A Few New Books

A few new books arrived last week which sound really good to me. I'm particularly interested in Never a Dull Moment 1971: The Year that Rock Exploded (Henry Holt & Co), since I do know a thing or two about that time period - it's the year I graduated from high school (and didn't we think we knew it all when we were teens?)

The other two which I am also anxious to try are:

• If You Left; Ashley Prentice Norton (Mariner Books)
• The Memory of Lemon; Judith Fertig (Berkley)

Have you tried any of these yet?

The Weekenders; Mary Kay Andrews

The Weekenders; Mary Kay Andrews

McMillan Audio - 2016 

( St. Martin's Press)

Kathleen McInnerney - Narrator (decent)

Coastal Belle Isle, NC is the ideal setting for this beach read. As the story begins, it's Memorial Day weekend and Riley Griggs and her obnoxious preteen daughter Maggy, are waiting for Mr. Griggs (Wendell) to arrive by ferry to open up their summer beach home but, he never arrives.  Instead Riley is served with papers. She's thinking it's divorce papers she has been served with but, she later realizes that their beach house is being foreclosed.  How can this be?  She and her family have been islanders here for years and years. 

Little did Riley know but her husband was involved in some shady business dealings and there'a a reason he was a no-show, he's dead! Riley is left to pick up the pieces and figure out what Wendell was up to. In addition she must deal with the humiliation of all that has happened and raise her difficult daughter alone.

This novel has a little bit of everything to keep the story interesting enough -  romance, mystery, quirky and annoying characters and even an angst filled preteen girl. The audio was decent but, overall, I didn't find the story all that believable.  

My husband couldn't handle listening to this one on our road trip so I had to listen to this one solo.

3.5/5 stars

(library audio) 

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros - What Was Mine; Helen Klein Ross

Every Tuesday I host First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros where I share the first paragraph sometimes two, of a book that I'm reading or plan to read soon.  

What Was Mine; Helen Klein Ross

Gallery Books - 2016

Lucy

"Kidnap. Parse the word.  It ought to mean lying down with baby goats. Words can be misleading.

I can't tell my story straight.  I have to tell it in circles, like rings of a tree that signify the passage of time.

Shall I start with how badly I wanted a child?"

What do you think -- keep reading or pass? 
(Feel free to join in this week by posting your intro below?

Nobody's Fool; Richard Russo

Nobody's Fool; Richard Russo

Vintage 1994

I've probably owned this book for 10 years and it's remained on my shelf unread until I learned Russo released a sequel and THEN I had to read it.  Why did I wait so long?  It's wonderful.

Nobody's Fool is Donald "Sully" Sullivan is a 60 year old unemployed construction worker.  Sully is one of those guys who seems to be their own worst enemy, yet you feel for him as the story progresses. He's got a bad knee, an ex-wife and an adult son he's never really gotten to know. The couple separated when his son was very young.

Set in rural North Bath, New York, this novel is full of small town charm and large as life characters who you really get to know.  The dialogue made me laugh and the conversations seemed just as I'd imagine everyday people to be having.  The people meet at the diner and secrets are hard to keep in a small town like this.

Sully's son, Pete is going through a difficult time as well. His marriage is on the rocks and he has been denied tenure at the college where he teaches. He has two sometimes difficult young boys and, of course, the strained relationship with Sully.

There were touching moments in the story when Sully seems to bond with his grandson who has some insecurity issues much like his dad did as a young boy.  The interactions between Sully, the young boy and key characters made me smile. Sully is just so genuine -- warts and all.

The story is filled with small town charm and characters who will feel like some people you've met along the way. Like Russo's Pulitzer Prize winning Empire Falls, Nobody's Fool was a rewarding read. Russo is one author who can capture blue-collar people. Read this if you want a great story complete with quirky and memorable characters. I can't wait to read the sequel, Everybody's Fool.

4.5/5 stars

(personal copy)

A Series of Catastrophes and Miracles: A True Story of Love Science and Cancer; Mary Elizabeth Williams

A Series of Catastrophes and Miracles: A True Story of Love Science and Cancer

 Mary Elizabeth Williams - National Geographic Partners - 2016

"A wry, witty account of what it is like to face death—and be restored to life."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"August 15, 2010 - My last Sunday with an intact head is a glorious one for the family to go to Govenor's Island"

Mary Beth Williams is a journalist, married with two young daughters, she was forced for deal with the fact she had Stage 4 Melanoma. In her book she shares her two year battle and her participation in a new immunotherapy treatment which stopped her cancer in its tracks.

Although the author is clearly a survivor, she shares other stories of loved ones and friends who were not as lucky as she was. The author's story pulls you in quickly and, although a story about someone battling cancer should not be enjoyable, this one was  The author is skilled at using humor at just the right times and her writing is honest and down to earth. She has a way of turning her personal medical crisis experience into a compulsively readable story.  I learned a lot about new cutting edge process and treatments as well.

If you tend to shy away from stories about illness and cancer, don't let this one slip by.  This is a story to be embraced, it's a story I'll remember.

4.5/5 stars

(library)

The Fireman; Joe Hill

The Fireman; Joe Hill

William Morrow - 2016

Set in the not too distant future, The Fireman, is a 700+ novel that has already been optioned for a movie.

The premise of the story involves a new plague -- origin unknown -- which has been striking US cities beginning in the Northeast. Referred to as "dragon scale" it's a highly contagious and deadly spore that attacks the body and leaves black and gold tattoo like marks on the skin. No cure has been found and its victims eventually combust.

Harper Grayson is a nurse who has treated slews of victims before the place where she had worked burned to the ground.  Now she too has been infected and is pregnant, however, she seems convinced her baby will be born healthy.  Harper's husband has also developed the dragon scale and has become completely irrational and unhinged.

As the plague and mass hysteria spreads causing victims and cities to burn, quarantine and cremation crews do what they can to contain the plague even if it means burning the victims alive before they self-combust.  And, just who is "the Fireman" who tries to save Harper after her husband goes off the deep end?

Joe Hill has created an at times heart pumping story with well developed characters that had me quickly turning the pages. The set up was great, mostly fast paced but, there were a few twists that I did see coming. In addition to the eBook, I borrowed the audio version from the library so this one was never too far from my side.  The audio is read by Kate Mulgrew who did a great job.

4/5 stars

(eGalley and library audio)

My Sunshine Away; M.O. Walsh

My Sunshine Away; M.O. Walsh

Penguin Audio-2015

(Kirby Heyborne - narrator)

I finished this book almost a month ago and, I really loved it.  Although I had both the audio and the eGalley, I especially loved the audio as the Kirby Heyborne was an excellent narrator.

The story begins in 1989, Baton Rouge, LA, where a popular, fifteen year old girl named Lindy Simpson is raped as she is returning home on her bike one evening.  Attacked from behind, she's unable to identify an attacker, however there are four possible suspects.

Told from the POV of one of the suspects, we get a well drawn look into the background of each suspect.  To make the story all the more interesting, the narrator also has an unhealthy crush on Lindy, almost to the point of an obsession. He seems to monitor her every move, often from the privacy of his bedroom since they are neighbors.  I don't want to say much more because I don't want to spoil the story -- just read it.

It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. The writing is so good and very atmospheric and the characters finely tuned. The story hooked me from the very beginning. Readers who love coming of age stories, especially ones told through memory and reflection will enjoy this one.  Highly recommended.

5/5 stars
(audio and eGalley)