#BookReview: The Returned by Jason Mott

Given a chance, who wouldn't want a few more minutes with their loved ones?  If a deceased friend or relative showed up on your doorstep, complete as they were prior to death (but not all zombie like), would you welcome them back into your home and life with no questions asked, or would you be skeptical of them?

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#BookReview: Sight Reading by Daphne Kalotay

When musician-composer Nicholas first met the beautiful Hazel, he was immediately taken with her looks.  Not the kind of woman he would normally pursue, there is something about the beauty who lights up every room she enters.  She's the mother to his newborn daughter, Jessica, and his biggest cheerleader.

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Free for All Friday: All About Idris

How do I love thee, Idris, let me count the ways!  My favorite man to watch do just about anything has been making the rounds promoting his upcoming movie, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.  I'm going to a screening tomorrow night and in anticipation of that, I'm posting a few of his most recent pics out and about.

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#BookReview: Mama's Child by Joan Steinau Lester

Any time you read a book, you bring your own history and experiences along with you.  They shape your perception of what you're reading.  So it wasn't surprising to me that when I looked at other reader's reviews of Mama's Child on Goodreads, the people that loved it versus those that barely tolerated were firmly divided into two camps.

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#BookReview: Marching to Zion by Mary Glickman

In 1916, East St. Louis, Illinois was a hub of activity.  Less sophisticated than St. Louis to its west, it was full of factories and slaughterhouses.  It was also full of immigrants working those factory jobs and blacks recently migrated from the South in search of better jobs than they'd been able to find in places like Mississippi or Alabama.  It's to this city that Mags Preacher arrives in 1916, hoping to make her fortune as a hairdresser.

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#BookReview: Homemade Sin by Mary Kay Andrews

Growing up, Callahan Garrity was closer to her cousin Patty than she was to her own sister.  Slightly older than Callahan, Patty was a free spirit in her younger years.  If you googled hippie, Patty would have shown up in the image results.  Over the years, Patty has given up her carefree ways and become much more serious.  Motherhood and a cheating husband will do that to you.

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#BookReview: To Live and Die in Dixie by Mary Kay Andrews

Callahan Garrity and her motley crew of cleaners are back in book two of Mary Kay Andrews' Callahan Garrity Mystery series.  This time around, Callahan is called on to solve a stolen artifacts case.  And, as usual, Neva Jean and the other mice come along for the ride.

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#BookReview: Disconnected by Jennifer Weiner

In just 38 pages, Jennifer Weiner manages to introduce readers to Shannon Will, a character they will either have sympathy for or despise immediately.  Shannon has been in rehab six times and she's just 28!  Every time she gets out, she swears she's going to get her life together and every time she fails.

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#BookReview: Rude Bitches Make Me Tired: Slightly Profane and Entirely Logical Answers to Modern Etiquette Dilemmas by Celia Rivenbark

Remember the other day when we talked about judging books by their covers and how you decide what to read? When I saw the title of this book, I didn't even care what the topic was, I had to read it.  It's like Celia Rivenbark knew just what I needed.

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#Whatever Wednesday: Judging a Book by Its Cover

Monday night I was browsing publisher’s catalogs, because that’s what book bloggers do for entertainment. As I went through and added books to my “to be read” shelf, I thought about how I pick books and wondered if others use the same methods.

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#BookReview: The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

It's a wonder Sookie Poole hasn't had a nervous breakdown.  With an overbearing mother like Lenore and planning four weddings for her children, consecutively, Sookie is just plum wore out.  She's finally looking forward to spending some time with her husband Earl on a second honeymoon.  Then an envelope is sent to her, changing everything.

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#BookReview: Every Crooked Nanny by Mary Kay Andrews

I can never really get enough of Mary Kay Andrews' books.  There seems to be a year long wait between them and I know we shouldn't rush authors, but there have been times that I wish she could just write a little quicker.  Until recently, I wasn't aware that Andrews also writes under the name Kathy Hogan Trocheck.  Originally released on the Avon imprint, Harper is re-issuing her series based on former Atlanta detective turned private investigator and owner of a cleaning business, Callahan Garrity.

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