Wedding Night by Sophie Kinsella

I have seen the author's writing change from one level to the next and I mean that on a positive note. 

Wedding Night is her latest romp about Charlotte "Lottie" Graveney who lives in her own world at times.

When her boyfriend Richard tells her that he has to ask her a question, she hears "big question" and assumes that he wants to propose.  She buys him am engagement ring but all he wants to know is what should he do with his air miles and if he should use them for a trip for together.  She is flabbergasted.  He then admits that most times he doesn’t know what she is talking about and just nods along.

Her older sister, Fliss, says she can be "starry eyed" sometimes.  She is well aware of how Lottie makes things more than what they really are.

When an old boyfriend comes out of the woodwork and proposes, Lottie accepts.  The craziness escalates when her very own sister sets up a plan to sabotage the wedding night until she arrives in Greece to break them up.  

I always enjoy Sophie Kinsella's novels!

GUTS by Kristen Johnston

Appropriately titled, it takes guts to write a book about your own drug addiction and the author almost died because her “guts” literally exploded.

This true account is from the actress Kristen Johnston.  Most people would know her from the television show “3^Rd Rock From the Sun.”

This tale takes you through a range of emotions - laughter, shame, shock to crying and all others in-between. 

Kirsten does not make any excuses for her drug addiction – she merely tells it like it was.

I appreciate her candor in telling this story.  This is not really a story about her entire life, but mostly about the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak – sprinkled with tales from her life. 

  

Yes, Chef A Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson

Marcus tells us about his life as an Ethiopian who was adopted by a family in Sweden.  Although he grew up in Sweden, his adopted mother made sure that he learned about where he was from.

The Samuelsson family gave him a well rounded life including a grandmother who loved to cook.  This is where Marcus developed his love of cooking.

He talks about the trials and tribulations of being a chef, especially a black chef.  He gives his personal reflections about what he learned in cooking school, different cooking styles, especially Ethiopian, and about his life in general.  

He is a winner of Top Chef and the James Beard Foundation Award.  Currently he has a restaurant, “Red Rooster”, in Harlem where he lives. 

I enjoyed reading about his life and the road he took to being a chef.

PLAY DEAD by Harlan Coben

I just read Mr. Coben’s last book Six Years and I liked it.  Naturally, for me, I wanted to see what his other books were like.  I got a listing starting with his first book published and this was it. 

In a nutshell, In 1989 Laura and David get married and David disappears on their honeymoon.  The book begins with a scene in 1960, so that leads me to believe the events of 1989 are the result of what happened in 1960.   Laura goes on her own mission to discover what happened to David because his body is never recovered.  It is alleged that he drowned, however he is or was a professional basketball player and experienced swimmer. 

I thought it was a great story and well written even though the author wrote a disclaimer in the beginning of the book advising the reader to read his recent work first, then read his older work.  In all honesty, there was only one section of the story, near the end, where there was a little confusion in the plot.  I won’t mention any detail, because them I would be giving away some part of the story – read it yourself.

Peril In Paperback by Kate Carlisle

First, I was intrigued by the title, next the main character’s name is Brooklyn.  I had to read it and see what it was about.  Also, the book is subtitles as “a bibliophile mystery.”  Naturally, I wanted to see how books fit in the story. 

This is a mystery book about a book restorer by the name of Brooklyn Wainright.  It seems that she always gets involved in murders and there are other books that the author has written about Brooklyn. 

The author held my interest. A group of people are spending the week at a country estate to celebrate the owner’s 50^th birthday.  When guests start dying – the mystery begins.  If you have ever seen the movie “Ten Little Indians”, you’ll know the plot - and actually, it was mentioned in the book.

I would recommend it as a quick week-end read.

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire & Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

After the hubbub about the movie, I had to read the story to see what it was all about.  As of this writing, I have not seen the movie yet. 

The setting is North America, some years after devastation and destruction. There are 12 districts and 1 Capitol.  The Capitol rations food, clothes and any other article needed for the citizens to live a half-way decent life.  The hunger games involve 1 citizen from each district, pitted against one another. All this death and gory as entertainment for the Capitol and to keep the districts in line.

Katniss Everdeen is 16 when she volunteers for the hunger games.  She volunteers  because her younger sister was selected and she does not want to lose her. She has no imagination of the horrors that await her.

It is a great young adult story.  I can see the appeal because teens are the ones involved in the hunger games and it’s all about survival.  Who will be the last one alive?  This would mean that your family is well fed and lives the best life for 1 year.

I read all three books and liked the way it ended.