Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol by Gyles Brandreth

While this book is part of a series by Gyles Brandreth , the reader does not have to read the series in order- this book stands alone. The book begins with a man telling a story to another man- one of those men is Oscar Wilde. He begins to tell his story of his imprisonment and how he found himself at Reading Gaol.

As the story goes, the details of jail life- the harshness, the warders (I think in today’s time they would be called guards), the loss of freedom- Gyles Brandreth paints a picture of what life in jail was like in those days. Even though, Oscar Wilde’s jail sentence was only 2 years- those 2 years, in those conditions, would not have been easy.

Oscar Wilde keeps his wits about him, though, and he notices things, details. After all- he is a friend of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- so he must have a keen eye for detail and things amiss! With Oscar at Reading Gaol, he sees the things no one wants him to see- and begins piecing together pieces to a puzzle of murder and other unsavory events.

While the mystery is entertaining, the writer tipped his hand about a piece of the puzzle a bit early- and that clue kept circling my head as I read. The language, the descriptions, the clues- all in all- it makes for an enjoyable book for mystery readers!

Recommended for: Mystery fans, fans of BBC television, and books of certain eras.

* This book was provided to me by Touchstone Publishing in exchange for a honest review. All above thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.

The Glass Wives by Amy Sue Nathan

Evie Glass and Nicole Glass- two women of different backgrounds who have few things in common- except the fact that they have both been married to Richard Glass. That’s not all they share, though. They both share the grief of Richard dying and his children with the respective wives growing up without a father.

After Richard’s death- Evie is almost looking forward to not having Nicole in her life anymore. With Richard not being around, Evie thinks that she and Nicole will have few reasons to interact- no more Nicole being a stepmother to the twins of Evie’s. Nicole has other ideas, though. She wants the twins to still be a part of her life for the relationship that she hopes the half-siblings will have- even with their father passing away.

Evie’s nervous, she’s not sure if she should trust Nicole. Then with financial reality weighing on Evie and with the twins still wanting to have interaction with Nicole and their baby brother- Evie and Nicole come to a tentative agreement about living together. Life is ok, not perfect; but not terrible- till a secret comes to light.

With that information, Evie has to decide a few things- can she ever trust Nicole? Could Evie be strong enough to have a life with just her and the twins? And family- what makes a family? Is family just the people you were born with or can you choose people to be part of your family?

The Glass Wives takes several topics: divorce, affairs, death, trusting people, and finding yourself- and interweaves the topics into a tale that is honest, understandable, and enjoyable. Book clubs will rejoice over the level of discussion that this book has potential to provoke amongst members.

* This book was requested through Netgalley. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.

Bout of Books Goals!

My goals for Bout of Books 7.0 are the following:

Books I Plan to Read/Finish:

1. Oscar Wilde and Murders at Reading Gaol by Gyles Brandreth

2. Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman

3. The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

4. The Guest Book by Erika Marks

5. 3rd Generation and Beyond by Danna Pycher

Other Book-ish things:

1. Post my review for The Glass Wives

2. Post reading schedule for Reconstructing Amelia for my 1st online book club beginning in June!

3. Post review for Oscar Wilde and Murders at Reading Gaol

4. Post interview with Danna Pycher

5. Update my Goodreads page

6. Tweet about Danna Pycher Twitter chat on May 22 #3gab ( thanks to Love at First Book)

7. Update my blog with reading challenge info, book blog tour info, and other things.

8. Attend The Cherry Cola Book Club by Ashton Lee book signing!

Bout of Books 7.0

Thanks to Allison @ The Book Wheel, I found out about Bout of Books– so I’m joining in on the fun (like many others!)

Here’s the 411 on Bout of Books:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

So join in on the fun and let’s read May 13th-May 19th 🙂

Book Lovers Unite Online Book Club

You might remember a few weeks ago that I posted that on my book-ish bucket list was “having my own online book club”? Because while I LOVE participating in other’s- sometimes I want to choose the book! Anyway, during all this time- another bookworm found me on Twitter and we’ve become #bookbesties (she’s the creative genius behind that Hashtag!) So, as we got to talking more and more- it was like “why don’t you start the online book club? I’ll help!” and that was all I needed to hear. Because of prior commitments, and needing to work out some details- it’s taken some time- but here we are: Me, T. at Traveling With T and Jen S. (her blog is not quite ready to be revealed YET!) – have started an online book club!

The details:

Book Lovers Unite Online Book Club– each month a book will be chosen by the “host” and for June, our first month, it’ll be RECONSTRUCTING AMELIA by Kimberly McCreight (@kimmcreight on Twitter). This book is already getting quite a bit buzz- and some are calling it the Gone Girl of 2013. Currently (which means today) Amazon list it’s price as $18.44 hardcover, $18.36 Large print paperback, $8.89 on Kindle. It can also be found at IndieBound and Barnes and Noble (similar price at B&N and Amazon). Or you can get it from most libraries.

We will begin on MAY 31’st. And the last set of questions will be posted on June 28th. A reading schedule will be posted soon! Each week will we discuss a certain number of chapters (and only discuss those!) Want to read ahead? That’s fine- but please, for the consideration of others, do not post spoilers ahead of the chapters we will be discussing! My plan is to read along with the schedule- but if I get too involved in book, I’m going to make notes about the things I want to discuss for each section. You may wish to do the same.

Checking the book out from the library- but won’t get it till mid June? Aww, I’m sorry! But, don’t worry- you can still join us. Just because we have moved on to another section in book does not mean you cannot go back to the first sections and post comments/thoughts.

Is there a fancy sign-up or will you be upset if I say I want to read- but then can’t? No! No Fancy sign-up and no, I won’t be mad. I sincerely hope you can join- but totally understand that life gets in the way. You MAY express your interest to read Reconstructing Amelia in this post- or wait till later when I post the official reading schedule. You also don’t have to sign up- although I would love to know who’s participating!

So, come and read Reconstructing Amelia with us for June- I think it’s going to be an excellent book- and one that can lead to a great discussion!

Look for more details such as the official reading schedule to be posted in the coming weeks. Right now- the most important thing is for you to get a copy of Reconstructing Amelia (either by buying or the library!) and make plans to join us beginning May 31’st!

Are you on Twitter? While we won’t be discussing it on Twitter really- we’ll be posting when new questions are added with the hashtag #bookloversunite

Got questions? Let me know in the comments section! Know you want to read Reconstructing Amelia- let me know in the comments section!

Literary Friday ya’ll……

Today, The Great Gatsby releases. And the people have been excited, the tv has shown the trailer multiple times, and everything’s a-buzz foe The Great Gatsby! In related news, Erika Robuck’s latest, Call Me Zelda, was released earlier this week (I’d like to know who the marketing genius was who saw a prime opportunity to release CMZ the same week as TGG came out in theaters- because that person- that person has their game face on!)

1. Deep South Mag has been counting down to Gatsby all week long! Their #literaryfriday is basically filled with Gatsby! So sit back and read and enjoy!

Not enough Gatsby for you? Well Deep South Mag has more: Gatsby Companion Reading List!

Is Zelda more your thing? Deep South Mag has the answer to that as well: Zelda Gets Her Day

2. Amy Sue Nathan and her debut novel- The Glass Wives, has been twirling around the book world for a bit- early readers of The Glass Wives have been tweeting and blogging very positive things about Amy’s debut. When she’s not writing or getting ready for a book launch- Amy Sue Nathan has a website called Women’s Fiction Writers. It’s smart, funny interviews and talks with interesting women (this week alone- she had Wendy Francis, Three Good Things author and Erika Robuck, Call Me Zelda author.

Here are the 3 posts I read this week that I really felt needed to be shared: Three Good Things (ok Many More) from Wendy Francis, Author Natalia Sylvester Says the way to Support Women’s Fiction Is to Keep Writing It, Writing Words and Book Banter with Erika Robuck.

Specifically, pay attention to Natalia Sylvester’s article- women’s fiction is much harder to define than I’ve ever thought- but it needs to be supported. Needs to be bought, read, enjoyed. Natalia has some insightful thoughts.

3. She Reads announced this week that Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline would be the May Book Club Selection. It’s a fascinating book- fast read, interesting characters, and has a historical aspect to it. Join me and others at end of the month as we discuss Orphan Train at She Reads!

Orphan Train: Featured Recipe

May Book Club Selection: Orphan Train

Bookmagnet’s review of Orphan Train

Love At First Book’s review of Orphan Train

The Book Wheel’s review of Orphan Train

Traveling With T’s review of Orphan Train

Want to read more reviews of Orphan Train? Use #srblog on Twitter- and you’ll see tons of reviews!

4. Looking for a non-fiction book to read with a great online book club? Join Rebecca (Love at First Book) and Allison (The Book Wheel) as they read A Train in Winter. Details, sign-up and more are posted already.

5. My #fridayreads is Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman and Oscar Wilde and the Murders at Reading Gaol by Gyles Brandreth. What is your #fridayreads?

6. Looking for books? Like Pinterest? I have 2 Pinterest boards that might interest you! Beach Bag Reads 2013 and The TBR List that Ate an Entire Town

7. ICYMI: 3 reviews I posted this week- Big Daddy’s Rules: Raising Daughters is Tougher Than I Look, Deadly Harvest, and Game Drive

8. And look today for more info about Traveling With T’s online book club- beginning in June!

Happy Reading!

Sweet Potato Queens, ZDD Weekend and Aunt Faye’s 100th birthday celebration!

Aunt Faye knows about having fun!

From March 21-24, Jackson, MS was a sea of tiaras as women (and some men) came from all walks of life to celebrate the power of play, to raise money for Blair E. Batson Children’s Hospital, to meet new friends and hang out with old friends.

Armed with tiaras, blingy jewelry , false eyelashes, wigs and more- we set out to make the long weekend even more fun than the previous year. This year was even more special because Aunt Faye was turning 100 in April- and she was going to be the Grandmaster of the Parade.

Friday- if you were in Fondren, you may have seen more big hats than you ever could imagine. At Sal and Mookie’s, the Big Hat Luncheon was happening- the food was good, the laughs and good times were contagious, and the creativity for big hats was something else. Give some of these women a simple hat, some tulle, hot glue, and other fancy add-ons- and they’ll give you a masterpiece that you can wear.

Friday night, The Bouffants were supposed to perform in Fondren, but due to inclement weather- they came to Hilton. And those ladies put on a show for the Queens. Great songs, fun times- The Bouffants were amazing. Friday was also PJ’s and Pearls- and yes, we really wear PJ’s and Pearls. As we listened to music, ate dinner, had drinks- seeing how cute and creative people could be in PJ’s and Pearls was fun!

Saturday morning was Color Me Rad Run/Walk- it was Jackson’s first time to have CMR- and it was a sold out event. 8,000 people showed up to “get rad with color”! People walked and ran through clouds of color at designated places, and by the end- everyone looked tie-dyed!

Such a fun time!

Saturday night was the parade. The parade winds through the streets of Fondren (a neighborhood in Jackson). People came out to see the costumes, catch the beads, and the rain stayed away- until the last person was on the bus headed back to the Hilton for the after parade party!

Mermaids (plus a lady who wanted a pic)

A Mermaid and 2 Village Sweeties

Cynthia and Me at the photobooth! No, we don’t have any kind of fun together! lol

Thursday night: Village Sweeties, 2 Mermaids, and Divine Sisters = Fun times!

After a fun weekend of hanging with friends, raising money for Blair E. Batson and laughing – it was time for the Bathrobe Brunch- and for saying good-bye to everyone till next year. I can’t wait to see all the fabulous and fantastic ladies for the next ZDD weekend!

Big Daddy’s Rules: Raising Daughters is Tougher Than I Look by Steve Schirripa

I’m not Steve Schirripa’s target audience for his book about raising daughters. A woman is not his target audience- since he calls his book Big Daddy’s Rules. However, the book was offered to me- and I enjoy funny advice books. Plus, I liked him on Sopranos so- I decided to read. From the cover, I was expecting a book that was just laugh a minute- with some nuggets of advice thrown in- some of that armchair advice that seems to get passed around.

Big Daddy’s Rules is so much more. Yes, it has funny moments. Yes, some of the advice is advice you can read in other books. But it’s more- it’s so much more than that. Steve tells stories about his girls, his friends, and the way he parents. He’s not a push-over, he’s not into talking about the child’s feelings all the time, or employing a nanny. His parenting advice is not advice that most hear lately because it’s not “pop psychology” advice. It’s things like being there, taking an active interest in your child, not letting them do everything they want just because they want to. It’s things like instead of being tuned into the TV or the internet- spend some time with your child, treasure the moments. He takes the advice that most hear today of the whole “praise your child for everything” and lets the reader know what he thinks of that (he’s not a fan, by the way!)

Big Daddy’s Rules is not a fancy advice book. It’s a man that wants to tell other men- be there for your kid. Provide. Be involved. He says it in ways that men can relate to though (and yes, he curses)- but it works. Think of Big Daddy’s Rules like a group of men, of fathers, drinking a beer and watching a game. Think of this book like they are welcoming you to the group with stories disguised as advice. Think of this book like a place to turn when you need a story to guide your days of fatherhood. Read because Big Daddy’s Rules are rules fathers should know and use in their role of being a father.

Buy this book for the man in your life, buy to give to the man who’s about to become a dad for the first time, or a man who has multiple children. Perfect gift for Father’s day or for anytime!

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Photo Credit: William Morrow Paperbacks

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Orphan Train

Vivian Daly- a 91 year old woman. Outlived every person in her life that has meant something to her (and outlived the people that did not mean anything to her, as well). Vivian, as you see her today, appears to have lived in the lap of luxury. A nice house, money, fine things filling the house. But looks can be deceiving.

Vivian, in her early years, was aboard a train called the Orphan Train. It was a way to help orphans find new homes instead of living at the orphanage till they were adults. Of course, the orphan train was a nice idea in theory only. People would come to where the train would stop to find kids to be part of the family, or farmhands, or girls to clean and sew. Some did have honorable intentions- but some did not.

When 91 year old Vivian meets Molly, a teenager who has been shuttled from house to house in an attempt to find a suitable foster home, Molly thinks that she and Vivian have nothing in common. As Molly helps clean Vivian’s attic, though, she is surprised to find that not only do they have things in common; but that Molly feels a connection with Vivian. Continue reading →

Game Drive by Marie Moore

Title: Game Drive

Author: Marie Moore

Series: Sidney Marsh Murder Series

Publisher: Camel Press

ISBN: 978-1603819619

Sidney Marsh, born a Mississippi girl, but moved to the Big Apple- where she is now a travel agent for Itchy Feet Travel (don’t blame Sidney- she didn’t pick the name!) Sidney likes her work and loves her friend, Jay, who is a fun friend at the travel agency. One day Sidney walks in Itchy Feet late, and realizes the normal decor is gone and everything is different- more African safari like decorations. Turns out as she walks in the meeting, that this is the owner’s plan- safari’s for the groups as a way to drum up new business. Sidney and Jay get chosen to go on a “fam trip” to Africa (to familarize themselves with what to expect before they take a group on a safari). After the debacle of the last trip that Sidney and Jay were on- it’s made clear to both of them that this trip to Africa needs to go smoothly.

Of course, best laid plans and all- the trip to Africa starts out ok; but slowly begins to disintegrate. Jay’s nervous about the animals, Sidney’s pocket gets picked, and one of the travel agents has a terrible habit of making everyone wait! As Sidney listens and learns more about each travel agent- she becomes suspicious that someone on the “fam trip” is an imposter. Still, for the most part, Jay and Sidney are happy on the trip- until a body is found. Was it an accident? Did one of the animals attack? Or was it something more sinister? The “fam trip” continues, but Sidney and Jay are growing more suspicious as the days go by- and they aren’t the only ones. Before this trip is over, more things will have went wrong, true identities will be revealed, and Sidney will learn that in Africa- it’s not only the wild animals that need to be feared- sometimes the humans are the most dangerous.

With danger, intrigue, romance, and more- Sidney Marsh takes the readers on a ride that is fun and interesting!

Blogger’s opinion: This is my first Marie Moore book, and I found the story enjoyable. The story flowed fairly well for the most part. Sidney is an interesting character, and I liked the character Jay. With it being a book that had a travel angle- I did expect some travel agent talk; and while some was needed- perhaps it had just a bit too much. However, the book has more positive than negative about it. I do believe that I’ll be checking out the first book in the Sidney Marsh series- and look forward to reading more about Sidney.

*BIG HUGE GIVEAWAY! Cozy Mystery Reviews is offering a GREAT giveaway! Details HERE!