The Adventures of a Constant Reader

I have been looking for ways to get out of the house every so often.  Being a stay at home mom to a four-month-old during cold and flu season is the worst.  I've been living like a hermit since she was born in an attempt to avoid the flu.  I have the WORST case of cabin fever right now.  I discovered that my local library has a book club and I decided to take a look at the books they had read in the past to get an idea of whether I'd like to join.  Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney was their read from last month. The book follows Lillian Boxfish, an 85-year-old ex ad woman, as she walks around New York city on New Years Eve 1984.  The book alternates between the "present day" 1984 and the past as Lillian walks around New York reminiscing about her rise as a female ad writer in the 1930's.  Lillian ultimately becomes the most famous female ad writer and we see how that affects her and her family as the book goes along....

One of the books I've read outside of book club was Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker.  This was one of the books I got when I tried the Book of the Month club.  I'll admit the cover drew me in.  I'm a sucker for a good book cover.  I've even been known to re-purchase a book if it's released later with a cover I like better than the one I have.  Superficial, I know. In my defense, the premise of the book sounded interesting too.  In this book two sisters disappear and, three years later, one returns.  When Cass returns without her sister, the titular Emma, she weaves a story of the events that transpired that is full of holes and leaves her family and investigators with more questions than answers.  This is a book that I regret buying, pretty cover or no.  The ending is pretty obvious from the beginning, I didn't like the writing, and the whole plot would have been tied up easier if Cass had just told the truth from the beginn...