The Mothers by Brit Bennett FIC Ben

This book did not grab me from the beginning but I soon became involved in the story.  Nadia is a senior in high school when the book begins.  She is very successful at school but she is dealing with a lot.  The previous summer her mother had committed suicide.  There is no note so Nadia has only the speculation that goes on in her mind.  Her father is dealing with it by spending a lot of time at their church.  Nadia is also drawn to the church - well more precisely she is drawn to Luke, the pastor's son.  Their relationship is kept a secret.  When Nadia discovers that she is pregnant she has a big decision to make.  Let everyone in their small town know and keep the baby or have an abortion and go on with her life which includes moving across the country to go to the University of Michigan.  Luke offers to help her by getting her the money and picking her up from the clinic when it is done.  She gets the money but not the ride and she is devastated that he let her down.  To make things harder, she is offered a 'job' working for the Pastor's wife so that she can earn some money.  The only upside is that she meets Aubrey who is a volunteer.  They are complete opposites with the exception of the shared grief of their family issues.

Nadia goes to college and is involved in a serious relationship with a nice guy.  When Nadia has to return to her small town because of her father, her life reconnects in new ways to Aubrey and Luke.

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The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion FIC Sim

I have loved the other books by Simsion.  This one also has quirky characters (which I love) but they didn't make me smile or chuckle like those in the previous books.  Still I liked the book a lot. Adam Sharp's vocation is in IT.  His passion is the piano.  While on a job in Australia he ends up playing the piano in a bar.  One night a beautiful woman walks in.  She is Angelina Brown, an actress in a tv series, who is also a great singer.  They flirt that first evening using songs.  And that is the beginning of a great love and passion which only lasted a few months.  When Adam's assignment is over he just can't take a chance on love and he goes back to England.

Twenty two years later Adam is almost fifty.  He has had a long, long relationship with his partner, Claire, he enjoys quiz nights with friends in a pub, he does consulting work but has never forgotten Angelina.

And one day he receives an email from her.  It simply says "Hi".  And that is the beginning of a second chance to reconnect with the love of his life.

Because of my age the part of the book that I loved the most was the references to music (from my era!).  At the back of the book is a list of the songs that he references in the book plus information on how you can get the Spotify playlist of all the songs!

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In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick BCD 910.91 Phil

If you told me to read Moby Dick I would have to ask how much you were willing to pay me!  I can give you a one sentence synopsis of it and that's all I want to know.  I was a bit apprehensive when I had to read this for book club after I found out this was the basis of Moby Dick.  But that was fiction and this is the real story of the Essex whaling boat that was destroyed by a whale.  It was a great read.

I knew nothing about whaling.  These men left their homes for years at a time and traveled thousands of miles to do their job.  Meantime the wives were left behind but they got along just fine.  They looked after the children and ran the town!

This book introduces you to the crew of the Essex and we follow them as they take off for a whaling trip.  After the encounter with the whale, the crew is divided into three groups who climb into little boats. From there on it is a story of survival.  Obviously some of them do survive which is why we know what happened!

I listened to the audio-book and it was well done.  It would be a great book to listen to on your summer travels!

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The Theft of Memory: Losing My Father, One Day at a Time by Jonathan Kozol 616.8 Koz

The father in the title refers to Dr. Harry Kozol who was born in 1906.  His specialty was neurological and psychiatric problems.   He was called in on some well-known cases including Patricia Hearst and the Boston Strangler.  He also worked for years with Eugene O'Neill.  The fascinating details of these cases are intertwined with the personal life of Dr. Kozol.  He practiced his craft into his 80's but then he began a slow descent into Alzheimer's and died after more than 100 years on this earth.

It is a touching memoir of the bond between father and son.  If you have ever been down that path with someone you will recognize many of the examples of the mind going.  It is well-written and will certainly tug at your heart.

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Inheriting Edith by Zoe Fishman FIC Fis

This was a great book for a rainy weekend.   Maggie Sheets went to college but turned to cleaning homes because it paid better than sitting in a cubicle.  It's not easy, especially since she is also a single mother to a toddler named Lucy.  One day Maggie is shocked to hear from a lawyer who represented Liza, an author who was one of Maggie's clients.  Over the years they had become friends but had a falling out.  Now the lawyer is telling her that Liza has left Maggie her house in Sag Harbor.  There is a little catch.  The house comes with Edith who is the 82 year old mother of Liza.  She has been diagnosed with dementia.  She is also a strong-willed woman who doesn't want help.

The characters are all likable and believable.  It was an entertaining feel-good book.

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The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan FIC Rya

Life is slowly changing for the residents of Chilbury as World War II picks up steam.  Lacking men to sing in the choir, the Vicar has disbanded it.  But the women of the village are not to be denied and soon form the Chilbury Ladies' Choir.

The novel is told through the lives of five members of the choir:  Kitty, thirteen, determined to be a concert singer and also convinced that her sister's friend has asked her to marry him; Venetia, her older sister who is the town beauty and flirt and drawn to the mysterious new artist in town; Mrs. Tilling, a widowed nurse whose only son has just joined the army; Edwina Paltry, the local midwife who is doing her best to connive her way to a better life; and Sylvie, a 10-year-old Czech refugee who is a silent observer of all that goes on around her and shielding secrets of her own.

This novel is told through letters, diary entries, and journal entries.  What is the difference between a journal and a diary?  A lot when one of them is written by a 13-year-old and the other by a grown woman!  As the war becomes an ever more present reality in the lives of all these women, we watch them grow and change.  

A fun book with characters you come to care about.  I enjoyed reading and hope there might be a sequel in the future.

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