Get Your Read On!
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As they say Reading is Fundamental but, for me it’s a craving. In the same way some crave a good cup of coffee, a piece of chocolate or potato chips - I have always craved a long list of books!
I love the smell of paper and the weight of a book in my hand but, in the last few years I’ve started listening to books. If my Air-Pods are in 9 times out of 10 I’m listening to a book. I utilize the Hoopla App and The Libby App through my library and as of January 2023 I have a Chirp account.
I don’t focus only on one title - often I’m simultaneously reading a hard cover and listening to another.
Here is the list of my favorites from the entirety of my life and even though this piece was originally published 5/15/2019 - I am always updating it. Enjoy!
*about time travel.
The Dutch House: This Ann Patchett title is wonderful. This book carries with it all the meaning of home and asks what does a building hold of a family when you don’t have either. I originally read the book in March 2020 and first listened in February 2021 and I found it incredible - if possible more impactful than when I originally read it. I re-listened to it in March of 2022. This is my favorite work of modern fiction.
Tom Lake: Another amazing tale by Ann Patchett. When Lara’s three grown daughters return to the family’s Orchard in Northern Michigan during the pandemic to help pick cherries they beg her to tell them about Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom Lara shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company - Tom Lake. Lara shares much but, also keeps things to herself about the summer she was 25. Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. This book riveted me. I stayed up late listening to it. Meryl Streep is masterful acting each character with pinpoint accuracy. Ann Patchett is my favorite author - she’s a master at drawing you in slowly.
Commonwealth: Ann Patchett delves into how a chance encounter changes the lives of 4 parents and 6 children. This book stirs caring for these souls in a profound way.
This is the Story of a Happy Marriage: Ann Patchett shares her life; from childhood to present day, it covers a multitude of topics, including relationships and charts the work and joy of writing and the unexpected thrill of opening a bookstore.
My favorite listen of all time is Daisy Jones & The Six: The actors brought this incredible novel about the meteoric rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer to life - I saw the entire film in my head - and I don’t think I will ever watch the actual film for this reason.
Beartown: We enter a small forest town - where Hockey is omnipresent - we meet inhabitants who carefully share only select parts of themselves - they monitor who knows what - who they are to their parents, coach, children. The Son who can’t share who he loves, the Mother who wishes she’d shown her love, the Father who is unsure what to say. We see a community who is afraid. I listened to this book in 2-1/2days - a page turner - I found riveting characters and as a hockey parent I understood the ever present sport - because hockey is a lifestyle.
Us Against You: This 2nd volume in the Beartown series had me staying up late and like it’s predecessor I listened to it in 2-1/2days - another page turner. We find a new coach in Beartown but, the rivalry with Hed is even more frenzied. By the time the last game between them is played, a resident of Beartown will be dead and people in both towns will be forced to wonder if, after all they’ve been through - was any of it worth it?
The Winners: This 3rd and final volume in the Beartown series is the longest at 21hrs and 23 minutes. Fredrick Backman holds us in suspense for the first 3+hrs. as we wait for the identity of a Beartown resident who has died. We meet new characters who are woven in seamlessly who we care deeply for and old friends return. This novel made me cry more than once and at it’s end we will mourn for more than that single resident it’s the saddest of the series.
*One Italian Summer: When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just her mom, but her best friend. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse, their planned mother-daughter trip of a lifetime looms: two weeks in Positano, the magical town Carol spent the summer before she meeting her husband. Katy has been waiting years to visit with Carol. But as soon as she steps foot on the Amalfi Coast, Katy begins to feel her mother’s spirit. Buoyed by the stunning waters, beautiful cliff-sides, delightful residents and of course delectable food, Katy feels herself coming back to life. And then Carol appears—in the flesh, healthy, sun-tanned, and thirty years old. Katy doesn’t understand what is happening, or how—all she can focus on is that she has somehow, impossibly, gotten her mother back.
*This Time Tomorrow: Since reading Time and Again by Jack Finney I’ve been a fan of people finding themselves traveling through time. Emma Staub wrote this book after her father suggested she write a book about a daughter visiting her father in the hospital like Emma was in 2020. So we meet Alice on her 40th birthday; she’s happy in her life - but, her dad is ailing and she feels something’s missing. When she wakes up the next morning she’s back in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday. But it isn't just her adolescent body that shocks her, or seeing her high school crush, it's her dad: the vital, charming, 49 year old dad she’s reunited with. Now armed with a new perspective on her life and his - is there anything that she would change if she could?
*The Midnight Library: Is any life perfect? That is the theme of this amazing book. I loved the sadness and the thought provoking possibilities that are laid out by Matt Haig. I plan on reading more works by him.
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store: This award-winner’s characters stories overlap and deepen, it becomes clear how much the people who live on the margins struggle and what they must do to survive. This book offers an abundance of themes from race to religion, disability, and the meaning of family and community. The largest theme in this book is about love. I found this book a page-turner. I was enveloped into the world of Chicken Hill and its diverse residents.
The Year of Magical Thinking: Several days before Christmas 2003, John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion saw their only daughter, Quintana, fall ill with what seemed at first flu, then pneumonia, then complete septic shock. She was put into an induced coma and placed on life support. Days later–the night before New Year's Eve–the Dunnes were just sitting down to dinner after visiting the hospital when John Gregory Dunne suffered a fatal coronary. This powerful book is Didion's attempt to make sense of the "weeks and then months that cut loose any fixed idea I ever had about death, about illness . . . about marriage and children and memory . . . about the shallowness of sanity, about life itself." The book follows the first year without her husband of 40 years - while managing their daughters fragile health.
Mary Jane: 1970s Baltimore, shy, bookish fourteen-year-old Mary Jane loves cooking with her mother, singing in her church choir, and enjoying her family’s subscription to the Broadway Show Tunes of the Month record club. She’s excited when she lands a summer job as a nanny for the daughter of a local doctor. A respectable job in a respectable house. The house may look respectable on the outside, but inside it’s a literal and figurative mess: clutter on every surface. And even more troublesome (were Mary Jane’s mother to know, which she does not): The doctor is a psychiatrist who has cleared his summer for one important job—helping a famous rock star dry out. A week after Mary Jane starts, the rock star and his movie star wife move in. Caught between the lifestyle she’s always known and a future she’s only just realized is possible, Mary Jane will arrive at September with a new idea about what she wants out of life, and what kind of person she’s going to be.
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper: A sweet tale of discovery. What happens when Arthur goes on a quest to learn more about his wife. I loved this story.
Family of Liars: I didn’t expect this is one of my top reads. It’s the prequel to We Were Liars which I read last year. You must read WWL before reading this. This second visit to the Sinclair family and their private Massachusetts island is illuminating. The story is shared by Caroline Lennox Taft Sinclair. Being a Sinclair means acting and never showing weakness. Welcome back to the Sinclair family. They were always liars.
Secrets of a Charmed Life: The elderly author Isabel McFarland agrees to be interviewed and after never sharing the true details of her life - give up not only the details but, the secrets. Makes you think about history on a personal level.
Howards End: Is a much beloved family home of Mrs. Ruth Wilcox. The sisters Schlegel are a vibrant with a deep love of knowledge who crave intellect and are defenders of those less fortunate. Their lives become intertwined with the Wilcoxes.
The Nightingale: A extraordinary tale of the french resistance during WWII. I could not put this book down!
Everything I Never Told You: This is a tale of grief but, an incredibly well crafted book. The characters - who they are, how they interact with each other and world is pretty perfect. I highly recommend!
Little Fires Everywhere: This story is about mothers—their relationships with their children and the choices they make to balance motherhood with the rest of their lives. Some choices are for good - some for bad and their stories are surprising.
The Good House: What can I say… something I loved about this book I learned when I was finished reading it…. which is Ann Leary intended the book to go in another direction and the main character Hilde was not supposed to be the main character - But, Hilde took over the story because she’s quite a character… she likes her wine too much….
The Children: Another title by the enjoyable Ann Leary. Here we have the story of Charlotte who rarely leaves her stepfather’s home Lakeside. Her stepbrothers are welcomed guests even though they own Lakeside since their father’s passing. When Spin brings his fiancé home everyone is intrigued by the beautiful and accomplished Laurel Atwood. As the wedding draws near flaws surface in this family portrait.
The Family Upstairs: Everything in Libby’s life is about to change on this her 25th birthday. Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying - while the baby was fine there were three dead bodies laying next to each other in the Kitchen with a scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live there were gone.
None Of This Is True: Another Lisa Jewell book I loved…. This is a thriller about a woman who finds herself the subject of her own popular podcast. While out celebrating her birthday podcaster Alix Summers crosses paths with Josie Fair. They are, in fact, birthday twins. A few days later, Alix and Josie bump into each other again, this time outside Alix’s children’s school. Josie has been listening to Alix’s podcasts and thinks she might be an interesting subject. She is, she tells Alix, on the cusp of great changes in her life. Josie’s life appears to be strange and complicated, and although Alix finds her unsettling, she can’t quite resist the temptation of the podcast. Slowly she starts to realize Josie has been hiding some very dark secrets, and before she knows it, Josie has pushed herself into Alix’s life and into her home! It’s so good - you won’t be able to put it down!
The Chalet: The French Alps, 1998 Two young men ski into a blizzard but only one returns. Now 20 yrs later four people who are connected to the missing man find themself in the same resort. Each has a secret but who has blood on their hands and which is a killer in waiting? A friend suggested this title because of my home. I really enjoyed the mystery.
Bad Summer People: Jen and Lauren rule the town of Salcombe, every summer. They’re adept at manipulating people to get what they want. Their husbands, Sam and Jason, have summered on the island since childhood. This season starts out as quietly as usual until a body is discovered, face down off the side of the boardwalk. None of them would claim to be a particularly good person. But who among them is actually capable of murder? This is a deliciously smart and entertaining read.
The Lost Manuscript: When Anne-Lise books a room at the Beau Rivage Hotel for her vacation she has no idea this trip will start her on the path to unearthing a mystery. In search of something to read, she opens up her bedside table drawer in her hotel room, and inside she finds an abandoned manuscript. Halfway through the pages, an address is written. She sends pages to the address, in hopes of potentially hearing a response. But not before she reads the story and falls in love with it. The response, which she receives astonishes her...Not only does the author write back, but he says he lost the manuscript 30 years ago. This book is written in the forms of letters.
The Heiress: When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. It’s interesting that her adopted son Camden wants nothing to do with his inheritance. This book is written in the forms of letters.
The Secret Book of Flora Lea: I have a few thoughts about the sisters ages and the 1960’s time frame but, that won’t stop me from listing as a favorite. In 1939 Hazel (14) and her sister Flora (5) are evacuated from London to a rural village along the River Thames, Hazel fills their days with walks, games and a fairy tale she’s created about a magical land to entertain Flora. While playing near the river Flora vanishes and Hazel blames herself for her sister’s disappearance. Twenty years later, Hazel in London at the last day of her job at a cozy rare bookstore when she unwraps a package containing an illustrated book called Whisperwood and the River of Stars. Hazel never told a soul about the imaginary world she created for Flora. Could this book hold the secrets to Flora’s disappearance? Could it be a sign that her beloved sister is still alive after all these years?
When it Happens to You: I really enjoyed this debut novel by actress and singer Molly Ringwald it is well written and her characters are fully dimensional in a series of intertwined stories about the challenges, joys and disappointments of adult relationships. Her characters grapple with infertility and infidelity, fame and familial discord.
The Other Bennet Sister: Mary, the bookish ugly duckling of Pride and Prejudice’s five Bennet sisters, emerges from the shadows and transforms into a woman with choices of her own. What if Mary Bennet’s life took a different path from that laid out for her in Pride and Prejudice? What if the frustrated intellectual of the Bennet family, the marginalized middle daughter, the plain girl who takes refuge in her books, eventually found the fulfillment enjoyed by her prettier, more confident sisters?
The Maid: Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads others. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for her maid’s job at the Regency Grand Hotel. She delights in returning guest rooms to a state of perfection. Outside of her job her Gran was her whole world but, since Gran passed away the 25yr is navigating the world alone. I loved Molly.
Metropolitan Stories: As you all know the Metropolitan Museum is my second favorite place on earth after the Chalet. This little gem by Christine Coulson is a love letter to the private side of the museum, with a series of vignettes focusing on the Art and People who inhabit the Met. Coulson had a 25 yr career there including time in the Director’s Office. It’s sweet, thought provoking and sometimes fanciful.
All the Beauty in the World: Millions of people climb the grand marble staircase to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art every year. But only a select few have unrestricted access to every nook and cranny. They’re the guards who roam unobtrusively in dark blue suits, keeping a watchful eye on the two million square foot treasure house. Patrick Bringley finds solace in this institution after the death of his brother and what he thinks will be a temporary job becomes his career of a decade. We follow him as he guards delicate treasures from Egypt to Rome, strolls the labyrinths beneath the galleries, wears out nine pairs of company shoes, and marvels at the beautiful works in his care.
The Reading List: Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home. When widower Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list… hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again. I have recommended this book to so many people. Readers love to connect over the joy of a shared title and this is what the basis of this story is about. Connection and Reading.
A Man Called Ove: Ove is a particular man, he does things in a particular way. The question is - is he willing to change those ways? He pulls you in just as he is pulled in by those around him.
What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love: She lost her best friend and husband within weeks of each other.
Nothing to See Here: Lillian and Madison were unlikely friends at their elite boarding school. But then Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly in the wake of a scandal and they’ve barely spoken since. Until now, when Lillian gets a letter from Madison pleading for her help with her twin step-kids. She wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there’s a catch: the twins spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a startling but beautiful way.
Vanderbilt: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty: New York Times bestselling author and journalist Anderson Cooper teams with New York Times bestselling historian and novelist Katherine Howe to chronicle the rise and fall of a legendary American dynasty—his mother’s family, the Vanderbilts. It’s told in a modern way and It’s a favorite.
The Vanishing Half: Weaving together multiple strands and generations of this family, from the Deep South to California, from the 1950s to the 1990s, Brit Bennett produces a story that is at once a riveting, emotional family story and a brilliant exploration of the American history of passing. Looking well beyond issues of race, The Vanishing Half considers the lasting influence of the past as it shapes a person's decisions, desires, and expectations, and explores some of the multiple reasons and realms in which people sometimes feel pulled to live as something other than their origins.
The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock - In 1785, merchant Jonah Hancock hears urgent knocking on his door. One of his captains is waiting eagerly on the step. He has sold Jonah’s ship for what appears to be a mermaid - this is a wonderful tale - I thoroughly enjoyed!
The Shoemakers Wife: I can’t express how much I enjoyed these characters. I listened to this on Hoopla and was really sad when it was over.
The Perfume Collector: Weaving through time from 1920s New York to Monte Carlo, Paris, and London, the story Grace uncovers of an Eva d’Orsey’s history will transform Grace’s life forever, forcing her to choose between the woman she is expected to be and the person she really is.
Killing Monica: I have always been a Candace Bushnell fan. This book did not disappoint.
Summer Rental: I continue to share this title with friends. I really like these three gals Ellis, Julia, and Dorie friends since grade school; now in their mid-thirties are all at crossroads. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is beginning to question the choices she's made. Julia, whose caustic wit covers up her wounds has a man who’s offering her the world. And Dorie, who was betrayed by the man she loved. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs.
White Chrysanthemum: I was unfamiliar with the history of Japans invasion of Korea and of girls stolen from their families. This story is gripping and hit home with me as a sister and a woman.
Fly Girl: A Memoir: When Ann Hood was young her family would pile into the car and visit the construction site of what became Washington Dulles International Airport which opened in 1962. Ann decided planes and travel were where she wanted to be. Graduating from college in 1978 Ann began the interview process and landed a coveted spot with TWA. She survived TWA’s rigorous Breech Training Academy where she learned to evacuate seven kinds of aircraft, deliver a baby, mix proper cocktails, administer oxygen and stay calm no matter what the situation.
I loved listening to Ann read her memoir of the skies… my first plane ride was in 1978 on TWA with my parents heading to California to visit Disneyland. It was a great flight!
My Mrs. Brown: Emilia Brown has a frugal life in a small town in Rhode Island. We accompany her on a trip to purchase the dress - an Oscar de la Renta it’s a fun and inspiring short read - focusing on a goal and the reasons for goals.
Pineapple Street: I enjoyed this tale of the privileged Stockton family. Darley, the eldest daughter followed her heart, trading her job and inheritance for motherhood; Sasha, a middle-class New England outsider has married only Stockton son Cord and works with his father Chip and defers to his mother Tilda always. Sasha and Cord live in the Pineapple Street family home where any effort by Sasha to clear the house of clutter or make changes is stymied and Georgiana, the baby of the family, who fell in love with someone she can’t have and must decide what kind of person she wants to be.
If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home: I’m a huge fan of Dr. Lucy Worsley is an English historian, author, curator, and television presenter in England.
My Antonia: Is the unforgettable story of an immigrant woman’s life on the hardscrabble Nebraska plains. I read this in High School and still count myself lucky the book was assigned to us.
Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore: Due to the economy Clay Jannon a web designer finds himself working at the bookstore. He discovers the store is more curious than either its name or its gnomic owner might suggest.
The Thanksgiving Visitor: Buddy and his closest friend, his eccentric elderly cousin Miss Sook love preparing their old country house for Thanksgiving. But this year, there's trouble in the air.
The Swans of Fifth Avenue: A captivating novel about Truman Capote’s friendship with Babe Paley.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s: Holly Golightly is pursued by gangsters and playboys, she is so much and so delightful to meet.
Primates of Park Avenue: Wednesday Martin struggled to fit in. She used her background in anthropology and primatology to look at her situation with new eyes and bam it all fell into place. Her conclusions are witty, thought-provoking and it’s a great read!
Where ’d You Go Bernadette: Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades and her mom Bernadette who is a shut-in, throws herself into trip planning, but, she suddenly disappears - Bee works hard going through e-mails, school memos and invoices to reveal a secret past that her Mom had been hiding.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: Henry joins a crowd outside the Panama Hotel, boarded up for decades, the new owner has discovered items belonging to Japanese families who were sent to internment camps during WWII. Henry remembers a girl from his childhood in the 1940s.
The Marble Faun of Grey Gardens: Jerry Torre's memoir of his days at Grey Gardens and his relationship with "Big Edie" and "Little Edie" Beale and his days post Grey Gardens in NYC.
The Invention of Wings: Hetty a slave in 19th century Charleston is part of the Grimke household. The Grimke’s daughter, Sarah is given ownership of 10 year old Hetty on her 11th Birthday. We follow their journey over the next 35 years.
Capital Gains: Smart Things I Learned Doing Stupid Stuff: Chip Gaines is a very motivating personality. This book should be shared. So enjoyable.
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House: One of my favorite books and the film starring Cary Grant and Myrna Loy: Mr and Mrs. Blandings design their perfect home and we follow along during their construction issues and the funny workers they deal with.
Ludwig Bemelmans - he did more than write Madeline . I have a copy of To the One I love the Best: Episodes from the Life of Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe) It;s about his friendship with the interior decorator Elsie de Wolfe, its a great peek at a specific time.
The House in Good Taste: This great design book was published in 1914 and much of what Elsie de Wolfe said then still rings true. To shun clutter in favor of simplicity and to let the light in and she believed in white paint.
Sister Parish: The Life of the Legendary American Interior Designer: Sister - as she was always called - was born Dorothy May Kinnicutt in 1910 and spent a privileged early life at all the right places. She was compelled to work during the Depression. Sister combined her innate design ability with her upper-echelon social connections and created a successful interior decorating business. The Parish-Hadley firm's list of clients reads like an American Who's Who. I am a huge fan of her work and of the current firms.
Jane Eyre: Jane was orphaned as a child and has felt like she didn’t belong her whole life. She is overwhelmed and nervous when she arrives at Thornfield Hall to be governess to Edward Rochester’s charge Adele. This is quote I want to live by - Jane says “Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.” I love so many of the Bronte sisters novels but, Jane has a never give up attitude I truly admire.
Harry Potter: I read all the Harry Potter books before I had Liam. I thoroughly enjoyed and simply couldn’t put them down. I am excited to share them with him.
I love Kate Morton below are my favorites from this wonderful author.
The House at Riverton: The story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death. It’s told in flashbacks. I love this book - for the time period it shares in the flashbacks and the people you meet.
The Forgotten Garden: This is a captivating story full of secrets, family and memory. Cassandra is grieving her grandmother Nell and she receives an bequest that turns her life upside down.
The Distant Hours: Edie Burchill finds herself on a journey to Milderhurst Castle, a decaying fortress where the Blythe sisters live and where her mom was sent to live as a child during WWII. Edie will unravel the mystery of her mother’s time there and some then some. This is my favorite Kate Morton book…I was mesmerized by it.
The Secret Keeper: During a summer gathering Laurel will watch her mother speak to a stranger and not soon after she will witness a crime. Now, years later Laurel realizes time is running out to find out from her 90 year old mother the truth about that day.
Homecoming: Adelaide Hills, South Australia Christmas Eve, 1959 - at the end of a scorching hot day, beside a creek on the grounds of the grand mansion, a delivery man makes a terrible discovery. Sixty years later, Jess is a journalist in search of a story. Having lived and worked in London for almost twenty years, a phone call summons her back to Sydney, where her beloved grandmother, Nora, who raised Jess has suffered a fall and is in the hospital. Jess will learn about the tragedy that shaped her family. This is definitely vying for the top spot of most beloved Kate Morton works. It’s a long book at 544 pages but, it’s spellbinding and so well written jumping time periods and characters - I couldn’t put it down and read it in 3 days.
I have a deep affinity for novels that take place at the turn of the 20th century - I love the Alienist and The Angel of Darkness both by Caleb Carr.
Another from this same time period is E.L. Doctorow - work The Waterworks: One morning in 1871 Manhattan, reporter Martin Pemberton sees in a passing omnibus with several elderly men, one of whom he recognizes as his supposedly dead and buried father. I loved the mystery of this story and how Martin as a reporter can’t stop seeking answers. (I read after my father passed away and I had dreams that my Dad Jim was back- crazy stuff!). The Waterworks becomes, in the words of The New York Times, “a dark moral tale . . . an eloquently troubling evocation of our past.”
Brideshead Revisited: I read after watching the 1981 British Telepic on PBS. It’s the story of Charles Ryder’s infatuation with the Marchmain family. It’s a wonderful tale of love and loss and grasping for what you think will make you happy.
East of Eden: I asked my husband to gift me a hardcover for a milestone birthday - it is my favorite work of classic fiction. John Steinbeck created a masterpiece that is both a family saga and a modern retelling of the Book of Genesis filled with the mystery of identity, the inexplicability of love and the murderous consequences of love's absence. Set in the rich farmland of California’s Salinas Valley, this sprawling and often brutal novel follows the intertwined destinies of two families—the Trasks and the Hamiltons—whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel. Adam Trask came to California from the East to farm and raise his family on the new rich land. But the birth of his twins, Cal and Aaron, brings his wife to the brink of madness, and Adam is left alone to raise his boys to manhood. One boy thrives nurtured by the love of all those around him; the other grows up in loneliness enveloped by a mysterious darkness.
A Christmas Carol: Oh Ebenezer needs to learn the error of his ways and boy does he!
Great Expectations: Orphaned Pip lives with his married sister and encounters an escaped convict. While terrified he complies and helps the man. Years later Pip is given a great deal - in possession of “great expectations” he does not realize who his benefactor is.
The Picture of Dorian Gray: Fashionable Dorian Gray sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty.
The Great Gatsby: Nick is the narrator of this tale of love and loss. Nick lives next door to the mysterious Jay Gatsby, who lives in a gigantic Gothic mansion and throws extravagant parties every Saturday night. it is revealed that Gatsby knew Nick’s married cousin Daisy in Louisville in 1917 and is deeply in love with her. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle is simply an attempt to impress Daisy. This is one of the Best American Novels. If you have not read it DO SO!
A few honorable mentions: Snobs, Moonglow, White Dresses, 84 Charing Cross Road, Younger.
Entertaining authors: Mary Kay Andrews, Candace Bushnell, Dorothea Benton Frank, Truman Capote, Daphne du Maurier, Ann Leary, Liane Moriarty, Anna Quindlen, Ann Patchett, Emma Straub, Adriana Trigiani, Jennifer Weiner and Lauren Weisberger to name a few.
Some treasures from childhood:
The Secret Garden: Mary a young English girl returns to England alone from India because her parents have died. Mary must live with her uncle; when he's away from home, she discovers a beautiful walled garden which is kept locked. The mystery deepens when she hears sounds of sobbing from somewhere within her uncle's vast mansion.
The Christmas Mouse: Mrs. Berry is frightened by a mouse and goes downstairs to sit-out Christmas Eve and is disturbed yet again. This time by a young run-away boy. This lovely tale still enchants me about the best in human nature
The Diamond in the Window: Eddy and Eleanor Hall have always known their family was uncommon and they live in a most remarkable house. But, they would never have guessed just how remarkable the house really is.
Her Majesty Grace Jones: A young Ohio girl is convinced she is an English princess and the true heir to the throne.
I love everything Margaret Bloy Graham illustrated or wrote - the Harry the Dirty Dog series, the Benjy series and I have a copy of the Storm Book - the illustrations are magical!
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret: Margaret is almost twelve and wants to fit in with her new friends - none of them can believe she doesn’t belong to a religion. What they don’t know is Margaret has her own special relationship with God.
Harriet The Spy: I read this book when I was 11 and appropriated my sister’s copy - which still has pride of place on the livingroom console table. I made a life-size study of myself mirrored after Harriet. Harriet M. Welsch is a spy; she writes down everything about everyone she sees - including her classmates and her best friends - in her notebook. Her notebook ends up in the wrong hands and her thoughts are read - will she be able to fix the damage caused?
I checked out PT109 written by John F. Kennedy at least fives times from my school library.
I asked some special friends what books they would recommend:
My Sister - Noreen: To Kill a Mockingbird, East of Eden, The Godfather, Gone with the Wind, The Poisonwood Bible, The Pearl, Slaughter House Five, The Aviator’s Wife and The Things They Carried. She is an avid reader and could have easily shared more.
My Niece - Christina: The Great Gatsby and Rebecca.
Anne: Gone with the Wind and David Copperfield.
Kristin: Any title by Nicholas Sparks.
Sara: The Alchemist
Michele: Sugar Daddy, It Ends With Us (Verity by the same author was good), Three Women and Educated.
Abbey: Joyful
Word of mouth is one of the best ways to find a new book. I have always checked out the recommendations section at my Library. I follow Ann Bogel ‘s blog Modern Mrs. Darcy.
Did you Follow The Great American Read on PBS? It was an 8 part series that took views votes to decide the 100 best. To Kill a Mockingbird was voted the Bests Novel.
Recently I’ve also discovered BookBub - its a free service that helps millions of readers discover books they'll love. BookBub works with all major eBook retailers and devices and partners with thousands of the industry’s leading publishers and authors to promote their books.
I’ll close by sharing three favorite authors:
I hope you have found a few new reads!
If I’ve left your favorite off this list. Please share it with me and leave a comment!
Til next time! Happy Reading!
