Book: I Have Some Questions For You

 Book: I Have Some Questions For You

Author: Rebecca Makkai

Pages: 448

This is my 51st read for the year

This is the story of Bodie  - a woman who has become and successful podcaster and film professor.  She was invited back to her high school boarding school- Granby - to teach a course and gets sucked into a past murder that happened to her roommate while she was a student at the school.  The class wanted to investigate the man who was accused of the murder because many believe he was falsely imprisioned.  Bodie reluctantly agrees knowing that this will dredge up a past that is many years in the past.  As new evidence of the crime comes to light, many people who were involved and at the school at the time of the murder are brought back into the investigation - many against their will.  But Brodie is determined to figure out what happened.

This was an okay book.  Actually - I think it started really strong.  I was really invested in the story for about 50% of it.  Then - it started to drag.  This nearly 500 page book seemed way too long in my opionion.  It started to get convaluded especially during the end 100 pages or so.  I usually love when a book does a timeline jump at the end and wraps up the story, but this was just a bit of a slog with an unsatisfying conclusion.

Stars: 3.5

Book: The Nature Of Secrets

 Book: The Nature Of Secrets

Author: Debra Webb

Pages: 347

This is my 50th read of the year

This is the second book in the Finley O'Sullivan series.  Finley and her partner Jack have a new case.  Ellen Winthrop's husband is dead and she has become the prime suspect for his murder.  Finley and Jack set out to prove her innocense and discover who actually killed her husband.  At the same time, Finley continues to try and figure out if her husband was who he says he was before he was killed.  As she chases down leads with the help of her friend, Matt, she is worried she is going to discover that her husband had a dark past that got him killed.

This was a pretty good book.  I enjoyed the first one enough I wanted to see how the second was.  Mostly because the first ended with a cliff hanger about her husband.  This book wraps that story line up for the most part.  I understand there is a 3rd book and I expect it will come up again,but the big mystery has been revealed in this book.  The writing isn't top quality, but it kept me entertained.  I will be reading the third book when it comes out later this year. 

Stars:3

Book: The Midwife's Confession

 Book: The Midwife's Confession

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Pages: 432

This is my 48th read for the year

This is the story of three friends - Emerson, Tara, and Noelle.  When Noelle commits suicide, she leaves her friends realing with the "why".  They cannot believe they missed the signs that Noelle was in trouble.  She wasn't married, but she was devoted to her friends and to her baby program she started when she was a midwife.  As Tara dn Noelle start to sort through Noelle's house they discover that their friend was harboring a lot of secrets that she shared with only other person.  And that person is dead.  In the end, Tara and Emerson's lives are changed forever by what they discover.

This was a pretty good book.  I have read a few of Chamberlain's books- a good fall back for me when I don't have something else to listen to as I do endless projects at our house.  It is easy to figure out where her mysteries are going, but it doesn't make the book less enjoyable for me.  They are prety well written, and I usually end up liking most of the characters.  It is a good summer read so check it out

Stars: 4

Book: A Song For A New Day

 Book: A Song For A New Day

Author: Sarah Pinsker

Pages: 384

This is my 47th read for the year

This is the story about Luce and Rosemary.  The book starts with Luce in the past and Rosemary in the future, and soon their paths cross.  In Luce's past, a pandemic is about to start.  A pox of some sort is killing people and it drives people indoors.  No one is allowed to gather in large groups, and working from home becomes the norm.  Rosemary is a young woman who is working for a large company, from home because that is what she believe is the only choice she has.  When she gets a chance to switch jobs and actually go outdoors and meet people she isn't sure what to think.  At first she is terrified of being so close to people, but soon she discovers what she has been missing.  Her new company wants her to search for bands to bring to their virtual platform.  She "discovers" Luce and her band and when she reports the find back to her new job, things take a change that Rosemary cannot undo.  The story unfolds with Luce who is trying to find her way as a musician in this new world and Rosemary trying to find where she belongs.

This was an okay book.  I was looking for a dystopian novel to listen to and found this available at the library.  I would say this is a light dystopian.  Meaning that most of the story was about the musicians and the music and the bands.  It barely covered the pandemic and what happened.  Didn't really unfold how the world came to be the way it was.  So it didn't really fulfill for me the whole "dystopain" genre based on that.  

Iwill say - this was written in 2019- another author who wrote about a pandemic that drove people into a virtual world - without knowing what was coming.  Also - if you really love bands and stories about them - this book is for you.

Stars: 3

Book: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

 Book: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

Author: Balli Kaur Jaswal

Pages: 320

This is my 46th read for the year

This is the story of Nikki.  A young woman who left law school and started working at a pub.  Her parents were so disappointed in her choice to leave school to work at a local pub.  After her father's death, her sister tells her that her mother is going to need more financial support, so Nikki takes a job teaching creative writing at a local community center in a close knit Punjabi community.  Nikki, who has tried hard to make herself more Western in her London home, and distance herself from her Sikh past, suddenly finds herself teachers Punjabi Widows and women how to write.  The women were told this class would teach them basic literacy and so Nikki sets out to teach them the basics.  One day one of the women finds a book of sexy stories and the class takes on a whole new meaning for Nikki and the students.  What develops are friendships and laughter and Nikki discovers that under their dupattas are women who have passions and desires.  The women and Nikki must keep the class a secret from the more conservative people of the community, espeically the men.  But words spreads quickly in this community and soon the class is overrun by Punjabi women all wanting to share their stories and learn to write for themselves.

This was a fun book.  I listened to it after a recommendation from a friend that it would make a great audiobook and she was correct.  I think that is what made this book for me.  Hearing the voices of these women and some of the more hilarious lines were made best by listening to the reader.    I liked Nikki and the other women in the class and enjoyed listening to their banter and heartfelt stories as the book progressed.  Warning: the book has some sexually explicit material that is used as a catalyst for empowering women.  This is not my normal type of book.  I steer clear from the overly sexualized books. However - these stories were a minor part of the book and there to tell a larger one, so they didn't bother me.  

I would say if you decide to check this out, make it the audio.  You won't regret it.

Stars: 4.5

Book: The Last House On The Street

 Book: The Last House On The Street

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Pages: 352

This is my 45th read of the year

This is the story of two women-Ellie Hockley and Kayla Carter.  The timeline shifts from 1965 to 2010 as the two women's stories are woven together until their paths meet.  Ellie - a young woman in the 1960s who is trying to find her place in the world   She decides she wants to spend the summer canvasing for civil rights in North Carolina and help black citizens register to vote.  Against her family's wishes she joins Scope and finds quite quickly that a white girl from the south is going to be in danger at every turn when it comes to the task of working with black citizens.  She puts herself - and everyone around her - in danger but refuses to give up something she cares deeply about.  She falls for a fellow volunteer and soon discovers how her neighbors and friends in North Carolina truly feel about this movement.

Kayla in 2010 has just recently lost her husband to a tragic accident.  She and her husband designed and built their new house and Kayla is unsure about moving into it without him.  Her dad encourages her to do this for her young daughter and use it as a way to move forward.  When Kayla moves in, strange things start to happen and someone is trying to frighten her into moving away.  She eventually meets Ellie who has returned to this small town to help care for her ailing mother and brother and together they discover the truth of what has haunted this small town in North Carolina for so many years.

This was a pretty good book.  No real surprises were revealed at the end - it was pretty easy to figure out what happened and who caused it.  But it was still a good read.  I liked Ellie and Kayla and you felt the hate that surrounded them from the people who wanted to block people from registering to vote.  Chamberlains books are easy reads and cozy mysteries, and I will probably keep reading her novels in the future.

Stars: 4

Book: Spare

 Book: Spare

Author: Prince Harry

Pages: 416

This is my 44th read for the year

This is Prince Harry's story in his own words.  Starting from right around the time his mother was killed to right after the Queen dies, he recounts his life as a royal and the time since he left the family.  He talks about his time traveling the world, being a part of the British army, and getting married to Megan Markle and how that changed everything.

This book was a bit of a slog.  I read it because I was curious about the hype.  I should have passed on it.  The entire royal family sounds like a group of petulant children who get mad if they don't get their way.  For as much as Harry craves "privacy"- since he was let go from the family finances, he sure has done a good job being as public as possible so he can make a living. (living the way he was used to as a royal).  He actually mentions in the book being surprised when his dad cut him off financailly.  And honestly - the whole family sounds horrible from Harry's perspective.  The only people he speaks kindly of are his mother, and his grandmother - but only on occasion.  

Skip it.  I should have.

Stars: 2

Book: Skin

 Book: Skin

Author: Liam Brown

Pages: 272

This is my 43rd book for the year

This is a story about Angela. A virus has swept the world driving everyone indoors. The virus is carried by contact and skin cells, so no one can be together withou a protective suit.  Even that is dangerous.  People can't even be together in the same house - their houses all retrofitted so they can exist solely on their own-their only way of communication is online.  Their food is government issued and brought to them in secure locations once a week.  

For five years what remains of the human race has existed behind closed doors. Talks of a cure have long stopped.  People just exist on their own - squirreled away wondering if they will ever see another person ever again. For Angela. her husband and two kids-their communciation levels have long since broken down withou the ability to see each other.  Her daughter Amber - a sulky teenager barely talks to her parents.  Charlie - their younger son has become a monster in his own right. Angela - who has joined the neighborhood watch goes out in her suit one night and discovers a man - no suit, no protection - existing and not sick.  Not knowing what to make of him, she realizes she needs to find out who he is and if he could be the key to ending this nightmare.

This was a pretty good book. It was short, but the author packed a lot into the pages.  It was written in 2019 which is eerie - it was a premonition to our own pandemic.  It is well written and a well thought out dystopian.  I did not care for Angela's husband - his character was awful. As was her son Charlie.  But they are small parts of this story, so it didn't distract from the story.

I found this novel by accident while perusing a used book store and I am read I found it.

Stars: 4

Book: The Silent Sister

 Book: The Silent Sister

Author: Diane Chamberlain

Pages: 368

This is my 42nd read for the year

This is the story about Riley.  Her father has just died and she has returned to his house to sort out his final wishes.  Her mother died years ago,and her elder brother - a man who never fully recovered from a childhood tragedy and his time in a war- isn't much help so she finds herself sorting through her father's belongings alone.  Going through her father's belongings brings up a past where her eldest sister had committed suicide at the age of 17 and destroyed their family forever.  However, as Riley starts to weed through her father's things and talk to her father's friends, she finds that the past isn't at all what it seems.

This was a pretty good book.  You quickly figure out what the big secrets are pretty early in the book, but the story was still enjoyable.  I listened to this book, and the narrator did a good job.  Riley is a bit of a petulant child at the age of 25, and I found her quick anger and hot and cold attitude toward people a bit immature for her age.  The story unfolds nicely as it goes back and forth between Riley in the present and the story of her long lost sister in the past.  While I would like to say there is a big mystery to be solved here - there just isn't.  But it was an enjoyable story for a summer read.

Stars: 3.5

Book: Finlay Donovan is Killing It

 Book: Finley Donovan Is Killing It

Author: Elle Cosimano

Pages: 384

This is my 40th read for the year

This is the story of Finlay Donovan.  A struggling novelist who has recently gone through a divorce after she discovered her husband was cheating on her with their real estate agent.  Now she and her two kids are trying to figure out how to make ends meet so that her ex-husband doesn't try to get full custody.  While meeting with her editor to discuss her next book, a woman at a nearby table mistakes book talk with real life crime and asks  Finlay to kill her husband for her.  This sends Finlay and her family on a path she never expected to be on -one that includes a real life murder investigation.

This was an okay book.  I listened to it to pass the time doing yard work, and it was fine for this task.  Finlay, well, she is no Jessica Fletcher.  She makes really terrible decisions to the point of frustration.  Although maybe I am trying to give this story too much credit. Maybe Finlay is more like how any of us would be if we were suddenly asked to commit a crime.  We would probably do just as terribly.  It is a light mystery.  A cute story, which, honestly - I don't always love cute.  They are always just okay for me.  

A quick beach read that will pass the time?  Yes.  Good literature?  No

Stars: 3

Book: In The Lives Of Puppets

 Book: In The Lives of Puppets

Author: TJ Klune

Pages: 432

This is my 39th read for the year

This is the story of Victor Lawson and his makeshift family.  The story his father, Gio, always told him is that one day someone brought him to to their home in the trees, and said "please take care of our little boy".  And Gio - an inventor andriod - raised him as his own.  In their makeshift family is a nurse machine (Nurse Rachet) with a sadistic side, and a tiny little sweet robot vacuum named Rambo.  They are hidden from danger until one day Victor finds a robot in the scrap yard that still seems to have some power.  Victor brings the robot back to their hideaway, and sets to working on him, calling him "Hap".  When Gio finds out, he worries that this machine that looks very familiar to him will alert robots from Gio's former life to their whereabouts.

When the unthinkable happens, Victor will stop at nothing to get his father back with them safely.  He, Hap, Nurse Rachet, and Rambo setout for the City of Electric Dreams to find Gio, and discover a dark secrety that changes Victor's life forever.

This was a great book.  I am a  huge TJ Klune fan - he is a superb writer.  I was so excited about this book to be released and it did not disappoint.  My favorite characters are the Nurse and Rambo - they are laugh out loud funny almost the enitre book.  The story moves at a good pace, and it has a satisfying ending.  The secret of the book is not hard to figure out, but it doesn't distract from the wonderful story telling that Klune is a master of.

I would almost say his books border on almost too sweet in some places, but it is never enough to deter me from wanting to read everything this man writes.  

Stars: 5 

Book: The Lost And Found Bookshop

 Book: The Lost And Found Bookshop

Author: Susa Wiggs

Pages: 384

This is the 38th read for the year

This is the story of Natalie Harper.  A tragedy has drawn her back home to care for her grandfather and her mother's bookshop.  The bookshop, she finds, is heavy in debt and in need of desparate repairs.  Her grandfather refuses to sell it, so Natalie sets out to try and save it.  Her grandfather is ailing - in the early throws of dementia - and she thinks that it mall might be too much.  Thanks to a handy man named Peach and a popular book author, she feels there might just be a chance.

This wasn't a great book. I listened to it, and probably should have stopped and moved on, but thought the fluff might be just what I needed while I did yard work.  However - the story just wasn't good.  It was most like a bad Hallmark movie.  There were more than necessary plot lines, and very little about the bookshop itself.  It felt like the author was trying to take too many paths in this book - love, loss, saving a bookshop, romance, tragedy, disease.....just pick a few.  I know- all of those things are life on a daily basis, but I never really felt attached to one story line or the characters because of all the different paths that were thrown in one book.  

Stars:2

2023 Challenge: A Book That Came Out in Spring 2023: Hello Beautiful

 Book: Hello Beautiful

Author: Ann Napolitano

Pages: 390

This is my 37th read for the year

This story is about 4 sisters - Julia, Sylvie, Cecilia and Emeline.  They grew up inseparable in the 1980s.  When the eldest, Julia, meets William - a young man whose parents never cared for him - he doesn't know what to make of these sisters and their tight nit family.  He thinks he has finally found the family he has been longing for.  However - as Julia starts to lay out their life, a darkness finds William and changes the Padavano sister's lives forever.

This was a pretty good book.  I loved her first book - Dear Edward - and was happy to read another book by this talented author.  Julia the character was infuriating, as was the mother of the sisters, but Sylvie, Cecilia, and Emeline were lovely.  The closeness of these sisters was felt as you read through the chapters - each one told from a different view point of the 4 sisters or William.  It moves through 1960-2008.  In the beginning as the story pieces together, the time moves slower in the book.  But then in the end it starts to jump years at a time, and that part was a little "eh" for me.  Whole lives took place when, for example, a chapter was 1989-2003.  Such a large amount of time to take place in a short chapter.

That is my only complaint, though.  I would have liked a little more condensed story, but I know the author was trying to cover the adult lives of these characters and give a modern spin to the quite often mentioned "Little Women".  It just left me wanting more details.

Stars: 4

Book: The Bookshop on the Corner

 Book: The Bookshop On The Corner

Author: Jenny Colgan

Pages: 384

This is my 36th read for the year

This is the story of Nina.  She lives in a city in England and works in a library.  Due to cuts in staff, she soon loses her job and has to decide what to do next.  As she and her co-workers talk about what their dream jobs would be, Nina reveals she would love to open a book shop.  With help from her friends, she decided to take a leap and buy a van to open a mobile book shop.  She buys this van in a sleepy town in the Scottish Highlands and soon falls in love with the landscape and people and decides to stay there with her shop.  She rents a beautiful converted barn and her life is looking up.  Even her grumpy landlord cannot break her spirits.  

A temporary move soon feels like it should be permanent as she discovers that the person she thought would be her least likely partner becomes the only person for her.

This was a cute book.  I love a book about books - what reader wouldn't?  Nina sounds like someone I would love to meet.  The town sounds like one right out of a Hallmark Movie (actually the whole story could be) and I would think that if I hadn't been to the Highlands myself.  It is idyllic and breathtaking, and the people were wonderful.  

This is a great summer read - sweet, charming, good story line but not overly challenging - just little feel good story.  Check it out.

Stars: 4 

Book: The Golden Spoon

 Book: The Golden Spoon

Author: Jessa Maxwell

Pages: 288

This is my 35th read for the year

This is a story of an annual very popular Baking Show that takes place in Vermont in a stately mansion of the baking show's host.  Betsy Martin is known as America's Grandmother, and even the contestants are in awe of her stardom when they meet her.  As the contest begins, things start to go awry and contestants feel like their bakes are being sabatoged.  As the contest continues, a body is discovered, and the group tries to figure out who the murderer might be.

This was an okay book.  First - it is very short, so I didn't get a chance to be overly invested in the characters.  Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of a different person, so we only get bits a pieces of each of their stories.  I didn't actually feel anything for most of the characters based on how little we learned about them.  The baking contest part of this book was fun - my daughter and I are Master Chef junkies (and I think this was supposed to be like British Bake Off though).  The book is an easy read, but I was hoping for more.  It was easy to figure out who the murderer was and the other shocking secret of the book.  It is a good read for the summer, so I would not count it out.  Just don't go in expecting a deep story.

Stars: 3.5

2023 Challenge: A Book That Came Out The Decade You Were Born: They

 Book: They

Author: Kay Dick

Pages: 128

This is my 34th read for the year

This is a book writen in the 1970s but takes places in a dystopian future where books are banned, people are silenced, and dissidents are captured and reprogramed.  Survivors gather and hide - trying to keep a low profile all while fighting against not being allowed to have an individual identity.

This was a very short read.  I always end up with one of these on my list each challenge, but my feeling for short stories has not changed.  I am always left with wanting more.  I go in to it hoping that in 100 pages a story can be told - in my opinion - but for me, it very rarely happens.  

Dick, though, was spot on to what would come - what always comes - when people are not allowed to be themselves.   I will never understand why so many feel that they need to control other people's narratives.  But like so often in history - that mentality never quite disappears.  Now we just have a bigger stage.

Stars: 3

Book: All Good People Here

 Book: All Good People Here

Author: Ashley Flowers

Pages: 320

This is my 33rd read for the year

This is the story Margot Davies.  She is back in her home town to look after her uncle who has early onset dementia.  When she returns to her hometown, she is brought back to 20 years before when her next door neighbor - a little girl named January - was killed and the killer never found.  While Margot is home visiting, another little girl goes missing from a near by town, and Margot - and the police - start to wonder if the cases are related.  Margot is now a reporter and decides to use her time to chase down any leads to connect the two cases and maybe uncover once and for all who killed January all those years ago.  What happens is she discovers things about the people in her small town that she never would have imagined.

This was an okay book.  I was actually enjoying it for the most part for over half the book.  I listened to this one, and was looking forward to chances to listen as I did yard work or walked the dogs.  But the ending - to me - just unraveled.  I was left hanging to the point of annoyance because it didn't make any sense.  There was an epilogue, so my guess is there isn't a sequel.  But my goodness - the ending just left you with too many questions to even make sense.  I was baffled.

Also - the author used "hitched their shoulders"  more than a dozen times.

Stars: 3

Book: Finding Me: A Memoir

 Book: Finding Me: A Memoir

Author: Viola Davis

Pages: 304

This is my 32nd read for the year

This is the author's own story.  She grew up in Central Falls Rhode Island in the poorest of conditions.  She often didn't have running water or electricity or heat.  Often went to school smelling because they couldn't wash - and didn't know how.  Their apartment was rat infested, and because she was a black kid in an almost all white area, she was subject to taunting and teasing on a daily basis.

She and her siblings grew up in an abusive household with little to nothing to eat and hardly any supervision.  But a chance encounter changed Viola's direction and lead her to a love for acting.  It took her years to find herself and to find love for herself. 

I really enjoyed this book.  I had no idea she had such a rough start and that a few of her siblings are still struggling.  She talks openly about how bad it was, and how even now when she has money, her family asks and asks and asks, but she wants to give it to them.  Feels obligated.  I really respect Viola - I have always loved her as an actress since I saw her in The Help.  She glosses over her career and the aspects of it and focuses more on her life and her family in this book which I appreciated.  She speaks freely about how hard it is for people of color - especially those with dark skin like herself - to find varied roles in her business,  For a woman who just got an EGOT - she was humble and real in the book and I am glad I read it.

Stars: 4.5

Book: Chance

 Book: Chance

Author: Matthew FitzSimmons

Pages: 315

This is my 31st read for the year

This is the story of Chance Harker.  Five years ago when he was sixteen, he and his brother were killed when a kidnapping for money went wrong.  Thanks to cloning that is available to the very rich, Chance is revived as a clone but wakes to grieving parents that are angry and bitter.  Chance spends the next 5 years doing death defying feats for his adoring fans running throuhg 5 clones without thinking of the consequences.

A week after his last revival he awakes to find out that he has been accused of murder.  Because his memories did not get refreshed before he was killed, he has no idea what happened and who he murdered or why.  This starts him on a path to get to the bottom of the reason he and Marley were kidnapped and killed all those years ago and this changes his path forward forever.

This is a second book in a series called "Constance".  I read the first one last year, and really enjoyed it.  A bit of a dystopian future novel - right up my alley - where people are able to keep clones in reserve at in case of their untimely death, but it is available only for the very rich.  The story of Constance from the first book and Chance here in the second are interwoven about half way through the book as Chance pieces together what lead to his and his brother's death.  It is well written I would say for about 3/4 of the book, but the ending unraveled a bit for me (writing quality wise), and then redeemed itself in the last few pages.  It is left on a bit of a cliff hanger, so my thought (and hope) is there will be a 3rd book eventually.

Good science fiction series and a short book..

Stars: 4

Book: The House in the Pines

 Book: The House In The Pines

Author: Ana Reyes

Pages: 336

This is my 30th read for the year

This is the story of Maya.  When Maya was a senior in high school, her best friend Aubrey died mysteriously in front of her and Maya's ex-boyfriend, Frank  Now - 7 years later, Maya sees a news story online where her ex-boyfriend, Frank, is with a girl who dies mysteriously at a diner.  Maya - whose memories of Aubrey's death and the time surroudning it are hazy at best, feels that Frank must be responsible for both deaths.  She sets out to get to the bottom of it by returning to her home town and piecing together the parts that seem to be missing and finds herself back to the trauma that shaped her whole life and lead to an alcohol and drug addiction that she can't quite seem to kick.

Her return to her past brings up so many memories of her childhood and time with Aubrey and while she tries to figure out what is happening with Frank, she starts to heal herself so that she can finally move on.

This was an okay read.  I knew right away who the bad guy was going to be, but it took awhile for the story to unfold with the why and how.  There aren't really any crazy twists and turns, and I would not characterize this as a thriller (even though I think that was its intention).  It is a bit far fetched and a little out there, but I did want to read it to the end to see where it was going.  Ending fell a bit flat.

Would I recommend?  Probably not.  But if you are looking for an easy read to just pass some time, it might peak your interest.

Stars: 3 

Book: The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine

 Book: The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine

Author: Ricardo Nuila

Pages: 384

This is my 29th read for the year

This is the author's retelling of different patients he has encountered as a doctor at Ben Taub hospital.  Ben Taub is a public hospital in Houston Texas that caters to the poorest and neediest patients.  Often a last stop for those who are un or under insured - Ben Taub is there to help these patients get the care they need after they are turned away everywhere else.

Dr. Nuila takes us through the stories of 5 patients that stood out to him over his years at the hospital.  He weaves together their stories from beginning to end - retelling their desperation for care when they could not afford it.  The sickest of the sick are often the under or uninsured, and Dr. Nuila and his co-workers are there to give them the care they need at the same level as if they were wealthy.  Between those stories, Dr. Nuila talks about a broken health care system in where so many fall between the cracks when they cannot afford the care they need.  That even those with insurance - it often isn't enough.

This was a good book.  I am well aware of our terrible health care system and how even those of us with top line insurance it still doesn't mean it is perfect by any means.  I cannot imagine what it would be like to need life saving surgery and have to pay for most if not all of it just to stay alive.  Or not even be seen when they find out you don't have insurance.  It would cause so much anxiety.  The Dr. does a good job at stating the facts of the system and keeping his opinion to a minimum.  He talked passionately about his love for public hospitals and the clientle they service and how important those hospitals are.  I am glad I read this book.

Stars: 4

Book: In Her Shadow

 Book: In Her Shadow

Author: Mark Edwards

Pages: 367

This is my 28th read for the year

This is the story of Jessica.  Her sister, Isabel died 4 years ago from a fall from her home balcony.  As the family has come to terms with her death, Jessica's young daughter, Olivia starts acting strangely.  Tells Jessica that her Aunt Izzy has been talking to her - telling her she didn't fall, but that she was pushed.  This sends Jessica on a whirlind to find out the truth about her sister, and as everyone who was in Isabel's life becomes a suspect, Jess becomes more convinced that Izzy has chaneled herself through Olivia to help get to the truth.

This book was not great.  I listened to it, figured it might be an entertaining story while I did yard work.  I didn't really care for any of the characters.  The men are all terrible.  The plot is slow.  The unraveling of the mystery becomes sluggish.  I would say the first 1/4 of the book held my interest, and then it began to unravel.  I wanted to quit but decided to see where it was going, and it just ended badly.  

Do not recommend

Stars: 2

2023 Challenge: A Book Bought At An Independent Bookstore: The Last Lie Told

 Book: The Last Lie Told

Author: Debra Webb

Pages: 315

This is my 27th read for the year

This is the story of Finley O'Sullivan.  A year ago her husband was murdered right in front of her, and she was beaten and raped by the murderers - not expected to survive.  A lawyer by trade, when she recovered and tried to go back to work, she has a psychological break and was let go from her position.  Her family friend, Jack, a private investigator hired her to work for him and help solve cases.  While Finley is determined to find the people who murdered her husband, Jack turns her onto an old case that has recently been reopened.  The Legard family's patriarch was murdered several years ago and the man who was convicted of that murder wants to provide new evidence.  Says he didn't do it.  Jack and Finley start the process of opening up the case and interviewing the family and friends and others involved to try and find ou what happened. One twist after another finally comes to a head when the real story of what happened to this family is brought to light.

This was a decent book.  I picked it up while shopping at our in town bookstore, and when I saw the main character was named Finley like my daughter, I decided to read it.  It isn't superbly written, but it kept me entertained.  Took me until about half the book to figure out the mystery.  I might be a little slower than others on that point.  It wrapped up decently, and I found out that this is a triology so Iwill be reading the next book for sure because loose ends were left at the end of this one.  

If you like a murder mystery - you might want to check this one out.

Stars: 3.5

Book: Moloka'i

 Book: Moloka'i

Author: Alan Brennert

Pages: 400

This is my 26th read for the year

This is the story of Rachel Kalama.  When she was 7 years old, she contracted Leprosy.  In the late 1800s, so little was known about the disease, so people were separated from their family and friends.  In Hawaii, the residents were sent to the island of Moloka'i to a settlement called Kalaupapa.  There - a scared little girl was placed first with her uncle, who was also infected, and then in a home for girls with the nuns at the island.  And there she would remain for almost her entire life.  When she first arrived, it seemed like a death sentence.  She was separated from a family she didn't think she would ever see again.  But over the years, it became her home and the people of Kalaupapa and Moloka'i became her family.  

This was a great book.  It was recommended to me by a friend and I am so glad I read it.  It is a rich story that covers Rachel's enitre life.  It is well written, the characters likeable, and the story heartbreaking as well as uplifting.  Among the fiction is the true story of this island and that it did house the Leprosy patients at that time.  In the 1980s this area of Moloka'i was designated a national historic park.  To this date there are still a few surviving people with Leprosy that live in Kalaupapa.

Check it out

Stars: 5

Book: Unsweetined: A Memoir

 Book: Unsweetined: A Memoir

Author: Jodie Sweetin

Pages: 256

This is my 25th read for the year

This is Jodie's own story of her struggles with drugs and alcohol through her teens and twenties.  After 8 years as Stephanie Tanner on "Full House", Jodie found herself without a job and without a lot of friends.  At a wedding at age 13 she got her first taste of wine, and that started her down a path of destruction.  Spending the next 14 years in and out of rehab and struggling with meth, cocaine, and alcohol, Jodie recounts how the birth of her daughter at the age of 27 saved her life.  It took her being in charge of someone else to realize that her life had to change for good.

This was an interesting read.  Again - as I have written before - it is hard to review a book about someone who struggled so painfully with substance abuse.  While Jodie takes the blame more than other celebrities I have read about, she is still searching for the "why" of her situation.  This book was writte in 2009, and when I looked her up, it looks like she has been clean since that time and has turned her life around.

It was a quick read.  It started to lose steam near the end, but for the most part it was well written.

Stars: 3.5

Book: We The Scientist: How A Daring Team of Parents and Doctors Forged A New Path For Medicine

 Book: We The Scientist: How A Daring Team of Parents and Doctors Forged A New Path For Medicine

Author: Amy Dockser Marcus

Pages: 256

This is my 24th read for the year

This is the story of how a group of parents - whose children were diagnosed with a fatal disease called Neimann Pick Type C - encouraged scientist to collaborate with them to find a cure for their children.  Scientist - who normally are tight lipped about their experiments and work - chose to work with parents to try a save the lives of these childrens.  Thus leading to the first "citizen scientists" that paved the way for other parent groups to collaborate with scientist on othe diseases.  While the cure for NPC has still not been found - the work of the parents along side of the scientist made progress that might not have otherwise been made if they did not work together pulling their resources and research toward one goal.

This was a good book.  I love a good non-fiction and one that has patient stories are among my favorites.  My husband has done with with NPC and we are very familiar with the rare disease world with our daughter having one of those rare diseases herself.  Our own foundation has been working closely with scientist on our daughter's disease for the last decade and we are grateful that the scientist in our case are so willing to work with us to find a cure.  

Well written, well researched and heart wrenching, this book is worth a read.  The stories of these families are tragic.  Children with NPC live around a maximum of 20 years, and most of those years are spent severely disabled.  Children who are born normally quickly start to lose function in their early years and their parents watch them wither away for years.  The work that these parents and researchers are doing to save these children is harrowing.

Stars: 4

Book: The Children's Blizzard

 Book: The Children's Blizzard

Author: Melanie Benjamin

Pages: 368

This is my 23rd read for the year

This is the story of two young teachers - Raina and Gerda - and the students they are in charge of in an 1888 blizzard that hit northern Tennessee and South Dakota.  On an unusually warm January day, the weather quickly turned to a blizzard that the prarie was not expecting.  Caught at their individual schools with a group of children, these young women had to make a choice.  Barely beyond childhood themselves, they knew if they stayed at the schools, they might run out of heat before the blizzard past and they would all die.  When Raina makes one choice, and Gerda another - both lead to very different outcomes that will change their lives forever.  Told from the points of view of both Raina and Gerda plus a few other main character - this historical fiction book leads us through one of the most tragic blizzards of the time.

This was a very good book. I did not know anything about this blizzard, and while the characters are fiction, the circumstances (and the death of over 200 people) are not.  The book moves quickly through the blizzard, and I was tense the whole time wondering how Raina, Gerda, and the children in their charge were going to get through the blizzard unharmed.  The second half of the book is the "after" of the blizzard, and while I didn't find that as interesting as the build up and climax of the blizzard itself, it is still well written.  There is even an epilogue at the end, where we climb into the future of these characters which I always appreciate.

A well written, tragic tale that I am glad I read.  Don't miss this one.

Stars: 4.5

2023 Challenge: a Book That Becomes a TV Show/Movie in 2023: Anasi Boys

 Book: Anasi Boys

Author: Neil Gaiman

Pages: 368

This is my 22nd read for the year

This is the story of Fat Charlie.  This father has died, and he was just told he has a brother named Spider that he never knew about.  When Spider appears, he turns Charlie's life upside down.  Spider - who has the powers of Fat Charlie's dad (who was a god and Charlie never knew) makes a mess of Charlie's personal and work life before Charlie has a chance to stop him.  Needing help - Charlie enlist the help of the women who told him about Spider in the first place.  However - this plan backfires leading to Charlie and Spider having to work together to solve an even bigger problem.

This was a pretty good book.  This is the 2nd in the American God's series which I read a long time ago.  Neil Gaiman is a fantastic author and I always enjoy his books.  This one did not disappoint.  It is well written with an engaging story.  Is it my favorite of his books?  Not at all - I would say it is one of his weaker novels.  But still well written and kept me entertained.   I am glad I read it.

Stars: 4

2023 Challenge: The Longest Book on my TBR List: The Lincoln Highway

 Book: The Lincoln Highway

Author: Amor Towles

Pages: 592

This is my 21st read for the year

This is the story of Emmet Watson and his brother Billy.  It is 1954 and they have recently lost their father, and their farm has been forclosed.  Emmet - after serving 15 months in a juvenile camp for involuntary manslaughter - has decided it is time for he and Billy to move on.  Billy has an idea that he and Emmet should go west to California to find their mother who left when Billy was just a baby.  Emmet is not so sure, but has no other plans.  Billy - an avid reader - wants to follow the Licnoln Highway across the country - knowing that the postcards that his mother sent them long ago, will lead them right to her.  Before they can set off, though, two of the boys that were in the juvenile camp with Emmet - show up and have other plans.  This story spans only 10 days - told from view points of several characters - sents Emmet and Billy on a journey they never expected.

I know this book has a lot of 5 star reviews, but I didn't enjoy it.  I really liked his other book - A Gentleman in Moscow - and was anxious to read this one after it received so much hype.  However - I found it hokey and just so so.  Based on the title, I expected this to be an open road journey book of Emmett and Billy, and even the other two juveniles - crossing the US on the Lincoln Highway.  But alas - the Lincoln Highway had about a 5 minute appearance in this book surrounded by constant thwarting of events before Emmett and Billy can start their journey.  And then it just.....ends.  I did finish the book despite me getting more and more frustrated with the direction of the book (so many repeated plot from different view points it got tiring) because I wanted to see it pan out.  And it never did.

Stars: 3

Book: Unaccustomed Earth

 Book: Unaccustomed Earth

Author: Jhumpa Lahiri

Pages: 352

This is my 20th read for the year

This is a book for 8 short stories.  The first series are unrelated stories about families and couples who are mostly of Indian heritage who live and work in the United States.  They are Bengali's who are trying to combine their heritage with American culture.  The last set of stories are all related - a girl and a boy - told from each of their points of view - from when they were children through when they were adults and found each other again.

I enjoyed the book.  There is no doubt that Lahiri is a talented writer.  I am not a big fan of short stories because I never feel like I get enough of the characters to form feelings.  I was pleased that the last several stories were related, and enjoyed that part of the book most of all.  She is from around our area, (Boston), so she incorporates large parts of that city into her narrative which I liked.  

Overall another well written book by Lahiri.  This one has been on my shelf for awhile (it is one of her older novels)- given to me as a hand me down-and I am glad I finally decided to pick it up.

Stars: 4

2023 Challenge: A Book You Think Your Friends Will Life: Home

 Book: Home

Author: Penny Parkes

Pages: 400

This is my 19th read for the year

This is the story of Anna.  She is a woman in her 30s who has been a house sitter for the decade since she left Oxford.  She doesn't have a home she calls her own, but travels to beautiful places stepping into other people's lives whil caring for their homes and pets - meeting new people as she goes.  A bad encounter on one of her house sits, gets her boss set on having Anna take a break for awhile and take a real vacation.  But Anna's past as a foster kid who never found a real place to call home - struggles with the idea.  It takes a chance encounter with another young girl who is struggling, and the support of her best friend, to see that roots is exactly what she needs.

I really enjoyed this book.  The reviews are all over the place, but I was surprised by that.  I found Anna endearing and the banter between she and the other characters sweet, fun, and often times - humorous.  It is not a love story except that Anna learns to love herself and figure out what she needs to make herself happy.  It is sweet, well written, and I really enjoyed it.  I listened to it, and I thought that the reader did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life.

Stars: 4.5

2023 Challenge: Book I Bought Second Hand: Twelve Patients: Life And Death At Bellevue Hospital

 Book: Twelve Patients: Life And Death At Bellevue Hospital

Author: Eric Manheimer

Pages: 368

This is my 18th read for the year

This is a non-fiction recounting of the author's time as a medical director at Bellevue Hospital.  He tells the story of 12 different patients he cared for - from dignitaries to prisoners.  He delves into their families, their personal back stories and their lives after the hospital to spin the side that is often missed with medical personnel.  These are real people with real problems and families that love them.  When he becomes a patient himself, he talks about his struggles to still care for his patients while he also needs to care for himself.

This was a pretty good book.  I have been wanting to read this one because they based the TV show "New Amsterdam" on this hospital and Dr. Manheimer.  The author does a good job at recounting the lives of the patients he stories and puts a human spin on even the prisoner from supermax.  He is heart felt and caring for everyone that walks through his doors and it shows.  I did look Dr. Manheimer up after I read this book, and he is alive and doing well - even after a serious cancer diagnosis.

Stars: 4