June Books :: One on everyone's secret list and more...

It seems I am about to read some books that EVERYONE has been talking about and I have to say I hope the hype wins hahah

This month we are reading a favorite author of mine Ms. Judy Blume and one that has made me laugh on the Chelsea Lately show, Ms. Sarah Colonna but the one everyone is talking about and hiding on their kindles is Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty... by E L James. And finally, magic, mystery, intrigue, romance, and adventure in A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)By George R.R. Martin.

I hope you are able to join me and pick up one or all four of these books at the local library, book store, online at our store or join our Share A Book program and receive a FREE copy.

Keep turning those pages....
Happy Reading,
Jennifer

Life As I Blow It: Tales of Love, Life &... by Sarah Colonna $10.20	A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, ... by George R.R. Martin $10.36	Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty... by E L James $9.57
Summer Sisters: A Novel by Judy Blume $10.24

Book Review :: The Hunger Games - Do you love District 12?

Yup, I fell into, over and under the band wagon. I must say the movie trailers had me intrigued. I am a lover of the fame HP series, could this keep me wanting more like those books all 4100 pages. To be honest I fell in love with my HP family of characters. And I fell in love with Disctrict 12, hard working, self reliant, family oriented, strong willed, Katniss Everdeen.

I enjoyed the hunt of the games, the struggles, the love and triumph of all the characters. Once I stepped into this District and read on about the nation and the reaping, I was so intrigued to learn more about the other districts and the Capitol. I especially love the ending Ms. Collins definitely has me wanting to read BOOK TWO.

Turn the pages and let me know what you think - Bow & Arrow or Poison Berries?

Keep turning those pages....
Happy Reading,
Jennifer


Product Description (from Amazon)

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games," a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed.

Video (from YouTube) 

Click Link for Video

The official trailer for the film 'The Hunger Games'. Look forward to our The Hunger Games review when the movie is released.

Set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match.

Director: Gary Ross
Writers: Suzanne Collins (novel and screenplay), Gary Ross (screenplay), and Billy Ray (screenplay)
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth

Studio: Color Force
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release Date: March 23, 2012

Author Notes :: Paula McLain

Let's get to know Paula McLain. I searched the web and this is what I found on the Random House author page. "Paula McLain received an MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan and has been a resident of Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony. She is the author of two collections of poetry, as well as a memoir, Like Family, and a first novel, A Ticket to Ride. She lives in Cleveland with her family."

For Book Clubs - Check out these Questions for The Paris Wife  READER'S GROUP GUIDE 

• In many ways, Hadley's girlhood in St. Louis was a difficult and repressive experience. How do her early years prepare her to meet and fall in love with Ernest? What does life with Ernest offer her that she hasn't encountered before? What are the risks? 
• Hadley and Ernest don't get a lot of encouragement from their friends and family when they decided to marry. What seems to draw the two together? What are some of the strengths of their initial attraction and partnership? The challenges? 
• The Ernest Hemingway we meet in THE PARIS WIFE—through Hadley's eyes—is in many ways different from the ways we imagine him when faced with the largeness of his later persona. What do you see as his character strengths? Can you see what Hadley saw in hiM?

A book review with the Author (from YouTube))

About this author (from Goodreads.com)
Paula McLain has published two collections of poetry, “Less of Her” and “Stumble, Gorgeous,” both from New Issues Poetry Press, and a memoir entitled “Like Family: Growing Up in Other People's Houses” (Little, Brown, 2003). “A Ticket to Ride,” is her debut novel from Ecco/HarperCollins. She received her MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan in 1996, and has since been a writer-in-residence at Yaddo, The MacDowell Colony, and The Ucross Foundation Residency Program, and received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council. Individual poems and essays have appeared in numerous journals, including the Gettysburg Review, Antioch Review, and The New York Times Sunday Magazine. As well as teaching part-time at John Carroll University, she is a core faculty member in the low-residency MFA Program in Poetry at New England College.

Looking forward to checking out her other stories.

Keep turning those pages....
Happy Reading,
Jennifer


Other Books :: 

  

Book Review :: Heartbreak in Paris - The Paris Wife: A Novel By Paula McLain

Hemingway one of my favorites but WOW I loved him and hated him in this book. It was a nice read and a wonderful insight to how the first wife of Hemingway fell in love with a writer. Yes, I know it is fiction but the story brought me right into their small apartment, the cafes with friends and enemies, the beaches of Spain and the mountains in Europe.

The Paris Wife: A Novel By Paula McLain

I hope you enjoy this book. Let me know are you a lover of Ernest? or Hadley? At one point I felt sorry for her but she proved me wrong, strong in her self she overcame the situation and created a wonderful life for herself and son. I admire her and her passion to support, love and conquer. Share your comments with me, Did you like the book??

Keep turning those pages....
Happy Reading,
Jennifer


Product Description (from Amazon)

A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.