Chicks On Lit discussion

Another year of reading has begun!

Yay Jo. Good luck with your reads and enjoy.

Hi Rebecca! Thank you & likewise! :o) We do these threads over at SLL's too :o)

1. Big Stone Gap
4 of 5 stars. 1st selection of 2012 for evening bookclub. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel! Once I got into this, I didn't want to put it down. I'd definitely like to read the others in this series which is unusual for me. Different than most contemporary Southern reads I've read. Leaning towards the chick-lit side but not so much that it turned me off. A cute, easy read despite a few sad parts. Her descriptive writing is vivid without being fluffy or wordy and she paints a beautiful picture of the mountains in West VA and gives a great sense of place.

2. Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter
3 of 5 stars. Again, different than my usual contemporary southern lit read with it leaning more towards chick-lit but pleasantly surprised I ended up enjoying the novel. Cute, light read. Once again also surprised that I'd like to read the follow-up!

Short Story:
All Souls by Edith Wharton from The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton

A re-read of an all time favorite short story and my favorite of Edith Wharton's short stories. 5 of 5 stars (if we were able to rate individual short stories). This is the 1st selection for the evening winter short story group and I'm leading the discussion on this Thurs 2/9. (January 24th was Edith Wharton's 150th birthday!)

3. This One And Magic Life
2/15/12
This month's group read for my Southern Lit Lovers group here on goodreads. 5 of 5 stars! An unexpected gem of a novel for me. Again, different than the Southern Lit I'm generally used to. (No chick-lit undertones like the first 2 I read this year). Her writing is simply beautiful! I always forget that a good chunk of the South has coastal communities like we have here in NJ. I've no idea why I always forget that - either I don't read as many Southern books set in coastal locations or maybe there aren't as many Southern novels out there overall w/this setting? (Rhetorical Q there). Couldn't put it down and I didn't want it to end.

Short Story:
Famous Blue Raincoat by Colm Toibin from Mothers and Sons
Every single one of the stories in this collection deals with death as well as mother/son relationships. I've been trying to find a story for next month's Winter short story group since it looks as though I'll be leading the chat again and wanted to see if I could pick one by him being as he's Irish and March is Irish Heritage Month. This was the least depressing of the stories and the only one I've finished so far though I intend to finish the rest in time. Beautiful imagery towards the end. 3 of 5 stars.

4.
Dubliners
3 of 5 stars this go-around. (I read it last March for the first time). Re-read this yesterday (yes, the entire collection of stories!) to pick one for March's in-person evening short story chat (a friend is going to help with the research & facilitating) because I didn't remember that "The Dead" (my favorite of the collection) is such a long short story! (But so beautifully written!) I found that while I didn't like all of the stories this time around, I enjoyed the read overall much more than last year.

5.
The Woman Who Walked Into Doors
3 of 5 stars. For in-person evening bookclub. Very well written, though a tough read for me because of the subject matter. Not many male authors I've read can write from a female perspective & be so spot on with the emotions, etc.. I would like to try another of his novels at some point. Novels like this are so important in that they bring domestic violence out into the forefront where it belongs - the more this is done, the more lives will be saved and the less violence against women will remain the world's dirty little secret.

6.
A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty: A Novel
4 of 5 stars, possibly changing that to 5 of 5 stars. Was pleasantly surprised by this novel - I'm not a fan of mysteries, but wanted to give it a chance since it is the April group read for my Southern Lit Lovers group here on goodreads. (Being facilitated by Erin, fellow SLL's member who is from Deep South Magazine & has been helping to promote the group read on their site, twitter & fb!) Once it had my attention, it wouldn't let go until I tied up all of the question marks! I plan to read more of her novels in the future.

7.
The Kitchen House
2 of 5 stars. For evening bookclub. I was disappointed with this read, it was not what I expected. I wanted to like it but couldn’t. Too melodramatic and at times unrealistic, too contemporary 'Gone With The Wind' for my tastes (despite it being historical fiction). Too much in one novel about too many people facing nearly every imaginable awful hardship a human can endure at the time it takes place. It was hard at times keeping everything strait. I do not shy away from reads that deal with the issues & horrors of slavery and indentured servants but I didn't care for how this novel told those stories.

8.

The Lost Gardens
4 of 5 stars. Well written and not too full of the usual mystery story cliche's though I wasn't surprised by who got knocked off or who was stuck where. The gardening details are wonderful! Looking forward to reading more of his novels.

9.

Honky Tonk Girl: My Life in Lyrics
3 of 5 stars. I love Ms. Lynn and always enjoy reading her writing.

10.
My Ántonia

4 of 5 stars. A re-read for me, this time for evening bookclub. A favorite classic because of it's simple yet vivid & beautiful descriptive writing. Her descriptions of the seasons, of the plains, of every day life there are what I love about this novel.

June 2012
11.
The Beach House

5 of 5 stars for me! I didn't expect to be swept up into the story of this novel, nor did I expect it to be such a touching & emotional read. For many this has been & would be a great 'beach read' as it's often referred to! For me, it touched on areas very close to home (spoiler: one of the main characters, head of the family, has cancer & passes away - my father.in.law just passed away this Sunday afternoon of cancer) and because of that, it wasn't as light as what I consider a beach read to be, but I didn't pick it up with the expectation of it being a beach read so that is no problem for me. It was one of those reads where I slowed down as I drew closer to the end because I didn't want it to end.

12.
The Tender Mercy of Roses

5 of 5 stars! Debut novel by this author and another pleasant surprise! I'm not usually one for mysteries but again, I do love Southern novels and gave this a try based purely on the title. A side of Southern writing I'm not familiar with, woven with Native American Indian lore. Beautiful prose intertwined with a captivating plot and vivid characters.

13.
Summer in the South: A Novel

July Southern Lit Lovers group read (one of my other goodreads groups). Another 5 of 5 stars read for me! I really enjoyed this book, such a fun read. Didn't want it to end but had to see how it ended!

14.
Summer

By Edith Wharton. 2 of 5 goodreads stars; July's morning bookclub selection. While not my favorite of hers, I really enjoyed the last quarter of the novel because of her descriptive writing, what I enjoy most about her writing overall.

7/28/12
15.
Lucia, Lucia

July evening bookclub selection. 2 of 5 goodreads stars.

8/1/12
16.
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

3 of 5 goodreads stars.

17. 8/28/12
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

1 of 5 goodreads stars. Finished the other day for evening bookclub. I found this book to be sad, dull and flat. There was something missing for me. It had 2 strikes against it right off the bat as I'm not too fond of novels in the 1st person POV or when the main character is a kid. I really wanted to like it and kept with it hoping I would. But, alas, it was not to be. I don't use 1 star lightly either and I felt bad using it but I just didn't like this one.

18. 9/1/12

The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns
4 of 5 goodreads stars. I'm a gardener who grows roses (though I do not bread roses) and while I do not have kidney disease (I have RA & Fibro) nor have I had dialysis, I have had 4 kidney surgeries, have had many of the tests the main character has had as well as upteen hospital stays, and face so many of the other day to day worries & limitations all persons living with disease go through. The novel got me right from the start, then I was afraid it was straying into cliched plot lines then grabbed my attention again. I was a little bored just past the middle but enjoyed the last third/quarter of the novel and I liked the ending. It wasn't all wrapped up nicely in a bow like I thought it would be and I didn’t mind. Wasn’t always an easy read for me though because I could relate to the novel so well health-wise but I’m glad novels like this are getting out there more because like not being able to judge a book by its’ cover, you cannot always tell by looking at someone if they are ill/disabled.

19.

The Meryl Streep Movie Club
5 of 5 goodreads stars. I loved this novel! Loved it! Thoroughly, from beginning to end, and as a matter of fact I didn't want it to end. Though it deals with serious topics like cancer, affairs, death, and other life changing experiences, it didn't deal with them in too 'chick lit' of a way nor too of a 'Pulitzer prize' way, it was right in the middle for me where I seem to like most of my reads.

20.

Nemesis
3 of 5 stars. Better than I expected. Nice to read a NJ author that shows the real NJ, not the stereotypical NJ.

20. 10/6/2012

The Haunting of Hill House
2 of 5 stars. My 'spooky read' for October. An odd little novel!

21. 11/10/2012

Sarah's Key
5 of 5 stars. This month's breakfast bookclub selection (because I suggested we read it when our moderator was asking for suggestions). I read this in one day. 12 days after Hurricane Sandy. I had tried reading it in the past & couldn't get into it. This time I couldn't put it down. It felt like the right read for the time. That's the only way I can explain it.

22. 11/20/2012

Those Who Save Us
5 of 5 stars. What a Remarkable novel. One of the best I feel I've ever read. Remarkable. Disturbing. Horrifying. Painful. Utterly compelling. Shocking. Upsetting. Incredible. Remarkable.

23.

Bed and Breakfast
This is the December group read for my Southern Lit Lovers group here on Goodreads and my nomination for the month so I’m leading the chat! I've had this book on my living room shelf for years, tried it a couple of times & never finished. Am I glad I held onto it! I so enjoyed this novel! At times it reminded me of other Southern family novels I've read, but I didn't want to put it down and didn't want it to end once I got there. And ever since visiting the Charleston & Folly Beach areas of South Carolina briefly early this year, I have a better appreciation for & now enjoy novels set in SC as a whole. I also liked the fact this wasn't the usual Christmas novel I end up reading at this time of year, it's a Southern family novel that happens to take place around Christmas. Such a great read! I have it down as 4 of 5 stars but may up that to 5 of 5 stars. If you enjoy Southern novels like Mary Alice Monroe's The Beach House, I believe you would enjoy Lois Battle's Bed & Breakfast!

I really enjoyed this book, too. Meryl Streep and I (she is older) went to the same very small high school in VERY samll town in NJ. My dad knew her dad (like I said small town). She is amazing!

Jo wrote: "19.

The Meryl Streep Movie Club
5 of 5 goodreads stars. I loved this novel! Loved it! Thoroughly, from beginning to end, and as a matter of fact ..."

I am so sorry, I'm just seeing your comment now! I love Meryl and what an interesting personal tid-bit!

# 24, which I forgot to add earlier in the year of 2012 is the audio of The Help . 5 of 5 stars.