Our Next Book Club Pick

If you missed out on joining us with our last book club novel, the next Girls Just Reading Book Club pick is Little Women (Signet Classics) by Louisa May Alcott.

Summary: In picturesque nineteenth-century New England, tomboyish Jo, beautiful Meg, fragile Beth, and romantic Amy come of age while their father is off to war. ~amazon.com It's about family, love, dedication and following your heart.

I picked the book upon recently viewing the movie and thought "Well, maybe I should read the book. The book is always better." Although Laurie will always be a young Christian Bale to me.

Please join us on reading one of the all time classics about the March women. We plan on being done with the book by late August. If you care to, leave a comment letting us know that you'll be joining us for the discussion.

Jenn's Review: Comfort Food

Summary: Shortly before turning 50, TV cooking show personality Augusta “Gus” Simpson discovers that the network wants to boost her ratings by teaming her with a beautiful, young new co-host. But Gus isn’t going without a fight—whether it’s off-set with her two demanding daughters, on-camera with the ambitious new diva herself, or after-hours with Oliver, the new culinary producer who’s raising Gus’s temperature beyond the comfort zone. Now, in pursuit of higher ratings and culinary delights, Gus might be able to rejuvenate more than just her career.

Review: In my quest for food-lit, and having heard so many good things about Kate Jacobs, I thought I'd give this a try... and, having now read my first Jacobs novel, I confess myself disappointed.

I'm an avid Food Network viewer and I couldn't help but notice that a lot of the character of Gus is ripped straight from Paula Deen's biography, with minor chnages of course. I think this would have been easier for me to accept if she hadn't made it so blatant by making reference to personalities and shows on the Food Network, all the while excluding Ms. Deen. It was extremely off-putting and because of that, I had a hard time getting into this book. When she finally started moving away from that and developing her own characters, it became more engaging. Unfortunately, it took way too long to get there... it wasn't until almost the last third of the book.

Jacobs writing style also doesn't sit well with me. She continually drops bomb-shell like plot exposition and I had to keep back-tracking to make sure that I hadn't skimmed over and missed something earlier in the story. There were sentence fragments and lots of little plot inconsistencies (for example, how does a woman who lost her husband to a car accident not wear a seat belt?!?) that I found nagging.

Also, I even have trouble with qualifying this as food-lit because it really glosses over the food as a whole. There is none of the culinary passion that can be found in an Erica Bauermeister or Sarah Addison Allen novel where the food makes the story. It was more chick-lit formulaic and the denouement was quick and entirely too tidy.

Will I read Jacobs again? I'm not sure, I'm a little nonplussed about it.

Final Take 2.9/5

Jenn's Review: Jericho Point

Summary: When a woman’s body washes up on the shore of California’s Jericho Point, she’s identified as Evan Delaney. Except that Evan is very much alive—apparently the victim of an identity thief who’d been scamming Hollywood elite. The thief may be dead, but the crimes she was murdered for—committed in Evan’s name—are turning Evan’s life into a nightmare. Now it’s all Evan can do to survive in the shadow of a dead woman’s lies.

Review: Everything seems to happen to Evan. Not only is she a victim of identity theft, but she's also seems to be a victim of self sabatoge. For the first time I felt really frustrated with Evan, and with her wavering convictions. I think though, that I was frustrated with the characters more than I was with Gardiner herself. I know that there was bound to be some psychological whiplash for the character's after reliving Jessie's crippling accident in Mission Canyon, but this on top of the wild (and once again terrifying) plot was almost a little much for me.

While this is a riveting book, it is probably my least favorite of the Evan Delaney series thus far.

3.75/5

Book Club: China Lake Discussion

In an effort to make our Girls Just Reading Book Club more, well, book-club-esque, we are hosting an open forum. There are questions posted on our Facebook page to kick start a discussion. Let us know what you think!!!

China Lake Discussion

And The Winner Is....

Congratulations to Serena for correctly guessing when I would finish 17 books!! I started the contest on March 9th and finished it on June 29th. That's 1 book a week. I don't think that's too shabby. Here is the list of books that were read for this contest:

1) The Tea Rose
2) Sing Them Home
3) Skylight Confessions
4) Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
5) Faith and Honor
6) Darling Jim
7) Knit Two
8) Meeting Mr. Wrong
9) Triple Cross
10) Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
11) Handle With Care
12) The Late, Lamented Molly Marx
13) Fresh Disasters
14) Shoot Him If He Runs
15) The 8th Confession
16) China Lake
17) Devil Bones

Serena, please send me (Julie) your email address so that we can send you a $50.00 gift certificate to Amazon.com from us. Be on the look out for it in your email!

Julie's Review: Devil Bones

Summary: Dr. Temperance Brennan's quest to identify two corpses pits her against citizen vigilantes intent on a witch-hunt in bestseller Reichs's exciting 11th thriller to feature the forensic anthropologist (after 2007's Bones to Ashes). While working in Charlotte, N.C., Brennan investigates remains unearthed during a housing renovation and discovers disturbing clues possibly pointing to voodoo or Santeria. She must determine if the bones, including the skull of a teenage girl, are linked to an unidentified headless torso found in a nearby lake. Intent on using the deaths as the cornerstone of his crusade against immorality, fundamentalist preacher turned politician Boyce Lingo claims that the bodies bear the mark of devil worshippers. With the help of Det. Erskine Skinny Slidell, Brennan unearths a tangled web of dirty politics, religious persecution and male prostitution. Reichs, whose work inspired the hit TV series Bones, once again expertly blends science and complex character development. ~Amazon.com

Review: I really liked this entry into the Temperance Brennan series. It was smart, intelligent and insightful. I like the fact that it dealt with alternative religions and after reading Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, I was happy to see that Ms. Reichs did her research. I liked learning about Santeria and voodoo. It also shows how ignorant people are when they don't understand or don't chose to understand. So of course we get the crazy, religious fanatics who are quick to say it's a satanic worship. We are dealing with 2 separate cases in Devil Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels) but they might be linked based on circumstantial evidence.

I also liked the developments in Tempe's personal life. I liked the introduction of Charlie. I do like that Pete is forcing Tempe to move on, even if it's with a 20 something blond. I knew Ryan would show up on her porch and I really wasn't too happy with it. After what he did to Tempe, I can't trust him and I don't think Tempe should either. What's to stop him from deserting her again? I understand wanting and needing to be there for your kids but trying to make it work with someone that you were with many years ago, doesn't make sense. It also seems like he still has something on his mind. If I were Tempe, I'd keep my options open (aka go out with Charlie again).

I liked the conclusion of the case and while I think I'm smart, these books always outsmart me. I'm definitely looking forward to the release of 206 Bones: A Novel (Temperance Brennan) on August 25, 2009.

Final Take: 4.5/5