Book Journey

Meet Georgia…she comes across as having it all, but there is a price to pay for maintaining such status.

Meet Aubrey – Bold, Beautiful, with an amazing career… but not so amazing marriage

Meet Libby, a working mom, coming to terms with her recent divorce, and raising her teenage son
And meet Hannah. New to the neighborhood with a past that is nipping at her heels

Hawthorne Lane is a coveted place to live, with beautiful homes and tree-lined streets. The envy of the town. Every Halloween, the residents of Hawthorne Lane put huge efforts into hosting the famous Fall Festival – but this year…. this Halloween, not everyone is going to make it through the night.

It’s clear there’s more going on behind the closed doors of Hawthorne Lane than one would imagine… and who is holding the secret that is worth dying for?

Immediately, after reading the synopsis, I had the essence of Big Little Lies (which I LOVED!) … friendships in a close neighborhood, secrets held by all the women involved, and murder centered around an annual event…admittedly, this was a draw for me.

While similar in layout, The Wives of Hawthorne Lane has a stronger focus on domestic abuse, where in BLL, this is also a topic; however, it is more balanced in BLL with all the other things going on.

I enjoyed this book, not to the extent I enjoyed Big Little Lies ( sorry – it’s impossible for me not to compare them), but it did feel like a revisit to a beloved book, and it was like unwrapping another storyline – different women, different back stories, and a different outcome.

You could also say it has a little “Desperate Housewives” vibe.

Overall – enjoyable.

Rated: 3.25 out of 5
Read Author Before: No
Read Author Again: maybe

Book Club Worthy – being in a book club of 16 women, I think this would be a fun book club choice. With the comparisons to TV shows and other books, as well as topics of the secrets we keep for better or worse, much to discuss! Grab your popcorn!

Things are not always as they seem… Thank goodness! ~Sheila

When almost 70-year-old Daphne joins the Senior Center group that meets several times a week, she envisions tea drinking, discussions on how the weather affects their bones, card playing, and perhaps the occasional round of bingo… a good fit for her goals of being more social….

Instead, Daphne finds herself among a variety of interesting characters, such as Lydia in her early 50s – #empty-nester/neglected by her husband, who started the group, Art ( failed actor and occasional shoplifter), Ruby and Anna, and Ziggy, a young single dad and a senior dog. )

While this may not be the group that Daphne imagined, carrying her own secret baggage as well, it turns out it is the exact group she needs when their beloved senior activity center risks being shut down, and their pooled experiences, along with the sweet children of the also housed daycare, use their skills ( as well as secrets) to fight against the odds.

Our Bookclub the Bookies, has had some great and deep reads this year. In fact, this may be one of our best years of selecting excellent discussion books in quite a while. Of course, some of these heavier books take a little longer to read – and while creating great discussion, can also bring up triggers when you have a group as large as our book club is ( 16 strong).

Going into December… we must have all been on the same thought on this, as the books being nominated were not the deep dive reads we have been selecting – but instead, a selection of lighter topics, with How To Age Disgracefully by Claire Pooley among them – and as you can see here – winning the vote.

This review is my opinion, and once our group meets, I will update to add the Bookclub’s overall thoughts as well. Sadly, for the first time in Bookie history, the weather cancelled our December discussion and Christmas Party, and we have put a pin in this discussion until we meet on the secodn Tuesday of January. By then, I will have most likely read several other books, so I felt it best to get my review in now before I lose it to something shiny on my brain 😀

Admittedly, early pages felt slow…. slog-worthy. I can chalk that up again to not being one of the big titles we have read recently that hit you in the face with a shovel full of synopsis right from the start, and you are struck dumb and powerless to stop reading until you reach the final page…
This one…

more like…

knit one

pearl two…

But then – it picks up. In a word, it’s fun. I like fun. As you get to meet this hodgepodge duct-taped-together group… flaws and all… You start to feel for them. And if they know it or not… they need each other.
Written from 4 different perspectives, they give each other a little something something to dig into… a little purpose.
I enjoyed the fun flow of this read, hoping for myself as the clock turns that I too can surround myself with such an interesting group of people.

Rated: 3.6 out of 5
Read Author Before: no
Read Author Again: I would be interested in looking at what else she has written

Book Club Worthy – yes! Book clubs can discuss that groups gathering ( much like book clubs) each bring a little something to the group, and we can discuss what that is – as well as what aging looks like and the importance of staying connected to others.
Adventure awaits!

New York Architect, Tate Donovan, is due for a reset. After dealing with an all-encompassing depression with the loss of his sister Sylvia, he is now going to Cape Cod to design a home for one of his good friends. The break, Tate feels, will be good for him – putting his mind on something else and staying busy.
While staying at a historical Bed and Breakfast as the only guest, Tate is surprised to find a young woman named Wren who says she is also staying there. Wren is funny and kind and easy to talk to, and Tate finds himself immediately drawn to her, although his friends assure him no one else is staying at the house. When pressed to come up with evidence of Wren, there is none to be found… the puzzle she is working on, the wine glass she is drinking from… all gone.
Tate is shaken to his core when he finds out the woman he is describing is actually someone his friends knew, and through articles online, Tate is forced to come to terms that Wren had died in an accident where he is staying, two years ago. As Tate starts to look at what happened that fateful night, and why Wren is there now, only for him to see, he begins to discover that maybe that accident two years ago was not an accident at all …

And someone isn’t about to let Tate dig too deep.

I’m going to be (brutally) honest here…. I probably would not have picked this up if this were a Nicholas Sparks book alone. It was really the combo of Sparks with Shyamalan that caught my attention, and I bet that will be the case for many – so for that, well played Nicholas… well played.

Where Sparks is usually (FME/from my experience) a lighter sort of sweet and Hallmark-style of romance read, Shyamalan brings a supernatural injection… So while I am not a romance reader… imagine The Notebook meets The Sixth Sense….
And here we are.

Curiosity of what this combination of Authors could create had me digging in – and … not disappointed. I enjoyed the blend of a friendship encounter with the supernatural twist. I loved that it felt believable – like any one of us could walk into a quiet Bed and Breakfast and find our own ghost friend 🙂
I listened to this on Audio and really enjoyed the pace – the only reason this is not a 5-star is a couple of small details that I will not disclose because I DO want you to read this book and come up with your own opinion.

Rated: 4 out of 5
Read Author Before: both separately – yes
Read Author Again: if these two paired up again, I think I would 🙂

Book Club Worthy – yes, what a fun discussion you could have around the paranormal – (have you ever had an encounter, or know someone who says they have; do you believe such things are possible, what do you think of the title – what woudl you name this book, what do you think of this trend of well-known authors creating duel authorships (either with known or unknown names), does it work or put more pressure on the duo to create something incredible…

Simon Latch is a small-town Lawyer in Virginia. While not what you would call a lucrative practice, Simon scrapes by while going through a divorce and trying to maintain a civil relationship with his soon-to-be ex-wife, mainly for the sake of their two children.
Enter Eleanor Barnett, an elderly woman whose husband has recently passed, leaving her with a fortune that she wants to be certain is not left in the wrong hands. She has no family she cares to speak of, no close friends, and no charities she wants to give a windfall. She has a will, but is not happy with it or the lawyer who wrote it, and is looking for someone new to assist her with her many assets.
Simon can not believe his luck and has visions of dollar signs and a future without financial struggles as he takes her on as a client and finalizes the new will with a hopefully undetectable small print provision to himself as well.
When Eleanor is hospitalized after a car accident and subsequently dies under mysterious circumstances, Simon finds himself accused of murder. Simon admittedly is many things – but a killer is not one of them. To clear his name, Simon must race against time to uncover the truth of what happened to Eleanor before he is put away for life.

Ahhh…. Grisham. It’s like opening the window for the first time in the spring. What a nice revisit of this author.
If you follow my reviews, you will see I have been quite heavy in recent years on the psychological thrillers – loving the chase… loving the twists – and loving the wild ride. While always a fan of a good mystery, it seems like I have not dug into this genre as much as I used to.

Enter this book, The Widow. I was looking for a good audio to listen to while going about my day-to-day ( cooking, cleaning, car time…), and this one caught my eye. I’m so glad I chose it.
The Widow has a nice pace to it. I liked the more focused and detailed style of Grisham that didn’t have so many moving pieces and characters to follow. He really nailed it on the small-town feel in the setting as well as in the characters.

The narrator, Michael Beck, had the perfect voice for this book – he totally felt like Simon to me and was wonderful at changing it up to distinguish between the other characters.

The storyline flowed nicely, I enjoyed our protagonist, Simon, and found him to be real… while not perfect – he was not a killer and gathering the pieces along the way, let me as the listener, take part in solving the crime. While I did not love the ending ( a little out of nowhere IMO, to the point I had to Google to explain it to me) it was still a delicious listen. And now… I kind of want to try my hand at Ginger Cookies. ;P
Grisham? Still relevant.

Rated: 3 out of 5
Read Author Before: yes
Read Author Again: probably

Book Club Worthy – yes, definitely some things to unpack here – themes of integrity, trust, and more could lead to a good discussion.

In 1985, Michael J Fox was a household name. He was the star of the TV series Family Ties, the Movie Teen Wolf, and the Secret Of My Success… but most of us know him (no matter what your age) from the movie Back To The Future.

Michael shares what it was like to be filming a TV series from 6 am to about 6 pm, jump in his car, and get from Paramount Theatres to Universal Studios to be ready to start filming by midnight for his role as Marty McFly from Back to the Future and filming until 2 or 4 in the morning where he would grab a couple hours of sleep and do it all again.

I am so glad I listened to this one on audio – Michael has many guests from his past- co-stars, producers… speak into the audio, sharing what that time was like. I found it fascinating to think that the fellow actors for Back to the Future would need to sync their schedules to his – meaning they were all up to the wee hours of the morning for filming.

While Michael J Fox focuses mainly on this small time period and does not go into his personal life, etc.. it was enough. Like a little sampler platter from my past, this revisit was just right.

Rated: 3 out of 5
Read Author Before: No
Read Author Again: Unsure

Hey all, I am in a bookish mood. While we are having a lovely weekend in Central Minnesota (50s yesterday!) I am in no way delusional to think that this will remain.

So….

I’ve been looking to see what the reads are going into this season that are grabbing my attention, as well as looking at what is coming up in the next couple of months, AND compiled a little ( well…. maybe not so little) video…
Grab some coffee…
And if you are not seeing the video – it seems like I am struggling loading it here – you can see it on my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17TeFfwtED/

In other things I am doing…
I am organizing the Costume Room – it usually gets a bit ripped up in October
In the process of making my own sauerkraut – I am kind of fascinated with gut health right now
I made my first overnight oats last night… a combo of Rolled Oats, Greek Yogurt, Chai Seeds, Cinnamon, Milk (of choice or water), and Honey. This morning I get to add my fruit of choice (thinking Blueberries!) and am excited to see if I like this…
If I can get on the trail for a walk today… I am considering bringing out the bike as this may be the last opportunity to do this yet this year.

Happy Sunday, Ya All!

`Sheila

A life in correspondence… and what a beautiful journey. ~ Sheila

Sylvia lives a life of letters. At the age of 72, retired and with plenty of time, Sylvia is up and writing by 10 am most mornings. She writes to her brother, to her friends, a young man, to authors to share her thoughts on their books, and she writes often to someone she can not mail the letters to.

Life would (should) go on day to day, pleasant as always for Sylvia, but when letters from someone in her past force her to think about the most painful period of her life, Sylvia has no choice but to take a hard look at the highlights of the years, as well as the ones she would prefer not to revisit.

Honestly wow. Always a fan of unique writing styles and something that does not feel like a cookie-cutter version of a popular title, The Correspondent hit me a bit by surprise. In all the good ways. Here you will not find a crazy twist, nor will you find an unreliable narrator, a psychological thrill, murder, or any of the other things that are drawing people to books these days –

Instead, I found a book that was like a palate cleanser, just a nice, moving read. I fell in love with the flow of the letters back and forth – as well as this lovely character created in Sylvia. But it’s not just a book about letters; there is life in between – happenings, and remembrances that all lead up to a delightful read.

I discovered this book through social media when I kept seeing it pop up as a great read for book clubs, and descriptions that made me want to take a closer look.

I’m so glad I did.

Rated: 3.8 out of 5
Read Author Before: New to me
Read Author Again: I would
Book Club Worthy: I think a discussion about the book, as well as the lost art of writing, would make for an interesting time. Evans’ book is unique in so many ways – yet readable, and that is not always the case.