Bonnie Glover

Joy
from reading and expressing

Publishers Weekly Review ^6/16/2008 - "Going Down South"

Going Down South, Bonnie J. Glover
Ballantine/One World,
$14 paper (272p) ISBN 9780345480910

Glover weaves the stories of three generations of African American women in a tale both familiar and surprising. In the early 1960s, 15-year-old Olivia Jean tells her parents she is pregnant, and her father, Turk, and mother, Daisy, decide to take Olivia to Daisy's mother's house in Cold Water Springs, Alabama...

Glover does an admirable job of avoiding cliché (as when Daisy and Birdie attempt to resolve their conflicts with a wrestling match) and provides readers with an absorbing setting and a complex family. (July 29)

Read full review at Publishers Weekly: 6/16/2008 reviews

Spring Has Sprung Again Readings

Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Pink Slip by Rita Ciresi
Other: new books purchased, now reading, old favorites, etc..

Autobiography: A Piece of Cake

This is the first book that I’ve reviewed for my new website and I’m still thinking about how this book has impacted me and what I believe. I don’t think I’ll ever walk by someone on the street again and think that I know their story. Story line – betrayal of children by the system and by a biological father turns into a long stretch of drug addiction, prostitution and alcoholism for his daughter. This book is a memoir, not fiction and not for the faint of heart.

Read - Bonnie's Book Review of Piece of Cake

As soon as I finish THE AMBER SPYGLASS, I intend to read A PIECE OF CAKE BY Cupcake Brown. I saw her talk on some television shows and she is a fascinating woman. As a child her mother sold her to someone for a drug fix and her life was traumatic, now she is a successful attorney.

Other to-reads - THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT HEAVEN BEARS by Dinwaw Mengestu and A FREE LIFE by Ha Jin.

Note: Ha Jin is one of my favorite authors too. English is not his native language yet he continues to amaze me with his style. He has won the National Book Award and various other awards for his skillful and incisive writing.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

I enjoyed reading about this journey to adulthood for Jacob Jankowski. The story revolves around a young man forced on the road after his parents are killed in a car accident. He joins the circus and luckily has skills that are needed. Interesting story with a few twists. What I like most about this book though are not the flashbacks but the part of the tale that is told in the “here and now.” Jacob is telling his story from the vantage point of having grown old. I guess one of the themes is that you shouldn’t grow old in America. No one will love you, no one will care for you, etc. I liked the end very much.

Pink Slip by Rita Ciresi

At the very beginning I was hoping for something light to read because I’d been through a few heavy books that left my heart limping. I wanted some lighthearted something to make me forget about troubles and the non-ending every ready talking heads that are driving me crazy about the Democratic Primary. Well, what I thought would be a light chick lit read turned into something else and I’m glad that it did. Pink Slip is an excellent read about the realities of falling in love, about relatives, about sex in the eighties, about AIDS and so many other things. I can see why it has done so very well. I think there is a sequel to this one too but I don’t know the title.

Other Stuff

New Purchases:

Orange Mint and Honey by Carleen Brice (an Essence pick for March 2008)
Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver
What Would Martin Say by Clarence B. Jones

Currently Reading:

Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
The Secret of the Ages by Robert Collier

Ben Recommends:

David Feldman’s Imponderables Books Secrets of Dripping Fang (Series) by Dan Greenburg

Matt Recommends:

The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams
Chance Fortune and the Outlaws by Shane Berryhill

Old Favorite:

The Ginger Tree by Oswald Wynd

I’ll have more picks soon!

Travel Agent

These are a few links that I thought would be helpful to you while extending your library.

*Online Book Stores*	*The Middle Sister*	*Going Down South*	*Main Page*
Amazon	The Middle Sister	Going Down South	Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble	The Middle Sister	Going Down South	BarnesandNoble.com
Random House	The Middle Sister	Going Down South	Random House
Powell's Books	The Middle Sister	Going Down South	Powells.com
Book Sense			BookSense.com
Good Reads	Bonnie Glover		Good Reads
Pyramid Books	The Middle Sister	Going Down South	Pyramid Books

"The Middle Sister" is now available as an audiobook!
Visit www.recordedbooks.com or call 1.800.638.1304 to order your copy.

Publishers Weekly Review 6/16/2008 - "Going Down South"