The Great Catsby

Finished July 1

The Great Catsby by B.K. Baxter

This light and humorous mystery is the first in a series called Nola Tail, featuring librarian Jade Hastings and her cat roommate Sir Chonksworth the Bold (Chonks). They've moved from Baltimore to Beulah, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, after Jade inherited a house from her Uncle Mike. The house is a large Victorian home, and while Jade has thought about selling it, she loves the details, especially the library, and plans on gradually repairing it and restoring it. 

Jade has been able to get a part-time job at the local library, and is starting up a book club, reading the classics. At her first meeting, she hands out The Great Gatsby, and they have an initial discussion. Most of those that came are genuinely interested in reading, but Tabby, the new young wife of one of the town's wealthiest men, Vince Means, is there because her husband urged her to. 

When Tabby is found dead the following morning, the police focus on Stanley (Taz), the young man working at the grocery store. Even though there is evidence that points to him, Jade is sure that the gentle and kind man couldn't have done the crime and she is determined to find the truth. As she and Chonks dig into the town's social dynamics and history, Jade finds new friends like Charlotte, the vet, and Ethan, a handyman. She also finds herself the newest target of the killer. 

A fun read, with viewpoints from both Jade and Chonks. It is Chonks that really figures things out and is the hero of the book, but he forgives his roommate and the other humans for not having the senses and intellect to figure it out.  

I like the way the authors bring the book from the book club into the plot in an interesting way and, of course, any book with a librarian and cat and the centre is a plus for me. 

The Book Club Hotel

Finished March 3

The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan

This novel is a book about female friendship with a touch of romance. Erica, Claudia, and Anna have been friends since college, which was nearly twenty years ago. Once a year they meet for a week at a hotel, and discuss a book that they've all read. Usually it is in the summer, but a personal crisis for one of the women delayed it, and they made tentative plans to go in mid-December instead. 

Erica has made a satisfying career as a crisis consultant, in demand all around the world. For the last few years, she's met a man Jack on a regular basis for intimacy, but says that she isn't interested in a relationship.

Claudia was dumped suddenly by her partner of ten years a few months ago, when he left her for someone younger. She's an accomplished chef, but has become tired of the negativity and grandstanding that often part of high-end restaurant kitchens. Now she's lost her job and is considering whether a career change might be in her future. 

Anna married Pete and has created a comfortable and loving home for him and their twins. Now that the twins are in their senior year of high school, Anna is focused on the loss of her purpose as a hands-on mom, already missing them. She can't see the possibilities for her and Pete as empty nesters. 

It is Erica's turn to plan their book club meeting, and she's chosen a charming hotel in small town Vermont. This is totally unlike her normal choices of luxury city hotels, and the other two know that there must be a reason for this choice.

There is a second storyline involving Hattie, the owner of the Vermont hotel who was widowed shortly after the hotel opened. She's been struggling to fulfil the vision her husband Brent had for hotel, and being a mom to her young daughter. She has a lot of support from the community, which is great. Some of the hotel staff that Brent hired have been causing her headaches though, and she isn't sure how to deal with them. 

As the two storylines meet, the characters become involved in each other's lives, and find new connections, new dreams, and a more promising and meaningful future. 

This is a feel-good story, with lots of Christmas cheer. I enjoyed seeing the four women grow and become more comfortable in their own choices. 

The Best Life Book Club

Finished February 26

The Best Life Book Club by Sheila Roberts

This feel-good novel has books, families, and romance. Karissa Newcomb has just moved to Gig Harbor, Washington from Seattle after her divorce. She has primary custody of her young daughter Macy, with her ex-husband having her on alternate weekends. Karissa has been betrayed by her husband and best friend who began a relationship that she discovered. She didn't want to live near them, and has found a job at a small publishing firm where she will work as the administrative assistant. The firm is run by two editors, Edward and Shirley. 

As Macy begins at a new school she finds her way into a friendship with another student after a few days of struggle. 

Karissa finds her way at work, among her co-workers and the authors they work with. She also meets her neighbours, Alice and Margot. Alice is in her late 50s, widowed by the love of her life, and just beginning to interact more with people beyond her family. Her older sister Josie spends a lot of time with her, trying to get her to overcome her fears and find a way forward. Margot is divorced and has a college-aged daughter. She's also just lost her management job, and is struggling to find a new one. 

Karissa decided to start a book club with these other women, and as they work their way through self-help and fiction, they find ways to move forward with their lives, opening new doors to personal fulfillment, professional growth, and romance. 

I enjoyed seeing the different women undergo growth and find happiness. 

The Bordeaux Book Club

Finished February 5

The Bordeaux Book Club by Gillian Harvey

This novel follows a group of mostly British ex-pats living in or near Bordeaux, France. Leah and her husband Nathan working in journalism before giving it up to live a dream life of owning and living off a small farm. The life is not as the dream, with the vegetables they grow not doing well, and Leah working part-time as a copy editor to help sustain them. Their daughter, Scarlett, now fourteen has thrived, easily learning the language and making friends. Now she is into her teen years where she spends a lot of time in her room and seems to resent her parents, particularly Leah. 

Leah has made a friend of a slightly older woman named Grace. Grace has thoroughly involved herself in the community, running a variety of clubs, and helping those who need it. Now she is starting an English book club, and convinces Leah to join. Along with Leah are George, a man who works construction and who has come over for a few months to work on a house for a man he's worked for before; Monica, who has an infant daughter, and whose husband, Peter, is a pilot who is often away for long periods of time; and Alfie, a young man in his twenties who is in college and living with his mother. 

They start with classics, with the first read being Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, which Grace has chosen and has enough copies in her home library to provide one for everyone. Going forward, they will take turns picking books. 

As they discuss the books and their thoughts, they share a lot with each other, from pasts to dreams of the future and secrets about the present. Even though they only meet once a month, they become close friends, and are there for each other when some of them struggle with deeply personal issues and change.

I really enjoyed this novel. All the characters are interesting, yet we really see depth for Leah and Grace. We grow to understand what brought Grace to where she is now, and why she behaves the way that she does. And we see Leah struggle with her marriage and her daughter, working her way through deep emotions and fears. A very enjoyable read. 

Crazy Stupid Bromance

Finished May 22

Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

I've really been enjoying this Nashville-based series. Here, Noah Logan who was introduced in the second book in the series, a tech security expert, is one of the main characters. We learn his back story, and how the loss of his father took him in a direction that was negative at first, but ended up propelling him into his successful career. 

The other main character, Alexis Carlisle, owner of the cat cafe ToeBeans, was mentioned in the first book and had a bigger role in the second book. Here, we also learn her backstory and how growing up the only child of a single mother gave her confidence and an independent spirit, but also made her long for family. Here, she is reconnected with her father's side of the family in an unusual, but meaningful way, and is pushed to take a risk in her romantic life. It was also interesting to see some of the ways her life had changed as a result of the revelations of the previous book. 

As usual, Noah is give a romance book by the members of the Bromance Book Club that they think will give him insight into his current situation and show him how to respect both his friendship with Alexis and his growing feelings for her. 

Again, I liked seeing more of these characters that we had peeks of before, giving us a fuller view of their characters and what brought them to this stage in their lives. I also enjoyed Alexis' cat Beefcake. 

I'll definitely be looking for the next book in the series, due out this summer.

12 Days of Book-Club-Mas

Finished January 17

12 Days of Book-Club-Mas by Once Upon a Book Club

I bought this special edition crate just to see what it was like, and was quite pleased with the experience, although due to all the postal issues in the United States, where it came from, and the volume here in Canada, I didn't get it until well into the New Year. I did limit myself to one story a day, with the associated gift for that story. 

Each story has a prompt in it somewhere, usually but not always near the end, for you to open a marked gift. Four of the gifts were books, which was nice. The other gifts related to the story, but some of the prompts definitely felt a bit awkward and contrived. I get that they had picked the gifts and then got the writers to make it work, and it definitely felt that way. In the monthly kits, the book already exists and gifts are chosen from the storyline that already exists, so no contriving is needed.

Some of the stories flowed nicely and were ones I enjoyed and had characters that I would read more about, others were either not appealing to me in plot or just didn't flow as well. Because this book of stories is used for both an Adult and a YA version of the box, many of the stories were YA oriented. 

Stories here are:

* Finding La Sabranenque by Margie Senechal (Contemporary fiction genre)

* Ways without End by T.M.Sigal (Fantasy genre)

* Somewhere by Selisa Laeza (YA Contemporary fiction genre with Spotify musical links embedded)

* An Adventure through Literature by Lagan Ashley (Fantasy genre)

* Lumi Blanche by Tia Arian (YA Fantasy genre)

* Before It Snows by Jenny L.Smith (YA Contemporary fiction genre)

* Share Your Joy by Abi Steer (Contemporary fiction genre)

* Little Treasures by Juliet Madison (Contemporary fiction genre)

* Memories at Maple Grove Inn by Kristine Eckart (Contemporary fiction genre)

* Love Overdue by Wendy Waltrip (YA Romance genre)

* The Right Path by Krista Holly (Contemporary Romance genre)

* The Promise by Hazel Prior (Contemporary fiction genre)

The final story is my favourite in the book and it was interesting to read these authors, none of whom I'd heard of before. Brief biographies of the authors are included at the end of the book.

Undercover Bromance

Finished December 19
Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

I enjoyed the first book, The Bromance Book Club, in this series so much when I read it this fall, I put a hold on the second one at my local library, and read it within a couple days of taking it out. 

We could already see the start of this romance at the end of that first one, and it involves one of the single guys that is part of the book club, Braden Mack. Restaurant and bar owner Braden is actually the guy that started the club and we get to look back into his past to see how he developed this interest in romance novels and the purposes of them for this group of male readers. He's been using the books, but not as deeply as he needs to if he wants to have a truly meaningful relationship. And so his date gets across to him after a night at a high end restaurant leads to the end of that relationship, a reconnection with Liv Papandreas, pastry chef and sister of his friend, and a mission to uncover fraud, abuse, and misogyny in their own city of Nashville. 

Liv isn't interested in Braden, and she still holds the time he ate her take-out against him, but he's persistent, and he seems to be able to charm even her feminist landlord. 

I like how these books have humour, depth of plot including some bigger societal issues, and a lot of good, sometimes hot, romance. 

Looking forward to the next one!

14th Canadian Reading Challenge: Book Club Overview

I offered to do a book discussion each month and there were some signs of interest. To make it easier to participate, I am choosing the books for the year now to give people time to seek them out. I have decided specifically not to choose brand new books, so people may be able to find them in libraries or used book stores if cost is an issue.
Near the end of the month, I will do a Zoom meeting for anyone interested to talk about the book. For those with poor internet connections, there will also be a post where you can make comments.

July 2020: Marie Chapdelaine by Louis Heman
   This is one of Canada's earliest novels and it is available free online if you can't find a copy.
August 2020: The Afterlife of George Cartwright by John Steffler
   The novel takes a closer look at an historical figure from 18th-century Labrador
September 2020: Starlight by Richard Wagamese
   The last book from one of our cherished Indigenous writers, with themes of mercy and compassion
October 2020: Obasan by Joy Kogawa
   A story of the Japanese Canadians, their evacuation, relocation and treatment during WWII
November 2020: The Wars by Timothy Findley
  One of the best novels written about the First World War, in honor of Remembrance Day
December 2020: Hockey Dreams by David Adams Richards
    Part essays, part memoir, a look at what hockey means to Canadians
January 2021: The Break by Katherena Vermette
    Award-winning family saga with Métis characters
February 2021:  The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy
  Another classic French Canadian novel with themes of poverty
March 2021: As For Me and My House by Sinclair Ross
   A classic story of life in the Depression era told in the form of a journal
April 2021: Sanaaq: An Inuit Novel by Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk
   The first Inuit novel, written by an Inuit woman over two decades
May 2021: The House of All Sorts by Emily Carr
   Before getting recognition for her art, Carr ran a small apartment building and these stories tell of
   those experiences
June 2021:  A Map to the Door of No Return by Dionne Brand
   A book that explores the relevance and nature of identity and belonging in a diverse world

David Bowie Book Club

I saw this article
David Bowie's Son Starts Book Club
and couldn't resist

So I followed him on twitter and here is the first book.
Duncan Jones starts David Bowie book club

It sound interesting and I look forward to some fascinating reading.