The daughter of a struggling greengrocer, Maisie Dobbs was only thirteen when she was sent to work as a maid for wealthy London aristocrats.  But being bright and thoughtful beyond her years – and through the patronage of her benevolent employers, Maisie studies her [...]]]> Does this sound like someone you’d want to spend some time with?:

The daughter of a struggling greengrocer, Maisie Dobbs was only thirteen when she was sent to work as a maid for wealthy London aristocrats.  But being bright and thoughtful beyond her years – and through the patronage of her benevolent employers, Maisie studies her way to Cambridge, then serves as a nurse on the Front during the Great War.  It is there that she learns that coincidences are meaningful and the truth elusive.

Now, it’s the spring of 1929, nearly ten years after the Armistice and Maisie has just opened up her own detective agency.  Her first assignment, a seemingly open-and-shut case, will reveal a much deeper, darker mystery, forcing Maisie to revisit the horrors of the war and the love she left behind

I have yet to read any of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs novels, but I’m eager to make her acquaintance via Book Club Girl’s read-along.  I plan to start with the first, Maisie Dobbs (that’s my freshly-purchased copy in the photo to the right), and work my way up to the latest book, A Lesson in Secrets, which goes on sale March 22.  That’s nine books; I may not review them all here, but I hope to read them all so I can keep up with Maisie’s life and adventures.  My understanding is that they can be read out of order (or can skip a volume), but that I’ll be so pulled into her world that I’ll want to know all the details!

Book Club Girl will be posting questions for discussion of each book, on the following schedule:

• January 14th - Maisie Dobbs
• January 31st - Birds of a Feather
• February 14th - Pardonable Lies
• February 22nd – Paperback edition of The Mapping of Love and Death goes on sale
• February 28th - Messenger of Truth
• March 14th - An Incomplete Revenge
• March 22nd – Hardcover of A Lesson in Secrets goes on sale
• March 28th- Among the Mad
• April 11th- The Mapping of Love and Death
• April 25th - A Lesson in Secrets

And, she’ll have a Book Club Girl on Air live interview with author Jacqueline Winspear in late April.  If you want to join the read-along, sign up at this post on her site, follow along on twitter with the hashtag #maisiedobbs, and/or follow the Facebook fan page. And if you have a blog, grab the button at the top of this post … stepping into my time machine now, see you in 1930s London!

The event was held at Brookline Booksmith and organized in conjunction with the publisher, HarperPerennial — which also reissued the three “high school and beyond” books last [...]]]> Last weekend I had the fun of attending a Boston-area event for the reissue of Maud Hart Lovelace’s Emily of Deep Valley, part of the Betsy-Tacy family of books.

The event was held at Brookline Booksmith and organized in conjunction with the publisher, HarperPerennial — which also reissued the three “high school and beyond” books last year, and the double-book Carney’s House Party and Winona’s Pony Cart.  Now, with the original four Betsy-Tacy books, a new generation of readers can “grow up” with Betsy, and those who enjoyed the books years ago will love the new paperback releases with all the additional background information they include.

My 8-year-old daughter accompanied me as we I drove to Brookline on Saturday [note:  this was one of J's travel weekends, and I had made sure it was packed with FUN!  Lots of activities kept everyone, from 6-year son to 40-something Mom happily distracted.  All four kids attended a release party for Ruckus Media on Friday night, it was the weekend of cherpumple, and now we were heading to meet the New Betsys (the New England chapter of the Betsy-Tacy society) as well as the truly new fans (raising our hands here) ... nonstop fun!].

It took a bit longer than I planned to get in there (have I told you that my GPS hates me!??  She sounds so disappointed when I veer off her instructions, with an audible sigh she states “recalculating”), so we missed the actual reading by Mitali Perkins.  Yes, Mitali Perkins, who wrote the heartfelt and personal foreword to the reissued Emily of Deep Valley, was hosting the event, reading from the novel (truly a timeless classic), and leading discussion.

We made it in time for the Q&A.  Readers asked questions about the flaws of each character, discussed favorites (books and characters), and subtly sided with the outcomes of various romances (to wit, Joe vs. Tony got pretty heated!).

I have to tell you, I still feel on-the-outside-looking-in with Betsy-Tacy … the novels are fantastic, appealing to both my daughters and me.  I don’t yet have the Lovelace blood coursing through my veins, and was a bit envious perhaps of the shared background and history of the New Betsys in the room.  Oh, how I wish I had read the Betsy-Tacy books when I was a girl!  I think I’ll have to read each book a dozen times to be able to hold my own in conversation with them, but I may be up to the challenge!

As you may know, Maud Hart Lovelace based the novels on her own life growing up in Mankato, Minnesota.  I especially enjoy the extras in these reissues – the biographical material, history, and photos.  Emily of Deep Valley has a section on Vera Neville, the illustrator whose drawings grace the pages of the “high school and beyond” books.

Speaking of Vera Neville, guess who else was at the event?!  Her niece, Pat Neville-Downe!  I understand that she was the model Vera Neville used when drawing one of the characters (help me out here … which girl did Pat sit in for?). 

This group picture shows the group of New Betsys who stayed and chatted after Mitali signed books (there were at least twice as many people in attendance – long-time fans and new converts).  In the front row are Pat Neville-Downe, Jennifer Hart (aka Book Club Girl), and Mitali Perkins.  I’m on the left in the white shirt, with my daughter in front of me (will ID the others in the picture if/when I get their permission).

My daughter loved attending the event with me (not just because of the tea and cookies!).  She liked “being with all those other people who like to read” and “can’t wait to be old enough to read the ‘older’ Betsy-Tacy books.”

OK folks, this is it!  The day I’ve been waiting 3 weeks for! … LW12 is off to school (coughing still from the walking pneumonia, but they tell me that can last 3-4 weeks!), LM10 and LW6 are up and moving in the right direction.  LM4 is still asleep, but showed no signs of illness [...]]]>

OK folks, this is it!  The day I’ve been waiting 3 weeks for! … LW12 is off to school (coughing still from the walking pneumonia, but they tell me that can last 3-4 weeks!), LM10 and LW6 are up and moving in the right direction.  LM4 is still asleep, but showed no signs of illness when we put him to bed last night.  You know what this means?!  I may have 2 1/2 hours to myself with no kids home sick today!

That means I can do all my fun grown-up things by myself:  the grocery store.  CVS (have to re-stock the cough suppresent!).  The Post Office (mailing a book giveaway).  The library (the one truly bright spot!).  Hmm, maybe I’ll go all out and stop at the service station to have the oil changed in my car.  I guess my mornings aren’t that exciting after all   Well, on with the show!

Monday 11/17 - stop by at J. Kaye’s Book Blog today for the first day of a 5-blogger Noontime Book Chat.  We’ll be discussing Bonnie Glover’s Going Down South; I gave this book a very favorable review when I read it last month.

Tuesday 11/18 - It’s “Shadow a Student Day” at my daughter’s middle school; I get to go and see what it’s like to be a 7th-grader these days.  Parents go from class-to-class with their kids and observe a typical day … yes, including lunch in the cafeteria.

The elementary school is having their fall book fair.  Instead of having Scholastic, or another vendor come into the school, they’ve partnered with our local bookstore; a portion of the proceeds from the day go back to the school.  The kids have early release, then there are activities throughout the afternoon – guest readers (teachers and staff), and visits from authors (Barbara McClintock with Adele and Simon and Addie Swarz with The Beacon Street Girls).  We’ll even have Louisa May Alcott read from Little Women and talk about how writing this autobiographical story effected her and her family.  Louisa May Alcott is portrayed by Jan Turnquist, the Director of The Orchard House (where the Alcott family lived in Concord, now a museum)

Wednesday 11/19 - We visited a unique bookstore over the weekend, which I’ll tell you about in this week’s Spotlight on Bookstores post.

Thursday 11/20 – It’s my turn to host the noontime chat of Going Down South; pop over and see where we are.

Library story time this afternoon!  Last week’s theme was dinosaurs, which was a bit hit.  We also picked up some stickers and bookmarks from the PBS series Martha Speaks … unknown to me, LM4 put two big stickers – one of Martha the dog, and one of a conversation bubble – on the back of my pants!  I’ll have to watch my back if I notice any library patrons snickering this week.

Tonight is Book Club Girl’s interview with Diana Spechler, author of Who By Fire.  If you have a question/comment for Diana but can’t call in or do the online chat during the 7pm conference call, leave a comment on the reminder post by Wednesday night, and Book Club Girl will ask your question for you.  The interviews are saved as podcasts, so you can listen to it later.  I’ve had to do this the past few months, as we’re usually finishing up dinner and throwing helping the younger kids into their showers.  Diana recently wrote a Spotlight post for She is Too Fond of Books, have you seen it?

Saturday 11/22 – Not at all book related, unless I have time to glance at a book during down time … my older kids have their first swim meets of the season today.

Here’s wishing you a great week — what’s on your calendar?

When my first novel hit the shelves last month, a sales rep from my publishing house and I went [...]]]> Diana Spechler, author of Who By Fire, shares a bit about Three Lives & Company in New York’s West Village; you’ll find Who By Fire on the shelves at Three Lives and wherever fine books are sold! 

When my first novel hit the shelves last month, a sales rep from my publishing house and I went on a tour of Manhattan bookstores. We popped into stores all over the Village and Midtown, so that I could meet the kind book sellers who were selling my book. Because I love bookstores almost as much as I love Trader Joe’s Wine Shop, I was already fairly well acquainted with most of the stores we visited.
 
But somehow, perhaps because I live on the East Side, I had never before made my way over to the corner of West 10th and Waverly. So I’d never been to Three Lives & Company.
 
Three Lives’ reputation preceded it. I had already heard from lots of other book-lovers, “You will die when you see Three Lives.”
 
Everyone was right. I died.
 
Three Lives is a throwback to another era of bookstores. One of the first things you will notice when you walk in is that there are no computers. Several times while I was chatting with the store owner, Toby, a customer came in and asked him for a book. Toby would head to the exact shelf, the precise spot, and before he even reached it, say, “Yeah, we’ve already sold three of those. We’ve got two left.” The store’s entire inventory was on display in his brain. His brain was also, apparently, home to a detailed, intelligent memory of every book ever published since, like, I don’t know, the Big Bang.
 
Three Lives is a small store, but the books are arranged so as to make one think, “Each book is carefully hand-picked. Like rare orchids.” You will want to touch each book on its spine. You will want to take a deep breath and let it out, even though (at the time of my visit) there was a horribly loud construction site (complete with a relentless jack hammer–more like a cliche of a construction site than like an actual construction site) set up right outside the store. You will want to heave a dreamy sigh and drink hot chocolate from a mug. You will want to wear a soft, stretched-out sweater with a hole in it. You will want to listen to scratchy jazz on a record player. You will want to use words like “cozy” and “quaint” and “mom-and-pop.” Mostly, you will want to curl up somewhere with a good book.

Diana Spechler
Author of Who By Fire
www.dianaspechler.com
http://www.harpercollins.com/DianaSpechler

Can you imagine a job which requires you to “pop into bookstores all over the Village and Manhattan”?!?  Where do I sign up?!?  Thanks, Diana, for inviting us into Three Lives & Company; your prose and that snowy picture make me want to wander around there on a winter day.

Who’s joining me for the Book Club Girl interview with Diana on November 20?

I’d like to let you (and MizB at Should Be Reading) know about some books that came across my front door this week:

I received The Safety of Secrets by Delaune Michel from Book Club Girl; she’ll be hosting an interview with the author on Wednesday October 22.  The book blurb:

“Now we’re just alike.” So begins [...]]]>

I’d like to let you (and MizB at Should Be Reading) know about some books that came across my front door this week:

I received The Safety of Secrets by Delaune Michel from Book Club Girl; she’ll be hosting an interview with the author on Wednesday October 22.  The book blurb:

“Now we’re just alike.” So begins Fiona and Patricia’s friendship that warm autumn morning in first grade in Lake Charles, Louisiana, their bond forged ever closer by Fiona’s abusive mother and Patricia’s neglectful one. Their relationship is a source of continuity and strength through their move to L.A. to become actresses; through Fiona’s marriage and Patricia’s sudden fame. When husband and career pressures exact a toll, the women wonder if their friendship can survive. Then a dark secret from their past emerges, threatening to destroy not only their bond, but all they’ve worked for as well.

Next up is Christine Son’s Off the Menu which I’ll be reviewing as part of the author’s tour with TLC Book Tours.  These tours visit 15-20 and often include reviews, author interviews, guest posts, and sometimes giveaways!  I’m looking forward to hosting; here’s the synopsis:

Even though it’s been ten years since their Houston high school days, co-valedictorians and best friends Whitney Lee, Hercules Huang, and Audrey Henley still delight in their once-a-month get-togethers where they talk, laugh, and confide in each other— although not about everything. Because each young woman has a deep, dark secret they think they could never share. Not even with their best friends. Then, during a girls’ weekend getaway, these three friends wind up revealing their most intimate truths—and realize that to get straight As in the real world, all you have to do is let go of the need to be perfect…

The third book added to my TBR pile won’t be released until next March … The Weight of a Mustard Seed by Wendell Steavenson.  Here’s a quick summary:

Father, husband, soldier, believer: General Kamel Sachet was a favourite of Saddam Hussein’s, a decorated hero of the Iran – Iraq war, the man in charge of Kuwait City during Desert Storm. But Sachet was also a devoted family man, and when it came time for his sons to do their military service he refused to let them join the ‘criminal’ organization that he had given his life to. His wife, sons and daughters revered him, depended on him, suffered for him, in the end, grieved for him.

What’s new on your bookshelf?  on your wish list?

I was a lucky winner of a giveaway that Book Club Girl was running during Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW).  There were so many great posts, interviews, giveaways and [...]]]> I’m checking in with MizB and the folks who read her blog, Should Be Reading.  Here’s the list of books that have come into my life this week:

I was a lucky winner of a giveaway that Book Club Girl was running during Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW).  There were so many great posts, interviews, giveaways and general good will and positive feedback that week!  I’m sure I’m not the only person posting “I won!” today   What did I win?  A hardcover copy of David Wroblewski’s The Story of Edgar Sawtelle plus a really cool illustrated Book Club Girl mousepad with a quote from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  If you’ve missed the buzz about Edgar Sawtelle, it was first published in June of this year; Oprah announced it as her latest book club pick in September.  Here’s the publisher’s synopsis:

Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life with his parents on their farm in remote northern Wisconsin. For generations, the Sawtelles have raised and trained a fictional breed of dog whose thoughtful companionship is epitomized by Almondine, Edgar’s lifelong friend and ally. But with the unexpected return of Claude, Edgar’s paternal uncle, turmoil consumes the Sawtelles’ once peaceful home. When Edgar’s father dies suddenly, Claude insinuates himself into the life of the farm-and into Edgar’s mother’s affections.

Grief-stricken and bewildered, Edgar tries to prove Claude played a role in his father’s death, but his plan backfires — spectacularly. Forced to flee into the vast wilderness lying beyond the farm, Edgar comes of age in the wild, fighting for his survival and that of the three yearling dogs who follow him. But his need to face his father’s murderer and his devotion to the Sawtelle dogs turn Edgar ever homeward.

I also received a copy of Raymond Atkins’ The Front Porch Prophet.  Other reviewers have called this novel “quirky” and “poignant” … intriguing, right?  Here’s a sneak peek:

What do a trigger-happy bootlegger with pancreatic cancer, an alcoholic helicopter pilot who is afraid to fly, and a dead guy with his feet in a camp stove have in common? What are the similarities between a fire department that cannot put out fires, a policeman who has a historic cabin fall on him from out of the sky, and an entire family dedicated to a variety of deceased authors? Where can you find a war hero named Termite with a long knife stuck in his liver, a cook named Hoghead who makes the world’s worst coffee, and a supervisor named Pillsbury who nearly gets hung by his employees? Sequoyah, Georgia is the answer to all three questions. They arise from the relationship between A. J. Longstreet and his best friend since childhood, Eugene Purdue. After a parting of ways due to Eugene’s inability to accept the constraints of adulthood, he reenters A.J.’s life with terminal cancer and the dilemma of executing a mercy killing when the time arrives. Take this gripping journey to Sequoyah, Georgia and witness A.J.’s battle with mortality, euthanasia, and his adventure back to the past and people who made him what he is – and helps him make the decision that will alter his life forever.

Lastly, I’ll share a bit about the latest pick for our neighborhood book group, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates.  This will be coming out as a movie this winter; I’m glad we’ll have the chance to read/review/discuss it before seeing the film.  Here’s a bit from the inside flap:

From the moment of its publication in 1961, Revolutionary Road was hailed as a masterpiece of realistic fiction and as the most evocative portrayal of the opulent desolation of the American suburbs. It’s the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a bright, beautiful, and talented couple who have lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. With heartbreaking compassion and remorseless clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their spiritual birthright, betraying not only each other, but their best selves.

Three novels for me this week, not my usual mixed bag!  Have you read any of the books I mention?  What’s new in your to-be-read pile this week?

I received Wife in the Northby Judith O’Reilly from Book Club Girl.  She [...]]]> It’s that time of the week again!  MizB at Should Be Reading asks what new books have joined the groaning bookshelves in the past seven days … Well, memoir is one of my favorite genres to read, and it shows in this list:

I received Wife in the Northby Judith O’Reilly from Book Club Girl.  She offered a paperback copy (published just last month!) to each of ten readers who shared their own “wife in the north” stories; you can read the submissions in the Comments section.  Here’s what Book Club Girl has to say:

… funny and acutely observed memoir of being uprooted from the London she loves to live in the country among sheep shearers and a lot of mud, and which sprouted out of her blog of the same name …

One wife, mother, and writer extraordinaire’s uproariously funny and heartwarming account of the joys and terrors of leaving the city for the country with a young family in tow.

A second memoir that found its way into my home this week is Regina’s Closet: Finding My Grandmother’s Secret Journal by Diana M. Raab.  This appeals to me because of my strong interest in genealogy and family history.  I’ll be reviewing this book for Curled Up With a Good Book; according to the publisher:

Diana has questions she wishes she could have asked her beloved grandmother, Regina, a spirited woman who loved her, cared for her, and even taught her to type her first stories on a Remington typewriter. When Regina inexplicably took her own life at age sixty-one, ten-year-old Diana was devastated.

More than three decades later, Diana discovers Regina’s secret diary. She learns all about her grandmother’s life—from the tragic death of her mother when Regina was twelve and her suffering in Vienna during World War I to her escape from the Nazis with her husband and daughter to her eventual arrival in the United States.

Diana’s reflections are interspersed with excerpts from Regina’s diary. This unique, braided narrative presents a touching portrait of the relationship between Diana and Regina, and the way Regina’s life and love still resonate with Diana today.

I was sent a review copy of Ariel Sabar’s My Father’s Paradise from the publisher, Algonquin Books.  This title will be available for sale September 16.  Here’s a summary:

In a remote and dusty corner of the world, forgotten for nearly three thousand years, lived an ancient community of Kurdish Jews so isolated that they still spoke Aramaic—the language of Jesus. Mostly illiterate, they were self-made mystics and gifted storytellers, humble peddlers and rugged loggers who dwelt in harmony with their Muslim and Christian neighbors in the mountains of northern Iraq. To these descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel, Yona Sabar was born.

My Father’s Paradise is Ariel Sabar’s quest to reconcile present and past. As father and son travel together to today’s postwar Iraq to find what’s left of Yona’s birthplace, Ariel brings to life the ancient town of Zakho, telling his family’s story and discovering his own role in this sweeping saga. What he finds in the Sephardic Jews’ millennia-long survival in Islamic lands is an improbable story of tolerance and hope.

So three great memoirs this week!  They all look great, and I’m looking forward to reading each of them.   I’m going to “weave” them in between some light fiction so I don’t get bogged down and can appreciate the merits of each.

Oh, and today’s the last day to entry my giveaway for a copy of Andrew Davidson’s The Gargoyle.  I’m heading into Boston with some friends this afternoon (Girls’ Night OUT!, no husbands or children allowed!), but I promise to post the winner as soon as I stumble return home tomorrow evening.  If you hear of any riots in Faneuil Hall or big bookstores, just know we’re having a good time!

Victoria Lustbader’s novel Stone Creek is a poignant look at love and losses.  She shares the lives of four central characters who each wrestle with a significant loss and search for a redeeming love.

Lily, a beautiful and intelligent woman in her [...]]]>

Victoria Lustbader’s novel Stone Creek is a poignant look at love and losses.  She shares the lives of four central characters who each wrestle with a significant loss and search for a redeeming love.

Lily, a beautiful and intelligent woman in her mid-40s is married to Paul, a slightly older high-power NYC attorney who adores her.  While Paul jets around the country to work on a high profile corporate case, Lily retreats to their second home, a gorgeous McMansion in the idyllic village of Stone Creek, about an hour outside the city.  Here she is able to contemplate her earlier decision not to have children, and struggles with the implications of that decision.

Danny is a Stone Creek “townie”, a handsome and considerate widower raising his 5-year-old son, Caleb, after the sudden death of his beloved wife Tara.  His mother-in-law, Eve, blames Danny for Tara’s death, and constantly undermines Danny’s efforts.  Danny and Eve both mourn, yet secrets and animosity keep them from being able to grieve together.

When Lily and Danny encounter each other in Stone Creek, the instant attraction cannot be denied.  As they spend more time together, they discover truths about their own strengths and vulnerabilities; the relationship helps each one grow, but how far will it go? 

Lustbader writes from the heart; the characters are authentic in their losses and the way they handle them.  Grief and passion are the ends of the spectrum of emotion evoked throughout Stone Creek.  In an interview on Book Club Girl Lustbader has said that personal experiences influence her work, although it is not autobiographical.  Her descriptions of people and places are so detailed and rich that the reader feels a part of the scene (you can hear more about her writing process and the way she “stages” her novel in the above-referenced interview).  

Stone Creek is Victoria Lustbader’s second novel, following the success of Hidden, historical fiction based in New York City in the 1920s.  You can read more about these two published works, a hint about her current project, suggested discussion questions and a biography of the author at her website.