BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION: Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

1. Let's start with the obvious. Did you like the book? What's your overall impression?

I liked it very much. The mystery wasn't too complicated, yet compelling enough to hold my interest and Harper is such an interesting character. I wanted to keep reading to see how she did her job and I wanted get to know her better.

2. Did you like Harper?

I'm accustomed to the protagonists in the books I read to be warm, likable people, but Harper comes across more indifferent, if not cold. You'd think this would make it difficult to warm up to her, but Harris actually has a knack for writing such a character in a compelling way with an inner vulnerability for which you can't help but empathize. Harper's past makes me sad and I can't say much about her present situation either. She has her work and she has Tolliver, but I sense that they're both kind of sad and lonely and they're definitely treated more with hostility than with kindness in their livelihood. I'd really like to see Harper heal some more and be genuinely happy.

3. What did you think of the murder mystery and the people of Sarne, Arkansas?

Oh my what a horrible mess! Even before the murders, these people really needed some help. I'm glad the murderer was figured out and held accountable, but what a waste that he had to take those lives like he did--the lives of people he should have been taking care of no less! Poor Nelly Teague! She is going to have a rough time processing everything that's happened to her family. I'd like to think she gets the psychological help she needs and maybe leaves Sarne behind for a better life somewhere else. I was glad to hear Harper praise Nelly at the end and assure her that she'd grow up to be a great woman. I think Nell needed to hear that. I'd also like to think she and Hollis remain good friends and support each other over the years. It's a nice thought, right?

4. Do you think Harper will ever find out what happened to her sister Cameron?


Harper is convinced that Cameron is dead, but has never located her remains. Of course the romantic and optimist in my would like to believe Cameron is still alive and will someday reunite with Harper. This series isn't exactly the sugar-coated kind and she has been missing for a long time already, so I think it's more likely that Harper will find Cameron's remains and help release her soul as she did for Helen Hopkins in Grave Sight.

5. What do you make of the relationship between Harper and Tolliver?


To me, it's obvious their relationship goes beyond simply step-siblings and I sense a chemistry between them that's unusual, but makes sense. They lived under the same roof since they were teens, but it really doesn't seem right to call them brother and sister. Not just because they're not blood related, but also as a result of their extremely dysfunctional upbringing and because of the way their selfish, cruel and negligent parents basically forced them to take care of themselves and essentially act as parents to their step siblings born to Harper's mom and Tolliver's dad. Harper and Tolliver's closeness actually feels more powerful than brother and sister or even friends after they survived what they did growing up. I feel sad for them, really. I guess we'll have to read the rest of the books in this series to learn more about these two.

6. Do you think you'll continue reading this series?


I definitely will! Harper is interesting enough to make me want to read more. I think the mysteries will be fun to read, but mostly I feel I need to see Harper figure out how she wants to live. I don't see Harper and Tolliver making their living like this forever. If anything, they need a home and maybe even an office. Some structure. Some peaceful happiness.


Tune in next month when the Authors by the Alphabet Book Club read a book by an author brought to us by the letter 'I'.  On which we're still deciding! Any suggestions? 

REVIEW: Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

'H'Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris is the July book selection for the Authors by the Alphabet online book club for the author last name beginning with the letter 'H' and was chosen by me. Stop by tomorrow for the Q&A book club discussion. Anyone is welcome to join the discussion. If you'd like to join the Authors by the Alphabet book club, we'd love to have you. Visit the sign up post on Paula's blog HERE.

Grave Sight is the first book in the Harper Connelly Mystery series by Charlaine Harris. Harper Connelly was struck by lightning when she was a teen and since then, she has been able to locate dead bodies and know how they died. Now an adult, Harper offers her services as a means of earning her living. Her stepbrother, Tolliver Lang, is her manager and together they travel around the country wherever there's work, living out of hotels.

In this story, Harper is summoned to the small town of Sarne, Arkansas to find the body of a missing teenager named Monteen "Teenie" Hopkins. Teenie went missing the same day that her boyfriend Del Teague was found shot dead in the woods, presumedly from self inflicted gunshot wounds to the head. Harper finds Teenie's remains in the same woods and reveals that she was indeed murdered while trying to run away. Despite the fact that Harper helped the community by finding the murdered teen and determining the causes of death of both Teenie and Del, the townspeople are suspicious and unkind to Harper and Tolliver and soon they are caught up in all sorts of trouble. Circumstances force them to stay in Sarne until things get cleared up, so to help their own cause, Harper and Tolliver try to figure out the mystery of who the killer is in Sarne.

The murder mystery was not terribly convoluted, but mysterious enough to keep me turning the pages to see how it would be solved and the consequences the truth would have on the characters. There were moments where I had to pause and recall how the various citizens of Sarne were connected to each other, because it sure felt like everyone had some unusual or secret connection to everyone else.

What made this book most compelling to me was Harper herself. She's a very interesting character. She's very straightforward and 'tells it like it is' it comes to most people and aspects of her life. This often makes Harper come across as a cold, uncaring person, but it's actually a really good attitude when it comes to her job when most people with whom she interacts are so quick to judge Harper as unnatural or evil and she's constantly subjected to disapproval from the very same people whom she helps.

While Harper exudes a blasé attitude on the outside, she also harbors an emotional vulnerability on the inside. She typically only lets this side show when she's either alone or with Tolliver. She and Tolliver grew up in an extremely dysfunctional home and both are still trying to deal with many ramifications of their early life. Harper also has major anxieties with thunderstorms due to having been struck by lightning. Harper seems lost and depends completely on Tolliver as her anchor in life. Both she and Tolliver live a pretty lonely life. It's sad really, and I hope they find some true joy and contentment in life soon.

I enjoyed Grave Sight and look forward to unraveling the mystery that is Harper Connelly in subsequent books in this series as she and Tolliver solve more mysteries.  4 out of 5 stars.

GRADE: B

NOTE: The Authors by the Alphabet Book Club Q&A for Grave Sight will be posted tomorrow.

YOU'RE INVITED: Read Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris with us!

It's my turn to select a book for this month's online Authors by the Alphabet Book Club. We're up to the letter H and I chose Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris. Grave Sight is the first book in The Harper Connelly mystery series, first published in 2005.

Summary from the publisher:
Harper Connelly has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. She can sense the final location of a person who's passed, and share their very last moment. The way Harper sees it, she's providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living—but she's used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Traveling with her step-brother Tolliver as manager and sometime-bodyguard, she's become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it's always urgent—even if the dead can wait forever.

I'd like to invite you to read it with us this month and join our book club discussion here on my blog at the end of the month. Maybe you've read Harris' popular Sookie series? This is the perfect excuse to try something different from the author. So head to the library or bookstore, grab the book and start reading!

The Authors by the Alphabet Book Club is an online book club that was started by Paula who blogs at Tome's Devotee and is made up of a small group of bloggers who take turns every month selecting a book for the group to read and discuss, making our way through the alphabet by author last names. The person who makes the monthly selection is the one to host a discussion on her (his) blog on the last Thursday of the month. New members are always welcome!

You can read more about Charlaine Harris at http://www.charlaineharris.com/.

REVIEW: Three Wishes by Carey Goldberg, Beth Jones and Pamela Ferdinand

A True Story of Good Friends, Crushing Heartbreak, and Astonishing Luck on Our Way to Love and Motherhood

This is the G selection for the Authors by the Alphabet Book Club for the month of June 2011. This book was selected by Marce who blogs at Tea Time with Marce where you can find her review and links to the Q&A book discussion posted by other book club members. Anyone interested in joining the monthly book club is welcome and invited to join on the Authors by the Alphabet Book Club sign up post on Paula's blog.

The title and subtitle of this book explains largely what this book is about, but to elaborate just a bit, it is a memoir co written by three friends who have found themselves at the same cross road of life and how they proceed to make at least one of their wishes come true---to be a mother and everything else that happens to them during their journey to motherhood. Carey, Beth and Pam are all successful journalists, each with a string of failed relationships behind them and now in their late thirties, feel very strongly about pursuing motherhood as a single parent. Carey is the first to start on the road to motherhood by purchasing eight vials of sperm from an anonymous sperm donor. But just as Carey prepares for insemination, she meets someone and is soon pregnant. The vials then get passed to Beth who has finally put a difficult divorce behind her, but she, too, meets a man who might just be the one and also gets pregnant. Finally the vials get passed to Pam, the romantic of the three women who is always on the lookout for true love, but is not willing to let the chance at motherhood pass her by before she's too old to conceive. Happily, she, too, finds love in the nick of time. This is a very simplistic overview of what these three women go through in their unconventional pursuit of motherhood. They experience uncertainties in their relationships, challenges with balancing their jobs with their pursuit of motherhood, as well as heart wrenching losses and deep felt sorrow that will be a part of them forever, but in the end this memoir tells the story of how three women found true love and motherhood perhaps later than most women, and maybe in a different order, but not at all too late to live "happily ever after."

The chapters rotate between narrations from Carey, Beth and Pam pretty much in chronological order as they each pursue their ultimate goal of becoming a mother. They share pertinent anecdotes about their careers, living arrangements, their extended families and of course their mutual friendships. They also share their past relationship failures, the experiences and challenges of their current relationships, terrible losses and tremendous joys that make the journey to love and parenthood worth every emotional scar we ever bear.

The writing in this memoir flows very easily, and Carey, Beth and Pam include a lot of conversations they've had with friends, family, lovers and other significant people in their lives, and that dialogue helps the book read like a story and not just a string of events, the latter of which could easily lead to boredom with a memoir. While reading the first few chapters, I admit that I felt quite removed from the women's situations, largely because my life path was so different and I couldn't quite relate to being 40-ish years old, a wealthy career woman, single with no love interests on the horizon and no child of my own in my heart. However, the more chapters I read in this memoir, the more absorbed I became in these woman's lives, the more I empathized with their situations and the more I grasped onto the hope that they would not only become mothers, but also find permanent love in a healthy marriage.

One of "issues" that I have with this book --and it's not even really an issue, but more of an observation-- is that Carey, Beth and Pam were all financially well off and could easily afford to pursue the medical avenues of getting pregnant on their own as well as the child care expenses after the baby's arrival. It just doesn't seem realistic that there is a large demographic of 40-ish women out there who can afford such lifestyles and the freedom to pursue single motherhood like these women did.

Also, Carey, Beth and Pam's stories were so similar and their narration voices so similar that at times I had a difficult time keeping track of whose story I was reading and I found myself flipping around a few pages to jog my memory.

Ultimately, I found Three Wishes to be a thought provoking and very personal look into the lives of these three modern women who were so determined to have children of their own. They survived many difficult situations, made life altering decisions and learned to live with those decisions, and above all they were very lucky to have had their three wishes come true.

In closing, I'd like to end my review with my favorite quote from the memoir. It is a quote from Pam, the final recipient of the donor vials around the time she decides with certainty to pursue having a child on her own. I think this passage captures the essence of what each of these three women feel and why they were so incredibly determined to become mothers. I think I would have felt the same if I were in their place.

"Finally, at thirty-seven years old, I confronted myself. I considered what I could not live without and immediately knew it was a child. That for me, life would have a far lesser purpose if I could not be a mother. I once read that the ancient Egyptians described childless women as 'mothers of the missing ones,' and that imagery wrenched me to the core. I could almost feel an ache in my bones for the child who would be missing to me." --Pam [p. 108]

GRADE: B

REVIEW: The First Cut by Dianne Emley

E The First Cut by Dianne Emley is the May book selection for the Authors by the Alphabet online book club for the author last name beginning with the letter 'E.'

The First Cut is the first book in the crime fiction thriller series featuring female police officer and single mother Nan Vining of the Pasadena Police Department. The story begins with Vining returning to the precinct for work after a leave of absence she required to recover physically and mentally from a brutal attack while in the line of duty that nearly took her life months earlier. Within minutes of entering the precinct, Vining is recruited to investigate the heinous murder of Frankie Lynde, a young, beautiful female cop with the LA Police Department whose naked and brutalized body is found dumped in an arroyo in Pasadena. While some of her fellow officers think this crime may hit too close to home for Vining, she views this case as the perfect opportunity to prove to her colleagues--and more importantly to herself, that she's ready and able to get back in the game.

To complicate Vining's return to work, she secretly suffers anxiety attacks whenever she enters unfamiliar houses. Sometimes these anxiety attacks manifest themselves in the form of hearing voices from both Frankie Lynde and T.B. Mann-- the name Vining and her teenage daughter have given to Vining's unknown attacker "The Bad Man" who remains at large.

The First Cut starts out a bit slow introducing the primary and secondary characters, establishing the crime scene and other information, all the while without any strong character developments or progress in the plot itself. Eventually, though, the pace picks up and the book quickly transforms into a very intense police procedural for a disturbing set of crimes that left me turning the pages as fast as I could just to make sure justice was served.

This book's strength is definitely in the thoroughness of the police investigation and the specific procedurals as well as in the grim and disturbing profile of the murderer and his accomplice. Revisiting the events that led up to the murder of LAPD officer Frankie Lynde and witnessing the perpetrator initiate a new crime against a new victim was both disturbing and suspenseful. The weakness of the book, however, is that I felt Officer Nan Vining's character was short changed in the development area. Yes, we learn about her attack by T.B. Mann and how it still affects her, we learn about her relationship with her daughter and bit about a male colleague with whom she used to be involved and we also learn what a competent and intuitive cop she is--all of which invites the reader to empathize with and route for Vining's success. Which happens for the most part, yet I feel like we could have and should have gotten more intimately involved with Vining's character to really know and connect with her. Since this is the first book in a series, I imagine Vining's character develops more in the subsequent stories making her character and her stories even more compelling.

I gave The First Cut three stars on goodreads for "I like it." The series shows great promise and I intend to read the rest of the books in the Nan Vining series.

GRADE: B-

For links to other reviews and the Q&A among the book club members, visit Paula's blog HERE.

If you're interested in joining the Authors by the Alphabet Book Club, visit Paula's blog at the SIGN UP post. All are welcome and participation is flexible. Come join the fun! :)

REVIEW: Still Life With Husband by Lauren Fox

F This book is April book for the Author's by the Alphabet Book Club as members read our way through the alphabet by authors' last names. Still Life With Husband by Lauren Fox was chosen by BookBelle, this month's host of the book club who blogs at BookBelle. :) For links to other reviews of this book, as well as to check out our discussion of the novel, visit BookBelle's blog HERE. If you'd like to join the Authors by the Alphabet Book Club, we'd love to have you. Visit the sign up post HERE.

Thirty year old Emily Ross is a freelance writer with a part time editor position with a medical journal and has a bad case of marriage blahs. Emily and Kevin have been together for the last nine years since their senior year in college, married for the last five. Kevin, who is employed as a technical writer, is firmly resolved to start a family and buy a house in the suburbs, despite Emily's reservations. Not only that, but Emily is overall discontent with her dispassionate, stale marriage.

While having lunch with her best friend in their favorite coffee shop, Emily--who is not wearing her wedding ring at the time-- meets David Keller, a journalist for an alternative local newspaper with whom she shares an instant, electric connection. Emily and David meet again under the guise of discussing a potential job opportunity for Emily at the newspaper for whom David works, and the two spend hours talking and practically falling for each other as if they were on a spectacular first date. Emily is fully aware that she is crossing the lines of fidelity to her husband and at the same time also dishonest with David as she is slow to reveal her marital status to him. Inevitably, Emily has committed the first of many betrayals that ultimately lead to more poor decisions with irrevocable consequences.

Still Life with Husband is told from the first person point of view of Emily as she wends her way through the mess she makes of her life over several weeks. That's not to say that Emily was not already dissatisfied with her life, however the choices she makes specifically during this time frame actually force her to own up to what really wants out of life. The novel primarily centers on Emily's struggles with her marriage to Kevin, her conflicted feelings of her infidelity, the consequences of her decisions and how she handles it all. It's also about Emily learning to essentially take charge of her own happiness. There are also well crafted story threads involving Emily's relationships with her best friend Meg, her sister Heather and her parents, all of which added richness to Emily's story.

Still Life With Husband is adeptly written in an extremely compelling, articulate and very expressive voice. There's both fantastic humor and depth of emotion at every page and while the plot is not complicated, not once did it feel the least bit predictable and was, in fact, quite the page turner. I didn't want to put the book down, and when I did, I kept wondering what Emily was going to think, feel or do next. What were the consequences of those actions going to be, who was going to get hurt, and how was Emily going to straighten out her life? Would she even straighten out her life? What good could possibly come of this? All I could do was to keep reading.

Truthfully, when I read the book blurb after it was announced as the April book club selection, I was hesitant to read a novel about infidelity. I didn't want to empathize with a protagonist who was cheating on her husband and even worse, I was afraid that the author would glorify infidelity as a whole in some way. Thankfully, neither of those things happened, which I think is a testament to the author's skill at sharing Emily's journey in a way the she could be your sister or your friend. You like her, you know her, you even came to completely understand her even though you don't agree with her actions and yet through it all ... you were there for her.

GRADE: B+


Still Life With Husband is Lauren Fox's first novel. Her second novel, Friends Like Us, is due to hit shelves in February 2012.

REVIEW: The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas

D This book was the March selection for the Authors by the Alphabet Book Club, representing letter D. For links to other reviews and a book discussion, visit Julie at Reading Without Restraint.

Published in 1996

The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas is a story of friendship in times of adversity in the small farming community of Harveyville, Kansas during the Great Depression era and has a bit of a murder mystery to it as well. The story is told from the point of view of a young farm wife named Queenie Bean who treasures time spent with her closest friends in their quilting club. The women name their quilting club The Persian Pickle Club after a treasured bolt of quilting fabric with a Persian pickle design on it, also known as paisley. The members of the club affectionately refer to themselves as "Pickles."

Queenie is the youngest Pickle and yearns for a close friend her own age in the Pickle Club. When newcomer and newlywed Rita Ritter joins the Pickles, Queenie is anxious to become best friends with her. Rita is friendly and nice, but very different from the farm wives of Kansas. Rita is a city girl and aspires to be a successful news reporter. In fact, Rita is determined to write her best news story ever that will land her a job at a major city newspaper and essentially be her ticket out of farm country. When the bones of one of the Pickle's missing husband is found in a shallow roadside grave, Rita believes solving the mystery of his murder will be her lucky break. She enlists help from Queenie who is all too eager to spend time with her new best friend, even when their investigating leads them to trouble and possibly heartache as secrets between Pickle members are unearthed.

The Persian Pickle Club is a charming Depression-era story that encompasses a wide range of important women's topics such as friendship, marriage, financial hardships, charity, death, widowhood and even infertility. The author adeptly draws the reader in to the hardships of this time and the lives of the families trying to survive with their dignity intact. A few scenes packed more emotional punch than I expected, and despite the fact that there is a murder mystery, the story is warm and uplifting.

For all it's strengths, however, I did feel the book could have been more for a few reasons. For one, the story started out rather slow. Considering the book is barely two hundred pages, I expected the story to be strong and engaging from start, not start to pick up speed and interest at the halfway mark. Perhaps contributing to the feeling of a slow start is the fact that there are so many characters in the story, most of them Pickles who are introduced at the same time, making it difficult to keep track of who was who. I tried to just read on, thinking I'd figure everyone out as I went along, but I still found myself flipping back to the early chapters to remind myself who was who. I think this was especially important for me to keep straight because the women were of different ages and stages of their lives--for example, I found it important to keep straight who was older, younger, related to whom, had children or not, were married, widowed, etc.--because these attributes strongly established their "place" within the community, their hardships and their relationships with each other. Eventually I got it, but I wish I didn't have to work as hard getting it straight. Also, although I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect of the story while I was reading the book and how it inevitably intertwined the lives of the Pickles together, when I closed the book I questioned its plausibility.

This is one of those cases for which I wish readers could give half stars for their ratings on goodreads. I rated The Persian Pickle Club three stars on goodreads, but would have given it three and a half if I could have.

GRADE:  B-

REVIEW & DISCUSSION: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

C This book is the February selection for the Authors by the Alphabet Book Club, representing letter C.

Bet Me is a fun, sweet, romantic story about two people who come together over a bet and end up taking their chances on true love. Although, in the end, you can be assured their happily ever after is a sure thing.

Min Dobbs has just been dumped by her boyfriend David in a bar. She's crushed and angry. It's not like she was in love with the guy, but she was working on it. He seemed to have all the right credentials to be 'the one,' after all. Now she's left without a date for her sister's upcoming wedding, which wouldn't normally bother her, but she'll never hear the end of it from her over-controlling mother.

Calvin Morrissey is a charmer and a heart breaker who has a reputation for dating a girl until she falls for him and then promptly breaking it off. Cal is at the same bar as Min when she has just been dumped. He's out with his friends and business partners, trying to avoid his most recent ex.

Min's friends encourage her to get over David asap by approaching a good looking guy in the bar and introducing herself. She and her friends single out Cal. As Min crosses the bar, she overhears David making a bet with Cal that he couldn't get the girl in the boring gray suit to sleep with him within a month. She realizes David means her and is obviously furious, but decides to play along just to burn David and maybe have a date for her sister's wedding in a couple of weeks to boot!

Min and Cal leave the bar together and grab a bite to eat at Emilio's Restaurant which turns out to be fabulous. The food, that is. The date, not so much. Min and Cal clash and bicker over everything! Yet there's this underlining current between them like gravity pulling them together. Yes, their conversation is prickly, but aside from the whole bet thing, they're honest and comfortable with each other to just be themselves. They part ways both happy to never see each other again--Min giving up on the wedding date idea and Cal thinking 'good riddance' to the woman who's taking out her anger against her ex-boyfriend on ALL men! Only it doesn't work out that way and Min and Cal continue to cross paths, slowly getting to know each other, quickly falling in love although of course, they don't want to admit it.

Bet Me is so much fun to read. It's fast paced, charming, funny, sweet, romantic, loaded with great dialogue and full of little surprises. The cast of secondary characters and all of the connecting side stories are entertaining and add a lot of drama and warmth to Min and Cal's love story. There are misunderstandings galore over the bet--make that bets, that will keep you laughing and guessing until the very end exactly how it will all work out.

If you haven't yet read Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie, what are you waiting for? I bet you'll just love it!

WARNING: This discussion and the comments below are a SPOILER ZONE! If you have not yet read Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie you have been warned that there are SPOILERS AHEAD. Read at your own risk.

BOOK DISCUSSION:
This is my first time hosting the book discussion for the monthly Authors By the Book book club and Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie was my selection. If we were a book club that met offline, we surely would have had to met at a little Italian restaurant where we could chat about Min and Cal and the supporting cast of characters over Chicken Marsala, don't you think? ;)

Bet Me is a cute, light hearted romance. The characters and story is engaging yet my questions are quite simple.

Feel free to answer some or all of the questions on your own blog or here in the comments, You can also just Feel free to pose your own questions to the group in the comments or share what you didn't like about the book, too!


1. What did you think of 'the bet'? Do you think Min should have just asked Cal about it or do you think she was right in waiting for him to reveal it himself?

I thought the misunderstandings over 'the bet' were great. It kept things unsettled throughout nearly the entire book with both Min and Cal keeping what they knew about the bet to themselves instead of being honest about it. I mostly wanted Min to just ask Cal about the bet, but I completely understood that she wanted him to be the one to bring it up. It was her way of protecting herself from disappointment if the truth was that he really was just dating her for the bet. And even then, how would she have known if what he said was the truth if she did ask him. He could easily lie to her and still win the bet, right? The answer is that the only way she would believe him would be to trust him. Something that was difficult for both Min and Cal to do for a while. Thank goodness they straightened it all out and finally figured out to take that leap to trust and love each other regardless of that stupid bet. And how fun was that??? :)

2. What is your favorite scene in the book?


I have many, but here are a few of my favorites:

Every time Min and Cal kissed. I know it's sappy, but I can't help it. It's the romantic in me that felt all "awwww..." every time, because each and every time Min and Cal kissed it was unexpected, sweet and romantic. Every kiss was like a perfect first kiss and I loved how they both felt surprised at how strongly they felt for each other.

Another favorite scene is when Min, Bonnie and Liza are having dinner at Min's apartment and Liza tells Min that Cal is trouble and Bonnie tells Min that she thinks he's 'the one.' Liza and Bonnie had completely opposite views on Cal and I loved how convincing and determined Bonnie was when she stood up for believing in true love. She has some really great lines in that scene. [pp. 169-172 in the hardcover edition].

I also loved the very end of the last chapter [before the Epilogue] when Min and Cal discuss whether they'll actually live "happily ever after" once they're married.

3. Who is your least favorite character and why?


While I thought David was pretty much a jerk, I didn't think so highly of Cynthie either, although by the end I did feel sorry for her. My least favorite character, though, has got to be Min's mother, Nanette. Her obsession with controlling Min's diet and putting so my emphasis on her figure as an indicator of her happiness in life was crazy! At first, I thought Nanette just wanted to help Min fit into her maid of honor dress, but soon enough I figured out that she was just shallow and mean to reduce Min's self esteem, the last thing a mother would want to do to their child! Ugh. Although Min often told her mom to get over it, she was born with curves, end of story, it wasn't until Min's sister Diana finally told off Nanette that I finally cheered.

4. Who is (are) your favorite secondary character(s) and why?


I think the cast of secondary characters in this book is awesome. Cal's friends Roger and Tony, Cal's nephew Henry, Shanna, Min's friends Bonnie and Liza, and her sister Diana are all favorites. Everyone comes across very realistic and I enjoyed all the little side stories that were going on. Maybe Bonnie is my absolute favorite of that bunch. She had such a great attitude and despite her sometimes too-rosy view of life, she had some really great insights for her friends.

5. Do you believe in the fairy tale ending of finding true love and living happily ever after?


I imagine most of you do, otherwise you wouldn't be reading a book like Bet Me! :)

I believe in true love and living happily ever after, but it's dynamic-- constantly evolving and moving forward over time without the 'the end' part. There are ups and downs, give and take, hard parts and easy parts, but you stick together and love each other through it all and that's what living happily ever after is all about.

At very nearly the end of the book, Min says she's worried about what comes after the fairy tale ending:

"--but I'm worried. There aren't any happily ever after stories. That's where it ends. Where the hard part starts."

"All right," Cal said. "So?"

"So," Min said, meeting his eyes. "What are we going to do?"

[...]

"We're going to take it one day at a time," Cal said, holding on to her. "I don't know anything about this, either, I didn't plan for this, but I think we just stick together. Take care of each other. Pat each other on the back when things get tight." When she still looked unsure, he smiled at her with so much love in his eyes that she went dizzy, and then he said, "Bet you ten bucks we make it."

:)

YOU'RE INVITED: Read Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie with me!

First published in February 2004.


It's my turn to select a book for this month's online Authors by the Alphabet Book Club. We're up to the letter C and I chose Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. It's a contemporary romance novel and is one of Crusie's most popular and widely loved novels. I've always wanted to read it and now I've got a handful of friends reading it along with me this month.


I'd like to invite YOU to read it along with me, too!


Need convincing? 

"Minerva Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man who asked her to dinner to win a bet. Even if he is gorgeous and successful Calvin Morrisey. Cal knows commitment is impossible, especially with a woman as cranky as Min Dobbs. Even if she does wear great shoes, and keeps him on his toes. When they say good-bye at the end of their evening, they cut their losses and agree never to see each other again.


But Fate has other plans, and it's not long before Min and Cal meet again. Soon, they're dealing with a jealous ex-boyfriend, Krispy Kreme donuts, a determined psychologist, chaos theory, a freakishly intelligent cat, Chicken Marsala, and more risky propositions than either of them ever dreamed of. Including the biggest gamble of all-true love."


Sounds fun, right?


Buy a copy, borrow from a friend, download it to your e-reader!
No budget for more books this month? Don't worry! I bet your local library has a copy sitting on the shelf just waiting for you to borrow.


The Authors by the Alphabet Book Club is an online book club that was started by Paula who blogs at Tome's Devotee and is made up of a small group of bloggers who take turns every month selecting a book for the group to read and discuss, making our way through the alphabet by authors last names. The person who makes the monthly selection is the one to host a discussion on her (his) blog on the last Thursday of the month.


Be sure to stop back here on Thursday, February 24, 2011 to join in on the discussion of Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie!


I'd love it if you could make it! :)



Visit author Jennifer Crusie at her website at http://www.jennycrusie.com/.

REVIEW: The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum

B This is the January book selection for the Authors by the Alphabet Book Club. For links to other reviews and a book discussion, visit Marce at Tea Time With Marce.

How far would you go to protect a sibling-and at what cost to yourself?


The Stormchasers is a story about Karena Jorge and her twin brother Charles, who has a bipolar disorder. Karena and Charles have an affinity towards each other, a twin radar or "twindar" that always kept them close. As teenagers, they set on different paths. While Karena was preparing for college, Charles was seemingly adrift with only his obsession with chasing storms keeping him focused. Charles' behavior became more erratic as he refused his medication and on the night of their 18th birthday, Charles and Karena chased a storm that ended with deadly consequences and a secret that changed their lives forever. Within days, Charles was admitted to a mental hospital and Karena left for college and it isn't until 20 years later that the two are reunited.


Karena, who is now a successful news reporter, joins a professional stormchaser team under the guise of doing a story in an effort to finally find Charles, knowing wherever tornadoes are, Charles will be, too. Karena finds more than just her lost twin on this adventure, though. She finds lifelong answers about friendship, family and love... but will she and Charles ever find peace and forgiveness from the nightmare that occurred 20 years ago on that fateful night of their 18th birthday?


The Stormchasers is an interesting story about the strong bond and affection between twins, bipolar disorder and the metaphorical use of tornadoes to describe bipolar disorder. The author presented many great facets of the characters and the story arc, yet I felt I spent a lot of page time anticipating and waiting for startling character developments or plot revelations that never came to full fruition. I never felt completely convinced that the characters themselves truly recognized their own growth or the strength in their connections, especially regarding Karena. Charles seemed to understand himself more and is actually more at peace with himself than Karena, which was actually unexpected and quite refreshing given he's the one with the 'disorder.'


The story is told in the third person present, following Karena's perspective which I found a bit unusual and I think it kept me from becoming absorbed into the story. Karena goes here, she does this, she sees this, remembers this, thinks this and then eats this and then goes there. I don't know... I felt like I was just watching over her shoulder, but never really getting to know her or experiencing her story. I also felt the pacing was choppy for the first half of the book. The story finally started to come to life for me about halfway through when we meet Charles.


While learning about Charles through Karena's memories of their childhood and teenage years, I felt pity for him and silently begged for him to stay on his meds so that he'd be 'normal' and safe. Yet, when Karena and Charles are finally reunited and I see Charles in the present, through my own eyes, I developed tremendous admiration for him. During the years he and Karena were apart, Charles was chasing storms but finding himself along the way. He learned to respect his body, learn its rhythms and be true to his heart. He may not be as successful in life as seen from the eyes of society, but to me it's apparent that he was more productive in finding contentment with himself and his life than the lonely, haunting life his twin was living. Not only that, but it turns out that Charles was actually the one protecting Karena all these years by keeping their dark secret, not the other way around, which was quite a satisfying revelation for me.


As a reader who is fond of romance and happily ever after endings, I am pleased to report that there is a romantic subplot for Karena and a stormchaser she meets on her trip to find Charles. While a fairy tale ending would not be fitting for this story for either Karena or Charles, simply given the nature of their story, the author still penned a happy ending perfectly suited to the characters. I gave The Stormchasers three out of five stars on goodreads, which translates to 'I like it'. According to the grading system I adopted here on my blog, but haven't used ages, I would give The Stormchasers a B-.

"The Women of Fantasy" Book Club

I've joined another online Book Club. :)

I made note of this online book club when I first stumbled upon it months ago. It is hosted by Erika at Jawas Eat Books and showcases some popular fantasy books written by women, hence "The Women of Fantasy" Book Club. It looks like most, if not all, of the protagonists in the books are women as well, although I haven't confirmed this. I've mentioned this book club a couple of times in passing, but have put off joining for reasons I don't even know. I read one adult fantasy novel last year and it ended up being one of my favorite reads of the whole year, so I vowed to read more fantasy in 2011. This book club is the perfect inspiration for me to reach that goal, too, because Erika has put together the perfect reading list that includes some titles that already caught my eye such as The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and The Gaslight Dogs, books by authors whose I wanted to read like Cherie Priest, Juliet Marillier, Mercedes Lackey and other very interesting sounding books, most of which I'll borrow from my local libraries when the time comes.

As if I was't already sold, another plus is that there is absolutely no pressure with this book club. None! You don't have to write book reviews, you don't have to read each month's book selection and you don't even have to participate in the book discussion if you don't want to. Although, why you wouldn't want to, I'm not sure... isn't the whole point of a book club to discuss the book? ;)

I know two other bloggers who are participating--Kerry and Kristen, and so far I've tricked convinced another fantasy reading book blogging friend to join "The Women of Fantasy" Book Club with me (Hi KMont!) and I know of at least one other who is thinking about it (No pressure, Hilcia). I hope you might consider joining this book club with me, too. Or if you joined already, let me know!

I already have January's book-- The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin borrowed from the library and look forward to starting it soon.

To learn more about the book club, see a list of books we'll be reading and to sign up, visit Erika's post 2011 Book Club: The Women of Fantasy.

I really hope you'll consider joining! Let me know if you do.

There's also a sister challenge being hosted by TJ at Dreams and Speculation-- 2011 Book Club: The Women of SF [Science Fiction]. Be sure to check that out, too! They'll be reading The Handmaid's Tale by Maragaret Atwood in November. Would you believe I've never read it? I might just tag along for the ride that month.

New Year's Resolutions & Challenges 2011

BIRDSEED IN THE SNOW

Happy New Year! :)

I've made a few New Year's resolutions and challenges for myself in books, health and fitness, photography and ... well... a resolution to work on my list of goals. You know that last one made a lot of sense when I wrote it down... now it sounds really silly. :o)

BOOKISH GOALS:

I had so much fun with the reading challenges I joined in 2010 even though I only met 7 out 12 of those challenges. So of course, I'm inspired to join several new ones this year!

My reading style really expanded in 2010 such that I've read more books from a wider variety of genres than ever before in my life and I loved it. I did not meet my goal of reading 100+ books in 2010--I read 83, yet I'm not even that disappointed because what I did read was so enjoyable. Yet I'm still going to try for 100 books in 2011. ;)

I'll be making individual posts on the following reading challenges and book clubs over the next few days so that each one has it's own place for me to keep track of the books I read, but here's a list of the reading challenges and book clubs I'm joining this year:

In Death Series Reading Challenge hosted by Me [ongoing]
Steampunk Challenge hosted by Rikki
What's In a Name 4 Challenge hosted by Beth Fish
Take a Chance Challenge 3 hosted by Jenners
A-Z Mystery Challenge {by the author} hosted by Michelle
100+ Books in 2011 hosted by ???? [still looking for one to join...]

Authors by the Alphabet Book Club hosted by Paula
Women in Fantasy Book Club hosted by Erikka

Sounds like fun reading, right? :)


HEALTH & FITNESS GOALS:

My 5K Personal Best:
One of my fitness goals for 2010 was to run a 5K in 31 minutes. I participated in a 5K last year on New Year's Day and ran it in 34:51. I signed up for the same 5K race today, but it was unfortunately cancelled due to all the snow and ice still on the roads around here from last week's blizzard. The race is rescheduled for January 30, 2011 so I'll have to wait till then to see if I met my goal. :)

Fitness Challenge 2011
I'm aiming to exercise for 100 "fitness miles" per month in 2011. One "fitness mile" is equivalent to one mile walked or run OR 15 minutes of other cardiovascular or strength training activity that elevates my heart rate to my target heart rate zone. In fact, I'm planning on hosting this as a challenge for others to join in on a monthly basis. Let me know in the comments if you think you might be interested in something like this. All you'll need to do is keep your own log either privately [for example, on a piece of paper, your computer, etc.] or you can keep a log on your blog, like I do. See my fitness blog see how she runs... if you want to see how I did it. More information on this to come... :)

Triathlon
September 11, 2011
Already signed up!!! Weeeeeeeee!
Still haven't started training for the swimming component, but I did buy a fitness swimsuit at least. Now to get myself in the darned pool...

Get to my target weight.
Some of you who follow my blog regularly already know I started using the Lose It! App on my iPhone last April. I've lost nearly 37 lbs. in the last nine months, but have a bit more to go to get to my goal weight. I just got my body fat measured at my gym this morning and was pleased with my results. I'm currently in the 70th percentile for my age group, meaning that out of 100 women, 30 have a lower percent body fat than me and 70 have a higher percent body fat than me. I'm going to repeat the body fat test in June after I've lost these last 23 lbs., hoping to end up in the 85-90th percentile.

If one of your goals for 2011 is to lose some weight and get in better shape, I recommend you download the free Lose It! app to your iPhone or iPod Touch today and get started. You can also now use the Lose It! app for free by setting up an account on their website at http://loseit.com. And there's a brand new Lose It! book out, too. If you start using Lose It! and want someone to compare notes with and help keep you motivated, request me as a friend and we can support each other. If you know my gmail email address, you can find me there with that. Otherwise email me at the email address on my blogspot profile and I'll let you know how to add me.


It's a fantastic tool. I'm telling you, if you use it, you will Lose it! :)

OTHER FUN GOALS:

Project 365 Take Three.
I'm making another attempt at a Project 365 --a photography project on Flickr. The idea is to take at least one photograph a day for a whole year. I failed at this twice already in 2010, so I'm trying it again. They say the third time's a charm, right? I can only hope! LOL

My first photo is the birdseed in the snow photo in this post. :)

My daughter is still going strong with her Project 365 at day 192!

My 101 Things to do in 1001 Days
I started this personal challenge in May 2010 and haven't accomplished too much yet, so I'm going to make a bigger effort to make a dent into this list in 2011. 


So what do you think? Over ambitious or achievable?

I'd love to hear about any New Year's Resolutions or goals you've made for 2011. :)


Wishing you all a peaceful, happy and healthy New Year! xo

Authors By The Alphabet {Online} Book Club

As if a dozen {literally} reading challenges weren't enough for me, I went ahead and joined an online book club! Don't laugh! I know I'm already kind of way in over my head with a leaning tower of TBR books, a list of books I want to loot from the library, and yet more books that are on my wish list that haven't even been released yet. So why not add more reading to the mix by joining a book club? You're laughing, aren't you? The thing is, I think this online book club will help broaden my reading horizons because the participants take turns selecting the book to be read each month and it looks like everyone has slightly different reading preferences.

Here's how it works:

The Authors By The Alphabet Book Club is being hosted by Paula at Tome's Devotee book blog.

Each month we'll read one book, selected based on authors last names, working our way through the alphabet A through Z.

Participants will take turns each month proposing a couple of books by authors whose last names start with whatever letter of the alphabet we're up to for the next month's book selection. The group will have a chance to voice their preferences, but the participant who chose the books will have the final say in which one we'll read.

In the last few days of each month, Paula will make a post for the book club with some questions or comments or whatever so we can engage in some good discussions.

Sounds fun, doesn't it?
The book club pilots in September and our first book will be The Godmother by Carrie Adams.

If you think you'd like to join, visit Paula at Authors By The Alphabet Book Club and sign up!

Come on and join the fun!