This is a guest post from our book club hostess, Mari

Can you believe our book club has read 35 novels over the past three years? Discussing books with Jane Porter, Elin Hilderbrand, and Joshilyn Jackson… we’ve also talked to several debut authors over the years. Reading a range of books, from award winning titles to light summer reading, historical fiction to memoirs.

Some of you may remember the night I called in from the emergency room (an average day for a manic mom, right?) asking you to keep me company while my son was in surgery. We also have moms calling in from baseball practice, while grocery shopping, and one reader listens to our chats during chemo (sniff).

Whether you participate live while making dinner, from karate, or sneaking in a little time for yourself… I would like to thank all of you for making our book club a wonderful experience. As you can see, our book club holds a special place for many of us. Where else can you discuss a book with the author from the comfort of your home (in sweats), with a glass of wine?

To kick off our fourth year, we are reading/discussing a book BEFORE it’s published. What a treat!

Synopsis: Madora was seventeen, headed for trouble with drugs and men, when Willis rescued her. Fearful of the world and alienated from family and friends, she ran away with him and for five years they have lived alone, in near isolation. But after Willis kidnaps a pregnant teenager and imprisons her in a trailer behind the house, Madora is torn between her love for him and her sense of right and wrong. When a pit bull puppy named Foo brings into Madora’s world another unexpected person—Django Jones, a brilliant but troubled twelve-year-old boy—she’s forced to face the truth of what her life has become.

An intensely emotional and provocative story, Little Girl Gone explores the secret hopes and fears that drive good people to do dangerous things . . . and the courage it takes to make things right.

When: January 18th at 8PM EST

Call in details: 724-444-7444, Call id: 90383#, Pin: 1#

Giveaway: To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to mari.partyka [at] gmail.com. Put ‘Little Girl Gone’ in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Sunday evening, December 11th

I love it when listeners recommend books for us to read, it’s even better when the author is available to discuss the book with us!

This month we are reading an interesting novel about triplets, exploring the relationships between a set of identical twins and their triplet sister who shared a womb. I always read/hear about twins and their connections but have never thought about how might this be different for the triplet who doesn’t share the ‘identical’ label.

I’m reading this book now and am enjoying it, it’s quite interesting to read about the connections and isolation that could happen to someone.

Synopsis: Clementine Lord is not an orphan. She just feels like one sometimes. One of triplets, a quirk of nature left her the odd one out. Odette and Olivia are identical; Clementine is a singleton. Biologically speaking, she came from her own egg. Practically speaking, she never quite left it. Then Clementine’s father—a pediatric neurologist who is an expert on children’s brains, but clueless when it comes to his own daughters—disappears, and his choices, both past and present, force the family dynamics to change at last. As the three sisters struggle to make sense of it, their mother must emerge from the greenhouse and leave the flowers that have long been the focus of her warmth and nurturing.

For Clementine, the next step means retracing the winding route that led her to this very moment: to understand her father’s betrayal, the tragedy of her first lost love, her family’s divisions, and her best friend Eli’s sudden romantic interest. Most of all, she may finally have found the voice with which to share the inside story of being the odd sister out.

When: November 16th at 8PM EST

Call in details: 724-444-7444, Call id: 90383#, Pin: 1#

Giveaway: To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to mari.partyka [at] gmail .com. Put ‘The Orphan Sister’ in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Sunday evening, October 16th

I scold myself each morning as I walk down the stairs with three things in hand, an iPhone, iPod, and iPad. How did I become this person? A better question might be, why am I okay with this?

The easy answer, I love knowing I can carry a stack of books with me. I am listening to The Paris Wife on my iPod, reading a memoir on the iPad and if I must confess…I’m listening to a business book on my iPhone during the day. My iPhone is also my listening option for podcasts (no headphones needed).

Reading from an e-reader most of the summer I had all but forgotten what it felt like to hold a book in my hands. Then my copy of The Midwife’s Confession arrived. I found myself enjoying turning the pages as I read. This story is a page turner!

I must confess… there’s nothing like holding a real book in your hands. I hope you enjoy this month’s book as much as I did.

Synopsis: Dear Anna, What I have to tell you is difficult to write, but I know it will be far more difficult for you to hear, and I’m so sorry…

The unfinished letter is the only clue Tara and Emerson have to the reason behind their close friend Noelle’s suicide. Everything they knew about Noelle—her calling as a midwife, her passion for causes, her love for her friends and family—described a woman who embraced life.

Yet there was so much they didn’t know.

With the discovery of the letter and its heartbreaking secret, Noelle’s friends begin to uncover the truth about this complex woman who touched each of their lives—and the life of a desperate stranger—with love and betrayal, compassion and deceit.

When: October 5th at 8PM EST
Call in details: 724-444-7444, Call id: 90383#, Pin: 1#

Giveaway: To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to mari.partyka@gmail.com. Put ‘Midwife’s Confession’ in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Sunday evening, September 18th so you have time to get reading!

Last summer, by pure coincidence, my family moved the same day Erin’s family moved to New York. Even though our paths don’t cross in real life I found comfort knowing someone else was going through something similar. I remember July passing by in a flash, spending every minute unpacking and get settled (thriving on order… this couldn’t happen fast enough for me).

This summer I’m determined will find time to unwind and relax, taking in all that summer has to offer on the east coast. With fairs to attend almost every weekend, fun runs, parades… summer will be a new experience (so different than in the Midwest). I hope everyone finds time to unwind this summer, taking time to read on the deck, enjoying an upcoming road trip, baseball, time at the cabin, the choices are many.

Our July book selection was just released and I’m thrilled to say it’s getting great reviews!

We have several copies to give away to Manic Mommies listeners and book clubbers. The book discussion is scheduled for July 20th (8PM EST).

Just in case life gets in the way and you can’t make the call, we do record the book discussions so you can catch up and hear author insights at your convenience (Book Club Archives).

The Violets of March by Sarah Jio

A heartbroken woman stumbled upon a diary and steps into the life of its anonymous author.

In her twenties, Emily Wilson was on top of the world: she had a bestselling novel, a husband plucked from the pages of GQ, and a one-way ticket to happily ever after.

Ten years later, the tide has turned on Emily’s good fortune. So when her great-aunt Bee invites her to spend the month of March on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, Emily accepts, longing to be healed by the sea. Researching her next book, Emily discovers a red velvet diary, dated 1943, whose contents reveal startling connections to her own life.

To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to mari.partyka@gmail.com. Put ‘Violets of March’ in the subject line.

Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Monday evening, June 13th

We have several copies to give away to Manic Mommies listeners and book clubbers. The book discussion is scheduled for June 22nd (8PM EST). Call details will be provided a week before the call.

Just in case life gets in the way and you can’t make the call,  we do record the book discussions so you can catch up and hear author insights at your convenience (Book Club Archives).

The Love Goddess’ Cooking School:

Camilla’s Cucinotta: Italian Cooking Classes. Fresh take-home pastas & sauces daily. Benvenuti! (Welcome!)

Holly Maguire’s grandmother Camilla was the Love Goddess of Blue Crab Island, Maine—a Milanese fortune-teller who could predict the right man for you, and whose Italian cooking was rumored to save marriages. Holly has been waiting years for her unlikely fortune: her true love will like sa cordula, an unappetizing old-world delicacy. But Holly can’t make a decent marinara sauce, let alone sa cordula. Maybe that’s why the man she hopes to marry breaks her heart. So when Holly inherits Camilla’s Cucinotta, she’s determined to forget about fortunes and love and become an Italian cooking teacher worthy of her grandmother’s legacy.

But Holly’s four students are seeking much more than how to make Camilla’s chicken alla Milanese. Simon, a single father, hopes to cook his way back into his daughter’s heart. Juliet, Holly’s childhood friend, hides a painful secret. Tamara, a serial dater, can’t find the love she longs for. And twelve-year-old Mia thinks learning to cook will stop her dad, Liam, from marrying his phony lasagna-queen girlfriend. As the class gathers each week, adding Camilla’s essential ingredients of wishes and memories in every pot and pan, unexpected friendships and romances are formed—and tested. Especially when Holly falls hard for Liam . . . and learns a thing or two about finding her own recipe for happiness.

To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to Mari.Partyka@gmail.com. Put ‘Love Goddess’ Cooking School’ in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Monday evening, May 9th

It’s time to read historical fiction again and let me say that if you enjoy historical fiction you will enjoy this book. I finished reading it a few weeks ago and it’s one of the better novels in the historical space. To learn a little more about the author, click here to read a brief author Q&A.

We have several copies to give away to Manic Mommies listeners and book clubbers. The book discussion is scheduled for May 18th, watch for details on how to join the conversation as we get closer to the date.

Synopsis: While selling oranges in the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, sweet and sprightly Ellen “Nell” Gwyn impresses the theater’s proprietors with a wit and sparkle that belie her youth and poverty. She quickly earns a place in the company, narrowly avoiding the life of prostitution to which her sister has already succumbed. As her roles evolve from supporting to starring, the scope of her life broadens as well. Soon Ellen is dressed in the finest fashions, charming the theatrical, literary, and royal luminaries of Restoration England. Ellen grows up on the stage, experiencing first love and heartbreak and eventually becoming the mistress of Charles II. Despite his reputation as a libertine, Ellen wholly captures his heart—and he hers—but even the most powerful love isn’t enough to stave off the gossip and bitter court politics that accompany a royal romance. Telling the story through a collection of vibrant seventeenth-century voices ranging from Ellen’s diary to playbills, letters, gossip columns, and home remedies, Priya Parmar brings to life the story of an endearing and delightful heroine.

To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to Mari.Partyka@gmail.com. Put ‘Exit the Actress’ in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Monday evening, April 11th

I’m pleased to say that this months book recommendation came from a regular participant with the Manic Mommies Book Club.

Thank you Jill for suggesting Sand in My Eyes.  I haven’t read this book yet but after hearing Jill rave about this one, I can’t wait to read it!   Click here to read Jill’s interview with the author.

Just a reminder that we do record the calls and post them the book club archive if you are reading along but do not have a chance to make a call, you can always catch up and hear author insights.

We have 24 copies to give away to Manic Mommies listeners and book clubbers. The book discussion is scheduled for March 23rd, watch for details on how to join the conversation as we get closer to the date.

Synopsis: Twenty years ago, Anna Hott thought she could control everything — her crumbling marriage, her demanding children, her hectic life — by quitting her high-placed job in New York City and moving her family to tranquil Sanibel Island, Florida. But she brought her untamed emotions, her rage toward her cheating husband, and her yearning to write a novel with her. When her husband and children left the house for a week, Anna thought at last she would get her household, her novel, and her mind in order. Instead, her elderly neighbor Fedelina Aurelio knocked on her door bearing flowers and homespun wisdom, and when Fedelina’s recently divorced son arrived, Anna had a test of passions and a test of truth. Now, at 56 with an empty nest, Anna Holt pulls out the incomplete manuscript she started that memorable week and — to find closure for her life and a conclusion for her novel — travels to Indiana to visit Fedelina who lives in a nursing home.

To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to Mari.Partyka@gmail.com. Put “Sand in My Eyes” in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Wednesday evening, February 2nd.

The Wolves of Andover was written by Kathleen Kent, a direct descendant to Martha Carrier. She has an interesting background, click here to read an author Q&A.  Kent has a way with words, she’s so descriptive and makes the reader feel a part of the story. I can’t wait to read this one.

Just a reminder that we do record the calls and post them the book club archive if you are reading along but do not have a chance to make a call, you can always catch up and hear author insights.

We have several copies to give away to Manic Mommies listeners and book clubbers. The book discussion is scheduled for December 15, watch for details on how to join the conversation as we get closer to the date.

Synopsis: In the harsh wilderness of colonial Massachusetts, Martha Allen works as a servant in her cousin’s household, taking charge and locking wills with everyone. Thomas Carrier labors for the family and is known both for his immense strength and size and mysterious past. The two begin a courtship that suits their independent natures, with Thomas slowly revealing the story of his part in the English Civil War. But in the rugged new world they inhabit, danger is ever present, whether it be from the assassins sent from London to kill the executioner of Charles I or the wolves-in many forms-who hunt for blood. A love story and a tale of courage, The Wolves of Andover confirms Kathleen Kent’s ability to craft powerful stories of family from colonial history.

To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to Mari.Partyka@gmail.com. Put “Wolves of Andover” in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Tuesday evening, November 9th.

It’s funny how ones opinion/thoughts of a book change after discussing it with the author. Every month I walk away from our talks thinking about the book, wondering how I missed something that was so important to the author. We do record the calls and post them the book club archive if you are reading along but do not have a chance to make a call, you can always catch up and hear author insights.

We are already working on our reading list for 2011, if you have a book/author suggestion please send this information to Mari (email information below). She will do what she can to bring your favorite authors into the mix.

Our October selection is if you lived here, you’d be home by now. To learn a little more about the author, click here to read a brief author Q&A. In addition to the author discussion we will also discuss the book online in Big Tent. If you want to read with us but can’t commit to the author discussion you will still have an opportunity to share your thoughts and talk about the book.

We have several copies to give away to Manic Mommies listeners and book clubbers. The book discussion is scheduled for October 20, watch for details on how to join the conversation as we get closer to the date.

Synopsis: Rickie left home a long time ago-so how is it that at the age of twenty-five, she’s living with her parents again, and sleeping in the bedroom of her childhood home?

She’s returning home with a very sweet but frequently challenging son named Noah, who attends the same tony private LA school she herself attended. Rickie fit in fine when she was a student, but now her age and tattoos make her stand out from all the blond Stepford moms, who are desperate to know why someone so young-and so unmarried-has a kid in first grade.

Already on the defensive, Rickie goes into full mother-tigress mode when her small and unathletic son tells her that the gym teacher is out to get him. Rickie finds herself questioning her assumptions-about motherhood, being a grown-up, and falling in love.

To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to Mari.Partyka@gmail.com. Put If you lived here… in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Monday evening, September 13.

September is one of the busier months for moms of school age children, so in addition to the author discussion we will also discuss the book online in Big Tent. If you are interested in reading with us but can’t commit to the author discussion you this is a great opportunity to share your thoughts and talk about the book.

We have several copies to give away to Manic Mommies listeners and book clubbers. The book discussion is scheduled for September 29, watch for details on how to join the conversation as we get closer to the date.

Synopsis: Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

To enter this month’s giveaway, send an e-mail (comments are not considered entries) to Mari.Partyka@gmail.com. Put ‘Room’ in the subject line. Please include your shipping address in the body of your message.

Winners will be selected at random on Wednesday at 6PM, August 25