Books Read in 2019

I read 54 books in 2019. My goal was 52, so I am definitely pleased with myself. I was on what amounted to bed rest for six weeks this summer, so I no doubt got more reading done than I would have otherwise. We'll see if I can meet that same goal this year, without being sick!

Here are all the books and my brief remarks about some of them.

Thoughts on this set:
• I loved Valencia and Valentine but I don't remember anything about it.
• The Known World took me a looong time to get through. It was a book club book, but I didn't make it to that particular book club.
• I absolutely LOVED Kristin Hannah's The Great Alone. I was hesitant to read her again because I was so disappointed with subsequent books after reading the incredible The Nightingale. But this one was one of my favorites of the year.
• The Music Shop was definitely worth reading.
• Pachinko, Fred Rogers, The Tattooist of Auschwitz, and Girls Like Us were all for book clubs. 1) Pachinko was AMAZING but took me weeks to get through. It followed several generations of a Korean family, and I learned so much about the relationships between Japanese and Koreans, as well as cultural information, throughout the book. 2) I wasn't crazy about the Fred Rogers book. It was poorly written and rather boring. 3) Tattooist was amazing. It's hard to imagine a happy story about Aushwitz, but in many ways, it was. 4) Girls Like Us is an incredibly important book, detailing the lives of girls in the commercial sex industry.
• The Quintland Sisters was fascinating. I've always been a little obsessed with the Dionne Quintuplets, as they were contemporaries of my mother's. She had the Yvonne doll when she was a little girl, and I still have a pin with the name "Yvonne" inscribed on it from that doll. Really interesting story.
• Mary Oliver. Enough said.

Thoughts on this set. Ooooh, these are some of my favorites of the year.
• I don't remember a lot about The Wedding Date, The Woman in the Window, and Sometimes I Lie, but I know I really liked them.
• The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane was absolutely stunning. The story follows one mountain girl from her impoverished childhood through her adulthood as a tea seller, and it was all fascinating and beautifully written.
• The 57 Bus— WOW. This is the true story of two teenagers in San Francisco who inhabited totally different worlds: one white one who attended a private school, one black one who lived in a neighborhood with high crime. A single, impulsive event changed both their lives forever. This was an eye-opening book for me. Powerful.
• An American Marriage was one of my favorite fiction books of the year. A beautifully told but heartbreaking story of race, love, and how quickly a life can be derailed.
• Walking to Listen was our first book club book of the year. It was a wonderful and fascinating story of a young man who walked across the country just to hear people's stories and, of course, find himself.
• Nine Perfect Strangers started wonderfully and ended horrendously. My least favorite Moriarty book.

When I look at this set, I go from one extreme to the other. There are some that were absolutely wonderful:
• Evicted: nonfiction account of eight families in Milwaukee as they try to avoid eviction. Provides an incredible perspective on poverty and just how hard it is to keep from being on the streets.
• Once Upon a River
• Eleanor Oliphant: can't wait for the movie!
• Americanah: I never wanted this one to end
• Born a Crime: Trevor Noah's memoir of growing up a child of mixed parentage during apartheid in South Africa

And some that make me feel tired and frustrated:
• Maid: felt inauthentic. Too many things unsaid.
• The Dollmaker of Krakow: weird
• Bridge of Clay: too obtuse

All the others in this set were enjoyable but not quite up to the level of stunning.

And finally...

Snowflower and the Secret Fan was a re-read for book club. I loved it the first time AND the second time. Sworn to Silence was also a book club read, and that was chilling but satisfying! I loved The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, and all the pscyhological thrillers are fun. But my favorite out of all these is Where'd You Go, Bernadette? What a weird and wonderful novel, much like Eleanor Oliphant. I love quirky characters like Bernadette and Bee, Eleanor, and  The Rosie Project's Don Tillman.

I wanted to love City of Girls and Searching for Sylvia Lee, but meh.

Top Ten Books of the Year:

1. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
2 The 57 Bus: A True Story of Teenagers and a Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater
3. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
4. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
5. Americanah by Chimamandah Ngozi Adichie
6. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
7. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
8. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
9. The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
10. Walking to Listen: 4,000 Miles Across America, One Story at a Time by Andrew Forsthoefel

What about you? 

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Book Review: The Dollmaker of Krakow

The Dollmaker of Krakow by R.M. Romero

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


First, this is most assuredly not "in the vein of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Number the Stars." It's more in the vein of the Magic Tree House book but with less "real" information and much worse dialogue. I like books about dolls coming to life—The Christmas Doll, The Dolls' House, Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, for example. I can appreciate fairy tales as a way to present the Holocaust-- Jane Yolen's Briar Rose is superb. But I left this novel thinking, "Huh?" I don't really like to leave bad reviews, especially for debut authors; however, I think this novel sugarcoats (readers of the novel will get that pun) the terrible tragedy of the Holocaust. I'd hate to think about a generation of middle readers growing up reading this instead of The Dairy of a Young Girl, Number the Stars, The Endless Steppe, or Snow Treasure, for example. Not recommended at all.



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Books Read in January 2019

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney: My review here.

A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena: Another riveting psychological thriller. These are the books that I love and hate. I love to be dragged into the midst of a totally implausible drama. It's pure thrill with a hefty dose of "Wow, this is really bad writing and this plot is absurd." Cheap thrill book, entirely forgettable but fun while it lasted.

Walking to Listen by Andrew Forsthoefel: Now this, this is a beautifully written book. Oh my goodness. Forsthoefel can make an image blossom. His words are pure poetry. I underlined his rich phrases and vivid descriptions because this is just WOW. Forsthoefel spoke at my daughter's college last year, and her enthusiasm prompted me to put this on my reading list. We also chose it as our January book club read. This is the author's journey across America at age 23. He walked to listen to people' stories and, by doing so, to find himself and his place in the world. He's a collector of people's stories, ones he loved and ones that greatly disturbed him. He listened without judgment, or at least without expressing judgment. He wrestled with hearing prejudice and hatred and wondering what to do with it; he basked in love stories. I loved this memoir. My book club was divided. Some members were irritated with "white male privilege" and "whiny millenials" but they only read one chapter of the book. If they had read more, I think they would have appreciated the author's viewpoint and experiences much more. Highly recommended.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones: Ahhhh, what a novel! This is so beautifully written, so heartbreaking, enraging, and ultimately hopeful. Celestial and Roy Jr. have a beautiful life together. They are young newlyweds, moving upwards in their careers, and just getting started in life. One night Celestial has a bad feeling—a premonition—that they should stay home; instead, they go on a trip that ends in Roy, an African-American man, getting arrested for a crime he did not commit. He ends up being sent to prison for a 12-year sentence, and, after a few agonizing years, Celestial moves on. The story is told through the voices of Celestial, Roy Jr., and Andre, Celesitial's childhood friend and, eventually, her lover. Each one has a strong, rich voice and a poignant story to tell. Each makes decisions that affect the others—flawed decisions, perhaps, but everything is done in kindness and with an eye to a hopeful future. This is just such a wonderful, realistic book. Highly recommended.

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater. Subtitled "True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime that Changed Their Lives," this is a compassionate account of a case that came to national attention. Two teens from different parts of Oakland cross paths on the 57 bus one day. Sasha is white teen who identifies as agender, and Richard is a black teen who is trying extremely hard to raise his grades and not end up back in juvenile detention. But Richard, egged on by his friends, sets the tip of Sasha's skirt on fire. He thinks it will just smolder and quickly burn out, but instead the flame ignites the whole skirt, and Sasha is badly burned. Richard is charged with a hate crime. The book alternates between Sasha's story and Richard's story. Both are told with such insight and compassion as Slater investigates the complexities of their lives and the aftermath of their encounter. Highly recommended.

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty: Nine people head to a mind and body health resort for a week of intense therapy. They have no idea what to expect, but they believe the promise that they will be different people when they emerge. Each person has a story, which Moriarty tells in vivid detail. Broken hearts, loneliness, lost dreams—they are all here to be healed in some way. The director of the resort has her own story and her own aspirations, and she has nine perfect candidates. I laughed. I smirked.  I marveled at Moriarty's ability to zoom in on her characters' inner thoughts and motivations. I laughed more and couldn't put down the book. Well, until the last third or so, and then I was pretty over the book. It got really, really silly and just totally fell apart for me. I'm a huge fan of Moriarty, so I can forgive the last part of the book, I guess. But this is definitely not my favorite.

Book Review: Sometimes I Lie

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a terrific psychological thriller except that 1) too many things happened; 2) I have no idea what happened; and 3) the whole Edward thing.

NO SPOILERS HERE. This is the story of Amber and Claire, who are engaged in a seriously dysfunctional love/hate relationship. And sorta Paul, and then also this total creep, Edward, that randomly appears and adds little to the story.

Should you read this book? I couldn't put it down. I thought about it when I wasn't reading it. And then I got to the end and said, "Huh?" So the question is: is the thrill of a totally engrossing, completely implausible novel worth that moment at the end when you want to throw a book across the room and yell, "What. the. heck?" with a snarl of contempt?

You decide. You've been there before, no doubt.




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Book Review: Family Tree

Family Tree by Susan Wiggs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Sweet and sappy, just like the maple syrup that threads its way through the novel, and just the what I needed on a cold weekend in November. Likeable characters (SO important after the last book I started and threw across the room), a year-long coma, lots of delicious food, a sweet but predictable (and sometimes a little tiresome) love story, and a town in Vermont where I wish I could live. (OK, I'd really only like to live there for a year. But still.) Overall, just the kind of "beach" read that I needed to restore my faith in the comforting power of books.



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Book Review: All the Pretty Things

All the Pretty Things: The Story of a Southern Girl Who Went through Fire to Find Her Way Home by Edie Wadsworth

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I used to follow author Edie Wadworth’s blog years ago. I was drawn to her quick wit and beautifully decorated home. To this reader, fellow homeschooling mama Edie Wadsworth was intimidatingly perfect: gorgeous, smart, wealthy, and so talented.

After reading her memoir, I’m blown away by the “real” Edie, or rather, what it took for Edie to travel the path from always-hungry little girl to the redeemed but still struggling adult. Her story (as well as her sister's and cousin's) is a tribute to how kids can rise above their circumstances. And rise she did.

Edie Wadsworth is a class act. She is positively loaded with grit and determination, with a healthy helping of honesty, grace, and kindness. She’s the real thing. A lot of reviewers criticize her adoration of her father. I get that—it is hard to imagine idolizing such a deadbeat dad. But the bonds between daughters and fathers are strong. We readers just don’t see her father as she did. We don’t quite get how charismatic he must have been. He just seems sad. The real hero in this story, of course, is Edie’s mom. She worked unbelievably hard to raise and support three kids on her own. Her memoir would be truly compelling, no doubt.

This isn’t exactly a beautifully written memoir, thus my rating of actually 3.5 (3 for writing, 4 for storytelling). It’s a little choppy and stumbles around a bit, but the story is powerful and you can’t help but want to high five Edie for rising out of the ashes.



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Book Review: The Alice Network

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Eve and Charlie: two women, a generation apart, both suffering from tremendous loss after World Wars— WWI for Eve, WWII for Charlie. The chapters alternate between the two stories, but they are connected early in the novel.

Eve was a spy during WWI, part of a real life group of women spies known as The Alice Network. These women, led by Louise de Bettignies, risked (and many lost) their lives for their country as they led double lives to uncover classified information. When we meet Eve, she is an angry alcoholic, nearly 30 years after her stint as a spy. She reveals her story to Charlie throughout the course of the book.

Charlie is a 20-year-old pregnant college drop-out. It’s 1947, just after WWII, and her parents fly her to Paris so she can get rid of her “Little Problem.” She ditches her mother, however, so she can search for her missing cousin, Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war. Charlie’s only clue to Rose’s whereabouts is the name Evelyn Gardiner, which leads her to Eve.

Eve appears to be a brusque, unpleasant old woman, but Charlie needs her help in finding Rose. Charlie rekindles something in Eve: a desire for revenge. They set off together, with Eve’s driver, Finn, in search of their separate stories.

I loved this novel once I got into it (although that took a long time, so keep reading). The alternating narratives were a bit confusing at first, and I kept questioning Charlie’s story; but once I immersed myself in the novel, I got through it quickly. Charlie’s narrative wasn’t nearly as compelling as Eve’s—sometimes it was quite annoying—but it got much better in the second half of the novel. I ended up really loving Charlie’s story, too.

Eve’s story is incredible. I’d love to see the women of the Alice Network portrayed in a movie. These women were the epitome of undaunted courage. What amazing bravery! I am inspired to read more about the Queen of the Spies and her entourage.




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