Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell

I so enjoyed Watching You by Lisa Jewell that I had to read Then She Was Gone. In this novel we meet Ellie, a promising fifteen-year-old young woman who goes missing. Her mother, Laurel, can't give up the search for her youngest daughter, not even ten years later. When remains are found that indicate it is time to move on from the search, Laurel does the best she can to find a way to start her life again. That is when she meets Floyd and his young daughter Poppy; she is charmed and hoping for a little happiness again. But there is something not quite right about Poppy. Or Floyd. 

There is almost nothing I can imagine that would be more horrific than one's child disappearing without a trace. Laurel has a hard life and doesn't always give the rest of the family the attention they need, but it isn't hard to feel for her.

She'd once viewed her perfect life as a series of bad smells and unfulfilled duties, petty worries and late bills.

And then one morning, her girl, her golden girl, her lastborn, her baby, her soul mate, her pride and joy, had left the house and not come back.

This was a very good book: plenty of twists and turns, lots of mysteries uncovered and perspectives explored. It makes a mother wonder if she has taught her children well enough how to keep themselves safe and it makes a reader wonder how she would be able to cope. This book was creepy and dark, but without shutting out all light entirely. Some of the characters are sweet and wonderful adding balance to those who are horrible and frightening. Not all mysteries/ thrillers have the depth for a good book club discussion, but that was not the case with this one. We had a great discussion and everyone enjoyed the book. I hope you will, too.

Watching You by Lisa Jewell

In Lisa Jewell's Watching You, the whole neighborhood knows what everyone else is doing. The setting is Melville Heights, a posh neighborhood that has become famous for the bright colors of all the houses. Freddie is a teenager obsessed with documenting everyone's departures and arrivals; Tom is the new headmaster at the local school who may have a few secrets he'd rather not reveal; Joey is newly married, but perhaps not happily so; and Jenna is a student at Tom's school who is hoping no one will notice how ill her mother has gotten.

Alternating between two timelines, the discovery of a murder and the events leading up to it, the reader is kept on the edge of her seat wondering not only who did it, but also who is dead. This book was a fun, fast read that I couldn't put down. Having just moved into a new neighborhood, this novel certainly made me wonder who was around me and how much they can see in our house. This was a book club choice and we had more than enough to discus about the characters' motivations and about the plot twists and turns. This is my first Lisa Jewell book, but I'll be reading many more.

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

Can we just start with what a beautiful cover that is on Katherine Center's How to Walk Away? I'm not saying you should judge the book based on it, but it's a pretty darn good cover. And do you know what else is pretty darn good? The book inside it! This is a darling little book about Margaret, a young woman on the brink of beginning her perfect life- amazing new job, great condo, the perfect boyfriend who may have an important question to ask. Then, in the blink of an eye it is all up in the air. How in the world will Margaret make it work and will she let the people around her help?

I loved this book. It was sweet and heartfelt. Margaret is at turns cheerful or angry. She is in denial or facing the future with utter dismay. This book doesn't sugar coat Margaret's accident, though Center does infuse plenty of humor to the situation, and she gives the reader a very real taste of the complexities of recovery. The cast of characters is wonderful as well. Margaret's sister is fun and the nurses and physical therapists in the hospital are lovely. I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more of Katherine Center's work.

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood

I can't say I really "liked" The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood- it was a little too horrifying for that description- but it was a very good book. I have enjoyed even more (is enjoyed the right word? I can't decide.) the Hulu series by the same name. It is even more horrifying than the book, but in the best way possible. I was thrilled when the long-awaited sequel The Testaments arrived on the library hold shelf for me. How would Atwood address the world of Gilead fifteen years after the events of the first book? Would it be like the book or like the series? Would it be as good?

Those questions have some interesting answers. The first is easy: June's first daughter has grown up in Gilead society and is fully immersed in the culture and religion. She has reached marriageable age and her choices are extremely limited. June's second daughter has been hiding in Canada and is just learning her true identity. And finally, we get to hear Aunt Lydia's side of the story. As much as I have grown to hate Aunt Lydia from the Hulu series, there is also something I really like about her. Maybe it is just that she is such a well-written character, but you can't argue that she isn't interesting.

The second question is a little more challenging: my memories of the original book are clouded over with those of the series, but I think this book has more information that we learned in the series (understandable since Atwood assisted with the screenwriting). Like the original book, this one is written as three different records submitted as testimony and discovered by archeologists not long after the symposium detailed at the end of the first book.

And finally, was this book as good as the first? Sadly, I don't think it was. The first book was harsh and painful to read and full of the dystopia of Gilead. This book felt much softer and almost a little YA-ish. Two of the perspectives are of young women, but there was also something about the writing that didn't seem as polished or as strong as I would expect from such an experienced writer. My attention was hooked; I couldn't wait to find out what would happen; there were moments of excitement, but it wasn't quite enough. There just wasn't as much meat, as much substance, in this book. Certainly, it is worth reading, but it isn't quite what I thought it would be.

What I've Heard- Every Note Played

I'll tell you what I heard- I heard sobbing and sniffling and ridiculous crying! Every Note Played by Lisa Genova is a wonderful book and the audio version is every bit as wonderful. Narrated by both a female and male actor, each taking the parts of Karina and Richard, the listener is drawn even more into their story and the terrible effect ALS has on a patient and his caregiver. I knew this book would make me cry so I was careful to only listen in the privacy of my own home- perfect for housework. I cried so hard at some places,but it didn't even matter how crazy I looked and sounded. I highly recommend this book, but beware about where you read or listen to it.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Evelyn Hardcastle dies over and over and over again in Stuart Turton's The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. There is a party gathered on the anniversary of Evelyn's young brother's death and it will also be the date of her own death unless someone can uncover her murderer.

This book was very slow at the beginning and I almost gave up on it. It starts off with so much confusion that it was a little frustrating. I try to avoid as many spoilers as possible when I read a book, so I hadn't even read the back cover. If I had, I would have had a clue where we were going, but I feel like that shouldn't be neccessary. I don't mind letting go a little, going along for the ride for a few chapters, but we were 9% into the book before we ever even heard the name Evelyn Hardcastle. It just took too long for the story to get going. Once it did, however, it was a heck of a ride! It is a mystery of the best kind and it requires paying attention for clues that will surely be useful in later chapters. I wish I could tell you more but I don't want to ruin it for you, either. I am so happy I didn't give up on this book. Put on your waders to get through the first several chapters, submit to the chaos of not knowing what is going on, and get ready for a very exciting tale. 

What I Heard- Let Me Lie

Listening to the audio version of a suspense novel is an interesting activity. You know what is going to happen, but you're given the opportunity to see how the author made it all happen. It's a little like peeking behind the curtain. That was the case when I listened to Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh. Things that were a huge reveal when I was reading it were much clearer the second time through and I really liked it. There were plenty of details that I had forgotten and those were still a fun revelation. This book is exciting and thrilling and you should add it to your list!

What I Heard- A Man Called Ove

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman wasn't love at first sight for me, but with every page that I read back in January I loved it more. This week I listened to the audiobook knowing how much I was going to love it and I was not disappointed. Ove is such a grumpy old fart, and yet we can't help but love him. I am sure if anyone caught sight of me with my earbuds in listening to this wonderful book they likely thought I was completely crazy- I was, in turns, laughing hysterically and sobbing out right, and sometimes both at once. This audio is fabulous and if you haven't read or listened to the book yet, it is time.

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel is by far one of the best books I have read all year. It may come in at the top, but I'll reserve that judgement for another two months. Rosie and Penn are the parents to five rowdy, bright, wonderful boys. Their home is a little unconventional: Rosie works full time as an ER doctor and Penn stays home with the children and works on his novel. They live in Madison, Wisconsin, in an old farm how that is open and relaxed enough to allow rollerblading indoors and all kinds of baking, even by four-year-olds, in the kitchen. The family does homework together and plays together and everything about this family makes you, as the reader, love them. Rosie and Penn are thrown a bit when one day, their youngest son Claude asks if he can really be anything when he grows up. What does he want to be? A girl.

This is the story of a family struggling to know how to raise their children, how to love them and prepare them for the world in the best way possible. This is also the story of parents muddling through, sometimes getting it right and sometimes not. Regardless of how you feel about what some consider a controversial topic, you cannot help but love this family and feel sympathy for the difficult situation in which they find themselves. The writing is smart and touching and funny and fantastic. In addition to the main story, we also get to hear the long running fairy tale that Penn tells his children every night. This book is nothing short of magical. I love it so much and I know it will become one of my most recommended books. 

The Glass Ocean by Beatriz WIlliams

I'm a bit behind on my blog posts because life has been a little crazy lately, but I'm ready to catch up.

In October I read The Glass Ocean by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White. Whew! That's a lot of authors for one book, but they totally pull it off. This book follows a set of fictional characters aboard the Lusitania during its final sailing and subsequent sinking. Caroline and Tess are very different women traveling in vastly different circumstances. Caroline is surrounded by luxury in First Class, traveling with her wealthy husband and a personal maid to wait on her every need. Tess is bunking with three other young women in Second Class and attempting to steal a very important manuscript from Caroline's husband. Meanwhile, in 2013, Sarah is an author whose book success has passed and is desperate to find her next bestseller. Researching the sinking of the Lusitania, Sarah means to discover the secrets behind the attack on the ship.

This historical novel was wonderfully well written and filled with interesting characters, flaws and all. I really didn't know much about the Lusitania and I really enjoyed learning about it. I find historical fiction an extremely effective method for, if not teaching about history, at least leading to research I might not otherwise have done. The number of lives lost in the disaster is astounding- 1,198 of the 1,962 passengers and crew on board perished in the icy waters off the coast of Ireland. Only six lifeboats were successfully launched.

The authors do an excellent job of connecting the reader to the events of the novel and with the characters, those central to the story as well as many of the background characters. Every time the book mentioned children playing on the decks with their nannies I felt chills knowing their fate.

I really enjoyed this book and I think you will, too. 

The Survivor's Guide to Family Happiness by Maddie Dawson

I cannot tell you how many times I have picked up A Survivor's Guide to Family Happiness by Maddie Dawson and not read it. It has been sitting on my Kindle just waiting for me to get to it, but it never sounded like what I wanted to read at the time. I was so wrong! Why did I waste so much time without these characters in my life?

Nina Popkin has just buried her much-beloved adoptive mother and is trying to get over the recent dissolution of her six month marriage when she feels an undeniable urge to find her birth mother. When she discovers she has a sister, she is anxious to build the bonds of sorority. Unfortunately, her sister Lindy doesn't feel the same. Nina is also at the beginning of a new relationship with an older man who has two children of his own. There is so much family, and not enough family all at once and Nina is doing her best to survive it all.

The premise sounded good, but it just wasn't at the top of the list. When I finally just decided to dive in, I was rewarded with a wry humor that is deserving of Olympic gold. Nina's character is hilarious! This book produced actual out-loud laughter, even in public. Nina is trying so hard to get through some of the most difficult situations in life all at once and she faces it with humor and sarcasm. A girl after my own heart. 

And yet it wasn't all belly laughs- there are heartbreaking moments, too. We learn how Nina came to be adopted, how her birth mother could give her up and why, and we learn what it has been like for Nina and Lindy to know all their lives that they were adopted. We also get to know the teenage children of Nina's new boyfriend. They are right in the midst of their own coming of age battle and are having varying degrees of success. This book is about family- the ones we're born into and the ones we make. Or, as Nina's mother would say:

You have to choose happiness. Happiness is a matter of making up your mind.

The Price of Time by Tim Tigner

This book was not at all what I expected it to be, but it was so, so good! A group of scientists have made the ultimate discovery, but sharing it with the world would mean utter destruction, their own and that of the world as a whole. When keeping this secret leads to extreme measures, the group finds itself in the crosshairs of Zachary Chase, a former CIA agent searching for his missing college roommate. When Chase stumbles upon a young woman in need of saving, his investment in solving the mystery multiplies.

There is science fiction, adventure, espionage, plenty of intrigue, and even a little romance. This was a swift read full of excitement pushing the reader to keep turning the pages. The group of scientists all kind of ran together in the beginning, but it wasn't long before they were more distinct and easier to follow. This was a book club book and we had lots to talk about- the chief opinion being that it was a lot of fun to read. I highly recommend this book for when you need something a little more exciting and adventurous.

Before and Again by Barbara Delinsky

What is the worst thing you can imagine doing? What is the nightmare that has worried every mother since the beginning of time? That is just the nightmare Mackenzie Cooper has been living for the last five years. Now living under the name Maggie in a new town, she is doing her best to move on even if that means becoming an entirely new person. However, when her past shows up on her front door step, there is no escaping it. Maggie's friend is in trouble and Maggie has the power to help her, but it means revealing herself to all her new friends.

I really liked this book! Maggie has been through something awful and it has left her utterly alone. Somehow, rather than curling into herself and withering away, she has found the strength to start over and I find that inspiring. I enjoyed reading about how she finds a new career she loves and good friends, though they may not know everything about her. My only complaint is that the ending seemed rushed, as if the author just needed to wrap it all up before her deadline. This was a book club pick that everyone liked and it lead to plenty of good discussion.

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

I hate to give up on a book, especially one with a good premise, by I just couldn't get into The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle. Sabrina shows up to her birthday dinner to discover everyone from a list she made in college of the five people living or dead with whom she would like to have dinner. Some are living, some are dead. Some are family, some are not. It should have been interesting and I gave it a full 30% on my Kindle, but I just couldn't make it any further. 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Even if you don't realize it, you've probably read something by Shirley Jackson. The Lottery is one of those short stories many of us read in high school or college that left an indelible print on our psyche. "Winning the lottery is a good thing! Ooooh…... wait!!"

If you remember that, you won't be surprised by all the raving reviews of Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle. It is called a masterpiece, creepy, haunting, and it goes on and on. This story begins with Mary Katherine Blackwood walking through her town, doing the shopping, and wanting to be back at home as quickly as possible. The people of the town hate her and her family and we slowly find out why. We meet Mary Katherine's sister Constance, her cat Jonas, and her Uncle Julian. They all live in a big house outside of town where something sinister happened one evening six years earlier.

I had such hopes for this book and by looking at the reviews you would think it would be amazing. Perhaps my expectations were raised too much. Maybe I missed something important. It could be this just isn't my genre, but whatever the cause I just really didn't like this book. It took me days to get into it- every time I picked it up I would start to get sleepy. Then once I forced myself through the first half, the second went much quicker, mostly because I was determined to get to the part everyone said was so amazing. I kept expecting a massive twist, a huge reveal that would shake me to my core. Sadly, it never came. I got to the last page and was very disappointed. It was okay; it just didn't deliver on the promised excitement.

Impostors by Scott Westerfeld

I have enjoyed Scott Westerfeld's books since I first read Uglies about eight years ago. I love the imagination behind a world that might exist after we have made a mess of this one- Rusties, Specials, Extras. And what happens after that world? Surly it continues to evolve, which leads us to Impostors. This book takes place about fifteen years after the end of the Uglies series and centers on two sisters, Rafi and Frey who are twins. Rafi is the heir to her ruthless father's throne. Frey's existence has been kept a secret from her birth, raised for the sole purpose of being Rafi's body double. Any public outing or possible dangerous situation, Frey pretends to be Rafi. When an important alliance must be made and Frey is sent to stand in for Rafi as a hostage. It is then that Frey questions her ability to pull off posing as her sister long term and when the negotiations break down, it is Frey who is in danger.

This book was cute, it kept my attention, and it moved quickly. It is the first in a new series, the second installment of which will be released this month. I have my name on the waiting list and I have hopes it will be good. This book felt like it could have been a stand-alone novel, but then the ending left room for more. It was good, but I can't say I loved it. Westerfeld has a good track record so I will keep reading. Even if it isn't great, it's always good and always worth my time.

It All Comes Back to You by Beth Duke

This month's book club selection was It All Comes Back to You by Beth Duke. It is the story of Violet, a young woman in love in 1948. Life, as it usually does, twists and turns taking violet to unexpected places and people. We watch as she loses one love, finds and loses another, and learns how to live her life for herself. This is also the story of Ronni, the young nurse who cares for Violet in her old age. Violet becomes the mother Ronni wishes she'd had as a young child. When Violet passes away, she leaves Ronni the hefty task of writing her life story, finally revealing decades of secrets.

I enjoyed how this book alternated between the past, Violet in the late 1940s to the early 1960s, and Ronni in the present. I enjoyed the slow reveal of all the details of Violet's complex lifetime wrapped up in this sweet old lady Ronni meets and comes to love. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the writing. The premise of this book is that Ronni has to write a book with no writing experience whatsoever. This is Duke's third book, but the writing still felt like a debut, self-published novel. There was no depth, no texture. I know I was supposed to really love Ronni, but I just never felt like I connected with her. There were interesting surprises, but some of them felt forced and not organic to the characters, as if they were there just for the sake of a twist. This book has great reviews on GoodReads, but I was kind of disappointed.

Molly's Game by Molly Bloom

Have you seen the movie Molly's Game? It was released last year starring Jessica Chastain and it was really very good. It wasn't until after we watched it that I learned the film was based on a book by the same name by the actual Molly Bloom. I finally had a chance to read it and I was surprised how closely the film followed the actual Molly's life story.

Molly Bloom stumbled into running some of the largest poker games in the country and was living a fast, star-studded life when the FBI and the Mob each make their own appearance and dash it all on the rocks. Molly describes her overbearing boss who pulls her into the game and all the celebrities who come to play. She details the outrageous amounts of money that change hands between the players and the lengths she goes to in order to keep them happy and playing. For the first three-quarters of this book, I was fascinated, but by the last bit Bloom had described one too many poker nights in far too much detail that went on and on. I was most frustrated by the fact that this book was finished and published after she was arrested but before her verdict was declared, leaving the reader with the responsibility to research and find out what happened next. Sure, there is always more to the story, but ending before the resolution leaves the reader hanging, and not in a good way.

This book was pretty good, but read it first and then watch the more exciting movie- I think you'll feel better about it in that order.

The F*ck It Diet by Caroline Dooner

Sometimes you walk through the library and see a book on a table and you just can't look away. That was the case with The F*ck It Diet by Caroline Dooner. I'm going to be honest with you, SmartGirls, and say the cover of this book really spoke to (or shouted at)  me. I know, don't judge a book by its cover, but this one gave me an idea that I might really like it. After all, the subtitle says "Eating should be easy" and I totally agree with that one, don't you? So I took it home and had relatively high hopes that it might be the answer to all our dreams. Could we really just say "F it" and eat what we want? According to Dooner, yes.

This book begins with the story of The Minnesota Starvation Experiment which was conducted during WWII to find how to best help starving people after war. First step: Find some people and starve them. Thirty-six men were chosen from among a group of conscientious objectors looking for an alternative to fighting. They were healthy at the beginning of the experiment but had their food intake reduced from 3,200 calories a day to 1,600 calories per day. Does that number seem familiar? If you've ever read a fitness magazine or any diet book ever, you know that 1,600 calories is often recommended as a maximum number of calories allowed to lose a even just a little weight. In this experiment, however, it was considered "semi-starvation." How scary is that?! Within six months, these previously healthy men became "extremely skeletal", their heart rates slowed, their blood volume shrank, their hearts shrank, and they experienced a whole host of other physical and psychological problems. One man had a nervous breakdown and was admitted to a mental hospital where he received...wait for it...FOOD. After a few weeks he was completely back to normal.

All this, Dooner says, is proof that restrictive calorie diets only serve to harm our bodies and force our metabolisms to slow, which makes it harder for us to lose weight. And drive us crazy.

So what should we do? Here are the rules for How to go on The F*ck It Diet:

1. Stop restricting.

2. Trust your body, appetite, and cravings.

3. Eat deliciously and normally for the rest of your life.

4. Embrace life in a (probably) not-stick-figure body.

5. Do cool, fun things, and enjoy your life. 

Sure, this all sounds like the perfect way to justify eating what you want, and maybe it is, but it also makes some sense. Throughout Donner's book, she offers scientific studies to back up her claims as well as testimony from people who have tried it and made it work. 

Bodies end up right where they belong when you stop trying to control weight. The only thing we can control is how we treat ourselves, and learning to feed ourselves normally.

This book was interesting sometimes, long-winded at others. I think this could have been shorter; it did feel like it repeated itself fairly often, perhaps to pad the pages. Still, if you're looking for something different that just might work, pick it up and see what you think for yourself.

The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

Sent to me by a dear, sweet reader friend, The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler follows as Simon Watson watches his eighteenth century home is sliding into the Atlantic Ocean. His is desperate for a way to save it, but his job at the local library has just been discontinued and he has no money and no one to ask for help. When a mysterious, and extremely old, book arrives addressed to him, he is grateful for the distraction from his crumbling home and life. He is fascinated to discover the book is a record of a circus from the late 1790s and that it may have a connection to his own family history. Meanwhile, Simon is also making every effort to help his absent and struggling sister. When the book reveals that the women in his family tend to drown themselves on July 24th, he is desperate to find a way to save her.

I really enjoyed this book and its alternating timelines- one, the life of the circus and how it came to be, and the other, Simon's time and how he came to be. Simon is nearly all alone in the world- his parents both died when Simon was barely an adult and able to care for himself, yet he had to raise his younger sister, too. As soon as she is legally an adult, she leaves as well. All he has left is his home that is inching closer to the cliff's edge by the day.

This is something that I should have known to fix years ago should have known needed maintaining, but no one told me. I was left a house and a sister, with no instructions on either. And the cliff creeps closer.

This book was interesting and a quick read for me. I liked the historical details about and early circus as well as the fascinating characters in both timelines. This would make a lovely book for cooler fall weather, maybe with a cup of warm cider and a wool blanket to keep you company.

The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez

I first learned about Abby Jimenez when I stumbled across this ridiculously hilarious article about a cake in her Minnesota bakery, Nadia Cakes. I started following her on Facebook and the hilarity continued. When she announced that she had landed a book deal for a contemporary romance novel, I was already invested enough in her humor to risk reading a genre I generally dislike.

The Friend Zone follows Kristin and Josh, the maid of honor and best man at their respective best friends' wedding. They meet and like each other nearly right away, but when Kristin learns that Josh has always wanted a large family, Kristin shoves him firmly into the Friend Zone. She knows they can never be together because she can't have children. And yet, Josh and Kristin are finding it extremely difficult to remain just friends.

This book started off a little shaky- I almost didn't read more than the first couple of chapters because it just didn't seem like very good writing to me. I would have been really sad about that, but I just can't waste good reading time on bad writing. The memory of Abby's Facebook posts was enough to keep me going and I'm glad I did. I was pulled into the story and didn't want to put it down. This book is funny and sad and- fair warning for those of you who, like me, don't read a lot of romance- has some pretty steamy parts. It's those steamy parts that usually annoy me and keep me from reading romance, but somehow Abby wrote it in a way that it was plenty sexy without being weird or gross.

I am really glad I gave this book a shot and that I stuck with it. This would make the ideal end of summer, one-last-beach/ pool/ airplane flight read. I think you'll really like it.

11/22/63 by Stephen King

I have just, as in literally minutes ago, finished reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King. I know, this book has been out for YEARS, and for the last two or three it has been staring at me from my bedside table, but it was just so daunting! I mean, come on- it's eight hundred and eighty pages! That looks like a significant time investment. And it is: the audio version is 30 hours! And yet I had heard that it was very good and that it was a much quicker read than its 2.6 pounds suggests. In case I'm not making myself clear, this is a hefty book. Of course, you are probably already aware of that because you've probably already read it, along with most readers I know.

In 11/22/63, Jake Epping tumbles down a rabbit hole from 2011 to 1958 and is tasked with preventing the Kennedy assassination, an event that is described as a watershed moment, the prevention of which is bound to save thousands of lives and make the world an infinitely better place. Unfortunately, Jake has to wait five years before he can accomplish his assignment, but he spends it "turning native". He loves the way food tastes and the way the air smells (except for the ever-present cigarette smoke). He gets a job, makes friends, and builds a life for himself, but his mission must be completed and he cannot fail.

Except for Les Miserables, which I read twenty years ago (whoa! seriously?!) and which took me a solid year to finish, this is the longest book I've ever read. There is a lot of meat in this story and yet it flies. I hated putting it down and today I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything else until I had finished it. I had reached the "nitty gritty" and I needed to get through to the end. I did and it was fantastic! I truly enjoyed this book: the history, the characters, the spot on descriptions of places near where I grew up, and the course of events that had me captivated. If you, like me, have procrastinated reading this novel because looked like too much, I recommend you have a little faith in yourself and in Mr. King and get started right away. You won't be disappointed.

What I've Heard- Becoming by Michelle Obama

I was very excited to finally get to listen to Becoming by Michelle Obama! It. Was. FANTASTIC!

I have long admired the former First Lady, but I didn't know much at all about her childhood or the family that raised her. Michelle is proud of her Southside of Chicago upbringing and the steady and loving family who surrounded and encouraged her. The reader is allowed to follow her on her journey from small public school within walking distance of her home to a magnet school three hours away by city bus to Princeton and on to Harvard Law School. We then watch as she strives to make partner at a law firm in Chicago where she meets a plucky young intern named Barack.

SPOILER ALERT: they get married and have two daughters.

Michelle then lets us peek inside her struggles to balance her own career ambitions with those of her husband and with raising her family. I enjoyed learning about all the behind the scenes work involved in being married to a candidate for Senate and then President. Life in the White House is also fascinating to read about as it focuses on her initiatives and goals as well as raising her girls in such a bright spotlight.

I don't usually listen to books I haven't read, but autobiographies read by the author are almost always a win-win. Of course, the only problem with audiobooks is that it is much harder to highlight and mark and draw hearts around all the wonderful quotes, but hearing Michelle's story in her own voice made it worth it. If you are fan of the Obamas you are going to love this book. If you aren't or if you are undecided, I urge you to give this book a try anyway. Politics is a very small part of her story and the rest is, I believe, pretty universal. I have great respect for Michelle- her integrity, her intelligence, her determination, and her optimism make her an excellent role model for girls and women of all ages.

An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen

When I saw that Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen, the authors behind The Wife Between Us, had released a new book, I was anxious to get my hands on it. An Anonymous Girl begins with Jess, a makeup artist struggling to make ends meet in New York City. When a pampered client blithely mentions a psychological study that pays big bucks, Jess finds away to sneak in to the study. It is during this study that she meets Dr. Shields who then offers her the opportunity to extend the study for even greater compensation. Jess is enthusiastic at first, but when things stop adding up she becomes worried. Is she just paranoid or is something really as wrong as it feels?

Just like with The Wife Between Us, I could not put this book down. I didn't have nearly the reading time I would have liked and I was always regretful every time I had to put it away to do something else. Last night I stayed up well past my bed time just to finish and find out what would happen. Jess is kind of a mess with regrets that go back more than a decade, but Dr. Shields seems to want to help. It isn't long before Jess realizes everything isn't as it seems and that's when it gets really interesting.

This book is the perfect summer read- the chapters are short and quick and the plot is fast moving.

I think you'll really like it.

How to Talk So Teens Will Listen & Listen So Teens Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish

I have teenagers, well one teenager and one preteen, but I want very much to raise them well and as Hermione says, "When in doubt, go to the library." I haven't read parenting books since I had babies, but I thought I would see what I could learn about teens. When I came across How to Talk So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, I was plenty interested. Communicating with teens is no easy task so I was happy to read all about it.

This book is very short and compact- it only took me a day to get through it- but it has some good advice: Listen to your children, respect them as individual people. The most valuable comment I read was that the way we deal with the little things (bad table manners, messy bedrooms) will lay the groundwork for all the big things (drugs, sex). This book doesn't imply that we let our children do whatever they'd like, but that as we are redirecting their behavior, it is possible to communicate in a way that is respectful rather than degrading.

Unfortunately, this book felt outdated and a little cheesy. I don't feel like I learned much, but since it was a library loaner and didn't take up too much of my time, I'm not too worried about it.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Typically, I tend to avoid books surrounded by an overabundance of hype. When the expectations are too high, the let down is usually too great. I have listened for months to people talking about Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and not a single person has failed to rave about how amazing it is and how you just have to read it and seriously, did we mention that it was amazing? And yet every time I picked it up and read the synopsis it didn't appeal to me. I can't tell you why I wasn't interested, but it just didn't "sing" to me. And then our book club couldn't resist the siren's call any longer. With all the 5-star reviews and all the gushing, we surrendered.

Kya lives alone in the North Carolina marsh and has done nearly all her life. Abandoned by her family, she learns to fend for herself. Before long, she becomes part of the town folklore: the "Marsh Girl". She is alone, she is different, there must be something wrong with her. When a popular young man dies, it is no surprise that she is immediately the prime suspect.

This book is slow to start, but if you can settle in to the descriptions of the marsh and all the life in it (it really does go on for a long time), you will be rewarded with great characters and a storyline that will capture your imagination. The second half of the book flies by so quickly you won't want to do anything but read. I won't gush as others have done, but this was a very good book. When I learned that the author is a wildlife scientist, it explained to me why there is so much detail about marsh life, but I thought it was still a little too much. Other than the pacing, this book was quite enjoyable and I was glad to have read it after all. 

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert

What could be a better way to follow an interesting, but hefty, book about the economy than a light and fluffy book about cake and romance? The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert has been on my shelf and waiting for the perfect moment and this was it!

Lou is a remarkable chef and the owner of a small restaurant, but is weighed down by a terrible relationship. Don't worry- this is no spoiler as it is painfully obvious this isn't the man for her in the very first scene. When that all falls apart, so does her cooking- but just for the one day. Unfortunately, it is also the day that a notorious food critic visits her establishment and it couldn't have gone any worse. As Lou grapples with her failing business, she distracts herself with a new friend, Al. The rules are very clear: they are just friends. Lou shows Al the wonders of her home town while Al provides just the inspiration she needs to overcome her trial and fight for what she really wants.
If only it were that simple.

The characters are wonderful and the storyline is sweet and light, but this book had so much delicious food in it and that may have been my favorite part. I love reading about chefs and cooks and bakers, anyone who feeds the people they love; I always feel so inspired- and hungry! Now that I've finished reading all about it, I couldn't resist making my own coconut cake. There is a recipe provided in the back of the book (I love it when authors do that!), but I used one that I have made before and know that I love. It is baking in the oven right this very minute and it smells fantastic!
I recommend this book and a slice of cake- what could be better?

Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman

I don't normally read a lot of non-fiction and I can't remember when I have ever read anything about the economy, but a few months ago I saw an interview with Rutger Bregman talking about his book  Utopia for Realists and I was intrigued. It was entirely likely that I would reserve the book from the library, flip through a few pages and decide it wasn't going to actually be readable- not by me, anyway. I did just go on and on in my last review about how little patience I have with books that don't capture my attention. Well, no one could be more surprised than I was to find myself completely absorbed with concepts I knew absolutely nothing about before opening this book.

According to Bregman, we need to drastically change some of our economic beliefs if we want to make the world a better, and more profitable, place. He talks about a universal basic income, shorter work weeks, and significant changes to immigration laws. These ideas will sound entirely too radical for many people, but Bregman does a good job of explaining how they work and what it could mean for society. Here are a few points that stood out to me:

 Lest there be any misunderstanding: It is capitalism that opened the gates to the Land of Plenty, but capitalism alone cannot sustain it.

On the topic of international relief: The great thing about money (actual cash) is that people can use it to buy things they need instead of things that self-appointed experts think they need. And, as it happens, there is one category of product which poor people do not spend free money on and that's alcohol and tobacco. In fact, a major study by the World Bank demonstrated that in 82% of all researched cases in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, alcohol and tobacco consumption actually declined.

Did you know that Nixon was in the process of passing a bill to provide a basic income in the 1970s, but a study found that the divorce rate among those participating in an experiment in Seattle jumped more than 50%? My first thought was that when women have the financial means to support themselves, they are no longer forced to stay in bad marriages. This rise in the divorce rate was enough to change the opinion of politicians supporting it despite all the other outcomes, such as better school performance and improvements in health. A basic income, evidently, gave women too much independence. Sadly, it was discovered a decade later that there had been a statistical error and that the divorce rate hadn't actually changed at all.

There were several studies that illustrated that the cost of poverty and homelessness (health care, social services, police, and court costs) is actually more than what it would cost to provide a basic income which has been shown to be more successful anyway. In Utah, in 2005, in an effort to combat homelessness, housing became a right. Free apartments were provided for those in need and it was actually a windfall for the state budget. State economists calculated that a drifter living on the street cost the government $16,670 a year. An apartment plus professional counseling, by contrast, cost a modest $11,000.

It may be an unpopular topic among some, but raising taxes on top earners has been shown to improve not only society at large, but actually the economy as well. Not all work is created equal- an investment banker or hedge fund manager may make a lot of money, but doesn't actually create anything. A builder fills a need, but doesn't make as much income. For every dollar a bank earns, an estimated equivalent of 60 cents is destroyed elsewhere in the economic chain. Conversely, for every dollar a researcher earns, a value of at least $5 - and often more - is pumped back into the economy. … In plain English: Higher taxes would get more people to do work that's useful.

Regarding immigration, Bregman suggests that open boarders would be the solution to many problems, but if you're not ready to go quite that far, he says: Even just cracking the door would help. If all the developed countries would let in just 3% more immigrants, the world's poor would have $305 billion more to spend, say scientists at the World Bank. That's the combined total of all development aid - times three.

These ideas may all be a bit hard to swallow, but Bregman explains them in a way that certainly does make the reader curious about what could be. The author does not browbeat his readers, nor does he discount the concerns they may have. He simply presents the information with the hope that it will educate and enlighten. I found this book fascinating and very accessible. I am sure there is a lot I don't understand, but this gives me something to consider and maybe even hope for in the future.
I think this book could be an excellent conversation starter if you thought your book club could handle it. Money and politics can be tricky, but they are important conversations to have.

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield

I adored The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield so much that since I read it years and years ago, I still feel the need to caress it fondly when I see it in a book shop.

What? You don't do that. It's totally normal. Apparently.

Anyway, when I saw that she had finally released a second book, I was very excited to read it and even more so when it was chosen as a book club book. The only thing better than reading a highly anticipated book is reading it along with a group of friends and then discussing it at length over dinner.

Once Upon a River is set in late nineteenth century England in a pub called The Swan that has been a part of the community for decades upon decades. It is known as a great gathering place when one is in the mood to hear, or tell, a story. One night as the stories get started and the regulars are on a roll with their words and their bar tabs, a man bursts through the door in such an injured state no one would be able to recognize him if they even knew him, which they don't. More confusing still is the lifeless little girl he carries in his arms. Or seemingly lifeless. When she is revived hours later, a new story begins to grow around her circumstances that will outlive them all.

I was really excited about this book, and parts of it were wonderful, but I struggled with it. It moved slowly and was often overly wordy. Distinct and seemingly unrelated storylines wove together, then came apart, and then sometimes rewove into what was occasionally a tangled mess. Details that received a spotlight of focus were later forgotten. The character list was so long and scattered that I often forgot who was whom. I was disappointed not to enjoy this book more and perhaps my expectations are partially to blame, but not completely.

I do admit that I find myself less patient, less willing to move into a book for a long period of time. It may just be a phase brought on by my towering TBR pile, but if a book doesn't move, and move me, I grow frustrated. Maybe you will have more patience and will like this book more than I did.

I certainly hope you do.

The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go by Amy E. Reichert

In The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go by Amy E. Reichert, Gina is just trying to get through each day. She desperately misses her late husband, dead only two years, and is struggling to know how to care for her heartbroken teenage daughter, May. Meanwhile May is frustrated that her mother doesn't seem to show any sadness at all or any attention to her. On top of all this, Gina's difficult mother, Lorraine, has had a stroke and Gina must figure out what she needs. When an earth-shifting secret is revealed and a whole lot of together time is required, everyone's perspective gets just a little bit wider.

Gina's struggles with widowhood are heartbreaking and feel very real. Add to that the perplexities of parenting a teenage daughter and it becomes so much more complicated.

..she wanted more than anything to be a good mother. She wanted to be a mommy, or a ma, or a mama. Not the cold "Regina" May had taken to using the last year...when she deigned to address her at all. Gina missed the unconditional love of a baby.

Gina then strives to know how to care for an ailing mother that she never felt cared that much for her. A lifetime of biting criticism and harsh judgement has left Lorraine and Gina unknown to one another.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a quick, easy read about characters who were easy to like, or at least understand. Everyone has secrets- from each other or from themselves. This book explores a bit about what happens when they are finally revealed.
Add this one to your summer reading list.

Blasphemy by Douglas Preston

Blasphemy by Douglas Preston follows a group of elite scientists attempting to recreate the conditions present at the theoretical beginning of the universe, the Big Bang. Led by Dr. Hazelius, the self-proclaimed smartest person in the world, the group has built an enormous supercollider in the northern Arizona desert where they hope to discover all the mysteries of creation. To a certain high profile televangelist, this sounds exactly like blasphemy and he is determined to put a stop to it. The additional viewers and donations are just a bonus, right? When things get out of hand, there is no controlling the situation until it all ends with its own big bang.

This was a book club selection and it is highly unlikely that I would have picked this book up on my own. The scientific aspect of the story sounded like it could be interesting, but the writing was just kind of terrible. The author was obviously attempting to write a tough guy novel where the main character is the only one who understands everything, but he seemed so two-dimensional to me. The other characters in the book were even worse. Honestly, in a couple of cases, I couldn't tell if the characters were meant to be racist, or if that was just the author coming through the writing.

I was committed to reading this book all the way through for book club, but that was all that got me through the first half or so. Once I got past that point, I genuinely couldn't put it down because it had finally picked up enough speed to keep me interested. I stayed up too late finishing it, and was glad to be done, but I can't say I enjoyed it. I don't know that there was necessarily anything wrong with this book, other than I don't enjoy this writing style and the couple of racist comments that may have been meant as character flaws, but it wasn't my kind of book.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

You would expect someone accused of murder to speak in her own defense, but that's not the case in The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Alicia Berenson is found standing over her dead husband's body and refuses to utter a word. Six years later, psychotherapist Theo Faber feels certain that he can help her and also solve the mystery of what happened that night. Theo believes that he can break down the walls Alicia has built by trying to uncover what in her early life could have made her kill her own husband whom, by all accounts, she loved deeply. There is always more behind the scenes than we can ever know and this applies to all the characters in this book.

This was a very quick read for me. The chapters are short and the action has strong momentum. I went to bed last night with about a hundred or so pages left and couldn't turn off the light until I had finished. The author does a good job of presenting lots of possibilities to the reader trying to figure it all out before she gets to the end and it certainly kept me interested. I didn't love this book, but I liked it and sometimes that is just enough. This would be a good addition to your summer reading list- fun, quick, and exciting.

What I've Heard- A Week in Winter

Last summer I read A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy and really enjoyed it. I recently went back and listened to the audio version and it was absolutely delightful! The Irish accents performed by Rosalyn Landor were the perfect way to pull the listener into the story and its lovely setting. I liked this book when I read it and I was so pleased that the audio version was just as wonderful. This is an excellent get-away-from-it-all story with sweet characters. It'll make you want to open your own guest house, or at the very least find one to book for your next holiday.

You Are a Badass Every Day by Jen Sincero

You Are a Badass Every Day by Jen Sincero is a tiny little daily devotional book to help you stay on the high-frequency path you discovered while reading her first book, You Are a Badass. The idea behind it is that each day you select a page to meditate on and keep yourself heading in the direction of your goals. Sure, it sounds cheesy when I say it that way, but if you've been able to overcome the cheese you thought you would feel while reading the original, this little blue book will be icing on the cake. While it is meant to be read a little each day, I borrowed it from the library to see if I would like it and ended up plowing through the whole thing. I will shortly be purchasing my own copy.

Yes, I know I sound like I've been suckered into throwing all my money at some self-help fake guru, but hey, at least I checked it out for free from the library first!

Read it for yourself and you might find you really like it, too.

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King is the first in a fifteen book series starring Mary Russell and her mentor, the now "retired" Sherlock Holmes. Having stumbled upon Mr. Holmes while on a walk through the countryside, fifteen-year-old Mary, an orphan in the care of a cheerless spinster aunt, discovers her intellectual equal. It may seem boastful to consider oneself the equal of Sherlock Holmes, but in this case it is also true. The two become fast friends and develop a partnership that takes her away from her unhappy life and injects a little spark into his too-peaceful one.

This book was interesting and the characters were good. The mysteries presented were intriguing, but the pacing was just far too slow. The language used in this historical novel was appropriate, but it impeded the reading. I really wanted to read this, but I would get a couple of pages in and find my eyes drifting closed; or I would put it down at the slightest provocation from the outside world. I know a lot of people would enjoy this style of writing, and it does draw the reader into the setting, but I just couldn't help but be a bit annoyed. Perhaps it is my fault for wanting to read more quickly so that I can read more books, but I felt like this book really slowed me down too much. I will, however, keep this series in mind for when I am in a more relaxed frame of mind because I think I could really enjoy spending more time with these characters.

The Wishing Thread by Lisa Van Allen

The Van Rippers were charlatans to some, saviors to others. Crooks or angels. Saints or thieves. But...uncertainty had never stopped generations of Tarrytown women from dragging themselves in desperation to the Van Rippers' doorway, begging for help.

The Wishing Thread by Lisa Van Allen is set in the small town of  Tarrytown, just outside of Sleepy Hollow, New York. The Van Ripper family has owned a house in the town square since the time of the American Revolution and there has always been some mystery surrounding them. Rumor has it that if you need a little magic in your life, a Van Ripper can knit you an item containing a magic spell. It could be a sweater or mittens or a scarf, but give it to someone and watch the magic work. Or not. The Van Rippers are quick to disclose that there are no guarantees. And each spell requires a sacrifice of something valuable to the seeker- not monetarily valuable, but emotionally precious.

Aubrey is the newest guardian of the Stitchery, the house that has been passed down in the family for over two hundred years, and the place where the magic is knit. As her two sisters return after a long absence for a funeral, the women have an opportunity to repair their relationship and make a major decision about how their lives will proceed. 

This book was cute, but it didn't have quite as much magic in it as I was expecting and so I was a little disappointed. I liked all the knitting references- I taught myself to knit a couple of years ago. Each chapter begins with a knitting term: Make a Knot. Drop a Stich. Slip Slip Knit. I thought that was a really cute way to incorporate knitting into the chapters beyond the magical function. There were lots of references to the actual Terrytown and its neighbor Sleepy Hollow as well as the history and myth of the area.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. Maybe you'll like it more than I did.

What I've Heard- Educated by Tara Westover

Educated by Tara Westover has been on my to-read list for a very, very long time. I first heard about this book while listening to NPR. When I tried to borrow it from the library, it became obvious that lots and lots of other people had also heard about it and so I would have to wait a really long time to borrow the book from the library. As a second option, I put my name on the list for the audio version. It also had a long wait list, but it actually arrived pretty quickly. I proceeded to copy the CD onto my player and returned it to the library. Then something very strange happened- the book didn't make any sense. It jumped around, it cut out and eventually it just ended. Upon further research, I discovered that the audio didn't download completely and in fact I was listening to a random puzzle of a story. Irritated to have to wait even longer (longer than this story if you can believe that!) I put myself back on the list. Finally it arrived and I was ready to listen.

I cannot emphasize enough how worth the wait this was!

Tara Westover grew up on the side of a mountain peak in rural Idaho, the youngest in a large family and raised by a parents who didn't believe in the public education system. Or doctors. Or handwashing. Tara spent her days working in the family's scrap yard and helping her mother in the kitchen. She was taught to read and basic math, but beyond that there was no need for education; the public schools were just places of government indoctrination. They spent their time preparing for the End of Days, certain they would be the only survivors. At age seventeen, Tara yearned for more knowledge and a way out of the home where she was terrorized by an older brother. Never having been in an actual classroom, Tara began by studying for the ACT on her own. On her second attempt she earned a score high enough to secure a scholarship to BYU. After receiving her Bachelor's degree, she went on to earn a Master's and Doctorate from Cambridge and a fellowship from Harvard.

That alone is beyond impressive and inspirational, but it gets even more remarkable when we read about how trying her childhood and early young adult years were made by her family. Westover is clear that not all of her early life was bad and that she loves her family very much, but that there were obstacles she had to overcome. When talking about her father, Westover often uses these phrases:

He began a lecture...
He talked all the way home...
He yelled and screamed the entire car ride...

Westover's father ruled his family with an iron fist. There was only his way of seeing the world.

My father had taught me that there are not two reasonable opinions to be had on any subject.
There is truth and there are lies.

She also has a very abusive older brother and a mother who consistently looks the other way. It is a hard life and made harder by the people who are supposed to take care of her. One brother does offer her a way out:

"There is a whole world out there and it will look a lot different once Dad is no longer whispering his view of it into your ear."

This brother, Tyler, helps her find all the information she needs to save herself. This book is a memoir, but it reads like some of the most thrilling fiction I've read. Chapter after chapter I found myself on the edge of my seat; it is exciting, sad, and at the same time, inspirational. I hope you won't have to wait as long as I did to read or listen to this book, but if you do, know that it is worth the wait!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

I have heard only good things about The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams so when it came up as an option for book club this month, I was all for it. After all, it's been a part of pop culture (and nerd culture) for so long, it was about time I'd read it for myself.

Arthur lives in a country village in a modest home and is startled awake one morning by the sound of bulldozers preparing to demolish that home to make way for a bypass. As you can imagine, he is unhappy about this. Just as he is prostrating himself in front of the machines in protest, a friend comes to inform him that his greater home, the Earth, is also set to be demolished for an intergalactic bypass. This friend, Ford, turns out to be an alien in the process of updating The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, a very useful book for those familiar with the rest of the universe. Hijinks ensue, there are capers and antics, THE Question must be answered and Arthur is along for the ride.

I'll be honest with you: I could not get into this book. Actually, I was having so hard a time with it that I had to pause halfway through and watch the movie just to try to make heads or tails of it. It helped...a little. I can see that some people would really love this book and all the fun, nerdy, sci-fi aspects of it, but me- not so much. There was humor and parts of it could have been interesting, but this book just wasn't for me. The only reason I muscled through it was because it was for book club. Otherwise, I doubt I would have made it through the first three chapters.

I will leave you with one quote that I really appreciated:

It might not even have made much difference to them if they'd known exactly how much power the President of the Galaxy actually wielded: none at all. Only six people in the Galaxy knew that the job of the Galactic President was not to wield power but to attract attention away from it.

Well, that's certainly something to think about, isn't it?