Cookbooks

At this time of year we all tend to focus on food, the publishers seem to put out more cookbooks, and magazines and newpapers feature them. Here are some cookbooks highlighted in People Extra for December 2006:

Express Lane Meals by Rachel Ray.

Morgan Freeman and Friends: Caribbean Cooking For A Cause by Wendy Wilkinson et al.

Paula Deen Celebrates by Paula Deen et al.

Skinny Cooks Can't Be Trusted by Mo'Nique et al.

Discover the greatest science books

Discover Magazine presents a reading list of 25 science books considered to be the greatest of all time. Read more. On the list is this strange title,The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks published in 1985. This book is said to be an inspiration to neuroscientists.

Fighting Illiteracy "For One More Day"

Did you know that Starbucks and Mitch Albom are assisting Jumpstart in a very practical way? Jumpstart is a national progam designed to encourage literacy.

Read an Excerpt of New York Times bestselling book, For One More Day by Mitch.

Dear John and Long Night of Winchell Dear

These two books were featured in USAToday on November 16, 2006. Link to the excerpt of Long Night of Winchell Dear.

Also, Sue Monk Kidd author of Mermaid Chair has another book out titled, Firstlight.

Meet Joshilyn Jackson

If you like Gods in Alabama like I did, then you may want to meet the writer. Link here for her schedule.

You may even want to read her second book titled, Between, Georgia.

Gods in Alabama is our book selection for January 2007.

Alabama Gods, Lies, and Secrets

I actually finished reading the book for January, Gods in Alabama. This story is about lies, secrets and guilt. It is also about being Southern, being Baptist and being an obsessive teenager with a dysfunctional mother. It is the story of Arlene Fleet, also known as Lena, from a small town in Alabama. Just as Karen said, the tone is humorous and you will laugh out loud sometimes. This is why she suggested this book for our book discussion.

On the first page Arlene revealed that she had made a deal with God. God had fulfilled his part and performed a miracle and she had fulfilled her promises to God for 10 years. One visit from a former school mate Rose Mae Lolley was enough to blow the deal.

The plot revolves around the answers to these obvious questions: What miracle? What promises? And who is Rose Mae Lolley?

Arlene is the wanna-be good Southern Baptist burdened with sin and guilt but she is also foul-mouthed and insecure. The language will be offensive to some and the ending is not quite what I was expecting but I enjoyed the storyline and the humor in the story. I could not put this book down.

Okefenokee Book Club Selections 2006

Wow we chose a variety of books this year! We even included two children's books.

January 20
The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

February 17
All over but the shoutin’ by Rick Bragg

March 17
Zorro by Isabel Allende

April 21
Blind Obedience by Bill Boyd

May19

The Thing About Jane Spring by Sharon Krum

June 16
Death of a Dreamer by M. C. Beaton

July 21
Bud Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

August 18
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

September 15
Reflections in the Nile by J. Suzanne Frank

October 20
Traitor’s Gate by Anne Perry

November 17
And I Alone Survived by Lauren Elder

Gods in Alabama is our first selection for January.

Book Club Companion

This was an interesting interview on Readinggroupguides.com with the author of The Book Club Companion, Diane Loevy. From the interview I see that an Anne Tyler book is one that falls into the category of "must read". Next year we will have to add one of her books to our list.

Friday will be our last book club meeting for the year. We are reading And I Alone Survived by Lauren Elder.

YouTube Book Promo

Link to YouTube video to see the book promo of The Mystery Guest by French writer Gregoire Bouillier.

Also, link to the interview with the translator on the Maud Newton blog.

Respond to the writer

If you have any questions for Gene Stowe or want any more information about Inherit the Land link here

Trends: Coffee and Books; Writers and Video

Coffee and books; writers and video is about using the new technology to sell books. Have you read that the Starbucks name for example will soon be associated with coffee and books. It's started with Seattle-based Starbucks Also, writers are selling their books using online video such as Youtube.com. Take a look at the video about Bill Bryson's new book: Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid.

What are you reading now?

I just finished reading The Husband by Dean Koontz. It's been ages since I read a Koontz book. This was not one of those weird supernatural type fiction books typcial of a Koontz book. However, like most of his books that I have read this one deals with evil.

I loved this story and it held my interest throughout. The protagonist, Mitchell Rafferty, ia a naive, mild mannered man described as a born optimist despite his weird parents and their unorthodox parenting practices. He has a small landscaping business and is totally dedicated to his wife. His wife has been kidnapped and the kidnappers are demanding $2,000,000.00. He is shocked. He is not a wealthy man and he has no idea how to access that kind of money. To prove that they are serious, while he is talking to one of the kidnappers, he is told to look at what appears to be an innocent stranger walking his dog. The man is murdered in cold blood.

The kidnappers seem to know that Rafferty is a very meek and mild type of person but they did not anticipate that this was a man who would do anything to rescue his beloved wife.