bad, because the book was good up until then. I didn't really like two of the main characters, but it was good summer time book.
This was a sequal and many times I don't like the 2nd installment as well as the original story, but in this case, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a wonderful read for the summer! I smiled, and chuckled, and even shed a tear or two. In the first book, the two main characters were little girls, and Sandra Kring "grew them up" true to themselves and the era they lived in. Well done!
I was laughing so hard that I was crying through so much of this book. I kept reading passages aloud to my Hubby. You totally don't need to know enough about this culture to "get" everything. I loved this.
I think the coolest thing about this book is that it makes you realize that there are strange people everywhere, even in our own circle of friends, so you can't really judge others.
I highly recommend this, it is a huge laugh. I won this book from goodreads, thank you!!
I think the coolest thing about this book is that it makes you realize that there are strange people everywhere, even in our own circle of friends, so you can't really judge others.
I highly recommend this, it is a huge laugh. I won this book from goodreads, thank you!!
Super awesome sequel to the story! However, I wish Sandra Kring would have been a little more specific about how some of the events were resolved. I didn't like how it ended super quickly! The book was over 400 pages, but the problems were solved in the last 3 pages! I was sad about that! However, I did like how things did resolve! I hope for another sequel! PLEASE!?!?!
September book club selection... Oops. I accidentally read the sequel to our book club selection which features the same characters 10 years later. Fortunately, there were so many flashbacks to the original novel that I feel like I read both. Lots of stereotypical characters for a small town/farm setting with emphasis on the friendship between two young girls.
I loved this book. It's a sequel to "The Book of Bright Ideas" which is good, but lacks the depth of this book. That said, I would recommend reading the books in order. If you love fun quirky characters in believable situations, you will love this book. It also has it's serious side and the characters all have faults and shortcomings, but they change and grow.
I bought this in an airport to read on the plane. It doesn't have too deep of a story line and it's fairly predictable, but makes a good 'light' read. It would be a good book to read on the beach or similar. I didn't realize it was a sequel, but was able to pick up the characters easily without reading the first book.
It ook a long time for me to get through this book simply because I didn't want it to end. I love the characters in this book and just was so enjoying it. The story is about two friends and their stories of coming of age, learning about life's disappointments and love, friendship and family. I loved the first book as much as the sequel and usually the sequel is not as good. Can't say that about this book. In the great words of Winalee Malone " you have to believe in something or what's the point...more
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This was a quick, good read. The two main characters wrote a list of bright ideas when they were younger, ideas that would help them deal with problems in their everyday life. Now they are young women and Kring uses the bright ideas to open every chapter.
I really liked this book. It was 9 years after "Book of Bright Ideas" and the two main characters, Button and Winnallee renewed their friendship even though Winnallee is wild, gutsy and a beautiful flower child. She is everything Button is not.
It has been a long time since I read The Book of Bright Ideas, and I really don't remember a lot about it except that I liked it. So I am judging this book, A Life of Bright Ideas, as a stand alone book and not as a sequel.
A Life of Bright Ideas was a decent book. Light, easy, predictable. It was fairly enjoyable, and I did like several of the characters. My biggest critique is the ending. A happy ending is considered necessary in a story like this, but I did not like the way Kring quickly tied...more
A Life of Bright Ideas was a decent book. Light, easy, predictable. It was fairly enjoyable, and I did like several of the characters. My biggest critique is the ending. A happy ending is considered necessary in a story like this, but I did not like the way Kring quickly tied...more
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