This story is riveting, and more so when you realize that although this is fiction, it's historically accurate. The Eugenics Project sounds like something out of Hitler's Nazi regime, and so it is even more shocking that it's part of our nation's recent history. Federally funded involuntary sterilization programs took place in 32 states, and while CA led the nation in the sheer number of sterilizations, NC was the only state to continue the practice well into the 1970s.
The mentally ill, the "feeble-minded", unwed mothers, the poor, the disabled, epileptics...all these and more were people considered unfit to bear children.

But this book is not a dry account of the facts. The author chose to tell the story by focusing on Jane, a young idealistic social worker, and the impact of the program on a family in her caseload. Through their story I became invested in their lives and cared about what happened to them. It took me to the internet to do a little research into eugenics in the U.S., and the heartbreaking pictures and stories of the victims. I appreciated the afterward by the author where she talks about the attempts in 2011 at establishing a compensation fund for the victims.

This would make a good book club selection with much to discuss. It's s shameful part of our country's history that we should never forget.

**the narrator of the audiobook was excellent! Many thanks to my GR friends for recommending this book

I made it past the halfway point but then gave up. The prose was too flowery, there was too much angst, and I didn't care for the Greek chorus of church ladies. I understand that many people have loved this book but it's just not for me.

A wonderful story with a ton of heart, this slim novel was short-listed for the 2016 National Book Award. The writing is excellent, but it’s the characters that will win you over in this book.

In post Civil War Texas, 71 year old war veteran Captain Kidd earns his living by reading news of the world to people living in remote areas for 10 cents a head. A widower with two grown daughters, this solitary life suits him well.

10 year old Johanna was captured by the Kiawa Indians 4 years prior during a raid that killed her parents and sister. She's scared and wild, has lost the English language, and is totally assimilated to the Kiawa way of life.

These two lives intersect when Captain Kidd is offered $50 to deliver Johanna to her aunt and uncle in San Antonio. He has his doubts but accepts the task. What follows is an arduous journey through the Texas terrain, with dangers along the way that bring tension and excitement to the story. But there's much humor too as Captain Kidd seeks to establish trust with Johanna and teach her the things she will need to know to live in “civilized” society. Seeing their relationship grow and their bond deepen is sweet and tender.

I won’t say anything further but this book made me laugh and made me teary-eyed. It will certainly be at or near the top of my favorites list for 2016. My recommendation: read it! Even better, listen to it as the narrator is one of the best I’ve listened to this year.

Maybe even a 4.5.

I loved the opening sentence: "The christening party took a turn when Albert Cousins arrived with gin." Which is an understatement. That one random event set in motion consequences that spanned 50 years and deeply affected two families.

This is a beautifully written book about a messy blended family, the Cousins and the Keatings. With a divorce and remarriage, the six children from the two families end up sharing their summers. As was fairly typical in the 1960s, they spend their days unsupervised. They get into all kinds of adventures and a tragedy changes the course of their lives. The book revolves around the now adult children looking back. I loved hearing from all the children, the family stories, and the differing perspectives. I could relate to how siblings remember the same event differently.

Dysfunctional family sagas is my favorite genre and this one delivers. There's drama and tragedy, love and forgiveness, family secrets and stories, sickness and aging. All of these themes are explored with poignancy, subtlety and wit.

The beginning is a little confusing with a large cast of characters. The time line and POV jumps around from chapter to chapter so you have to pay close attention. A family tree would have been helpful but it wasn't long before I figured out who was who. If you like a linear story line this isn't the book for you. It does make the audio a little challenging in the beginning but the narrator was excellent and I would highly show more recommend it. show less

I'm crying uncle after listening to 11 hours of a 17 hour audiobook. I tried but I just can't finish it. While the book is well-written, the story itself trudges along at glacial speed with too many asides of history - pages and pages of it - that are as dry as a textbook. Actually I would have preferred to read the textbook.

I was lukewarm on his first book, Rules of Civility, so perhaps he's just not an author for me.

Recommended for ardent fans of Amor Towles and Russian history.

An Italian setting, unlikable characters, a creepy "shy" 10 year old, dysfunction, lies and secrets. What's not to like? We find out from the first pages that things don't turn out so well on a week long vacation in Italy, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough in this well-written novel to find out what happened.

I won't go into the plot. I think it's best for readers to go in knowing little to nothing, but I will say the story is told in 4 alternating voices that allows us to get inside each character's messy head. It's great to read the different perspectives of the same events. The twist near the end was well executed.

I read this on vacation and I'm very happy to be enjoying a week alone with my husband :)

This is a compelling look into the psychology of social media and how it has changed how we interact with one another, both positively and negatively. The author uses research, personal interviews, and case studies from her private practice to highlight the dangers of social media sites like Facebook.

Social media isn't going away anytime soon, and the author gives readers tools to recognize problems, avoid the pitfalls and identify toxic personality types and behaviors in others (or yourself).

This is a must-read for anyone with a social media presence, and would be especially helpful for parents and those who work with children. I'm not particularly active on Facebook but I still found this book fascinating from a psychological standpoint.

** I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Arthur, on the one year anniversary of his wife Miriam's death, finds a charm bracelet tucked among her belongings, one he didn't know existed. His curiosity leads him to search for the origins of the charms. Each charm represents a part of his wife's life before their marriage - and what a life she led. It was so exciting that Arthur begins to doubt if he knew his wife at all, and wonders if their quiet unassuming life together was a happy one for Miriam.

Arthur visits different countries and meets some interesting characters along the way. Some of it may be a little implausible but the story is so charming it's easy to overlook. I'd advise suspending disbelief - just enjoy the journey with Arthur. Although Arthur sets out to discover more about his wife, along the way the journey also becomes one of self-discovery. Although the book is a lighter read, deeper themes are explored that would make for excellent book club discussions.

This is a sweet, quirky heart-warming tale recommended for readers who enjoyed A Man Called Ove and The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry.

I picked this up to pre-read for a young 20-something who is just starting out in life. My impressions are mixed. It's heavily Christian-based, which is fine because the back cover clearly states she uses biblical truths in her writings.
The author has (had? but still struggles with) a self-professed shopping addiction that many young people would find hard to relate to.
However, I still think the book has value, especially for young people, to counteract our consumer-driven society.

The story had a strong start but fizzled quickly. There was some cleverness and a few chuckles but the plot was thin and it wasn't long before my eyes glazed over. I had trouble maintaining an interest in the story.

The narrator of the audio book was the same one who narrated Where'd You Go Bernadette and she's excellent.

3.5 stars

I won this book as a Goodreads giveaway.
Part chick-lit and part mystery this is the perfect book to toss in your beach bag this summer. Riley and her daughter Maggy arrive on the island of Belle Isle in North Carolina to spend a relaxing summer with friends and family only to find her husband missing and their home in foreclosure. The next day a body washes ashore, and their plans for a fun summer at the beach disappears.

Filled with an eclectic cast of characters there's humor, family secrets, intrigue, and a murder to solve to keep things interesting. Make no mistake, this is light summer reading so it's best to not look too deeply into the plot. My one criticism is I wish MKA had made Maggy less obnoxious (even for a teenager) and Riley a stronger parent figure.

Probably closer to a 4.5 stars
From the beginning of this tightly plotted story there's an impending sense of doom. The book starts off when Helen glimpses Ava in the back of a taxi. Ava is an old friend that she hasn't seen in years and the sighting sends her down memory lane to the events that led to the end of their friendship.

Helen was a lost soul when she met Ava. She was badly parented, divorced, and had recently lost custody of her young son. Ava and Swift are wealthy philanthropists who take an interest in Helen and soon she's under their spell. Under their influence. She had never been part of a loving family and when she met Ava, the promise of love, acceptance, and support, along with their lavish lifestyle, was difficult to resist.

There were moments I wanted to reach through the pages and shake some sense into Helen. It's so easy to judge flawed, vulnerable people if you haven't walked in their shoes, but I felt nothing but sympathy for her. It's a complicated story that makes you think long and hard about serious topics.

The ending.....well, I was holding my breath, and while it ended suddenly, I wrote the ending I wanted in my mind :)

Maynard has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Her writing is deceptively simple yet filled with nuance and depth - the mark of a great author. This was my second book by her and it won't be my last.

The life of an elite Olympic hopeful athlete, in this case a gymnast, is explored. The sacrifices it takes to compete at this level: the financial burden, the lost family time, the effects on parents and siblings….all are highlighted in this well-written novel.

There’s the mystery of a death to be solved and the tension and sense of dread is palpable. But the mystery takes a back seat to the characterizations, the dynamics of family relationships, and the toxic teen culture (without resorting to annoying “teen-speak”). The window into the world of elite sports and the burden placed on families and young athletes is enlightening as well.

Megan Abbot is one of my favorite authors. She can tell a story like few others and has that indefinable "something" that elevates a book above what can be described in a summary of the plot.

I may not always follow what I learn but I love reading and studying nutrition and health topics. And I have a mother who is very nearly a centenarian. So this book is of particular interest.

The author and his researcher cohorts set out to study the secrets of people who live the longest. "Blue Zones" were identified, which are areas of the world that have the greatest concentration of centenarians, people who have reached 100. This book focuses on these Blue Zone locations: Sardinia, Italy, Okinawa, Japan, Loma Linda, California, Ikaria, Greece, and Nicoya, Costa Rica.

Written in a breezy, conversational tone, and filled with stories and anecdotes from the centenarians themselves, some common threads appeared:

1. Eat simple local foods and in the words of Michael Pollan, "Eat mostly plants, not too much". Not strictly vegetarian. Drink alcohol, but, again, not too much.

2. Move a lot, but do it naturally without having to think about it (I.e. no gym rats or marathon runners in the group!). Activity is built into their daily routines.

3. Have a strong sense of purpose, a reason to get up in the morning and contribute to their families and/or communities.

4. Slow down: less stress means less inflammation that can lead to disease. There is a natural rhythm of work, rest, and play (socializing) to their days. And don't worry, be content. The author points out that none of the centenarians are grumps.

5. Participate in a supportive community with strong social connections. show more Along the same lines, family is a priority. Multiple generations lived together or were close by. The elderly were revered.

There's more to the book than this, there's much more depth and the words of the centarians themselves. For the most part, it's a way of life that is foreign to us in the U.S. and I loved reading about it. There are no guarantees that if you do x, y and z you will live to a healthy ripe old age. But , if nothing else, these principles can certainly add life to your years. The author ends the book with tips and ideas to put the principles in place. show less

I love this series and the excellent narrator with her lilting South African accent. The stories are full of wit and wisdom and after 15 books it feels like visiting with old friends.

1.5 (rounded to 2 stars for the quality of writing, not the story)

McEwan can write and he certainly knows how to string words together in a beautiful way but the subject matter in this book leaves a lot to be desired. I was initially attracted to the story because of similar cases during my nursing career, and I was curious to see how McEwan would treat the subject. My answer, unfortunately, was not well or even believable. a kiss between the 18 year old boy and the 60 year old judge?! This much old(er) woman who no doubt looked like a grandmother to him?! I don't buy it

It didn't help that McEwan writes in a way that makes the reader very detached from his characters. So the secondary story of the judge and her husband left me cold. Actually, by the end of the book I can't say I blamed her husband for wanting a passionate fling.

I've given this author a fair chance and he's just not my cup of tea.

Although I enjoyed the first book in the series this one bored me silly and I felt some of the characters acted in maddening and unrealistic ways that made me roll my eyes, especially Annie. Also I don't need constant recaps of events and a character's feelings every few pages. It felt like filler. It took me more than a month to finish this one, never a good sign.

(I would rate this book higher than a 4, maybe a 4.25 - 4.5)

The O’Brien’s aren’t a perfect family, but they are an average, realistic family. Joe is a police officer married to his teenage sweetheart. They’re the parents of 4 children, 2 girls and 2 boys. One is married and a firefighter , one is a ballet dancer with the Boston Ballet, one a yoga instructor, and one a teen-age boy still finding himself. I loved how the author realistically portrays the sometimes troubling, but always loving, family relationships.

Joe starts to exhibit troubling symptoms, and is eventually diagnosed as having Huntington’s Disease, a hereditary, progressive, neurodegenerative disease that strikes its victims in the prime of life, and is always fatal within 10-20 years after diagnosis. Often, by the time of diagnosis, the victims have had children, and the children have a 50/50 chance of inheriting the disease. Their fate can be easily diagnosed with a simple blood test.

But do they want to know? Can they tolerate knowing they carry the gene? Can they deal with the uncertainty and anxiety of not knowing? Either way, how do they live their lives? What about Joe? How does he find the courage to continue living, while showing his children how to die? How does he deal with the guilt of potentially passing on a fatal disease to his children?

As a fan of Lisa Genova’s previous books, I think she has really hit her stride with this book. She has a knack for portraying the human faces show more behind diseases many of us only learn about in a textbook. Most of the story is told through the eyes of Katie, Joe’s daughter. The reader can’t fail to feel anything but the utmost sympathy for any family touched by this horrendous disease. Reading about it through the lens of the O’Brien family made it personal and heartfelt.

This would make a great book club choice. I’ve found myself continuing to think about the issues raised long after turning the last page.

**Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. show less

Goodnight Moon is a much-loved book that I read to my children nightly when they were little so the premise of this book appealed to me. Jio imagines a life-long friendship between Margaret Wise Brown and Ruby, a children’s bookstore owner from Seattle. When Ruby dies, her niece, June, inherits the bookstore and must decide if she should leave her stressful, high-powered job and life behind in NYC and save the struggling bookstore or should she sell the store and go back to her old life.

This is light feel-good story with a certain amount of predictability but also a few twists and turns and a little bit of mystery. I like how Jio’s story line from the past is told through a set of letters June found of correspondence between her aunt and Margaret Wise Brown. I sometimes find the plot device of two different time lines tiresome but Jio’s take on it was a refreshing change and it worked perfectly. It was my favorite part of the book. I also enjoyed the themes of the importance of brick and mortar bookstores, and instilling a love of reading in children. Unfortunately, some plot points and character developments in the present day story were just a little too neat and tidy and unrealistic for my taste.

2.5 stars, rounding up to 3 for the quality of the writing.
This novel is set in the 1970s, and opens with the tragic death of a much-favored middle child, Lydia. What follows explores the dynamics of this dysfunctional family. The family is an interracial one, with the father the son of Chinese immigrants and the mother, white. Both had dreams and ambitions that were denied them, leading them to burden their children with expectations to fulfill those dreams, with no regard for what their children actually wanted. Lydia was the favored child, the one the parents pinned most of their hopes on.

Told in alternating chapters, we are given details of the parent's past, and the point of view of each of the family members, giving the reader a fully formed picture of where they've been, where they are now, and how they move forward. Unfortunately, although well-written, I found it less than absorbing and was somewhat detached from the characters. The mystery of Lydia's death is resolved in the end, but I found it less than satisfying and the motivations didn't ring true to me. I didn't really have a feel for the 1970s, and some of the attitudes and prejudices seemed more appropriate if set in an earlier decade. However, the author knows more about this than I do so I will give the benefit of the doubt on that issue.

The reviews and cover blurbs led me to expect a serious literary tale of kidnapping and the class divisions between the wealthy and poor in Haiti. But what I got instead was a Lifetime movie of the week. (There's certainly nothing wrong with Lifetime movies if you know that's what to expect).

Chapters alternated between the present day kidnapping and flashbacks to the past, mostly telling the tale of when Mireille and her husband met and married. The scenes with the kidnappers were brutal and graphic, and totally incongruent with the chapters that dealt with the romance backstory. The dialogue and actions between Mireille and her boyfriend/husband were extremely cringe-worthy and juvenile in tone, not what one expects from two adult professionals.

This was a case of the verbiage that was used in reviews leading to the wrong reader (me) to pick up this book.

overall 3.5, rounding up to 4 (although some of the entries are worthy of 5-stars)

This is best read in small doses, as the stories are not connected in any way. I found some of the entries to be literally laugh-out-loud funny while others were so-so. The chapters on the author's dogs had me literally crying tears of laughter (specifically, the one where she tries to help Simple Dog cheat on an IQ test), while the entries on her struggles with depression were poignant and insightful. To be fair, the dog entries will probably mostly appeal to dog owners, who will be able to relate and recognize their own dog's behavior. Her deceptively simple drawings are amusing in their own right.

It’s a great book to have on your shelf to pull out when you need a laugh or you need to know you’re not alone in your quirks and eccentricities. And for those who want more of Allie Brosh, there's her blog, Hyperbole and a Half. Personally, I think her version of a pain scale should be in every doctor's office and ER:
http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/02/boyfriend-doesnt-have-ebola-probab...

This is a thoroughly enjoyable noir novel with a female twist. I loved it and look forward to reading more!

This is a historical retelling of the life and death of Jesus in the context of the political and religious leaders of the times. Note: there are gruesome depictions of the cruel and brutal reign of the Romans and the debauchery of the times, as well as graphic descriptions of the crucifixion.

In this second installment of the Dave Gurney series, the plot follows the same “locked room” formula as the first. A seemingly impossible crime occurs when a bride is found murdered on her wedding day. What was first thought to be a simple murder investigation turns out to be something far more sinister and multi-layered. Although the book was well-written, I found the resolution less than satisfying, and some of Gurney’s actions implausible.

The secondary plot involves Dave’s relationship with his wife. She wants him to find the joy she enjoys in living a quiet simple life in the country, but the life of a retiree is not for him. He’s happy only when working a case, preferably an “impossible” one that has local police stumped. Not much has changed between them in these first 2 books but I’m hoping their relationship grows and changes in subsequent books or it could get tiresome. The same can be said of his relationship with his grown son. Lastly, I think the book would have been improved if shorter and some of the bloat removed. Very few books can justify 500 pages, especially one in this genre.

I liked the first book, Think of a Number, more than this one, but I enjoyed it enough to give #3 a try.

3.5 stars
Seth, a semi-recluse and self-made millionaire, is dying of advanced cancer and decides to commit suicide before the cancer kills him. Just days before his suicide, he wrote a holographic will naming Lettie, his black maid, the sole heir of the bulk of his estate. He mails the will, along with specific instructions, to Jake Brigance, the lawyer we first met in A Time To Kill. It’s 3 years later and Jake has fallen on hard times and is in a career rut. But this case promises to be a blockbuster.

Jake is right. Before long, Seth’s adult children, with a bevy of big-city lawyers, descend on the little town of Clanton, Mississippi to contest the hand-written will and uphold the will written previously, which left 90% of the estate to them.

The characters were well-developed and you couldn’t help but root for Jake and his colorful, eccentric team. The book started out strong and ended with a riveting courtroom drama. There were revelations and surprises along the way that kept my interest. I thought the middle got a bit bogged down and the pace slowed, but all-in-all, it was a pleasure to read.

4.5, rounding up to 5


This is a beautifully written book and very powerful. The story begins as Ruth and Peter, both in their 70s, and facing his retirement as headmaster of a boy’s boarding school, causes Ruth to reflect back on her childhood, young adulthood, and her life as Peter’s wife. She struggles with a painful, complicated childhood and feelings that she is never quite good enough. She wonders if her life has had meaning as the headmaster’s wife and performing all the duties that went with the role.

The first part of the book begins as the first day of a new term is beginning, one that will likely be Peter’s last (“the last first day”). The latter part of the book reflects back on Ruth’s childhood and early adulthood. Towards the end I couldn’t put the book down and stayed up far too late to finish it. As Ruth reflects back on her life, we meet the wonderful Dr. Wenning, a psychiatrist she worked for in her younger years, who became her life-long friend and confidante, the one who helped her make a sort of peace with her past, as well as other characters who helped shape her life.

Secrets and painful details of a life never revealed to others paint a picture of flawed and fully fleshed out characters, ones I felt I knew and cared deeply about. The tone is sad, yet also hopeful and beautiful. The themes of the legacy one leaves behind, a life well-lived, though far from perfect, and an enduring love story resonated with me. It's a good reminder that a show more life well-lived may not be celebrated in the media or recognized (or even seen) by others but it's demonstrated by "little things", kindnesses shown to others, like sitting by the bedside of an ill child all night long, or never leaving the bedside of a dying friend.

This will be on my favorites list this year. It's a story I won't soon forget. The writing reminded me a bit of Stewart O'Nan who also writes about ordinary people in an extraordinary, introspective way. This is probably best for people who are middle-aged or older, who will be able to identify with the themes. show less

2.5 stars
I enjoyed MKA's Savannah series and looked forward to a light-hearted, heartwarming Christmas read. This one doesn't quite match the charm and humor of the two Savannah books featuring Weezie and BeBe, but if you can suspend disbelief it's an easy read for a busy season.

Edited 11/6:

Don't be put off by the length or think this is a dry historical bio. I learned not only a lot about the life of this extraordinary man of faith, courage, and convictions, but about pre-Hitler Germany, the church, and the plot to assassinate Hitler.

A fascinating, gripping, and inspiring read - all 22 1/2 hrs of listening time.

This book will be on my list of favorite reads of 2013. I highly recommend listening to the audio version. The narrator did a great job.

Excellent narration of the audiobook. The Australian accent made the characters and story come alive – plus there’s just something about a lovely accent that makes listening so enjoyable.

There are three intertwined stories and a mystery with plenty of plot twists that kept me listening every chance I got. Well-written and enjoyable with issues that were weighty enough to give the story depth, yet with occasional humor to provide a few chuckles along the way.