I Wanted to Be Wonderful follows the lives of two women in their first years of marriage and motherhood. One is a fictional character, a princess, tryI Wanted to Be Wonderful follows the lives of two women in their first years of marriage and motherhood. One is a fictional character, a princess, trying to live the happily-ever-after that culture promises. The second woman is inspired by the author herself, but could be inspired by many of us.
Each story presents real, flawed, and distinct women, trying to live up to her notions of what makes a good wife and good mother. The reader is brought into their intimate thoughts, their hopes, dreams, disappointments and failures. The thoughts of these women are relatable because so many of us have struggled with similar self-doubts, frustrations and worries. My children are now adults, but I well remember the emotional toll of those early years. I remember the fatigue that made my thinking all the more difficult. I remember thinking that all the other mothers were better than me. That somehow they had cracked the code and I was alone. Very, very alone.
This is a deeply nuanced book, that will resonate with most women. And, it made me think that perhaps we should talk more openly about the realities of life.
Thank you @ZibbyPublishing for the #gifted copy!...more
Later Days by Chip Jacobs is a nostalgic coming-of-age book about two boys attending an elite prep school during the late 1970s. Like the characters, Later Days by Chip Jacobs is a nostalgic coming-of-age book about two boys attending an elite prep school during the late 1970s. Like the characters, I graduated high school in 1980, so all of the pop-culture references carried me back to that carefree and reckless time of life. (Although there were a few slang terms that were out of context for the time, that removed me from the timeline momentarily.)
Luke Burnett and Denny Drummond, are the two main characters, and they experience all the ups and downs of adolescence together. I found the descriptions of teenage drama to be on point and the boys were true to age. Their friendship is described with warmth and humor, allowing the reader to invest in both boys. Unfortunately in their senior year, the boys experienced a tragedy that caused them to drift apart, and they soon lose track of each other.
But, twenty years later they reunite and try to reestablish a friendship. Denny is ill, and that, along with all of the misunderstandings between them make reconciliation anything by simple. Both characters are relatable, and the strains between them are believable.
Jacobs created a vivid world that feels both familiar and new. It is a story of friendship, how it grows and changes, the work it requires, and the pain it sometimes causes us. It is a true portrait of brotherhood, love and forgiveness, all wrapped up in a vivid era that carried me back in time.
Thank you @tlcbooktours for the #gifted copy and for including me on the tour for this book....more
After reading this year's wonderful The Heart of Winter, I had to see what else Mr Evison had available, and I am so glad that I did. This book is alsAfter reading this year's wonderful The Heart of Winter, I had to see what else Mr Evison had available, and I am so glad that I did. This book is also about aging, love, grief, tragedy, contending with the past, and all the things that make life both difficult and enriching....more
The title alone drew me in. I am always intrigued by explorations of fault, blame, guilt, and self-blame. These themes resonate because we have all exThe title alone drew me in. I am always intrigued by explorations of fault, blame, guilt, and self-blame. These themes resonate because we have all experienced it.
What Bruce Holsinger accomplished in this book is a thought-provoking emotional family drama that also incorporates the elements of a thriller, and a philosophical journey through the modern isssues of artificial intelligence.
As the story opens a family of five is involved in a horrific car accident, where the elderly couple in the other vehicle die, turning the lives of all five upside down. We quickly learn that the car was a self-driving minivan, and the teenage son was at the wheel. Both parents were occupied by their work, and it seems only the young sisters are innocent. But all five are hiding a secret, and carrying the weight of the accident on their shoulders.
At seventeen, I was in an accident in which the other driver died. That was 45 years ago, and it is still the most traumatic event of my life. I have tortured myself over not leaving my home five minutes earlier or five minutes later. I have carried around new articles in a wallet. I have visited the cemetery where she was buried. I have wondered about her family. That accident is a defining moment of my life. So, the emotions of each character in the Shaw family felt very real to me.
And, then there is the very modern moral dilemma surrounding AI.
Culpability is a novel that I will think about for a very long time. It forced me to think about things I knew nothing about. It forced me to remember all the ways we torture ourselves as humans, and the forgiveness we so easily give to others but often fail to give to ourselves. This book is a must read.
I read a library copy and immediately bought my own....more
The Dark Corners of the Night, is the third book in Meg Gardiner's Unsub series, but is the first I have read and worked well as a standalone.
The storThe Dark Corners of the Night, is the third book in Meg Gardiner's Unsub series, but is the first I have read and worked well as a standalone.
The story centers around a villain called The Midnight Man who enters the homes of people in quiet suburban communities, kills the parents and leaves the children alive. He is one step ahead of the police and escalating. FBI behavioral analyst Caitlin Hendrix is called to Los Angeles to help find him. How is he choosing his victims, and why can't the police identify him?
The book is riveting. Some of the chapters are told from the killer's perspective, which adds an intimacy that is gritty and suspenseful. And the author does a great job of bringing the reader into the crime, sharing the focus with the victims as well as the process of profiling the killer. At times I was convinced that they would never identify the killer and he would get away with it.
Thank you to the publisher - @blackstonepublishing - for my #gifted finished copy! I am looking forward to the new book, coming soon....more
Stewart Reynolds has written a wonderful, clever and humorous little book about the ways we can fight back against authoritarianism and fascism. EveryStewart Reynolds has written a wonderful, clever and humorous little book about the ways we can fight back against authoritarianism and fascism. Every point he makes is both insightful and funny. His use of cats to teach the lessons is spot on. Every point is relevant and accurate. There were so many sentences that I reread multiple times because they were filled with wisdom, and written with whimsical.
This book would make an excellent gift!
Thank you to the publisher for my #gifted copy!...more
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