Candy's Recomendations

Candy, mother of three and wife of one, is a former journalist, news junkie and big fan of those glued-to-the-page-to-find-out-what-comes-next books.


Candy	The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry August 2010 Author Douglas Perry takes readers back to the Jazz Age when Chicago had six competing newspapers all after the same explosive stories. Fans of the musical Chicago or Devil in the White City will be especially interested in this examination of 1924's "Murderess' Row," when more than a dozen women awaited their days in court. And plucky Maurine Watkins, the Chicago Tribune's "girl reporter" (and later playwright of the stage version of Chicago), offered up-close and honest coverage of the goings-on. Slip on a flapper dress, pour yourself a gin, and soak up a lively era that gave birth to the celebrity criminal. $26	Non-Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot February 2010 Henrietta Lacks is a hero. Too bad her incredible contribution to the world of science came posthumously. This fascinating true story of cells, privacy rights, tissue samples, research ethics, legalities and money- all stirred by one woman's immortal cancer cells- is not-put-downable. $26	Non-Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	The Sixty-Eight Rooms by Marianne Malone February 2010 As a Chicago-area girl, I adored the Thorne Rooms, so reading this book was a fun fantasy for me. The author sprinkles the story with bits of history and a new little world (literally) of exploration. It's a "what if . . ." adventure that reminded me of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E. Frankweiler. Size it up for yourself! $16.99	Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink January 2010 We know $$$ doesn't buy happiness, but it doesn't necessarily buy good workers either, at least according to Dan Pink in this fascinating new examination of motivation. Bottom line: it's autonomy that does the trick. Isn't that so satisfying to hear? People are not robots. Turns out they like to use their gray matter upstairs. If you want to succeed, you need opportunities to problem solve and think. Sorry carrot-and-stick theory. You're so old (business) school. $26.95	Non-Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	Marriage and Other Acts of Charity by Kate Braestrup January 2010 One part humor. One part tragic. A pinch of worry. A dash of anger. A dollop of uncertainty, but sizeable measures of love and you have a book to savor in Marriage and Other Acts of Charity. It's a thoughtful examination of what marriage is, and isn't, and is a real heart warmer. Try this sample to kick off your own marriage discussion: Nothing is more important than ______________. Honest and revealing about what's most significant. $24.99	Non-Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	The Privileges by Jonathan Dee January 2010 The Privileges begins with an opening chapter so descriptive you feel you're attending the wedding of Cynthia and Adam Morey, a young bride and groom who, through offshore accounts and insider trading, become insanely wealthy gazillionaires. But clearly, their great wealth carries great weight as well. At times I was both sympathetic and incensed at their behavior (more the latter)...but definitely intrigued till the very last page. $25	Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	The Game of Opposites by Norman Lebrecht July 2009 When faced with your adversary, you have three options: flight, fight or hide. Paul Miller-who barely survived WWII-resurfaces to build a new life in the shadow of the Nazi camp that held him captive and in the midst of those who stood idly by. Then, the face of terror shows up in his new world too, and Paul struggles with how to co-exist with his tormentor. So what will it be:flight, fight or hide? Ethical questions abound in this thought-provoking, powerful novel. $24.95	Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	Lucky Girl by Mei-Ling Hopgood April 2009 Memoir of a young journalist who learns her life is far more complicated than she ever realized. Adopted out of China as a baby and raised in Michigan, Mei-Ling is reunited with her birth family (including a lively gaggle of sisters). Her life is both enriched and conflicted by new connections. A rare adoption story where the blanks are all filled in for this Lucky Girl. $23.95	Non-Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult March 2009 An exceptionally delicate child is at the heart of this very sturdy story pitting husband vs. wife, best friends vs. each other, doctor vs. patient, adoptee vs. birth mother and parents vs. daughters. Handle with Care is loaded and meaty for discussion. Yet fragile, little Willow's brittle bones are strong enough to support the whole wonderfully-layered novel. $27.95	Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick March 2009 Winter in Wisconsin. Just the thought makes me want a Snuggie! But characters here are cold too. . . as brutal as the winter. A "mail order bride" takes a chance and the tale winds in unexpected ways. Absolutely kept me guessing, and reading. The storyline is brutal too, with sex, and obsessive plots to both rescue and murder. The bride hopes to re-claim her sister; the groom, his son. When, in truth, both souls are way past saving. $23.95	Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	The Help by Kathryn Stockett February 2009 Finished this remarkable book on President Obama's Inauguration Day. How fitting that a book essentially about the small wars of the Civil Rights Movement should dovetail with history so neatly. (Not to mention one day after Martin Luther King's birthday, and three weeks before President Lincoln's 200th.) This beautifully-crafted story follows three Mississippi women in the 1960's: two African-American maids and a white woman, all awakening to the injustices swirling around them. It's a stunner of a first novel that will leave you with your eyes opened wider to history and how little steps helped pave the wide road we now gratefully travel together. God Bless America (and the amazing talent of author Kathryn Stockett)! $24.95	Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson February 2009 Strong Women Bounce Back could be an alternate title for Amy Dickinson's memoir. When her marriage fails, Amy's thrust into an unexpected new life as a single mom- a mirror image of her mother's life a generation earlier. But Freeville, her small rock of a hometown, is her cocoon and comfort. It's no wonder Amy's nationally-syndicated advice column oozes common sense. Reading this book, it's clear she grew up breathing it. $22.99	Non-Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	The Music Teacher by Barbara Hall February 2009 Grit is what gives pearls their luster, so when a music teacher named Pearl connects with a gifted young violinist, she hopes to apply enough grit to achieve that same satin finish. Pearl, who never reached the musical heights to which she personally aspired, puts her heart and soul into young Hallie's success. But when a moral dilemma faces Pearl, the tension pulls tighter than the strings on a violin. A novel that hits all the right notes. $22.95	Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass October 2008 Family dynamics can be gut-wrenching, and in I See You Everywhere, they play out between sisters. Louisa and Clem are entwined, yet not connected, in a life dance of regrets and what-should-have-beens. It’s an intense, sad story, but with hope too. I was inspired to call (like Clem) my younger sister out west. So for me, that’s a happy ending. $24.95	Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch October 2008 A tantalizing question- what would life be like if you’d chosen the old boyfriend or forgiven the mother who wronged you? Once I accepted that a spa treatment (really!) was the vehicle that gives suburban mom Jill a rerun of her last seven years, but with a chance to change paths, I couldn’t put it down. Jill's eyes are opened when she meets regrets and missteps head-on. Perhaps it’s not the history that needs changing as much as Jill does. If a deep tissue massage can reveal what’s important in life, who needs ruby slippers?	Non-Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld September 2008 You never know what goes on behind closed doors. And after reading American Wife, we still don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, but it sure is riveting to read what might. When the subject is married to a good-time Charlie (Charlie Blackwell in this case) from a prominent political family, who purchased a Major League baseball team, served as a Republican governor, then won a contested election to become a two-term President . . . well, it all sounds very familiar. The mix of truth and fiction grabs your attention and throttles up the curiosity factor. It convinced me that I’m not interested in being First Lady, but I admit it left me a little empathetic toward the current occupant.	Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	Golden Grove by Francine Prose September 2008 Beautifully written Goldengrove walks readers through a family in grief. A drowned teen leaves her parents and younger sister in misery. The teen’s boyfriend’s world is ripped apart as well. All that aching is sandwiched between the covers of ...more Beautifully written Goldengrove walks readers through a family in grief. A drowned teen leaves her parents and younger sister in misery. The teen’s boyfriend’s world is ripped apart as well. All that aching is sandwiched between the covers of this tender book. The ravaged loved ones, barely surviving, follow their own paths to steer through heartbreak. Younger sister Nico, 13, is at the heart of the story. As someone who experienced devastating loss at that age, I found this wholly realistic and very well done. Author Francine Prose captured those stunned, all-too-raw feelings and the obstacles they plant.	Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	Mona Lisa in Camelot: How Jacqueline Kennedy and Da Vinci's Masterpiece Charmed and Captivated a Nation by Margaret Leslie Davis September 2008 The first lady of the United States and the first lady of the world intersected for one fascinating chapter in our nation’s cultural heritage. Revisit the Kennedy White House and get the scoop on how the Mona Lisa paid her unprecedented 1963 call on the U.S. including the painting’s tightly controlled cross-Atlantic travels, the extreme steps to keep temperature and humidity perfect 24/7, and the personalities and politics involved to pull off this incredible feat. Imagine it: during the exhibit’s first four days at D.C.’s National Gallery, 80,000 people visited Da Vinci’s masterpiece when the museum’s normal attendance was about 3,000 a week. In today’s world, it’s an unimagined stretch to think it could happen again. But it did once upon a time, and reading about it took me back.	Non-Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	The Necklace: Thirteen Women and the Experiment That Transformed Their Lives by Cheryl Jarvis September 2008 After the Traveling Pants idea, my friends & I talked about sharing a piece of jewelry- but never quite followed up on it. So I picked up The Necklace to see how it worked. It's a non-fiction account of 13 California women who jointly purchased & shared a $37,000 diamond necklace, in the process transforming the entire group. By elevating the act of sharing, the women added new depth & meaning to their lives in terms of friendship, charity, kindness & a living expression of the maxim "it's far better to give than to receive." In fact, an item of personal luxury became something far more inclusive than exclusive! I've seen among my friends & acquaintances similar examples of giving & sisterhood, but the novelty here is the inspiration - a necklace named Jewelia- that made this experiment unique.	Non-Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	American Savior: A Novel of Divine Politics American Savior: A Novel of Divine Politics August 2008 by Roland Merullo Here’s a quirky book that seems entirely fitting for right now. WWJD if he was a presidential candidate? Jesus’ comment on page 129 captures it: “I offer you my blessings and I ask for your vote.” References to current politics are sprinkled throughout and fun to catch. But I suppose what hit me most was the notion that our nation would actually support a candidate as compassionate, peace-loving and wise as Jesus. Sad, but with so much cynicism and dirty tricks in politics, that was the hardest thing to swallow. But it’s fiction, of course, and offers a lot of food for thought as Jesus and his disciples conduct their campaign. I’d vote for this book.	Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	Land of a Hundred Wonders July 2008 by Lesley Kagen Paperback Meet a character who is NQR (Not Quite Right) but a book that is absolutely QR. This is a first person tale of a girl injured in a tragic crash that took her parents. She's trying to piece things together. A charming Southern setting and story that knits up loose ends and a murder mystery to boot. It's got a whole lotta sugar (and by that I mean love)	Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	Abbeville by Jack Fuller June 2008 Fortunes won and lost by generations of an Illinois family are at the heart of this story. It's the grandfather's tale that really is the focus and the most interesting encompassing Chicago history, the last turn of the century and a decent, hardworking and happy man. Loved the "It's a Wonderful Life" quality of it. (C'mon, one of the characters is George Bailey!)	Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston June 2008 Crazy of me, with a daughter abroad in Florence, to read about a serial killer who spilled blood in the Tuscan countryside who's NOT been caught. But I did and was quickly caught up in tangled leads, dead ends, errors and journalistic accusations. It's real frustrating, but real!	Non-Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein May 2008 Your dog will love this book! Why? Because you'll be offering extra pats and appreciative scratches as you read The Art of Racing in the Rain. Told from a dog's-eye view, you'll see why Enzo the dog truly is man's best friend. In this case, that man is dealing with excruciating trials. Dog lovers will beg for this book, but so will anyone with a heart. Good dog, Enzo. Good book, Garth.	Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	Audition by Barbara Walters May 2008 Three words for Barbara Walters: What a Life! The woman broke into the "boys' club" of broadcast journalism to become the 1st female anchor, and over her career has achieved star status. Sacrifices and successes are told and the peek inside network TV is revealing too.	Non-Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	Playing with the Enemy by Gary W. Moore May 2008 Many war vets return haunted by memories and heartbreak. For WWII vet Gene Moore, those wounds were not from combat, but rather from a devastating baseball injury. After a badly-broken ankle alters the Illinois man's promising pro career, a host of problems follow. Combined in this book are an examination of thwarted dreams, a fascinating chapter of history (Moore taught German prisoners how to play our national pastime) and very real repercussions for the author's family. Prompts a look at priorities and what defines a successful, happy life. Now in paperback $15	Non-Fiction
	Not Rated:


Candy	I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman April 2008 by Nora Ephron Paperback The story about the author's encounter with JFK made me laugh, but that was about all that tickled my fancy. The aging things, sadly I could relate to some of it (not being able to read the phone book, for one), but many of her complaints were not ones I'm too concerned about… yet. So, my sense overall was as far as "other thoughts on being a woman" were perhaps thoughts on being Nora Ephron, and not as general as I expected them to feel. Hey, but Nora, don't take it personally, I LOVED Sleepless in Seattle.	Non-Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	Heart in the Right Place by Carolyn Jourdan June 2007 Let's see… a 6-figure income on Capitol Hill vs. working for the country Doc wiping up bodily fluids & x-raying goats? What is the "right place" when it comes to life choices? This memoir is charming, funny & heartwarming. Just what the doctor ordered!	Non-Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith March 2005 by Anne Lamott Loved the humor and Anne Lamott's writing style and her insights into parenting and aging. Her faith and honesty were strong threads that I enjoyed best of all.	Non-Fiction
	Rated:


Candy	Revolutionary Road by Anne Lamott April 2000 Intensely driven, highly descriptive novel written in 1961 about an anguished 1950's suburban couple tormented by a stifling marriage, unmet needs and unattainable dreams in their narrow world of pastel look-a-like houses and ice cream-colored cars. The setting belies paralyzing private pain as April and Larry are revealed as sad, selfish and scarred. With scenes leaping off the page,the story doesn't feel dated at all. Available in paperback $14.95	Fiction
	Rated:

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