Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

SO GOOD!
The book is about a senator's wife who finds out that her husband has cheated on her through the media. This book is written from the wife, Sylvie and their two adult daughters' (Diana and Lizzie) perspective. Weiner is quite knowledgeable on this topic as she mentioned at her book signing that we are seeing these men in the news cheating on their wives and having press conferences with the wife present! (ie. Elliott Spitzer) It's a quick easy read, but fun and engaging. I recommend picking this up when you get a chance.

Jennifer Weiner booksigning

I have to share with you that I went to the Tattered Cover (awesome independent bookstore with three locations in the Denver metro area) to see Jennifer Weiner last week. I was so excited to meet her. She spoke for about 45 minutes and then read a short excerpt from her new book "Fly Away Home". She then took the time to sign her books and take pictures with the people that were in attendance. It was such a fun night as she is hilarious in person!!! She had some funny stories to share about her mother meeing Rosie O'Donnell for the first time. She was a hoot and I really enjoyed the evening with my friend Arin. Here is a picture of us with Jennifer:

A lot of catching up on my blogging!!!

I didn't realize I haven't updated my blog in quite some time. I am going to be lazy and use a star system to show you my favs of my summer reads this year. 5 stars is a must-read, outstanding book and 1 is don't even bother looking it up to see what it is because it's a waste of time. :) I'll also bold my favorites for you.

SUMMER READING:

The Jane Austen Book Club**** by Karen Joy Fowler
Scout, Atticus and Boo: A Celebration of 50 years of To Kill A Mockingbird*** by Mary McDonagh Murphy
Dead as a Doornail*** by Charlaine Harris (audio)
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner*** by Stephanie Meyer
Grave Surprise*** by Charlaine Harris (audio)
Heart of the Matter**** by Emily Giffin
To Kill a Mockingbird***** by Harper Lee (second time reading--last read in HS)
Caught*** by Harlan Coben (audio)
Grave Sight*** by Charlaine Harris (audio)
A Reliable Wife** by Robert Goolrick
The Art of Racing in the Rain** by Garth Stein (audio)
The Help***** by Katheryn Stockett
13 1/2*** by Nevada Barr (audio)

Emma by Jane Austen

This is the last Jane Austen book that I had to read. I loved this book. I loved Emma as a character. She has depth= a sense of humor, confidence, humility, kindness. At the end of the day she realizes what her faults are and feels bad about some of the stupid things she has done to people.

Emma is the consummate matchmaker although her matches never seem to work out. She is devoted to her father and is attentive to the other people who live in the neighborhood, in particular she regularly visits with Mrs. Bates and her daughter Miss Bates. Knightley lives next door (well not really next door since this is England in the 1800s but you get the picture). His brother is married to Emma's sister. He's kind of like the guy who is always hanging around Emma's house and helps her to care for her father... There are a whole host of other characters that make this novel so interesting.

On another note, I recommend seeing the BBC/PBS Masterpiece Theatre version of Emma. This mini-series was excellent and follows the book closely.

Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger

This was the May book club book. It is very light and not tons to talk about. Three women in their late 20s/early 30s are living in NYC. I liked "The Devil Wears Prada" better than this book, however it was a quick, fun read. The characters aren't totally believable and I always wonder how these women support themselves in Manhattan etc. In any event, it is a happy ending and all three end up getting what they want and deserve in life--to be happy. :)

La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith

I listened to this one on CD during my commute. It is a tale of a woman whose husband leaves her not long after they are married. World War II begins and she starts an orchestra. It was ok--didn't love it, didn't hate it, but it was entertaining. I liked the descriptions of how it was living during WWII in England.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

I had really high expectations for this book. Unfortunately my expectations weren't completely met. I say that, because I did enjoy this book, but I think it could have been a better story.

It's about two young men in the 1970s in China that have been highly educated. They are sent to the country for their re-education (to learn how to farm and lead a simple life). Luo meets a pretty girl (the little seamstress). Luo gets her pregnant. The other main guy whose name I'm forgetting now helps the little seamstress with her problem.

The two main characters find that their friend has a suitcase of forbidden books which leads them on an escapade to steal the books. This part was pretty funny and entertaining. The boys yearn for Western literature because it's all been banned by Mao's regime. There are, of course, other side characters and side stories, but this thread stuck with me.

It's always interesting to me to read about Chinese culture--this book had some of it, but not as much as Lisa See's or Amy Tan's books. This author is French and it has been translated into English. Interesting that a French author has written such a poetic book about China!