Waiting on Wednesday - Pearl of China by Anchee Min

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly anticipating.

Okay, so techinically this was released yesterday, but since in all honesty I won't get my hands on it for awhile, I'm still counting it as my "can't-wait-to-read" selection.

Pearl of China - Anchee Min
Pub. Date: 03/30/2010
In the small southern town of Chin-kiang, in the last days of the nineteenth century, two young girls bump heads and become thick as thieves. Willow is the only child of a destitute family, Pearl the headstrong daughter of zealous Christian missionaries. She will ultimately become the internationally renowned author Pearl S. Buck, but for now she is just a girl embarrassed by her blonde hair and enchanted by her new Chinese friend. The two embark on a friendship that will sustain both of them through one of the most tumultuous periods in Chinese history.

Moving out into the world together, the two enter the intellectual fray of the times, share love interests and survive early marriages gone bad. Their shared upbringing inspires Pearl’s novels, which celebrate the life of the Chinese peasant and will eventually earn her both a Pulitzer and a Nobel Prize. But when a civil war erupts between the Nationalists and Communists, Pearl is forced to flee the country just ahead of angry mobs. Willow, despite close ties to Mao’s inner circle, is punished for loyalty to her “cultural imperialist" friend. And yet, through love and loss, heartbreak and joy, exile and imprisonment, the two women remain intimately entwined.

Teaser Tuesday - Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page


"This telling of the fairy tale was changing their perceptions of everything, of each other most of all. With that thought came another: what was it about the play-and about the fairy tale-that had upset Mom so much all those years ago?"

p. 242 -- "Winter Garden" by Kristin Hannah

Mailbox Monday - 6

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at the The Printed Page. It is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week.

So only one book this week, but even still, I am super excited about it. Skeletons at the Feast has been on my wish list for a while now, and I have read/heard nothing but amazing things. A love story and historical fiction both intertwined... (two of my favorite things ever when it comes to books) could it get any better than this?

Skeletons at the Feast - Chris Bohjalian A masterful love story set against a backdrop of epic history and unforgettable courage In the waning months of World War II, a small group of people begin the longest journey of their lives. At the center is eighteen-year-old Anna, the daughter of Prussian aristocrats, and her first love, a twenty-year-old Scottish prisoner of war named Callum. With his boyish good looks and his dedication to her family, he has captured Anna’s heart. But he is the enemy, and their love must remain a closely guarded secret. Only Manfred, a twenty-six-year-old Wehrmacht corporal, knows the truth. And Manfred, who is not what he seems to be, is reluctantly taken with Anna, just as she finds herself drawn uncomfortably to him. As these unlikely allies work their way west, their flight will test both Anna’s and Callum’s love, as well as their friendship with Manfred–and will forever bind the young trio together.

I shall miss you. I shall miss the possibility of you

A Wedding in December - Anita Shreve
At an inn in the Berkshire Mountains, seven former schoolmates gather to celebrate a wedding—a reunion that becomes the occasion of astonishing revelations as the friends collectively recall a long-ago night that indelibly marked each of their lives. Written with the fluent narrative artistry that distinguishes all of Anita Shreve's bestselling novels, A Wedding in December acutely probes the mysteries of the human heart and the endless allure of paths not taken.

As usual, I was completely captivated by Shreve's writing style. I love, love her - definitely one of my favorite authors! But... as far as the actual story? Yeah, completely missed the mark for me. I just didn't get it. At all. The seven friends that reunite for the weekend wedding, were extremely unlikable to me. Honestly, I despised them and their adulterous ways. Even the groom-to-be is a complete ass, who leaves his wife and daughter so he can marry his 'high school sweetheart'. I just don't get the message of this book.. adultery is okay and justifiable? Sorry, I completely and utterly disagree.

The most enjoyable part of this novel for me, was probably the story within a story, which involves one of the character's, Agnes, and her new novel, which depicts the Halifax Explosion of 1917. In the telling of her story, I became more attached towards her fictional character, Ines, than any of the main characters taking part in the wedding-reunion. I think that tells a lot about how I feel for this book. When you like the side story better than the main plot, that's probably not a good sign... I honestly could care less about what happens to Bill and Bridget, Harrison and Nora, or any of the other friends that reunited. Just very, very disappointed in this one! Hopefully the next Shreve novel I read will be better.

Wordless Wednesday : the Beach & a Book

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Teaser Tuesday - The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page


"She conducted her readings in the back of the store, where she blended the essential oils. She kept a cauldron back there as well, but that was just for looks."

p. 131 -- "The Lace Reader" by Brunonia Barry

Mailbox Monday - 5

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Marcia at the The Printed Page. It is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week.

Winter Garden - Kristin Hannah This one was sent to me by Marcia at The Printed Page - thanks Marcia!! Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family business; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, these two estranged sisters will find themselves together again, standing alongside their disapproving mother, Anya, who even now offers no comfort to her daughters. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise: Anya will tell her daughters a story; it is one she began years ago and never finished. This time she will tell it all the way to the end. I Am an Emotional Creature : The Secret Life of Girls Around the World - Eve Ensler In this daring, provocative, and insightful book, bestselling author and internationally acclaimed playwright Eve Ensler writes fictional monologues and stories inspired by girls around the globe. Moving through a world of topics and emotions, these voices are fierce, alive, tender, complicated, imaginative, and smart. Girls today often find themselves in a struggle between remaining strong and true to themselves and conforming to society’s expectations in an attempt to please. They are taught not to be too intense, too passionate, too smart, too caring, too open. They are encouraged to shut down their instincts, their outrage, their desires and their dreams, to be polite, to obey the rules. I Am an Emotional Creature is a celebration of the authentic voice inside every girl and an inspiring call to action for girls everywhere to speak up, follow their dreams, and become the women they were always meant to be.