Jennifer’s Comments (group member since Dec 03, 2021)

Jennifer’s comments from the On The Same Page group.

Here's hoping lives up to your expectations better than the other reads have, Bonnie!

Having so much Stephen King on your list definitely amps up your "tome" number! Good start!

I'll leave it as a warning to others... :)

How to Sell a Haunted House
Grady Hendrix

Grady Hendrix takes on the haunted house in a thrilling new novel that explores the way your past—and your family—can haunt you like nothing else.

When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world.

Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market.

But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…

The Celebrants
Steven Rowley

A Big Chill for our times, celebrating decades-long friendships and promises—especially to ourselves—by the bestselling and beloved author of The Guncle.

It’s been a minute—or five years—since Jordan Vargas last saw his college friends, and twenty-eight years since their graduation when their adult lives officially began. Now Jordan, Jordy, Naomi, Craig, and Marielle find themselves at the brink of a new decade, with all the responsibilities of adulthood, yet no closer to having their lives figured out. Though not for a lack of trying. Over the years they’ve reunited in Big Sur to honor a decades-old pact to throw each other living “funerals,” celebrations to remind themselves that life is worth living—that their lives mean something, to one another if not to themselves.

But this reunion is different. They’re not gathered as they were to bolster Marielle as her marriage crumbled, to lift Naomi after her parents died, or to intervene when Craig pleaded guilty to art fraud. This time, Jordan is sitting on a secret that will upend their pact.

A deeply honest tribute to the growing pains of selfhood and the people who keep us going, coupled with Steven Rowley’s signature humor and heart, The Celebrants is a moving tale about the false invincibility of youth and the beautiful ways in which friendship helps us celebrate our lives, even amid the deepest challenges of living.

I think after the week you've had, you could use a good escapist comfort read, Jackie, so you're getting .

West with Giraffes
Lynda Rutledge

An emotional, rousing novel inspired by the incredible true story of two giraffes who made headlines and won the hearts of Depression-era America.

“Few true friends have I known and two were giraffes…”

Woodrow Wilson Nickel, age 105, feels his life ebbing away. But when he learns giraffes are going extinct, he finds himself recalling the unforgettable experience he cannot take to his grave.

It’s 1938. The Great Depression lingers. Hitler is threatening Europe, and world-weary Americans long for wonder. They find it in two giraffes who miraculously survive a hurricane while crossing the Atlantic. What follows is a twelve-day road trip in a custom truck to deliver Southern California’s first giraffes to the San Diego Zoo. Behind the wheel is the young Dust Bowl rowdy Woodrow. Inspired by true events, the tale weaves real-life figures with fictional ones, including the world’s first female zoo director, a crusty old man with a past, a young female photographer with a secret, and assorted reprobates as spotty as the giraffes.

Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, West with Giraffes explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time, and a story told before it’s too late.

Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "There is in the UK, both are recent releases, like this month kind of recent."

so...... let me get this straight .... you BOTH just added to my TBR AND reduced my reading time by giving me TV shows I now need to track down and watch?

Nicely played, Desley, nicely played.

Wait..... there's a TV show!? Off to check it out! Times two!

Joy! Here are your picks:

.

I hope you enjoy!

Pairs are here!

@Jackie: I know you've been out of pocket. If you want in, post a shelf and we'll get someone to pick for you. :)

My picks:

@Andrea - I read "Marjorie" last year and then, coincidentally, my sister arranged for us to go to Post's house over Thanksgiving, which was hosting a collection of Grace Kelly's Dior gowns. We toured the house/museum after seeing the dress collection, and having read the book gave me a lot of context.

@Bonnie - you'll either be pleasantly surprised or they'll at least be off your shelf. That's a win either way!

@Lindsey -- I just bought the Landay this morning. Looking forward to seeing what you think!

In for five, please!
PIFM"

Hi, everyone!

For anyone unfamiliar, this is a monthly challenge where you post a link to a shelf you created. It can be named "PIFM" or "Pick It For Me" etc, if you want one dedicated only to this challenge, or you can use an existing shelf you already have, as long as it has 100 or fewer books on it. The link must be to the specific shelf, or you will not be partnered.. Indicate how many books you would like to have picked for you from that shelf for the month in question. There is no lower limit as to how many books you can have on your shelf, but, of course, they should be books you are interested in reading during the next month and have ready access to.

On or about the 25th of each month, I will post who picks for whom. In order to accommodate an uneven number of participants, pairs will not be reciprocal -- in other words, it won't be Joanne picking for Jennifer and Jennifer picking for Joanne. It may be Joanne picks for Jennifer, Jennifer picks for Herman, and Herman picks for Suzanne, and someone else entirely picks for Joanne.

IF anyone has not been "picked for" by the 30th, I will pick for them if the designated picker can't be contacted by PM.

When you are assigned someone to pick for, note the number of books in parentheses after that person's name in the pick list, go to the link for their shelf, and pick that number of books for them. Post the books in a new message here. That person has the entire following month to read his/her picks. Someone will be picking for you the same way. We all like to see what people think about their picks, so we hope you will keep us posted in this thread!

Example: "In for five, please!
PIFM"

The HTML template for linking your shelf can be found HERE and if you have trouble, PM me and I will help you.

Your designated shelf must be set so that others can see it. To set up a PIFM shelf for those who would like to, go to the "MY BOOKS" link in the GOODREADS toolbar, scroll down below your shelves on the left until you see the "add shelf" button, and click that. Name it PIFM or Pick It For Me. Add books to it, and post the link to it in this challenge as described above. Again, if you need help, please don't hesitate to PM me!

If you are in for July, post your shelf and the number of picks you'd like to have below. See you on picking day!

July pairs:

Jennifer picks 3 for Joy
Joy picks 2 for Denise
Desley picks 5 for Jennifer
Denise picks 4 for Desley

The colors for the July 2023 Color Challenge are brown or light blue -- looking forward to seeing your picks!

The winner of the nonfiction group read poll for 3Q23 is in!
Dates: 07/01/2023 - 09/30/2023

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music
Dave Grohl

So, I've written a book.

Having entertained the idea for years, and even offered a few questionable opportunities ("It's a piece of cake! Just do 4 hours of interviews, find someone else to write it, put your face on the cover, and voila!") I have decided to write these stories just as I have always done, in my own hand. The joy that I have felt from chronicling these tales is not unlike listening back to a song that I've recorded and can't wait to share with the world, or reading a primitive journal entry from a stained notebook, or even hearing my voice bounce between the Kiss posters on my wall as a child.

This certainly doesn't mean that I'm quitting my day job, but it does give me a place to shed a little light on what it's like to be a kid from Springfield, Virginia, walking through life while living out the crazy dreams I had as young musician. From hitting the road with Scream at 18 years old, to my time in Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, jamming with Iggy Pop or playing at the Academy Awards or dancing with AC/DC and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, drumming for Tom Petty or meeting Sir Paul McCartney at Royal Albert Hall, bedtime stories with Joan Jett or a chance meeting with Little Richard, to flying halfway around the world for one epic night with my daughters…the list goes on. I look forward to focusing the lens through which I see these memories a little sharper for you with much excitement.

Nice blame-storming, Michelle! :)

Sigh. Added to my list...

I was surprised at how much I liked that, Denise, because the premise sounded so unlikely.