10 September 2020
Review: Open Book
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I like we a celebrity is gut-wrenching honest in their book. I love when they don't portray themselves as this "perfect being and everyone around them causes the issues in their life". If you are looking for that type of book, move on to another celeb memoir and not this one but this one can get ugly honest, and raw. Kudos to you Jessica for striving to be a role model for girls to be comfortable in their own skin and confident in their faith.
View all my reviews
08 September 2020
07 September 2020
Fall Reading Guide
For the first time, I am going to give you my fall book list, why? Because the world is so full of Covid-19 and we need an escape from reality.
I am going to choose books that have been released in 2020....only one of these on my list have I read, so maybe we can read all of these books together.
1. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Twins live in a small town but are unhappy and run away from home. Years later one of them returns with her daughter. A daughter who doesn't look like the other townspeople (they are all lighter skin color and she is dark). The other sister is living as a white woman and her husband doesn't know anything about her past. In the future, the twins' grown-up daughters find each other and reveal some truths, but keep some buried deeply.
2. The Sun Down Motel by Simone St James
This one has been on my TBR for some time and I am just about to put it in the finished stack. It is about an aunt that mysteriously disappeared and the cover is exceptional.
3. Blood by Joe Jonas
This one is written by a Jonas and is all about the Jonas brothers and I have been on the waiting list since January.
4. A Furious Sky by Eric Jay Dolin
This one seems to be all about hurricanes of the past so it is non-fiction. I am hoping it is very entertaining and horrifying.
5. The Queen of Tuesday (a Lucille Ball story) by Darian Strauss
In my book this was a must when it said "A Lucille Ball story) and the cover is outstanding as well.
6. The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester
I read all Natasha's books so I often don't read what the next one is about so I am surprised, but it is usually about Paris and always fantastic!
7. The Virginia Dynasty by Lynne Cheney
Lynne is a great nonfiction writer, I have no doubt this one will be detailed and all about our Virginian Presidents.
8. Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale
A YA book that I MUST read because of the title because I sometimes introduce myself as a "big deal or dill".
9. No Time for the Future by Michael J Fox.
I am very much looking forward to getting my hands on this one. All the books he has written have been uplifting, honest, and inspiring.
10. Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir
This book sounds like it would be a fiction read, but it is not in any way fiction. This really happened to Natasha and her mother. Her mother was murdered by Natasha's stepfather and from the snippets I have seen, it seems like Natasha may have been nearby, if not there.
29 August 2020
The Read with Michelle September book pick is here!!!
Hello fellow readers!
2020 may be the weirdest year on record, but it has also flown by...Happy September!!! To me, September is all about fall. I have put up the summer decor and brought out all the fall goodness... yellow and orange leaves, purple flowers, acorns and of course pumpkin everything. I thought about picking a fall type book, but I found nothing that I thought was exciting so I went back to the stack of new releases that I had. One cover stood out, then I read the story and I was like oh THIS is THE book!
The September book pick is The Lions of 5th Avenue by Fiona Davis.
Fiona has been one of my go-to authors for a while because every book she writes is set in the most interesting places in NYC. Here is a list of her books because you really need to read them all:
The Dollhouse-about girls who want to be models and secretaries and live in the Barbizon Hotel.
The Address (my personal fave)-is all about the Dakota Hotel from the time it was built to the first occupants. This one shocked me at the end.
The Masterpiece-this journey starts by a girl tripping over a suitcase in Grand Central Station and takes you to an art school that made its home in GCS.
The Chelsea Girls-Hazel and Maxine live in The Chelsea Hotel and have dreams of making it big on Broadway meanwhile Joseph McCarthy is out looking for communists.
Fast forward to Fiona's new release and you will see a beautiful setting of the New York Public Library and if that is not enough, she gives us an apartment over the library (folks really did live there once upon a time), a book theft, death and family estrangement. This one has it all!!!!
21 August 2020
Review: The Paris Model: A Novel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I would like to give this a 3.5. I enjoyed the storyline, but it kind of read like a Danielle Steele (those kinds of fans will love this!) so I didn't enjoy everything. I thought the story was very original, an Australian girl marries the boy she dated before WWII, but life is not always the same after the war, so she changes her ambitions in life. I won't spoil the how, but you can tell by the title that she ends up in Paris working as a model. Her adventures modeling very much follow that Danielle Steele vibe featuring intrigue, and identity crisis, and a man. The book is laced with interactions of famous people like Picasso and Jackie Kennedy and I very much enjoyed these conversations.
All in all, this was a quick read and a nice way to escape to Paris for a couple of hours.
I received a free book in exchange of my honest review.
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18 August 2020
15 August 2020
Review: Your Second Act: Inspiring Stories of Reinvention
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I am a big fan of Patricia and I have never once seen Everybody loves Raymond. I love the Frankie Heck Patricia :) Well that is why I read this book.
This book is all about how to live that second part of your life, not necessarily a mid-life crisis, but a re-invention. The stories within this cover are uplifting, inspiring, and inspirational.
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12 August 2020
Patti Callahan's new book cover reveal
Here it is! I am so excited to share the cover for Surviving Savannah by New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan, on sale March 9, 2021. It’s inspired by the true and forgotten story of the sinking of the “Titanic of the South” #survivingsavannah #patticallahan Pre-order it here: https://bit.ly/3i9VQ4Y Visit Patti online: https://www.patticallahanhenry.com/surviving-savannah
About the book
New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan delivers a breathtaking novel based on true events.
It was called "The Titanic of the South”—the luxury steamship that sank in 1838 with Savannah's elite on board. Through time, their fates were forgotten—until the wreck was found.
Now their story is finally being told.
When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she's shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can't resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking.
Everly's research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who, along with her child, was never found. The women were part of Savannah society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions. This is a moving and powerful exploration of what women will do to endure in the face of tragedy, the role fate plays, and the myriad ways we survive the surviving.
Perfect for fans of Before We Were Yours, Sold on a Monday, and Orphan Train, Callahan’s highly anticipated novel tells the story of a little known chapter of history that has long deserved a spotlight. This transformative tale told from alternating past and present perspectives will sweep readers away and move them to their core.
Q&A with Patti Callahan
What inspired you to write Surviving Savannah?
Originally I was inspired by the Pulaski tales of survival, how the city of Savannah was part of this story, and how the Lowcountry was affected by this tragedy. I was also inspired and curious about the transformation of each passenger and the ways that each survivor not only lived through the explosion, but also how they chose to live their lives after the sinking.
How, I wondered, do some come to live better lives and others turn toward bitterness and cruelty? Who do we become after such great loss?
AND then!, everything shifted because after a hundred and eighty years, along came a shipwreck hunting crew who found the remains of the Pulaski a hundred feet beneath the waves, thirty miles off the coast of Wilmington, North Carolina. While the team went deep to bring up the artifacts and treasure of this beautiful ship, I dug deep to bring up the stories.
My exhilarating hunt for the forgotten story began.
What kind of research was required to write the novel? Did anything surprise you?
The research was as fascinating as it was extensive – from the archives at the Georgia Historical Center in Savannah and the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum to books, newspaper archives, personal accounts and letters, I read everything that I could get my hands on. I devoured books on steamships and Savannah in the 1800’s. I read about the rich history of the colonization of Savannah with General Oglethorpe. I walked the streets of Savannah and visited museums and artifact collections. I interviewed shipwreck experts and became enchanted with the world of wreck salvaging and treasure hunting.
During this journey, I was surprised over and over, but one surprise that opens the novel is the true narrative about a fifteen-year-old passenger named Charles who survived the sinking to become a slave trader with a horrific reputation. As he grew into a man, he earned the nickname “the Red Devil”. How had this young boy survived to become so cruel? I wanted to know.
Finally, after years of research, I put together a complete story of that calamitous night, and one family in particular.
Your story follows three women – Lily and Augusta on the ship in 1838, and Everly in the present day. Which of the three women did you relate to the most and why?
While I was writing each section I always felt the most connected to the woman I was writing about at the moment. I don’t think I felt more for one woman than another but of course our modern-day character, Everly felt more relatable only because I know today’s Savannah and I know today’s southern norms and ideas. The historical narratives were almost two hundred years old, and yet I still felt as close to Lilly and Augusta because of their plight and their desires and their inner lives feel familiar. As far as women have come in their roles in society, there is still the struggle for independence and agency. There remains the need to burst through familial and collective norms to build a life of one’s own.
All three women had their own tragedies, hardships, and losses to navigate. All three needed to discover how they would make meaning and purpose out of their situation. All three found out what they were truly made of and if they wanted to merely survive or if they wanted to thrive and build new lives.
Advance Digital Copy Giveaways
You can win a copy here!!!
Your followers may enter to win an advance digital copy using this sweepstakes link: https://sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com/enter/surviving-savannah-cover-reveal-sweeps
You can enter for a chance to win an advanced digital review copy of the book here: https://sweeps.penguinrandomhouse.com/enter/surviving-savannah-cover-reveal-sweeps
(NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. US Residents, 18+. Ends August 17, 2020. See official rules at the official website.)
Additional Links
Add SURVIVING SAVANNAH to your shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54306882-surviving-savannah
Visit Patti online: https://www.patticallahanhenry.com/surviving-savannah
02 August 2020
Getting things done-cooking
Ingredients:
Butter (softened)
10 to 12 slices of bread (take off crust)
1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds of sausage
1 and 1/2 to 2 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese
12 to 14 eggs
Milk to make eggs like scrambled eggs (about 1/2 a cup)
Salt and pepper
Brown sausage in crumbled pieces.
Butter both sides of the bread and cover the bottom of the baking dish with the bread.
Sprinkle sausage over the top of the bread.
Sprinkle the cheese on top of the sausage.
Mix eggs and milk just like you would mix to make scrambled eggs, add salt and pepper to taste and pour the mixture over the top of the sausage and cheese.
If possible, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight.
Bake at 350 degrees until eggs are down (slightly brown) about 30 to 45 minutes.
01 August 2020
Getting things done-cleaning
30 July 2020
22 July 2020
21 July 2020
Michelle's Musings Library
19 July 2020
Bookworms: the book club
15 July 2020
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