The Week in Review: 03.08.2019
Between the Covers
Finished last week:
When I saw THE PROPOSAL by Jasmine Guillory is a Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine Book Club pick I decided to give it a try. It’s the story of Nikole Patterson. When her short term boyfriend, Fisher, proposes to her in front of thousands of people at Dodger Stadium she’s shocked and horrified. She doesn’t want to marry Fisher; as a matter of fact, she figured it was time for them to go their separate ways. When she turns him down, Carlos and his sister notice cameras zooming in on her so they rush to rescue her. She leaves with them and sparks fly but neither Nik or Carlos are interested in a relationship so they decide to just have fun.
I thought THE PROPOSAL was fun but very predictable. I liked Nik’s relationship with her girlfriends and Carlos’ relationship with his family and thought the diverse characters were great but some of the dialogue felt awkward and some of the language seemed unnecessary. In the end, I liked the book but didn’t love it. The audio book is narrated by Janina Edwards and I thought she did a good job. (Review copy provided by Penguin Random House.)
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TO NIGHT OWL FROM DOGFISH by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer is a fabulous, relevant, epistolary story for middle grade readers. Bett and Avery live on opposite coasts and couldn’t be more different except that they’re both being raised by single, gay dads. Bett discovers the two dads met on a business trip and are dating seriously. They’ve planned a big trip and are sending the girls to the same camp so they can get to know each other. The girls are not happy about the situation and decide not to speak to each other at camp. Things don’t go as planned, though – for the girls or their fathers.
The story is told through emails, letters, text messages, and voicemail and I thought it was so much fun. Bett is carefree, outdoorsy, and daring while Avery is cautious, bookish, and serious and I thought they were both fabulous characters. I’m sure young readers will relate to one (or even both) of them. There a are a few twists and turns so I didn’t see the ending coming but I loved it – it was the perfect way to end this book! Middle grade readers on up will love this book the way I did. (Review copy provided by Penguin Random House.)
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WINGSPAN by Chris Bohjalian is a one act play centered around a flight attendant who’s afraid to fly. Emily is on her first trans-Atlantic flight and veteran flight attendant Karen engages her in conversation to try to ease her fears. Karen learns that Emily’s fear of flying is the least of her worries.
This short play has been released as an audio book featuring the actresses who played the roles in the play off Broadway with Bohjalian himself reading the stage directions. They all did a pretty good job and kept me engaged the whole time. (Review copy provided by Penguin Random House.)
Currently reading:
- FINDING DOROTHY by Elizabeth Letts
- DOING JUSTICE by Preet Bharara
- DARING TO DRIVE: A SAUDI WOMAN’S AWAKENING by Manal al-Sharif
On the Screen
Not much of anything.
Off the blog
- I got Vance’s taxes down this week. Two down, one to go!
- I finished the puzzle my sister gave me for Christmas.
- We had a few days of sunshine this week which made me happy because we’ve had lots of rain this winter.
- We walked at least three miles every morning and I averaged just over 17,000 Fitbit steps a day.
What’s going on in your corner of the world?
Re The Proposal – I find “language” worse in audio than if I just see it in writing!
I was planning to read Night Owl this weekend, so I’m really happy to see how much you liked it. I love the premise. The play via audiobook sounds interesting. Yay on getting Vance’s taxes done — I still need to do that.
I loved Daring to Drive!
Strange that Bohjalian authored a short play. I do liked his writing yet, his last book was a bit of a disappointment. The Proposal sounds cute but not sure I’ll read it.
Have a nice weekend Kathy.
I didn’t know Bohjalian has written a play… interesting change of pace. Daring to Drive has been on my wish list for a while, so I’ll be curious to hear what you think. And hurray for a little sunshine! Have a good weekend, Kathy.
i didn’t know Bohjalian had written a play either and I think the idea of a flight attendant that’s afraid to fly is interesting. And a bit peculiar. Why would she become a flight attendant? Makes me want to go find this and read it. Ha! We got sunshine yesterday, but it’s cloudy again today. Happily, the temperatures will be lovely. Have a good week, Kathy!
Daring to Drive caught my eye. Love the puzzle 🙂
Nothing much going on here…it was a chemo week so i am nesting. As usual you read some really unique books!
The last (and only) Witherspoon book club selection I read was Where the Crawdads Sing. That was obviously a big winner. But I think I can pass on this one.
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On Fri, Mar 8, 2019 at 1:01 AM Bermudaonion’s Weblog wrote:
> BermudaOnion posted: ” Between the Covers Finished last week: When I saw > THE PROPOSAL by Jasmine Guillory is a Reese Witherspoon Hello Sunshine Book > Club pick I decided to give it a try. It’s the story of Nikole Patterson. > When her short term boyfriend, Fisher, proposes” >
Intriguing titles. I don’t think I would enjoy reading a play at this point, although I do enjoy Bohjalian’s books.
Finding Dorothy appeals to me.
Thanks for sharing, and have a great week.
The middle grade novel sounds like a fun one; I am starting to like novels that have different formats and this one seems like it does that well.
What do you do with all the puzzles once you’ve put them all together? They all seem too awesome to take apart!!
I’m curious about that puzzle. Is it beer labels? We’re working on one with classic book covers and it’s pretty easy since I recognize almost all the cover art. Still fun to do, though. 🙂 Enjoy your weekend!
I think I would be the same with the proposal
These are both new to me, but I like the cover art.
Interesting premise about the flight attendant who’s afraid to fly. That sounds like it would make a compelling play. Nice job on the puzzle.
I didn’t know Bohjalian wrote a play. Daring To Drive sounds really good.
I will have to tell our library about To Night Owl from Dogfish. The authors are familiar to me, so I bet it is great and likely makes for an easier read with it being epistolary.
Enjoy your week and your walking. I have seen The Proposal around, unnecessary language and awkward dialogue would throw me off as well.
We take so much for granted. Like the driving bit. So very basic.
Very cool puzzle! I didn’t know about Bohjalian’s play, either. The Night Owl from Dogfish sound very entertaining. Have a great week ahead, Kathy!
I will definitely look for Night Owl to Dogfish. I’m a huge middle grade reader.
SPOILER ALERT FOR The Proposal:
I hated it when the main character punched her old boyfriend! Violence, really? That was quite disappointing.
Oh! The Night Owl from Dogfish looks excellent!
I actually was curious about all three of those books. The puzzle is awesome… and so perfect for you.
Reese’s club picks are not always the best for discussion but they do seem to get people reading. I like when we all read books together. It’s just more fun even if they are lighter reads.
To Owl from Dogfish sounds like such a great read. I am going to have to look for that one. I hope you are having a great week, Kathy.