May was a good month as I had a great visit with my bestie and got to travel to California to spend time with our granddaughter, daughter and son-in-law. I hope you all had a good month and that June has started out with a good book and good friends.
This covers 150 years of the Toliver, Warwick and Dumonts. From South Carolina to the frontier of Texas. During this time there are many significant historical events - The Civil War, Abolition, Reconstruction and Western Expansion. All along the way there is romance, friendships, tragedy and triumphs.
This book is well written. It covers quite the span of time with the joys and heartaches. It doesn't take long to become acquainted with the families and to feel as if you know them. It touches on social and moral issues of the time without being overly emotional or preachy. Ms Meacham tells the story in such a way that you can understand the conflict and issues that fed into each persons decisions. It presents choices made by people as more of a matter of fact and results in the reader reflecting on how they would have handled it.
There is a sequel to the book. Even though I enjoyed this one, I doubt I read the sequel. I am content with how things were left and don't feel compelled to learn more. If you're not ready to be in it for the long haul, don't start this book as it is 610 pages long.
"The Bookstore on the Beach" by Brenda Novak
Eighteen months previous to the start of our story, Autumn Divac's husband disappeared. Autumn has spent the last 18 months trying to find out what happened - is he alive? Where is he? What was he doing? Her quest has reached a dead end. She decides to return to her home town on the beach for the summer. So the adventure for Autumn and their 2 teenage kids begins.
I started this book expecting that I was going to love it. A mystery of sorts set on a Virginia beach with a bookstore as a main setting. Maybe I was expecting too much but I was disappointed. First, the bookstore does not play into the story much. Books are barely mentioned. The business could have been any business. It was just another place in the story.
Next, the mystery wasn't that much of a mystery. It was predictable how it was going to end. Even at that, the ending seemed abrupt. There were also a lot of issues covered - kidnapping, rape, teen pregnancy, cancer, sexual identity, spousal abuse, etc. You name it, it was probably thrown in here. With all the issues, there wasn't time to cover any in too much of a depth. In addition to the issues lacking depth, there was really no background to Autumn and Nicks marriage. We don't know what drew them together or really what kind of marriage they had except that it was long and good. She had spent almost 2 years looking for her husband pretty much day and night, so there had to be something there. I wish Nick had been developed into more of a person and not just a name.
This was my Book Club read for the month and for one of the rare times, I was disappointed. I was out of town and missed the meeting but would have liked to hear how the other members felt about it.
"Lucky Boy" by Shanthi Sekaram
The story of an illegal immigrant, her baby and the couple whose family was from India that fosters and then desires to adopt the baby. This book examines the desire for a better life, the longing for a baby, family issues - both nuclear and extended, and dealing with the government justice system and agencies.
I feel mixed about this book. There were parts of it that drew me in and others that didn't as much. This is a book that is very definitely in "favor" of one ending over the other. I don't have that big of an issue with that except I feel it shortchanged the other viewpoint. Knowing how the book was going to end, I slowed down my reading as I got closer to the end. I really didn't want to deal with the emotions.
Which brings me to another point - I felt this book tugged at emotions at times at the expense of giving some of the details and insights I would have liked. I was okay with the ending in the big picture of things as I had prepared myself for it. I didn't like the ending though as far as wrapping up the emotions of the ones who lost the boy. It was just too unreal to me but I guess in some ways not surprising it was written the way it was. After all it fit the viewpoint of the author, assuming the reader could see the wisdom of the ending.
I don't know why the title is "Lucky Boy" as the boy really isn't lucky. At times he is, but any child born into the situation he was, and going through what he did in the foster care system, adjusting to new parents, and a part of a custody battle isn't lucky. He is blessed to be loved deeply, and I'm not discounting that. The book though really didn't leave me feeling that any one in the story was lucky. I'm going against the majority of readers and rating this an average read.
"Upstairs at the White House: My Life With the First Ladies" by J.B. West
A few years back I read "Five Presidents" by Clint Hill. (You can find my review of it here) That book dealt with the life of a Secret Service Agent and his experiences with five different presidents. This book looked interesting to me as a little different perspective - that of the Head Usher of the White House and his experiences. Mr. West served from the time of the Roosevelts through the very beginnings of the Nixon administration so there was some overlap of Presidents between the two books. That may it even more interesting.
The book is informative without being gossipy. Mr. West gives us a glimpse of not only the behind the scenes of the White House but also a view of the personalities of the first woman and the relationship they had with their husbands. You can definitely tell which first ladies he favored, but he was not mean about any of them. It is well written and moves along at a good pace. If you have any interest in the workings of the White House and some of the people who have lived there then you would enjoy this book.
"Trickster's Point" by William Kent Krueger
Cork once again finds himself in the middle of a mystery. He is out hunting with a childhood friend, Jubal Little, when someone shoots and kills Jubal with a bow and arrow. Jubal is on track to become the next Governor of Minnesota and the first Native American to hold that office. As the story develops we learn what kind of man Jubal Little was, the relationship between Cork and Jubal starting back as teenagers, and reasons that several people - including Cork - have for wanting to see Jubal dead.
I enjoyed getting some of the background of Cork as a young boy. Little by little through the series I am beginning to know more about what has made Cork the man he is. I have spent so much time with Cork that it is becoming easier for me to pick up on the clues that are dropped along the way. This one I had figured out a lot of the mystery before the end. But Mr. Krueger is such a good story teller that I don't care. I still enjoyed the story and how it developed.
This is book 12 in the series and while you could read each book as a stand alone, I think you need to follow the series book by book in order to get the full story. I'm looking forward to reading the next one.
"The Identicals" by Elin Hilderbrand
Identical twins whose parents divorced were split up - one with each parent. Each parent also had "their" island - the dad on Nantucket and the mom, Martha's Vineyard. When the dad dies, the twins are forced to have contact. As adults they are each dealing with their own issues and surprisingly for a while at least, switch islands and lives. It's not a story of trying to make people believe they are the other person, it is instead a story of how each adjusts to the change.
When you read a Elin Hilderbrand novel, you know what you are going to get. There's usually intergenerational push and pull, strained relationships between siblings and a little complicated love story. I enjoyed peering into the life of Tabitha and Harper and their mother. The setting in this story of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket was interesting with the islands becoming characters in the story at times. A nice light read that would be a good "beach read".
There are two breakdowns in this book - one of a car and one of a person. When Cass takes a shortcut home at night in a bad storm, she spots a broken down car. She pulls over, but doesn't get out in the bad weather when the woman sitting inside didn't seem to be in a panic. The woman, it ends up, was murdered. Not only that, it was a woman that Cass had recently met and was developing a friendship. After this revelation, Cass slowly begins to lose it - forgetting things, misplacing items, etc. But all is not as it seems.
Sounds interesting, right? But - UGH! That's about all I can say about this book. It was boring, repetitive and predictable. The most interesting part of the book is the title and the double meaning. I finished the book but only because I was in hopes that there would be a huge twist at the end that would prove me wrong. But no - that didn't happen. What a disappointment.
"Molina: The Story of a Father Who Raised an Unlikely Baseball Dynasty" by Bengie Molina
Exactly what it says - a book about the baseball family that has become a dynasty. It is the memoir of Bengie as it relates to his parents lives, his brothers and his life, how his father instilled the love of baseball in them and taught them, but more importantly taught them to cherish and value family.
This was my kind of baseball book. Bengie's youngest brother, Yadier is my favorite player on my favorite team. While this is Bengie's story - told from his viewpoint, it is the family story. It is also a baseball story that I think any fan would enjoy. There is a lot about Puerto Rico - life there and especially the baseball leagues and teams. It's amazing the talent that has come from there. It also a family story - a family that values each other above all. It's all about the family that has had all 3 sons play catcher in the major leagues and all 3 win World Series. That in and of itself is an amazing story. How they each one got there just makes it more worth the read.
I listened to this book - something I don't often do. It was the perfect book to enjoy that way as I could listen while at the gym, cleaning house and running errands. It was interesting enough to keep my attention and did not require a lot of deep thinking. Most audio books lose me along the way as I just get too distracted. This one didn't.
"The Language of Sycamores" by Lisa Wingate
Karen Sommerfield returns to the old farm of her Grandma Rose, where her sister Kate and family now live. Karen and Kate have not been close for years. Karen being the career, childless sister and Kate being all about family. Karen makes this trip when things start crashing in around her with her job and health. While at the farm, Karen rediscovers herself and what is important.
After reading "The Breakdown" I needed a good palate cleanser and knew I could count on Lisa Wingate. This is the 3rd book in the Tending Roses series. It follows the same theme as the other 2 - focus on what is important, take your time going through life and love and enjoy each other - especially family. Ms Wingate is a master at reminding the reader of the importance of taking time to tend the roses in our lives.
These lines from the book say it best - "I'm not is such a hurry to get from one place to another anymore. Once you learn that you can never really plan your destination, you stop worrying so much about being on the map." A predictable story but enjoyable and a needed reminder.
"Celestial Navigation" by Anne Tyler
The story of a thirty eight year old man, Jeremy Pauling, who has never left home - almost literally. He exists in a small area and gets extreme anxiety when going beyond that area. He is an artist creating collages and lives with his mother in his childhood home where they take in boarders. After his mother passes away, he takes in Mary Tell and her daughter. That is when Jeremy's life changes - pushing a little beyond boundaries he has set in his life. All surrounded by a group of quirky tenants.
Not many authors can write such a melancholy book and keep me engaged until the end. Anne Tyler has a way of drawing me into the lives of these people. Don't read this if you need cheering up. It's a sad, character driven book that had me cheering for all of them to succeed and to be happy.
Amid all the sadness there is a true sense of family though. These people loved and cared for each other. There's something we could learn from each of them - perseverance, pushing ourselves to be uncomfortable, taking care of each other, kindness, and more. One book that will stay with me for a while.
"Anxious People" by Fredrick Backman
I went from one story of "quirky" people to one of people on the other end of the quirky spectrum. A potential bank robbery of what ends up being a cashless bank becomes a hostage situation when the robber escapes to the apartment building next door. The robber finds themselves in an apartment that is hosting an Open House and has 8 people in the apartment when the "hostage" situation begins. Each person in the apartment is there for a different reason and each has an interesting back story - including the robber.
I loved this book. I laughed out loud more than once. How can you not when a book is dedicated to the voices in the authors head?! Mr. Backman does a great job of mixing current day with the past. He is very clever in the language he uses to paint a picture. For instance this line - "It should be noted that when she died, the bank robber's mom consisted of so much gin and tonic that they didn't dare cremate her because of the risk of explosion, but that doesn't mean she didn't have good advice to offer."
There were a few twists and at times you will wonder what significance a seemingly tangent to the story has, but Mr. Backman does a great job of tying it all together. My favorite of the month.
"Murder in the Family" by Jeff Blackstock
Mr. Blackstock's dad was a Canadian diplomat. While he was stationed in Buenos Aires his wife, Carol, died from a strange cause. This always bothered Jeff. When he was an adult he discovered papers his maternal grandfather had about his search into the truth and Jeff was surprised to learn his mom had died from arsenic poisoning. While the last half of the book is about this, the first half sets the stage as far as life with his parents while his mom was alive and then with his dad and step mom after her death.
This was an interesting book. The problem I had with it was the writing. At times it was clipped. I understand it was written by a non-author and that explains a lot of it, but that doesn't change that it was that way. Another thing that bothered me is that sometimes he referred to his parents by their first name, and others as mom and dad. There were even times in the same paragraph that he switched between the two.
The first half of the book seemed more that way than the last half. While there was a lot of background information, I felt like it lacked a little depth. I never got a good grasp on Mr. Blackstock's relationship with his dad. It may be that his dad was away more than home or just that Mr. Blackstock thought it was communicating about his relationship and I just didn't pick it up. It is a sad story and I can't imagine how it would affect you your entire life.
Comments