Separated @ Birth by Anaïs Bordier and Samantha Futerman 362.734 Bro

   

Fascinating book!  It is an entertaining read and best of all it is true.  Imagine two women who were born in South Korea.  One was adopted as the only child of a French couple.  Her passion is fashion.  The other was adopted into an American family who already had two biological sons.  She becomes an actress.  They both have great childhoods.  One day a friend of Anaïs sends her a You Tube video he saw on the internet because the actress looked so much like her.  Social media changed her life.  This is the story of how she (with a little help from her friends) tracked down the name of the actress and finally makes contact with her.

The story is told in alternating voices of the two women.  Neither adoptive family was every told that their daughter had a twin.  It is a fast read and will keep your interest from beginning to end.

The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man by W. Bruce Cameron FIC Cam

Ruddy McCann is not having a good week.  He's been attacked by a goose named Doris, his sister may be in love with a con man, and he's hearing voices in his head. 

This is not how Ruddy expected his life to turn out.  A former football star whose career ended in scandal and a prison sentence, Ruddy now works as a repo man. He just wants a quiet life with his dog, Jake.

But the voice in his head turns out to be the spirit of Alan Lottner, a realtor who was murdered 8 years ago.  When Ruddy meets Alan's daughter, Katie, sparks fly -- but it's tough with her father with him all the time.

So Ruddy needs to get rid of Alan's spirit by solving his murder, save his sister from financial ruin at the hands of her new love, and somehow get past Doris the goose.  It's all great fun.

The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man by W. Bruce Cameron is a light madcap caper.  Lots of fun and a great choice if you're looking for something humorous. 

The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans FIC Eva

 

Even though I prefer books with a bit of an edge to them, I always read the Christmas books that come out around Christmas!  The story isn't too hard to figure out.  Two unhappy souls make a contract to "be a couple" during the holidays.  I have seen this theme in a hundred Hallmark movies.  You know how it is going to end.  But I like the way he writes.  What really kept me reading were the back stories of Elise and Nicholas.  As we follow the eight weeks of the mistletoe promise we are teased with glimpses into Elise's past and how she ended up with such low self esteem.  Nicholas also has some past problems but we don't find out anything about them until the very end of the book.

A short entertaining book with a feel-good ending.  'Tis the season so check out this book!

Midnight in Siberia

I like travel narratives (but only ones where things go wrong).  I also enjoy David Greene's reporting for NPR so when I saw his book "Midnight in Siberia: A Train Journey in the Heart of Russia" I knew I had to read it. And since this is a book about Russia, I suspected a few things might go wrong (spoiler alert: they do).

Former Moscow NPR Bureau Chief Greene took the Trans-Siberian Railway on a 6,000 mile journey from Moscow to Vladivostok.  Take a look at the book cover.  Looks like fun, right?

Along with battling the cold, Greene and his translator and friend Sergei visit interesting towns and sights, but his focus is the people he meets and their stories.  In a nutshell: Russians are a complicated bunch.  

I suggest reading it in front of a warm fire with a glass of vodka and a plate of Salo (basically pickles with pig lard).  If you're looking for yummy Russian recipes, this might not be the book for you.  However, Greene's insight and humor makes this great choice for anyone looking for a nuanced and thoughtful look at Russia and its people.

You can find "Midnight in Siberia" in the new nonfiction section: 914.704 Gre. 

Us by David Nicholls FIC Nic

Do opposites attract?  Well, Douglas Petersen is nagged into going to a dinner at his sister's 25 years ago.  He is a stereo-type of a scientist.  His sister's friends are free spirits and Douglas wants nothing more than to leave.  But when he does it is with one of those free spirits names Connie.  Does the attraction last forever? Douglas assumes it will last.  Things aren't always peaceful in their home.  Their 17-year old son, Albie, drives Douglas crazy and it leads to a lot of fights but still - they are a family.  Then one night Connie wakes up Douglas to tell him that she thinks their marriage has run its course and that she thinks she wants to leave him.  She isn't in any hurry.  They have a big trip to Europe planned for that summer - a last family trip before Albie goes to university.  She thinks they should of course go through with it.
     
And so they go.  Douglas drives his family crazy with his constant reading of guide books.  Albie drives Douglas crazy.  Albie wants some freedom - he doesn't want to hang around with his parents.  It is the trip from hell.
     
I loved this book.  Douglas is not someone I would like to spend a lot of time with - yet I found myself really loving him.  He truly can't help being who he is.  I also felt a lot of empathy and understanding for Connie and Albie.   This book was funny and sad.  It was depressing and uplifting. It was a good book!

The Other Life by Ellen Meister FIC Mei

     






 
 


   I usually don't go for time travel books.  (I read the mega-hit The Outlander which was okay but I will not be connoting on with the series.)  But there was something about the premise that made me give it a try.  And I really enjoyed it.  Quinn lives in the suburbs of Long Island with a great husband (Lewis) and their son, Isaac.  She is especially happy now because she is pregnant with a daughter.  Life is good until the devastating news that the baby is probably going to be seriously disabled.  Should they continue with the pregnancy?  She wishes Nan, her mother, were there to help her, but soon after she married Lewis her mother committed suicide.  
     In Quinn's basement there is a portal.  She has tried to ignore it but one day she goes through it.  On the other side is her life as it would have been if she had stayed with Eugene - who is the complete opposite of Lewis.  There she is no longer pregnant and she doesn't have a son - but her mother is there!  
     As Quinn wrestles with her choices she travels back and forth but the portal becomes smaller each time and it becomes harder.  
     An interesting story that may make you think about the major forks in your own life and the good and bad that might have been.  

      

Gray Mountain by John Grisham FIC Gri

 

   You can't go wrong with a John Grisham book - they are always entertaining and this one is no exception.  Of course the main character is a lawyer, but this time it is a female. Yay!  Her name is Samantha Kofer.  She is working insane hours to go up the ladder at her big Wall Street law firm.  She really doesn't like the work but she loves living in NYC.  And then 2008 happens.  She watches as others in the firm get let go.  She was lucky - well, sort of.  She does lose her job per se but they will pay her insurance for a year if she interns at a non-profit and she may get her job back in a year if things improve.   Easier said than done.  There are lots of lawyers looking for jobs.  In desperation she takes the only offer.  It is a legal aid clinic located in a Virginia town of 2200 people in the middle of Appalachia.  Having no trial experience Samantha is like a fish out of water.  She doesn't think she will last long helping ordinary people with lots of problems and no money.
     Before long she is involved in a dangerous situation - taking on the big coal companies.  They don't come out looking very good in this book!!   I listened to the audiobook and it was well done.

Accidents of Marriage by Randy Susan Meyers FIC Mey

 

Many books start out with a woman who is happily married with children and a life she loves.  This one starts out with a woman who is in denial of the reality of her life.  Maddy is a social worker who works mostly with women who are in abusive situations.  Often she works to help these women get out......and then the women go back.  It is hard to understand.  On the home front Maddy is married to Ben, a public defender.  He was a passionate man when they met.  But he has an anger management problem.  So Maddy, who can see a problem in others' marriages, chooses to manage her marriage by trying to keep her husband happy and keep peace in the household.  Her children have also learned to play the game.  Things have gotten worse and Ben is spending even longer hours at work.  One day Maddy has had to call Ben to come pick her up.  She had forgotten to get the new registration for her car (just one more example of how unorganized she is) and the police pulled her over and towed her car.  Ben is already running late but has no choice.  The anger in him rises and he gets into a 'game' with another driver.  And in an instant his life has changed.  Maddy is now fighting for her life from a traumatic brain injury.
       
This was an interesting book with the story being told through the eyes of Maddy, Ben and their oldest daughter.

Lila by Marilynne Robinson (FIC Rob)

Sometimes old men do foolish things, says the Rev. John Ames.  And according to his small congregation, he has.  

At 67, long-time widower Rev. Ames has reconciled himself to loneliness. Then one Sunday morning a young woman escapes the rain by stepping inside his small church. It's Lila, a woman with an old knife and a hidden past.

Their ensuing marriage seems as strange as it is unexpected to the people of Gilead, Iowa.  Perhaps the one most surprised of all is Rev. Ames.

Lila has barely survived the Great Depression. Her make-shift family is dead or gone, and Lila is alone when she stumbles into Gilead.  She plans to rest awhile then move on. Then a rainstorm hits, and she stops for a minute in a church.

Marilynne Robinson is my favorite Iowa author and I loved her Pulitzer Prize winning (and 2006 All Iowa Reads selection) novel Gilead and then Home.  These three books are interconnected, but you can read Lila as a stand-alone.

I can't resist a story with two misfits who find unexpected happiness together, and I love these complicated, yet ordinary characters. Add Robinson's precise writing and careful storytelling, and this book easily makes my personal "Best Books of 2014" list.

2 A.M. at the Cat's Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino (FIC Ber)

It is 7:00 a.m. in Philadelphia and two days before Christmas.  Madeleine Altimari, who will be ten in two days, wants to be a jazz singer.  Her mother has recently died and her father, immobilized with grief, is barely able to function.  Her classmates make fun of her and her principal has expelled her for reasons Madeleine isn't sure of.

Sarina Greene, Madeleine's art teacher, has recently returned to her hometown following her divorce.  She is nervously looking forward to a reunion that evening with former classmates.  One of the guests will be Ben, her high school crush who took her on a disastrous date to their prom.

Across town, Jack Lorca wakes up in a drunken haze.  Owner of The Cat's Pajamas, a renowned jazz club, he is faced with multiple violations of the city code for underage drinking, pyrotechnics and other indiscretions.  He must come up with $30,000...and seriously change his ways.

Over the course of the next 24 hours these three people (and a variety of others) make their way to The Cat's Pajamas where, improbable as it may seem, Madeleine's dream comes true.  Lives are changed, people reconcile,  and new directions are taken.  Not all ends happily for everyone but as 7:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve dawns there is hope.

It's hard to resist a story about a motherless child struggling to find her way.  Similar in some ways to The Secret Life of Bees, this story tugged at my heart and had me racing through the pages so that I could find out what happened.  Madeleine is not a model child but she is still sympathetic.  The book is relatively short with short chapters but even so the author managed to make all of the characters (even the unlikable Principal Randles) seem real.  Not all the ends are tied up neatly but there is hope for all of the characters.

You won't be sorry if you invest your time reading this book - you might even want to visit Philadelphia and its jazz clubs.

Gutenberg's Apprentice by Alix Christie (FIC Chr)

In 1450, Peter Schoeffer is called home from the beginnings of a promising career as a scribe in Paris by his foster father who wants Peter to meet a "most amazing man."  Peter is not happy and is, in fact, resentful at this intrusion into the life he saw himself leading.  When he finds out what his father has in mind for him, he is even more upset.  For his father, Johann Fust, wants him to work as an apprentice (an apprentice!) for Johann Gutenberg, his new business partner, as he prepares to use the first printing press.


As someone dedicated to the beauty and wonder of writing, this new invention at first horrifies Peter.  Gradually as the years progress he begins to see the benefits of this new system and even comes to see it as a sign of God's divine providence.

Gutenberg is a hard man to work for and it is even harder for Peter to navigate the paths between the two men.  As the project drags slowly forward and Fust is called upon to supply more and more money tension between the two mounts. 

In order to reach their goal - 180 copies of a uniformly printed Bible - they must work in secret.  All around them are suspicious, from the Church to the craft guilds that control the city.  And then the worst happens - Constantinople falls to the Infidel and it seems that the project will never be completed.

Only Peter, or so it seems to him, sees the real possibility of this new invention.

I enjoyed reading this book a great deal.  As the book progressed, Peter became more and more sympathetic and Gutenberg less so.  The dimensions of this man's personality were many and it was hard to tell what he was more interested in - creating a new process or making money.  Fust's motives were much clearer - making money was the ultimate goal.  What was always in question as I read this book was whether the Bible would actually be completed.  Even though I knew the answer to that question I found myself reading faster and faster as the book progressed just to make sure that history really did happen.

A Hundred Pieces of Me by Lucy Dillon FIC Dil

Gina Bellamy, divorcing from Stuart as we meet her, is moving from the couple's multi-room house to a much-smaller apartment.  Her soon-to-be ex-husband has moved in with his girlfriend and apparently wants virtually none of the household possessions.  This leaves Gina with an apartment packed full, floor to ceiling, of boxes containing all the miscellany that accumulates in some 30-plus years of life.

Daunted and reeling, Gina sets herself the task of combing through the boxes by her birthday and -- even more challenging -- of keeping only 100 items that truly make her happy.  Old love letters?  A glass vase that perfectly catches the light?  A memento of the father she barely remembers?

I thoroughly enjoyed this fairly light read.  Told in present tense and in flashbacks, we get to know Gina and the people and events that have made her who she is.  Full of likable characters -- well, mostly -- I had a hard time putting this book down.  And, it inspired me to clear out some of the clutter I've accumulated!  Okay, just one closet, but it's a start.

Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer FIC Tim

   

A GREAT book!   At the beginning of this book 'five days left' has different meanings for Scott Coffman in Michigan and Mara Nichols, living thousands of miles away.  For Scott it means Curtis will no longer be in his life.  During the past year Scott and his wife opened their home to this young boy (the brother of one of Scott's former students).  Now in five days Curtis's mother will be taking him back after spending a year in prison.  Scott has bonded deeply with Curtis and can't stand the idea of him leaving.  His wife, on the other hand, is ready for him to leave so that she and Scott can enjoy a few months alone before they welcome their long-awaited daughter to be born.

For Mara 'five days left' means that after that she will be dead. She sees suicide as the only way out of a terrible situation even if it means leaving her adopted daughter and her loving husband.   What do these two have in common?  A forum on the internet.  The focus of the forum is parents who are fostering or have adopted children.  Some participants have come and gone over the past year but there is a core group that have continued to check in every day and support each other.

Hard to believe this is a debut novel!  It pulled me in from the beginning and left me like jello left out on a hot day at the end.  Might be a good idea to have some Kleenex around - just saying.

Internal Medicine by Terrence Holt 616 Hol

I enjoyed this look into the hospital stories as seen through the eyes of a resident.  It was another reminder that you really don't want to go into the hospital when the residents are brand new!
Thank heaven for competent nurses and techs.  And how can anyone be expected to practice medicine when they are sleep deprived???  Back to the book -  it is made up of chapters which are glimpses into what it takes to become a doctor.  These are touching stories - what to tell the family when there is bad news, how far to go for someone who isn't going to make it, watching a hospice patient in the final days.  Holt also writes a lot about the families of these patients (and there is a message there for anyone who hasn't made it clear to their families what they want in a medical situation!!!!!!  Do it today.)
   

Friendswood by René Steinke FIC Set

 

The town of Friendswood Texas has always been a rather typical small town.  Neighborhood get-togethers and Friday night football are an important part of life.  But they live near oil and chemicals. It affects most of the people one way or another.  This story follows the lives of four of these families.

It begins with Lee.  She had a wonderful life - until she had to watch her daughter die from cancer.  When the first signs of dangers appeared in their town they moved from their neighborhood to a 'safer' house.  But it was too late.  So for years she has fought to get her community to see the dangers that are still around them.  She sneaks into quarantined areas to get soil samples and bugs the government.  But no one wants to listen,  they want to keep going with their lives and making money.   Hal, a former football star, is trying to keep a floundering real estate business going.  He is more worried about selling a house than about the health of his clients.  The other two main characters are teens.

It is an interesting book with many layers to it.  I will say that I would have liked an ending that wrapped everything up with no questions unanswered.  But I did like the book.

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult FIC Pic

   

It is always a long wait for a new Picoult book - but it is always so worth it!  A wonderful story told through the voices of several characters.

The main one is Jenna.  She is a teenager who lives with her grandmother.  Her father is in an institution living in his own world.  When Jenna visits him he thinks she is her mother, Alice.  Alice was a scientist who studied the grieving of elephants in Africa.  After falling in love and becoming pregnant she moves back to the States to join her husband at an elephant sanctuary.
When Jenna is a toddler there is a tragic death and her mom disappears.  Jenna has never been able to accept the idea that her mother abandoned her.  She spends hours on the internet looking for clues to where her mother might be.  Her hunt intensifies with the help of two odd characters.  Serenity is a psychic who was highly successful in finding missing people and connecting with the dead.  When she tries to shield a family from bad news she falls from grace and loses her ability to connect with the dead.  She has been laying low and earning money by being a sham psychic.  Virgil was part of the original investigation into the accident.  Now he is also laying low and spends most of his time in a drunken stupor.

The story also includes excerpts from Alice's research journals.  You will learn a lot about elephants and I dare you not to get a bit teary from reading those stories!  I didn't see the ending coming.......

This story touches on many universal themes and is sure to make you a fan if you aren't already.
Can't wait until next year's novel!!!

The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure FIC Bel

 

I love reading about WWII but normally I prefer to read non-fiction about this era because no novel is as compelling as what really happened.  That being said I did enjoy this novel.

The main character is Lucien Bernard who is of course the Paris Architect!  He is not a likable guy.  He is married but is a lot more interested in his mistress Adèle, a dress designer who hangs out with a lot of Nazis.  That doesn't bother Lucien - he only cares about architecture.  He is thrilled when he is offered a contract to design some factories for the Germans - factories that will be used against his country.  His wife is angry and scared of what will become of them because her husband is a collaborator.  The Germans don't pay well but that is not a problem when Lucien is approached to do a special project for a wealthy man named Manet.  He wants Lucien to design a fool-proof hiding place for a Jewish man.  Lucien does it for the money - not to help another human being. As he gets deeper into helping Manet he begins to change his focus.

Although this is a book of fiction it of course reflects those true stories of people who did extraordinary things for people they didn't even know - it was just the right thing to do.

The Politics of Washing: Real Life in Venice by Polly Coles 945.11 Col

 

If you watch House Hunters International you have seen a lot of people who decide to retire to a place that they visited in the past.  They have an idealized picture of what it will be like to live in this paradise.  After three months they visit the happy couple who are enjoying their new lives.  This book is like one of those stories but with a little more truth in it I think!   Polly Coles and her husband leave England behind to move to Venice.  And they also have four young children.  Venice is a beautiful city with so much history.  But reading about their arrival to their new home was a nightmare.  One of their children had hurt her leg.  So Polly is trying to wrangle all the children and luggage - and remember you can't drive to Venice!!  This memoir is a great look into what people face when they change cultures.  It reminds people that no place is ideal on a permanent basis.

So it was entertaining to read about all of their challenges.  But it was sad to read about Venice.  Venice is a city of tourists.  Living there is not like visiting there.  The tourists can be quite annoying. And the true fabric of Venice is fading away because of the new economic realities.

A quick read that I believe anyone would enjoy.  If you have ever visited Venice or plan to I highly recommend it.

The Silent Sister FIC Cha

 

I have read several of Ms. Chamberlain's books but this is by far my favorite.  I woke up at 6 this morning and got up so that I could finish the book and find out what happened!  The book begins with a brief prologue which tells us that a 17 year old girl committed suicide in a cold icy river.  The townspeople are upset that she has escaped facing her trial for murder.  Then the story fast forwards 23 years to the life of Riley MacPherson.  She is heading back to her hometown to clean out her father's house.  On the way she stops in a small town at the post office because of a post card she received among the mail forwarded from her dad's house.  She is sure there has been a mix-up because it has to do with a post office box that has to be paid for or it will be closed. The name on the box was not her father's.  She takes the one piece of mail and continues on her journey.

Riley is feeling very alone in the world.  Her mom died of cancer right after she graduated from high school. Now her father is gone.  Her sister Lisa had committed suicide 23 years before because of depression - or so she had been told all of her life.  So now she only has her brother, Danny.  She always adored him even when he became so surly and angry as a teenager.  After an injury in Iraq he has become an alcoholic loner and he wants nothing to do with helping Riley with the house.

As Riley begins the process of closing down her father's life she discovers she really didn't know what was going on in his life.  It is a fast-paced book as Riley tries to make sense of things that make no sense.

The Sea Garden by Marcia Willett FIC Wil

With Maeve Binchy and Rosamund Pilcher both gone, Marcia Willett is the only author I have found who comes close to writing that type of novel.  It is filled with characters whose lives are intertwined.  I love the descriptions of the English countryside and the interactions of the characters.  A great book to read while enjoying a cuppa!   It begins with Jess Penhaligon.  She is a young artist who has just received an award for her painting.  The award is in honor of an artist who has died.  His widow, Kate, was sad that Jess had no family present at the ceremony.  She ends up inviting Jess to come to Cornwall.  Jess accepts and ends up finding a link between her family and Kate's.  The sea garden was the site of many lovely parties decades ago.  The people there are shocked when they meet Jess who is the spitting image of her grandmother Juliet - and Jess is shocked to see pictures of Juliet taken in the sea garden so long ago.  You won't be on the edge of your seat but you also won't be put off by any language or violence.  Just a lovely book!

Fetch the Devil 364.152 Ric

In 1938 Hazel Frome and her 23-year-old daughter, Nancy, took a road trip across Texas. The women never reached their destination and were later found dead in the Sierra Diablo desert - apparently victims of a robbery gone wrong.

At least that's what everyone assumed until certain facts came to life.  Such as ....

• The women had been tortured but were not sexually assaulted or robbed.

• While stranded in El Paso for a few days awaiting minor car repairs, a mysterious envelope was delivered to them. The contents are unknown but they caused the women to rush out of town.

•  Hazel was the wife of a high-level executive of a San Fransisco explosives company - a fact she was not shy about telling everyone she met.

• Several known Nazi spies and con men were operating in the area.

• In 1938 the Nazis were very interested in Mr. Frome's explosives company.  In fact, they were quite eager to find a way to get to him.

The case was botched from the beginning. The crime scene was trampled by gawkers and a mysterious stranger assisted the coroner. Law enforcement agencies fought for jurisdiction, refused to cooperate or share evidence.  Eventually the case went cold and the Texas Rangers - who having won the fight to have control of the physical case files decided to shred them.

Seventy-five years later journalist Clint Richmond gathered what evidence remained, investigated old leads, and published his conclusions in the new nonfiction book Fetch the Devil: The Sierra Diablo Murders and Nazi Espionage in America.

If you like meticulous true crime nonfiction, this is a top-notch book.  Richmond investigates each angle thoroughly (in some cases to an exhaustive length, dragging down the narrative).  However, he's greatly hampered by the fact that the investigators and witnesses have now died and the complete set of files were destroyed.  While his conclusion makes sense given the evidence he puts forth, it stretches thin in some places.  

Read it yourself and comment below on this blog with your conclusions.  You can find Fetch the Devil in the adult nonfiction section under 364.152 Ric.

The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin 347.73 Too

   

We own this book but you can also download the audio book from Wilbor which is what I did.  I found it to be a very interesting book. There is plenty of history of the Supreme Court and the building itself, but most of it is about the time between the early 1990's to around 2007 (although Roe v  Wade and the whole abortion issue is brought up a lot!!).  There are lots of interesting cases from that time period - Clinton's impeachment, affirmative action, gay rights, Bush v Gore, the death penalty and so much more.

In my younger years I didn't think often about the Supreme Court - I just assumed they were supposed to look at the Constitution and that they were unbiased.  Well of course that isn't exactly how it works.  And reading about how they are vetted and chosen turned my stomach most of the time.  It is a very readable book and you will learn a lot.  Will you be happier after learning some of the behind the scene stories?  You will probably be a bit depressed like I was but we probably should understand the court a bit more than we do!

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty FIC Mor

I loved this book!  At the beginning you know someone is dead and people are being interviewed by the police.  You know that it happened at a school function known as Trivia Night which was a fundraiser.   The police know that people are not being totally honest with them.

Little by little you get to know the people who were there that night.  Madeline is a funny woman with a killer sarcastic edge to her.  Her ex-husband Nathan left her with a baby 14 years ago.  Even though Madeline is married to Ed, a wonderful guy, things are a bit weird.  Nathan and his new wife Bonnie have moved back to town - and they have a child in kindergarten which happens to be the same grade as Ed and Madeline's child.

 Celeste is the beautiful one in the group.  Always put together.  She is married to Perry and they have lots of money and twin boys.  What goes on behind closed doors is shocking.

Jane is the new woman on the block.  She is a single mother and sort of an outcast until Madeline befriends her.  When her son, Ziggy, is accused of bullying (and this is in kindergarten!) her life begins to spiral down and she thinks she will have to leave town.

Very entertaining and keeps you guessing as to the victim's identify and of course the killer. I think most people will love this book.
      

No Safe House by Linwood Barclay MYS Bar

The Archer family in this book is the same one that was in an earlier book (No Time For Goodbye).  I did read that book but just have a vague memory of it - and that had no effect on ability to enjoy this latest book.  Because of the trauma from the first book, Cynthia became obsessed with keeping her daughter safe.  Well now Grace is a teen and she can't stand the way her mother hovers.  It gets to the point that she moves out for a while.

Well Cynthia was right to be overprotective.  Grace gets herself into some bad trouble while hanging out with her boyfriend.  She calls her dad to come get her and he has to try and keep Grace from being implicated in a murder - whether or not she is guilty.  Eventually Cynthia finds out about the danger they are all in.
Already things were tense in the town because of a couple that was murdered in their home.  I found it to be an entertaining book about a family that will do anything to protect themselves.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt FIC Tar

I loved the cover of this book (I am so shallow) and wanted to read it but it was so popular that it had holds and I didn't want to have to find time to read a 750+ page book on a deadline.  When I discovered the audio on Wilbor I put it on hold.  It was about 36 hours long!  But I have lots of time to listen while walking, gardening, cleaning, etc.  And I finished it on the sixth day.  So you can guess that I liked it.  It's hard to pinpoint the exact reason.  I felt sorry for Theo, the main character, but I never really liked him that much during much of the book.  A lot of things happen but I was rarely on the edge of my seat. Somehow Ms. Tartt just reeled me in.  When the story begins Theo and his mom have been actually enjoying life since father/ husband has left with no forwarding address.  This happiness doesn't last long because of a tragic accident.  Theo has to carry the guilt that he was the reason they were in the museum when an explosion takes the life of his mom.  Theo is knocked out but when he comes to he sees an old man who is dying.  He asks Theo to take care of a dying request.  As Theo looks around the shambles he notices The Goldfinch (a famous painting that really does exist).  And he takes it.  With no mother and a father who is MIA Theo goes to live with the family of a childhood friend.  The story jumps through the different phases of Theo's life.  Love, loss, friendship, obsession - a bit of everything.  The thing I liked least about the book was all the drug taking - there was a lot of it and probably took up at least 100 pages!  All in all I liked the book but you have to be ready for a commitment!

Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain FIC Cha

 

(I listened to the audiobook from WILBOR).  This novel takes place in 1960.  Ivy is only fifteen but she basically is the one taking care of her grandmother (who suffers from diabetes), her older sister (who is not too responsible   some mental illness) named Mary Ella, and Mary Ella's son whom they called Baby William.   In a way they are lucky because they have a house to live in in exchange for the two sisters working on the tobacco farm.  Ivy also has epilepsy.

Jane Forrester is the newest social worker who is getting ready to marry Robert, a doctor, and she is crazy about him.  He is not thrilled that she wants to work (none of his colleagues' wives work except one who is a teacher) but doesn't say no.  Of course she doesn't tell him everything that it will involve.  Is she a good social worker?  Yes, because she is totally invested in the lives and needs of her clients......but no say her husband and her boss - because she is totally invested in the lives and needs of her clients.

The story was interesting but even more so was revisiting the way the world was back then.  Jane having to ask the doctor for a birth control pill (wouldn't do it without an okay from her fiancé) is hard to read!  The sterilization programs that went on were inhuman.

A great book that will captivate you.  I think it would be a great book club selection - lots to talk about!

The Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local - and Helped Save an American Town by Beth Macy 338.7 Mac

Rather a long subtitle but it gives you an idea of the book's theme!  You probably know that the furniture industry has been devastated over the past decades and you probably know some of the reasons.  Ms. Macy traces the history of the Bassett Furniture Company located in Bassett, Virginia.  Since the town was named after the family you can guess how influential and important the family was.  The founders of this company were varied, interesting and often not very nice. There are family feuds of course!

It was sad to read about the destruction of this industry - but it was heartening to read about John Bassett III.  He was part of the third generation of Bassetts (I guess that's why he has the III!).  As his factory was less able to compete he decided to do something about it and saved hundreds of jobs in his little town.

This was a fascinating story behind an American industry - and you might not enjoy your cheap imported furniture as much when you read about the working conditions in which it was made!  (and yes I am as guilty as the next guy.......but I'll think twice before I buy my next piece of furniture.)

Lisette's List by Susan Vreeland FIC Vre

 

If our country were threatened by invading forces, what would people rush to hide and protect?  My cynical soul suggests that it might be all of the electronic toys - smart phones, tablets, computers, x-boxes, kindles, etc.  After all you might want to be tweeting during an invasion.  Before the outbreak of WWII the people of France were obsessed with protecting beauty in the form of artwork. The story of what they did is amazing.  This book is a novel about a small village in France where a man tried to save his grandfather's personal art collection. The story begins in 1937 when Lisette leaves Paris, the city she loves, to follow her husband, André, to Provence to care for Pascal, André's grandfather.  When they arrive, Pascal is playing boules and seems pretty healthy to Lisette.  But it is soon apparent that Pascal wanted them there for another reason.  Over the years Pascal had built frames for some struggling artists who paid him with paintings.  So in this very humble home there are beautiful works of arts by artists who became famous.  Pascal wants to be sure that before he dies Lisette understands and appreciates the art.

When war finally breaks out, André hides the paintings before going off to fight.  He refuses to tell Lisette where they are hidden in order to protect her.  The story takes the reader through those war years.  After peace finally arrives, Lisette must try to find those paintings.  If you like historical fiction I think you will enjoy it.

Arsonist by Sue Miller FIC Mil

We own the book and the audiobook.  I listened to it and really enjoyed it.  Frankie (a she) Rowley has been doing relief work in Africa for the past 15 years.  She comes home to New Hampshire occasionally.  Now that visit will be to their former summer home which is now a permanent home.  This town is heavy with summer people who return year after year to their homes.  When Frankie returns she is feeling that she doesn't belong anywhere.  Her parents aren't doing well.  Her dad is suffering from some dementia and tends to wander at night.  Her mom is no longer in love with her husband but at the moment she is stuck.  The first night that Frankie is there a summer home is torched.  And then another and another.  At first it seems to be done to homes where no one is there - but that eventually changes.  It begins to drive more of a wedge between the summer people and the permanent residents.  This book didn't get great reviews but I was entertained - and that is what it is all about for me!

That Night by Chevy Stevens FIC Ste

Toni Murphy is deeply in love with her boyfriend, Ryan.  It is a good thing that he loves her because she isn't very popular with the girls at school - those mean girls!  Toni's parents were having a hard time dealing with her too - because they keep comparing her to her "perfect" sister Nicole.  Nicole isn't exactly what her parents think she is.

One night Nicole begs Toni to let her go out with them - they are headed to a private location but Toni lets her tag along.  Nicole never returns because she is murdered. Toni and Ryan are sent to prison for the murder.  So part of the book focuses on Toni's high school days and the murder, then there are the years in prison and finally her release from prison when she is in her 30's.  One of the saddest part of Toni's story is the bullying - it began in high school and continued on to prison and even after her release.  She has a lot to do after her release - try to rebuild a relationship with her parents, find out who killed her sister and try to stay away from Ryan

After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman MYS Lip

An interesting mystery.  Felix meets the love of his life, Bambi, in 1959.  He makes a lot of money (not all of it is on the up and up) and Bambi and their three daughters live a good life.  That is until 1976 when it all blows up and Felix is headed to prison.  He would have been out in a few years but that was too long for him - so he disappears.  Bambi is left behind with no husband and no money.  But wait, maybe Julie knows something, after all she was Felix's mistress.  He did leave Julie a small business but she doesn't seem to have much money.  Ten years later on the same day Felix disappeared so does Julie.  Eventually her remains are found.

Twenty-six years later a cold case detective starts looking into murder.  Sandy, a retired detective, starts digging deep.  Where is Felix?  Who murdered Julie?  The lives of everyone involved will change forever.

A very readable book.  The story goes back and forth between the past and the present.  It kept my interest from beginning to end.

An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd MYS Tod

 

We own the book but I listened to the audiobook from WILBOR (because I can't get enough of those English accents!).  This series by Todd takes place during WWI.  The main character is Bess Crawford.  She nurses wounded soldiers in France and is often back in England on leave.  In this book she has just come back to London on leave when she gets a request from the War Office.  A wounded soldier is to receive a medal of honor at Buckingham Palace.  Due to his extensive injuries he will need help getting there and he has requested her.  She doesn't recognize the name Wilkins as someone she nursed but she is willing to help out.  He is in a wheelchair and heavily bandaged.  She can only see his eyes but he is a nice man.  After the ceremony she takes him back to the hotel.  He cons her into letting him be by himself with some friends that evening and promises to take his powder before going to bed.  She gives into his pleas against her better judgement.  She stays in the hotel but of course she can't stay in the room with him! He is gone the next morning and she finds herself in deep trouble with her superiors.  In order to clear her reputation she must find him.  It is a typical British mystery - slow paced - but I love them.

The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry 364.152 Per

I don't know how I missed this book when it was new in 2010, but what a pleasant surprise to find it while browsing the shelves.

The Girls of Murder City by Douglas Perry is the true account of the 1920s "gunner girls" of the Cook County jail.  If you've seen the musical Chicago, then you know the plot: in separate incidents, two beautiful women brazenly murder their boyfriends and then bask in the publicity.

"Beautiful Beulah" Annan and "Stylish Belva" Gaertner fascinated the press who interviewed them daily in their jail cells.  Smitten with their glamor, the journalists fawned sycophantically  ... all except reporter Maurine Watkins, who was covering her first big story.  

Watkins was disgusted with the accused murderesses and appalled by her fellow reporters and "sob sisters".  In contrast to other news accounts, Watkins' articles were sly and barbed, subtly poking fun at the spectacle.  Watkins soon had her own following of devoted readers. She later went on to write the play Chicago based on these stories. Years later her play was made into the musical.

The Girls of Murder City is a great book on two levels.  First, the story of the murders themselves is fascinating high drama.  And then there's the story of the Maurine Watkins, the lone reporter who could see through the Razzle Dazzle.

You can find this book on the nonfiction shelves under 364.152 Per

Best to Laugh by Lorna Landvik FIC Lan

Lorna Landvik’s latest novel, Best to Laugh, is a departure from her typical storytelling in that she sets this one in California rather than her native Minnesota. The author best known for Patty Jane’s House of Curls and Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons sends her main character, Candy Pekkala, to Hollywood, where she has the opportunity to sublet her cousin’s apartment in historic and glamorous Peyton Hall. Here she meets a variety of well-developed and colorful characters – a strength of Landvik’s writing – who provide friendship, support, and the connections Candy needs to break into a career as a stand-up comedian.

Landvik, a comedian herself, knows the difficulty of the business and the life of Hollywood in the 70s and 80s. For Best to Laugh, she drew heavily on her own experiences to shape those of the protagonist.

This is not my favorite of Landvik’s novels, but I enjoyed it and it gave me a glimpse into a past lifestyle and era of Hollywood glitz and glamour.

What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarty FIC Mor

Alice is 29 years old and expecting her first baby.  She and her husband, Nick, are happily in love, renovating their first house.

Except, she's not and they're not.  She's 39 years old, has 3 (!!) children, and Alice and Nick are separated.  A fall at the gym, a hard knock to the head, and Alice has lost the last ten years of her life -- no memory at all of what has brought her to a place where she is an organizer of other school mums, a distant sister to her once-best-friend, a divorcing wife, and a SO SKINNY gym-goer.

I loved this book by the author of the newly-released "Big Little Lies".  Alice is irresistible, and I could hardly put the book down for wanting to find out how she navigated the life in which she found herself.  Check this one out while you're waiting for your chance at Moriarty's newest release!

Small Blessings by Martha Woodroof FIC Woo

     

This is a debut novel and I enjoyed reading it.  It is filled with a lot of tortured quirky characters.  Foremost is college professor Tom Putnam.  Tom is the most considerate and kind person on campus.  You would think that good things would come to him.  Instead he is living a horrific life.  His wife, Marjory, has always had emotional problems.  Marjory's mother Agnes knew that Tom should never have married her. Things were bad but when Marjory found out that Tom had a short-lived affair....she had a total breakdown.  Agnes left her law practice to move in and help watch over Marjory.  She is the talk of the town.  Still Tom took her to the bookstore for the kickoff of a new program.  And there Marjory meets Rose who has come to town to run the bookstore.  Immediately Marjory seems drawn to her and invites her to come for dinner the next Friday night (and that is something that never happens).  Tom would be anxious enough about that but he has even bigger problems.  That affair he had?  Well, after 10 years he has received a letter from her.  She is putting his son on a train (what son?????) and he is arriving on Saturday.  A readable and enjoyable novel.

Dollbaby, by Laura Lane McNeal FIC McN

When Liberty Alice (Ibby) Bell's father dies in 1964, shortly before Ibby's 12th birthday, she is rather unceremoniously left to live with her paternal grandmother, Fannie.  The New Orleans home in which Ibby finds herself is peopled by her crazy grandmother, her grandmother's cook, Queenie Trout, and Dollbaby, Queenie's adult daughter.  Having been kept from her father's family by her mother, as well as living far from the South, Ibby has to learn about Southern traditions while trying to navigate the minefields of Fannie's memories, which have a tendency to send Fannie to the nuthouse down the road.  Queenie and Dollbaby prove to be good guides, though family secrets seem to spill out of every corner.  Tragic history and long-held secrets mix with the racial tensions of the time, and Ibby learns that family is where you find it. 

I enjoyed this book, and found myself comparing it favorably to The Help and To Kill a Mockingbird.  I did find myself getting hungry, reading about all the wonderful food Queenie makes!

Working Stiff by Judy Melinek and T. J. Mitchell 614 Mel

     

Judy Melinek became a doctor who planned on being a surgeon.  The craziness of that world forced her to rethink that decision.  And that is how she ended up as a forensic pathologist.  This book covers the beginnings of her career.  After quitting surgery she accepted a residency at UCLA.  After four years it was time for a fellowship program and she was advised to go to New York City to really learn forensic pathology.  Eventually she was offered a job as an assistant medical examiner.  She began in July 2001.

So I am reading very quickly through the book until I arrived at the last section.  I hadn't paid any attention to the dates earlier in the book.  And then she begins a paragraph with this sentence:  "I saw American Airlines Flight 11 a few seconds before it hit the North Tower."  It was nine weeks after she had begun her job.  After having watched all of the 9/11 memorial programs recently the images were fresh in my mind.  What she and her colleagues did for months after that day was incredible.  Like the people going through the rubble around the clock, her office began twelve-hour shifts, day or night.  They did meticulous work to try and identify what was left of the victims.  It was very touching.

Not a book for everyone but I am glad I read it. The stories she tells are interesting.  It is a very readable book.  If you watch any of the CSI shows you will be able to take the details in the book! 

Murder at the Breakers: A Gilded Newport Mystery by Alyssa Maxwell MYS Max

When Murder at the Breakers came across the desk to be checked in, I didn't have to think twice about checking it out myself. Only a few weeks earlier, I had toured The Breakers during an afternoon in Newport, Rhode Island. Even if the story wasn't great literature, I'd be able to revisit this amazing historic town vicariously, and while my memory of the great homes I'd seen were still fresh. Newport, as you probably know, was the summer playground of America's wealthy in the last half of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century. Because summers in Newport were all about one's place in high society, they were filled with large dinner parties and opulent balls. And the hostesses needed extravagant homes in which to hold them.
It is at one such event, the presentation of Gertrude Vanderbilt to society -- and the completion of the Vanderbilts' new Breakers -- rebuilt after a fire destroyed the original, that Murder at the Breakers begins. The narrator, Emmaline Cross, is a poor cousin several times removed of the Cornelius and William Vanderbilt families. Poor, relatively speaking (pun not intended but works too well to omit).  Compared to her famous relatives, she has very little and -- gasp -- she has to work! Yet she employs two domestics at her home on Ocean Avenue.

The afternoon of the ball at The Breakers, her half-brother Brady, who's slept off several benders in a unlocked cell in the local jail, asks her to keep an eye on Uncle Cornelius from 11:45 to midnight to make sure he doesn't go upstairs. At the appointed hour, Emma doesn't see Cornelius anywhere, and she makes an attempt to find Brady and warn him off of whatever scheme he's hatched. While outside looking for her brother, she notices a light in her Uncle's room, then hears shouting and a scuffle, and watches as a body plunges from the second-floor balcony and lands right at her feet. When Brady is found passed out in Cornelius's room, he is the prime suspect and is whisked off to jail, and this time the cell is locked. Thus begins Emma's quest to exonerate her brother, which she can only do by tracking down the real killer.

Emma is a strong-willed woman determined to manage and succeed on her own terms, unlike many of the young women of the times whose goal was to marry minor royalty from Europe and maintain their pampered lifestyle. She proves herself resourceful, tough and determined, and maybe a bit too stubborn, especially when she sends Derrick Andrews, heir to the Providence Sun fortune, packing.
The second book in the series, Murder at Marble House, comes out in October. I'm sure hoping Derrick comes back to Newport in that one. Every mystery needs a little romance, or is it the other way around?

A fun read and a pretty good mystery, to boot.

Flight 232 by Laurence Gonzales 363.12 Gon

    

This was a sad book.  This was an uplifting book.  This was a book about machines.  This was a book about human emotions.  It was quite the book!   It tells the story of what happened in an Iowa cornfield 25 years ago this summer.  It tells the story of the people who boarded a flight in Denver with the belief that they would end up in Chicago.  It tells the story of flight attendants (the young and the more experienced) who were trained so well that they did their jobs even though they were as afraid as the passengers.  It tells the story of the people at the airport, people in the federal government, people at the hospital, people who were eye witnesses and most importantly it tells the story of the people who lived and died that July day.  It was a miracle that there were any survivors from the crash - but 184 people did.  From this crash a lot of lessons were learned.  This very readable book will make you a little more likely to listen to the attendant the next time you fly. 
    

Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple FIC Sem

I really enjoyed this book.  It is a bit quirky which is a nice change.  Bernadette is living in Seattle with her genius husband, Elgin Branch (Microsoft hotshot), her highly intelligent daughter, Bee and a large dog named Ice Cream.  The first page of the book will tell you that Bernadette disappeared two days before Christmas.  The rest of the book will tell you how that happened!

It is quickly apparent that Bernadette is having a hard time dealing with life.  She has a virtual assistant, Manjula, who lives in India.  Manjula takes care of many of life's annoyances - making appointments, paying bills, buying things on-line etc.  Bernadette needs her more than ever because her family is going to Antarctica.  There is a cautionary tale buried here - don't promise anyone something for motivation unless you are prepared to follow through with it!  That is why they are going on this trip.  Bernadette can't deal with all of this - she is too busy annoying her daughter's school, her neighbors, the parents' group -  well, just about anyone you can think of!   Just as I thought I had figured out Bernadette another story helps explain why she is the way she is. 

The Confessions of Frances Godwin by Robert Hellenga FIC Hel

I enjoyed this book a lot.  When I read the cover I thought it would appeal to me because Frances Godwin and I were both  language teachers.   By the end of the first page I had 'bonded' with Frances.  On her last day at school she made the observation that "The students were looking ahead, I was looking back:  they were letting go, I was hanging on." Her program was being phased out - budget cuts.  Her classroom was filled with lots of clutter (administrators!) / cultural enrichment (teachers!).  Her husband has been dead for five years.  While cleaning out her classroom she overdoes it and finds herself in need of a hernia repair.  Before every surgery there is paperwork with lots of boxes to check.  When she saw "Do not resuscitate" she checked it.   That caused an uproar!  I have only covered the first four pages!  She survives the surgery (!).  She decides she needs to leave a confession about something so she begins writing and continues on for two weeks.  So the story really begins with her first intimate moments with Paul...........................   

The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (SF Joh)

Kelsea has been raised in isolation with only her foster parents as companions.  She has always known that her mother was Queen Elyssa but all the information she is given ends with that piece of knowledge.

On her nineteenth birthday a company of soldiers arrive on their doorstep to take her away - away from everything she has known and loved (and often hated) - to take up her proper role as Queen of the Tearling.  Proof of her heritage is in the sapphire necklace she has always worn around her neck and the burn on her arm, received when she was sent into exile eighteen years before.

Her arrival in New London, the country's capitol, is not a given as she and her company of Queen's Guards are being pursued by both agents of her uncle, who has been acting as Regent in her absence, and soldiers of the Red Queen, the ancient witch-like ruler of the country just to the north.  But nothing could prepare her for what awaits her when she first enters the city and the decision she makes seemingly spontaneously will guide her actions and those of her kingdom for the rest of the book.  

This book is set in the future (one review said the 24th century) but it is a time remarkably similar to medieval times.  Originally intended as a Utopian society, the residents of the kingdom are now poor and enslaved while the upper class is rich and corrupt.  It is up to Kelsea to deal with all of these issues as well as the Red Queen who longs for even more power.

I remembered reading the reviews for this book and thinking that it was one I would enjoy.  When it came in, however, and we cataloged it as "Science Fiction", I almost passed it by.  I'm glad that I didn't.  While there are elements of magic and sorcery in it they are treated as something completely natural and not sensational.  One of the Queen's Guards has exceptional eyesight, the dashing outlaw who comes to Kelsea's aid must only be thirty - or is he older?  The Red Queen is over 100 years old. All of the fantasy elements only make the book more enjoyable.

This is the first in a trilogy and I am eagerly awaiting books 2 and 3.  Oh, and by the way, Emma Watson of "Harry Potter" fame is set to star in the movie version of the book.