Summertime and the Readin' is Easy

The lazy, hazy days of summer are upon us (evidence, the lack of posts).  I'm heading to Greece with the family for three glorious weeks of beach time.  With three kids (the youngest is almost 18 months), I'm not sure how much time I'll get for reading.

For those of you who do have reading time over these dog days of summer, here are my top three picks:

Going Up Up Up!

There are two things that are making the Yummy Mummy Book Club totally rock these days.  First, publishers are getting connected to Wanda, our leader and we are getting free books ( (check her out at Bookalicious or over at Yummy Mummy Club) .  Second, authors are hanging out with us on Twitter during #YMBC online meetings and participating in our conversations.  How awesome is that!

This time around, we had Julie Booker online to participate in our chat about her new collection of short stores: Up Up Up.  The publisher, House of Anansi, sent us YMBC members a copy of the book about a week before it was released.  I found it very cool that by the time the book hit the shelves, I was already finished and talking about it to my friends.

Sing You Home

Where did this week go?  I had this blog post half written in my head in preparation to post right after our Wednesday night Yummy Mummy Book Club Twitter meeting.  Then....poof.  The week was over.

In my March Break post, I mentioned that I had read best selling author Jodi Picoult's latest, Sing You Home.  It was an exciting YMBC meeting.  Our fearless leader, Wanda, really out did herself for this one.  She struck a deal with Simon & Schuster Canada to get us complimentary copies of the book.  Then, when Picoult was touring in Canada, she coordinated passes for YMBC members to go to the readings.

March Break

Well, it's March Break here.  I have to admit I've been a bit stymied this week on what to post.   Here is what I have on my list of books I've read and haven't reviewed yet:

The Flying Troutmans, Miriam Toews
The Day The Falls Stood Still, Cathy Buchanan
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
Unmarketing, Scott Stratten
Evil Plans, Hugh MacLeod
Sing You Home, Jodi Picoult

Here's my dilemma.  The Flying Troutmans and The Day the Falls Stood Still were also YMBC picks and we had the discussions long ago.  I feel like full reviews are a bit late.  Everyone has read Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (and the rest of the series) so I don't think I can say anything substantial that would make for a compelling review.  Unmarketing and Evil Plans are more on the business side of things and I have been considering saving reviews of them for the relaunch of the blog on my business site (whenever I can get that done).  Lastly, Sing You Home is for another YMBC chat and it's not scheduled until March 30 so I don't want to jump the gun on that one.

ROOM

I had actually planned to post my fifth installment of "Giddy for Giller" with a review of Kathleen Winter's Annabelle (sneak preview:  the book is stunning. I'll say no more for now).  However, I have recently been caught up in a firestorm of love for Emma Donaghue's ROOM which culminated in what I will call an "emergency" session of the Yummy Mummy Book Club (#YMBC for you Twitter folks) last week.

I had no idea what ROOM was about when I picked it up.  I just saw a lot of Twitter activity about how much people loved it.  I didn't even read the sleeve.  I just started reading.  I am glad I did it that way.  If I had a clue, I don't know that I would have fallen so completely in love with Jack, the young voice of the novel.

Stand By Your Man

I recently read Jennifer Weiner's Fly Away Home for my Yummy Mummy Bookclub.  I've talked about the YMBC in another post here.  I had never read Jennifer Weiner before but I had seen the movie "In Her Shoes" based on her book.

Fly Away Home chronicles the voyage of Sylvie, after it is revealed that her politician husband had an affair with a much younger woman who he then helped get a job at a prestigious law firm.  He comes clean with Sylvie and his two daughters: Diana the hyper Type-A control freak, over achieving, ER doctor (who is by the way also having an affair) and Lizzie a recovering addict.

The Book Club

So, I joined a book club. An online book club called the Yummy Mummy Book Club. It's done on Twitter which I love. Online appealed to me because I don't have to plan it beyond putting it in the calendar, getting into my jammies and firing up the laptop. A book club in general appealed to me as I felt it would get me reading things I wouldn't normally pick for myself.

That came true immediately in my first month in the book club. The November pick was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Yes it's been out for a couple of years, has been a huge publishing phenomenon, and no I hadn't read it. Why? Absolutely no desire. I saw her on Oprah with her devotees and it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth. I watched my sister-in-law on our vacation in Greece pacing about reading it (for a book club) cursing. So, thought I would let this one pass.