August was a bit of a slow month. We had a lot of rain, so I didn’t get as much pool time (and therefore as much uninterrupted reading time) as usual. This month was only 7 books. A total of 2,682 pages. An average of 86.5 pages a day. And 2 special edition boxes from Once Upon a Book Club. Let’s get to it!
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (538 pages). This was a special edition Classics Edition box from Once Upon a Book Club. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen almost every movie version of Little Women ever made, starting with the 1949 version with Elizabeth Taylor to the 1994 one with Winona Ryder to the 2019 one with Saoirse Ronan. The 1949 and 1994 ones are the best. Anyway, this is the story of the March sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. Set in Massachusetts during the Civil War and beyond. It follows their adventures. Their loves. Their lives. It’s such a sweet story and I’d never actually read it before. I finished in 4 days.
Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty (497 pages). This was the book for my gym book club. On a delayed flight from Hobert to Sydney, nothing seems out of the ordinary. At least not until close to the time of landing. When the Death Lady stands up and begins to tell every passenger when and how they will die. Most of them don’t take her too seriously (who can be upset when they are told they will die of old age at age 100?). But some of the passengers learn they have months or years left. And those are the passengers we focus on- a mother who is told her son will drown at 7. A flight attendant who is told she will die from self harm at 28 (her 28th birthday is the day of the flight). When the first death occurs, the passengers think it’s just a strange coincidence. Then more deaths happen. And the passengers become frantic to find the Death Lady. Throughout, we learn about the Death Lady’s past and what brought her to be on that plane at that moment. I love Liane Moriarty. Her books are so good. And this one didn’t disappoint. I loved how everyone dealt with the predictions. And what happened as the predictions approached. And the aftermath. I finished in 5 days.
The Fourth Daughter by Lyn Liao Butler (284 pages). This was the book for my non-gym book club. It goes back and forth between modern day New York and Taiwan and 1960’s Taiwan. Liv Kuo is still traumatized from an incident in the restaurant where she worked. So when her grandmother, Yi-ping Wang, asks her to come to Taiwan to search for her lost fourth daughter, Liv decides to go. To Yi-ping’s traditional in-laws, four was an unlucky number. Especially four daughters (and no son). After Yi-ping gives birth to a son, her husband secrets Yili, the fourth daughter, out of their home and their lives. The Wang family were powerful members of the KMT, so Yi-ping knew she had no hope of getting her daughter back. But she never gave up hope. And Liv vows to help with the search. Along the way, Liv finds herself and her passions again. This was a beautiful story of love, loss, betrayal, hope, and, most importantly, family. It also made me really hungry (as Liv and her Ah-Ma were amazing cooks). I finished in 4 days.
Under Loch and Key by Lana Ferguson (385 pages). Keyanna “Key” MacKay is a bit lost after her father dies. So she decides to go to Scotland to see if she can reconnect with her family there. She doesn’t know why her father left, but she wants to find out. She does know that, until the day he died, her father swears that he was saved from drowning by the Loch Ness Monster. Lachlan Greer is working on the MacKay family farm, which is located on Skallangal Cove on Loch Ness. And he’s got a family secret he’s trying to uncover. Once Key and Lachlan decide to team up to uncover the truth behind their families, they discover magic and curses. And learn that true love is truly the greatest magic of all. This was a very cute magical rom com. I finished in 4 days.
Wicked by Gregory Maguire (406 pages). Yes, I DID read this 20+ years ago when it first came out (and right before I saw it with original cast on Broadway). But when Once Upon a Book Club does a special edition, you get it! Yes, the book is very different than the musical. Additional characters like Avaric, Crope, and Tibbett who are part of the friend group at Shiz. Shiz itself is different- there are single sex colleges for the students. Fiyero is married at the time he arrives in Shiz (and has blue diamonds tattoos covering his skin). Nessarose has no arms but can walk (and is hyper religious). Elphaba and Nessa have a younger brother named Shell. Doctor Dillamond is killed by unknown assassins. Elphaba and Fiyero have an affair that ends with his death and her giving birth to his son, Liir. Elphie isn’t as gifted a sorceress; honestly Glinda and Nessa are better than she is at first. And the story itself is a lot darker- it looks at the religions and politics of Oz in addition to the animosity between humans and Animals. Honestly the whole story of the novel is so different that it doesn’t seem like the same story of the musical. I finished in 4 days.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston (326 pages). Clementine West enjoyed her life. She had a job she loved as a book publicist. And she had an aunt she loved, who brought travel and magic to her world. But in the six months since she lost her aunt, Clementine’s world has gotten smaller and more practical. Until she moves into her aunt’s apartment. Her aunt told her that the apartment itself was magic- it was a place where time could slip seven years into the past or into the future. Clementine never really believed her. Until she woke up to a man in her kitchen. A man who is seven years in the past. Iwan came to New York to become a chef. And when Clementine finds him in her present, she learns that he has done so. But is he still the man she met? And is she the girl he knew? I loved the concept but the ending seemed a little rushed. It was still sweet. I finished in 2 days.
Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand (246 pages). It’s December 23 at the Winter Street Inn. Kelley Quinn loves this time of year. He and his wife Mitzi host a Christmas Eve party that everyone on Nantucket shows up for. But this year is different. Oldest son Patrick is in trouble for insider trader. Middle son Kevin is secretly dating someone. Middle daughter Ava is dating a man who doesn’t appreciate her and is friends with a man who worships her. Youngest son Bart is a Marine in Afghanistan and hasn’t been responding to texts and emails. Ex-wife Margaret (a famous broadcast journalist) gives up her trip to Hawaii to come to Nantucket. Because Mitzi has left Kelley for George, their annual party Santa Claus! The book took place over 3 days. And boy did a lot happen! Hilderbrand doesn’t usually do a winter on Nantucket in her books. So I loved the winter aspect of it. I finished in 2 days.
This month’s favorite is……..Little Women. Just a classic!
