Sue Monk Kidd and Robin Cook

"The Invention of Wings" and "Cell" are two very different books set hundreds of years apart -- Pre-Civil War and July 2014 -- but I loved both of them. I also enjoyed speaking with both authors, Sue Monk Kidd and Robin Cook.

You can hear both conversations by going to http://www.wesb.com/listen/ and clicking on the "Local Programs" tab. Scroll down to 02-05-14 LiveLine -- Authors Sue Monk Kidd and Robin Cook.

Grounded By Angela Correll

In her debut novel, Grounded, Angela Correll pulls from her past as it follows a jet-setting woman who returns to her Kentucky roots to find a passion for sustainable agriculture.

During our chat she also talked about the growing farm-too-table movement and a couple of other topics.

You can listen to our conversation here.

Find more information at AngelaCorrell.com.

Like the Library

From the Bradford Area Public Library:

We are busy trying to expand our Facebook reach at the Bradford Area Public Library! "LIKE" our page and "SHARE" it with friends to be entered in a drawing to WIN a $10.00 Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce Gift Certificate!! Drawing held Friday, Feb. 7th.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bradford-Area-Public-Library/171638409551112

Your Astrological Compass By Alice Loffredo

I had a very interesting and informative conversation with Alice Loffredo today. You can listen here: http://www.wesb.com/listen/. Click on the "Local Programs" tab and scroll down to "LiveLine 02-03-14 Your Astrological Compass."

This is ALice's website: http://www.astrologykarmaandyou.com/index.html.

Win Some Books!

Oswayo Valley Memorial Library
We are selling tickets for a chance on a romance Valentine's basket. $1 each or 6 for $5. A winner will be drawn at noon on Wednesday, February 12th, so you can have it to deliver to your valentine on the 14th.

Visit the library's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/ovmlibrary

Radio and Reading

I think most people know reading and radio are two of my favorite forms of entertainment. So, when I learned that Martin A. Gardner wrote a book about a radio show it was a no-brainer for me to interview him. His book Quiz Kids: The Radio Program with the Smartest Children in America, 1940-1953 is about one of the most popular radio shows and the kids who made it so popular.

Mr. Gardner and I had a delightful conversation about the book and you can listen to it here.

You'll find more information here.

The Interestings By Meg Wolitzer

Meg Wolitzer paints characters that seem so real by the end of the book you’ll feel as if they’re real people, not a bunch of folks you met in book.

The Interestings starts in 1974 at a summer camp with six students involved in the arts. They decide their group needs a name and come up with “The Interestings.” I’ve read several reviews saying that the name is ironic because the book is anything but interesting. My take on that is the title is supposed to be ironic. Toward the end of the book the husband of one group member even tells his wife his friends aren’t all that interesting.

What made the book interesting for me is the way these six people – most of whom are only a year older than I am – went from their teenage years to today and the lessons they learned along the way, one of which is that what may be your passion when you’re 15 may end up in a closet never to be seen again by the time you’re 50 but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

For me, parts of the book were a trip down memory lane to a time before AIDS, when being carefree didn’t have consequences, when I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to do. But, and this is a sobering thought, readers in their 20s and 30s might consider this historical fiction.

Be that as it may, I liked the story. I didn’t like in a way that I’d get home from work, kick off my boots, grab the book and settle in to see what was happening with Jules. But it was an enjoyable read.

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