It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Sheila, of One Persons Journey Through a World of Books, is the host of It's Monday! What Are You Reading? This is a weekly event to share what we read last week, what we are currently reading and what books we plan to read this week.

What I read last week (two weeks of reading):

The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D by Nichole Bernier
Summary: A woman inherits her friend's journals when she is killed in a plane crash.

Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand
Summary: Three families are affected when a teenage girl is killed after a graduation party.

Keepsake by Kristina Riggle
Summary: Mary reconnects with her sister Trish to assist her with cleaning her house.  Meanwhile, Trish needs to confront her issues with hoarding.

A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen
Summary:  The author shares the lessons she has learned in life.

Reading This Week:

Goodbye for Now by Laurie Frankel

Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot (audiobook)

On My Nightstand:

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

What's on your reading list this week?

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. (Button courtesy of Bewitched Bookworms.)

Title:  The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society
Author:  Darien Gee
Release Date:  January 29, 2013

From Amazon.com:

Welcome to Avalon, Illinois, Pop. 4,243
At Madeline's Tea Salon, the cozy hub of the Avalon community, local residents scrapbook their memories and make new ones.  But across town, other Avalonians are struggling to free themselves of the past:  Isabel Kidd is fixing up her ramshackle house while sorting through the complications of her late husband's affair.  Ava Catalina is mourning the love of her life and helping her young son grow up without his father.  Local plumber Yvonne Tate is smart, beautiful, and new to Avalon, but finds that despite a decade of living life on her own terms, the past has a way of catching up—no matter where she goes.  And Frances Latham, mother to a boisterous brood of boys, eagerly anticipates the arrival of a little girl from China—unprepared for the emotional roller coaster of foreign adoption.

Enter Bettie Shelton, the irascible founder of the Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society.  Under Bettie's guidance, even the most reluctant of Avalon's residents come to terms with their past and make bold decisions about their future.  But when the group receives unexpected news about their steadfast leader, they must pull together to create something truly memorable.

By turns humorous, wise, and deeply moving, The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society is a luminous reminder that the things we hold most dear will last a lifetime.

What are you waiting for?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Sheila, of One Persons Journey Through a World of Books, is the host of It's Monday! What Are You Reading? This is a weekly event to share what we read last week, what we are currently reading and what books we plan to read this week.

What I read last week:

Second Time Around by Beth Kendrick
Summary: Four college friends are given the chance to fulfill their dreams.  While doing so, past secrets are revealed, new love is found and a relationship is tested.

Private Games by James Patterson & Mark Sullivan
Summary: When a Olympic committee member is killed hours before the opening ceremony, Jack Morgan works with Peter Knight, from the London office, to solve the murder.

Walk in the Park by Jane Green
Summary: Girl meets boy while walking her mother's dog.

My Holiday House Guest by Carolyn Gibbs
Summary:  A thirty-something mother falls for her son's twenty-something friend.

Reading This Week:

On My Nightstand:

What's on your reading list this week?

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. (Button courtesy of Bewitched Bookworms.)

Title:  The Lost Art of Mixing
Author:  Erica Bauermeister
Release Date:  January 24, 2013

Lillian and her restaurant have a way of drawing people together.  There's Al, the accountant, who finds meaning in numbers and ritual; Chloe, a budding chef who hasn't learned to trust after heartbreak; Finnegan, quiet and steady as a tree, who can disappear into the background despite his massive height;  Louise, Al's wife, whose anger simmers just below the boiling point; and Isabelle, whose memories are slowly slipping from her grasp.  And there's Lillian herself, whose life has taken a turn she didn't expect. . .

Their lives collide and mix with those around them, sometimes joining in effortless connections at other times sifting together and separating again, creating a family that is chosen, not given.  A beautifully imagined novel about the ties that bind—hat bind and links that break—The Lost Art of Mixing is a captivating meditation on the power of love, food, and companionship. (From Goodreads.com)

I read The School of Essential Ingredients and loved it.  It has a permanent place on my "Recommend List."  I'm excited to continue with Lillian's story and reading about the new people she will meet along the way.