December 2013

Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman

Teddi Overman actually does what I’d love to do. She owns a furniture store turning other people’s junk into beautifully restored antiques. But hellooo it’s a novel and things can’t be that perfect! Through-out the book Hoffman gives us snippets of Teddi’s childhood and the story of her brother – who disappeared. My only complaint is the book ended too abruptly. ♥♥♥

Wash by Margaret Wrinkle

In early 1800s Tennessee, slavery is everywhere. Washington, a young slave is set to work as a breeding sire. Wash, the first member of his family to be born into slavery, struggles to hold onto the memory of his African mother. This book could have easily been half the length and twice as interesting.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

I couldn’t understand how Wild would be an interesting story, but I picked it up since it was getting a lot of press. At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed’s mother passes away. Not knowing how to hold her life together, she destroys her marriage and slips into drugs. Four years later, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California, Oregon up to Washington State -- alone. This is a true story, and being made into a movie as we speak. Great, great book. ♥♥♥♥

November 2013

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1857, when John Brown, the legendary abolitionist, arrives in the area and ends up taking young Henry under his wing. In my opinion this book had the potential to be great historical fiction but it fell flat again and again. However it won the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction so what do I know?

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Young Theo Decker miraculously survives a horrible accident that kills his mother. His father long gone, Theo is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He clings to the one thing that reminds him of his mother -- a small painting that he ‘borrows’ from the museum where the accident took place. After his father re-appears his life takes a turn and we watch Theo grow up and try to do the right thing. Through it all the painting holds his life together. Until it doesn’t. Fabulous story line, awesome characters who you love so much you want to reach inside the pages and stop them from self-destruction.

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE YEAR. ♥♥♥♥

October 2013

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

A book of epic time-line, following the Whittaker family through much of the 18^th and 19^th centuries. From enterprising Henry Whittaker, who was born poor-but makes a fortune in the South American quinine trade, to the main character -- his brilliant daughter, Alma who becomes a gifted botanist. She researches the mysteries of evolution, falls in love, travels the world and invites us in to a fantastic world of missionaries, abolitionists, adventurers, astronomers, sea captains, and geniuses. We also get to ride along exploring London, Peru, Philadelphia, Tahiti and Amsterdam. An all-time favorite!! ♥♥♥♥

The First Rule of Ten by Gay Hendricks and Tinker Lindsay

Tenzing Norbu is an ex-monk and soon-to-be ex-cop – a sort of spiritual warrior who gets his first PI case in The First Rule of Ten. Set in modern-day Los Angeles. Easy fun read with some life lessons and mystery thrown in.

We Are Water by Wally Lamb

After twenty-seven years of marriage and three children, Annie Oh has fallen in love with another woman -- Viveca, her Manhattan art dealer. An inspired and heart-warming portrait of modern relationships, and the connections that hold a family together, no matter what. Set in present day America, Lamb explores class, changing social mores, racial violence, creativity and art.

♥♥♥

September 2013

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Between 1854 and 1929, orphan trains ran from the cities of the East Coast to the farmlands of the Midwest. Mind boggling as it seems, thousands of abandoned children were shipped West on these trains to be adopted by a kind and loving family, or face a childhood of hard labor and servitude. It was a roll of the dice. Young Irish immigrant, Vivian Daly was one such child, sent by rail from New York City to an uncertain future. Now an elderly widow, she hires young Molly Ayers to clean out her attic – which brings Vivian’s past to life, and helps Molly discover hers. ♥♥♥

Restaurant Man by Joe Bastianich

Joe Bastianich is one of the most successful restaurateurs in America. This is the story of an Italian boy from Queens who makes it big in stocks, then turns his passion for food and wine into an empire. Of course it doesn’t hurt that your Mother is superstar chef Lidia Bastianich. The book was fabulous and made me want to visit his newest place in NYC called Eataly, which I did in October. A four-star look inside the restaurant business -- delicious!! ♥♥♥♥

The Husbands’ Secret by Linde Moriarty

Cecilia married one of the fabulous Fitzpatrick boys. But while he’s away on a business trip, she finds a letter “to be opened in the event of his death.” His fabulousness erodes as she comes to grips with the secrets within the letter. The question is, can she keep them, or will she willingly destroy her perfect world? ♥♥

The Drowning Guard by Linda Lafferty

Each morning before dawn, a boat leaves the harbor and a man dies. The Ottoman princess Esma Sultan seduces a different Christian lover each night, and then has him drowned in the morning. The Drowning Guard explores the complexities of Esma - who is a murderer AND a liberator of women. This historical fiction is set in 1826 Istanbul.♥♥

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

Hosseini’s third novel follows a close-knit Afghan family. Not close enough to forgo selling off the youngest daughter – but I regress. The story opens in 1952 in a village outside of Kabul. Kaboor sells little Pari to the wealthy poet Nila Wahdati and her husband. There is a nagging voice inside that tells Pari she doesn’t really belong to these people. Many characters tell the tale, but Pari is the heart and soul of the novel. We see Pari grow up, leave Kabul and eventually comes to knows the truth. Confusing at times, with page after page of un-necessary descriptions, but a wonderful book over-all. ♥♥♥

August 2013

David and Goliath by Malcom Gladwell

Gladwell (previous books include The Tipping Point, Blink, and What the Dog Saw) has the unique gift to take ordinary concepts and make them interesting and challenge us to think differently. His latest book -- a fresh perspective on what it means to be discriminated against, cope with a disability, lose a parent, or suffer from other setbacks. ♥

Paris Was the Place by Susan Conley

Willie Pears teaches at a center for immigrant girls who are all hoping for French asylum. We get an inside peek of the hardship faced by people hoping for a better life, and what they have to go through to find it. Combine that with Willies own issues and you’ve got a pretty good read.♥♥

Sea Creatures by Susanna Daniel

Georgia and Graham Quillian along with their son Frankie move to Coral Gables hoping for a fresh start. Graham’s got a sleep disorder, Frankie doesn’t talk, but thank goodness Georgia finds a cool job shuttling supplies to an artist who lives in a tiny house on stilts (!) off the coast in a community appropriately enough called Stiltsville. Eventually Georgia and Frankie find peace, thanks to the ocean, the artist…and the damn hard truth.♥♥

The End of the Affair by Graham Green

"This is a record of hate far more than of love." The first passage of this book really got to me. After all, when love turns sour it often turns to hate. The very English gentleman, Maurice Bendrix writes down the account of his adulterous affair with Sarah Miles. Sarah has since died and he is trying to discover how love turned to hate. Originally published in 1951, The End of the Affair was a Kindle Audible book (cheap!) - so I bought it to ease the drive from Portland to Boise. It was narrated by Colin Firth and made the drive fly by! ♥♥

The Gravity of Birds by Tracy Guzeman

Natalie is beautiful and sullen. Alice is a dreamer who loves books and birds. During their family’s summer holiday at the lake, both fall under the spell of a struggling young painter, Thomas Bayber – who paints the family in a series of portraits. Fast forward several decades --Bayber, now a world-renowned artist, unveils a never-before-seen work, Kessler Sisters. He hires a history professor, and a young art authenticator to sell the painting, but first they are required to find the sisters who seem to have vanished. ♥♥♥