Archive for November, 2010

As devoted readers of Adriana Trigiani’s New York Times bestselling novels know, this “seemingly effortless storyteller” (Boston Globe) frequently draws inspiration from her own family history, in particular from the lives of her two remarkable grandmothers, who have found their way into all Trigiani’s cherished novels. In Don’t Sing at the Table, this much-beloved writer has gathered their estimable life lessons, revealing how her grandmothers’ simple values have shaped her own life, sharing the experiences, humor, and wisdom of her beloved mentors to delight readers of all ages.

Lucia Spada Bonicelli (Lucy) and Yolanda Perin Trigiani (Viola) lived through the twentieth century from beginning to end as working women who juggled careers and motherhood. From the factory line to the family table, Lucy and Viola, the very definition of modern women, cut a path for their granddaughter by demonstrating moxie and pluck in their fearless approach to life, love, and overcoming obstacles.

Lucy’s and Viola’s traditions and spiritual fortitude will encourage you to hold on to the values that make life rich and beautiful. Their entrepreneurial spirit will inspire you to take risks and reap the rewards. And their remarkable resilience in the face of tragedy will be a source of strength and comfort.

Trigiani visits the past to seek answers to the essential questions that define the challenges women face today at work and at home. This is a primer, grand-mother to granddaughter, filled with everyday wisdom and life lessons that are truly “tiramisu for the soul” (The Examiner), handed down with care and built to last.

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Out this month, The Long Road Home by Mary Alice Monroe is a book that caught my eye just by looking at the stunning cover. Knowing that this is a novel by Mary Alice Monroe is enough to make me interested beyond the cover, but the synopsis makes this a stunning read. Take a look at let me know what you think!

Her husband’s suicide left Nora MacKenzie alone, and his shady Wall Street dealings left the Manhattan socialite penniless. By a miracle she’s held on to their mountainside farm—and she’ll keep holding on, no matter what. The property is Nora’s one chance to wring some dignity out of the sham she’s been living.

The Vermont locals think she’s a city girl on a nature kick, but she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty. Nora’s serious about learning the farming business…if she can figure out where to begin. Against the locals’ skepticism, she has only one ally: Charles “C.W.” Walker.

C.W. is hardworking, gentle with the animals and a patient teacher of the hundreds of chores Nora needs to learn. Slowly she starts to believe she’ll survive in her new life, even flourish. She might even be willing to open her heart again. But she won’t return to a life of lies…and the truth about C.W. may be more than Nora’s fragile heart can bear.

‘Not Exactly Chick Lit But…’ is a new feature on Chick Lit Reviews highlighting some books that are not exactly Chick Lit (hence the title) but that our Chick Lit readers will probably enjoy! Let me know if there’s a book you would suggest for our new feature!

As someone who has been a fan of Portia de Rossi since her time on Ally McBeal I’m absolutely intrigued about her recently released book, Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain. It’s somewhat of a memoir so it could quite possibly qualify as Chick Lit, though the topic she discusses is far from light and fun. I’m really looking forward to reading about her journey and wonder if this might be something our readers might be interested in seeing a review for? Read the synopsis and let me know! I may just review it if enough of you are interested!

“I didn’t decide to become anorexic. It snuck up on me disguised as a healthy diet, a professional attitude. Being as thin as possible was a way to make the job of being an actress easier . . .”

Portia de Rossi weighed only 82 pounds when she collapsed on the set of the Hollywood film in which she was playing her first leading role. This should have been the culmination of all her years of hard work—first as a child model in Australia, then as a cast member of one of the hottest shows on American television. On the outside she was thin and blond, glamorous and successful. On the inside, she was literally dying.

In this searing, unflinchingly honest book, Portia de Rossi captures the complex emotional truth of what it is like when food, weight, and body image take priority over every other human impulse or action. She recounts the elaborate rituals around eating that came to dominate hours of every day, from keeping her daily calorie intake below 300 to eating precisely measured amounts of food out of specific bowls and only with certain utensils. When this wasn’t enough, she resorted to purging and compulsive physical exercise, driving her body and spirit to the breaking point.

Even as she rose to fame as a cast member of the hit television shows Ally McBeal and Arrested Development, Portia alternately starved herself and binged, all the while terrified that the truth of her sexuality would be exposed in the tabloids. She reveals the heartache and fear that accompany a life lived in the closet, a sense of isolation that was only magnified by her unrelenting desire to be ever thinner. With the storytelling skills of a great novelist and the eye for detail of a poet, Portia makes transparent as never before the behaviors and emotions of someone living with an eating disorder.

From her lowest point, Portia began the painful climb back to a life of health and honesty, falling in love with and eventually marrying Ellen DeGeneres, and emerging as an outspoken and articulate advocate for gay rights and women’s health issues. In this remarkable and beautifully written work, Portia shines a bright light on a dark subject. A crucial book for all those who might sometimes feel at war with themselves or their bodies, Unbearable Lightness is a story that inspires hope and nourishes the spirit.

Money, love and family. Which matters most?

When Diane Jenner’s husband is hurt in a helicopter crash, she discovers a secret that changes her life. And it’s all about money, the kind of money the Jenners have never had. James North has money, and he knows it doesn’t buy happiness. He’s been a rock for his wayward wife and troubled daughter - but that doesn’t stop him wanting Diane. James and Diane have something in common: they always put family first.

Which means that what happens in the back of James’s Mercedes is a really, really bad idea. Or is it?

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Chick Lit Classics is a new feature on Chick Lit Reviews where we highlight the books we feel are classics of the chick lit genre. Feel free to discuss our choices in the comments section!

Whilst Jodi Picoult isn’t exactly Chick Lit, I do enjoy reading her novels and I know a lot of Chick Lit fans do, too. The first book I read of Jodi’s was My Sister’s Keeper and I thought it was a stunning novel. It moved me to tears and the revelations at the end literally made me gasp! It’s definitely a must read for all fiction fans, because it’s a book that definitely stands the test of time. My Sister’s Keeper was also turned into a movie, starring Cameron Diaz, and is well worth watching. I’ll tell you why when I do a Chick Flick post for it! It’s safe to say it had me in tears!

‘A major decision about me is being made, and no one’s bothered to ask the one person who most deserves it to speak her opinion.’ The only reason Anna was born was to donate her cord blood cells to her older sister. And though Anna is not sick, she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukaemia that has plagued her since she was a child. Anna was born for this purpose, her parents tell her, which is why they love her even more. But now that she has reached an age of physical awareness, she can’t help but long for control over her own body and respite from the constant flow of her own blood seeping into her sister’s veins. And so she makes a decision that for most would be too difficult to bear, at any time and at any age. She decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body.

I’ve really enjoyed Lulu Taylor’s previous 2 novels, so I’m very much looking forward to her third, Beautiful Creatures! It’s due out on 20th January 2011, and I think the red and pink cover is very eye-catching and pretty! Her books are always great escapist novels, so I can’t wait for this! Here’s the synopsis:

“Everyone has heard of the Beaufort twins, but few have ever seen them… On the eve of their 21st birthday, at one of the most lavish parties society has ever seen, Octavia and Flora Beaufort are launched into the world. For Octavia, it is one of the most thrilling nights of her life, an evening glittering with the promise of her future. But Flora shrinks from the limelight, fearful of what lies beyond the walls of her over-protective aunt’s house. As Octavia is swept into a whirlwind of lavish spending and fashionable society, she grasps eagerly at whatever she wants: clothes, houses, men… even a department store. But Flora yearns for security – and when she is rescued from harm by a kind stranger, she seems to have found the love and protection she craves. Prey to all kinds of dangers, the twins soon realise that without each other, they run the risk of losing everything. But is it already too late…?”

Annie Delaney just wants to be happy. She wants a big white wedding, a family and a happily ever after, but she’s suer that isn’t what she is going to get with her current boyfriend Pearse. He seems more interested in the running of his restaurant than he is paying Annie any attention, and she’s had enough. When she wakes up one morning with another man in her bed, she thinks fate is trying to tell her something and decides that maybe what her and Pearse have just isn’t perfect after all. Annie’s best friend Ffion is also heading down the aisle with her Mr Right, making Annie realise what she wants, but when things start to unravel, can Annie hold it together for Ffion and find her own perfect ending too?

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Harriet Evans’ latest book Love Always was originally due out this year, but has now been put back until 20th January 2011. It sounds like a great read and I really adore the cover which was released a couple of weeks ago. Here’s the synopsis:

Natasha Kapoor’s life is at a turning point. Leaving London for the magical Cornish coast to attend the funeral of her beloved grandmother, this trip will reunite her with her large and complicated family. As she and her family sort through her grandmother’s possessions and prepare to sell Summercove, the idyllic coastal home that has been in their family for decades, Natasha is given the long-lost diary of her aunt Cecily, who died in a tragic accident at the age of fifteen.

Returning to her home in London’s trendy Shoreditch, Natasha must get back to normality – to her job as a jewellery designer and to her soon-to-be ex-husband. But how can she forget the tragic tale of love, rivalry and heartbreak that emerged from the pages of Cecily’s diary? And will Cecily’s words, though written forty years ago, inspire Natasha to take a chance on love?