Chicks On Lit discussion

When I was manning a booth for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America at the Mountain and Plains Independent Booksellers Association conference, I picked up an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of The Heretic's Daughter that was published in September. I just finished it and I highly recommend it! The book is beautifully written, powerful, and gives you a clear, emotion-filled picture through the eyes of a girl living in late 1600's Andover, Massachusetts (near Salem), of what life was like back then with its Indian attacks, smallpox, terribly hard toil, poverty, and ominous whispers of witchcraft. You'll need a box of tissues nearby near the end as you read about whole families, including women and children, being tortured into confessing to witchcraft then thrown into jail to starve because their relatives are too poor to pay to feed them. I think it's an important book to read and discuss because it shows how corrupt men in power can turn the dangerous forces of ignorance and fear to their greedy own ends. It's a message for our times.

Thanks for the recommendation Beth, it sounds good!
Right now I am reading "Good Grief" by Lolly Winston. It's an easy read; for some reason I'm not in the mood for anything 'heavy' right now.

I read The Heratics Daughter last month and I really liked it. I would recommend it to anyone. It's from a first time author and I can't wait to see what comes forth from her in the future. She has a gift for story telling.

I'm getting ready to start The 13th Tale as soon as I find time and then after that Edgar Sawtelle.

Ohhh Holli.. you are in for a great treat!

I am finishing The Whole World Over by Julia Glass... It is a great read unfortunately a post on Good Reads spoiled the ending for me and I am supremely annoyed!

Did you like them both Katie? I'm anxious to start The 13th Tale. I want to read that Julia Glass novel too......her books sound good.

I loved the 13th Tale... it was a page turner!

I am enjoying The Whole World over! It is not the best book ever but it is a good read!

Thanks Katie....I'll let you know what I think :)

The 13th Tale is awesome and to tell the truth, I haven't been able to get 'into' anything much since reading it. You know how it is after you read a great book, seems like you're searching for the next 'great' one, or maybe I'm weird! There were many recommendations of books to read after that, but none of them have stacked up. Anyway...you'll really enjoy it Holli.

ok. I definitely need to get laundry started so I can sit down with this awesome book and begin it. I'm glad Emily recommended it for our January book!

Know what you mean Holli; I gotta get this house spic & span and get my Thanksgiving grocery list made and gather up all my recipes and.....here I sit on goodreads once again!! :)

Cindy I know exactly what you mean about the great books. After Extremely Loud, I was bookless for almost a week! It was impossible to find one to follow that up with. I wound up going back to Jonathan Strange (which I had been reading) and somehow wound up with the Book Thief.

My goal for '09 is to have ALL my books be great books. Or at least, very very good ones. I'm just not willing to settle for anything less anymore.

Maybe because of the holiday stuff... but I haven't done much reading this month at all, and figure I won't get back in the groove until the needles fall off the proverbial Christmas tree (since mine is artificial).

I'm reading a Dennis Lehane novel, A drink before the War-- sad that it's the last book in Kenzie/Gennaro detective series (kinda read 'em backwards) and trying to start Bitter is the new black-- which is due at the library tomorrow. When life gets crazy, I really appreciate the chick lit genre.

Right now I'm reading the Lace Reader and The Other Queen. Both are good so far.

In waiting to start a book challenge for another group on GR I've audio-ed Portuguese Irregular Verbs by Alexander McCall Smith which I thought was absolutely hilarious. It was also my first audio book experience which I'm happy to say was quite excellent!

Now I'm finishing up Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanna Fluke which I would rank along with Janet Evanovich books for fun easy reads. The bonus for the Joanna Fluke ones is that they come with recipes because the main character owns a cafe/cookie shop! Cold weather = baking...

Thirteenth Tale is one of the best books I read this year. If you like gothic, Wuthering Heights style classics, you'll love it. She does a few 'oops' things with believability, but because I liked the characters and milieu so much, I didn't care.
Sawtelle is NOT a light read. So be ready for some downers and a slow moving literary pace. But he has a way of enveloping the reader so completely in his world that it is very satisfying.

Thanks for the recommendation Sonja. I'm always listening to an audio on my way to work. Also Allyson, anxious to read Sawtelle..but for some reason not in the mood for a heavy read right now.

I'm not either. Its the Dec/Jan pick for my in person book group and I'm glad we have two months to read it :)

I'm going to regret saying this but at the moment I'm reading The Other Queen the latest one in Phillipa Gregory's Tudor series. I say I will regret it because whenever I say I am reading something outloud then I suddenly realize I am bored to tears with it and I move on to something else and feel like I have left that book in limbo because I didn't finish it.
I LOVE historical fiction especially Tudor fiction. They fascinate me. Some of Phillipa's books are great hits for me and others I haven't enjoyed. I am HOPING this one will be good because I just bought Lovely Bones and The Birthing House and the Autobiography of Henry VII that I cant wait to get my hands on.

Oh, I want to read The Other Boleyn Girl, have you read that?

I loved The Lovely Bones.

Ive read The Other Boleyn Girl. It was SO much better than the movie. The movie stunk in comparison. However, my favorite is The Constant Princess. I really loved that book at its first in chronilogical timeline but not the first one she wrote.

I liked the movie, so I really want to read the book. I just may have to check out this books, I've never heard of any of them till I saw the movie.

Ooh ooh ooh... I had to come right to the computer and share this with my chick gals...

I had a hosuefull of kids here all day since there is no school. I ran down to the local library to pick up my next real life book club's selection that was on hold and wala...I ran into sucha great book sale there!
I got:

Wreck the Halls

Firefly Lane

Hanna's Daughters

The Stones of Summer

Rise and Dine America ( bed and breakfast recipes)

I am sooooo excited! Off now to curl up by the wood stove and chill out!

Yay Firefly Lane! I loved that one :)

Tera, I totally agree about the movie version of Other Boleyn. I haven't read the book but really did not enjoy the movie. I saw it with friends and was just confused about why many of the events were happening... Plus it made me hate some actors that I happen to really love...

I'm now reading Once Upon Stilettos which is some magical chick lit and I'm loving it. The main character has fabulous VOICE! I can totally imagine being friends with her and its great.

Great finds Cyn! and Sonja, a girlfriend just read the Other Boleyn and said it was great.
I just started reading The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay.

Still going strong w/ East of Eden...taking me a bit to get through it but I am almost there...130 pages left.

sonja! joanne fluke books are good and a lot like evanovich... sugar cookie has a TON of recipes in the back. however.. word to the wise. i figured i could read them, trade them and STILL be able to find the recipe's on her web site. you cant. only a few select ones per book are published! so either keep your books or copy them down
ooey gooey chewy bars from one of them(crap now i cant remember which) are REALLY GOOD!!!

I keep adding to my list of want to reads! I want Joanne Fluke books now. lol. I always like Diane Mott Davidsons books because of the recipes. I've made several of them and they are so so yummy. There is a chicken dish with puff pastry topping that is to die for.
Right now I'm reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. What a wonderful book.

Shelby- Redeeming Love is probably my ALL_TIME favorite book!!!

It's quickly becoming one of mine too. I think that it brings you closer to God and who would have thought a romance novel could do that?

awww, that sounds delightful....I am looking to reading something next with beautiful imagery...just finished Pillars of the Earth and it was a good story, but lacking in the imagery for me.

I started "The GIrl with the Dragon Tatoo" over this holiday weekend and I msut say that it is the most captivating book I have read in awhile...It seems to be the mystery/thriller/history book! I can't put it down!

Holli, Twilight is very addicting. I read the first three in a week. Times like that my husband will ask repeatedly, "Are you done with your book yet?" in a plea for attention.

My boyfriend does the same thing!! He'll say...."are you ever going to be done with that thing? You've been reading it for hours and hours...."

Tera--I enjoyed The Birth House.
Jamie--I just finished East of Eden--it took me awhile too,but it was a great read.
I just started Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier and Atonement by Ian McEwan

Tish-- I loved Cold Mountain but was slightly disappointed by Thirteen Moons (I guess I wanted another Cold Mountain like story)... and Atonement has a great ending... so keep going!

I'm nearly finished with "Bitter is the new black..." by Jen Lancaster... so funny in wonderfully original self-deprecating way! There were many laugh out loud scenes (and way more things I could relate to than I should admit... because yes, I like to think my immediate world revolves around me-- or at least in my Prada-pursed dreams).

I am currently reading Dauntless by Jack Campbell. It is the first book in the Lost Fleet Series. My goodreads friend, Ben, recommended it. I'm glad he did. If you like Sci-Fi and shows like Battlestar Galactica, this is a quick, enjoyable book. I am looking forward to the rest of the series. Has anyone read Joe Scalzi?

Heidi-- Cold Mountain was one of my favorite books.

Tish-- would be interested to see what you think of 13 Moons... I loved the subject matter just wanted the main character to be... well, more like Jude Law (lol) I guess. :)

Just started Lovely Bones tonight. Draws you in pretty quickly already about 50 pages into it.

I just started Heretic's Daughter because Tera loved it so much. I should be working on my final papers, but I would much rather be reading!

I also just finished The Gift by Pete Hamill. If you want a feel good Christmas book that you will read in one setting. It is not the typical feel good though.

I am also reading The American Wife. I really liked the first 2/3 of the book, but the last 1/3 is dragging. I am hoping for some zingers but it isn't happening, yet.....

Cyn, glad to hear you like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo so far. I've been thinking about getting that one.

Tera, I loved Lovely Bones.

Cyn, I, too, have been thinking about getting The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and am glad to hear your enthusiasm about it. Meg and Tera, I read The Heretic's Daughter a couple of months ago and loved it. Tera, I also loved The Lovely Bones, a hard book to forget. I am currently reading a YA book, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, and it is very enjoyable.

>1518370 I'm currently reading The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

The title story is one of my favorites.

I'm reading Astrid and Veronika.

i LOVE The Things They Carried..

i had to read it for my issues in contemporary lit class and do a group presentation and an individual paper on how the book presents reality and fiction. i had so much fun writing it..haha im a loser. yes.

anywho..i hope you love it! I didn't think I would like it at all..not my sort of thing..but it was much more than meets the eye..definitely not just a war story.
let me know what you think!

Well, I am reading a book that is not even on my list to read and I'm supposed to be reading Three Cups of Tea or The Last Lecture!! :) It is called "Whispers of the Bayou" by Mindy Starns Clark and hooked me from the first page!

>haha im a loser. yes.

If you're a loser, Jamie, I am lost. Not only have I read almost everything Tim O'Brien has written since finding his writing through "The Things They Carried," but I also carry an essay he wrote titled "The Vietnam in Me" in my journal. Whenever I'm losing my nerve as a writer, I pull it out and reread it to remind myself how moving honest, open, self-reflective writing can be.

Meg and Jamie, I have The Things They Carried on one of my shelves to read for next year. If I can fit it in this year, I will. I don't really know why I haven't read it yet, as it is one I'm looking forward to.

Meg..that makes me so happy that someone else appreciates him just as much as I do! He is such a great writer..and The Things They Carried is just amazing.

Kathy..i hope you get a chance to squeeze it in! :)