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Fostering the love of reading, here are several reviews from myself.
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The Measure
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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At the exact same time, everyone around the world is delivered a small wooden box with a string inside it, which measures their lifespan. The Measure follows 8 people and their decision to look at the string, to not look at the string, to measure it and know the exact time you have left, etc. A fascinating concept that I am finding myself asking everyone over cocktails or dinner. I still don't know what I would do in this situation! The Measure isn't sad at all, in my opinion. Moreover, it's a fascinating look at human behavior when having to reconcile one's own mortality.
The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Edie Lane leaves her home in Ireland to start fresh at a bakery in Paris. Except, whoops. It's not in Paris, but rather a small town in France on Rue de Paris. As she tries to settle into this new realization, she also realizes the bakery she has come to work in has an air of mystery about it. Edie finds working at the bakery to be not what she signed on for, but instead exactly what she needs. I liked this later "coming of age" story where we follow someone who doesn't have it all together still as an adult, but comes into her own in due time and with the right life experiences.
Mansion Beach
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Readers of Pineapple Street and Bad Summer People will love Mansion Beach. Set on Block Island, RI, Mansion Beach follows people summering and working on the island. A mix of old money, new money, and no money, everyone's summer story becomes intertwined. Some congenial relationships are formed, and some are not so congenial. The summer tension and heat rise in tandem together in this book and come to an apex when a dead body is discovered. Mansion Beach was a great summer escapist novel to dive into while on vacation!
Dinners with Ruth by Nina Totenberg
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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A really fascinating read from a NPR journalist who covered the courts and befriended a judge (RBG) as they were both building their careers. And, interestingly, how they chose to respect their friendship first over using the connection of each other to help their careers. It was a heartwarming read.
Be Ready when the Luck Happens by Ian Garten
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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I knew very little about Ian Garten. So, why did I pick this up? I was just curious about how she got to be the Barefoot Contessa! And I learned so much. What a fun listen to hear her sharp pivots in her career. I really enjoyed learning about her persistence in purchasing the land adjacent to hers to build out a barn to film!
What Happens in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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What Happens in Paradise picks up in the story of Irene Steele. The 2nd novel in Elin Hilderbrand's Paradise series is a page turner! So much of the plot from the first book thickens in this second book. I could not put it down and immediately ran to the library to grab the final book in the series upon finishing!
Winter in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Winter in Paradise hooks you right in! Irene Steele lives in Iowa City and is a happily married empty nester who is the envy of many of her friends between her beautiful home, her career, and her doting husband. She receives a call as she is ringing in the new year that makes all of that crumble to the ground. Her husband has been killed in the British Virgin Islands in a helicopter crash. Finding it odd that he is in the BVIs when she thought he was in Florida, she discovers her husband had been living a secret life. She flies down to St. John with her adult sons to face the truth in what is a fantastic start of plot twists and turns of this transporting trilogy.
Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall
Star Rating: ★★★★
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Born to Run author Christopher McDougall is back with another great story to tell. He takes in a malnourished and neglected donkey, Sherman, who was a part of a hoarding situation on a farm. Sherman is untrusting of humans and uncooperative. Knowing that animals need to feel a sense of purpose, the author works toward getting Sherman into burro racing (running alongisde with donkeys). This story was of personal interest because we have seen the burro races many times in Colorado. But, Running with Sherman interestingly covers not only the personal story of Sherman, but also the many fringe benefits of exercise and animal interaction, which helps humans with mental and physical health. The data is fascinating to learn and intertwines into the story of Sherman naturally.
Saltwater by Katy Hays
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Set in Capri, Saltwater bounces between Sarah Lingate in 1992 and her daughter Helen, then and now. In this hush-hush, old money doesn't speak family, Sarah's death in Capri is ruled as an accident but with a hint of suspicion. Helen is untrusting of her family and enlists the family assistant, Lorna, to flee the family while in Capri. But, when Lorna suddenly goes missing, Helen is left to reconcile all of the little signs bubbling to the surface about her mother's death. A page turner set in the summer in beautiful Capri, this book had me capivated through to the last page.
The Club by Ellery Lloyd
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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There are exclusive resorts and then there is The Club. Set in England, Home is a business of Uber-private residences for the ultra-celebrity to have the ultimate privacy and discretion upon entering. Or do they? A death at the new property, Island Home, brings out all of the quiet secrets and discretions that were once afforded to Home's clients. How many secrets are at risk and what would someone do to protect their public image? It all comes out to play in The Club, a book where everyone is ill-willed for different reasons and vengeance is the only currency accepted on the island.
The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh
Star Rating: ★★★
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I may be showing my age with this review. I would love this book if I were 15-25 years old. But, at 43, the tale is too cutesy and predictable. And maybe that is comforting to some, like the way an early 2000's rom-com is. Everyone knows how it's going to end, but we all play along with the cat and mouse game. This story starts with a girl who has lost herself by putting everything she has into her career. And she suddenly gets a wakeup call and decides to try saying "yes" to life more and "no" to her career (via a vacation to try this out). And, it goes exactly where you thinking it's going as you progress in the narrative. For me, it was just okay. I finished it because I kept wanting a spin, a suprise. Maybe I'm too Georgina Tate in my stage of life :) I'm going to pass this on to my YA reader tween and see how she likes it as I'm sure she will have a fresher take than I.
The Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand
Star Rating: ★★★★
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This checks all of the boxes for my kind of summer read. Escape to a new (to me) place. An air of mystique underlying spoken narrative. Mid-century historical fiction. This is my first Elin Hilderbrand novel and I heard from many that I started with the best one. The Summer of '69 is Americana at its peak, with Bostonians escaping the city for Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard. And, while everything is perfectly picnic-friendly for care-free beach days, the Vietnam War keeps things grounded in this family. As does the old adage that every Americana family has secrets lying within its perfectly manicured trees.
A Happier Life by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Keaton finds herself in desperate need of escaping NYC and her present life when her mother randomly says she needs someone to head down to Beaufort, NC to put her childhood home on the market. Keaton takes up the offer to flee the city and head to a past she has never known much about as her grandparents passed away before she was born. What starts as a quick way to distract herself from her life ends up becoming a thirst for knowledge about the family she had but never had the chance to know, including the matriarch that reigned over the sleepy southern beach town of Beaufort. A Happier Life had me yearning for traditions that have gone amiss in modern times while also turning the pages to see how the women of yesteryear and today were going to handle the day's dilemmas. Always with grace, poise, and dignity, no doubt of that.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Star Rating: ★★★★
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Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow had all of the 90s video game nostalgia and even early tech throwbacks (putting an email address in the README file, anyone?) I heard from so many people about this book and they all either loved or hated this book. So polarizing. I ended up really appreciating it. It's a different kind of love story. It's actually many love stories woven into one novel. And I like that there is a book that illustrates there is a way to be incredibly intimate with someone through the act of video game playing. Even though it's fiction, it's incredibly relevant in today's culture and a love story that is probably more relevant than we know.
Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle
Star Rating: ★★★★
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For 20 years, Daphne has received a slip of paper with a man's name and the length of time they will date written on it. And after 20 years, she receives one note with just a name "Jake" and nothing else. As she settles into the unknown length of time of this relationship, we learn more about Jake and Daphne, the secrets people hide in plain sight, and the lengths people will go to when they are truly in love.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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It is the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and Emily, Maisie, and Nell have returned to their family farm in northern Michigan. Now grown, they are waiting out the pandemic with their parents, Lara and Joe. As they are working on the farm, the girls get to hear the stories of their parents from before they were born. Ann Patchett is an illustrative writer, letting your mind visually picture places you've been before for the scenery. It creates such comfort within the stories she writes. Meryl Streep performs the audio of Tom Lake and this performance is well, to quote the book, spectacular.
Burn Rate by Andy Dunn
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Andy Dunn is the CEO of Bonobos and also a person with bipolar disorder type 1. This is not a how-to for startups but it is an intensely candid conversation about episodes of fluctuations in his mental health as he tries to build Bonobos and sell it to Walmart. I flew through this book and really appreciated how vulnerable the writer went into his experiences.
The Opposite of Spoiled by Ron Leiber
Star Rating: ★★★★
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This book was necessary to read as a parent who wasn't taught about money. I learned so much about how to talk to my children about money, charity, donating to those less fortunate, giving to friends, etc. It did in part feel like homework, but most parenting books do. I learned a lot though and I think you will too. I took my time reading it, one subject matter at a time. It made it feel less daunting of a task to handle with my children as a result.
Ladykiller by Katherine Wood
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Abby and Gia are childhood friends who have been through good times and bad. An event one summer in Greece when they are 18 still lingers in the air between their friendship as they enter their 30’s. As Gia is back in Greece, Abby is set to meet her and her brother Benny in Sweden for Abby's 30th birthday. Abby and Benny arrive in Sweden to discover Gia is not coming and can't be found. What comes next is multiple plot twists in yet another deliciously glamorous setting that Katherine Wood has written for us to visit.
Reign: American Royals by Katherine McGee
Star Rating: ★★★★★
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Reign' finds America's first family hanging in the balance. Everything is up in arms at the end of 'Rivals,' and our country's family struggles to find its footing. But, as always, the monarchy finds a way to lead and shine with dignity and grace. The American Royals 4-book arc has been a fun one to read. I loved the ending to our alternate America that Katherine McGee conjured for us to explore.