Cozy Corner Book Club

This month we are inspired by the incomparable Michelle Obama in her beautiful new memoir Becoming. We are joined this month by Lindsey's college friend Kristen Portillo, and had so much fun discussing the book with her! | SPOILER ALERT! As always, we will discuss spoilers in this chat. If that's not your thing, no worries. Come back after you read the book! | "In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As first lady of the United States of America - the first African American to serve in that role - she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the US and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare. In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites listeners into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her - from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work to her time spent at the world's most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it - in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations - and whose story inspires us to do the same."

Shawn and Lindsey discuss Graceling by Kristin Cashore, a Young Adult fantasy novel, and the first in a series.| SPOILER ALERT! As always, we will discuss spoilers in this chat. But only spoilers for this book, not the rest of the series! | "The book tells the story of Katsa, a young woman with a "Grace", or power, which enhances her survival skills and makes her a highly efficient killer. It takes place in a world where Gracelings, or people with special powers, are identified as children because their eyes are two different colors and put in the service of the king."| Intro and outro by Smooth Lovin by Kevin MacLeod, Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4379-smooth-lovin, License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Join Shawn and Lindsey as they discuss one of their new favorite books, A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas. This month we were joined by Lindsey's sister-in-law Kara Belt, who recommended this book to us! | SPOILER ALERT! As always, we will discuss spoilers in this chat. But only spoilers for this book, not the rest of the series! | "When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin--one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world. As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow over the faerie lands is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it . . . or doom Tamlin--and his world--forever."

For April, we finally got to read the much anticipated Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid! This book is written in a unique biopic format, which makes it feel like an episode of Inside the Music on MTV. | SPOILER ALERT! As always, we will discuss spoilers in this chat. If that's not your thing, no worries. Come back after you read the book! | "Everyone knows DAISY JONES & THE SIX, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity . . . until now. Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n’ roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things. Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road. Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend." | Intro and outro by Smooth Lovin by Kevin MacLeod, Link, https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4379-smooth-lovin, License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This month Shawn chose The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau, a dystopian young adult novel. This book is the first in a trilogy! | SPOILER ALERT! As always, we will discuss spoilers in this chat. If that's not your thing, no worries. Come back after you read the book! This book is the first in a series, but we will keep our spoilers to this book only. | "It’s graduation day for sixteen-year-old Malencia Vale, and the entire Five Lakes Colony (the former Great Lakes) is celebrating. All Cia can think about—hope for—is whether she’ll be chosen for The Testing, a United Commonwealth program that selects the best and brightest new graduates to become possible leaders of the slowly revitalizing post-war civilization. When Cia is chosen, her father finally tells her about his own nightmarish half-memories of The Testing. Armed with his dire warnings (“Cia, trust no one”), she bravely heads off to Tosu City, far away from friends and family, perhaps forever. Danger, romance—and sheer terror—await."