Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
95th out of 297 books
—
494 voters
The Wildwater Walking Club
by
Claire Cook (Goodreads Author)
"The women of THE WILDWATER WALKING CLUB are a delightful trio, full of heart and determination. As they - literally - put one foot in front of the other, the three new friends find unlikely paths that point them toward more fulfilling lives. Their journey left me genuinely inspired (and with the curious urge to go out and buy a clothesline)."
-- Jean Reynolds Page, author...more
-- Jean Reynolds Page, author...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
May 5th 2009
by Voice
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
I thought this book was a lot of fun. Noreen is a workaholic who has poured her life into marketing shoes for a mega business that is bought by another firm. Wooed by Michael of the acquiring firm, Noreen finds herself 'redundant' in the new company and takes a buyout thinking Michael will go along with her to new adventures. Not to be, Michael dumps her in the most cowardly cad-like fashion- we don't like him.
The upside is that now Noreen has the enviable/unenviable opportunity to really look...more
The upside is that now Noreen has the enviable/unenviable opportunity to really look...more
The Wildwater Walking Club is the first book I've read by Claire Cook. I liked it enough to want to read it to the end. I liked the main characters of Noreen, Tess, and Rosie. However, I really wanted to like it more than I did.
I also walk with a group of girlfriends on a regular basis. We start off early in the morning just like the girls in the book. We thoroughly enjoy this valuable time we spend exercising together. One of the reasons I was so drawn to this book in the first place is because...more
I also walk with a group of girlfriends on a regular basis. We start off early in the morning just like the girls in the book. We thoroughly enjoy this valuable time we spend exercising together. One of the reasons I was so drawn to this book in the first place is because...more
This is my first book by this author. It's a light, easy read that never satisfied me. The main character, Noreen, has just taken a company buy-out from Balancing Act Shoes, was dumped by her sleazy co-worker boyfriend, and her life stretches emptily before her. Now that she has time on her hands, she becomes friendly with 2 women from her neighborhood and starts a walking club with them, joins a support group for the newly unemployed, and becomes fixated on lavender and clothes lines. I think p...more
Sometimes it's important to take a moment to appreciate the simple, quiet things that life has to offer. Usually in that moment you find what's really important to you. And that's what Claire Cook's books do for me--offer up a little perspective through straightforward, engaging storytelling and genuine characters.
The core of The Wildwater Walking Club is friendship. Noreen, Tess, and Rosie have very different lives and personalities, but they complement each other wonderfully. Watching their fr...more
The core of The Wildwater Walking Club is friendship. Noreen, Tess, and Rosie have very different lives and personalities, but they complement each other wonderfully. Watching their fr...more
Claire Cook never disapointments me and I totally LOVED this novel!!!!
Noreen has lost her job and has taken a company buy-out which will provide her with 18 months of pay and benefits to allow her time to find another job. Not knowing what in the world to do with herself all day at home, she hops into a brand new pair of sneakers
and heads out for a walk.
Soon after, two of her neighbours, Tess who is married and has trouble with her teenaged daughter Hannah, and Rosie who owns a beautiful "lavend...more
Noreen has lost her job and has taken a company buy-out which will provide her with 18 months of pay and benefits to allow her time to find another job. Not knowing what in the world to do with herself all day at home, she hops into a brand new pair of sneakers
and heads out for a walk.
Soon after, two of her neighbours, Tess who is married and has trouble with her teenaged daughter Hannah, and Rosie who owns a beautiful "lavend...more
3 likes · like · see review
I enjoyed this book, funny and inciteful. The author was the typical workaholic, had not even been in backyard since she moved into her house. I was looking for something light, fast and motivational and this served me well. The author finds new friends, a new love, an earthy hobby and a new life when she is 'tricked' into taking a buyout from her longterm job. The thee women (Noreen, Tess, and Rosie) couldn't be more different, all with different issues that they resolve when they start walking...more
There's a popular saying that a journey of a thousand mile begins with a single step and after reading The Wildwater Walking Club, this saying proves more true than ever before. Noreen Kelly has just taken a buy-out from the company she's worked at for eighteen years as well as been dumped by her boyfriend Micheal all on the same day.
After a few days of wallowing in self-pity, Noreen decides to go outside and take a walk. While intially she walks in the neighborhood by herself, she soon becomes...more
After a few days of wallowing in self-pity, Noreen decides to go outside and take a walk. While intially she walks in the neighborhood by herself, she soon becomes...more
1 like · like · see review
a woman of a certain age (like me) gets a buyout from her corporate job and discovers herself in the process. First off, i could tell the book was dated because she actually got 18 months salary with her buyout (i've been offered retirement funds but no actual funds to live on before retirement) and she got her health coverage AND she got some actual useful "what to do next" resources. She even met a guy at the once-a week therapy sessions the HR company held. That's how i knew it was a novel.
Si...more
Si...more
After Noreen loses her job and her boyfriend in quick succession, she finds herself at loose ends. On the up side, she gets the chance to bond with her neighbors and the three women begin walking every day. This develops into a plot to save the Lavender Farm, stop the ban on clotheslines, take a trip, and just live life to its fullest.
This is a very pleasant read. There are no huge revelations here, nothing earth-shattering, just a good story with enjoyable, realistic characters. Funny, sad, tou...more
This is a very pleasant read. There are no huge revelations here, nothing earth-shattering, just a good story with enjoyable, realistic characters. Funny, sad, tou...more
This was a very quick read for me. This was another first for me from this particular author, although I am familiar with Must Love Dogs,the movie. I enjoyed this story very much.
Noreen Kelly is just coming off a buy out from her high powered desk job at a sneaker company.She has been dumped by the guy who persuaded her to take the buy out.After a short period of wallowing,she gets up and gets moving in fits and starts. Eventually she finds her pace, and develops friendship and purpose within...more
Noreen Kelly is just coming off a buy out from her high powered desk job at a sneaker company.She has been dumped by the guy who persuaded her to take the buy out.After a short period of wallowing,she gets up and gets moving in fits and starts. Eventually she finds her pace, and develops friendship and purpose within...more
Claire Cook’s newest novel begins with Noreen Kelly and her first day of self-proclaimed redundancy. She took a buyout from work and now has to decide what to do with the rest of her life. During her long tenure marketing shoes she was very dedicated to her job and did not cultivate a life away from work. Fantasy plans made with an unfaithful companion fall through and she’s on her own to sort things out. Noreen befriends neighbors Tess and Rosie, who are facing personal challenges of their own,...more
I guess I'm using January for light, quick reads. I've had this one on my Nook for some time, since it was a Nook Free Friday selection.
When Noreen becomes redundant and takes a buyout she falls into a lonely void. When she starts walking to get out and for exercise she soon meets two neighbors. They form the Wildwater Walking Club. In addition to striving to walk 10,000 steps a day the trio set other goals, encourage one another and find causes to support. There are parts of the book that don'...more
When Noreen becomes redundant and takes a buyout she falls into a lonely void. When she starts walking to get out and for exercise she soon meets two neighbors. They form the Wildwater Walking Club. In addition to striving to walk 10,000 steps a day the trio set other goals, encourage one another and find causes to support. There are parts of the book that don'...more
I enjoyed this book. The main character, Noreen "Nora", works in a large athletic shoe corpoation, until it is bought out and she is encouraged by Michael ( a member of the buy out team), to accept a buy out of her own. She gets 18 months of income and lots of perks to quit. After she leaves, she finds out that not having a job is hard since she was a workaholic.
She meets up with her neighbors, Rosie and Tess, who work from home and the form the Wildwater Walking Club. They are able to help ea...more
She meets up with her neighbors, Rosie and Tess, who work from home and the form the Wildwater Walking Club. They are able to help ea...more
I find it hard that the main character, Noreen, becomes best buds with these two neighbors and jumps a plane for a weekend away with them in about 2 weeks time. What was going to be a goal of walking to earn a trip away quickly became let's go now so let's use all our frequent flyer miles. Where did Tess and Rose get so many miles and they all happen to be on the same airline? And how on earth could they get THREE tickets on the same flights using miles for a trip less than 14 days away?
I just d...more
I just d...more
This book had way too much happening and a couple of things in particular didn't relate to the book. I think this book is actually two books - each book pertaining to different characters. One book would be about Noreen and her life changing adventure - taking a buyout and discovering who she is. The other book would be about Tish and her relationship with her daughter/ her crusade to ban the ban on clothelines/ and her need to donate to a teacher in New Orleans after Katrina - even though I don...more
This was a quick read but fun. Noreen was a willing victim in a merger and took the buyout at the encouragement of her boyfriend, who turned out to be just trying to get her to take the buyout and dumped her as soon as she did. Turns out getting laid off was the best thing for her, isn't that always the way. She starts walking and then makes friends with her neighbors and they form the Wildwater Walking Club. They set an unusual goal of walking enough miles combined with their frequent flyer mil...more
Fast read! If youy"re out of work in these economic times, think about walking. Gather friends from the neighborhood just because they see you doing it. End up knowing yourself better, being healthier from walking, and having a trip regarding lavender which clicks so well with you that you begin life anew as an entreprener.
1 like · like · see review
You can always count on Claire Cook to provide an entertaining diversion. Yes, it's "chick lit" but, sometimes, that's just what you need. I have long noticed that my reading, inadvertently, seems to flow into themes. OK, so I knew that this was a woman's type book. That ties in with the theme of the last one I read which was the same genre, but it also ended up sharing a theme with The Language of Flowers, which was one of my favorite books of 2012 (so far). The plot, an out-of-work woman meets...more
Summer is coming and so ,of course, is a new, hilarious book by Claire Cook (Must Love Dogs, Summer Blowout, Life's A Beach). This one follows 32 days in the lives of 3 neighboring women who come together for fellowship and understanding as they set their pedometers for their daily walks. Noreen just took a buyout from her job and got dumped by her boyfriend. Tess is a school teacher suffering through her daughter's last contentious summer at home before leaving for college. And Rosie is a "twee...more
This was a mildly diverting read. Story is about 3 women who start walking together. It's told from the point of view of one of them so you never really know what's going on in the lives of the other two. Seemed formulaic. The political issue they decide to confront is the town's clothesline ban. Noreen, the narrator, took a severance package when the sneaker company she works for is bought out. She's at loose ends with 18 months of salary and a house. Really couldn't relate to her 'problems'. O...more
May 01, 2009
Tattered Cover Book Store
added it
Summer is coming and so ,of course, is a new, hilarious book by Claire Cook. This one follows 32 days in the lives of 3 neighboring women who come together for fellowship and understanding as they set their pedometers for their daily walks. Noreen just took a buyout from her job and got dumped by her boyfriend. Tess is a school teacher suffering through her daughter's last contentious summer at home before leaving for college. And Rosie is a "tweener", raising young sons and taking care of her...more
Witty, funny, chick lit. Takes place in New England, and characters also travel to Sequim, Washington. By the author of Must Love Dogs; a woman of a certain age takes a buyout following her company's merger. Her boyfriend dumps her by cutting her off electronically. She has no hobbies, and no interests outside work, which leaves her stunned and depressed when she realizes this. She quickly finds two other women in the neighborhood who share her goal to start getting fit by walking, and they have...more
I really like to read stories about women who move on with their lives and find that they like themselves. This one starts out with Noreen (Nora) leaving her job and afterwards, losing her boyfriend. He doesn't call or return her calls, he just stops talking to her. Not very mature for a grown man. After she starts walking around her neighborhood and is joined by two women, she not only gets fit, but realizes that she wants to do more with her life and most importantly, to have fun. While doing...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A girl book about friendship. Noreen is single and has been career driven only to find herself redundant in a work buyout. With time on her hands she now strikes up a friendship with two neighbors. They strap on new tennis shoes, vow to walk 10,000 steps daily and plot their distance traveled on a map. Tess is married and having trouble with a teen daughter and Rosie owns a lavender farm. (Learned a lot about lavender, includes recipes.) There were some funny moments but not was much as I was ex...more
I've heard good things about Claire Cook's writing. Chic lit is famous for giving women's day to day life a voice, and Claire Cook is a master at it. I didn't personally relate very much with the women in this one, but I am sure there is one out there that is. The basic need that women need friendship in their life as much;if not more at times;than a man is a big part of this book, and a part I could identify with. I may not read just chic lit but it does have a place in my reading life. Sometim...more
Lately when I pick up a book that I think will be really good, I have been disappointed. I'm glad I wasn't disappointed this time. This was really a good light read that made me laugh out loud a couple of times. In this book, an unemployed, single woman (company buyout) starts walking around her neighborhood and meets a couple of neighbors who start to walk with her. Even though the women don't have a lot in common, they become friends and are involved in each other's lives. There is a trip to a...more
Excellent book of friendship between women. I may just have to start a walking club with some friends. I enjoyed the lavender recipes and wished there were more. I really want to try lavender sugar now along with many of the other wonderful dishes mentioned. I liked how Noreen grew to know who she was and what she wanted out of life. Being unemployed the last 4 months and losing my "title" of Librarian which identified who I was. I am having the opportunity to look deeper and see a much more com...more
Really a 2.5. I enjoyed it, but just felt a little disappointed because I've enjoyed Cook's other books much more.
I feel like Noreen's transition takes place awfully quick. In a little over a month she completely transforms herself. New friends, new relationship with overbearing mother (who turns out to be a good ol' gal), new commitment to health and sane living, and in general a whole new way of approaching the world.
I like what she does, I just don't buy that it could all happen so darn quick...more
I feel like Noreen's transition takes place awfully quick. In a little over a month she completely transforms herself. New friends, new relationship with overbearing mother (who turns out to be a good ol' gal), new commitment to health and sane living, and in general a whole new way of approaching the world.
I like what she does, I just don't buy that it could all happen so darn quick...more
A cute story about three women who start walking together after one is laid off from her job. The thing I appreciated most about this book was the portrayal of the relationship between the women; unlike most books on female friendship I've read recently, this one really delved into the bickering and mini-alliances that can affect groups of new friends.
There isn't much of a storyline to this book, and the product-placement is a bit over the top, but the messages of the importance of friendship an...more
There isn't much of a storyline to this book, and the product-placement is a bit over the top, but the messages of the importance of friendship an...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
I wrote my first novel in my minivan when I was 45. At 50, I walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the adaptation of my second novel, MUST LOVE DOGS, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack. Midlife rocks! My tenth novel, TIME FLIES, will be here in June 2013, and I'd be so grateful if you'd add it to your to-read list. Thank you! And don't miss the fabulous TIME FLIES sweepstakes - detai...more
More about Claire Cook...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“I was a lot braver when I was eight.”
—
3 people liked it
“Once you got started, all you had to do was keep placing one foot in front of the other, no matter how happy or sad you were. I'd taken that first step because I'd wanted to look better. I'd wanted my clothes to fit. But it hadn't taken me long to figure out that the biggest benefit was less about vanity than it was about sanity. Walking always helped.”
—
1 person liked it
More quotes…
I completely agree!
Aug 26, 2011 02:53pm