Been Reading About New York Again!

So...the weather has been great and my deck chair was calling.  I read 3 books this last week... I KNOW! CRAZY! Oh yeah, and  BSC is over.                                                                                           A new author (to me anyway) Shanna Mahaffey has done a remarkable job with a book called "Sounds Like Crazy."  It is the story of a waitress (yay) in New York city who has 5 people living inside her head.  She ends up getting fired (again) from her waitress job and getting voice over work.  I have to adnit I was a little resistent to pick this one up because I was so traumatized at age 11 by reading "I Never Promised You A Rose Garden"  and of course who wasn't mesmerized and a little freaked out by "Cybil!"  I could not put this book down.  The characters  fascinating and I couldn't wait to find out the impetus for her DID.   Thankfully I found it more tender than horrifying and was grateful there wasn't horrendous torture, or worse, involved.  This would be AN AMAZING! book for a book club discusson...so many things to delve into! 

Adrianni, New York, and Italy..Perfecta-Trifecta

So...the weather has been great and my deck chair was calling. I read 3 books this last week... I KNOW! CRAZY! Oh yeah, and BSC is over. 

Let me tell you about the first two:
Adrianna Trigianni is one of my all time favorite authors.  I just finished "Very Valentine" and "Brava Valentine."  I LOVE when a I come late to a series so they are all there, no waiting for the author to finish the sequel.
Valentine Roncalli works in the family shoe business Angelinni Shoes, in Grennwich.  The character is so rich and believable (written in first person)  that you feel like it is autobiographical.  You learn the details of making fine shoes, you get to live in a brown stone in Greenwich, and travel to Tuscany, Naples and the island of Capri.  There is family to fight with and love, and a restraunt owner to socialize with....what more could you want!  (AND... we meet an old friend in this book, very nostalgic!)

Another Suggestion

In the vein of Red Tent... Here Burns My Candle. Set in Scotland during the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie, but reflective of the Ruth and Naiome story. Liz Curtis Higgs is always masterful so it should be great.

I'm a Gleek!

If you haven't watched Glee yet, try to catch it when it returns in April. Basic premise Glee club (absolutely amazing talent) trying to make it in school when they are so uncool. One of my favorite characters is Sue Sylvester. She has a TV show within the show and is the "Cheerios" (cheerleading) coach. Here is a bit from her TV show

What's New With Elizabeth Gilbert

The Author of Eat Pray Love, has been busy.
Her new book "Committed-A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage" would turn Lisa on and Sarah off just from the cover....Why you might ask.... Lisa loves a title and and then a colon (or implied colon) and sub title. Sarah hates a title that is smaller than the author's name. Although if you consider the whole of the artwork in which the title is embedded I think it is bigger :)
This is the story of Ms. Gilbert getting married. If any of you have read it, please use the barely used comment button to reply. Except Nancy of course because "She doesn't BLOG!" Which is actually just reading, but hey I'm done with that argument.

Two interesting videos below. One is Elizabeth Gilbert speaking about her writing muse...I think it is fascinating, the other a trailer for EPL. Let's go when it gets here!

Adrianna Trigiani

I fell in love with Adrianna Trigiani when I saw the cover of "Big Stone Gap!" The trilogy did not disappoint! I just received "Very Valentine" and "Brava Valentine" in the mail. I can't wait to dig in! I'll keep you posted!

Time Travelers Wife

I can't wait for book club in a few weeks! (My grandma would say, "quit wishing your life away!") I have loved this book for years and can't wait to share it with you Chapter Chatters. Of course I have a deep love for all things "time travel" and when I figure it out I will come back to book club from some future date to tell you all how it works!

I will throw one question out now....If you could time travel (and safely return) A. Would you do it? and B. if it could be to only one place/time...where and when?

So Audrey Niffenegger. Endlessly fascinating! Her bio can be found at this link http://audreyniffenegger.com/about She has an interesting Q& A session and I am going to include just one of her answers re: e-books Why can’t I find e-book versions of your books? I am not opposed to the existence of e-books; I know lots of people are wildly enthusiastic about them. But I have spent my life working with books as an art form and I am devoted to physical books. E-books in their current incarnations are still imperfect and they threaten the arts of book design and typography. As a book conservator I am also nervous about the digitization of books: will they be readable one hundred years from now? Or will thousands of books simply vanish as platforms and programs change? E-books have certain advantages (they are searchable) and disadvantages (they are not beautiful objects in themselves and don’t display images very well). I’m sure they will improve over time, though. I don’t know when or if my books will become e-books. Writing me hostile e-mail about this will not hasten my desire.

Ms. Niffenegger lives in Chicago; has another book coming out; "Her Fearful Symmetry" A ghost story set in and around Highgate Cemetary in London. (Clip included below) She also has a serialized graphic novel, titled "The Night Bookmobile" which ran in the London Guardian, but will be coming out in book form in 2010.
You may remember I have been wanting to read a graphic novel but they are all either so foreign to me that I'm not comfortable, or so violent I have no interest. Mostly I am turned off by how literally and literarily dark they are. (My foray into comic books never went past Archie and Jughead) But this looks fascinating. It has a Jasper Fforde air about it. Can't wait to discuss, and I have a surprise for April 8th for all of you!