Signature Views Mini-Doc – The restaurant Egg in Brooklyn holds a monthly event called Tables of Contents where authors give readings, and dishes based on passages from their books are served. Chef Evan Hanczor gives an inside look at the dinner series, featuring authors Adam Gopnik, Victor LaValle, and Sarah Gerard.
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Posted by Stacy Alesi
I am a long time Stephen Colbert fan, although I must admit up front that “Midnight Confessions,” the segment on the Late Show, is not my favorite bit. So I was somewhat surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, and how funny it is.
You would think if I didn’t like the segments much, I would really dislike a whole book of them but the reverse happened. Maybe because these are the best of these bits? I don’t know, but I read it rather quickly and was laughing out loud through most of it. I couldn’t resist sharing bits of it with my family, either. And I loved that they included tweets from fans with their own confessions! My personal favorite from @pjerickson, “Sometimes I make up words in order to sound more aproserial.”
Stephen Colbert has taken the show on a decidedly political/anti-Trump journey but this book does not reflect that. It is pretty much politics free, so would make a great gift for anyone, Democrat or Republican. (Maybe not strict Catholics who might find the whole confessions idea blasphemous, but what do I know.)
It’s still a bit early for holiday shopping but keep this book on your gift list. It’s a really pretty hardcover, with a padded cover and a non-book-like shape that would look pretty on a coffee table. And if you need a break from all the bad news in the world, do yourself a favor and buy this book. You’ll be glad you did.
A few favorites:
They say there’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s, but I’m thinking a whole bag while you’re idling in the driveway is close.
I think women look great in stiletto heels, but if I were a woman and a man asked me to wear them, I would murder him with my shoes.
I’m a man in his fifties who eats like a man in his twenties who doesn’t plan to make it to his thirties.
A librarian pet peeve that I can get behind:
I have violent thoughts when people use the terms “sci-fi” and “fantasy” interchangeably.
“Oh, I love science fiction. I just read Lord of the Rings.”
I will end you.
9/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™
MIDNIGHT CONFESSIONS by Stephen Colbert. Doubleday (July 11, 2017). ISBN 978-0385541800. 304p.
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Posted by Stacy Alesi
In 1979, a local private school became the site of an academic scandal that turned into murder. Two students were kicked out for cheating and a third, blamed for tattling, was shunned and then killed. Of the boys involved in the crime, only two actually served time—one escaped and the other was given immunity for testifying. But the case had another twist to it: rumor has it the murder wasn’t over the cheating scandal at all, but a tape the girl was said to have stolen. A tape that was never recovered in the investigation.
Ten years later, the two boys who served time for the crime have been released and the parents of one have called Kinsey. It seems the rumored tape is not only real, it’s being used for blackmail and the parents want Kinsey to find out who is behind it all.
Kinsey’s latest case is something of a pain in the ass. A group of rather well to do (for the most part) teens gets caught up in a cheating scandal that goes south when one of the teens, gun in hand, accidentally kills a classmate. Ten years later, that teen is now a young man, newly released from his time served. But his parents are concerned that he’ll be arrested again when a sex tape from those same high school surfaces.
Everyone involved in making the film claims it was a lark, a joke with outtakes that show the kids laughing and goofing off. But the only actual evidence that seems to remain is the one tape, and there’s no question that it would lead to another trial. The biggest mystery isn’t just who is behind the blackmail, but where the video has been all this time. As Kinsey investigates answers are few and far between, though.
There are a few subplots. First, Kinsey has a stalker who’s returned from a previous case. Then there’s drama in the neighborhood as well, including Henry’s new houseguests, all of which commands some of Kinsey’s time and attention. But, as per usual, never causes her to lose her wits or cool.
I adore this series and I have loved each and every installment. Y is for Yesterday is no exception. Kinsey has grown so much over the course of the series and has learned a lot about herself and her family. Grafton has built a strong support system of characters around Kinsey as well, making each new book a welcome return not only to the PI we all know and love, but to Henry, Cheney, Rosie, and newer additions like Anna as well.
I can’t stress enough just how much I’ll hate saying goodbye to this series. I’ve been reading alongside Kinsey and her cases for almost two decades now and I’ve loved each and every entry. With Y, there’s now just one more book to go.
9/17 Becky LeJeune
Y IS FOR YESTERDAY by Sue Grafton. Marian Wood Books/Putnam (August 22, 2017). ISBN 978-0399163852. 496p.
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Posted by Stacy Alesi
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This is one of my favorite series and I have enjoyed every one of these books. They have all been set in Manhattan but this one moves out to the Hamptons, summer playground of many city dwellers. And if you’re a dog lover, this is a must read!
Fliss and Harriet are identical twins who own a dog walking business in the city. Their business has grown tremendously since Urban Genie, the concierge service owned by the women who starred in the first three books in the series, started recommending them to their clients. The twins had a difficult childhood with a verbally abusive father, and Harriet was a stutterer as a child and Fliss her protector. As adults, Fliss still feels protective over her 3-minute-younger sister.
Fliss was briefly married to Seth Carlyle ten years earlier, and that marriage ended only a few months in. We don’t find out why for quite a while and that journey is at times heart wrenching and funny. When Fliss sees Seth at the vet’s office, she freaks out and when her grandmother suffers a fall, she offers to go out to the Hamptons to take care of her, escaping her ex. Except when she gets out there, she immediately runs into Seth. She freaks out and lies, telling him that she is Harriet. Turns out he was just helping out a friend in the city for a few days, but his practice is really out on Long Island.
Gradually he convinces her to meet with him and talk, but Fliss is used to keeping everything inside, and it is almost impossible for her to overcome all her baggage and open up to him – or to her twin. She grows closer to her grandmother, learns more about the family dynamics that play into her psyche, and eventually finds her happily ever after.
I loved this book. If you haven’t read the others in the series, it is not necessary to read them first. But if you enjoy this one as much as I did, please go back and read them in order. To be honest, I am very tempted to go back and read them all again, and that is not something I say lightly. In order:
9/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™
HOLIDAY IN THE HAMPTONS by Sarah Morgan. HQN Books (August 29, 2017). ISBN 978-0373803996. 416p.
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Posted by Stacy Alesi
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Pamela Redmond Satran was most well known for her baby name books, written with Linda Rosenkrantz and are “acknowledged to have revolutionized American baby naming.” Which I think is true, but Satran also wrote several chick-lit books back in the day and I loved them, but somehow I missed this one.
I only read this because of the TV show, which I found because I love the Gilmore Girls and watched the re-boot on Netflix. One of the episodes, “Summer,” featured a musical play starring Sutton Foster, who was fabulous. This led me to watching “Bunheads”, a cult favorite from the same creative team as the Gilmore Girls that only lasted one season. I loved that, so when I heard that Sutton Foster was currently starring in “Younger,” I binge watched the first three seasons of that on Hulu, and I’m now caught up in the fourth. During that binge, I noticed it was based on a book and after this very long (probably too long, sorry!) explanation, here I am.
So if you are familiar with the TV show, here’s what you need to know. There have been many name changes, starting with Liza, who is Alice in the book, Kelsey was Lindsey, Diana was Teri, and well, you get the idea. Charles is a woman in the book so no romance there. Josh is still Josh, only he’s a video game designer instead of a tattoo artist. And the book ends way sooner and without half as much drama or fun as the TV series. All that said, it was still fun to read the inspiration behind the series.
If you are not familiar, here’s the plot. Alice has been a stay at home mom whose daughter has now left college for the Peace Corps and her husband, a dentist, has left her for his much younger dental hygienist. Trying to find a job in publishing, where she worked for a few months before a difficult pregnancy, proves much harder than expected. Alice’s best friend Maggie lives in New York City and offers some advice and a place to stay while she’s looking for a job in publishing. Her advice is to do a makeover on Alice, buy her new clothes and prove to her that she can pass for a twenty-something instead of a middle aged housewife. She does this by taking her to a bar on New Year’s Eve, where she meets and kisses Josh. He is much younger than her, but thinks she is only a few years older than he is, maybe 29? She’s really 44 but by leaving off the past decade or so from her resume, she lands a job with the same publisher she worked for before her pregnancy.
Living a lie causes all sorts of tension and working for a bitch isn’t any more fun for a pretend 29-year-old than it would be for a 44-year-old. Eventually, the truth comes out and Alice dumps Josh before he can dump her. But that wouldn’t make for a happily ever after so at the last possible second, they work it out.
I enjoyed the book and considering it was published twelve years ago, it holds up pretty well. But I have to admit I enjoy the TV show more. There are just so many more complications and plot twists over four seasons than is possible in a book of a few hundred pages.
If you love the TV show, you’ll probably enjoy the book. If you haven’t seen it, read the book then watch it. Either way you’ll have fun – I did.
9/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™
YOUNGER by Pamela Redmond Satran. Gallery Books; First Edition edition (July 5, 2005). ISBN 978-1416505587. 284p.
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Posted by Stacy Alesi
Welcome to the September bookshelf of signed thrillers! There are terrific books this month from some of my favorite authors and some new-to-me authors. To enter, go to the Win Books page. Best of luck!
SLEEP LIKE A BABY by Charlaine Harris: Stricken with flu while her husband is on a business trip, Roe accepts the help of an in-home nurse who goes missing on a stormy night at the same time a body is found outside the house.
Y IS FOR YESTERDAY by Sue Grafton: Kinsey Millhone monitors the release from prison of a sociopath who is determined to exact revenge on a fellow perpetrator who went missing after they sexually assaulted a fourteen-year-old classmate in the penultimate installment in the best-selling series.
VINCE FLYNN’S ENEMY OF THE STATE by Kyle Mills: In the aftermath of a secret non-aggression pact that America will cover up evidence of Saudi involvement in the September 11 attacks in exchange for oil, evidence of hostile Saudi activity forces Mitch Rapp to resign from the CIA and assume the guise of a traitor as part of a covert mission to keep the peace.
ENIGMA by Catherine Coulter: Agents Savich and Sherlock network with agent Cam Wittier and New York Special Forces agent Jack Cabot in a race against time to catch an international criminal and solve the enigma of the man called John Doe.
A CASUALTY OF WAR by Charles Todd: Caring for an increasingly unstable soldier who believes his cousin is responsible for multiple injuries, battlefield nurse Bess Crawford investigates the patient’s claims, only to find herself in unexpected danger.
WICKED DEEDS by Heather Graham: A romantic weekend for historian Vickie Preston and special agent Griffin Pryce is interrupted by the murder of a popular author in a literature-themed restaurant, a case with disturbing parallels to the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
LIE TO ME by J. T. Ellison: When his wife, Sutton, disappears while they are having marital problems, leaving behind a note saying not to look for her, Ethan Montclair becomes the target of vicious gossip as friends, family, and the media speculate on what really happened to Sutton.
CLOSE TO HOME by Robert Dugoni: When a young boy dies from a hit-and-run accident, Seattle homicide detective Tracy Crosswhite realizes it is not just a case of the military protecting own of its own who was the lead suspect, but also part of a larger conspiracy related to a spate of heroin overdoses
TRACE EVIDENCE by Diane Capri: In a race against time to save a child’s life, the best heir hunter in the business is determined to find Josh Hallman, the boy’s father – if he’s alive – to provide a hoped-for match before two relentless killers do.
RELOAD by David McCaleb: To save his family—and the free world—Red Harmon is back in the line of fire in book two of the Red Ops Thriller Series.
A TALE OF TWO KITTIES by Sofie Kelly: When one of two estranged brothers is found murdered, Kathleen Paulson and her highly attuned feline helpers are challenged to dig deep into the town’s history to clear a lead suspect’s name and find the real culprit.
You can win autographed copies of all these books! If you are new to the site, each month I run a contest in conjunction with the International Thriller Writers organization. We put together a list of books from debut authors to bestsellers, so you can win some of your favorites and find some new favorites.
What makes this contest really special is that all of the books (except eBooks) are signed by the author! Books with multiple authors will be signed by at least one of the authors.
Penguin Random House books for giveaway were provided by the publisher. #PRHpartner
Don’t forget, if you subscribe to the newsletter or follow this blog, you get an extra entry into every contest you enter. Check out the Win Books page for more information on all these books and how you to enter this month’s contest.
Thanks for reading, and good luck!
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Posted by Stacy Alesi
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Zevin’s last novel, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, is one of my favorite books ever. I heard about it from the publisher who just raved and I’m so sorry to say that he is now retired (thank you, Michael Rockliff, I still miss your recommendations!) So I was pretty excited about a new book from this author. Then I saw it made the top of the Library Reads List which is always a good sign. But with all my expectations, I was bound to be disappointed and I kinda was.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a very good book. One chapter in I was recommending my library try and get the author to visit. I knew the first chapter’s name alone, “Bubbe Meise”, would be of interest to my library patrons, as would the Jewish mother and the setting of Miami Beach and Boca Raton.
So the Jewish mother has a college age daughter, Aviva Grossman, who is interning for a local congressman, who was their neighbor at one time. Aviva ends up having an affair with the congressman, gets caught and ostracized. Think Monica Lewinsky on a smaller scale. Or more likely, Donna Rice if you are old enough to remember that scandal. He, of course, survives with his job and family intact, but she cannot get a job. Such is life.
Then Aviva finds out she’s pregnant. She moves to a small town in Maine, changes her name to Jane Young, becomes a party planner, and raises her very precocious daughter Ruby herself. And when she runs for Mayor of the small town, her opponent digs up the dirt on her and Ruby figures out who she really is and who she thinks her father is.
The point of view shifts between Aviva’s mother, the congressman’s wife, young Aviva, Jane Young, and Ruby. I was not a fan of the second person voice at one point, nor of the “choose your own adventure” device that crops up that other readers seem to love. Political scandal always makes for good reading, and the perspective from the woman’s side of things is less judgmental and more realistic, especially among the various ages of the women telling the story. The family dynamics here also ring true, and the story is told with a lot of humor, which I loved.
I totally related to the mother more than the daughter, but the characters weren’t as developed as I expected. It appears that Zevin grew up here in South Florida and I would guess maybe still has family here. So while I didn’t love this book like I loved the Fikry book, it’s not really a fair comparison since that book was about a bookstore and my readers know my predilection for that setting! If you like scandal-laced, humorous family stories, (and I do,) then I highly recommend it.
8/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™
YOUNG JANE YOUNG by Gabrielle Zevin. Algonquin Books (August 22, 2017). ISBN 978-1616205041. 320p.
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Posted by Stacy Alesi
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UPDATE: I read this over the weekend and it was a really good read! The characters are well developed, the locale is almost another character and the story is engaging. Highly recommended.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
New York Times bestselling author Mariah Stewart returns to the cherished Maryland shores of St. Dennis with THE CHESAPEAKE BRIDE (Pocket Books; August 29, 2017; $7.99), the charming story of a jaded architect who meets the one man who could finally melt her heart—if she’s willing to let him in.
Cassidy Logan has sworn off good-looking adventurers, having just divorced the one she’d married. Now working with her father’s construction company to build ecologically friendly, historically accurate homes on the Chesapeake Bay, she’s designing them for Cannonball Island. Knowing there’s been no new construction on the island in almost one hundred years, Cass is sensitive to the heritage and history of the sparsely populated island, and has come up with plans so perfect she’s determined to buy one for herself to live in. Even the fact that Owen Parker—whom she dismisses as a lightweight and a player— seems to be everywhere she goes isn’t enough to deter her from building her dream house.
Owen is and always has been sinfully handsome and wickedly clever, a magnet for mischief as well as the girls in St. Dennis. He’s also a rolling stone, going and doing whatever appeals to him, from flying a mail plane in Alaska to working on a cattle ranch in Australia and a shrimp boat in Louisiana, to surfing and diving in Costa Rica. When an old friend offers him a job salvaging a sunken ship in the Chesapeake, Owen gladly accepts. Something’s been telling him it’s about time to head home to Cannonball Island, and a job is as good an excuse as any. He’s totally smitten with the pretty architect, but it seems he’s finally met a woman who’s immune to his charms. Sooner or later, Owen will have to face the reason why he always runs, because this time, leaving just might be harder than staying.
8/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™
THE CHESAPEAKE BRIDE by Mariah Stewart. Pocket Books (August 29, 2017). ISBN 978-1501154355. 384p.
You must include your U.S. street address in your email.
All entries must be received by September 22, 2017 (the official last day of summer!) One (1) name will be drawn from all qualified entries and notified via email. This contest is open to all adults over 18 years of age in the United States only. Your books will be sent by SIMON & SCHUSTER|POCKET BOOKS.
One entry per email address. Subscribers to the monthly newsletter earn an extra entry into every contest. Follow this blog to earn another entry into every contest. Winners may win only one time per year (365 days) for contests with prizes of more than one book. Your email address will not be shared or sold to anyone.
Praise for Driftwood Point, Book 10 in The Chesapeake Diaries:
“This second-chance-at-love romance is gentle and sweet…The colorful friendship between the family matriarchs…charms. Stewart seamlessly checks in with former series protagonists and introduces future romantic pairings without stealing attention from Lisbeth and Alec.”
—RT Book Reviews
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mariah Stewart is the award-winning New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of numerous novels and several novellas and short stories. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives with her husband and two rambunctious rescue dogs amid the rolling hills of Chester County, Pennsylvania, where she savors country life and tends her gardens.
Visit her website at mariahstewart.com, like her on Facebook at AuthorMariahStewart, and follow her on Instagram at mariah_stewart_books.
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Posted by Stacy Alesi
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Ashley Swan is an Oscar winning actress who goes missing, except the police refuse to get involved. They think she’s just hiding out between movies. But a year is a long time to hide, and it turns out she’s actually been kidnapped, by another celebrity, a retired and much beloved talk show host.
Ashley’s been beaten and starved for close to a year, and kept locked up in a windowless vault. Until the night the door doesn’t latch and she escapes, grabbing Adam, the little boy who is kept in a room down the hall. His mother used to work there, but has disappeared, and Adam has also been abused and Ashley won’t leave without him.
Unfortunately, she escapes in a heavy gown she was forced wear that is way too small on her, and high heels, into a Montana blizzard. She ends up having to carry Adam and really freaks out when she realizes she is being chased. But she sees a light in the distance and aims for that until she trips and falls, knocking herself out.
Trigger lives on a nearby ranch, and finds Ashley in the snow, not sure if she’s even alive. But he takes her and Adam home with him and takes care of them both through the storm. Ashley survives but he is horrified at what’s been done to the movie star and the child. Trigger is a DEA agent, recuperating from wounds earned in a bad drug bust. He is in a bad way, but helping Ashley helps him as well.
The madman is still after her but Trigger is determined to bring him to justice. This is an exciting thriller that ultimately turns into a hot romance, and an excellent read.
8/17 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch™
MONTANA HEAT: ESCAPE TO YOU by Jennifer Ryan. Avon (August 29, 2017). ISBN 978-0062645258. 384p.
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Posted by Stacy Alesi
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I haven’t been to this restaurant but I’ve heard about it – this is Jewish comfort food. I’m too far away to go but with this cookbook, the possibilities are real.
Jack and Freda come from different backgrounds – Ashkenazi and Sephardic, and they throw in South African and Israeli flavors as well. This cookbook is nothing if not interesting. They include their personal stories here too, and their families, and it is all interesting.
The cookbook begins after the introductory story to the family. And as with many cookbooks today, it begins with the pantry and some basics like Homemade Mayonnaise, Hot Sauce, Peri Peri Spice, Tzatziki and more. The chapters are as follows:
Breakfast
Day Drinks
Lunch
Drinks
Dinner
Dessert
There is an excellent index, as well. The pictures, both of the restaurant, the kitchen and of course the food, are spectacular. It doesn’t hurt that this is an oversized cookbook printed on nice, heavy paper, too.
“Breakfast” couldn’t be more beautiful or delicious than “Eggs Benny,” taking the classic Eggs Benedict to a whole new level by planting it on a potato latke and topping it with beet hollandaise – it is gorgeous. The instructions on how to poach an egg (like many of the instructions throughout the book) are charming, hand drawn pictures. I’ve never considered pairing ruby red grapefruit with my yogurt but now I will, and “Julia’s Granola” makes a fine topping. I was intrigued by the recipe for “Duck Bacon” but honestly not sure I’ll ever try it.
“Day Drinks” include things like “Nana Tea,” “Cantaloupe Juice,” and “Mint Lemonade.” “Lunch” can be light – “Pea and Ricotta Toast,” the ubiquitous “Avocado Toast” or a “Greek Salad” or a bit heavier with “Matzo Ball Soup” a traditional recipe that swaps out the usual chicken fat for duck fat, or “Chicken Kebab” with Couscous, or the “Prego Roll,” a skirt steak sandwich. Then we move on to the bar.
“Drinks” include “Jack’s Wife Freda Pimm’s Cup” with added ginger, a “Melon Mimosa” made the aforementioned Cantaloupe Juice (I’m allergic, dammit!) and a nice “Jose’s Hot Toddy.” If you’ve ever wanted to try a real Bloody Mary from scratch, now’s your chance, this is a terrific recipe that includes horseradish, Dijon, Worcestershire, and more flavor than you’ll ever get out of a mix.
Dinner starts with some small plates, like “Zucchini Chips” and a gorgeous “Spiced Beet Dip.” Add a beet to anything and you get pow-in-the-face color. There are vegetarian recipes like “Roasted Cauliflower” and “Veggie Curry with Apple-Raisin Chutney,” and not so vegetarian like “Chicken Livers on Toast,” “Sweetbreads with Peri Peri Sauce” and “Freda’s Fishballs” which is not your grandmother’s gefilte fish – for one thing these are coated in Panko and deep fried.
We can’t talk about dessert without “Malva Pudding”, which the restaurant is known for and I never heard of. It’s a South African dessert that is “a dense cake soaked in a delicous caramel sauce.” The recipe is intriguing, as is the “Flourless Chipotle Chocolate Cake” made from a pound of semisweet chocolate tempered with chipotle powder. But the one I’m definitely going to be making is “Halva Cookies.” If you haven’t had halva, it’s a delicious candy made from sesame seed paste. These cookies are loaded with black and white sesame seeds and a bit of halva in the center. Yum!
8/17 Stacy Alesi AKA the BookBitch™
JACK’S WIFE FREDA by Maya & Dean Jankelowitz. Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (October 25, 2016). ISBN: 978-0547614847. 528p.
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Posted by Stacy Alesi
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 