Category Archives: Book Club

The Heart

This book takes course over a 24 hour period after a teenage boy is involved in a car accident.  His brain is dead, but his heart is still beating.  We watch as the parents must decide to donate his organs or not.  We watch as they remember their lives together, and the lives the boy touched.  We face every sad emotion associated with loss and being forced to say goodbye when we are not ready to.  This is a very sad story, but beautifully written, like a poet writing a novel. The first sentence went on for two pages with no period in sight.  This is a writer making love to a very sad story.  After you read this, it will be difficult to pick up another book, because she has hit you right to your core.  She’ll break your heart.

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane

Lisa See brings us into the incredible world of pu’er tea.  Hidden away in a remote Chinese mountain village lives the Akha, farmers of pu’er tea.  Here, we meet Li-yan and her family.  Li-yan’s troubles begin when she meets a young boy who has stolen a scallion pancake and offers it to her.  They are caught and punishment (cleansing) ensues.  They are not a good match for each other, so their parents do not agree to a marital match.  Li-yan is the only daughter, which entitles her to an inheritance of a special grove of tea trees that holds medicinal properties, a place no one is supposed to know about.  It is a grove that only she and her mother take care of on top of all of their other duties.  We watch as Li-yan grows up, goes off to school, falls in love with the wrong boy who runs off after getting her pregnant with promises to return after he has found gainful employment.  He doesn’t return before the child is born, so she is forced to give up the child.  When he does return, it is too late to get the child back.  We watch as Li-yan travels many miles, has many trials of sadness and defeat before discovering happiness in Pu’er tea.  An incredible journey marked with so much wisdom, you will feel like you learned so much following Li-yan on her journey, hoping that she will one day find her daughter.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.  This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]

The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

If you are looking for an incredible, well written story, look no further.  Our narrator is Music, itself, and it wants to tell the story of one of his favorite musicians, Frankie Presto.  Frankie is a bit of a magical wonder.  His beginnings are sad.  His mother died giving birth to him.  A nun pretending to be his mother couldn’t handle taking care of a baby, so she floated him down a river where a hairless dog finds him.  The dog’s owner takes the baby in and raises him as his own son.  Thinking that the boy was going blind, he thought, what kind of job could this boy have?  He thought of a blind musician he had seen years ago and decided to take the boy to him to teach him how to play the guitar.  During this time, Frankie meets a girl and falls in love, but then she disappears.  As political upheavals happen, Frankie is sent away and finds himself in America, being a roadie for some of the greats in music, learning from the best, all the while looking for the woman he thought was his mother, which ended up being someone else.  Frankie goes about his life, chasing after the girl he fell in love with, finding her and losing her over and over again.  All the while, Frankie is making legendary music for the world without even realizing it.  He doesn’t even see how his life comes full circle from his horrible beginnings to chances at making everything alright again.  Frankie Presto is some kind of wonderful…and he doesn’t even know it.  [BONUS: There is a recording of music inspired by the book.]

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]

The Woman in Cabin 10

If you liked “Girl on the Train,” this is your kind of book.  A reporter is covering a story about a luxury cruise liner for her magazine.  Days before they embark, her apartment is burglarized while she is in it.  Despite being frazzled and injured from the incident, she still goes on the cruise because she realizes the importance of her career advancement.  What she doesn’t realize is that a murder is about to go down in the cabin next to hers.  Or was there a murder?  With no one missing from the ship, and everyone, including the staff accounted for, did she dream this up?  Being on medication and drinking alcohol incessantly does not help the situation as the people aboard think that she is inept and is making up the whole story, while she is adamant that she is right.  Someone was killed in the cabin next to hers.  Either she is going crazy or someone is making her go crazy.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.  This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]

Round Midnight

A story of how four women’s lives are intertwined in a Las Vegas casino.  One woman falls in love with a jazz singer.  Another is a mail order bride who gets lucky in the casino one night.  Another has a mysterious past she is trying to find answers to.  And one woman finds herself entrenched into the dark stories of each of these women after losing her son.  How this all plays out in the end is not what you expect.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.  This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

If you always wondered what it is like to be rich and famous, take a step out of your world and into the world of Evelyn Hugo.  A beautiful siren during the golden age of Hollywood, we follow her life from a young age in Hell’s Kitchen to the many husbands that helped to escalate her career in Hollywood during a time when your choice of husband dictated your level of success.  Without a man, it was difficult for a woman to rise to fame and success was all Evelyn Hugo ever wanted.  Yet, the question is who was the husband she loved the most?  Her answer is revealed in these pages.  In this book, you are instantly transported into the glamour of Hollywood where even in the drama that plays out around the characters, you want to stay in that world, because despite all the pain and suffering, you want this story to be real. [BOOK REVIEW]

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.  This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]

The 5 Second Rule

Like the tagline for this site says, the purpose is to be better than we were yesterday.  This book helped me to stop procrastinating by putting off all the things I want to do and just do it.  The 5 Second Rule is the reason why I wake up at 5AM to get things done.  It helps me to be a better version of myself.  Thanks to this book, my main rule for my life is that every single day I must do something that brings me closer to the dream I have for myself.  I recommend getting the hard copy of this book and not the electronic version.  She uses a lot of social media success stories to describe how this rule works and it can be very difficult to read on an e-reader.  If you’re looking to change your life around, stop procrastinating and achieve the goals you set out for yourself.  This 5 Second Rule will change how you approach those goals in order to accomplish them!

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.] 

On Writing: A Memoir on the Craft

For those who are writers, this is essential reading.  For those who are Stephen King fans, this gives you a glimpse into the stories that became legendary.  I read this book cover to cover and absorbed all of the knowledge King dished out on how to be a better writer.  He helped me improve upon the mistakes I make often, in order to write better.  King was a school teacher before he became a best-selling novelist, so he is a stickler about language.  One thing I learned is that you’re not doing this right if you are not scared to death along the journey of writing your novel.  More importantly, the only way to conquer that fear is to do it.  Just keep on writing.  Read as many books as you can.  Read great writers, so you can pick up on their style and language. This is all part of learning how to become a great writer. You learn from the masters.  King is one of those masters.  If you are a writer or aspire to be a writer, this is one of the most important books you need to read.

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.] 

The Japanese Lover

At the end of every year, Isabel Allende knows what she will write about when she begins her writing season.  It was closing in on December 31st when she was out with a friend, walking around in Brooklyn when her friend was telling her about her mother and her Japanese gardener.  They had been friends for over 40 years.  Isabel responded, “They were lovers.”  The friend taken aback, laughed and said, “No, they were just friends!”  Isabel said she could not imagine being friends with a man for 40 years and never sleep with him once.  Thus, the inspiration for the tale of “The Japanese Lover.”  Allende is a passionate woman and she brings that to her writing.  The book is well written and a beautiful story set in the present day and during World War II when the Japanese internment camps took many Japanese families away from the lives they built.  The book also dives into a time when races were not mixed.  A must read.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.  This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]  

Grave of Hummingbirds

A woman is murdered and her body is found in the shape of an angel, leaving a village completely stunned.  Years later, a woman who looks just like the dead woman arrives in the village with her son on a holiday.  As the town remarks on the significance of her arrival on the anniversary of the last woman’s death, people fear that the murderer will strike again, especially after the woman goes missing and her son is left to find her with little to no help from the villagers.

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]   

Destiny: Step Into Your Purpose

If you are looking for your path in life, this book will help you find your purpose.  Jakes writes about finding your path, and gives you clues on how you’ll know you are on it.  You will know when you see the universe conspiring to help you.  Opportunities will open up to you.  All of the right people will come into your life.  Make a wrong move, and the universe will slap you in the face.  If you try to rush things, the universe will put you in your place.  This is a great book, especially for those looking to understand their purpose on this earth, and trying to live the dream they have instilled within their soul.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.  This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]  

I Am Jim Henson

Jim Henson is an important part of most childhood stories.  Everyone remembers how Sesame Street, The Muppets and The Dark Crystal played some part in their story.  Jim Henson was the one who gave children a childhood to love, one filled with happiness.  Henson wanted to be in television, so he showed up at his local TV station and asked for a job.  They said, “No.”  On his way out, he saw a flyer for ‘Puppeteers Wanted.’  He took the flyer, went to the library and learned everything he could about puppetry.  A few months later, he returned to that same TV station and asked for a job again, this time as a puppeteer.  The rest is history.  For those who aim to dream big and do something incredible for the world, look no further than to be inspired by the legend.

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]  

I Am Helen Keller

Ordinary People Can Change the World.  Brad Meltzer tells the story of Helen Keller in a way that helps both children and adults learn how despite the odds working against us, we can become anyone we want to be.  Setbacks and challenges only mean we have to work harder at pushing forward to make the world a better place.  An incredible story that teaches us that despite the diversity, we can change the world.

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]

I Am Rosa Parks

Ordinary People Can Change the World and that is what Brad Meltzer and Christopher Eliopoulos are setting out to do by choosing 100 of the most influential people in human history to tell their stories.  While these books were made for children, every single person should read them because you can learn that each hero wasn’t born a hero.  They were just ordinary people like you and me.  In Rosa Parks story, we see the world she lived in until one day she decided enough was enough and took a stand (or a seat, in this case).  This is the story you share with the world.  All of us can be heroes.

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.] 

Darkness Fair

Book Two in the Dark Cycle Book Series.  For those who love stories about good vs. evil, heaven vs. hell, this is your kind of book.  In book two, Aidan is still learning more about his powers and what happened to his sister Ava.  Stuck between his love for two girls, all struggle in their choices.  One love was a spell and that spell is killing her.  The other is his soulmate.  The one he chooses though, hurts everyone in the end. It’s not his fault that a wrench was thrown into the fate lines.  Somehow, they have to fix this.  Meanwhile, Aidan and his crew must keep darkness at bay, and keep the demons from entering the earthly realm.

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.] 

Everything Everything

Imagine living your entire life inside of your house, never able to leave because you are sick.  You don’t have friends, because you can’t play with other children for fear they may make you sick.  This is Maddy’s world.  The only people in her life are her mother, her nurse and her tutor…no one else.  On the cusp of her 18th birthday, Olly moves next door and everything changes.  Olly is allowed to come into her world, which gives her the courage to be in his world…if only for one day.

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.  This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]  

After the Red Rain

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review.  This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]

In a post-apocalyptic world, a young man (Rose) appears, intrigued by a young woman that attempts to save him from toxic waters.  She goes about her life working in a factory for food rations, when one day she volunteers to scavenge metal with her boss.  When he tries to take advantage of her, Rose intervenes to save her, when unbeknownst to them, the incident was recorded by one of the drones.  Shortly after, her boss is found dead, and Rose is the prime suspect.  Rose is smart, yet very strange.  He is different than everyone else.  There’s something about him that is unusual that she can’t quite put her finger on.  It is discovering what Rose is…that is what will save them all.  If you liked the Twilight movies, you’ll notice that Peter Facinelli (Dr. Carlisle Cullen) is one of the writers.  A really great read if you like young adult fiction.  In light of our current political climate, it is very scary to read this Orwellian book knowing we are heading in that direction.  

Silence

Christianity in Japan is all but wiped out. Two young Portuguese priests venture to Japan to find their teacher, only to be met by Christians who hide their religion.  If they are discovered and do not denounce their faith, they are killed.  As they go from one village to another in search of their teacher, it is only a matter of time before the lords of the land find them and force them to sacrifice their own beliefs or die.  This story was made into a film by Martin Scorsese, which received a 2017 Oscar nomination.  This is a very powerful story of what men of God will do in order to protect their flock, when they themselves question whether God is real and if he is listening to their cries for help.

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]  

A Man Called Ove

Things aren’t going so well for Ove.  He lost his wife and all he can think about is joining her in death.  As handy as he is, he really sucks at dying.  Every single attempt is foiled right as the world comes at him to let him know that he is not alone.  Right when he thinks he is alone in this world, new neighbors push their way into his life, as well as the old ones.  While he thinks the world doesn’t need him, the world shares with him how important he is to them in their world.  Set in Sweden, this book will make you laugh, cry and love this old man called Ove.  The film was nominated for a 2017 Oscar.  [Book Club Review]

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]

Lost Horizon

For those who love setting off on adventures, this book takes us into the mystical realm of Shangri-La.  For those who watched Netflix’s “The Iron Fist,” this is the book that is the original background to where the story of Danny Rand began, deep in the Himalayan mountains, saved by monks.  Rand’s back story is based on the original tale from “Lost Horizon” of a plane stolen and flown deep into the Himalayas where a group of monks finds the passengers and invites them into their monastery, a place like no other.  When having to choose between staying in paradise, living a very long life with access to knowledge beyond imagination or going back to Western Civilization, which would you choose?  That life of unhappiness out in the real world, or a long lifetime of peace and tranquility living in the most beautiful place on the planet?

[Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive compensation.]