The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger

January 26, 2016

The Divorce Papers by Susan Rieger was such a strange book for me. It was an interesting book but it was strange in the fact that it was all just emails, memo’s and things like that back and forth between all the characters in the book. I have never before read a book like this before but it was interesting after I was about 20 pages into the book. It did take awhile for me to get into it but once I was I didn’t want to put it down. There are parts that I don’t know if they were meant to be funny but they did make me laugh because I could see things like this really being said. It is a book that I would tell you to give a chance because it is a great book it just takes time to get going. I liked that there aren’t any really chapters in this book so I could just read a page or two and be able to stop. I think anyone would like this book and I would recommend this one to everyone.

About The Book

Witty and wonderful, sparkling and sophisticated, this debut romantic comedy brilliantly tells the story of one very messy, very high-profile divorce, and the endearingly cynical young lawyer dragooned into handling it.

Twenty-nine-year-old Sophie Diehl is happy toiling away as a criminal law associate at an old line New England firm where she very much appreciates that most of her clients are behind bars. Everyone at Traynor, Hand knows she abhors face-to-face contact, but one weekend, with all the big partners away, Sophie must handle the intake interview for the daughter of the firm’s most important client. After eighteen years of marriage, Mayflower descendant Mia Meiklejohn Durkheim has just been served divorce papers in a humiliating scene at the popular local restaurant, Golightly’s. She is locked and loaded to fight her eminent and ambitious husband, Dr. Daniel Durkheim, Chief of the Department of Pediatric Oncology, for custody of their ten-year-old daughter Jane–and she also burns to take him down a peg. Sophie warns Mia that she’s never handled a divorce case before, but Mia can’t be put off. As she so disarmingly puts it: It’s her first divorce, too.

Debut novelist Susan Rieger doesn’t leave a word out of place in this hilarious and expertly crafted debut that shines with the power and pleasure of storytelling. Told through personal correspondence, office memos, emails, articles, and legal papers, this playful reinvention of the epistolary form races along with humor and heartache, exploring the complicated family dynamic that results when marriage fails. For Sophie, the whole affair sparks a hard look at her own relationships–not only with her parents, but with colleagues, friends, lovers, and most importantly, herself. Much like “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” “The Divorce Papers “will have you laughing aloud and thanking the literature gods for this incredible, fresh new voice in fiction.

About The Author

Susan Rieger is a graduate of Columbia University Law School. She is also a former Associate Provost for Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action at Columbia University.The Divorce Papers is her debut novel.

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20 Short Ones by Dan Salerno

January 13, 2016

20 Short Ones by Dan Salerno was a good book that I was able to get through pretty quickly. I loved that each story in this book can teach you something different and I was able to learn from each one. I love that this book has god in it and things like that but none of it is shoved down your throat so even if you aren’t super religious I still think you would enjoy this book. If I has to pick a favorite story it would be the second story in the book. I liked this one because I could see myself in Tilley and I felt so bad for her. If you love reading short stories than I know you will love this book because you can just read one or two of them when you have a few extra minutes to your self.

About The Book

Human relationships can be intriguing, heartbreaking, funny, frustrating, and soulful (among other things). Sometimes all at the same time.

20 Short Ones takes you from Northern Ireland to New York and places in between. Each story offers a snapshot experience and an opportunity to emotionally relate to the age-old mystery of how friendships (romantic or otherwise) happen, told from a faith perspective.

This book is written from a faith-based (Judeo-Christian) point of view so if you’re a fan of Christian Fiction, 20 Short Ones is for you!

About The Author

Dan Salerno has traveled to Northern Ireland five times and to Japan (once) on mission trips. This was before he lived in New York City for eight years, earning a master’s degree in social research while working for the National Coalition for the Homeless. After that he worked and lived at the Catholic Worker’s Joseph House near the Bowery, before moving back to the Midwest.

He eventually returned to New York and worked for a children’s ministry in Brooklyn, NY for 16 months soon after 9/11.

20 Short Ones, published by Westbow Press (a division of Thomas Nelson Publishing)is his first book. It’s an engaging collection of short stores each focusing on how relationships (romantic and otherwise) begin, told from a faith-filled (Judeo-Christian) perspective.

You can read a preview of 20 Short Ones on the Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Westbow Press and Christian Family Stores websites.

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Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets

December 23, 2015

Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets was a good book to read. I did get lost, but that is because I have been so busy that even when I sat down to read my head isn’t 100% in the book. This is one of the few books that I know I will go back and read again once things have slowed down at work and I can take the time to really focus on what is going on in the book. I really enjoyed this authors style of writing and the premise of the book. I live in a state where people hunt and things like that and even though I don’t do any of those things I felt like I could relate a little bit to book. If you love books that have suspense than I know you will enjoy this one just like I did.

About The Book

In captivating prose, Diane Les Becquets tells the story of one woman missing in the Colorado wilderness and another bent on discovering the missing woman’s whereabouts, in an unforgettably moving and thrilling literary debut.

It is the last weekend of the season for Amy Raye Latour to get away. Driven to spend days alone in the wilderness, Amy Raye, mother of two, is compelled by the quiet and the rush of nature. But this time, her venture into a remote area presents a different set of dangers than Amy Raye has planned for and she finds herself on the verge of the precarious edge that she’s flirted with her entire life.

When Amy Raye doesn’t return to camp, ranger Pru Hathaway and her dog respond to the missing person’s call. After an unexpected snowfall and few leads, the operation turns into a search and recovery. Pru, though, is not resigned to that. The more she learns about the woman for whom she is searching, and about Amy Raye’s past, the more she suspects that Amy Raye might yet be alive. Pru’s own search becomes an obsession for a woman whose life is just as mysterious as the clues she has left behind.

As the novel follows Amy Raye and Pru in alternating threads, Breaking Wild assumes the white-knuckled pace of a thriller laying bare Amy Raye’s ultimate reckoning with the secrets of her life, and Pru’s dogged pursuit of the woman who, against all odds, she believes she can find.

About The Author

Diane Les Becquets is a Professor of English and a faculty member at Southern New Hampshire University’s MFA Program in Fiction and Nonfiction. In addition to teaching creative writing, she has worked as a medical journalist; an archaeology assistant; a marketing consultant; a sand and gravel dispatcher; a copywriter; and a lifeguard, and is also an avid outdoorswoman. A native of Nashville, she spent almost fourteen years living in a small Colorado ranching town before moving to New Hampshire.

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The Girl From The Train by Irma Joubert

December 8, 2015

The Girl From The Train by Irma Joubert was a book I knew I was going to like because it takes place during WWII and I love almost all books that take place during that time period. I loved this book because I really loved Gretl from the start of the book. I was amazed at how she was able to go through what she did and still keep going. I don’t think I could do the same if I were in her shoes. I also enjoyed Jakob because of how he treated Gretl and how he was willing to take care of her when he could have just as easily ignored her and let her figure it out on her own. I can’t say enough good things about this book and I know if you love historical fiction books then you will love this book like I do.

About The Book

A sweeping international love story that celebrates the triumph of the human spirit over the inhumanities of war and prejudice.

Six-year-old Gretl and her sister jump from a train bound for Auschwitz, her mother and grandmother unable to squeeze between the bars covering the windows. The daughter of a German soldier, Gretl understands very little about how her grandmother’s Jewishness brought her first to the ghetto, then to the train, and now, to the Polish countryside where she wanders, searching for food and water for her dying sister.

Soon, Gretl finds refuge with Jakob, a Polish freedom fighter, and his family, where she is sheltered until the end of the war. Gretl is then sent away to a new life, a new name, and a new faith in Apartheid-era South Africa. As she comes of age in this strange place, she confronts its prejudices as she hides the truth of her past from her new family.

When Jakob makes his way to South Africa many years later, Gretl and Jakob are reunited in a love story that transcends time and distance and survives the ravages of hatred and war.

About The Author

International bestselling author Irma Joubert was a history teacher for 35 years before she began writing. Her stories are known for their deep insight into personal relationships and rich historical detail. She’s the author of eight novels and a regular fixture on bestseller lists in The Netherlands and in her native South Africa. She is the winner of the 2010 ATKV Prize for Romance Novels. Facebook: irmajoubertpage

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More More Time by David B. Seaburn

October 8, 2015

More More Time by David B. Seaburn was such an interesting book. There were times during the first few chapters that I got confused but once you have met all the characters it is easy to follow along and you are able to understand it all. I loved learning how all the characters were connected and see how they all interacted with each other. I really like Max and I found myself feeling bad for him because I can’t even imagine how it would be to hear voices all the time and to feel like you are going crazy. If you love general fiction than you should check this one out. If you have read it what did you think of it?

About The Book

General / Literary Fiction

Date Published: July 18, 2015

Maxwell Ruth, a cantankerous, old high school history teacher falls down his basement stairs and soon thereafter starts hearing “The Words” over and over again—endingtimeendingtimeendingtime. His life is changed forever.

In this story we learn about the lives, loves, and losses of Max, Hargrove and Gwen Stinson, Beth and Bob Hazelwood, and Constance Young. They are lively, funny, at times; a little bit lost or wounded, yet resilient and hopeful. They are wrestling with life’s most challenging issues, including, abuse, loss, infidelity, aging, secrecy and what gives life meaning. And, like all of us, they would like more, more time to find the answers to life’s most important questions. The clock, though, is always ticking and time is always short.

About The Author

David B. Seaburn served a rural country parish, worked in community mental health, was an assistant professor of psychiatry and family medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center for twenty years, and also directed a free public school-based family counseling center before his retirement in 2010. He has written five novels: More More Time (2015), Chimney Bluffs (2012), Charlie No Face (2011—Finalist in General Fiction, National Indie Excellence Awards), Pumpkin Hill (2007), and Darkness is as Light (2005). He and his wife live near Rochester, NY. They have two adult daughters and two wonderful granddaughters.

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