The Book Broads

(Kim here)How not to kill your husband…. No, not a book? Should be. I think when I am angry, it would probably be a parenting book. When am mad, it tends to be at my kids. Frustrated about how I dealt with a situation. I always turn to Dr. Michele Borba books. She puts me on a new path. I can hear her voice telling me it will be ok and I do better next time. Move on and be better – the mother’s mantra.

(Angela here)

‘Tis the gift to be simple
‘Tis the gift to be free
‘Tis the gift to come down where we out to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
Twill be in the valley of love and delight

That’s a Shaker Hymn called ‘Tis a Gift to Be Simple and in my Christmas decorations box I have a lovely illustrated gift book edition of this classic.  When I’m angry I, sometimes, turn to this book (or sing the song in my head) to remind me what’s important … the simple things in life and often the thing that makes me angry doesn’t seem so bad anymore.

(Peg here) Hmmmm, probably something that doesn’t require me to focus too much. Something like Vogue magazine with pretty pictures. Usually a perfume strip helps me to calm down.

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(Kim here) Ok. I will fess up. I LOVE Dame Catherine Cookson novels. History again. So hard to choose from. She is a prolific writer. My mom and I read her books. Trade back and forth. Never quite knowing if we have read it or not. The Tilly Trotter series is good and the first of it sets the stage. I will stick with our Tilly.

(Angela here) Yes, my favourite series is Star Wars – for film, for books, for music but I’m especially fond of a series within the series - The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn. I was a bookseller back in 1991 and my Star-Wars-loving-heart just about stopped when I saw this blue cover (the one pictured here) in the publisher’s catalogue. It had been five years since Return of the Jedi had been released and suddenly the story was going to continue?!? Oh the excitement!  So thank  you George Lucas for letting other story tellers take your vision into the future. I won’t tell about Leia and Han getting married, or their kids, or Lando Calrissian turning into a respectable business man, or Leia’s Jedi abilities, or … ooops. I just did, didn’t I?

The difference between Tilly and Thrawn kinda makes you wonder how Kim & I can be such good friends, doesn’t it?

(Peg here) Duh: anything Amelia Peabody! I’m also currently enjoying the Robyn Carr Virgin River series. (Yeah, I know. Don’t care.)

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 (Kim here) I will have to go to Phillipa Gregory for this. I love her books on the Tudors and would love to hear how she brings the words alive. Perhaps it would be in a great room or an old cathedral. Some place with deep history. She would have an audience of fans and she would tell us how she writes, the research and then read passages. Then we will go drink copious amounts of red wine and talk more about all her books!

(Angela here) Ok, I made it all the way to Day 18 before I let a social media book creep into my selections and it’s a good one! I would love to hear Erik Qualman read from his book Socialnomics. I thoroughly enjoy his writing and find his research an endless source of inspiration. Now if we could add on a coffee clatch tête-à-tête then I’d be a very happy camper, um, reader indeed.

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(Kim here) As a book publicist, I have heard LOTS of books read by the author. I loved Sarah Dunant, Wayson Choy,Wilbur Smith (excuse me, must pick up the names I just dropped). I think one that really I really liked was a talk given by NHL Hockey goalie and now politician, Ken Dryden. It was one of the only reading events I have ever seen only populated by men. I was the only woman there.. other than the staff. The men and boys loved their time with Ken. He was exceptional with each and every person as they came to talk to him and get their book, The Game, signed. Ken told me that each and every one of those readers and hockey fans had a story and he was there to be hear it and now be part of it. It was a great evening and now I have a story and he is part of it.

(Angela here) Pardon me while I make a cake out of the names Kim dropped and ice it with a few of my own – Donna Hay, David Suzuki, Titania Hardie, Gordon Ramsay. That being said, I think my all time favourite author reading (so  far) was when Maeve Binchy read at the Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival.  I can’t remember if she read Tara Road or The Glass Lake but whatever it was it started me on a Maeve Binchy reading spree that year. I read every spec of her backlist and lamented when I’d caught up on her books to date. Thankfully she’s still writing so I get to enjoy her new work as a treasured treat now and again.

(Peg here) I’m fascinated with the way Jack Whyte does his readings – they aren’t just readings from the book, they’re like an entire course on medieval weaponry or history. Whyte is known for the amount of research that he puts into each book, and that’s what makes him write so easily about a certain time and place – mentally, he’s there, at that point in time. His readings aren’t a 15-minute quickie. They are 90+ minute workshops where he spills his expert knowledge, openly, willingly. He loves interaction from readers, and he takes a nice bit of personal time with each person as he autographs their copy. (The pic attached is of Whyte with my hubby Geoff Clay, at a signing in Nanaimo, Canada last year.)

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(Kim here) It has to be The Secret. Yes, I thought that if I had the happy vibe, I will get it all! Bull #$@%. I do value manifesting – but work, passion and goals are keys.

We are all so hungry for the easy peasy fix, this book filled certain holes, but opened up so many others. I am also tired of self epiphany books. They do drive me batty. Sorry, Angela, I had an opinion rant there. Oh, I also hate diet books for much the same reasons.

(Peg here) Can I just second Kim’s opinion? I not only read the book, but I bought the DVD and all the posters and crap. (Yeah, whatever.) Now, I just cringe when I see the cover. I’m happy that Ms. Byrne had this wonderful insight and personal awakening, but now I just feel like she’s sharing her personal epiphany – which isn’t that epiphonic, by the way – with the world. And, I’m embarrassed for her that it’s not as deep as it should be.

(Angela here) I suspect we’re courting controversy with our opinions on The Secret so let me take offer something completely different. What about these post-humous instant memoirs? You know the books that cash in when someone famous dies? I used to love these sorts of books as celebration of that life and a momento of all they had accomplished in the world. Unfortunately, I now understand that the production values are low, the authors are often paid a flat rate (not royalties) and the publisher is cashing in. Boooooo!

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Angela’s still thinking about this one.

Kim here. I think the book that best describes me is Alice, I Think by Susan Juby. Alice is lost, cynical and lives in a Northern town. It felt like me as a teen when I read it. It is also a very, very funny book.

I related to Alice and all she sees and deals with. She also found the humour in it all.

I had the great pleasure to meet Susan Juby in Nanaimo in March. One of the highlights of my career. I adore her writing and characters and I also adore her as a person. The whole Alice series is a great read for all teen gals. They will connect, relate and know they are not alone. What a good thing!

(Peg here) Dare I say Women Who Run With The Wolves, by Clarissa Pinkola Estes? This book has been grossly misunderstood: it’s about connecting with your inner creative power, whatever form that may take. Yes, I’m still learning, but at least now I know where the wolves are, even though I can’t run that fast – yet.

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Angela’s still thinking about this one.

(Kim here) I think the book that people are surprised I like is the books on the plague. It drives Peggy nuts. I think this is why I read them. Nah, I just love the history – and yes, death is part of it.

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague was a 2001 international bestselling novel by Geraldine Brooks.  It was a fantastic read. I am hunting for another book that will get me caught up like this. So good – and now it is plague all the time. This will drive Peg insane!

(Peg here) OK Kim, it might drive me insane that you read books about the plague, but this book that I love will surprise you: The Coming Plague, by Dr. Laurie Garrett. I saw her interviewed on TV in the mid-90’s, and literally ran out to buy the book. Very interesting read, which although scary, is also reassuring about things like “killer” germs, AIDS, and other infectious diseases that we can prevent ourselves from contracting. Garrett writes very practically about a very complex issue. Yes, it’s a long book, but might change your thinking about how we live, and how we interact with each other and our environment.

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Kim here. Can it be a magazine? I love reading People, Star etc on BC Ferries. It is the only time I read them and I love them on the ferry. I also like unauthorized bios. The Kitty Kelley one on Oprah was good.

They call Kelley “Colonoscopist to the stars”. I love that.

(Angela here) I love Kim’s answer. Nothing like a little celebrity gossip to make us smile.

My pick is any recent title by Nora Roberts. She’s a romance and suspense writer who has written an amazing number of books. She has millions of copies in print and fans around the world but somehow I find reading her books a guilty pleasure.  Maybe it’s because they’re stories you can lose yourself in without expending a lot of mental energy. The stories are clever, well researched and intelligent but the way Ms. Roberts tells them makes these books an easy read. The trick is to pick up her recent works. Many of her early titles were published by Harlequin and they are not as engaging.  Of course, given her success, Harlequin is republishing  her early work so it can be tricky sometimes to know what’s truly new.

I particularly enjoyed the Three Sisters Island Series. Come to think of it, I enjoyed them so much I may buy a digital copy for my iBooks account.

I’ve got the latest

(Peg here) I’ll often browse old Ikea catalogues. I know. It’s weird. I used to have a copy of every single one from the time Ikea came to Canada, but I recently threw them out in a cleaning frenzy. Right now, I only have two or three in the house. Without one lying around somewhere, I feel empty inside.

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(Kim here) The Chrysalids. I think it got me onto my dislike for sci-fi. Did not like it, did not engage – just hated it.

What a turn-off for kids who loved to read – and to those who hated to read!

(Angela here)  I think there were a lot of books I was forced to read in school and many of them became favourites. One that I hated and haven’t read since is Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

I know, I know, it’s a classic. It’s a timeless tale. It’s a fable with an important moral lesson. Still, I hated it.

(Peg here) Well, when it came time for my class to read Lord of the Flies, I was the last kid in line to grab a copy, and guess what: they ran out. Not enough copies for all the kids in the class. (Typical Catholic school budget issues.) So, since I was reading a couple of grades ahead of my level anyway, I got to choose a book from the library to use instead. What does 8-year old Peggy select? In The Heat Of The Night, by John Dudley Ball. Now this was many years before I developed a crush on Sydney Poitier and a healthy respect for Carroll O’Connor, but I sure did enjoy the book. Growing up in the 70’s in Canada, this was my first insight into racial issues that have plagued the larger part of this continent for most of the last three centuries. I remember feeling real empathy for the characters, and the tension of police issues, etc. Come to think of it, I’ll add this to my “read it again” list.

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Kim here. I love, love. love the Josephine B series by Sandra Gulland. My history love and story comes together between to covers! The first one got me hooked.  The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B.

In a fictionalized account of Josephine Bonaparte’s diaries and her correspondence, author Sandra Gulland has shed light on Josephine’s pre-Napoleon life. This, the first of three books about Josephine, covers her childhood in Martinique, her first marriage, the birth of her children, her life during the revolution, and her marriage to Napoleon.

I love all Sandra’s books, but this one started my addiction.Well written and researched. I recommend them often.

(Angela here) As much as Kim loves historical novels, I love fantasty and science fiction. One of my favourite authors is Terry Pratchett whose wonderful imagination has given us all the the gift of Discworld.  Pick up any book in this series.

I especially love the wizards at Unseen University and the Librarian, a wizard who was turned into an orangtan a strong wave of magic.

(Peg here) I’ve been saving a read for a while now: Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs, by Barbara Mertz. Mertz is the woman behind the pen name of Elizabeth Peters, which is the name behind all of the Amelia Peabody series of novels. However, this book is now in a newly-updated revision of a book she wrote many years ago. This is serious Egyptology by a Phd. in the subject. (Which is why she writes such excellent fiction about the subject of archeology in general – she really is an archeologist.)

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