The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

August 1, 2011  by Kris from La Reportiste


Bonjour,

Thank you Fifi for giving me the opportunity to review The Forgotten Garden. This is the first time I have read any books by this author. After looking for a new book to read, I ran across this book and thought it sounded interesting.

This book started off a bit slow but gained momentum and was a GREAT book with a surprise ending that I never would have expected. It is the story of a small girl who was abandoned on a ship bound for Australia in 1913. It starts off in London, 1913 with the initial character, Nell who is four years old at the time. The book then alternates between time periods and locations to weave the tale of three women, Eliza, Nell, and Cassandra, mother, daughter and great granddaughter respectively and the history of their lives.

Author Interview with Janet Skeslien Charles

July 29th, 2011  by Fifi Flowers

Janet Skeslien Charles was born in Shelby, Montana, and studied English, French, and Russian at the University of Montana. From 1994-1996, she worked as a Soros Teaching Fellow in Odessa, Ukraine.

A PUG’S TALE by Alison Pace

July 28, 2011 by Miss Cindy

In A PUG’S TALE, four-legged pugs are taking over New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art!

Hope McNeill has worked at the MET for years, but this is the first time she's been able to bring her pug, Max, inside officially. Previously she's had to smuggle him in her Sherpa bag.

Fashionable Reading Accessories

July 27, 2011 by Joanna for Design Shuffle

A sofa is the perfect place to curl up with a book and be transported to far away lands, a time long ago or yet to be, with characters we love to love or love to hate.  Why can't the sofa have some of the personality of the books we love?  So we went looking online and found 8 sofas that remind us of some classic books.  These sofas aren't for the meek, but they just might inspire you to add more personality to your living room designs or wherever your reading nook may be. Or at least reread a beloved classic.

Home Design Find (via)

Bold black and white stripes in the Andrew Martin Black and White Kilim sofa create a graphic statement. There is something about the graphic pattern on a traditional shape that reminds us of Out of Africa.

Made from Books

July 26, 2011  by Artrick Playground

Popular Argentine artist Marta Minujin has created a 25-meter-high spiraling Tower of Babel made from 30,000 books written in various languages.

View more photos and Read All about it HERE

___________________________

Do YOU have any items made from books to show us? Please email photos and description... Contact link in the sidebar. Looking forward to hear from YOU!

Everything I Never Wanted to Be by Dina Kucera

July 25, 2011  by Fifi Flowers


The author...

Dina Kucera was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After completing a project to collect and identify fifty insects, she graduated from the ninth grade and left school for good. Her first job was a paper route, and she has worked as a maid, bartender, waitress, and grocery store checker. When it comes to awards, she was once nominated for a Girl Scout sugar cookie award, but she never actually received the award because her father decided to stop at a bar instead of going to the award ceremony. Dina waited on the curb outside, repeatedly saying to panhandlers, "Sorry. I don't have any money. I'm seven." Dina is married with three daughters, a stepson, and a grandson. She currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona. (bio via HERE)

Sweet Reads Inspired by Books

July 22, 2011 by Fifi Flowers

 MORE SWEET READS...

Janeology by Karen Harrington

July 21, 2011  by Fifi Flowers


Karen Harrington was born and raised in Texas, where she still lives with her husband and children. She received a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas.

 

Karen's first writing gigs were in corporate America as an editor and speechwriter. Her fiction writing has been recognized by the Hemingway Short Story Competition and the Texas Film Institute.

Look Who's Reading

July 20, 2011 by Fifi Flowers

What a GLAMOROUS reader, non?  

I guess you should look stunning while reading if you are the "World's Most Beautiful Woman"

Jennifer Lopez

_____________________

Share photos of Famous People Reading... Email Us a link or a photo or even a video... and a link to your site... Contact link is in the sidebar... Looking forward to hearing from YOU!

Blog Reading is Fashionable

July 19, 2011  by Fifi Flowers


BLOGS are a FABuLOUS read... We will be SHARING different BLOGS with our readers...  I would like to introduce you to "a blog about books, decor & photography" ...

 

BEST KEPT SECRET by Amy Hatvany

July 18, 2011 by Miss Cindy

Recently, Former First Lady, Betty Ford died at age 93. She was a beacon of hope for addicts bringing the taboo subject of alcoholism into the forefront in the 1970’s, a topic people can freely talk about today, decades later. Chances are you know someone who is affected by alcohol. Maybe it’s a person in your family, a co-worker, perhaps it’s you. Because of the work of people like Betty Ford, many of us are able to discuss the disease of alcoholism, but there is still a lot of work ahead of us as a society. Women and mothers are still judged harsher by a double standard if they are alcoholic, but the stigma is painstakingly being broken down and one place I see it happening is in fiction. Authors are frequently creating characters that are alcoholic and storylines to reflect how addiction affects our society.

Author Interview with Kirsten Lobe

July 15, 2011  by Fifi Flowers

Kirsten Lobe, also known as Kiki, the author of PARIS HANGOVER and FRENCH TRYSTS has begun a new Parisian adventure in her memoir of la vie enceinte, pregnant life. PARIS, BABY! marks Lobe’s trials and adventures as a single, glamorous parent-to-be in the City of Lights. But what will Kiki do when the persistent pull of home, Wisconsin, promises so much for her and the new bébé?

PARIS, BABY! carries the reader through, adding a new twist to a genre previously focused on finding love or the right baguette; another one of life’s love stories, motherhood. Kirsten's poignant and honest dialogue is richly textured and full of the heartbreaking realities of being a single mom in a city where chic is stringently effortless and breastfeeding, among other maternal instincts, is a horreur. With ceaseless humor, Lobe explores the reactions of her Parisian world. As she becomes visibly enceinte her local patisserie refuses to sell her morning croissants (“C’est pas tres elegante, Madame!” exclaims the patissiere, casting an eye down to Lobe’s waistline) and a married man in the baby department of the Bon Marché flirtatiously attempts to seduce her at 8 months along.

E-Magazines to Adore

July 14, 2011  by Fifi Flowers


LOVE all the NEW e-magazines... Have you checked out High Gloss Magazine...

...is glamorous, modern, and chic.

...loves high style, but can't resist a good sale.

...is constantly searching for inspiration, even if it means scouring the globe.

...is about living a fabulous life with grace and style.

...appreciates great design in all forms.

...embraces change but loves old favorites.

...loves to entertain with good food, a beautiful table setting, and even better friends.

...is all about the mix: high mixed with low, bold mixed with neutral, modern with classic, masculine with feminine.

...is a guide to a well-lived life.

________________________________

Do YOU have a favourite e-magazine... e-Reading app or device... Tells us about it!  Contact link is in the sidebar.  Looking forward to hearing from YOU!

What is on Your Shelf

July 13, 2011  by Fifi Flowers


Mermaids for Books...

 All images via HERE

Living Traditions: Interiors by Matthew Patrick Smyth

July 12, 2011  by Erik of  Bubble and Squeak

The location:  Manhattan.  The date:  late 1970's.  A nervous young man sits before the portfolio review board at the Fashion Institute of Technology.  Hands are gesturing wildly.  There is a lot of huffing and puffing. The young man thinks to himself,  “Maybe I should have taken that flight attendant job I just applied for after all.” 

We’re so glad he didn’t.  That young man grew into the almost too-talented designer, Matthew Patrick Smyth.  Mr. Smyth’s new book, “Living Traditions: Interior by Matthew Patrick Smyth” is full of mouth-watering reasons why we’re thankful he chose a career more suited to his artistic desires.  At Bubble & Squeak, we celebrate life through fine living and Mr. Smyth embodies our ethos wholeheartedly.  Antiques, gilt bronze, rock crystal, flame mahogany, tufted velvet...Don't even get us started!  Having studied at FIT, and later mentored by the legendary designer David Easton for several years, Smyth developed his own unique visual vocabulary rooted in classical design principles with a contemporary elegance.  Never skimping on quality, Smyth chooses materials that are lasting and furniture that is classic...another Bubble & Squeak mantra.  Aside from the book's sumptuous photos, Smyth also shares his “rules” for design…which, as far as we’re concerned, should be engraved into stone tablets and hung in every design office in the the world.  Following are some of our favorite Smyth rules for design, and just a sample of the mouth-watering photos from the book.  Thank you for the visual feast Mr. Smyth!  

Where Do You Read?

July 11, 2011  by Linda of Linda Mathieu.com


READING ON THE METRO...

Where do YOU read? Would LOVE to have YOU show EVERYONE... please email photos and a little description... Contact link is in the sidebar... Cannot wait to hear for YOU!!!

Delicious Taste of Words

July 8, 2011  by Betsy and the Flowergirls

Challah bread is a lovely dense sweet egg bread. If you are a breakfast lover, it makes the best French Toast. If you are a dessert lover, it makes heavenly bread pudding. It's also a relatively easy yeast bread to make. My favorite recipe is from smitten kitchen's blog and is the one shown below. Actually, there isn't a bad recipe on her site so take some time to look around. There are all kinds of delicious words to read!

Best Challah (Egg Bread)
Adapted from Joan Nathan

Author Interview with Leah Marie Brown

July 7, 2011  by Fifi Flowers

Leah Marie Brown is a freelance journalist and novelist with a passion for Paris and a penchant for all things pink. When she is not busy writing historical novels or maintaining her two blogs (Titillating Tidbits about the Life and Times of Marie Antoinette and On Life, Love and Accidental Adventures), she spends her time planning outrageously fun adventures with her best friends to exotic locales.

Le Book Bag

July 6, 2011  by Fifi Flowers

ALL photos via HERE

FOREVER LOOKING for the RIGHT BOOK BAG

________________________

Have YOU found the PERFECT book bag?  Would LOVE to have YOU share it with us!

Show us... send links... Contact link is in the sidebar... Looking forward to hearing from YOU!!!

"As Husbands Go" by Susan Isaacs

July 5, 2011 by Catherine from Inside Out

Generally I write a review of a book because it is, in some way, important to me and to make use of my English degree 20 years after the fact, as it has done me no good professionally. Not today. This book is simply damn funny which is an odd thing to say when it involves murder. Susan Isaacs has a way of conveying the fear and terror of a loved one’s death with the kind of smart ass commentary that makes people like me laugh out loud.

So there’s no point in me going on about character development, social commentary, or writing style. This is a perfect read for the beach if you live somewhere that has moved into warm sunny weather or for the couch if you’re still stuck in chilly rain. Read, laugh, enjoy!

_______________________________

Do you have a Book YOU would like to tell us about?  Would LOVE to hear about it!  Email us!  Contact information is in the sidebar.  Looking forward to hearing from YOU!

Look Who's Reading?

July 4, 2011  by Fifi Flowers

What are these two reading?