Being Perfect by Anna Quindlen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this little book, really an essay with photographs. It full of wisdom.
"Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion . . .What is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself."
"What is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself."
Some quotables:
"Eventually being perfect became like carrying a backpack filled with bricks every single day. And Oh, how I wanted to lay that burden down."

"Perfection is static, even boring. Your true unvarnished self is what is wanted."

"...being a good parent is not generational, it is deeply personal, and it all comes down to this: If you can bring to your children the self that you truly are, as opposed to some amalgam of manners and mannerisms, expectations and fears that you have acquired as a carapace along the way, you will be able to teach them by example not to be terrorized by the narrow and parsimonious expectations of the world, a world that often likes to color within the lines when a spray of paint, a scribble of crayon would be much more satisfying." (less)
"In this little gem of a book (more of an essay-plus-photo-book), Anna Quindlen describes, from personal experience, the ways that the burden of the backpack of perfectionism leads to "curvature of the spirit." In brief:

1) She warns that "being perfect" robs a person of her courage to "be yourself" and thereby robs a person of the courage to achieve "the hard work of life in the world, to acknowledge within yourself the introvert, the clown, the artist, the homebody, the goofball, the thinker. Look inside. That way lies dancing to the melodies spun out by your own heart" (page 19).

2) She warns that "being perfect" robs a person of harmony with other people, since "pursuing perfection makes you unforgiving of the faults of others" (page 40).

3) She warns that "being perfect" robs a person of the ability to endure loss and disappointments. Because enduring loss requires a person to summon one's inner resources--the "center of yourself," the "core to sustain you." But if you've spent a lifetime "being perfect" (i.e., bending oneself to meet other people's expectations) then "there will be a black hole where that [personal] core ought to be" (pages 46-47).

Quindlen's book can be read in an hour or two; but it's one of those books that a person will want to re-read every now and again--to reflect and meditate upon whether one is indeed being True to Oneself. (less)"

It comes down to doing your best. Whatever that looks like in any given moment, in any situation. And if you make a mistake, trying to learn from it. Because mistakes are human.


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Blessings by Anna Quindlen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Pulitzer Prize–winning ANNA QUINDLEN is such a wonderful writer that she is listed as one of my favorites. Her prose is just lovely. Washington Post Book World said, “Quindlen knows that all the things we ever will be can be found in some forgotten fragment of family.” I concur. She really captures both place and characters. BLESSINGS is a powerful novel of personal change, redemption, and love. The growth in her immaculately drawn characters is well-developed and believable. I cared so deeply about them and their circumstances that despite the well thought out and realistic resolutions to their problems I did not want the book to end. I want a sequel, with the same characters, yet I know any of this gifted author's characters in her future writings will be equally loved by her readers.

This would make an excellent book club read and discussion. It would also make a great movie. I "read" the audio version, expertly narrated by JOAN ALLEN, it was a delight. I enjoyed it so much I've requested the hard bound version from my library.
Did I mention I love how QUINDLEN writes?!

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A Short Guide to a Happy Life by Anna Quindlen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just reread this excellent fast read (less than 30 minutes) by one of my favorite authors. It was originally a commencement address. Very uplifting call to reality & what is most important.

Here is a brief review of the book's major points by Goodreads reader, Amit https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4629312-amit:
"1. Show up. Listen. Try to laugh.
2. You cannot be really good at your work if your work is all you are.
3. Get a life, a real life. Not a manic pursuit of the next promotion.
4. Turn off your cell phone. Keep still. Be present.
5. Get a life in which you are generous.
6. All of us want to do well, but if we do not do good too then doing well will never be enough.
7. Knowledge of our own mortality is the greatest gift God gives us. It is so easy to exist rather than to live… Unless you know a clock is ticking.
8. We live in more luxury today than ever before. The things we have today our ancestors thought existed for just the wealthy. And yet, somehow, we are rarely grateful for all this wealth.
9. The hardest thing of all is to learn to love the journey, not the destination.
10. This is not a dress rehearsal. Today is the only guarantee you get.
11. Think of life as a terminal illness.
12. School never ends. The classroom is everywhere.
13. Always stay ready to show appreciation for and to return kindness. Remember ... Gratitude is the best Attitude (taken from comments from Serene) So if you have time to read this book review, I’d venture that you also have time to read this book."

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Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was clever, charming, funny, magical, strange, and frustrating. While I liked the characters and the setting, I never felt supremely attached to any of them. They were a bit two dimensional, and the plot twists at the end came from nowhere and were extremely convenient. My adult self found it a bit slow but it focuses on the right things for children: interpersonal relationships, the main character's family and friends, the adventure quest it proposes. I would have loved it as a child, so I highly recommend it to young readers.

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Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Breathtaking and beautiful," is the description given by the publisher. I can't think of a better description. "Ultimately, in the hands of Anna Quindlen’s mesmerizing prose, Every Last One is a novel about facing every last one of the the things we fear most, about finding ways to navigate a road we never intended to travel, to live a life we never dreamed we’d have to live but must be brave enough to try." Read it. It may make you cry, but you will love it.

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Landline by Rainbow Rowell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Overall it was an enjoyable read and it delivered an insightful and important message. But the prose is consistently rudimentary, the plot frustratingly linear. It was a disappointment after reading Eleanor and Park, which I gave 5 stars, but much better than Fangirl which I only gave 2 stars. Too many "F words" for my taste.

I listened to the audiobook which is outstandingly narrated by Rebecca Lowman, but I'm pretty sure if I had read it instead I'd have been bored to death.

Favorite quote:
“Nobody's lives just fit together. Fitting together is something you work at. It's something you make happen - because you love each other.”
Great relationships *are* hard work.

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Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a decently crafted, fast paced sequel to Cinder, of the Lunar Chronicles Saga. It is a combination sci-fi, dystopian, fairytale themed series with adventure, humor, mystery, innocent romance, and creatively drawn characters. I enjoyed the new character, Scarlet, and was intrigued by her search for her grandmother. I would like to have read more about Cinder ....she is included only in the form of building background for this book and setting up the next in the series, which at this time consists of at least 6 books. I may or may not read the rest of them but highly recommend the series to young adults.

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The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a well written scary tale about two orphaned siblings, Molly and Kip, who end up becoming involved with a strange family in an eerie house. The plot is intriguing, comparable to Irving and Poe, with plenty of suspense. The atmosphere of impending doom builds from page one to the final showdown. Completely appropriate for middle school, it is sure to entertain young adults and mature readers as well. Audio version narration is exceptional.


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One True Thing by Anna Quindlen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 stars because Quindlen is a wordsmith. This is about a daughter who gives up brilliant career to care for her dying mother, only to be accused of her death. It is a thought and emotion provoking story with a great twist at the end. There is a time, hopefully, in all daughter's lives when they begin to see their mother as a real person. As the protagonist discovers more about who her mother is, she discovers more about herself. Quindlen explores what we think we know about ourselves and those closest to us.
I feel the same as goodreads reviewer, ☮Karen, who said, "I just love Anna Quindlen. She understands life, she understands death, grieving, and our complex human emotions. And her writing is perfection; beautiful enough to bring me to tears. Quindlen had me contemplating how I view my own family stories. Are our relationships really how we imagine them, or just a 'vast web of misunderstandings, a tinted and touched up family portrait, an accurate representation of fact that leaves out only the essential truth'?”

Quotes:
“I wondered why I hadn't loved that day more, why I hadn't savored every bit of it...why I hadn't known how good it was to live so normally, so everyday. But you only know that, I suppose, after it's not normal and every day any longer.”

“All of life like a series of tableaux, and in the living we missed so much, hid so much, left so much undone and unsaid.”

“For so long I'd thought about myself as a girl who'd walked away from her mother's life that it would be a long time before I would start to think about the other part of the bargain, how easily she'd let me go.”

and my FAVORITE quote:
“You make concessions when you're married a long time that you don't believe you'll ever make when you're beginning. You say to yourself when you're young, oh, I wouldn't tolerate this or that or the other thing, . . . But time goes by and you've slept together a thousand nights and smelled like spit-up when babies are sick and seen your body droop and get soft. And some nights you say to yourself, it's not enough, I won't put up with another minute. And then the next morning you wake up and the kitchen smells like coffee and the children have their hair all brushed and the birds are eating out of the feeder and you look at your husband and he's not the person you used to think he was but he's your life. The house and the children and so much more of what you do is built around him and your life, too, your history. If you take him out it's like cutting his face out of all the pictures, there's a big hole and it's ugly. It would ruin everything. It's more than love, it's more important than love...

It's hard. And it's hard to understand unless you're in it. . . You can be hard, and you can be judgmental, and with those two things alone you can make a mess of your life the likes of which you won't believe. It's so much easier...the being happy. It's so much easier, to learn to love what you have instead of yearning always for what you're missing, or what you imagine you're missing. It's so much more peaceful.”

Warning: movie with Meryl Streep is very good, but does not do the book justice. Don't delay reading this because you saw the movie already.


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Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars
This is a squeaky clean YA futuristic Cinderella fantasy with cyborgs, androids, aliens (evolved humans), and hover cars. The future of earth hinges upon a feisty heroine, Cinder, who is a gifted mechanic, AND a second-class citizen CYBORG with a frequently missing foot, a mysterious past, & an evil stepmother. The author Marissa Meyer, has cleverly created a well-crafted world with fascinating characters, especially the wicked Lunar Queen. It is a bit predictable but it kept me up at night, I really enjoyed it, and the humorous dialogue gave me some good laughs. This is book #1 in a series, and it stands alone, but there are enough unanswered questions, e.g. (spoiler alert): Cinder does not marry the Prince, but ends up in prison.....what will happen next? I am wondering what fairy tale themes are in sequel. So my lengthy "to-read" list now includes Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2)!



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Fortune Cookie by Josi S. Kilpack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is really nice to see growth in a writer and I really could see it in this 11th of the series. One of her better mysteries as I was perplexed about who had committed the murder. I appreciated the insights into bipolar disorder and Chinese-American culture, as well as the visit to San Francisco. And the book made me hungry for Chinese food, and other yummy goodies for which recipes are supplied. Beyond the mystery, Sadie shows us some of the problems that can occur in a real life romance.

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The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom


This beautifully written book is Mitch Albom's best work yet and I am hoping it will be made into a film. The story is mesmerizing and I couldn't put it down. It is a phenomenally crafted work of literature because Albom has managed to make music, the narrator of the book, convincing, reliable and alive. The full-cast audio audition includes "memories" of music greats such as Burt Bachrach, Tony Bennett, Lyle Lovett, Ingrid Michaelson, Wynton Marsalis, Darlene Love, John Pizzarelli, this will be enjoyed most as an audio book. Highly Recommend. Guitar enthusiasts will especially enjoy it.

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I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars
Malala and her story are amazing, but the writing leaves much to be desired. It would likely be 5 stars had there been a different co-author. I listened to the audio book, narrated by Malala herself which made it very interesting. I likely would have been frustrated reading it.

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Everyman by Philip Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.75 stars...
This a short beautifully written yet depressing book about an unhappy old man reviewing his failure at life. I did not love it, and didn't really enjoy it, but I liked it because it held my interest and the prose alone is deserving of 5 stars.

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Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Yes, she is very funny, but due to her unnecessarily crude language I couldn't get past the first 12 minutes of the audio book.

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Miller's Valley by Anna Quindlen


Quindlen, one of my favorite authors, is such a gifted storyteller. This is a character driven novel with a strong, realistic plot that includes love, loss, friendships, and the realities of life. Quindlen gives you the sense that you are right there with her, watching it all happen, experiencing the same nostalgic reminiscing as Mimi, the protagonist narrator.
A family secret is discovered that helps her to understand some family dynamics that have puzzled her throughout her life yet the reader must come to his/her own conclusions. It is a satisfying ending. I loved every word in this beautifully written story and just did not want the book to end, yet it did end, in a strangely satisfying way.
Favorite quote:
"No one ever leaves the town where they grew up, not really, even if they go."

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Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This debut novel is a quick, fun contemporary YA romance novel about a girl with SCID, Severe Combined Immuno Deficiency, who has lived her entire life confined to to her environmentally safe home with only her mother and nurse as companions. But her life changes when a family with an attractive boy moves into the house across the street. It has diverse characters, funny dialogue and a clever illustrative format. I enjoyed it.

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The Human Age: The World Shaped By Us by Diane Ackerman
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Pretty dull stuff.
This is a collection of various subjects related to current unrelated trends in environmental, biological, and medical science. It had just enough interesting material to keep me reading to page 137, when boringly skimming I realized all the information could be gleaned from 10 minutes on wikipedia and that I was annoyed, and waiting for the book to be over. So I quit. Persons concerned with global warming would likely love it.

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The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just plain delightful fun....one of my criteria for 5 stars. The plot is crisp, and the turns are sharp and deadly. Audio book narrator, Katherine Kellgren, is so good at changing her voice with each character it seems like a full cast recording. I am going to do a search for more books with her as narrator. The books (10 of them, so far) in this series need not be read in order. The characters are never flat,boring or unbelievable, but they remain fresh and interesting.

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Royal Blood by Rhys Bowen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This (#4) is my second read in the series & I thoroughly enjoyed it, not necessarily because of the mystery itself, but due to the richly developed characters. I listened to the audio version, and the narrator Katherine Kellgren is marvelous! She brings life to each and every character and you often forget that is is just one person reading the story, not individual readers. Each book in the series is self contained and do not need to read in order. I read #6, The Twelve Clues of Christmas, first.
Both books do a beautiful job of channeling vintage Agatha Christie and are pure escapist fun of the best kind.

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Open by Andre Agassi


3.5 stars
If you are a tennis player you will love this book. I enjoyed it. It is actually not written by Agassi but by ghostwriter, J.R. Moehringer. I found the play-by-play matches on the way up the ranking ladder a little tedious, but his story is very interesting. The following review by Bethany expresses my sentiments exactly:
"I had no idea tennis was such a constant mental battle. You can win a match against someone but lose to them a month later. If you mentally check out, consider yourself the loser.
It was surprising to read about Agassi's perfectionism and incredibly tough father who forced him into the game. After reading this bio, if you didn't know about Agassi's amazing accomplishments, you'd think he wasn't that great of a tennis player- he's that hard on himself. It was also interesting to read about his marriage to Brooke Shields and his rivalry with Pete Sampras. My only dislikes: frequent "F" word and having to look at Agassi's face on my nightstand for a week."

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The Bishop’s Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Poorly written. Misrepresents the LDS Church and is just too, too much. The author can't leave out any possible controversial subject. to quote Lisa, https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... , another reviewer, "--Blacks and the priesthood? Check. Homosexuality? Check. Polygamy and some controversies surrounding Joseph Smith? Check. The position of women in the Church? Check, check, check. Domestic abuse of every stripe? Check, check, check, check. I don't disagree with the author's treatment of these subjects (except the position of women--more on that in a minute), but I can't understand why she felt it necessary to include her opinions on everything as she went along, as though she had to get them in, just in case she never gets another chance."
That this fictional BW would be so personally involved in each issue in such a short period of time & that this ward is an accurate representation of a typical LDS ward, Utah or otherwise, is as accurate as saying "Days of Our Lives" is representative of a typical American community.

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Tell No One by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars
A well executed, exciting, fast-paced crime/romance story with lots of twists and turns. It is a story of love, trust and sacrifice. No gory scenes or bad language and l a brilliant page turner, with a surprise ending that is very satisfying.

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Love Letters of the Angels of Death by Jennifer Quist
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a love story between husband and wife, their shared life together with the expectations, understandings, and unexpected surprises common in strong marital relationships. It is also a somewhat morbid yet tasteful story about death. The writing is lovely, but it is not a plot driven novel and I just didn't feel the connection.

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Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is not just a book about aging, it's a book about dying, a topic few want to deal with. The treatise is an important one: how we hope to end our life is as crucial as how we hope to live it.
Gawande is such a great storyteller and offers so much hope, that you get absorbed in every anecdote he tells & every character he draws for you. He outlines in clear, patient language a better way for the medical community (and society at large) to approach & navigate the end-of-life decisions that all of us inevitably face. Doctors & caregivers, he argues, need to be better at having hard conversations, outlining realistic options for patients, & concentrating more on how to ensure quality of life when that life is nearing its end.

He does a very thorough review of the origin & slow transformation of nursing homes, assisted living facilities & the growing field of palliative medicine, and argues for the right of a patient to express his or her own autonomy as the end of life approaches.

One of the most fascinating statistics: patients in hospice care live 25% longer than those who don't elect hospice care (and thus get all the interventions from the medical community). That stat alone defines the book: the role of medicine to "save at all costs" really doesn't take into account the patient's wants & needs -- and those really matter, so much that when allowed, they prolong life.

I wish everyone would read this book because it lays out -- sanely, rationally -- the choices & options available to those hit with sudden bad news. Why not be prepared? And why not pick up a book by one of American's great new storytellers?

Favorite quotes:
“You may not control life's circumstances, but getting to be the author of your life means getting to control what you do with them.”

“It is not death that the very old tell me they fear. It is what happens short of death—losing their hearing, their memory, their best friends, their way of life. As Felix put it to me, 'Old age is a continuous series of losses.' Philip Roth put it more bitterly in his novel Everyman: 'Old age is not a battle. Old age is a massacre.'”

“Culture has tremendous inertia,” he said. “That’s why it’s culture. It works because it lasts. Culture strangles innovation in the crib.”

“Your chances of avoiding the nursing home are directly related to the number of children you have.”

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One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Seriously, this book is so poorly written I struggled writing a review deserving even 1 star. The author hasn't the slightest clue or insight into women’s thoughts or emotions yet he chose to tell this unbelievably improbable fiction from a woman's point of view. If this is on your "to read" list I suggest you read this excellent 2008 review (contains spoilers)by Elizabeth first. She says it better that I can:
Elizabeth: "I read this for book club and felt distracted by the quality of writing, and therefore unable to even entertain the implausible historical premise... I just have a difficult time buying into a "journal" which contains pages of dialogue and real time events, with a voice that constantly contradicts itself and clearly belongs in a different century... but I tried to ignore this. . . . had great difficulty getting into the mind of a woman, let alone a 19th century woman! (i.e. gang raped and "fine" within a month or so, pregnant, yet walking/horseback-riding great distances without mention or concern of said pregnancy, blushing and giggling after losing one's virginity doggy-style, the list goes on...) I found his stereotypes to be tiresome, and the whole story felt very contrived, particularly the relationships he "explores" throughout the novel (which in my opinion reach little to no depth). The caricatures he presents belong in a comedy, and while this novel has its humorous moments, it is ultimately a dramatic portrayal of the hardships of frontier life, and the clash between the spiritual but doomed Native Americans and the white man's Manifest Destiny.

It seems readers love most about the novel its heroine, May, for her brazen ways, fortitude in peril, and feminist ideals. Please. This character is being spoon fed to 21st century women readers. A much more likable, realistic, and complex version of this same character is Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody, who fits in perfectly in Peters' light-hearted, adventurous historical mysteries. And while Peabody would be the first to join the men for a whiskey and soda, contemplating the next "course of action," she would never, for her own amusement, make a mockery of a culture's ritualistic and spiritual traditions! Compared to the fully developed Peabody, May is a mere stick figure, propped up by the author in effort to sell his book."



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Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fast paced, family mystery storyline that hooked me from the first read/listen (audio book). The writing is skilled and is loaded with twists and turns, which Archer does better than most, but it does not approach fine literature. It is narrated first person by the 5 main characters with each of their unique viewpoints.
Kudos to Jeffry Archer for always creating an interesting tale, with sympathetic characters, that is difficult to put down…all this with no foul language or gratuitous descriptive sex. I have read several of his novels and will read the sequel to this.
Warning: the end of the novel is a cliff hanger and what happens next is told in at least two sequels.


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The Nest by Kenneth Oppel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Strange, creepy and dark in a haunting Neil Gaiman style. If I had a middle schooler I would not want her/him to read it. That being said, it is excellent writing, but I am the wrong reader for this genre.

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The Lake House by Kate Morton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an engaging mystery with many twists and turns. The plot is very involved and moves back and forth between the years but this is done seamlessly. There is an old mysterious house, past and present secrets galore, wonderfully memorable characters and excellent writing. I couldn't put it down and finished it in record time.

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Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan


Loved it!!!! This book starts off with a sad event, but it gets better as Willow, the 12 year old genius misfit main character, is amazing and the way she brings all the quirky characters together to help resolve the sad event is delightful. It was fun to watch their personalities evolve. I especially enjoyed Mai and her Vietnamese nail-salon dictator mother. The characters are fully fleshed out, believable, and the dialogue is often clever.
I really enjoyed Holly Goldberg Sloan's writing style, simple but elegant, never sappy or over-the-top. She is very direct but empathetic and the story hits the reader right where it should – the heart. I listened to this book on audio and the narrator is excellent. It has a somewhat predictable and unrealistic ending, but it is o.k because arriving there is so enjoyable.
Sloan is also author of Angels in the Outfield.



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How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In this book Clayton Christensen, professor at Harvard Business School, applies organization management theories to answer the question posed by its title. I found the actual business stories very interesting and liked his style of using the successes and failures of those businesses to test and define success in life. He describes how some of the best business minds have some of the worst personal lives, frequently because they take their personal lives for granted and neglect to apply their successful theories of management to relationships with the people who matter most in their lives (family and friends). It is a self reflective book written primarily to help readers see the similarities between the business decisions they make for their companies and their personal lives. It is a short book and a fairly quick read. Highly recommend to business management types.


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A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This beautiful engaging, quirky story made me laugh and cry, both. The combination of despair and humor makes quite a combination. Ove is a cantankerous curmudgeon who doesn't give a fig about what others think of him. He has lost the love of his life which exacerbates his usual grumpiness and his reason to live. However, through a long series of events and interactions with people around him, the man's talents and treasures emerge, and he becomes a caring human being who is loved by many. Translated from Swedish, the language used is lovely. It's gentle, charming and funny. Wonderful story telling!


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Best Boy by Eli Gottlieb


This story is told by Todd Aaron, a fictional man in his 50's who is autistic. This first person narrative is written so well that the reader feels his fear, his strength, his goodness, his sweetness, and the resilience he needs to successfully live his life. The author, Eli Gottleib, whose brother has autism, has the ability to show the reader the world as Todd sees and experiences it. We see what Todd's life is like from his perspective: the anxiety, nervousness and logical reactions to the uncomfortable situations that plague him. The publisher's comment describes it accurately as "a piercing, achingly funny, finally shattering novel no reader can ever forget." It does, however end satisfactorily. I couldn't put it down and highly recommend it.



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Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is NOT a sequel, but a very early 1957 DRAFT of Harper Lee's bestseller, To Kill a Mockingbird. It was edited and rewritten and thoroughly edited again before it was finally published 4 years later as TKAM and imho this early draft should never have been published. The main characters may be the same, but this is an entirely different story in both shape and tone from “TKAM.” I liked the young Scout much better than the mature Jean Louise and this older racist version of Atticus Finch is certainly not the heroic and inspiring character we’ve so admired these past 55 years. There is a faint glimmer of plot but it is not coherent. It is not robust. The prose is flat and meandering. So disappointing.

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Longing for Home by Sarah M. Eden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars
Good plot & setting, interesting yet somewhat unbelievable characters. Audiobook narrator excellent. But story drags along with not enough happening and then just ends, with only an implied conclusion. The rest of the story is in book 2. I hate that.

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The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer L. Holm
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars, actually:
4+ stars for kids grades 6 and up
3 stars for adults
A good book for encouraging kids become excited about science, it is also explores family and friend relationships and adjustments to change and diversity.

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Marker by Robin Cook
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a great medical thriller with a reasonable extrapolation on the possible future weakness of health insurance if major diseases carry genetic testing markers. I haven't read any Robin Cook mysteries for years and am glad I picked up this page turner. It is #5 in a series, but stands alone. Good characterization and no smut.

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The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova


I have been trying to like this highly rated book, but I am 208 pages into in and unwilling to plod through the other 500 pages.....as another reviewer put it so succinctly, I am unwilling to "read this thing about someone reading something else somewhere . . . reminded of my own refusal to allow the dry tome to defeat me." Perhaps after 700 pages it would be higher, but at this point I would be hard pressed to give it even 1 star...

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hah! I don'teven like SciFi but this weird little book was laugh-out-loud entertaining, and the audio narration was perfect. Perfect book for middle, junior & young adult readers.

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Euphoria by Lily King
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Historical fiction loosely based on the lives of Margaret Mead, her husband Reo Fortune, and fellow anthropologist Gregor Bateson in 1930's New Guinea. I wanted to like the book more than I did and was disappointed the author chose to veer away from the actual history of the relationship between these three persons, ending their story in a sudden disappointing way. At times the writing is almost lovely...but it never really thrilled me and I was repulsed by the overly descriptive exploration of sexual norms, the psychological abuse, and the lack of the story to ever go anywhere. I am ready to read something uplifting now.

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Letters in the Jade Dragon Box by Gale Sears
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this a while back and remember it as an interesting and occasionally moving story about the life of a young girl who was sent away from her parents to a great uncle because of the ruthless actions of dictator Mao Tse-Tung. The story is based upon actual events, "real-life experiences of one man who was offered truth that would heal his heart, his spirit, and his family. His story helps shed light on a time and a place where, despite all odds, truth refused to be broken."

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Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Irene Nemirovsky, a Russian/French Jew, wrote this unfinished novel while hiding from the Nazis during World War II. Part one, "Storm in June," provides a glimpse into the lives of many different French persons as they flee Paris for anywhere that will provide them safety, food, and a drop of petrol. Part two,"Dolce," focuses on the villagers of one area and their interactions with the German soldiers who were assigned to live with each family.
Nemirovsky, writing as it was happening, intended this to be a novel in 5 parts, but she was captured and sent to a concentration camp, where she died, before she was able to complete it. Though unfinished, her collection here is well worth reading as two novellas. I love her descriptions of time and place. Her characterizations are wonderful. She was a gifted writer.
The best part of this novel for me, though, was the appendices. Appendix I is a reprinting of the author’s handwritten notes on her life in France during the war and her plans for the five-part novel. (She was only able to complete two parts before she was sent to a concentration camp.) Appendix II is a reprinting of correspondence between the author, her family, and her friends, both before and after she was sent to a concentration camp. It was heart wrenching.

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Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 stars
I was disappointed. Novel dragged, characters nondescript, story boring. Too much lamenting and reminiscing for my taste. Difficulties, sacrifices, disappointments, and regrets---we all live in one way or another and I don't have to read about it to know it's true. There was nothing extraordinary about the story, no depth to the characters, no enlightenment in the the solutions to their predicament. Near the end of the book when Hannah began to talk about her children and their lives I started to enjoy the book much more. I think this is a book people either love (most reviewers) or hate. I keep try to enjoy Wendell Berry and end up disappointed.



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Tisha: The Wonderful True Love Story of a Young Teacher in the Alaskan Wilderness by Robert Specht
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book about a hundred years ago when it was first published (1984) and loved it so much that it is one of the few books I kept when my recent move to a new community required drastic downsizing. I just read it a second time and loved it just as much. Nonfiction that reads like fiction, it is an incredible story full of adventure, romance, and heart-warming drama that would be enjoyed by anyone ages 10 - 110. It would be an especially wonderful book for teenage girls and definitely ranks as one of my favorites!

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