The Sound of Glass by Karen White

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Carol Early Cooney
You can find readers all over.

You can find readers all over.

Hello Fellow Readers!

Sorry for the little break last week.  It was a crazy around here. I have been reading despite the craziness and have plenty of books to share with you.

Do you compare books to food?

Do you compare books to food?

I have been having an inner debate about what I call “popcorn” books. This is not a derogatory term. I find that sometimes I just need a quick read to take my mind somewhere else and let it rest for awhile. I am all in favor of “popcorn” books, after all, that is a huge market and can be all that some people read.  Good for them – they are at least reading. I would say that a “popcorn” book is generally summed up with the plot line as follows:  girl has some obstacle, she meets guy who appears to be wrong for her, they battle, and then eventually find themselves in love. There can be lots of variation in the obstacles and the reason for the antagonism between the main characters. It is fine with me. You know that they will end up together at the end and it is predictable but satisfying.

“Popcorn” books make great beach reads. They are light and simple and can hold your attention.  It is not hard to follow the plot so they can be put down and picked up easily.

There is another level of book that is a bit above “popcorn” but not quite on the level with Jane Eyre. These books probably show more personal growth for the characters and the characters in general have more depth. This category is still a good beach read but more of one that you hate to put down because you want to see what happens.

With that lead in, I want to tell you about The Sound of Glass by Karen White. I received an advance copy of this book from the web site www.firsttoread.com . This is a site for readers to be able to sign up for advance copies of books.  I suggest that you take a minute and go to the site and check it out. I have some pros and cons about the site but I will address those some other time.

The Sound of Glass will be available on May 12 but you can pre-order your copy on Amazon now.
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The story is told from the vantage point of three women.  One of the women is dead, one of the women is recovering from several losses and one is on a mission.  While the weaving of stories and different times can be a hard technique to master and really annoying to a reader, this was one of the best examples of doing it right that I have ever read.

Merritt is trying to put her life together.  She lost her mother in a car accident at the age of 12. While she was in college, her father remarried and she was hurt by his marriage and broke off her connection with him. Her husband of seven years died two years ago.  She is informed that her husband inherited a house in South Carolina and that as his heir, she inherited the house.  She has decided that she needs to leave Maine and go to the house and see if she can rebound from the relationships that haunt her.  She wants to be somewhere where she doesn’t know anyone and can just be alone.

She no sooner gets to the house when her step-mother, Loralee,  and her 10 year old half brother arrive intent on living with her. Loralee is the second woman in the book.

The third woman is Merritt’s husband’s grandmother, the woman that left the house to Merritt’s husband.  It is through finding out more about her that Merritt finds out more about the things that haunt her.

Person_reading_a_book

Do you read a physical book or electronic books more?

 

I had a hard time putting the book down.  While it became obvious what Loralee’s intentions were, she plays a pivotal role in the story.

This is not a “popcorn” book.  There is a lot of depth of character and the end is not completely clear from the beginning.

I think you will find this a good book to read this summer.

 

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

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I Don’t Have a Happy Place by Kim Korson

Posted on April 3, 2015 by Carol Early Cooney

Yes, I did find my way out of my reading funk.  I was almost sorry for whatever book I picked up to read because it had the possibility to become the next discarded book.  Happily, I read one and that led to another and then another…

Kim K book

 

 

 

I Don’t Have a Happy Place by Kim Korson will be released on April 14.  This is Kim Korson’s first book.  If you would like to know more about her, you can visit her author web site.

 

 

 

Synopsis

Kim is not what you would call a happy person.  The subtitle for the book is “Cheerful stories of Despondency and Gloom.” In her mind, she does not blend in with the crowd easily. When confronted with a new group situation, she would zero in on the other person there that did not look comfortable and be friends with them.

Kim grew up in the 70s as a non-religious Jewish girl in Montreal, Canada.  Her father owned business manufacturing “inexpensive and unfortunate-looking ladieswear.”  Her mother was entranced by Phil Donahue and moved into the world of equal rights for women which translated into wearing pants, not cooking, and banning Barbie dolls form the house. Of course this means that Kim was ready to do just about anything to have a Barbie.

Now, throughout the book, Kim gives many examples of how she didn’t fit in or was not the most motivated person in the room.  Before moving, she reads the police reports like the Bible as a way to prove to her husband that they should not move.  Before moving to Vermont, she learned the predatory behavior of all the animals as a reason not to live there.

She finds a way to be unhappy in most instances except for one.  She did find one place that affected her like no other.  She was confused by the feeling.

Opinion

Perhaps it is my lingering “reading funk” hang over but I did not find this book to be a huge laugh out loud book.  I found it amusing and I liked it but the reviews would have you think that you will just laugh the whole way through. I am willing to bet that you won’t laugh all the way through.

I did find it easy to identify with her.  Which is a bit a a feat considering that she was a Jewish girl from Montreal and I was a Catholic girl from the Midwest.  Then again the feeling that you don’t exactly fit in is a pretty universal feeling.

But then there are times that I think too much was left out of the story.  There are some anecdotes about her husband that are humorous but part of the time I have no idea why he would marry her or put up with her.  While this can easily be said about my husband too, I wish that I could have seen more of how the relationship so that the stories would work better.

I wonder if the world sees Kim the way she sees herself in the book.

I liked the book – hey, I finished it. I found it to be an interesting read.  The stories pulled me in and made me smile.

Thanks for reading!
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What I have not read lately…

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Carol Early Cooney
IMG_1073 (2)

What is missing in this comfy reading chair? Oh, yea.. ME!

We are trained from a young age to finish things we start.  This carries through all areas of our life but especially so with books.  For some reason, putting a book down because we don’t like it is an incredibly hard thing to do.

Of course, sometimes it is not the book but the where we are mentally and emotionally that affects our view of a book.

“Just remember that sometimes the way you think about a person isn’t the way they actually are.”          

                                                                           John Green

I have been taking a break from reading.  This is not intentional, I just don’t seem to have any inclination to sit down and read.  Did you just gasp in horror?  I would agree with you.  I hope (and try and convince myself) that every reader takes a break every now and then. When I am on vacation, I am such a binge reader that perhaps I was due for a break.  On the other hand, that was over a month ago and here I am.

I have started four books during this period and I have walked away from them.  Yes, I could not find it in me to finish these books.  Easily, it is my mood.  I have talked before about how where you are in your life can influence your opinion of a book.  For example, my love of Lillian Hellman’s Pentimento did not stand the test of time.  When I re-read it 10 years after my original reading of it, I didn’t like it.  So moving forward on the premise that perhaps my problem with these books is me and not the author, I will tell you the four books and why I stopped reading them.

The first is a new release that is getting some splashy press.  Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum was my first unsuccessful read.  I read 2 percent of this book.  (Yes, 2 percent – eReaders measure in percent not pages)  The book starts with the main character talking about her terrible marriage, her loveless affair and her disdainful mother in law.  Despite the pretty flowers on the cover, I felt just like the main character’s world was drab.  I felt like the book took place in a grey sky, cinder block town.  Now this book is getting a lot of buzz so as with the book The Quick, I may be in the minority in not liking it.

“If you don’t like what you are doing then don’t do it.”

                                                                                         Ray Bradbury

I then started a book by a favorite author.  I was happy to see that there was a Liane Moriarty book that I had not read.  So, I was ready to dive into Three Wishes.  This time I got 38 percent into the book before I admitted that I just didn’t care about the characters.  There was something missing.  Since I have found all the other books that I have read by Liane Moriarty enjoyable, (I LOVED What Alice Forgot) I was disappointed but not enough to see if the book got better over time.  It is a story about a set of triplets.  There is a scene at the beginning where the triples are in a restaurant celebrating their 30th birthdays.  They get into a fight and end up in the hospital.  The scene was at the very beginning of the story and seemed pivotal but I was not sure which triplet played which role in the fight as the story progressed.  I thought of going back to re-read that section but I was not that interested.

“When I’m really into a novel, I’m seeing the world differently during that time— not just for the hour or so in the day when I get to read. I’m actually walking around in a haze, spellbound by the book and looking at everything through a different prism.”

                                                                             Colin Firth

When I was having a bit of monkey brain* the other day, I thought that maybe getting and starting a book by one of my favorite popcorn authors would be a help.  So I went online and purchased Reflections of Yesterday by Debbie Macomber.  I had hopes of finding a way to settle down and get back to my reading life.  This time I made it 55 percent through the book before I just didn’t care enough to go on.  There is a love triangle that starts at the beginning of the story and really, I just didn’t care.  There was just not enough there in the plot to keep me entertained.  I kept looking to see how long this could go on – not a good sign.

I had wanted to read The Rosie Project.  I have heard really good things about it.  So, when I thought it became available on one of my free sites, I grabbed it.  EXCEPT I MADE A MISTAKE.  The book that I “grabbed” was The Rosie Effect, which is the sequel.  Yes, I realize that reading the sequel first is begging for problems.  I started it anyway.  Within a page or two, my only thought was “oh no, another man with odd traits. ”  I didn’t care that he thought they should have a “Standardized Meal System” that would organize their lives and make them better consumers.  I usually find stories like this interesting because the human mind is too fascinating but not this time.  So after 3 percent of this book, it was out.

You’re only one book away from a good mood.

I think I will just accept my dry spell before I ruin any other books that I might normally enjoy.  I know I will be back to reading soon.  How long can this last?

Thanks for reading!

*monkey brain – those times when your brain has so many things swirling around in it that it is like a money swinging from branch to branch and not stopping. It is a real pain in the neck.  Unfortunately, we each need to find our own solution to this vexing problem.

Happy First Day of Spring!

Happy First Day of Spring!

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Cutting the Cord – Update

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Carol Early Cooney

 

A year ago, I wrote about disconnecting cable TV and going with an indoor antenna. In that post, I talked about our first experiences with the switch. I thought I would give you an update on how it has gone over the past year.

We still do not have cable. The indoor antennas work well. There are times that the weather affects the picture. If it is windy, the picture will break up and it can be irritating. I do think I notice this much more when we have company. We  have been happy with our switch.

porch

I wish my porch looked like this but alas this is someone else’s porch

We did not use the television much in the summer. It was so nice to be either outside or on the back porch that we did not go into the living room in the evenings. I do not think that was a conscious decision: it just happened. When the time came to move inside (the back porch is not heated), we went back to watching TV in the evenings. We have watched our local PBS station more than any other station.  We have watched interesting shows that we would not have watched if we had more stations or a DVR.

Part of not having cable is not having a DVR. We have found that we do not watch shows when they are being aired. Part of this is the timing of the shows (during dinner) and part of it can be because my husband and I  don’t always like the same shows. Although the biggest thing I have found is that I don’t care about most shows. At the beginning of the fall TV season, there was a show that I would watch each week. When there was a break at Christmas and the show was off for a few weeks, I discovered that I didn’t need to go back to watching it. Do I see commercials or hear about shows that I might watch if we had cable?  Yes, I do.  But I now know that it isn’t that important.

NetflixDVD

No, we have not seen this movie. I had to use a stock image because we are waiting to get a new disc.

I think that the one thing that has made a difference is Netflix DVDs. I wished that I had started watching the show “Elementary” when it first started two seasons ago. I looked around to see if I could find it on streaming Netflix or Hulu Plus but neither had it. I could buy the first season on DVD for about $24 but I didn’t want to own them: I just wanted to watch them. I decided to look at Netflix DVD. Not only was the show there but there were many movies I thought I might want to see.  A subscription to Netflix DVD has been great.  Yes, there is a day or so lag between getting DVDs but we have filled in the time with shows from the streaming Netflix or Hulu Plus.  Also, I LOVE watching without the commercials.  We are now on season two of “Elementary” and are already sorry that soon we will be caught up to the current season. I think that we will have to wait until next fall to see that.

We have saved at least $1440 by not having cable for the last year. We did have an initial investment of $150 for indoor antennas for three TVs. We have an ongoing expense of $16 per month for subscription services. What we have not done (and should) is go to our local public library to see what DVDs they have available.  I am not sure that we would cancel the subscription services. Our experience so far has been great in getting what we want when we want to watch it. I would not want to watch a series and then not be able to get the next disc because someone else has borrowed it.

I consider our “cutting the cable” a success. From the news that I have been reading, we are not the only ones. It seems that you will be able to buy an internet subscription to HBO starting in the next month or so. It will be interesting to see how TV watching changes over the next few years.

Thanks for reading.

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At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Carol Early Cooney

At the Water's Edge

Sara Gruen is the author of five books. At the Water’s Edge, her fifth book has a release date of March 31, 2015. You may recall her book, Water for Elephants, which was not only a best seller but is a movie with Reese Witherspoon.

SYNOPSIS

At the Water’s Edge tells the story of Madeline Hyde, her husband, Ellis and their friend, Hank and takes place in 1945.  World War II is the backdrop for the lives of these three  spoiled, rich 20 somethings.  While at a party in Philadelphia, the threesome disgrace themselves.  The next day when called on the carpet by Ellis’s father, the Colonel, a verbal fight ensues. Besides the scandal, it is evident that the embarrassment of his son not being accepted into the Army to fight in World War II has affected the Colonel. In a fit of temper, Ellis brings up a public scandal that the Colonel was involved in and it is more than the Colonel can take.  He immediately cuts off Ellis and Madeline.

To try and redeem them in the Colonel’s eyes, Ellis and Hank hatch a plot to go to Scotland to clear the Colonel’s name.  They think that if they can vindicate the Colonel then he will bring Ellis and Madeline back to their former lifestyle.

Yes, the three of them sail to Scotland while World War II is being fought. This is perhaps a demonstration of how out of touch and self centered these characters are. Once they get to Scotland, Madeline becomes aware of how spoiled and sheltered they have been. When faced with an existence without parties and servants, the three must choose whether to accept real life.

Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness, Scotland

Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness, Scotland

Opinion

The book is well written and the story moves along and draws you in to see what will happen. I will admit that having the characters sail to Europe during the War at the beginning of the story asks you to suspend your beliefs but I think you will find it worthwhile.

The story expands to tell you about rural Scottish life during the war.  This is a time when if the postman rings the bell it is no longer a doorbell but a death knell.  In this background, love grows and dies.  Inhabitants in the village find happiness where they can. Madeline grows as a character to find herself and what is important to her. There are also  interesting historical references regarding women’s rights (or lack thereof.)

I liked the book.  I think the story is interesting and has several plot twists and struggles.  It is a period piece with characters that exhibit personal growth during the story.

Thanks for reading!

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