IT IS NOT MONDAY, NOR IS IT RAINING…

It is just another day, not a Monday and it is not raining. But I am drawn to this blog when I want to chat about special things, leading me to scroll through my images, where I am reminded of favorite books, dolls, and moments from the past.

Today I have another new doll headed my way…and a new handbag.  I have a hall tree full of handbags right now, so, no, not in need of another one.  But I love them!

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I am also reading today:  The Fiancee, by Kate White.  It is definitely a page turner.

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I am still frustrated with Facebook, which for no reason that I can tell, has blocked me from posting from this blog.  I have written nothing “abusive,” as they claimed,  since all of my posts are about books and personal tidbits from my life.

So I have to maneuver around the blocking by referring to this post through misdirection!  Link to my website, and then to the blog.  Urgh! (http://laurelrainsnowauthor.com/)

I hope you have a great day, absent annoying events or frustrations!

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BOOKISH WEDNESDAY: WAITING FOR “COMMONWEALTH”

Welcome to another Waiting on Wednesday event, hosted by Jill, at Breaking the Spine.

Every week, we search out upcoming book releases…and then gather around the blogosphere, sharing our thoughts and blurbs. Today’s spotlight is shining on a book by an author I enjoy:  Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett, to be released on September 13, 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis:  The acclaimed, bestselling author—winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize—tells the enthralling story of how an unexpected romantic encounter irrevocably changes two families’ lives.

One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating’s christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny’s mother, Beverly—thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families.

Spanning five decades, Commonwealth explores how this chance encounter reverberates through the lives of the four parents and six children involved. Spending summers together in Virginia, the Keating and Cousins children forge a lasting bond that is based on a shared disillusionment with their parents and the strange and genuine affection that grows up between them.

When, in her twenties, Franny begins an affair with the legendary author Leon Posen and tells him about her family, the story of her siblings is no longer hers to control. Their childhood becomes the basis for his wildly successful book, ultimately forcing them to come to terms with their losses, their guilt, and the deeply loyal connection they feel for one another.

Told with equal measures of humor and heartbreak, Commonwealth is a meditation on inspiration, interpretation, and the ownership of stories. It is a brilliant and tender tale of the far-reaching ties of love and responsibility that bind us together.

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Does this book capture your attention?  Does it strike a chord?  I know that I am very eager to read it.

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BOOKISH WEDNESDAY: WAITING FOR “BEHIND CLOSED DOORS”

Welcome to another Waiting on Wednesday event, hosted by Jill, at Breaking the Spine.

Every week, we search out upcoming book releases…and then gather around the blogosphere, sharing our thoughts and blurbs. Today’s spotlight is shining on a book from a new-to-me author, but about which I have been hearing only good things.  Behind Closed Doors, by B. A. Paris, looks at a perfect marriage.  Or is it the perfect lie?

The debut psychological thriller you can’t miss!

 

 

 

Everyone knows a couple like Jack and Grace. He has looks and wealth, she has charm and elegance. You might not want to like them, but you do.

You’d like to get to know Grace better. But it’s difficult, because you realize Jack and Grace are never apart.

Some might call this true love. Others might ask why Grace never answers the phone. Or how she can never meet for coffee, even though she doesn’t work. How she can cook such elaborate meals but remain so slim. And why there are bars on one of the bedroom windows.

 

“Behind Closed Doors gives us a glimpse into the realities of a “perfect marriage,” with addictive and heart pounding moments guaranteed to have you looking at your friends and neighbours differently.”

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Does this blurb make your heart pound?  Do you want to grab this one?  I know that I do.  Come on by and share your own picks.

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BOOKISH WEDNESDAY: WAITING FOR “SMALL GREAT THINGS”

Welcome to another Waiting on Wednesday event, hosted by Jill, at Breaking the Spine.

Every week, we gather around the blogosphere and search out the upcoming book releases, sharing our thoughts and blurbs.   Today’s featured book will be released on October 11, 2016.  Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things is Picoult at her finest—complete with unflinching insights, richly layered characters, and a page-turning plot with a gripping moral dilemma at its heart.

 

 

 

Blurb:  Ruth Jefferson, a labor and delivery nurse, begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she’s been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone on the ward. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case, but Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy’s counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible—especially for her teenaged son. And as the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy come to see that what they’ve been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.

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What do you think?  Do the gripping issues reel you in, or put you off?  I know I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.

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