7 days of voting!

And now we have a winner.  #1 New York Times Best Seller

Mocha Girl Read June Book of the Month is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  Take a minute to see what this book and the author are all about.

Flynn cements her place among that elite group of mystery/thriller writers who unfailingly deliver the goods…Once again Flynn has written an intelligent, gripping tour de force, mixing a riveting plot and psychological intrigue with a compelling prose style that unobtrusively yet forcefully carries the reader from page to page.  Library Journal (Starred review)

Synopsis

Marriage can be a real killer. One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn, takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. As The Washington Post proclaimed, her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit with deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick Dunne’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick Dunne isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but hearing from Amy through flashbacks in her diary reveal the perky perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister Margo at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was left in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Meet the Author: Gillian Flynn

Gillian Flynn was born in Kansas City, Missouri to two community-college professors—her mother taught reading; her father, film. Thus she spent an inordinate amount of her youth nosing through books and watching movies. She has happy memories of having A Wrinkle in Time pried from her hands at the dinner table, and also of seeing Alien, Psycho and Bonnie and Clyde at a questionable age (like, seven). It was a good childhood.

In high-school, she worked strange jobs that required her to do things like wrap and unwrap hams, or dress up as a giant yoghurt cone. A yoghurt cone who wore a tuxedo. Why the tuxedo? It was a question that would haunt her for years.

For college, she headed to the University of Kansas (go Jayhawks), where she received her undergraduate degrees in English and journalism.

After a two-year stint writing about human resources for a trade magazine in California, Flynn moved to Chicago. There she earned her master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and discovered that she was way too wimpy to make it as a crime reporter.

On the other hand, she was a movie geek with a journalism degree—so she moved to New York City and joined Entertainment Weekly magazine, where she wrote happily for 10 years, visiting film sets around the world (to New Zealand for The Lord of the Rings, to Prague for The Brothers Grimm, to somewhere off the highway in Florida for Jackass: The Movie). During her last four years at EW, Flynn was the TV critic (all-time best TV show: The Wire).

Flynn’s 2006 debut novel, the literary mystery Sharp Objects, was an Edgar Award finalist and the winner of two of Britain’s Dagger Awards—the first book ever to win multiple Daggers in one year. Movie rights have been sold.

Flynn’s second novel, the 2009 New York Times bestseller Dark Places, was a New Yorker Reviewers’ Favorite, Weekend TODAY Top Summer Read, Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2009, and Chicago Tribune Favorite Fiction choice. Movie rights have been sold, with Gilles Paquet-Brenner (Sarah’s Key) to direct.  Flynn’s third novel, GONE GIRL, came out in June 2012.

Flynn’s work has been published in twenty-eight countries. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Brett Nolan, their son, and a giant black cat named Roy. In theory she is working on her next novel. In reality she is possibly playing Ms. Pac-Man in her basement lair.

Author’s Website                  Facebook     

Buy the book:  Mysterious Galaxy Bookstore

Congratulations Gillian Flynn for becoming Mocha Girl Read book of the month for June 2013.

Feel free to leave comments and thoughts here as you are reading the book. I’m really looking forward to reading this book and hearing what everyone thinks of it.

Keep the pages turning ladies!

It’s that time ladies.  Time to Rock the Vote!  For the month of June we are going to read a New York Times Bestseller from 2013.

There are some great titles up for vote this time.  Here are the Rules for Voting.

1. You may vote for three (3) books.

2. All members get to vote only once.

3. Last Day to vote will be May 19, 2013. (Midnight Los Angeles time)

4. The book with the most votes wins.  But if there is a tie there will be a 48 hour death match. The two or three books will go into a head to head competition for only 48 hours. Whichever book is left standing (with the most votes) wins!

Below the poll you will find the title of the books linked to a brief description.  Now… may the best book win!!

America The Beautiful by Ben C. Carson and Candy Carson

Daddy’s Gone A Hunting by Mary Higgins Clark

Damaged by H.M. Ward

Fly Away by Kristin Hannah

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Life of Pi Yann Martel

Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

The theme for June is New York Times Best Seller (Books currently on this years New York Times Best Sellers list 2013).  Any book that fits the theme, in any genre is up for nomination.

Nominations are from 5/6/13 – 5/12/13

For selecting our book of the month Mocha Girls Read uses a democratic system for monthly selections. What do I need to do? In the comments section below, tell us what you want to read next.  How many books can I nominate? Just pick 1 title off your TBR (to be read) list. Then what? We will put the list of nominations up for everyone to vote on.  Once the voting is over the winner will be selected as the book for June. What if there is a tie? We will put the two books to a head to head competition. The two books will be re-posted and everyone will be able to vote again but only in a 48 hour window of time. When do the nominations start and end? The nominations start today and will close on May 12, 2013 at midnight.  Voting will start the next day.

Let us know what you want to read next. You can also email your nominations to us at mochagirl@email.com.

If you need some suggestions check out the titles below.  Click the book covers to read a synopsis and the reviews of the books.

New York Time Best Sellers List (here)

Synopsis

In the darkest places, even love is deadly.
Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.
Accompanied by her father’s handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it’s too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.
Inspired by H. G. Wells’s classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman’s Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we’ll do anything to know and the truths we’ll go to any lengths to protect.

Meet the Author

I’ve been many things, like a professional exchange student, park ranger in Montana, and LOST enthusiast, but what I am now is a writer.

I think it’s fair to say I was born into it. I grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, raised behind the counter of my parents’ independent bookstore, Highland Books in Brevard. Ah, so many free books. But I never thought being a writer could be a real career. After college I thought I’d end up as a foreign service officer somewhere dashing and exotic, like Canada. I studied French, Spanish, German, and Russian and still speak a few of those. Then I joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Senegal, where I learned a few more languages I’ll never speak again and lived in a mud hut with no electricity or running water. You can probably imagine how that experience went, but if you’re curious, here are the dirty details.

It wasn’t until a chance acquaintance read something I wrote and said, “have you ever considered being a writer?” that something clicked and I realized it was possible. My husband encouraged me, and I quickly fell head-over-heels in love with writing and children’s literature in particular. I started out writing articles, which have appeared in Faces, Appleseeds, and Calliope magazines, and stories for younger children. I soon realized I wasn’t sweet enough to write fiction for that age and found myself writing young adult literature instead, which doesn’t require nearly as many tender moments and includes a lot more cursing.

When I’m not writing, I can usually be found horseback riding, day dreaming at coffee shops, or hiking in the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina. I love to hear from readers, so please drop me a line!

AUTHOR’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Buy the Book

Congratulations to Ms. Shepard for becoming Mocha Girls Read 20th book.

Feel free to leave comments and thoughts here as you are reading the book. I’m really looking forward to reading this book and hearing what everyone thinks of it.

Keep the pages turning!

I can’t believe this happened.  I was sitting here looking over the titles on the ballot.  Clicking the links and noticed the books in first place, second place and third place all have something about them that does not qualify them to be voted on this month.  What am I talking about?  The book in first place “Pride Prejudice and Cheese Grits” by Mary Jane Hathaway is only in Kindle format.  I should have noticed that one but… it slipped through the cracks.  The second place book “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green was released in the time frame but it is not the author’s first book.  ARGGH!  Then the third place book “Before I Go to Sleep” by S. J. Watson was published in 2011.  I have no idea what I was thinking.  I must have been half sleeping when I created May’s ballot.

So this is what we are going to do to fix it.  There will be a 48 hour voting period and only the books that are within this month’ theme of “Newbie Author” will be on the ballot (for real this time!)

So here are the books

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd

Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley

Prophecy by Ellen Oh

Vote for three titles on the ballot before April 23, 2012 (midnight PST)