Ju Lie- I did NOT average over 100 pages a day. Or did I?

This month was phenomenally good for reading. Between pool time and a little traveling, I managed to read 10 books at 3,241 pages. That’s an average of 100 pages a day!!  So here goes

The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa (336 pages). Another historical fiction. This one about an event I had no idea even occurred. In 1939, war is on the horizon in Berlin. Twelve year old Hannah Rosenthal and her parents flee their home, where generations have lived, and seek passage on the St Louis. This transatlantic ocean liner offers the Jews of Germany a chance to hope that Cuba will take them in. The Rosenthals, Hannah’s sweetheart Leo and his father, and 932 other people board the St Louis. Somehow, in the 3 weeks it takes for them to cross the Atlantic, Cuba changes its mind and refuses to allow 900+ people off the boat. Those people, including Leo and his father and Hannah’s father, are sent back across the Atlantic to any country that will take them. The 200+ who are allowed into England are the only ones who survive unscathed. For the others, concentration camps await them. Hannah, her mother, and her brand new brother start a half-life in Cuba. In 2014 NYC, twelve year old Ana Rosen gets a package from her previously unknown Great Aunt Hannah. So she and her mother travel to Cuba to meet her and learn about the father she never met. I had never heard of the tragedy of the St Louis before. So of course, I did my own research while reading. What a heartbreaking story. I finished in 2 days. 

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell (309 pages). After her husband has a schizophrenic break, Clare takes their daughters, 13 year old Grace and 12 year old Pip, to the seemingly perfect Virginia Park. It’s a communal park in the middle of London. Only those who live around it have access to the park. With multiple other children living around the park, it seems like the right place for them to heal. One night, after a community summer party, Pip finds Grace unconscious and bloody, with her clothes disheveled. What actually happened to her though? What’s going on with the relationships around the park?  I finished in 3 days. 

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware (368 pages). 17 years after they are expelled from their boarding school, Isa, Fatima and Thea get a text from Kate. “I need you.”  When the women return to Salten, all the memories of their year together come rushing back. Including their game, the lying game. Some truths begin to come to light. And a truth that they thought they knew- Kate’s father’s suicide- is revealed to be so much more than they thought. I finished in 3 days. 

Good Wives, Nasty Wenches and Anxious Patriarchs by Kathleen M. Brown (373 pages +121 pages of index). Nothing fluff about this book. It was a very deep look at race and gender in colonial Virginia. It also happened to be pretty interesting. Some of the stories about relationships and crimes were fascinating. I finished in 6 days. 

The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert (370 pages). 6 year old Gretl is on a train in Poland, taking her, her sister, her mother and her grandmother to a concentration camp. Their train never makes it, as a bomb meant for a German military train explodes on their track. Gretl is the sole survivor. And Jakob, one of the young Polish men who set up the bomb, finds her. Eventually, Jakob sends Gretl to a German orphanage so that she can be adopted by a family in South Africa. Neither of them ever forget the other.  But years and continents separate them. Will the ravages of war and distance keep them apart forever?  I had no idea that “good,” Aryan, Protestant, German children were sent to South Africa after the War. So that was fascinating to research. I finished in 3 days. 

The Joys of Love by Madeleine L’Engle (255 pages). I thought I’d finished all of the L’Engle books in my antelibrary. Wrong. This one was a hardback, so I missed it. But decided to finish out with this author. This was one of her first novels, but it was published posthumously. In the 1940’s, 20 year old Elizabeth Jerrold is working as an apprentice at a New England summer stock theatre company. She’s fallen in love with the company’s director/leading man, Kurt Canitz. Meanwhile, the assistant director, Ben, has fallen in love with her. The book takes places over just a few days. It’s not action packed or supernatural. It’s simply a sweet coming of age story. I finished in 5 days. 

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters (340 pages).  The book is exactly what the title implies- a mash up of Sense and Sensibility and sea monsters. It was so much fun. Of course, I say that as a fan of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. If you didn’t like that book, you won’t like this one. Long story short- same story(ish) of the Dashwoods. With a little attack of killer sea creatures and underwater adventures thrown in for fun.  I finished in 4 days. 

The Twisted Thread by (374 pages). The school year is almost over at prestigious boarding school Armitage Academy. But the school is shaken to the core when beautiful senior Claire Harkness is found dead in her dorm room. Even more shocking, Claire has just given birth and the baby is nowhere to be found. The teachers and local authorities all quickly become involved in uncovering the truth behind Claire’s death.  And with it, dark truths of Armitage and its history. It was a great murder mystery novel. I finished in 3 days. 

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner (359 pages). It’s been 15 years since high school graduation. And 15 years since former best friends Val and Addie last spoke. But when Val shows up at Addie’s door the night of their class reunion in need of help, it’s like no time has passed. Addie, still suffering from the tortures of high school (she was overweight and an outcast while Val became a cheerleader), immediately steps right back into her old role. I finished in 2 days. 

In Our Time by Ernest Hemingway (157 pages). A collection of short stories?  A chapter book that just simply didn’t flow from chapter to chapter but rather jumped from story to story?  A strange hybrid that is interspersed with stories from the war?  Who knows. Maybe all three. Papa was an amazing writer. But a confusing storyteller. And I’m not sure I’ve ever forgiven him for his treatment of his first wife. But I didn’t really enjoy this. I’ve got some other Hemingway in the antelibrary. So maybe I’ll like something else better. I finished in 2 days. Because there were only 2 days left in the month!

This month’s favorite goes to..... it’s a tie. The Joys of Love and The Twisted Thread. Two totally different books. But both equally enjoyable. 

June readings. Yes, I did well!

Now that pool season has officially begun, there’s lots more reading getting done. This month might be a new record. 10 books at 3,135 pages. So let’s go!

Meet the Austins by Madeleine L’Engle (223 pages). I’ve had this series in my ante library for years. So finally got around to reading them. I expected something a little more like Wrinkle. But this was literally just a story about a family. Dr. 

Wallace Austin and his wife Victoria have 4 kids- John, Vicky, Suzy and Rob. When a family friend asks them for a big favor, they take in a recently orphaned girl Maggy. And basically, that’s the whole book. The family’s little adventures and misadventures. It was sweet and loving. I finished in 2 days (pool time = more reading). 

The Moon by Night by Madeleine L’Engle (270 pages). Book 2 in the series. Just as enjoyable. The Austins pack up the station wagon for a cross country road trip. I mean, it’s a road trip because things are changing for the family. But a road trip nonetheless. John is off to MIT in the family, Maggy is moving with her legal guardian to California. And the rest of the family is moving to NYC for Dr. Austin’s career. So one last adventure for them!  It was an easy and enjoyable read. One fun thing was when Vicky mentions tessering like Meg and Charles Wallace. So clearly the Wrinkle in Time family and the Austins know each other.  But you don’t see them interact. I finished in 1 day. Yep, it’s pool season again. 

The Young Unicorns by Madeleine L’Engle (286 pages). Book 3 in the series. This one had a much different feel than the others. It was a lot darker. The Austins are now squarely situated in NYC. But there’s something sinister threatening the family. With new friends (including the mysterious Canon Tallis), and new enemies, in their lives, the Austins’ adventures have only begun. I finished in 3 days. Nope, not pool time. All. Day. Hearings. 

A Ring of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle (332 pages). Book 4 in the series. The NYC chapter is over. The Austins are spending the summer with their grandfather before moving back home to their small town. It’s a summer of sorrow (grandfather has leukemia) and love. Vicky has three love interests in her life- Zachary, a troubled and exciting rich young man she met on their cross country travels; Leo, a local boy she’s known forever; and Adam, a young man working with her brother for the summer. Adam actually spent his prior summer working with Dr O’Keefe (yes, Calvin from Wrinkle). But now he’s working with dolphins. Turns out Vicky has quite a connection- to the dolphins AND to all of the young men in her life. I finished in 4 days. 

Troubling a Star by Madeleine L’Engle (316 pages). Book 5 in the series. This one was dark too. The Austins have returned to their small town. Vicky strikes up a friendship with Serena, the great aunt of Adam. And for her 16th birthday, Great aunt Serena gives Vicky an amazing gift- a trip to Antarctica. Adam is down there on a research trip. So Vicky is very excited about her trip. Until she gets on the boat for the trip. Between warning notes and strange new people, turns out Vicky is in quite a bit of danger. Like, finds herself alone on an iceberg in the middle of the Antarctic danger. I finished in 1 day. Yes, pool time strikes again. 

An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L’Engle (367 pages). Book 5 in the Wrinkle in Time series. Not really sure why I read 4 of them and ignored this one. But I’m on a L’Engle roll now, so I had to read this one too. Once I got into it, I remembered why I quit the Wrinkle series. As much as I loved A Wrinkle in Time, the rest of the books were weird. In this one, Polly O’Keefe (daughter of Meg and Calvin) has moved in with her Murry grandparents. Somehow, she and her friend Zachary (yes, the same Zachary that knows Vicky Austin) stumble upon a time overlap and go back 3000 years to the time of druids. Kind of like how her uncles ended up in Moses’ time in Many Waters. Weird. But actually more enjoyable than I think some of the other Wrinkle in Time books were. And oddly a lot more religious than I would’ve thought (despite a foray in Moses’ time in a previous book that seemed very unBiblical). I finished in 6 days. 

The Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L’Engle (243 pages). I kind of wish I’d have read this one before A Ring of Endless Light because Adam is the main character. And while he somewhat explained his summer to Vicky, this is the actual story of that summer. I also wish I’d read it before An Acceptable Time because it occurs 4 years prior to that story. And Poly’s name is spelled differently for some reason. Adam gets a summer job in Dr Calvin O’Keefe’s lab on Gaea (off the coast of Portugal). Dr O’Keefe is studying the regenerative abilities of starfish and if it can be translated to other animals (including humans). But on his flight to Gaea, Adam meets a beautiful girl who draws him into a treacherous web. And when Poly, who is on his flight, goes missing, his involvement deepens more than he thought possible. One explosive day spent in Lisbon brings everything to a head. This one had a similar feel to The Young Unicorns with the intrigue. And with the appearance of Canon Tallis. I finished in 3 days. 

The Lady in the Tower by Alison Weir (354 pages, well technically 434 pages. But who reads the notes, bibliography, and index?). Back to a little history for this girl, after my rash of YA books. Yes, legit history.  Not historical fiction. Personally, I find the history of the British monarchy fascinating. Yet I am not very well versed in it. This is the story of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife and the mother of Elizabeth I. With as many wives as Henry VIII had, it’s hard to keep track of what happened to each one. But I can now tell you what happened to this one. Henry quickly became infatuated with Anne (while he was still married to Katherine of Aragon). He had his first marriage annulled, thus bastardizing his eldest daughter Mary, and quickly married Anne. Their only living child was Elizabeth, not the son Henry so desperately desired. As the anti-Boleyn factions started gaining strength and Henry’s eyes drifted toward Jane Seymour, things were set into motion to accuse Anne of infidelity and treason. Which quickly led to her trial and death. Within a month of Henry being made aware of her crimes, she was imprisoned, found guilty, sentenced to death and Henry was married to Jane. The intrigue and behind the scenes backstabbing was riveting. Like a soap opera!  One fun fact- one of the noblemen who found Anne guilty had the last name of Fiennes. An ancestor to Ralph and Joseph. I finished in 5 days. 

My (not so) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella (434 pages). Cat Brenner is trying to live her dream life in London. But Instagram life isn’t real life. And she’s struggling to match her ideal to reality. Then reality strikes in a big way- she is fired by her boss, Demeter, the woman she’s been admiring the most. So back to her family farm in Somerset, where the real Katie comes back to the surface. She helps her dad and stepmom start a glamping business that really takes off. And then Demeter and her family show up for a vacation. Suddenly everything Katie thought she knew turns out to be as big of a lie as her Instagram!  And when the dust settles, will Katie finally realize that life is imperfectly perfect?!  I finished in 2 days. 

The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict (310 pages). Back to a little historical fiction. Did you know that Albert Einstein had an equally brilliant physicist for his first wife?  You didn’t?  Me either.  But her story was absolutely enthralling. Mileva Maric traveled to Zurich from her home in Croatia to study mathematics and physics at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic. She was the fifth woman to attend in this field of study (although there were other girls at her boarding house who also attended Polytechnic in other fields). One of her classmates was Albert Einstein. They went from friends to lovers to spouses. It took time and there were bumps along the way (illegitimate daughter, failure to get degrees, failure to find jobs). But Mitza knew she and Albert were intellectual equals. She helped coauthor his theories, even though she never got credit. And once she realized he no longer viewed her as an intellectual equal, or even as a human being, she took her sons and left him. To be forgotten by the world. I finished in 5 days. 

And this month’s favorite goes to......The Other Einstein. I loved learning about the woman who helped the famous Albert Einstein and was promptly discarded for a prettier version after her intellect had almost been used up.  But she managed to save herself and get out while she could still find the girl she had once been. 

MAY I interest y’all in some good summer reading? (See what I did there?!)

I definitely am reading more than 50 pages a day. Or at least averaging better than that. This month was 6 books at 2,868 pages. Here we go!

The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty (440 pages). Ellen is a hypnotherapist in Sydney. She loves her job and is really good at it. The only thing that has been missing from her life is someone to share it with. And then she meets Patrick. He’s perfect for her- a loving man, a widower with a young son, a ready made family. Then Patrick tells her that he’s got a stalker- an ex girlfriend named Saskia. Turns out Ellen is actually pretty familiar with her. She’s one of Ellen’s patients!   Ellen runs the gamut of emotions during her whirlwind romance- feeling like she’ll never measure up to the dead wife, understanding Saskia’s obsession, fear about her future with a man she loves. Everything culminates in one evening at their house. It was a typically enjoyable Moriarty novel.  I finished in 5 days. 

Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan (541 pages). The final novel in the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy. Loved the first one, didn’t like the second, this one was somewhere in the middle. Nick and Rachel are happily married and living in NY, despite his estrangement from his beloved grandmother. In fact, everyone in the family seems to be doing well. Then grandmother Su Yi has a heart attack. Family members begin descending on Tyersall Park, the amazing family estate in the heart of Singapore. The family dynamics of this massively wealthy family is amazing. The outer ring characters, with their wealth and their desire to rise in the social ranks, are fascinating. And the ending was quite satisfying. Who will inherit Tyersall?  And what can be done with such a massive and historically significant estate anyway?  I finished in 5 days. 

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (564 pages). This book was amazing!  Sisters Vianne and Isabelle have lived very different lives from the moment their mother passed away. Their father came home from WWI a different man. And the loss of his wife decimates him. He sends the girls off to be raised at a school. With 10 years between them, they drift apart. Vianne falls in love and gets married, Isabelle flounders. Then WWII happens. The sisters find their own ways to make a difference in the war. This book mentioned several events from other books I’ve read- the Vel d’Hiv roundup, Ravenbruck. All heartbreaking stories of events from WWII. I found myself in tears for the entire last chapter. I loved loved loved it!  Turns out Hannah was inspired by the actions of women during WWII and used them as inspiration for the sisters. As Vianne said, “men tell stories. Women get on with it...We did what we had to during the war, and when it was over, we picked up the pieces and started our lives over.”  A gorgeous book about the unspoken heroes of wars- the women. I finished in 7 days. 

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult (458 pages). Possibly one of the simplest stories I’ve read from Picoult.  But one of the most chock full ones as well. Ruth is a labor and delivery nurse with 20 years of experience. One day she comes in to work and goes to help with a newborn. Whose parents are white supremacists. They demand that Ruth, who is black, not be allowed to touch their son. But when Ruth is left alone in the nursery and the baby goes into cardiac arrest, what is she supposed to do- what she’s trained to do or what she’s been told to do?  When the baby dies, she is charged with murder. This is one of the most racially charged novels I have ever read. But it unpacks it in such a way that I found fascinating. The story, in typical Picoult fashion, is told from 3 perspectives- Ruth’s, Kennedy’s (the white public defender on Ruth’s case) and Turk’s (the white supremacist). I could not put this book down. Between the courtroom drama and the amazing story of love, hate, and race, it was beyond a page turner. Of course, sitting by the pool and lots of rain probably helped with having the time to read it quickly.... I finished in 3 days. 

Sis, Empress on Her Own by Allison Pataki (438 pages). The sequel to An Accidental Empress. This historical fiction (yes, I went back to my absolute favorite) is the second half of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungry life story. Better known as Sisi, she never had the disposition to be a ruler. She found court life constricting and found every excuse to travel the world. She also was a woman with profound loss in her life. She lost her eldest daughter when the child was a toddler. Her son, the crown prince, was lost to her from childhood but eventually died in a murder-suicide pact with his mistress. Her cousin, Mad King Ludwig, also committed suicide. After her son’s death, her nephew Franz Ferdinand became the heir apparent. Yes, the Franz Ferdinand who’s assassination led to WWI. And Sisi herself was assassinated. As the author said, it sounds like a soap opera.  But it was all real. As always, I did additional research on my own. What a life the Fairy Queen lived!  I finished in 7 days. 

The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn (427 pages). Kind of Rear Window meets Girl on a Train.  Anna, a child psychologist who now suffers from crippling agoraphobia, lives alone in her NYC home after her husband left her and took their daughter with him. Anna now fills her days with online therapy sessions (she’s the doctor), online chess games, black and white movies, watching her neighbors through her camera lens, and meds and merlot. Long story short- she thinks she sees one of her neighbors being stabbed.  And of course, in my least favorite popular trope, she’s been drinking while on her meds. So what did she really see?  If I say anymore, I’m going to give away the whole story. I finished in 5 days (because that’s how many days I had left in the month!)

And this month’s favorite goes to......The Nightingale and Small Great Thins. They were both phenomenal. But in entirely different ways. I love something historical (or at least inspired by history) and I also love a novel that makes me think about current events. 

April’s readings are done

This month was just kind of average with the readings. 5 books. 1817 pages. I really only liked 2 of this month’s books. Which isn’t really good odds. 

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood (465 pages). Netflix turned this book into a really good limited run series. I’d suggest partaking in both (because Netflix did a remarkably good job of staying faithful to the book). This novel is based on a true story- that of Grace Marks, a notorious Irish-Canadian murderess in the 1840’s. She was accused, and subsequently convicted, of conspiring to murder her boss and his housekeeper when she was just 16 years old. Her coconspirator, James McDermott, was hanged. But Grace’s sentence was commuted to life in prison. After nearly 30 years, she was pardoned and sent to the States. And those are the only facts known about her. Atwood does a masterful job of creating a riveting backstory for Grace. You are left wondering if Grace did conspire with McDermott, or if she was an innocent victim, or if she was just insane. I found myself liking her a lot. And wanting her to be an innocent victim. But there’s a part of me that thinks she was just a brilliant mastermind of a murderess. I finished in 8 days. 

Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (350 pages). I apparently bought this book for one pound when I lived in Cambridge. In 1997!  Why had I not read it prior to now?  I have no idea. Tess is an innocent farm girl whose mother didn’t warn her “there was danger in men-folk.”  She loses her innocence to the dastardly Alec d’Urberville, but manages to find it again in the love of her life, Angel Clare. But innocence, once lost, is impossible to truly regain. It is a sad tale. I think I expected to really love this book. And I only merely liked it. I will say that the final phase of the book was by far my favorite phase. This book plays a pivotal role in the Fifty Shades of Grey books. Heartbreaking that Anastasia sees herself as Tess and Christian as her Alec. Shouldn’t she know that Alec is the villain of the book?  I finished in 7 days. 

Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella (412 pages). Dan and Sylvie have been together for a decade. Sylvie, the privileged only daughter of a wealthy family, sort of fell apart when her father was killed in a car accident. But Dan and Sylvie have gotten their lives back together. They have a seemingly perfect life, with their adorable twin daughters. But when a regular doctor’s visit reveals that they face 68 more years of marriage, they panic. So they come up with an idea- to give each other surprises. Sylvie uncovers a surprise that rocks her to her core. Can they make it through this life changing surprise?  I finished in 3 days. 

Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki (307 pages). Lady Daniels is separated from her husband and living in their home in the Hollywood Hills with their 2 year old son Devin and her 18 year old mute son Seth. She hires S to be Devin’s nanny. S is strange character. She’s actually an artist, working on a strange art project. Lady and S get very close, as both of them are struggling with who they truly are. And oddly enough, both of them have a strange relationship with art- Lady was one of the subjects in her sister-in-law’s book of photography. It was a very strange book. Not unenjoyably strange. But strange nonetheless.  I finished in 6 days. 

Hiddensee by Gregory Maguire (283 pages). The story begins in Bavaria in 1808. And that’s about all I truly understood!  If you’ve ever seen The Nutcracker, you’ve seen Uncle Drosselmeier, he of the eye patch and maker of the Nutcracker he gifted to Clara. Well, this was his story. Dirk Drosselmeier was a foundling. He died in the Lost Forest,  it was brought back to life and given a gift. Of a knife that held the spirit of Pan and helped him make beautiful wooden figures. There’s a lot more than goes into the story. But I literally do not know how to recap it. It. Was. Weird. I keep giving Maguire chance after chance. But I think I’m done with this author. I just don’t find him enjoyable. I finished in 6 days. 

And this month’s favorite goes to......Alias Grace. 

I Marched right through the books this month

This month I did REALLY well. 9 books at 2,932 pages. Yes, that’s averaging nearly 100 pages a day. Which is way more than my New Years resolution. So yay me!  Here we go...

Mary Poppins collection (Mary Poppins, Mary Poppins Comes Back, Mary Poppins Opens the Door, and Mary Poppins in the Park) by PL Travers (1024 pages). Yes, I bought almost all of the Mary Poppins books in one book!  They were delightful!  Different than the movie, but just as enjoyable. Did you know that Jane and Michael had twin younger siblings, John and Barbara, and a baby sister, Annabel?  Or that some of their adventures with Mary Poppins actually were just Mary Poppins and Bert?  Or without Bert?  Or adventures that were only in the book?  Or only the movie?  The movie does a great job of condensing some things (Bert just has one job in the book and there are other characters with his other jobs) and adding depth to others (their mom isn’t a suffragette in the book). But all in all, a good time. Mary Poppins is a little sharper than in the movie and far more vain. But still the most delicious nanny ever. And the other books were great too. I always wanted to know what happened to the Banks after Mary Poppins left the Banks, and what happened when she came back. Now I know!  I’m also super excited for the new Mary Poppins movie!!!  I finished in 7 days. 

China Rich Girlfiend by Kevin Kwan (479 pages). When I found out that the book Crazy Rich Asians was the first in a trilogy, I knew I had to read the rest of them. Sadly, BAM only had the second of the trilogy when I went to my Happy Place the other day. I mean, sure, it’s because the third one hasn’t been released in paperback yet.  But that’s beside the point. The third one must be ordered!  In this book, Nick and Rachel are still together and engaged. Then Rachel gets the best wedding gift ever- the identity of her birth father!  She and Nick go to Shanghai for the summer to spend time with her new family. And Rachel learns, again, that there’s rich. And there’s China rich. Where dropping several hundred million on antique art is commonplace. So much excitement, so much drama amongst the elite of the elite. Nick’s family still isn’t thrilled about his marriage, but some of them have their own issues going on. We got to revisit old friends and meet some new ones. I really enjoyed it (as evidenced by the speed with which I read it). I can’t wait for May and the third one to arrive!  I finished in 5 days. 

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty (356 pages). Atypical Moriarty. No mystery, no starting at the end and going back to the beginning (well, sort of, but not the normal way she does it). Cat, Lyn and Gemma Kettle are triplets. Their thirty-third year of life is nuts. Cat is married and happily employed doing PR for a chocolate company. Lyn is married, with a daughter and stepdaughter, and happily running her own business. Gemma is a free spirit. They are quite an interesting threesome. It’s hard to say much about the plot without giving most of it away. But suffice it to say, there’s marriage troubles, children troubles, job troubles, family troubles and triplet troubles. This would have been a great pool read. Instead, it was a court read. I finished in 2 days. 

The Passenger by Lisa Lutz (302 pages). “Tanya Dubois” knows that her current life is over when she finds her husband dead at the bottom of the stairs. She has to go on the run. And not for the first time in her life. She roams around the country, changing names and backstories frequently. Along the way, she befriends Blue, another woman with a hidden past, and Dominic, a local sheriff. As her past begins to close in on her, she decides to return home, the place where it all began. And the secrets that are uncovered are shocking!  There were so many little twists in each section of her life. So many little stories. Honestly, I didn’t like the first 50 pages/day 1 of reading. But after that, I could barely put it down. Hence the finishing it quickly. I just wanted to know what had happened to force her to be on the run!  I finished in 3 days. 

Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire (563 pages). I didn’t know there was a fourth and final volume in the Wicked novels. So of course I had to buy it!  Conveniently forgetting that sometimes, I don’t like Maguire’s writing. He can be a little convoluted. This was the story of Rain, granddaughter of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West for those of you not in the know). She interacts with Glinda, Brrr (the Cowardly Lion), Dorothy, and a host of other characters. It was nice to revisit some of Maguire’s characters. But on the whole, I didn’t enjoy it. Especially the ending. The ending PISSED. ME. OFF. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. I finished in 11 days. 

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (208 pages). The (fictional) island nation of Nollop lies off the coast of South Carolina (what what!). The island is named for native son Nevis Nollop, creator of the famous sentence “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”  As the letters of this sentence slowly fall from Nollop’s statute, the Council decides that Nollop is speaking to them from the grave and no longer wants them to use those letters. But as more letters disappear, the people wonder how they will manage and when is enough enough.  It’s told through letters between Ella and her family and friends. And looks at the ridiculousness of rules and what people can do when they decide to stand up to the powers that be. It was so creative, such a fun way to look at words. And wondering if I could be creative with words if my use of certain letters was limited. I mean, the author stops using the letters when the characters have to!  Hilarity with words ensued, at least for me. Or should I say “phor me.”  I finished in 3 days. 

This month’s favorite was ......Ella Minnow Pea, simply for the creativeness of the story. It was also a very easy read (at least until the letters really started disappearing and I found myself having to sound words out because of how they were being spelled!

February readings- short month, lots of pages

This month was a good month. I read 5 books, at 1896 pages. Not too shabby I’d say!  So here we go. 

She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb (465 pages). It’s the 1960’s and Dolores Price’s world has been ripped apart. Her parents have divorced (after years of drama and an affair), her mother is sent to a mental asylum and Dolores herself feels completely lost. Then the unthinkable happens. In order to cope, Dolores finds herself gorging on junk food (provided by her mother) and camping out in front of the television. Fast forward several years. Nothing has changed but Dolores’ weight. Which has ballooned to 257 pounds. Another devastating loss happens and Dolores eventually finds herself in a mental asylum. She manages to lose a great deal of weight and tries to start her life over again. It seems like mistake after mistake happens to her. Until finally, finally, she is able to create a life that she loves. Dolores was a frustratingly fascinating character. I found myself loving her and becoming frustrated with her, all at the same time. But I did find myself sad to leave her when I finished the book. So that’s a good review of the book, isn’t it?  I finished in 9 days. 

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (340 pages). This book was so good- I literally couldn’t put it down!  Laura Blacklock is a travel journalist in London. When her boss goes out on maternity leave, Lo gets an amazing career opportunity- to cover a five day trip on a small cruise ship owned by the international businessman, Richard Bullmar and his wife Anne. Upon arrival on the ship, Lo asks the woman in the cabin next to her if she can borrow some mascara. She doesn’t see the woman at dinner and is awakened in the middle of the night to a scream and a splash coming from cabin 10. This begins a fantastic mystery novel. I can’t go into more detail about the plot without giving away major twists. But it was fantastic!  I wish I could read it for the first time again.  Literally, the only complaint was that, much like Girl on a Train, Lo was drunk, hungover, or medicated a lot. Which made her recollections seem questionable to everyone, including me sometimes. I finished in 2 days. 

I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott (439 pages). Another month, another Hamilton novel. This one was from Eliza’s perspective, which I loved. Thanks to my absolutely love of the musical (well, I haven’t seen it but I’m obsessed with it), I wanted to learn more about the real Hamilton, not the Broadway version. Eliza was 97 when she passed away. She and Alexander were married for 24 years before his murder. She buried 2 children of the 9 she birthed. She was quite a woman. In a time when being a widow basically meant the end of your life, she didn’t allow the loss of the love of her life to end her life. She was quite admirable. Actually, that’s an understatement. She was extraordinary!  I finished in 8 days. 

Still Me by Jojo Moyes (388 pages). It’s always a joy to revisit Louisa Clark. Lou has accepted a job as a personal assistant to a wealthy couple in New York. Unfortunately, it means leaving behind her family and her boyfriend Sam. Lou, in typical Lou fashion, immediately becomes friends with her employer, a second wife from Poland who has her own secrets and struggles. Life in New York doesn’t go exactly as planned. But somehow along the way, Lou’s remembers Will’s words of wisdom about life and finds out who she really is. While I don’t think I’ve liked the sequels as much as the first, I’ve certainly enjoyed them. And this one I liked even more than the second one. I finished in 4 days. 

Victoria Rebels by Carolyn Meyer (264 pages). PBS currently has a great show in its second season- Victoria. She’s definitely one of the British monarchs I knew of, but didn’t know about (it’s hard not to know OF her when an entire era is named after her). So when I spotted this book, I decided to grab it up. And it was the perfect number of pages to finish out the month with another book read.  The PBS series is a lot more enjoyable. I didn’t like the writing style at all. It’s written first person as Victoria. But in the style of a child when she is a child.  Very weird. And I just didn’t like it.  The author used the Queen’s diaries for the novel, but I find it hard to believe that, in the mid-1800’s, a queen to be would have written in such an infantile manner.     Underlining things, using all caps, etc. But apparently, she did. Who knew?!  Her story is quite amazing- she actually wanted to reign alone, a la Queen Elizabeth I. Then she laid eyes on Prince Albert again at age 20 and it was all over for her!  Their fights were legendary. And they had issues (just like Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip). But they were mad about each other. Which was rather sweet. She lived another 30+ years after being widowed and never quit mourning him. I finished in 5 days. 

This month’s favorite books goes to (drum roll please)- Still Me. I just LOVE Louisa Clark. She’s warms my heart. 

2018, I’m coming in strong

When I looked at the number of books I read this month, I felt a little discouraged. Then I looked at the number of pages and realized I did really well!  So here goes. 4 books, 1993 pages. 

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (1232 pages). This is it. This is the year I tackle this beast. It’s only been sitting on my bookshelf since the movie came out. Over 5 years ago.....  Anyway, Hugo is one long winded fellow. And boy, can he go off on a tangent. There was a lot more military history than I really wanted.  And information about the Paris sewers. And convents. It reminded me of Moby Dick in a way. The musical does a much better job of leaving out the truly unimportant stuff. However, I did find it fascinating to get much more background information about the characters, instead of just some brief history via lines in a song!  It was cool to learn that Eponine wasn’t an only child. She had 4 younger siblings and Gavroche was actually her little brother!  Or that Thenardier fought at Waterloo and was connected to Marius’s father. I did find myself singing songs at the appropriate time, even though very few words of the songs are actually from the novel. I finished in 21 days. 

And Both Were Young by Madeleine L’Engle (238 pages). This was very different from A Wrinkle in Time. There was no time/space travel, no mystical ladies. But it was a wonderful novel. Philippa Hunter, better known as Flip, lost her mother a year ago. She adores her father, an artist, but is sent off to boarding school in Switzerland because he can’t keep her with him while he travels for work.  Flip is tall for her age and awkward. She immediately hates school and feels uncomfortable around the other girls, most of whom are European and many of whom survived the War. But then she meets Paul, a boy who lives nearby with his father and dog. Flip’s friendship with Paul helps her become more comfortable at school. She also learns that there is a mystery from Paulo’s past. As she helps him learn about himself, she begins to learn about herself. It was a very sweet book. One that I wish I’d read as a young girl. I finished in 4 days. 

The Chance by Karen Kingsbury (315 pages). Kingsbury is a Christian author. Christian fiction can sometimes be a little much for me. But this one was pretty perfect. Ellie and Nolan are best friends. At 15, their worlds are ripped apart when Ellie’s dad, in a fit of anger at Ellie’s mom, moves Ellie across the country from Savannah to San Diego. Ellie and Nolan write each other letters, bury thyme, and promise to dig them up in exactly 11 years. Those 11 years are hard for everyone- Ellie, her parents, and Nolan. Nolan has become basketball’s Tim Tebow. And Ellie has abandoned her faith. But as her young daughter says, some people take longer to find their happy-ever-after in Jesus. Can prayer help these two high school sweethearts find each other again? And can faith truly help with forgiveness?  I finished in 2 days. 

The Heart of Dixie- Southern Rebels, Renegades and Heroes by Frye Gaillard (208 pages).  The author is a newspaperman who wrote for the Charlotte Observer for many years, primarily as the Southern Editor. He was born in the 1940’s in Alabama, which meant he came of age in the South during a highly charged civil rights era. This was actually a collection of essays written by him about race relations in the South. It was poignant. And very enjoyable. I’m not a huge fan of essay collections. But I found this one quite fascinating. Maybe because I am Southern. Maybe because of the highly charged racial atmosphere that seems to be permeating our country again today. Either way, it was a great read. And I learned a lot. Some of the figures I already knew about- Martin Luther King Jr, Billy Graham, George Wallace. Others were new to me- Dorothy Counts, Will Campbell, Bill Groseclose. In reading about the situations of the past, we really are experiencing them again. And I hate that. I look at what people went through in the past and I’m sad that we are there again in a lot of ways. I finished in 4 days. 

This month’s favorite books goes to (drum roll please)- And Both Were Young. It hit all the buttons for me.  But I did learn a lot from The Heart of Dixie.