Pink Martini!

Tonight -  The Orpheum Theater, Boston

You'll find my daughter and me in Row L in the Balcony.

Tuesday, November 16

Release date for new holiday album!

29: A Novel by Adena Halpern

Did you ever wonder what would happen if a birthday wish really came true?  That is the question answered in 29: A Novel by Adena Halpern.

From Publishers Weekly (via amazon.com)
The proverbial search for youth's fountain manifests itself in Ellie Jerome, a 75-year-old woman who has employed every available artifice to remain young. Identifying more with her stylish young granddaughter, Lucy, than with her abrasive middle-aged daughter, Barbara, Ellie's 75th birthday wish is to be 29 again, for just one day. When her wish comes true, hilarious problems arise, as the young Ellie must create a new persona in order to enter and leave her apartment in a neighborhood where everyone knows the old Ellie. Choosing to let Lucy in on her secret, Ellie persuades her to be her guide on a youthful adventure in pursuit of stylish looks and a trendy life. While the dynamic duo romp through Ellie's magical day, Ellie's daughter and her dearest friend, Frida, a 75-year-old worry wart, having decided that Ellie was kidnapped, embark upon their own misguided adventure before the old (now wiser) Ellie returns at the end of her big day. With this rollicking, if familiar, offering, Halpern...sets out to prove that you're only young twice.

Passages
On Gershwin
Whenever I hear Gershwin in my head it means I'm having a good time.  (By the way, if you're too young to be familiar with Gershwin, plese get yourself some CDs.  You'll thank me later.)
 
On that "moment"
A moment comes in everyone's life when they realize they're old.  I'm not talking about the day you see your first gray hair or the day you see the hint of a crow's foot.  What I'm talking about is the day when you realize you've grown out of being able to adapt to something new.
 
On lipstick (Hello, Lancome?  Why did you discontinue Risque?)
I almost had a heart attack when Lancome stopped making my favorite lipstick.  I was on the phone with Lancome for three hours, with four different operators, trying to get to the bottom of why they discontinued my color, when the last person finally said, "No one wears that color anymore, ma'am."  "I do!" I said.
 
On using your "stuff" 
I walk into the kitchen to make myself a cup of tea.  I put some water in the kettle, turn on the stove, and grab some tea bags.  I go into the cabinet and take out a cup and saucer.  I use my good bone china every day.  You should, too, if you don't have small children.  It's a lesson I've learned: enjoy the things you have.
 
In her acknowledgements at the end of the book, Ms. Halpern thanks, first and foremost, "...the amazing seventy-something women I interviewed for this book.  Your generosity, honesty, and frankness were more than I could ever have asked for.  I hope I've done you proud in creating a character that captures the best of who you are."  I think the author accompished this.  The dialog between Ellie and Frida as well as incidents in the story are all spot on.
 
Most of the wisdom passed on by Ellie Jerome was obvious, but it never hurts to be reminded again and again about the value of family and friends.
 
20th Century Fox has obtained the movie rights to 29, so let's play the "Who Would You Cast in the Movie" game.  Here are my choices:

• Ellie Jerome - Florence Henderson
• Young Ellie Jerome - Cameron Diaz 
• Lucy Jerome (Ellie's granddaughter) - Anne Hathaway
• Barbara Sustamorn (Ellie's daughter) - Susan Sarandon
• Frida Freedberg (Ellie's best friend) - Olympia Dukakis
• Zachary - Chris O'Donnell 

If you read 29, please come back and let me know your dream cast!
 
Rating:  3.5/5 (Fiction Scale)
Dedication:  This book is lovingly dedicated to my mother, Arlene Rudney Halpern
First Line:  I'm jealous of my granddaughter.
 
Book Extras
Visit the author's website here.
Visit the publisher's page here.
Read a review at Musings of a Bookish Kitty here and another at Book Addiction here.

Three September Also Reads

A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg This was a reread for the September book discussion at On the Porch Swing (Yahoo group). I liked this culinary memoir even more the second time around and have flagged several receipes to try out now that the fall cooking season has arrived. Click here to check out some of Molly Wizenberg's recipes and writings at her blog, Orangette.
Rating: 4.5/5 (Non-fiction Scale)

Most Eagerly Yours by Allison Chase
This was the September selection for the local Barnes and Noble Romance Readers group. Most Eagerly Yours is the first in a new series about four sisters who have the confidence of young Princess Victoria to carry out investigations with the utmost discretion. Nothing in this book tempted me to seek out/eagerly await the next installments.
Rating: 2/5 (Romance Scale)

Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart
After reading the 19th and 20th installment in the Death on Demand series, I thought it was time to go back, start at the beginning, and read forward. It was fun meeting Annie Laurance and Max Darling at the outset of their crime solving capers. Several of the recurring Broward's Rock regulars were introduced here, too. I read Death on Demand on my Kindle and appreciated very much not having to chase around the used bookstores or haunting inter-library loan to get this book. One click and I was good to read!
Rating: 3.5/5 (Mystery Scale)

An Impartial Witness by Charles Todd

An Impartial Witness by Charles Todd is the second installment in the Bess Crawford series. Readers first met Bess, a WWI army nurse, in A Duty to the Dead; and if you're a fan of the Masie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear, you will probably like Bess as well.

From Publisher's Weekly (via amazon.com)
Starred Review. Set in the summer of 1917, Todd's excellent second mystery featuring British nurse Bess Crawford (after 2009's A Duty to the Dead) smoothly blends realistic characters with an intricate plot. When Bess accompanies Lt. Meriwether Evanson, a severe burn victim, from the Continent to England, she's surprised to spot the pilot's supposedly devoted wife, Marjorie, crying on another man's shoulder at a train station. After returning to saving lives under German fire in France, Bess is stunned to read in a newspaper that Marjorie has been stabbed to death in London. Soon after, the depressed lieutenant commits suicide by cutting his own throat. Unable to resist involving herself in the murder investigation, Bess seeks to identify Marjorie's unknown companion, the possible killer. In addition to supplying a challenging puzzle, Todd (a mother-son writing team) does a superb job of capturing the feel of the battlefield and the emotional toll taken on those waiting back home for a loved one's return.

When reading a mystery, I'm not obsessed with trying to outsmart the author's revelation of events and am content to wait to see the whodunit it play out. I did, however, have some inkings when reading An Impartial Witness; and I was almost right! :) The only thing I really wondered about was all the traveling around that Bess and her cohorts did. Driving up to London and back again and up again and back. To the battlefield in France and back to Portsmouth and back to France and back again. Would petrol have been so easily available for all these trips? Were the trips back and forth to France convenient to the plot or the reality of WWI nurse assignments?

I like my mysteries gentle and readily admit that I avoid any mysteries with the words "chilling," "sinister," or "dark and violent" in plot descriptions. Both the Masie Dobbs and Bess Crawford series fit my comfort zone. I'm looking forward to the third Bess Crawford and also want to check out Charles Todd's other series about Inspector Ian Rutledge.

Rating: 3.5/5 (Mystery Scale)
Dedication: In remembrance...Samantha June 1995 5o September 2007 and Crystal November 1995 to March 2008 who gave so much to those who loved them.
First Line: As my train pulled into London, I looked out at the early summer rain and was glad to see the dreary day had followed me from Hampshire.

Book Extras
Charles Todd is the mother/son writing team of David Todd Watjen and Carolyn L.T. Watjen. Click here to visit the author's website or click here to see a listing of books in both the Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford series.

For more information on An Impartial Witness, visit the publisher's page here.

Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

Several years ago I tried to read In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner. Perhaps being the mother of a single, out-on-her-own daughter colored my reaction, but I just couldn't bring myself to read past the opening sequence of events. So, I stayed away from Jennifer Weiner until I read the description of Fly Away Home. Granted, the pulled from the headlines plotline of the disgraced politician may have made this another pass; however, I put it on my library reserve list and did find the story good enough to keep me reading on a Saturday afternoon despite the less than enthusiastic editorial review from Publishers Weekly.

From Publishers Weekly (via bn.com)
Weiner weaves a forgettable family drama with three weakly connected storylines: mother Sylvie Woodruff long ago sacrificed herself to become the perfect politician's wife, but the revelation of her husband's infidelity sends her off to reconnect with her old self. Her daughters aren't faring any better: recovering addict Lizzie is pursuing an interest in photography, but a childhood incident continues to trouble her; and dutiful older daughter Diana, an ER doctor, is escaping her blandly offensive husband via her own affair. The three women's crises function in parallel, and Weiner is unable to keep the narrative tension going when she hops from one character to another, largely because their issues are so tidily resolved and the women are never in real emotional danger--Sylvie's husband's affair is a "one-day story," Lizzie's narcotic slip is to take a couple of Advil PM (and an apology resolves the unresolved past), and the breakdown of Diana's marriage is dispatched as easily as Diana making a resolution to change her life. The lack of conflict and strong characters, and the heavy dose of brand names and ripped-from-the-headlines references, make this disappointingly disposable.


When all was said and read, it was wrapped a little too nicely. I'm much more intrigued with watching the tensions in The Good Wife. How will Alicia Florrick handle things this year?

Rating: 3/5 (Fiction Scale)
Dedication: For Joanna Pulcini and Greer Hendricks
First Line: Breakfast in five-star hotels was always the same.

Book Extras
Visit the author's website here.
Visit the publisher's page here.

Les at Lesley's Book Nook has written a review of Fly Away Home which pretty much echoes my experience. Please click here to read her review. While you're there, be sure to check out Les's new wheels!

Wordless (Workless) Wednesday

A Summer in Sonoma by Robyn Carr

After reading all of Robyn Carr's Virgin River books, I was looking forward to this stand alone, A Summer in Sonoma. 

From Publishers Weekly (via amazon)
Carr (the Virgin River series) brings four high school friends together in a slow-moving but charming story set in beautiful Northern California. Cassie is sick of searching for Mr. Right and ending up with Mr. Very Wrong. Julie wishes she didn't worry about money all the time. Marty misses romance to the point that she's considering cheating on her husband. Stoic Beth quietly struggles with health problems. Cassie tries to understand her feelings for a ponytailed biker, Julie deals with an unexpected pregnancy, Marty attempts to save her marriage, and Beth realizes breast cancer is not something she can hide. Though the leading ladies are not terribly well developed, their stories will strike a chord with readers. Male supporting characters add spark and help propel the plot to a predictable yet satisfying happy ending.


In retrospect, I should have let more time elapse between bidding farewell to Virgin River and welcoming another group of slightly flawed characters looking to find the perfect life.  Don't get me wrong, A Summer in Sonoma was a good story and true to Ms. Carr's form.  I have The House on Olive Street waiting in Mt. TBR, but I think I'll let some time pass before pushing it nearer the peak of the mountain.

Rating:  3/5 (Romance Scale)
First Line:  Cassie and Ken walked out of the bar together at seven-thirty.

Book Extras
Read Frech Fiction's review of A Summer in Sonoma here.
Visit the author's website here.

As Husbands Go by Susan Isaacs

On the inside front cover flap, As Husbands Go by Susan Isaacs is described as "a rare mix of wit, social satire, and suspense...an irresistible story about a love that just won't give up."  Happily, the book lived up to this description.

From Publishers Weekly (via amazon)
Bestseller Isaacs draws on tony Long Island, gritty New York City, and a tabloid-friendly murder for this smart-alecky whodunit/surprisingly sweet love story. Susan is left alone with her three boys, big suburban house, and nagging questions when plastic surgeon hubby Jonah Gersten turns up dead in a hooker's Upper East Side apartment. Though the police and prosecutors wind up their case against call girl Dorinda Dillon, it's far from settled for Susan. It simply didn't add up, in either my head or my heart, she confesses. And what better sidekick to track down the truth than Susan's rogue granny, Ethel. What follows is an intricate and fascinating dissection of Susan's marriage, family, husband's medical practice and partners, and the unwitting call girl at the center of it all. Isaacs (Past Perfect) brings it all together in this fast and furious ride through wanton greed, fragile relationships, and love worth fighting for.

Ms. Isaacs is the author of twelve novels; however, As Husbands Go was my first experience with reading one of her books, and an excellent one at that.  At first, I was put off by the stylish name dropping and scene setting, thinking, "Oh, here we go.  Another Gucci-Manolo Blanik laden story."  But not so.  Oh, there were style references aplenty written with pointed lifestyle skewering--not snarky, just obvious. 

I'll be looking to catch up on previous titles from Susan Isaacs as well as anticipating her next book.

Rating:  3.5/5 (Mystery Scale)
Dedication:  To St. Catherine and Bob Morvillo with love.
Epigraph:
   Here, take this gift,
   I was reserving it for some hero, speaker, or general,
   One who should serve the good old cause, the great idea, the
   progress and freedom of the race,
   Some brave confronter of despots, some daring rebel;
   But I see that what I was reserving belongs to you just as
      much as to any.
          -Walt Whitman, "To a Certain Cantatrice," Leaves of Grass
First Line:  Who knew?

Book Extras
Visit the author's website here.
Click here to read a review on Bookreporter.com

Delicious and Suspicious by Riley Adams

It's always fun to discover a new mystery series!  Delicious and Suspicious is the first in the Memphis BBQ Mystery series from Riley Adams.

From Publishers Weekly (via amazon)
In this sassy first in a new series from Adams (the pseudonym of Elizabeth Spann Craig), Lulu Taylor, owner of Aunt Pat's, a Memphis, Tenn., rib eatery, is all aflutter because the Cooking Channel has sent food scout Rebecca Adrian to check out Lulu's down-home specialties for a future show. Too bad Rebecca's searching for dirt as well as the best BBQ in Memphis. She quickly insults a number of people, including Lulu's daughter-in-law, Sara, and Lulu's son, Seb, who happens to be Rebecca's former boyfriend. When Rebecca's poisoned, chaos reigns. Lulu later uncovers the corpse of Mildred Cameron, an elderly bookseller and aspiring romance author/sleuth, who was also offended by the tart-tongued Rebecca. Aiding and abetting Lulu's investigation are the Graces, docents at Graceland, whose devotion to Elvis adds some goofy firepower to this sometimes poky paint-bythe-numbers cozy.

Passages
On dogs' behavior
Sara tore out after Derrick, red curls bouncing on her back.  The screen door slammed again, and the Labs hid their heads under a table.  The dogs' law of physics was "If I can't see you, you can't see me!"

I've been watching Memphis Beat on TNT, and it was nice to have the music from Memphis Beat rolling around in my head as I read Delicious and Suspicious. 

This is a great first entry, and I look forward to more in this series.  Oh--you may want to read Delicious and Suspicious just to find out if that cause-for-celebration bottle of The Domaine Vincent Dauvissat Chablis Les Preuses ever gets cracked open!

Rating:  3.5/5 (Mystery Scale)
Dedication:  For my family, with love.
First line:  Memphis, Tennessee, is a little bit of heaver in the springtime.

Book Extras
Visit the author's blog here.
Visit the author on Mystery Lovers' Kitchen here.
Check out Lesa's Book Critique's review here.
Read more about TNT's Memphis Beat here.

Wordless Wednesday

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