Extra Book - Ask Again Yes

 Book: Ask Again Yes

Author: Mary Beth Keane

Pages: 416

this is my 49th read for the year.

This is the story of the Gleeson and Stanhope families.  Living next door to each other for years yet never really knowing what was going on behind closed doors in each other's homes.  Kate - the youngest Gleeson child and Peter - the only Stanhope child develop a friendship early on in their lives that grows into a love affair as they get older.  Time ticks by quickly in the story as Kate and Peter navigate family strife and a terrible tragedy that lead them into a lifelong struggles.  

This was an okay book.  The story was just.....fine.  The passage of time was a problem for us.  The story skipped ahead so fast that it really didn't make me feel much for the characters at all.  It covers more than half the life of Kate and Peter not really taking the time to develop their life story on a deeper level.

It was just....eh.  I didn't finish it wish there was more or being drawn to any of the characters.  So I would say skip it.

Stars: 3 1/2

Extra Book - The Dutch House

 Book: The Dutch House

Author: Ann Patchett

Pages: 352

This is my 48th read for the year

This is the story of Danny and his family.  After the second world war, Danny's father who has recently become quite wealthy, buys an enormous estate called The Dutch House.  His father bought the house for his wife as a surprise and soon things began to spiral out of control.

What happened to Danny and his sister Maeve over their childhood and adolscents would be a mother who left them, a father who died, and a step mother that wanted nothing to do with them.  Despite their issues, they prevailed and clung desparately to each other even into adulthood as Danny married and had his own family.  In the end, their lives come full circle with their family and The Dutch House.

This was a fair book.  I think my favorite part of it is that the audiobook was narrated by Tom Hanks.  It was fun to hear his voice tell the story.  The story itself requires some concentration because the story flits around to past and present as Danny fills in the holes of his life and his time in The Dutch House.  It is a complex story that held me to the end.  I won't give anything else away, but just want to say that what happens in the end is a bit unbelievable and just seems like the author wanting to bring a somewhat happier end to their story.

I don't say pass it up.  I say try it out and see for yourself.

Stars:  3 1/2

Extra Book - Where The Forest Meets The Stars

Book: Where The Forest Meets The Stars

Author: Glendy Vanderah

Pages: 328 Pages

 This is my 47th read for the year

I have been a huge reading slacker this summer.  I did listen to some audiobooks on our travels this summer, but due to moving and settling in the United States, visiting with family, and then moving into our temporary housing (until our house is ready) has taken up most of my time.  I got out of the reading habit and now that we are settled for a few months, I am going to try my hardest to get back into reading.  I have missed it!

This is the story of Joana Teale.  A breast cancer survivor, she is settling into life as a graduate student researching nesting birds.  One night a little girl shows up at her house saying she was an alien.  She is covered in bruises and Joana is sure she is a victim of abuse.  The little girl states that she is on this planet to see five miracles and then she can leave.  Joana who can't seem to locate the girl's parents, decides to let her stay and figure out what to do next.

With the help of Joana's neighbor, Gabriel, they start to piece together the girl's past until the truth comes to light.  However, in the meantime, the three form a bond that will be hard to be broken.

This was an okay book.  Not great.  I rolled my eyes at the writing a few times.  It passed the time while I had a long 10 hour drive to Pennsylvania, but that was about it.  It was entertaining enough, but the writing got more and more "lazy" near the end of the book and I found myself just wanting to finish it and not really devoted to the story anymore.

Stars: 3

Read The World - Morocco - Dune Song

Book: Dune Song
Author: Anissa Bouziane
Pages: 368
Book takes place in the country: YES (at least 50%)
Author is from the country: YES
I have visited: NO

This is my 46th read for the year

Good grief have I been terrible at getting books in.  Moving is not for the faint of heart and does not leave me much free time.  And even in that free time, my head is spinning with details that I have found it hard to concentrate on a book.  It will be nice to be on the other side of this move.

This is my second Morocco book.  I didn't like the first one I read, so decided I needed a different read for my shelf.

This is the story of Jeehan Nathaar.  She leaves New York City for her home country of Morocco after the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings on 9/11.  As a Muslim American, she was asked constantly why "her people hate Americans so much", and decides she needs to escape.  Instead of returning to her parents, she ends up with a family in the desert who try to help her heal and find herself once again.

This book was pretty good.  It started out strong - good writing, strong characters, a story that made me want to turn page after page.  But soon - the story took a dip and I found myself not enjoying it quite as much as I had in the beginning.  Jeehan is an adult but acted frequently like a lost child.  And the story - once she was settled with the family in Morocco - wasn't as interesting as I was hoping it would be.  Pacing seems to be a problem with the author.  

This was better than my first choice of a book for Morocco.  And the writing was pretty good as well.  I just didn't enjoy the story in the second half of the book as much as the first.

Stars: 3 1/2

Extra Book - In The Tall Grass

Book: In The Tall Grass
Author: Stephen King
Pages: 62

This is my 45th book of the year.

I know - I am reading a lot of "extra" books in a row here.  And off challenge.  Problem is with quarantine is that I cannot get books right now.  Amazon pick up is in Germany and we cannot get there until June 15th.  So I have read them all that I have on my shelf.  The rest will have to wait.

This incredibly short book was recently turned into a movie on Netflix, so I decided to check it out.  It only took an hour to read.  It starts off with a sister and brother who hear a boy crying for help.  They cannot see him in the tall grass, but head in to search for him.  Within a few minutes they have lost their way and cannot find the little boy or each other.  They spend the book trying to find their way out of the grass - coming in contact with the supernatural that makes them realize they may never escape.

This book was fine.  So short it was hard to get really invested in it.  The story is a good idea, and I feel like they could have kept going to make it truly terrifying.  I am anxious to watch the show to see how it relates.

Stars: 3 1/2

Extra Book - Big Summer

Book: Big Summer
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Pages: 368

This is my 44th book for the year

This is the story of Daphne Berg.  Daphne - a plus size influencer has come far in her adult life.  She has just landed a clothing modeling job with a hot new designer that she is sue will increase her instragram status.

In walks a woman from her past - Drue Cavanaugh.  Her long lost best friend from high school.  Daphne and Drue had a falling out when Drue said everyone just felt sorry for Daphne because of her weight.  After not speaking for many years, Drue reappears to ask Daphne to be her maid of honor in her wedding.  The hot new designer thinks that Daphne agreeing to do this - even for someone she barely knows any more - will do wonders for both Daphne and the designer.  So Daphne agrees and finds herself not only in the wedding, but the maid of honor.

Drue's influential and extrememly rich family is the center of attention the wedding weekend because Drue is marrying a TV reality star.  Daphne finds herself drawn into the glamour of the weekend and is starting to wonder if Drue has really changed her ways.  Then tragedy strikes and Daphne tries to figure out what this was all about all along.

This was an okay book.  I am a Jennifer Weiner fan, but this wasn't a great one.  It is a GREAT beach read/summer book.  The story is quite shallow, but I have very thin skin for "influencers"  Just seems so silly to me.  If that is something that interests you, then this book would be for you.

Stars: 3

Extra Post - If It Bleeds

Book: If It Bleeds
Author: Stephen King
Pages: 448

this is my 43rd read for the year.  I listened to this book.

This is a group of short(ish) stories wrapped into one book.  The stories are "Mr Harrigan's Phone" "The Life of Chuck", "If It Bleeds" and "Rat".  "If It Bleeds" is the only one where a character from another series (for fans of the Bill Hodges Trilogy and The Outsider) and that was a nice treat.  All the stories were unique in their own right.  I would say that Mr. Harrigan's Phone and If It Bleeds were my favorite two.  I didn't really care for the Life of Chuck - found it a bit all over the place and because I was so invested in the first story about Mr. Harrigan, I had a hard time transitioning so quickly to a new story.

Overwall, it was a good read.  Entertaining in King fashion.  I have found his stuff lately a little tamer than his old stuff, but I am okay with that.  A good story is a good story.

Stars: 4