Book Humour

I've done it..

I've added another author to my "Favourite Authors List"

Darien Gee's novel "Friendship Bread" caught my attention on one of those shelves that I wrote about at our local library. This one I think was on the one "Staff Picks" either that or "Great Summer Reads"  I'd been reading a lot of cozy mysteries and I was looking for something different. The first thing that caught my eye was the cover. Yeah, I know "never judge a book by it's cover" and it's sad to say but I do. It's the first thing that I see, I can't help it sometimes. So, I grabbed the book and put it in my stack of books to check out.

I was looking through my ever growing stack of books to read and I realized that the book was due back soon. So, I started reading it. And finished it. In 2 days. Okay it would have been 1 day but I started reading late in the evening and I had to sleep..

Friendship Bread is I guess what you would call 'chick lit'. Call it whatever you want, but the story drew me in, like an old friend.  The story follows several women, all dealing with some kind of loss in their lives. One of the women comes home to find a plate of Amish Friendship Bread on her doorstep, along with directions and a bag of starter. Her daughter, Gracie, wanted her daddy to try some, so they started caring for and 'feeding' the starter and 10 days later had baked their own bread and had starter to give away. Needless to say, the starter takes on a life of it's own, and takes over the small town of Avalon.  The women end up meeting at Madeline's Tea Salon and they slowly become friends.

The story is based around the losses each of the women faced, and the depression that each of them are dealing with.  It is about dealing with loss, finding new friendships, coming to grips with what life has dealt them and in a way becoming alive again. It is like they finally awaken from their deep sleep and their fears and they slowly and tentatively rejoin the community with the help of their new friendships.

If you enjoy authors like Debbie Macomber, you will definitely enjoy Darien Gee's novels.  I am already a third of the way through the second book in the series titled "The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society"  I am sure I will finish it by tomorrow :)

Check out Darien Gee's facebook page, Friendship Bread Kitchen HERE and her website Friendship Bread Kitchen  HERE.  They are both amazing places to find tips and tricks about making Amish Friendship Bread along with diverse recipes for using the starter.  I've already signed up for the mailing list and can't wait to try to make some of my own bread! (Don't worry friends, I won't send you any starter unless you want it... I've found out you can freeze it too to use later!)

Explore Your Library

You really should explore your library. You never know what literary treats you may find! That is just what I did last week. At our library there are small shelves located near where we check out books called 'librarian's picks' where some of the staff pick out some of their own favourite books. I didn't find much there this time around, but that's the way it goes sometimes. But I didn't give up! The research section is located off to the left. These shelves are only half shelves, and organized in the shape of a rectangle but only 3 sided and in the middle there are tables and chairs so you can do research, put together a puzzle, or whatever you like really. Yes, our library has jigsaw puzzles that you can sit and put together. There are more things that you can do there than just read. ANYway, back to my story :) Along the top of the shelves of encyclopedias and other research materials, there are small shelves on top of 'new books' 'gardening books' 'quick reads' and what caught my eye was the 'summer reads'
This is where I found my gem, the novel called "Just Like Me Only Better" by Carol Snow.
The story of a divorced mom, who really doesn't know if she loved her husband or not... trying to deal her ex and the fact he left her for an OLDER yes older woman... she's 29 and the woman Hank left her for was in her 50's! Not only that, she's trying to balance her job as substitute teacher and fulfilling the deal with driving her landlord's kids to school in return for cheaper rent. The only problem is these 'precious' kids are late every day, making her late for her job!
Things get interesting when she is increasingly mistaken for a famous starlet, and when out in LA celebrating her birthday she is 'discovered' by said starlet's manager and personal assistant. The story gets even better when she is 'hired' (at $100/hr how could she say no?) to pretend to be Haley, let people take her picture, sign autographs, etc.... giving Haley some much needed 'downtime' to 'recharge'

Want to read more? I know I sure did, I finished this book in 1 day I just couldn't put it down. I won't give away any more of the story but it is fantastic, and made me laugh out loud more than one time.

Check out this book for sure, you won't be disappointed!

Book Review: A Tale Of Two Biddies by Kylie Logan

Well, I actually wrote a review on my goodreads page about this book. I feel like I should be writing reviews more. I always want to, and I always mean to.. but it always falls by the way side.

I did enjoy this book, there were a few twists I wasn't quite expecting. If you decide to read this book you really must read the first in the series titled "Mayhem At The Orient Express"  It explains why these women of different backgrounds are spending time together, and how it all came to be.

I didn't post the review itself on the webpage yet, I'm still throwing the idea around of having a separate section for reviews. But it's really just for me. Feel free to read, comment or share your opinions as well if you read or have read any of the books that I have. Or if you have a suggestion for a book or an author, I'm all for it!

What book to start next... I've got 13 library books on the shelf at the end of my bed. I think it's easy to say that it will be 1 of those.. since I have 3 other books on request from the library. I need to get my butt in gear!