September 11, 2009

It just occurred to me this week that I’ve been blogging for almost a decade. The madness all started for me back in the year 2000. The AOL Internet connection lead to forums and message boards and then, of course, The Oprah Book Club. Eureka!

For an avid reader and writer like me, this outlet was a Godsend! I tried to join a local Oprah book club in Newmarket, Ontario but they had a full membership. Drat! I didn't let this stop me from reading books on the Oprah list but I found it very difficult to find other readers who wanted to discuss the books. Sigh! I desperately needed an expressive outlet! The Internet chats barely filled the gap and then there was that urge to write. I'd heard about blogging and decided to check it out. My first blog was SAHM Rants and Raves. I ended up writing book reviews and it was all going very well with positive feedback and even the occasional hate mail. Then after 5 years of blogging and home schooling my oldest son, my husband took a work transfer and we moved to London, Ontario.

Somehow with the change in Internet servers I ended up deleting my blog. (Insert curse word of your choice here.) This was devastating at the time but looking back on it now it actually served as an opportunity to venture out of my comfort zone. Out of habit, I started up a new blog and on the advice of a few supportive friends, I decided to check out the opportunities available with local magazines. It was then that I went from a SAHM blogger to a book reviewer for a regional women's magazine. Flash forward to 2009 and I'm blogging for Erica Ehm's Yummy Mummy Club! I'm getting my fill of books, opportunities to write reviews and now book club chats! Yes, it's true; we now have a Twitter book club that goes by Yummy Mummy Book Club, a.k.a. #YMBC. The virtual book club has been a joy for me to organize and I find all the invaluable insights to be a source of inspiration. The club doesn't meet in person but there is a friendly connection with ongoing tweets and I've met some YMC members during a tweet-up too. Bonus! It's the best of all three worlds for me; reading, writing and camaraderie!

The first Yummy Mummy Book Club selection, Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, was suggested by the Yummy Mummy Queen herself, Erica Ehm. I was pleased with this selection since I had read it a while back due to my interest with modern architecture. The book title’s ‘Frank’ is the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright and the object of Mamah Borthwick Cheney's illicit love. The novel is a work of fiction based on real people involved in a forbidden love affair over a century ago. Both have spouses, children and prominent standing in society, just to add complications. You don’t have to agree with the couple's choices to get drawn into their lives. Nancy Horan sets the stage with a colorful cast of characters and scintillating settings. The author gets right into her characters heads with descriptive and intriguing dialogue. Alternating between drama and navel-gazing, the self-proclaimed soul mates spend years trying to be together, all the while hoping for public acceptance instead of notoriety in society. The novel is ripe with juicy gossip taken from actual newspaper clippings and personal notations. Nancy Horan spent years researching and writing the novel and this is presented in her meticulous attention to period details. Each chapter tell the story about the growing love affair between Frank and Mamah and even more, their growing egos and self-absorbed lives. Both characters held grandiose visions of their self-importance. The affair actually served as a catapult to launch the couple into public infamy. There's no doubt in my mind that Frank and Mamah would relish the attention from the tabloids and paparazzi if they lived out their saga in today’s world. The story brings up the age old conflict - should you be with your true love at all costs or love the one you're with? Will you love Frank? The man -maybe not. Whether you see Frank as an arrogant egomaniac or a creative genius, he will leave an impression on you! Mamah is a bit more difficult to understand. Mamah is an eccentric, intellectual personality who uses deception and rationalization to justify her personal growth. Mamah saw herself a Frank's muse and used him as an opportunity to As a mother myself, I found it difficult to fathom most of her choices. If I was to sum up the novel in two words they would be scandal and sacrifice. That's all I'm going to say for fear of slipping out some spoilers! Fair warning dear reader, you might find the book unsettling or even disturbing, yet somehow very hard to put down!
 
Rumor has it that the novel is slated to go from the page to the stage. The rights to the screen version of Loving Frank have been attained by Lionsgate. I'm very curious to see which actor and actress will play the potentially career changing lead roles of Frank and Mamah. If you would like a copy of Loving Frank then visit Between the Covers to enter a book recommendation for a chance to win! Thanks to Michelle Allard for adding her suggestion. Looks like we're both on the same page!
 

Relish reading,

Wanda Lynne Young

Labels/Tags: wanda lynne, bookalicious, loving frank, frank lloyd wright, oprah, oprah book club

Posted by WandaL at 18:27:28 View Comments | Click Here to Comment

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I grew up very near Taliesin in WI. According to my grandfather, FLW wasn't well respected by the locals. He did leave an amazing architectural legacy behind though. I read Loving Frank right after it was published and loved Horan's depiction of the FLW and his relationship with Mamah. Such scandel, intrique, suspense...it is hard to believe that their lives were so complicated and that it all actually happened.

Janelle, WI, WI
http://www.brimfulcuriosities.com