September is often the month for fresh starts and getting back on track after the lazy days of summer. The truth is, for me, summer can be busier than fall! It’s much quieter here now, with kids out of the house, going to school or working. I like the hustle bustle of a full house, but there are always books, right?
I read some good ones this month and was surprised that I had chosen three nonfiction books! I have always preferred fiction, but I’m noticing more and more interesting narrative nonfiction books that I want to read.
I know it can be hard to say goodbye to summer, but I think September is a good transition month. Hope you are ready to ease into fall with a good book! What’s in your reading pile?
About fifteen years ago, my college friends and I decided to start some kind of remote book club. We all lived in different places, but we were looking for a way to stay connected. This was before social media, back when email was the big thing. So we settled on an email book club. It was fun!
Emails can get cumbersome, though, so we eventually moved over to a Facebook group and lots of new friends and family joined. It was great to have a larger group and a much better way to talk about a book.
But life went on and, although we stayed in touch with each other through the group, the book reading fell off…
We’re back on track now and next month we are going to read Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes. I just got my hands on the book and I’m looking forward to reading it this weekend!
Are you in a social media book group? Leave a comment and tell me how it works!
I have a special group of book club friends and now we are in our 18th year. We have read a lot of books over the years and today on YouTube I’m talking about this great gift my book club friend gave to everyone in our group! Check out the full story down below:
Are you in a book club? Tell me your story in the comments below!
A.J. Fikry is at a crossroads. He’s a prickly young widower and owner of a small island bookstore off the coast of New England. Business is bad and his favorite book rep has been replaced by the unfamiliar and quirky young Amelia Loman. Deep in grief, he spends his nights drinking in the upstairs apartment. He’s lost, but at least he still has his rare edition of poetry by Edgar Allan Poe. Until it’s stolen.
He has little time to focus on the stolen book, however, because of what is waiting for him in the back of the store: a baby, with a note attached. What to do? There’s only one answer and that is to make a new life for himself.
A.J.’s climb out of darkness is a charming tale about love, friendship and family. Each chapter begins with a clever synopsis of a classic short story, initialed by A.J. And each story is tied to the events and characters in the book. And while Zevin’s characters are not complex, they combine to form an appealing and amusing group, including one of my favorites, Police Chief Lambiase, leader of the Chief’s Choice Book Club.
Readers will enjoy great dialogue and several laugh-out-loud scenes, including a hilarious author visit and reading. The story isn’t all light, however, and there is a lot more to this book than a simple love story. Zevin includes serious themes of hopelessness and loss and their effects on the characters. Meeting these characters first-hand is a must: describing them in detail would ruin the experience for future readers.
In the end, the book is overwhelmingly hopeful and uplifting. I especially enjoyed it because the author’s ideas began to sink in after I had finished. Book lovers will appreciate the many references to literature and bookstores and everything in between. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is a fast read, but don’t be fooled and don’t be surprised if you pick it up for a second time!
Hey book readers and book bloggers! Are you one of those people who is always checking out what other people are reading? Have you ever pretended to consider a spot on the beach, just so you could get a better look at the book in your fellow sunbather’s hands? When you see someone reading one of your favorites, is it hard to keep yourself from running over and gushing about the pages within?
Image: Pixabay
Well…I’m one of those nosy, bookie people who just has to know the answer to “What’s That Book?”
What’s That Book is a great opportunity to share your recent read and a little something about yourself. Its simple format and quick synopsis make it easy for the rest of us to find their next great book.
Some book clubs come and go, but mine has been around for sixteen years. We started out as young mothers and have watched our babies grow and head off to college. We used to meet late, after the babies went to bed. Now we meet early so we can get to bed!
We’ve read a lot of books over the years. Some of them were great and some were clunkers. Sometimes we go off topic, and sometimes we go way off topic, but we always have fun. We are a perfect combination of great friendship, laughter, support and a little bit of gossip and spice!
We started in 2001 with The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan and are still going strong. Here’s a list of what we’ve read. I think our selections follow a typical reading trend. What have you read in your book club?
2001
The Bonesetter’s Daughterby Amy Tan While I Was Goneby Sue Miller Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier – 5 star read Girl in Hyacinth Blueby Susan Vreeland Fortune’s Daughterby Alice Hoffman
2002
Sulaby Toni Morrison The Five People You Meet in Heavenby Mitch Albom Follow Your Heartby Susanna Tamaro The Bee Seasonby Myra Goldberg The Shipping News by Annie Proulx The Secret Life of Beesby Sue Monk Kidd The Dive from Clausen’s Pierby Ann Packer The Corrections by JonathanFranzen Memoirs of a Geishaby Arthur Golden
2003
The Red Tentby Anita Diamant – 5 star read Plain Truthby Jodi Picoult The Hoursby Michael Cunningham The Family Orchardby Nomi Eve Five Finger Discount – A Crooked Family Historyby Helene Stapinski The Lovely Bonesby Alice Sebold Gift from the Seaby Ann Morrow Lindbergh Belovedby Toni Morrison The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobeby C.S. Lewis – 5 star read
2004
All He Ever Wantedby Anita Shreve The Da Vinci Codeby Dan Brown – 5 star read Atonementby Ian McEwan – 5 star read Princess: A True Story of Life behind the Veil in Saudi Arabiaby Jean P. Sasson Back Roadsby Tawni O’Dell Peace Like a Riverby Leif Enger Reading Lolita in Tehranby Azar Nafisi The Center of Everythingby Laura Moriarty Youngblood Hawke by Herman Wouk – 5 star read The Jane Austen Book Clubby Karen Joy Fowler
2005
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in Americaby Barbara Ehrenreich Where the Heart Isby Billie Letts Cold Mountainby Charles Frazier Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bonsby Lorna Landuik How to Be Goodby Nick Hornby The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-timeby Mark Haddon Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dressby Susan Jane Gilman Bel Cantoby Ann Patchett – 5 star read Remember Meby Trezza Azzopardi Children of Godby Mary Doria Russell
2006
White Oleanderby Janet Fitch Under the Banner of Heaven – A Story of Violent Faithby John Krakauer A Short History of Tractors in Ukranianby Marina Lewycka The Celestine Prophecyby James Redfield Little Childrenby Tom Perotta The Kite Runnerby Khaled Hosseini – 5 star read Pigs in Heavenby Barbara Kingsolver The World to Comeby Dara Horn Middlesexby Jeffrey Eugenides The Memory Keeper’s Daughterby Kim Edwards The Optimist’s Daughterby Eudora Welty A Christmas Carolby Charles Dickens
2007
An Inconvenient Truthby Al Gore The Ha Ha by Dave King Wickedby Gregory Maguire The Keepby Jennifer Egan Brick Laneby Monica Ali Love in the Time of Choleraby Gabriel Garcia Marquez The Glass Castleby Jeannette Walls – 5 star read Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson Half of a Yellow Sunby Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Black and Whiteby Dani Shapiro
2008
Confederates in the Atticby Tony Horwitz Good Faithby Jane Smiley Eat, Pray, Loveby Elizabeth Gilbert The Double Bindby Chris Bahjalian The Russian Concubineby Kate Furnivall Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer – 5 star read First Mothersby Bonnie Angelo Sense and Sensibilityby Jane Austen – 5 star read Water for Elephantsby Sara Gruen The Giver by Lois Lowrey – 5 star read
2009
The Enchantress of Florenceby Salman Rushdie Peony in Loveby Lisa See The Blind Assassinby Margaret Atwood – 5 star read Revolutionary Roadby Richard Yates The Shackby William P. Young The Physick Book of Deliverance Daneby Katherine Howe A Mercyby Toni Morrison The Handmaid’s Taleby Margaret Atwood A Tree Grows in Brooklynby Betty Smith – 5 star read A Map of the Worldby Jane Hamilton The Twist in the Roadby Rob Hanlon
2010
The Soloistby Steve Lopez The Financial Lives of the Poetsby Jess Walters Straight Manby Richard Russo To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – 5 star read Wenchby Dolen Perkins-Valdez Sarah’s Keyby Tatiana de Rosnay My Antoniaby Willa Cather Mennonite in a Little Black Dress– Rhoda Janzen Let the Great World Spinby Colum McCann – 5 star read Game Changeby John Heliemann/Mark Halperin Holidays on Iceby David Sedaris
Are you a self-published or indie author? Email bvitelli2009@gmail.com
