In between all of these extravagant holiday preparations, she still  finds time to pen a yearly Christmas novel ever since the early 1990s.

This post will highlight five of Macomber’s holiday gems:

The Christmas Basket (2002)

This small, 240-page novel features an exaggerated, laughable version of  the historic Hatfield and McCoy feud.

When 28-year-old, Noelle, could avoid her hometown of Rose, Oregon, no longer she hopped a plane in Dallas.   Wouldn’t you know it, she just happened to encounter Thom, the high school sweetheart that jilted her 10 years ago, on the same flight.

Slowly the couple rekindles their fractured romance among the mom-against-mom cat fight which ensues when the two women must cooperate to finish a service project for the town’s Century Club.

Some readers felt that the mother’s antics while shopping and filling the Salvation Army Christmas baskets more interesting than the plot involving the two main characters. Agreeably, the supermarket demolition derby  and the toy-throwing incident at the local mall are not to be missed.

One reader described the story’s content as: “no meat on this bone,” while another asked for a more, in-depth explanation of the 10-year-old misunderstanding that  had separated Noelle and Thom.

But it’s all in good fun; so curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy this feel-good Christmas story.

When Christmas Comes (2004)

Just like  the movie, The Holiday, houses are swapped and romance ensues during the Christmas holidays.

But Macomber adds a few twists of her own making to When Christmas Comes.  Instead of a Cameron Diaz and a Kate Winslet exchange, it’s Emily, a lonely widow, and Charles, a stuffy Harvard professor.

Ironically enough Charles, who loathes the holidays, lands in Leavenworth, Washington, the Christmas capitol of the world.

Upon arrival in Boston, Emily discovers  her daughter has already left town for a  Floridian Christmas with the biker boyfriend.  The plot thickens when a meddling mother in Arizona sends elder son, Ray, to investigate the gold-digger answering Charles’ phone.

In the company of Santa and six elves, Faith, descends on Leavenworth to cheer up single mom, Emily, only to find Charles the curmudgeon in residence.  You get the picture.

One reader criticized Macomber for cramming too many underdeveloped characters into the book.  Another found the character of Charles, “cold one minute and kissing Faith the next,” unbelievable.

It’s a hilarious combination of Maeve Binchy’s Tara Road and The Holiday all rolled into 240 pages. Don’t miss it!

Read more about Tara Road here.

Christmas Letters (2006)

When Christmas letter writer, K. O. discovers that the despised Dr. Wynn Jeffries lives in her building, she flips out.

Not only has the good doctor advised parents to downplay Christmas, but her sister’s strict adherence to his “Free Child” methodology has turned K. O.’s once lovely 5-year-old nieces into disobedient ruffians.

Tricked into a dinner date with the noted child psychologist, the conflicted  Katherine O’Connor uncovers a courteous, funny and sweet companion. Need I go on?  An astute reader can probably figure out the rest of the plot.

However, a plot twist involves Wynn’s ex-hippie father, and the quirky neighbor, LaVonne, who reads kitty litter and Raisin Bran to foretell the future.

Some readers thought the conflict resolution too short and unrealistic.  Another mourned the loss of the secondary characters in the final chapters of the book.

In the end, two romances prove better than one especially during the Christmas season.

For tips on writing Christmas letters click here.

Where Angels Go (2007)

Part of Macomber’s angels series, this novel chronicles the misadventures of Christmas angels Shirley, Goodness and Mercy.

Mercy’s task involves helping an elderly man convince his stubborn wife to pack up their home of a lifetime and enter an assisted living facility before he departs the earth.

Goodness takes on the job of helping reclusive Beth find true love while playing a video game with her online partner.

Lastly, Shirley has to find a way to satisfy Carter’s greatest Christmas wish – a dog of his very own.

Book number 3 in Macomber’s Christmas angel series, sparkles  with child-like wonder for the older crowd. Somewhat predictable, but a great stocking stuffer!!

A Cedar Cove Christmas (2008)

Mary Jo Wyse finds herself in much the same predicament as her namesake from the New Testament–pregnant and not married.

Two weeks before her due date, this mother-to-be travels to Cedar Cove where the prospective father had promised to meet her.

Since the town is bursting with Christmas Eve visitors and there’s no room at the inn, librarian Grace Harding offers a room over her stable housing all of the animals for Cedar Cove’s living Nativity.  Watch out for the camel – he bites!!

When David is a no-show and  baby Noelle decides to make an early appearance, it’s young paramedic, Mack McAfee who saves the day.  The arrival of the three Wyse men, Mary Jo’s overprotective brothers, rounds out the story even down to their gifts, modern day versions of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Macomber’s 2008 Christmas offering is actually the 9th book in the Cedar Cove series and should be read before 92 Pacific Boulevard.  If you prefer, it can stand alone.

Macomber’s yultide stories are a fast read, 240-300 pages, filled with warmth, joy and laughter.  Pick up one during the upcoming Christmas season.

Watch for Mrs. Miracle, Macomber’s 2005 Christmas offering, as a Hallmark channel movie presentation on December 5th.

There’s:

Danny Lynch, the fair-haired real estate developer who cheats on his wife with, at least, two mistresses;

Ria, Danny’s unsuspecting wife of fourteen years and mother of Annie and Brian;

Rosemary Ryan, a chic businesswoman who just happens to be Ria’s best friend and one of Danny’s long-time paramours;

Bernadette Dunne, the placid 22-year-old music teacher carrying Danny’s third child;

Marilyn Vine, a well-to-do New Englander, grieving the loss of her teenage son in a motorcycle accident;

Greg Vine, a university professor puzzled by his wife’s sudden unexplainable trip to Ireland.

Add in:  a recovering alcoholic (Colm Barry) launching a restaurant in the neighborhood, the tension-filled Brennan household where Gertie funds her husband’s chronic drinking out of self defense and the seer, Mrs. Connor, with her obscure picture of the future.

While not one of Binchy’s best, Tara Road was Oprah’s Book Club Selection in September 1999 and a 2005 film with Andie MacDowell as Marilyn and Olivia Williams as Ria.

The following discussion questions will lead your bookclubbers through the massive, 502 page tome.

1. What insights into Danny Lynch’s character did the author furnish early on in the novel?  Did these characteristics remain true as the plot progresses?
2. How can you explain the non-supportive reactions of Hilary and Nora when Ria announced her upcoming marriage?
3. After following Bernadette and her mother to the grocery, Ria tells the traffic warden, “I was just thinking about men and women and how they want different things.”  What did Ria want out of life?  Danny?  What about yourself?  Your husband?
4. Compare and contrast life in American with life in Ireland taking into consideration the difference in attitudes, prejudices and education.
5. On page 107, Binchy wrote, “If you couldn’t have a streamlined figure, flawless makeup and exquisite clothes, then having a perfect room was a substitute.”  Agree?  Disagree?
6. As Ria and Marilyn prepare  for the two-month visit, each tries to view her own home objectively.  What did Ria see?  Marilyn?  What do you see when you look around your own home?  What would you change?
7. Discuss Binchy’s portrayal of relationships in Tara Road.  Does she find most relationships to be dysfunctional?  Agree?  Disagree?
8. Tara Road is primarily a novel about women.  Who did you like?  Dislike?  Admire? Detest? Feel sorry for?
9. Marilyn thinks that, “The only way to cope with tragedy and grief was to refuse to permit it to be articulated and acknowledged.  Deny its existence and you had some hope of survival”.  What methods have you used in the past to deal with grief or tragedy in your life? Other family members?  Friends?  Which were the most successful?
10. Some reviewers criticize the novel for being too long and filled with extraneous characters and plot steps.  Suppose you had to edit the novel to make it more readable, what would you cut from its pages?
11. Did the setting play a large role in the novel?  Could the action have taken place anywhere at anytime?  If so, how would the plot have changed?
12. In your opinion, why did Binchy spend more time developing Ria’s character and situation in life?  Is Ria more important to the novel that Marilyn?

More information regarding Tara Road can be found in the April 24 post, Choosing the Right Book.

“Not a fun read!”

“The characters were stereotypes!”

“The plot was nonexistent!”

Not every book club selection is a page turner.  You can’t please everybody so let the criticism bounce off and encourage members to vent their complaints during the discussion segment of the meeting.

Here’s a few guidelines to keep in mind as the moderator/leader gently steers the book club members toward their next selection.

• Don’t choose a book based on a movie expecting that what you’ll see and read will be the same.

Under the Tuscan Sun is a perfect example.  When the reader cracks open the novel expecting to find a beautiful divorcee finding romance while renovating a Tuscan villa, she’s in for a big surprise.  This would-be novel, could better be classified as a memoir or journal, which Frances Mayes used to record the process of reinventing a falling down house. In between projects, Mayes and her boyfriend explore the land and food of the region.

Evidently Mayes’ descriptions of  Italy are sadly lacking.  According to one reviewer, a real Italiano, about “half the quotations she made are simply ridiculous-out of context and full of spelling and grammatical errors”.  The book is also criticized  by the same reviewer for its non-existent plot and Disney-like characters.  If you’re looking for an accurate picture of  the country and its people, he recommends Italian Neighbors and An Italian Education by resident, Tim Parks.

But if your  group leans toward a low-key read that allows them to, “smell the food and hear the quiet of the countryside,” then Under the Tuscan Sun is just right.  Recipes are also included!

• Don’t veto a book based solely on length.

An excellent read, Outlander, book one in a series of seven, weighs in at 850 pages.  The reader who jumps in will find plenty of action episodes, spiced with fulfilling sex, coupled with vibrant scenes from life and disturbing pictures of death.  With WWII ended, a combat nurse and her husband travel to Britain to get reacquainted.  There she steps through an ancient stone circle, Craig na Dun and Claire Beauchamp Randall is sucked back into Scotland in the war-torn year of 1743.

Circumstances force  Claire to marry James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser, a Scotsman five years her junior, and the story explodes off the page from that point onward.  While Outlander is not a light-hearted read, the “epic-style adventure with a truly satisfying romance” more than makes up for the Braveheart-style violence.  Other books in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon include:  Dragonfly in Amber (1992), Voyager (1994), Drums in Autumn (1997), The Fiery Cross (2001), A Breathe of Snow and Ashes (2005), An Echo in the Bone (9/2009).  Take care to read them in order for the continuing saga of Claire, Frank and Jamie throughout  Scotland, France, the West Indies and America.

• Don’t judge a book by the title.

One Thousand White Women is a prime example.  This historical novel masquerades as the nonfiction diary of Mary Dodd, one of the women who volunteered to marry into the Cheyenne nation in 1854.  Having been shut away in an insane asylum  for bearing her lover’s child out of wedlock, Dodd leaps at the chance to gain her freedom.

Author, Jim Fergus, uses this great social experiment in integration to depict the life in the so-called civilized cities, as well as frontier towns, forts and Indian camps.  Along with the other women who had fled prisons, poorhouses and mental institutions, the reader feels the bitterly cold winters, smells the wood smoke of an open fire as well as the sharp scent of gunpowder as the native Americans struggle for their existence in the western territories.  A must read!

• Don’t choose a book based on the author’s name alone.

Maeve Binchy’s writing career spans 25 years or more and has produced 15 novels, 5 books of short stories, one play, one novella plus two nonfiction works.  At 502 pages, Tara Road (1998) drew major criticism, from the church book club, for the weak female characters portrayed as heroines.

The novel’s story revolves around two women:  Ria Lynch and her American counterpart.  Shattered by the break up of her marriage to real estate developer, Danny, the Irish woman agrees to a two-month house trade.  Also coping with a shaky marriage, torn apart by the loss of her son, Marilyn Vine, consents to leave her suburban Connecticut home for Tara Road.

Most bookclubbers found fault with Ria’s  desperate struggle to save her fractured relationship with  her philandering husband.  After discarding the possibility of having another baby to recement the marriage, Ria clings to Danny, begging him to come back.

While not a bad read, bookclubbers expressed their disgust with Binchy’s female cliches:  the interfering mother, obnoxious teenager, domestic victim, man-stealing witch and penny-pinching shrew.  Binchy’s theme, common to some of her other works – men are liars and cheats who will break your heart – can also be found in Tara Road.

• Don’t pick a novel based on the author’s successful songwriting career.

In A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett, the reader meets cowboy Tully Mars and his horse, Mr. Twain, who flee bounty hunters only to end up on a boat enroute to the Caribbean.  There, a nearly 102-year-old lady, Cleopatra Highbourne, enlists Tully’s help in restoring a 150-year-old lighthouse to its former glory.

At that point, the search begins for a rare bulls-eye lens and the book meanders this way and that for 462 pages.  If a plot line exists, it’s buried amongst the boats, island scenery and crazy characters.  At one point someone writes a 50-page letter which finds its way into the book’s narrative, too.

While some of the individual episodes can be slightly humorous, the reader has to hack away at the novel’s underbrush to find them. If your group appreciates a tightly crafted story,  then hoist anchor and sail away from A Salty Piece of Land.

What are some of your dont’s?