To Be Perfectly Honest

Veteran author and speaker Phil Callaway is no stranger to daunting challenges. He has been laughed at—repeatedly—by large crowds of people from Halifax to Hong Kong. He fathered three children in three years, spent much of last year on airplanes built by the lowest bidder, and flipped an out-of-control ATV, which doesn’t mean he sold it for a profit. So who better than Phil Callaway to boldly accept a challenge that would make the average person run and hide?

I was excited to read this book and was so happy that it delivered! I found Calloway's humor refreshing and so on point, I enjoyed his writing and I felt like I got to get an inside look at his life.

I loved his candidness from the high school reunion to his conversations with God to the "Honest Confessions" at the end if each chapter. The author insights were heartfelt, inspiring and educational with the humor that makes a great read.

I have referred this book to many people and I am looking forward to sharing it with many others.

Called Home

Emma Benson's view of life was crafted by the death of her brother as a child, abandonment by her father and later, the man she trusted she would marry, until David Schlosser - back in town after years in New York writing best-selling novels - threatens her neatly tended life. Romance blooms. Emma and David eventually persevere in the face of tragedy, refusing to leave their dreams behind.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Of course it helped the fact that it was set in rural Wisconsin, about a farm girl who worked in a bookstore. I also immediately identified with David and his desire for what is real and that feeling of completeness when you are home where you grew up and how that isn't always there in a big city.

The relationship between David and Emma seemed to be a little confusing at first, however, I found myself drawn to keep reading to see what Emma's story was. I thought in the beginning that the plot was a little too predictable but then I got a surprise which made me like the book all the more.

Overall I thought this was a great read and I am happy I had the opportunity to enjoy it.  Out of 5 stars I give it 4.

Happy Reading and enjoy a glass of iced tea!

Fly Away Home

Slyvie Serfer is stunned when she finds out about her senator husband's affair with a staff member. Her daughter Diana, an emergency room physician, seemingly has everything you could want and expect in a happy marriage and Lizzie, the youngest, is working on getting her life back together after years of  addiction.                                               

As the story unfolds, the three women are forced to reexamine what they want out of life and where they want to go as they come together in their Connecticut home, each with their own demons to look at and face. I have to say that the story started off with a bang and I was ready for it to really face some tough issues. However, as I moved through the book, I found myself waiting for the character to become more real, more of someone I as a reader could relate to.
 

The character's strength was always a variable. I never found myself really believing that this would actually happen as far as a reaction. I know as a reader all of us try in one way or another to identify but really if my husband had an affair would I really not speak to him for months at a time? Would I really be okay with the fact that he comes to Thanksgiving and takes over? It didn't feel real to me it didn't feel like I was connecting to the character. 

I have to say I was excited to dig in to the book however I was disappointed in the end result.  As a rating of the book I have to say our of 5 stars I will give this 2 stars.  

Happy Reading and enjoy a cup of iced tea! 

Summer Affair

Sheila Crispin Cook, mother of four young children and a nationally renowned glassblower, bites off more than she can chew when she agrees to co-chair a huge benefit concert on Nantucket. Sheila is asked to chair the Nantucket Children Summer Gala, at least in part, because she is the former high school sweetheart of world famous rock star, Max West. Max agrees to play the benefit and it looks like smooth sailing for Sheila - until she agrees to create a "museum-quality" piece of glass for the auction, peremptorily offers her best friend the catering job, goes nose-to-nose with her Manhattan socialite co-chair, and begins a "good-hearted" affair with the charity's Executive Director, Lockhart Dixon.

Out of all the books by Elin Hilderbrand I have read this was my least favorite.  At first I though it was because of the subject matter but really I think it was because there wasn't any character in the book that I really liked. I tried to like Claire and I even identified with her, however, I found her frustrating and frankly spineless.

This definitely isn't the book I would spend a lot of time or money on and with all the other books this author has written I would go to those.

Out of 5 stars I would give this book 1 1/2 stars

Happy reading and Enjoy a glass of iced tea!

Bossy Pants

I have to say that listening to this book is why it was as  funny as it was. I think I would have laughed if I had read it myself, but her voice inflections and impersonations were what made this book funny.Her stories of her early days with the comedy team and of course the chapter about her father were what made me hold my stomach laughing hysterically.

There were parts that I of course wanted to skip over and that's what you get when you read or listen to a memoir, however, I would strongly suggest this as an audio. Tina Fey is smart, funny and of course always entertaining. Her book gives an insight into the Sarah Palin parodies as well as SNL and although I enjoyed it it didn't keep my glued to the book.  It is what it is -- a book written to entertain and for the most part it did that.

Out of 5 stars I give this book a 3 1/2 stars.

Happy Reading and Enjoy a cup of tea!
Kara

Hope in a Jar

Twenty years ago, Allie Denty was the pretty one and her best friend Olivia Pelham was the smart one. Throughout high school, they were inseparable…until a vicious rumor about Olivia - a rumor too close to the truth - ended their friendship. Now, on the eve of their twentieth high school reunion, Allie, a temp worker, finds herself suddenly single, a little chubby, and feeling old. Olivia, a cool and successful magazine beauty editor in New York, realizes she’s lonely, and is finally ready to face her demons. 

I thought this book was fun and I loved the references to all the beauty ads from the past. From Tickle deodorant to Enjoli perfume to Loves Baby soft, I enjoyed remembering the trip down memory lane. The first line of the book: "The only thing worse than finding out your boyfriend is cheating on you with a beautiful woman is finding out he's cheating with an average woman." Now that is why I had to keep reading. I found the characters interesting and what I would expect. They made me laugh and the villain made me boo. 

The chapters of the book went from present day to junior high and high school in the relationship of Allie and Olivia and that was how the story was presented. This friendship went through some tough times and yet after all the years they ended up finding their way back to each other which most true friendship will do.

I liked this book I read it on the plane in one setting and it kept me interested. On the Chick lit scale I give it a 3 1/2 stars out of 5.

Happy Reading and enjoy a glass of iced tea!

Still Alice

Alice Howland is a Harvard professor, gifted researcher and lecturer, and the mother of three grown children. At fifty years old she is proud of the life she has built and as she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a diagnosis of early onset  Alzheimer's Disease changes her life, her work and her family forever.

I wasn't sure what to think of this book when I began and although I liked Alice, as a reader I could tell she was a perfectionist and expected her family to do what was "best."   As the story progressed Alice's vulnerability became what endured me to her.  Heart wrenching in parts to the point of  being in tears and realizing this isn't made up, there are families everyday going through this turmoil and heartache due to this horrible disease.

I loved the author's ability to take a terrible situation and give all perspectives to the daughter who is trying to have a baby to the son who distances himself to the husband who almost seems angry with Alice for having the disease, and yet his love for her is truly amazing as he learns to accept her for the Alice she is now. Lisa Genova takes us there in each stage of the disease with Alice and with her family.

There is a quote in the book where Alice has a moment of clarity with John her husband and she says..
"I miss myself."
" I miss you too, Ali very much."
" I never planned to get like this."
" I know."
I think that is what defines how a couple gets through as they continue to love but miss what was there very much.

Her relationship with her youngest daughter is another part of the book that simply touched my heart. At one point, Lydia and Alice are talking and Alice reaches out to Lydia and tells her how proud she is of her and then tells her "in case I forget, know that I love you."  I felt like that was so much of what the book was about and defines a woman who had her life in control and within a year had virtually lost her ability to be on her own, work and even read a book or watch a movie.

I loved this book - I read it in less than a day simply because I couldn't stop thinking about Alice.  I recommend this book to everyone. I give this book 5 out 5 stars !!!!!

Happy Reading and enjoy a cup of Tea!
Kara

The Forgotten Garden

After growing up believing she is the daughter of  Hugh and Lil, Nell is told a secret, one that she spends the rest of her life hiding and trying to figure out as she creates a life for her and her granddaughter. After Nell's death, Cassandra  is alone and a little shocked after she is left with a cottage, a secret garden, a scrap book  and a mystery to follow her grandmother's life and who she really is. Cassandra travels to Cornwall, England to see the cottage and find more about her grandmother's past as well as heal and move on with her own life.

A novel that spans from 1913 to 1975 to 2005, this story includes a family saga, a mystery, fairy tales and even a bit of love. This book was a Pullman Page Turner selection for the month of June and July and I was excited to read it. In the beginning I felt let down because it was not an attention getter at all and I originally had a difficult time following the story, especially with the jumping back and fourth from the various years. 

I will say thank you to my friend Roz, who insisted that  I keep going and although I did not love this story I did end up liking  it. I was able to figure out what happened relatively quickly as the clues were pretty clear, however, I do think it overall was a good story! 

I give this book a 3/2 stars out of 5  

Happy Reading and have a cup of  Tea!!

Kara

Celebrate our Independance!!!!

Happy 4th of July America! 

I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend and we remember to celebrate our independence.  I will be celebrating with my family and friends and of course getting in some reading outside in the beautiful weather here in Southern California. It is supposed to be in the 90's on Monday so I believe I will be enjoying some iced tea.


Happy Reading and enjoy some iced tea!

Kara