Boomer Lit Friday - March 23

Thank you for stopping by to participate in Boomer Lit Friday, the meme where authors of books featuring Baby Boomers get together and post excerpts from their works. 

Our snippet today is from I.O.U. SEX. Reading June's high school diary inspired three friends to search for their old boyfriends to make amends for vetoing sex when they were teenagers. Divorced from Stan for about a year, in this scene June is getting dressed for her first meeting with Denny, her high school steady, when thoughts of her ex-husband intervene.

She added silver hoops to her ears and straightened her shoulders for a last look in the mirror. She turned sideways, patting her not-so-flat stomach, frowning at her not-so-perky breasts.
     Stan's criticisms nagged: Is that cellulite on the back of your thighs?

      Now she answered him in words she'd never spoken aloud. "Shut up, Shithead, and get out of my mind. I may not be perfect, but for a woman my age, I look pretty damned good."

Boomer Lit Friday

A weekly blog hop event for Boomer Lit writers

To read excerpts posted by other Boomer Lit authors, click HERE.

To connect to the Amazon link for I.O.U. SEX, click HERE. For more info about I.O.U. SEX, click on the tabs above this post. 

Teaser Tuesday - The Day After Yesterday

Seems like I usually read women's fiction, and that means the stories are almost always told from a woman's point of view. Although THE DAY AFTER YESTERDAY was written by a woman, in this case the protagonist is a man. His dramatic story kept me reading late into the night.

My two sentences are taken from the book's opening chapter (1% on my Kindle). They are the reader's first introduction to the main character.

"The man stood just inside the doorway, blinking dazedly as if astounded by the diner's light and warmth. He was white-faced and soaked through -- he might have emerged from the sea, which of course was impossible given the storm-tossed tide."

Number of Pages: 466
Amazon Link:  Here
Link to My Amazon Review: Here
(I gave it five stars.)

Amazon Synopsis: The events of a single night can change a life forever, as musician Daniel Whitman discovers when he loses his family and home.

Overwhelmed by grief, unable to find solace in his music or accept comfort from his friends, he flees up the California coast. Daniel thinks he’s leaving everything behind, but his journey will take him to the places and people that will help him find his way back.

The Day After Yesterday is a story of hope, friendship, and the redemptive power of music.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)
• Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers
• Leave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 - Dakota Blues

Indie author Lynne M. Spreen says (on Goodreads):  
"Dakota Blues is about coming alive at midlife. Here's what I want to know: At middle age and in the second half, are we too old to start over? Is it foolish to try? Should we be winding down or giving it our all, burning bridges and blowing things up in a last attempt to realize our dreams? How best to travel this later-in-life pathway? These are the questions that fascinate me, and about which I crave to write."

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY:

         Karen's fingers hovered over the keyboard while she tried to remember the killer argument she'd been about to make, but the idea had faded. Not for the first time that day, she wished the hall outside her door hadn't become the official gathering place for coworkers in search of gossip and idle chit chat.
        It wasn't like her to lose focus so easily.

THE FRIDAY 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):

        Karen agreed. "The van runs beautifully, and I'm planning to take it around the Divide, through Albuquerque so I can avoid the higher elevations. It's a bit farther, but safer."

       "Always play it safe, that's our Karen," said Frieda.

Author: Lynne M. Spreen
Genre: Women's Fiction
Number of Pages: 306
Amazon Link: DAKOTA BLUES 

MY THOUGHTS:
         This is such a good book! Fifty year old, high-powered executive Karen Grace faces three life-changing crises, all within a matter of days. When her mother dies, she must leave California for her rural hometown in North Dakota to attend the funeral; her husband threatens divorce because his young girlfriend is pregnant; and her career is in serious jeopardy. But when she meets 90-year-old Frieda, she's offered an opportunity to break away and make some changes. Her journey makes for a fascinating story that I highly recommend.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings and Friday 56. 

Click here to connect to other Book Beginnings posts 
(sponsored by Rose City Reader.)

Find other Friday 56 bloggers here (sponsored by Freda's Voice). 

                

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 - Love and Sleepless Nights

                              

Today I'm featuring LOVE AND SLEEPLESS NIGHTS for my Book Beginnings on Fridays and Friday 56 post.

Author: Nick Spalding
Genre: Women's Fiction / Humor / Romance
Number of Pages: 170
Amazon Link and Synopsis: Love and Sleepless Nights

                                        

BOOK BEGINNING:
Laura's Diary - Monday, April 1st
Dear Mum,
     Well, it's finally happened. I've achieved my lifelong ambition. 
     It's been many years in the making, but I can now honestly say that I, Laura Newman, have successfully thrown my guts up in front of a group of men at an important job interview.

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. To play, share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires and then add your name to the Linky list HERE.
                                                   
THE FRIDAY 56 (Laura is holding her newborn daughter):
      A sudden up-swell of tears rises from the depths of my being and now I start to cry with a combination of relief, awe - and not a little pride, if I'm being honest.
      I take the very small package into my arms, feeling the undeniable weight of new existence through every fibre of my being.

To participate in The Friday 56, hosted by Freda's Voice, post a few sentences from Page 56 of your current book (or from 56% on your eReader) and then add your name to the Linky list HERE.

MY THOUGHTS: Anyone who has ever had a baby (especially first-time parents) will relate to the emotions, experiences, doubts, and joys portrayed in this book. Presented as a series of diary entries (Laura's) and blog posts (her husband Jamie's), I enjoyed every single word.

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 - Goodnight Nobody

BOOK BEGINNINGS

      "Hello?" I tapped on Kitty Cavanaugh's red front door, then lifted the brass knocker and gave it a few thumps for good measure. "Hello?"
      "Mommy, can I ring the doorbell?" Sophie asked. She stood on her tiptoes and waved her fist in the air.

FRIDAY 56

      "I ... uh ..." I fumbled through the slurry of broken crayons and juice-stiffened napkins at the bottom of my WGBH totebag and pulled out a notebook with a pink, glittery cover featuring Hello Kitty. It was Sophie's--the only thing I'd been able to find on short notice.

AUTHOR: Jennifer Weiner
NUMBER OF PAGES: 400
Written in 2005

AMAZON SYNOPSIS

      New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner's newest novel tells the story of a young mother's move to a postcard-perfect Connecticut town and the secrets she uncovers there.

      For Kate Klein, a semi-accidental mother of three, suburbia's been full of unpleasant surprises. Her once-loving husband is hardly ever home. The supermommies on the playground routinely snub her. Her days are spent carpooling and enduring endless games of Candy Land, and at night, most of her orgasms are of the do-it-yourself variety.

      When a fellow mother is murdered, Kate finds that the unsolved mystery is one of the most interesting things to happen in Upchurch since her neighbors broke ground for a guesthouse and cracked their septic tank. Even though Kate's husband and the police chief warn her that crime-fighting's a job best left to professionals, she can't let it go.

      So Kate launches an unofficial investigation -- from 8:45 to 11:30 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, when her kids are in nursery school -- with the help of her hilarious best friend, carpet heiress Janie Segal, and Evan McKenna, a former flame she thought she'd left behind in New York City.

      As the search for the killer progresses, Kate is drawn deeper into the murdered woman's double life. She discovers the secrets and lies behind Upchurch's placid picket-fence facade -- and the choices and compromises all modern women make as they navigate between independence and obligation, small towns and big cities, being a mother and having a life of one's own.

      Engrossing, suspenseful, and laugh-out-loud funny, Goodnight Nobody is another unputdownable, timely tale; an insightful mystery with a great heart and a narrator you'll never forget.

MY THOUGHTS
I've enjoyed other books by this author (IN HER SHOES, GOOD IN BED, etc.) but this one was not my favorite. However, there was lots of humor and anyone living in suburbia with young children would find plenty to relate to.  

Anyone can participate in 

Book Beginnings and Friday 56. 

Click here to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (hosted by Rose City Reader.)

Find other Friday 56 bloggers here (hosted by Freda's Voice).