Jackie’s Comments (group member since Jan 02, 2009)

Jackie’s comments from the Reading List 2009 group.

#69 Confections of a Closet Master Baker
by Gesine Bullock-Prado

This book had me at it's very short but very memorable first paragraph: "I saw the devil at the age of three and he gave me chocolate. It changed my life forever."

Gesine (pronounced geh see neh--don't mess it up because it makes her crazy when you do) had a glamourous Hollywood life running a production company with her sister Sandra Bullock. Red carpets, "doing" lunch, meetings and schmoozing made up her daily life. And she was miserable. To make herself feel better, she turned to an old love, pastries. Specifically, making, even inventing, them. When, in a meeting, she referred to casting a movie as being like finding the right spices for an apple pie, she knew it was time to get out.

She and her husband Rick Prado (a movie illustrator and barista extraordinaire) fell in love with Vermont and decided to make it their home. They found an old general store, gutted it and it became "Gesine's". It opened on Aug 4, 2004 to lines longer than anyone could have imagined thanks to a casual mention of the fabulous French macaroons Gesine makes (which are almond, not coconut) in an interview in In Style magazine. Well, that and the fact that Sandy manned the register that first day. Gesine stayed in the back, being a self proclaimed "socially retarded misanthrope", and followed her passion for baking. They might have come the first time to see a movie star. They kept coming back because Gesine is a magician with flour and sugar and chocolate.

Her passion comes through in her book as well. There are fantastic recipes in it, but it's the reasons and rememeberances, the stories and the history that really make this book something special. Gesine is rather blunt at times, but I actually admired her for her honesty and her wit. This is a book about the importance of baking, the love and intention that goes into it all. It's also about the importance of sitting down with people, especially people you love, and enjoying fine things with one another in the middle of our too hectic lives. It's both a fantastic read and a fantastic cookbook--I highly recommend this book!

#68 Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Technically, this is teen fiction, but I think everyone who loves a great love story and wants to believe that there is magic in the world should read this book. Magical is exactly what this book is. Not just because it's about a girl and her werewolf. Because it's told with depth and beauty, creating a world you want to loose yourself in. It made me cry more than once and yet has filled me with an emotion I cannot quite name--a sort of wistful joy and glowing hope is the best way I can come up with to describe it. I will not tell you more about this story--I want you to come to it on your own and fall
under it's spell without anything to spoil it. Give yourself the treat of reading this book.

#67 Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro

This book was a great introduction to an author I have previously avoided (blame the cure-for-insomnia movie that was made from his "The Remains Of The Day"). I'm especially pleased with his character development given the fact that these are short stories--really short, since there is 5 of them in this slim volume. But each story gave me both a character that I could identify with and a character that I had to puzzle over. The themed stories (music and nightfall) and the interwoven characters added a nice touch as well. They read quickly but give you plenty to think about. In a nutshell--I'm impressed.

#66 New World Monkeys by Nancy Mauro

This debut novel has already garnered a lot of attention--Publisher's Weekly named it as a "galley to grab" at this year's BEA (Book Expo America). It's hard to find a specific
niche to put this in. It's rather dark,grim and disturbing. It's also funny. It's a love story. It's a horror story. It's written with a sophisticated level of language about the most primitive of human desires and deeds. It's not an easy read, but it is a compelling one. I challenge you to read it!

#65 Miranda's Big Mistake by Jill Mansell

This is a wonderfully complex book about the sisterhood of friendship and an unwitting love triangle with a very deceptive Mr Wrong. There are several love stories woven into this one book, all of them charming, but the revenge plan cooked up by those wronged by Mr Wrong was by far my favorite--it had me holding my ribs and crying with laughter and re-reading it a couple of times to savor the cleverness of it. Mansell's characters really leap off the page and into your heart. A fun, fun read!

#64 An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell

Lola and Dougie fall in love in high school, much to Dougie's mother's dismay. He's from a rich family, Lola is working class. So, the summer between graduation and college, Dougie's mother offers Lola 10,000 pounds to break up with Dougie without telling him about the money. A horrifying offer that Lola wants to refuse, but at the same time her beloved father has gotten himself into money troubles that would break up her own family. She takes the deal. Flash forward 10 years and Lola and Dougie's paths cross once again. Stilldesperately in love with him, Lola begins a campaign to win him back without explaining what happened all those years ago. This makes for one heck of an interesting read!

#63 Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

Rhoda Janzen grew up in a conservative Mennonite family in a conservative Mennonite town--and couldn't get out of there fast enough. She got her PhD and became an academic grammarian, teaching undergraduate English and Creative Writing. She married a bi-polar artist, who also happened to be an atheist. At the age of 43 she had a radical hysterectomy and her husband took care of her in a remarkably capable and seemingly loving way. He got a good job (unusual for him) and they bought an expensive lakeside house. Then he left her for a guy he met on Gay.com.

A mere week later, she was hit by a drunk driver, leaving her with many broken bones and other serious injuries. For a few months she toughed it out on her own. But then she took a sabbatical and went home to the Mennonites to heal and rethink her life.

This is a hugely entertaining memoir of a woman who is trying to come to grips with her widely spread life and a comic and very human take on the idea of soul searching among true believers. She finds humor in just about any situation, though she's dealing with some very serious issues and choices. She has a particular talent for what can only be called "snark". She's a very smart woman with a million dollar vocabulary and the ability to write like she's sharing her story with you over a cup of coffee at your kitchen table. There's even a bonus Mennonite History Primer at the end of the book, told with the same sort of humor and reverent irreverence. All in all, this is a very delightful read.

Tiffany wrote: "Thank you for all your reviews! I have already read two that you recommended and enjoyed them. Today I'm adding about 10 more to my "to read" list. Can't wait!"

I'm SO glad you are enjoying them! I love turning people on to great books!

#62 The Kids Are All Right by Liz, Diana, Dan and Amanda Welch

This is an amazing book in numerous ways. First of all, the fact that four siblings could join together to write a book is impressive. Their stories, individually and together, are riveting. First they
lose their father to a questionable car accident. Then they discover that he left their family $1 million in debt. Then, only a month after his funeral, their mom is diagnosed with cancer. They all are tossed about by changes in addresses and schools and with the needs of their dying mother. After her death, arrangements for where each of the
kids are going are horrifyingly tangled up (the kids range from a college freshman to a 7 year old) and the family is torn apart for long years. People who were supposed to be helping were not, and at times the kids went through actual abusive situations as they tried to find a place to belong, at least long enough to survive growing up. This is the story of a family that circumstances tried to destroy but love and loyalty saved. It is impressive, affirming and almost impossible to put down. READ THIS BOOK!!!

#61 Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian

I had the privilege of getting to read a very early, pre-final-edit manuscript of this book, and I am SO glad, because now I can be among the first to tell everyone how fabulous it is! Once again, Bohjalian creates big, believable drama in a small town Vermont setting. This time it involves a preacher who is losing his faith, two deaths and plenty of mystery of the "whodoneit" variety. It is interesting to read a book where two dead people are very much central characters and seeing the plot bloom through the memories, observations and reactions of their neighbors. All of these characters just jump off the page, so it's very easy to picture them and think that they are your neighbors too. You become invested in their pain and bewilderment even as you try to figure out just what they are NOT telling you. And the ending...the ending is worth losing sleep over because by that point you just HAVE to know the truth!

#60 So Happy Together by Maryann McFadden

Claire Noble is a member in good standing of The Sandwich Generation. Most of her life so far has been spent being a single parent to her daughter and taking care of her aging parents. But now, in her early 40s, it seems that her life is turning around. She's engaged to be married to a very successful man, her daughter is out on her own (though that was the result of anger and her whereabouts are not quite
known except for the occasional phone call), and she's got a chance to take a special summer seminar in photography that will be the beginning of the career she has always wanted. While not perfect, her life is still looking pretty darn good.

Until just a few days before she leaves for Cape Cod, her estranged daughter shows up and gives birth to a tiny baby girl in the upstairs hall, both of her parents' health issues flair up under the stress, and her fiance begins to selfishly freak out about all of it. Claire feels devastated and trapped once again. Then she comes up with a desperate
plan to do it all that changes her family forever and gives Claire far more than she ever dreamed of in the magical light and sea air of Cape Cod.

This is a fabulous story about the strength of love over time,
generations and circumstances. With a moral that we all could stand to remember--it's never too late to change or dream. This is a great summer read (or anytime, really) full of strong women and interesting relationships that is so picturesque in it's writing you'll long to head to Cape Cod yourself.

#59 Death's Daughter by Amber Benson

This book came out earlier this year, but recently caught my attention because it's written by Amber Benson, the actress who played Tara on the Buffy The Vampire Slayer television series, of which I am a fan. I had to see how she did.

The verdict--pretty darn good. Calliope Reaper-Jones had run away from the family business, going so far as to put a Forgetting Charm on herself so she could be "normal". The charm is broken by her father's assistant who comes to find her when her father, sister, and the whole board of Death, Inc. are kidnapped. Calli is the only one who can help find them--if she's able to complete the tasks to become Death in her father's absence. This is a very readable book with lots of interesting twists and turns andplenty of creativity. It's the first of a planned series.

It's a bit gorey at times, and there is some sex talk, but nothing worse than what anyone with cable is seeing in prime time really. I think this will be a great recommend for
fans of Charleine Harris, Kim Harrison, Mary Ann Davidson or Kim Harrison--in other words, folks who like some funny with their paranormal.

#58 Building A Home With My Husband by Rachel Simon

It's a wonder that Rachel and her husband Hal are together at all--they are very different people. Rachel is a writer and an advocate for people with disabilities with an admitted problem with physical things like the third dimension. Hal is an architect who designs the physical world and a musician who creates his own world. These two dated/lived together for 13 years, broke up for 6 years, and then, finally, got married. Then their house got burglarized, prompting at first the need to move, but that was just not affordable in the current economy. So they decided on a green renovation. This of course results in all the expected trauma and drama--though their's goes to an extreme not experienced by many (I don't want to spoil it for you). But the interesting thing about this book is that it's not only the house that gets renovated--it's Rachel and Hal and who they are together that goes through the most amazing overhaul. This book is full of insights and philosophical ponderings about the relationships of people to each other, their geographic place, their material things, their memories and much more. It certainly has it's funny moments, but don't be fooled by them--this is a book with great depth.

#57 The Promised World by Lisa Tucker

"Words can be like arrows. You can't see them, and that's why they're so dangerous. With an ordinary arrow, if you get hit, you know you have to remove it from your body. With words, you can never pull them out once they get stuck in your mind."

This quote comes toward the end of this extraordinary novel, but it is it's essence. At first it seems that this book is about a woman, Lila, dealing with the shocking 'suicide by cop' death of her twin, Billy. But that is simply the point where we jump into these two people's tangled, damaged, mystery shrouded lives. As Lila struggles to hold on to her own fragile sanity, her husband Patrick helps her to find out more of her past--something that she has very little memory of prior to the age of 16. Billy had provided her with all of her memories before that without ever explaining why she could not remember herself. What emerges is a cycle of abuse that is threatening to take over yet another generation in the wake of Billy's death. This is a wrenching and complex story that is both difficult to read and impossible to put down and I recommend it VERY highly.

#56 Fear The Worst by Linwood Barclay

This is a fast paced read that will keep you up late as you follow the twists and turns. The premise--Tim's teenage daughter goes to work one day--and doesn't come home. When he goes to check on her, the place she says she's been working at doesn't even know her. Thus begins weeks of searching and layers upon layers of intruige and lies that comes to a spine tingling ending. Barclay, an international best selling author, will soon be a favorite of Coben fans and many others here in the U.S.--guaranteed.

#55 Last Light Over Carolina by Mary Alice Monroe

This new novel by the author of Time Is A River takes us to the coast of South Carolina and into the world of the shrimping industry, hit hard by the current economy and imports of foreign shrimp to American markets. It's the story of Bud and Carolina, whose decades of marriage is on shaky ground. It's also the story of a down on its luck town who, when emergency strikes, pulls together and takes care of its own while forgetting all the rivalries and resentments and worries that generally plague them. The story moves back and forth between the present and scenes from Bud and Carolina's past, giving depth and background to the characters to this well told story.

#54 The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
by Allison Hoover Bartlett

This is the true story of John Gilkey, a book thief of epic proportions and all for the love of having the books, not for profit. It's also the story of Ken Sanders, a “bibliodick” (which just means he is a book dealer who enjoys detective work) who made finding and busting Gilkey a somewhat divine mission. It is also partly the story of the author, who befriended both of these men and their obsessions during the course of a couple of years and got pulled into the magic of old books, their values on many levels, and the passions they inspire. I could not put this book down—it's a fascinating look into a side of the book world that I've never been privy too that simply amazed me. This is a FANTASTIC read.

#53 A Thread of Truth by Marie Bostwick

This is a sweet story, apparently second in a series about the women involved in a quilt shop ,though it stands alone just fine. This one is about a woman, Ivy, on the run with her kids from an abusive husband. After a couple of years of drifting, she finds a true home in the small Connecticut town of New Bern, and a job she's good at taking care of internet orders for the quilt shop. One day the shop is filmed for an upcoming television special and Ivy is accidentally caught on tape. Her husband comes after her and Ivy learns the true value of her co-workers and friends as she fights for her new life and the freedom and safety she wants for her family. This is very much a female power/bonding sort of novel, with a bit of religion mixed in without a lot of fanfare. Fans of Kate Jacobs and Earlene Fowler will certainly embrace this series whole-heartedly. It would also make a fine book club read.

#52 The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison

I love this series and just had to work this one in as a break from work related reviewing. Harrison's books never disappoint, and I don't feel like there is a ton of backtracking of the previous stuff like there are in so many series books. Viva la Rachel!

#51 Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

The long awaited new novel from the author of The Time Travelers Wife is a doozy. It's the story of twins—one set the mother of another (that sentence will make more sense when you read the book). There are strained family relations and secrets, death and illness, an historic English cemetery, ghosts aplenty and strange but well intentioned neighbors/lovers/former lovers. The story gets progressively weirder and more involving, and the ending...well, let's just say that it left me with a “hmmmmmm” feeling.