ROSEWATER AND SODA BREAD
by Marsha Mehran
"An enchanting tale of love, family and renewal that illuminates the magical qualities of Persian cuisine."
-Firoozeh Dumas, author of FUNNY IN FARSI
Marsha Mehran's delightful first novel, POMEGRANATE SOUP, followed the beautiful Iranian Aminpour sisters, Marjan, Bahar and Layla as they took the quaint Irish town of Ballinacroagh by storm, opening the exotic Babylon Cafe and slowly winning over the town's quirky residents with their food and their stories.
Now, the Aminpour sisters are back, and though they've settled into Ballinacroagh life, their presence there is anything but mundane. A mysterious young girl has literally washed onto Ballinacroagh's shores, and though she won't talk, it quickly becomes apparent that she has a dark secret that alienates much of the strict Catholic town. But the girl has a distinct impact on the Aminpours, particularly as each sister goes through her own transformation—Marjan trying to love again, Bahar taking on a new religious commitment, and Layla maturing into a young woman. As she did with POMEGRANATE SOUP, Mehran infuses this new tale with vibrant descriptions of Marjan's cooking, fascinating cultural detail, and, above all, a warmth that radiates not only from the Aminpour family, but from the whole of Ballinacroagh as well.
And try this treat from Marjan's recipe box...
Rosetachio Ice Cream
* Vanilla ice cream
* 3 tablespoons rosewater
* Pistachios, shelled and chopped
Scoop three large balls of vanilla ice cream into a serving dish. Drizzle
with rosewater and sprinkle with a handful of pistachios. Eat
barefooted, sitting in a patch of clover leaves.
Click here for an interview with Marsha Mehran
Share this with your book club and use our reading guide to start the discussion!
Invite Marsha Mehran to discuss ROSEWATER AND SODA BREAD with your book group
Congratulations Marsha Mehran! Her previous novel, POMEGRANATE SOUP, is a Celestial Seasonings Book Club pick! www.celestialseasoningsbookclub.com
How many cooks are in your kitchen? For your next book club selection, create your own recipe box based on the characters or setting of the story - and each book club member can add to it!
THE RIVER WIFE
by Jonis Agee
In 1811, moments after a devastating earthquake, French fur trapper Jacques Ducharme rescues Annie Lark from the ruins of her family home on the shores of the Mississippi. While Jacques nurses her back to health, Annie learns to love the strong, brooding man and become his "River Wife."
More than a century later, in 1930, Hedie Rails comes to Jacques' Landing to marry Clement Ducharme, a direct descendant of the fur trapper and river pirate. When, night after late night, mysterious phone calls take Clement from their home, a pregnant Hedie finds comfort in a set of old leather-bound journals. But as she reads of Jacques' disturbing history-his tragedy-stricken romance with Annie; his exploits with Omah, a freed slave who joins him as a river raider; his life with his second wife, Laura, and their daughter, Little Maddie, who inherits her father's dream and passion for the land-Hedie fears that history is repeating itself with Jacques's kin.
Through intertwined stories, Agee vividly portrays a lineage of love and heartbreak, passion and deceit, as each river wife comes to discover that blind devotion cannot keep the past from haunting the present.
 Jonis Agee on writing historical fiction:
"It's wonderful to see a world come alive through historical details. What I like most is the discovery of things I didn't know, and being able to include them in the fiction. The danger lies in the balancing act between historical detail and facts and character and plot. The people must always come first so they can stay realistic, alive, despite the clothing they wear. I had a lot of information about building log houses of the time, including research I'd done on tools used in that period-fascinating stuff, really-but I ended up cutting much of that detail because it was taking much to long to put up the first Inn at Jacques Landing. We needed to move along with the people to discover what they were going to do next."
Take a look at this exclusive interview with Jonis Agee
Discuss THE RIVER WIFE with your book club!
Invite Jonis Agee to chat with your book club!
And Jonis Agee is on tour - mark your calendars!
Des Moines, IA
Borders - Talk/signing - 6/1
Beaverdale Books - Talk/signing - 6/2
Minneapolis, MN
University of Minnesota Bookstore - 6/4
Magers & Quinn - 6/5
Oconomowoc, WI
Books & Company - 6/6
Wichita, KS
Watermark Books - 6/13
New Orleans
Garden City Books - 6/18
Octavia Books - 6/19
 WOMEN IN HATS
by Judy Sheehan
WOMEN IN HATS wrestles with the timeless question: must all daughters grow up to become their mothers? (And would that really be so bad?)
A child of Hollywood who has made a name for herself in New York's avant-garde theater scene, Leigh Majors has convinced herself that she is happy in her safe, orderly little life. But the quiet control of her days is disrupted when her husband writes "Women in Hats", a Broadway-ready play. And you'll never guess who demands to play a starring role? Her dear mother.
On the red carpet, Ex-Hollywood starlet (not to mention America's most beloved TV Sitcom Mom) Bridie Hart was a media maven. But off-screen she was swept up in the drinking, dancing and celebrity scene of 1950-1960's Hollywood. Three marriages and two children later, she's an aged Broadway show actress trying to reinsert herself into her daughter Leigh's life in New York. Everyone loves her; she's the woman with the quick wit, the fabulous stories, the graceful gloved hand complete with cigarette holder. But old wounds are slow to heal, and Leigh much prefers to keep her ostentatious mother at arm's length.
Leigh knows that she should never direct a commercial play starring her maddening mother. And Leigh is certain that she should stop flirting with her handsome and increasingly intriguing stage manager. If only she could . . . it seems Leigh may be more like her mother than she ever imagined before.
Judy Sheehan discusses her new novel in this exclusive interview
Discuss WOMEN IN HATS with your book club!
Invite Judy Sheehan to chat with your book club
 FRANKLIN & LUCY
by Joseph Persico
Joseph Persico's FRANKLIN & LUCY is a fascinating look at the private life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as seen through the lens of his relationships with women.
While FDR's official circle was predominantly male, it was his connections with women-particularly with Lucy Mercer Rutherfurd-that most vividly bring to light the human being beneath this towering statesman. It is no coincidence that Rutherfurd was with Roosevelt the day he died in Warm Springs, Georgia, along with two other close women companions. FDR's romance with Lucy Rutherfurd is explored here, which was far deeper and lasted much longer than was previously acknowledged. Persico's provocative conclusions about their relationship are informed by a revealing range of sources, including never-before-published letters and documents from Lucy Rutherfurd's estate that attest to the intensity and scope of the affair. FDR's connection with Lucy also creates an opportunity for Persico to take a more penetrating look at the other women in FDR's life. We come to see more clearly how FDR's infidelity as a husband contributed to Eleanor's eventual transformation from a repressed Victorian to perhaps the greatest American woman of her century; how the shaping hand of FDR's strong-willed mother helped to imbue him with the resolve to overcome personal and public adversity throughout his life; and how other women around FDR, including his "surrogate spouse," Missy LeHand, and his close confidante, the obscure Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, completed the world that he inhabited.
Reading more like a novel than a work of non-fiction, FRANKLIN & LUCY is truly compelling and promises to spark a lively discussion with your book club!
Click here to read an excerpt
Last month, we asked you how you keep up on the latest trends and new novels. Here's a sampling of what you had to say!
Jennifer Lawrence from Sterling, VA: Our bookclub keeps up to date on new books in various ways. I review books for a few firms and often pass on suggestions to the group. In addition, we all frequent local book stores and will recommend books that we think the group would be interested in. I subscribe to a number of reading group newsletters, so the suggestions in those publications are often passed on to the group as well. I'm pleased with the number of book club/reading group resources that are available now!
Mary Schreiner from Pinson, AL: Our club's reading list is made up of books that our members have read reviews on from websites as well as reviews from our local newspaper. We read a book recently that was reviewed on National Public Radio. They have an excellent book review section on their website. We have also gotten several of our book club selections from the Book Club Companion that we receive from Random House. It also helps that one our members is a librarian.
Janet Hoyt from Titusville, FL: Our book club keeps up with the trends by websites like yours and others. They are very helpful in determining which book to read next as there is so much out there. Usually when we get together and it is time to pick a book there are more suggestions than months in a year, and we pick the books we are going to read six months in advance, so these book websites are a great help in narrowing down our selections.
Each month we'll ask you, our readers, to share something with us about your book club or about your personal
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