Mini-Review Monday

“She didn't like to be alone. Even more, she didn't like being with people.”

It’s time for an important poll. Which do you prefer? A good surprise or a sincere promise? This week, I’d pick the former. When an unexpected Amazon box showed up on my doorstep, imagine my surprise when I opened it to find Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography: Born to Run. It made me pretty giddy. There was no note. What am I to do with all of this big curiosity? Whoever sent it knows me well. Whoever you are, thanks for sending The Boss from Amazon’s front seat to my front porch. (I read that the Springsteen-narrated memoir earned a 2018 Audie Award for Autobiography—after all these years Jersey boy, oh oh oh, you’re still on fire!)

Here’s another surprise: neither Rachel nor I had Olive Kitteridge on either of our packed bookshelves. Olive brought home the Pulitzer in 2009. As well she should have. One reviewer hit the nail square on the head: “Olive is an irascible, crabby old lady who is difficult to like. Yet, as her life, marriage, and story play out, her character changes in ways that are wholly believable. This novel runs the gamut of human emotion and delicately exposes the secret inner workings of the human condition.” I’m so glad I got to know impossibly flawed Olive. In fact, I can’t wait to read Olive Again because honestly, I can’t get enough. (OA surfaced on several Best of 2019 lists I riffled through.) If you liked Elinor Oliphant, you’ll love Olive Kitteridge. Oh, and here’s big bonus: Francis McDormand played Olive in an HBO series—now that’s what I call a recipe for success!  

Posted by Tracy

Tracy's Playing Favorites (2019 Edition)

“The best thing a woman can have is her sh!t together.”

Pardon my French. But we know we haven’t exactly had our stuff together lately. More accurately, we’ve just had way too much stuff. This post isn’t about excuses though. Nope, it’s time to talk about the best of 2019.

I’ve decided I’m not really one for paring down. Last year, honorable mentions should have been squarely on the top of the list—why did I think brevity was best? It’s hard to choose only a few. I recognize this is about prioritizing, for people who just have way too much stuff. So here goes:

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE YEAR

I’m with our favorite British book retailer Waterstones on this one—they named this exquisitely illustrated tale their Book of the Year. Mackesy’s charming fable is portable magic. It’s advertised as, “A story of innocence, adventure and life’s most important lessons—told through words and pictures to warm the hearts of all ages.” Boy did The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse live up to its billing, times a million. I doubt I could love it more.

FAVORITE HISTORICAL FICTION

The Giver of Stars is a real southern charmer. Rachel and I jointly gave it a whole bunch of stars. You can read my review here. (Never mind the trouble afoot, Rae confirmed the similarities are insignificant.)

FAVORITE THRILLER(S)

I can’t decide between The Silent Patient and The Lost Man. Honestly, both are so good. I gush over each here and here.

FAVORITE BOOK THAT I SHOULD HAVE READ LONG BEFORE BUT DIDN’T BECAUSE OF BLOG CROSSOVER

It’s looks like we haven’t formally blogged about William Kent Kruger’s masterpiece. I just put it on my to-do list.

FAVORITE KID LIT

When I bought The Boy at the Back of the Class at Waterstones in London, I knew it was a winner. You can read my review here.

FAVORITE LISTEN

Once Upon a River was an enchanting yarn told by an audible phenom. You can read all about it here. (The Lost Man avec the Aussie accent is a close second.)

HONORABLE MENTIONS

American Spy was quite good. (And, well, Bahni Turpin.) I’m over the moon that I met Ruth Ware and Celeste Ng in 2019.

Posted by Tracy

December Roundup

Did someone say roundup? I’ve got a few stellar reads of my own that made this holiday season a thrill a minute, despite my exhaustion.

The Silent Patient lives up to the hype.

I’ve seen this psychological thriller on multiple Best of 2019 lists—ignoring screenwriter Alex Michaelides’s debut novel was no longer an option. This one’s a head-turner. I couldn’t agree more with the blogger who observed, “Rather than investigating a crime, The Silent Patient investigates the mind of a criminal…[it’s] immersive and hypnotic—the kind of confidently drawn suspense story that doesn’t need big, flashy twists to keep you hooked…but delivers an exceptional twist or two anyway.” Honestly, I didn’t see the big twist coming. Looks like there’s a new crime writer in town!

If you loved Evvie Drake, you’ll love Things You Save in a Fire

If you have any time at all to curl up by the fire this Christmas season, consider jumping into Katherine Center’s latest. You’ll appreciate Cassie Hanwell. A natural-born female fire fighter, she has to prove herself in a man’s world. Cassie doesn’t need rescuing on the job; she does, however, need to reconcile her stunted emotions to save her own life. Nice work KC—you know you’ve arrived if Brene Brown is singing your praises!

How ‘bout a Domestic Noir for a change?

One of my favorite followers, Marilyn, recommended Lisa Jewell’s And Then She Was Gone. And I’m so glad she did. It’s true: “Jewell teases out her twisty plot at just the right pace, leaving readers on the edge of their seats. Even the most astute thriller reader won’t see where everything is going until the final threads are unknotted.” While Michaelides had a bigger, better twist, this was still well worth the listen.

Posted by Tracy

October Roundup

Interrupting my radio silence to bring you four seriously stellar reads that made October a banner book month. For my fellow listeners out there, all four narrators are absolute standouts!

Jojo’s outdone herself.

Jojo had me at Me Before You. She’s been one of my go-to girls for a smart beach read ever since. Then she goes and writes a gorgeous literary tale like The Giver of Stars and she’s suddenly in the running for my favorite book of the year. Word has it it’s on Tray’s list too, but I’ll let her tell you all about it when she writes a proper review.

Oprah got this one right.

Not that she has a bad track record or anything. Let me dispense with the small talk and just get right down to it: this book is beautiful. Every word of every glorious sentence. It wrapped me up in heartbreak, inhumanity, and unabashed hope. Rolling Stone called The Water Dancer “timeless and instantly canon-worthy.” Amen.

Dysfunction at its finest.

Family drama may not make for fun Thanksgivings but it sure makes great lit. The Dutch House is my favorite Patchett to date. Do I need to qualify that statement by saying it’s only my second? I may be new to the Ann Patchett show but I’m well on my way to becoming a solid fan.

Bonus: The audiobook is read by Tom Hanks and he’s magnificent. (would you expect less?)

Double Bonus: Read this book and you’ll instantly feel better about your parenting skills.

Ordinary Grace was no fluke.

Crime-writer turned literary aficionado, William Kent Krueger, has delivered once again. For those who worried Ordinary Grace was a one-off, worry no more. This Tender Land proves Kreuger’s got serious literary chops. While he’s yet to rise to the ranks of Doig and Enger, he’s certainly earned a seat at the table.

Posted by Rachel

Move Over Leo DiCaprio

“Let them start their dreadful wars, let destruction rain down, and let plague sweep through, but I will still be here, doing my work, holding humankind together with love like this.”

I may be wrong, but I feel like love stories all sound the same these days. Has romance always been this formulaic: two people meet; fall head-over-toes in love; ill-fated circumstances keep them apart; against odds, they surmount obstacles; and they live happily ever after. (Maybe I was lucky? I met my husband and we slid into love, no falling necessary.) 

Lovely War is no exception to the formulaic, but it does comes with an unusual  twist—while you're consuming the WWI love stories of both Hazel + James (two Brits whose paths cross in London THE DAY before James leaves for war), and Colette + Aubrey (a Belgian beauty who meets the Harlem native as his African-American troop pleads for a chance in the French battles), you're hearing it directly from the mouth of a woman trying to make amends with her husband during WWII. Did I say woman? I mean Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. Take that for a twist!  And who doesn’t love a good twist?

Move over Leo DiCaprio, the Inception of love stories is here. If you’re craving a refreshing dose of love and strife for the World War junkie in you, grab a copy of this multi-layered romance. You won’t be sorry. Julie Berry does a marvelous job of twining together real-life hardships of the war with true love. Best part is, it's a clean read—one you can definitely recommend to your mother-in-law. 

P.S. For some, this may feel a bit cheesy, but it warms the soul—which we need during winter’s edge, am I right? Hey, can someone pass me a cup of piping hot cocoa?!?

Posted by Tracy’s niece, Michelle

On Sundays We Wear Pajamas

“Life doesn't work that way, Alina. Hatred spreads - it doesn't burn out with time. Someone needs to stand up and stop it.”

If it’s true that a Sunday well spent brings a week of content, it’s gonna be an awesome week! It’s 4:30 p.m. and I’m still in my pj’s. Life is better in pajamas, isn’t it?  Last week was long—way too many post-midnight hours trying to get caught up. I honestly intended to grab some minutes to tell you about Kelly Rimmer’s The Things We Cannot Say.

Let me go a little Amazon on you and share a positive and a critical review of Rimmer’s latest. I’ll start with the sunny one: “Oh my, I could not put the book down. I downloaded it at 7 PM last night and with a few hours sleep, I finished by 11 AM today. Maybe that says it all. I experienced every emotion.” Now for the negative: “This style that alternates between the present and past has been way overdone…because of that, most of the story is predictable; you already know that the present day character is searching into the past during WWII and finds the missing pieces to their past and how they are connected to each other.”  

Here are my two shiny cents: While it is true that dual timeline narratives feel a bit overdone at this point, The Things We Cannot Say boasts two storytellers who are endearing. Kelly connected the two timelines in a way that is often not seen—she fused the contemporary to the historical when an older Alina’s granddaughter, Alice, traveled to Poland.  I’m especially fond of Alina, a spirited teenager who underestimates the Nazi occupation. She is stoic and brave. And her love for Tomasz is unshakable. Will her fierce determination and bright hope enable her to live her dream or will the Nazis ultimately force her to live a lifetime of quiet lies?  You may lose some sleep to find out. But at least you’ll be in your pj’s, right?  

Posted by Tracy