Archive for the ‘Top Picks’ category

September Top Picks

September 1st, 2010

by Malena Lott

We’ve reached the second bookend of summer: Labor Day weekend, which means it’s time to put away our playthings and pull out our pom poms and denim for autumn.

First, I’d like to say a quick “thank you” to the Bookettes for being such faithful and interesting book bloggers here, and to the readers and our book club members for loving books and taking the time to get together to discuss them!

Every month, you’ll find fresh picks in our BEBookshelf in the sidebar of the site. For September, we’ve selected another diverse collection – a story of four women at a crossroads, two “birthday sisters” who love the same man, the story of what happens at a zoo, and a touching memoir about a writer and his mentor.

What they have in common is beautiful, engaging writing that makes you think. Click on the covers to learn more about each book and purchase if you so choose.

If you’d like to start a book club in your area, shoot me an e-mail and we’ll get you set up. We’re happy to add more lit sisters to our readerority. :)

What are you reading and loving?

In Memoriam

August 3rd, 2010

Are you a collector? Are your bookshelves loaded with Hummels, tiny spoons, Franklin Mint commemorative plates? No? Me neither. Nothing makes me shudder more than a marathon episode of Hoarders. Not even books clutter my shelves.

The reason? Every book I’ve ever bought has sprung a pair of legs and walked off to my girlfriends’ houses. The only books that stick around are the ones I didn’t like. And they only leave by force, like reluctant children off to camp.

But there’s an exception to every rule.

There is one book that I’ve loved for thirty-five years and is never allowed to leave. Its binding is loose. Its pages, soft and limp. There is a purple crayon scribble on page seven. I can recite every line by heart, and I weep as I turn the last page.

My grandfather gave me MISS TWIGGLEY’S TREE in 1974 when I was a little girl. It wasn’t my birthday. It wasn’t Christmas. He gave it to me on a Tuesday in June after Grandma finished washing my hands with Ivory soap. He said it was just because he loved me.

It is all I have left of him now. I read it to my own children. It does more to tell them about their great-grandfather than any worn photograph ever could, and it’s that lesson that I remember:

Before giving a child a figurine, or a stuffed animal that will only litter a book shelf, I try to find that one special book that will speak to that child.

And when in doubt, I look for that funny Miss Twiggley who lived in a tree “with a dog named Puss and a color t.v.”

It’s Not That I’m Bitter

June 24th, 2010

Book babes,
I am SO loving reading this Top Pick. It’s funny and relevant. Click on the book cover in the right sidebar to order. The author is a great speaker, too! Here she talks about swimsuit season.

Molly Ringwald Talks “Getting the Pretty Back”

May 5th, 2010

#1 Way to be Queen of Your Own Life

May 4th, 2010

Meet the authors of QUEEN OF YOUR OWN LIFE as they tell us the #1 thing we should do. See the full series on YouTube.

May Top Picks

May 3rd, 2010

by Malena Lott

Around here, April showers have certainly brought May flowers. My rose bushes are in full bloom in all their glorious red, yellow and pink power. I’ve always thought flowers springing up in early May is one of the finest gifts as we celebrate moms for Mother’s Day, don’t you?

So, in fact, are books. Our Top Picks this month include one women’s fiction novel and three non-fiction books, all listed in our sidebar with links to find out more and purchase all month long. What they all have in common is that phrase, “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”

Also, May is a very busy month for moms with all the year-end hub-bub that happens in our schools, graduations, awards ceremonies and planning summer activities. In other words, we wanted to go easy on you and all of these books are perfect for packing on your iPhone, Kindle or iPad or stuffing in your bag for reading in the pick-up line or snatching some quiet moments to yourself.

51294674.JPGI know many of you are Molly Ringwald fans as I am. Her image as a “teen” will follow her all the days of her life. Her books GETTING THE PRETTY BACK explores how women can recapture that feeling of “pretty” inside and out as we age. I love her voice and am really looking forward to exploring the book with you.

In THE THREADBARE HEART, Jennie Nash explores mother-daughter relationships between three generations of women as she looks at love and marriage after her husband of twenty-five years dies in a fire. Special thanks to Julie at Booking Mama, one of our Book End Babes, for making this recommendation. Go here to read her review.

QUEEN OF YOUR OWN LIFE: The Grown-Up Woman’s Guide to Claiming Happiness and Getting the Life You Deserve by Cindy Ratzlaff and Kathy Kinney is another girl-power book with a comedic slant. This would make a great mother’s day gift for moms of any age.

41fJhwpRKOL._SL500_AA300_THE POCKET THERAPIST would make a great gift for girlfriends (and may save you a lot of time) from one of my favorite women online of all time, Therese Borchard. I began reading her Beyond Blue blog on Beliefnet.com two years ago and have followed her since. She even took the time to e-mail me back when I’d sent her fan mail and mailed me a couple of books. She’s SO HONEST about her journeys and such a refreshing read on the blogosphere and now in this book. Personally, I think ALL OF US NEED THERAPY whether we get that help from good friends, a real therapist or books, so why not explore the book for some tips to living well and making the most of our time here?

The Lost Wife’s Tale

April 28th, 2010

I finished our April Top Pick The Lost Wife’s Tale, by the light of my iPhone one night when Sleepy couldn’t keep up with my night reading. Did I let that stop me? No. As is the case with most great books, I couldn’t put the darn thing down.

Here’s the description from the publisher:

Once Edith Lutz had a life, a husband, and a home. Why did she run?

Edith doesn’t want to be found, so she’s taken on a new look, a new name, and an anonymous new life in New York City. Hoping to escape her past and start over, she’s now working as a live-in housekeeper for wealthy, recently divorced publisher Adam. Edith is a breath of fresh air in her lonely employer’s empty home, and she soon becomes more than just the woman who cleans the kitchen. But Adam knows nothing of the real woman he’s falling in love with—or just how shaky the foundations of their blossoming relationship truly are. And Edith can never be sure that her dark history won’t catch up to her. In fact, it’s closer than she thinks.

What did I think?
McGilvary writes liquid prose, my absolutely favorite kind. You just melt with the story and there you are floating down the literary river until you’re dumped off the waterfall in a magnificent crescendo. Or something like that.

The protagonist – the “lost” wife – is not entirely likable, which I also enjoy reading. We aren’t sure WHY we don’t like her, though we do know that she is secretive and perhaps a bit dangerous and not to be trusted. And yet we sympathize with her because whatever reason led her to run away from her life must’ve been a doozy.

Nope, I’m not going to tell you much more than it’s a suspenseful, well-written read that will keep you wondering until the near end. You will probably disagree with some of our heroine’s decisions, but then again, you may not. The point is: you WILL be carried away with the story. I need Marion to feed me some more words ASAP. I’m going to go hunt down some more of her. One way is of course to check out her website. Malena

About the Author
Marion McGilvary was restaurant critic for the Financial Times for three years and was short-listed for a Glenfiddich Food and Drink Award. She has written for numerous publications in the UK, including The Times, The Observer, Vogue, Marie Claire, Women’s Journal, and GQ. She has written and illustrated several children’s books and is the author of two books based on her columns in the Times and Observer. She lives in London.

Order the book by clicking on the cover image in the right sidebar.

The Reincarnationist Series Trailer

April 13th, 2010

Check out this beautiful trailer to learn more about MJ Rose’s reincarnationist series. Her Book The Memorist is a Book End Babe Top Pick this month. Click on the book cover to learn more about the book.

Orange is the New Black on NPR

April 7th, 2010

kermanEach week we’ll be featuring special posts about our top picks. Today, we can mosey over to NPR to listen to Piper (pictured) as well as read an excerpt of her book. To order the book, simply click on the cover in the sidebar.

Congrats, Piper!

“Smith graduate Piper Kerman was bored with her middle class life — so she joined a group of bohemian artists-turned-drug smugglers. After traveling to exotic resorts and smuggling a suitcase packed with drug money from Chicago to Brussels, she broke free from the drug trade and found a new life, normal jobs and a blooming romance.

But 10 years later, federal officers knocked on her door. Kerman pleaded guilty to drug smuggling and money laundering and went on to serve time in a federal women’s prison in Danbury, Conn.

In her memoir, Orange Is The New Black: My Year In A Women’s Prison, Kerman recounts a year in which she learned to clean her cell with maxipads, to wire a light fixture, and to make prison cheesecake — all while finding camaraderie with women from all walks of life.” – NPR

For the full story, audio and excerpt, go here.

Of Bunnies & Books: April Top Picks

April 5th, 2010

After our brief holiday hiatus we are back and excited to talk about books! Our April Top Picks beautifully represent what CHANGE is all about. These four picks couldn’t be more different, but the one thing they have in common is how entertaining they are. I hope you’ll let me know what you like and what you plan to read. You can click on the covers in the sidebar to find out more about them on Amazon and, of course, all month long here on Book End Babes.
xo,
Malena

P.S. Pass the Reeses Bunny.

Why we picked these:

THE MEMORIST by M.J. Rose: A reincarnation thrill ride. Rose is on a roll.

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: My Year in a Women’s Prison by Piper Kerman. I don’t want to go to there so I’m happy to experience it through Piper’s re-telling.

A LOST WIFE’S TALE by Marion McGilvary. I know last month we had “A Wife’s Tale” but we swear we aren’t picking based on titles. This one is about a woman who becomes a maid to hide her secret identity and the writing is gorgeous.

CHANGELESS by Gail Carriger. If the author’s name rings a bell, it’s because her first book in the series, SOULLESS, was a top HoLITday pick, and this installment is even more fun that the first. The fantasy is oh-so-refreshing.