When Life Gives You Lululemons / Lauren Weisberger / 343 p.

This is #3 in The Devil Wears Prada series. Three very successful women form a very close bond after circumstances turn their worlds upside down.  Miriam, former lawyer, turned happily married, stay-at-home mom of three finds her new move from NYC to Greenwich, Connecticut is more than she can handle. Her friend Karolina, former super-model, turned wife of senator and presidential hopeful, and also mom to Harry, is jailed on a DUI and becomes the news headline of the nation that will ruin her marriage and reputation. Emily, a snarky, bright, in-your-face handler of the stars, is suddenly dropped by her clients and is in a downward spiral until...Emily convinces Karolina to allow her to handle the negative press and Miriam to handle the legal implications of the DUI. The fictional story is unfortunately plausible in our current political climate, but it is also fairly predictable.

I Still Dream About You / Fannie Flagg 590 p.

An aging former Miss Alabama looks to have everything-- she can still turn heads, owns a lovely condo, has a successful career, and depression.  Her real estate office is in the dumps with the housing depression.  She has lost her best friend and optimistic boss.  She even makes a list of reasons why to jump in the river.  She plans a graceful exit that keeps getting postponed; first by her best friend Brenda wanting to see the Whirly Dervishes, then has to save the crown jewel house in Birmingham from the wrecking ball, and, and, and.  The scene with the goat is not to be missed.

I Still Dream About You / Fannie Flagg 590 p.

Flight Behavior / by Barbara Kingsolver / 436 p.

Dellarobia is desperate to escape her dull existence.  Feeling trapped by an early shot-gun wedding and two small children, she is ready to flee.  But suddenly her life is transformed by a strange new phenomenon on the mountain in Tennessee where her family lives--the unnatural arrival of millions of monarch butterflies.  Beautiful and quickly seen by the locals as something wonderful brought to the region by a benevolent God, it is viewed as disastrous by the scientist who comes to investigate. This books examines our threatened physical environment, a community overwhelmed by poverty and a woman who realized that there can be more to her life than what she has seen so far. 


I listened to this title as an audio book. I was concerned at first when I realized that the author would be narrating her own work.  But I needn't have been.  Kingsolver does a wonderful job at bringing Dellarobia to life.

The Girls of August/Anne Rivers Siddons/223 pages

The original "girls of August" were the wives of four med students/doctors. Although their husband's careers took them to different cities, the women vacationed each year in a beach house until one was tragically killed one winter. After that loss, the remaining three could not bring themselves to reunite each summer. Three years later, the widower remarries and wants the girls to reinstate the tradition with his new wife on her family's property on a remote barrier island off the South Carolina coast. The three reluctantly agree, and they begin to reacquaint themselves with each other and learn to like the new, much younger, member of the "girls of August."


This was a delight to read. I enjoyed the antics of the women fending for themselves on this remote island. I've always wanted to visit this part of the country, so the setting appealed to me. I wish Siddons had fleshed out the situations more. The story could have easily filled another one hundred pages. I find myself thinking I need to finish the book when, in fact, I already have.

Beach Quilt by Holly Chamberlin/340pp

Sarah and Cordelia are sixteen and best friends. Sarah is the practical one. Cordelia is the flaky one. Yet, it's Sarah that gets pregnant. Her pregnancy causes everyone around her to re-examine their lives and choices. For Cordelia's mom, Adelaide, it's the child she gave up for adoption. Cindy, Sarah's mom, has to adjust her expectations for the future.

As they work together to sew a quilt for the new life inside Sarah, they also work to refit their lives together.

There's quite a bit of drama and self reflection. Jodi Picoult fans may want to give this author a try.

The Friendship Pact by Tara Taylor Quinn 245pp

  Bailey and Kora grew up as best friends.  Bailey had the perfect family.  Kora grew up with a single mom fending off her boyfriend.  They promised to be there for each other no matter what.  Their promise to each other was "I'd give you a kidney."  Bailey met the man of her dreams.  Kora couldn't see herself as married but she wants a baby through IVF.  That desire sets off a chain of events that tests the foundation of their friendship.  

This would be a good book for Jodi Picoult fans -- lots of drama and plot twists.  The ending surprised me and left me wanting to talk to someone about it.  

Prisoner of Tehran / Marina Nemat / 306 pages

     I did not think that I could read one more book about bad things happening to women in Iran, but I was wrong.  This is a very compelling book and worth reading since there are many levels to think about in this true story.
     Marina was taken to Evin prison when she was 16 years old during the reign of the Ayatollah khomeini and was there for close to two years.  Her crime?  Attending rallies, speaking out at school, writing, reading Western books.  
     I was able to read this only because the torture described in the book wasn't the most extreme forms.  However, I could only read this book in the daytime and play "Candy Crush" before bed to do  it. 
     She marries her interrogator.  What!  Yes.  There in lies the great book discussion materials.  What is wrong? What is right?  Is Ali evil or a savior?  How does she cope with her circumstances?  Is she betraying anyone herself?  What would you do in her place?  Is this still going on in Iran?  (Clearly, yes to that one) There are discussion questions at the end of the book.  She lives in Canada and was unable to even write or talk about her experiences for fifteen years.  She is a survivor.  There are many more; not just in Iran.  Multiply the injustice to women and political prisoners all over the world.  I don't know what can be ultimately done.  I want to "not see" it just like everyone else.  However, she is a witness.
      This would make a good book discussion especially for teens.  They could be reading something real and compelling instead of the "Hunger Games"  They will ultimately be the ones to deal with the world.  What kind of world do they want?

I'll Be Seeing You / Suzanne Hayes & Loretta Nyhan / 313 pages

  Set in the later years of World War II, two women forge a friendship through their letter writing. Glory Whitehall lives in New England and has seen her husband march off to war. Rita Vincenzo lives in Iowa and has seen her husband and son head off to save the world. These women have just this one thing in common when they begin writing to each other. We see their loneliness eased by the growing friendship, recipes passed to help with food shortages, and sage advice involving love, neighbors, and what their future will hold.
   I loved The Guersney Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society when it was published and was curious to see if this could stand up to the comparison. In a world where letter writing is a lost art, I enjoyed rediscovering the excitement of waiting for the arrival of the mail man. Rita and Glory have to figure out their new friend's strengths and weaknesses and that creates an underlying tension through the book. A perfect book to curl up with while a fire is roaring and a steaming mug of tea. Get lost in a world where the war hits close to home every day and yet these women are determined to face it's challenges with all their combined strength.

Six Degrees of Reading: The Guersney Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows, Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson, Letters From Skye by Jessica Brockmole.

Tara Road / Maeve Binchy 502 p.

Tara Road, by Maeve Binchy, hones in on the domestic relations of two different women, a Dubliner and a American, at low points in their lives.

Both women have enjoyed rich relations with family, but, as life sometimes happens, cataclysmic events occurred in each of their lives.  Ria, in Dublin, accidentally takes a call from Marilyn, who wants to switch homes for the summer; which they do.  Each learns more about the other's lives and their relationships.

Tara Road appeals to those who enjoy reading leisurely-paced women's stories richly loaded with detail.

Similar work for this Oprah Book Club selection are Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher.

The Lion Is In/Delia Ephron/282 pages

Tracee and Lana are running away from their lives when they meet Rita, also a runaway woman. A car accident strands them on a rural highway in North Carolina, and they seek shelter in what appears to be an abandoned building. In fact, it is a nightclub that features Marcel, a retired circus lion. They start working at the nightclub to make enough money to repair the car and be on their way. As we learn about their different reasons for running, they start to rebuild their lives and face truths about themselves.

This was my book club selection for October. It has a slow start, but then picks up and is fairly entertaining. It's not a must-read but if you're in between books and waiting for a reserve, then this could fill the void nicely.

No One Could Have Guessed the Weather/Anne-Marie Casey/275 pages

Lucy's husband just lost everything in the financial crisis, so they sell their London home and move to New York. Since her husband had always done a lot of business there, they had purchased a small apartment years ago in the East Village to use in place of a hotel room. He manages to find a job there, and they start all over with their two boys in a new city. At the boys' school, Lucy befriends three other moms.

This is a nice enough story, and it provides some laughs. It was recommended in a magazine as a beach read, and that's a good place for it. Nothing really happens, but it is enjoyable.

12th of Never/James Patterson/397 pages

Lindsay has just had her baby in a very dramatic setting and is back to work to support her family now that Joe's position has been eliminated due to budget cuts. Claire has been put on desk duty and half-pay since a high profile body disappeared on her watch. Cindy is single-mindedly trying to be the best reporter ever in order to keep her job in an ever shrinking profession. Yuki is in the midst of a double homicide trial that seems to be going well until it starts falling apart. Throw in a couple of other cases and a possible life-threatening illness of Lindsay's baby, and it's just another day at the office for the Women's Murder Club.

Leave it to James Patterson to write a book that has almost 400 pages but can be read in about six hours. There's a lot going on, and he has set up the next novel. Good thing we don't have to wait very long for it.

The Last Summer: A Novel by Judith Kinghorn. 433 pages

Clarissa Granville is a young woman who has been born into money and knows where her life is headed. She is to marry and hopefully marry well. The summer of 1914 is where it all changes. She meets the only son of the housekeeper, Tom Cuthbert. Her pre-planned life isn't a sure thing anymore. Against the wishes of her mother, Clarissa begins a friendship and the two of them fall in love over the course of the summer. But the whispers of war changes the lives of the Granvilles and also the relationship between Clarissa and Tom. The two of them swear eternal love but that love will be tested again and again in the following years.
This is what I call an epic saga book. One of those that follows many characters for a large portion of their lives. The novel starts a few months before the beginning of World War I and will eventually end in 1930. There is some romance in the book but there are other social issues intertwining with the characters: Women's rights such as voting, independence from conventions, the fraying of the class structures are some of the issues that are touched on. I highly recommend this because the main heroine isn't always likeable. She is willful and some of her actions are downright questionable. But this is good. A cookie cutter female character isn't a good fit for this novel. Clarissa is a challenge to root for sometimes and the ending has a twist I didn't see coming. Excellent read for those hot summer evenings.
  6 Degrees of Reading: Summerset Abbey by T.J. Brown, The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley, Ashenden by Elizabeth Wilhide.

Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder / Rebecca Wells 391 p.

In tiny La Luna, La., Calla Lilly Ponder has a delightful childhood filled with friends and neighbors and finally a steady boyfriend Tuck.  From her mother M’Dear, Calla inherits the art of healing and comfort through fixing hair as well as the guiding principles to hold her throughout life’s ups and downs.  With a broken heart, Calla turns to colorful New Orleans and the L’Académie de Beauté de Crescent, to develop her special gift and to sooth her pain.  There she experiences new friendships, new loves, as well as tragedies.  Loaded with Southern charm, a nostalgic remembrances, and charisma, this heartwarming story holds the one to the end.

Sugar Queen / Sarah Addison Allen 276 p.

Books she will need to read just appear magically for Josey Cirrini, self-judged as a sorry excuse for a Southern belle especially a rich heiress; Finding Forgiveness intrudes into her presence repeatedly as waitress Della Lee Baker makes Josey her tough love project starting with Josey's addiction to sweets, moving to her love life and beyond as Josey's life expands dramatically, sometimes cataclysmically as family secrets are exposed when Della Lee makes Josey's closet, a her safe hideaway.  Della Lee engineers a meeting between Josey and Chloe.  Chloe loves books, and they too, appear as she needs them, even to following her; a connection?

Peach Keeper / Sarah Addison Allen 273 p.

Southern Willa Jackson catches Colin Osgood's eye as she secretly observes the restoration of her family's old Victorian home, when he returns to Walls of Water, South Carolina to landscape the Madam for his sister, Paxton; Willa and Paxton are thrust into a friendship as they work to solve long-dead family secrets surround the skeleton found in the roots of a old peach tree--and something magical seems to be at work too.

Thousand Splendid Suns / Khaled Hosseini 372 p.

Set in Afghanistan during the past 30 years, Mariam and Laila story is told against the turbulent times of war from the Soviets to the Taliban. The plight of these and other Afghan women is sad. They depend totally upon the men of the family, their fathers, brothers and husbands for their very lives. Mariam is illegitimate daughter of a businessman who is forced into marriage at 15 to a much older man, Rasheed--a man who couldn't find a wife in his town and the why is revealed in detail--brutality that is hard to read. The story turns to Laila, the daughter of a teacher, raised by progressive parents at the time of Soviet rule. She fals in love with neighbor Tariq. It is a good time for women...education, modern medical care, freedom of movement. With the Taliban, the bombing escalates. Women's roles revert to very controlled old ways. Tariq and his parents flee the war; her parents wait too late and are killed. Laila marries neighbor, Rasheed, for protection. At first Mariam is cold and distant to Laila. Gradually a love builds between the two women. This love becomes the central point of the story. Rasheed's temper, bullisness, brutality force the two to try to escape but the plot is foiled. Laila gets a respite when she delivers a son--a son who rules the roost. Hosseini interweaves the history and culture of Afghanistan with the story of these women.

Appeal factors: Bleak, haunting--not an easy story to read and images that will remain, intricately plotted, strong sense of place, disturbing, sobering.

Continents Books: Asia
Award Winner

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe / Fannie Flagg / 403 pgs.

Mrs. Threadgoode's tale of two high-spirited women of the 1930s, Idgie and Ruth, helps Evelyn, a 1980s woman in a sad slump of middle age, to begin to rejuvenate her own life.

I saw the movie years ago and loved it.  I was so glad to see how closely the movie followed the book.  and was even more pleased to discover that there were additional side stories that were just as charming that were not included in the movie.  I listened to this book on tape and the narrator Lorna Raver did a fabulous job with the different character voices.  So if you are tried crying your eyes out over those Oprah books, try this sweet, uplifting story.

Fortytude/Sarah Brokaw/270 pgs

This is a self help book that is aimed to those of us women who have reached their prime - you know 40 plus. It is well written and the author, who just happens to be Tom Brokaw's daughter, tells us that if you have 5 core values you should be able to enjoy the best years of your life. The core values are Grace, Connectedness, Accomplishment, Adventure and Spirituality.

Love and Summer/William Trevor/211 pgs.

This was the book club selection for this month. That being said, it was not a book I would have chosen, on my own, to read. It moves slowly, but the writing is such that you can visualize exactly what the author is describing. The plot revolves around one summer and the relationship that develops between Ellie Dillahan and Florian Kilderry. There is a feeling of melancholy throughout the book, but again, I'm glad I read it.