My name is Lucy Barton. Finished 2-25-17, rating 3.75/5, fiction, pub. 2016

Unabridged audio read by Kimberly Farr

Lucy Barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Her mother, to whom she hasn’t spoken for many years, comes to see her. Gentle gossip about people from Lucy’s childhood in Amgash, Illinois, seems to reconnect them, but just below the surface lies the tension and longing that have informed every aspect of Lucy’s life: her escape from her troubled family, her desire to become a writer, her marriage, her love for her two daughters.  from Goodreads

I was going to wait to write about this one until after our book club meeting, but since it’s been postponed until June I think I’ll go ahead before I forget about it completely.  I listened to this short book and it was okay.  The writing was great and the mother-daughter relationship at the center was complex and interesting.  The mother was infuriating and I was hoping that Lucy would stand up to her, but as is the case in most parental relationships, they are fraught with landmines that one or both parties would just like to avoid.  This made Lucy a weaker character that she might have been if the story had been told just from the point of view of her escaping her poverty-stricken childhood.

It did feel disjointed, jumping from here to there, with nothing much going on, but then by the end all of the little paths merged into something quite complete.  I did like it, but I’m not sure I’ll be reading more from the author.

Maybe in Another Life. Finished 3-16-17, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2015

Unabridged audio read by Julia Whelan. 9 hours 10 minutes.

At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.

Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?

In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?  from Goodereads

I’ve been listening to this book in the car for over a week and this morning I finally caved and bought a cinnamon roll and ate the whole glorious thing.  Hannah loves cinnamon rolls and cinnamon rolls were mentioned a lot by pretty much every character throughout the book even til the very last pages.  This is not a complaint but a warning.  If you listen to someone talk about cinnamon rolls enough you will find one to devour.  Just sayin’.

We meet Hannah at the beginning of the book as she moves back to Los Angeles.  She’s a bit of a mess, but through her best friend Gabby’s eyes we see Hannah for the loved and loving woman she is.  When she meets up with an old boyfriend on her first night back Hannah must choose to stay with him or leave with Gabby.  The stories then go from there.

In the next chapter she goes home with Gabby and disaster strikes. The chapter after that she goes home with Ethan and a love is rekindled.  The storylines alternate by chapter so that you are never too long in one that you’ve lost interest in the other. Knowing this is how it was set up I thought for sure I’d hate it.  I didn’t.

There were many ways this could have ended and Reid teased them all.  I probably would have preferred a different ending, BUT I liked it.  Are our lives decided by fate or do we make our own decisions?  If we make a choice will fate keep bringing us back to a preordained life?  This book was fun and though provoking.  I’m looking forward to going back and reading her earlier books.

This made lots of best of  lists when it came out a few years ago and I can see why.

The Dinner. Finished 2-14-17, rating 4/5, pub. 2013

Unabridged audio read by Clive Mantle. 9 hours.

A summer’s evening in Amsterdam and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant. Between mouthfuls of food and over the delicate scraping of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of politeness – the banality of work, the triviality of holidays. But the empty words hide a terrible conflict and, with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened… Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children and, as civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple shows just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.       from Goodreads

This is one of those books that the less you know the better so I’m not going to spoil any more than the description from Goodreads, and even that I deleted a few sentences. Amsterdam at an expensive restaurant, brothers and their wives, testy relationships put to the test.  It was…different.  Thought provoking, yes.  Enjoyable, sorta.  Recommended, if unlikeable characters are your thing.

I’m so glad that I listened to the audio. Mantle really sold Paul and elevated the story with his performance.

The movie featuring Richard Gere and Laura Linney is coming out in May!

The Dead Key. Finished 1-12-17, rating 4/5, pub. 2015

Unabridged audio read by Emily Sutton-Smith. 13 hours 47 minutes.

It’s 1998, and for years the old First Bank of Cleveland has sat abandoned, perfectly preserved, its secrets only speculated on by the outside world.

Twenty years before, amid strange staff disappearances and allegations of fraud, panicked investors sold Cleveland’s largest bank in the middle of the night, locking out customers and employees, and thwarting a looming federal investigation. In the confusion that followed, the keys to the vault’s safe-deposit boxes were lost.

In the years since, Cleveland’s wealthy businessmen kept the truth buried in the abandoned high-rise. The ransacked offices and forgotten safe-deposit boxes remain locked in time, until young engineer Iris Latch stumbles upon them during a renovation survey. What begins as a welcome break from her cubicle becomes an obsession as Iris unravels the bank’s sordid past. With each haunting revelation, Iris follows the looming shadow of the past deeper into the vault—and soon realizes that the key to the mystery comes at an astonishing price.

In 2015 I had the opportunity to hear Pulley speak (wrote about it here) and the talk made me excited to read the book (the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Award winner). So much of what she writes about came from her experience as an engineer and being able to see the safe deposit boxes left as they were described in an old bank she was surveying.  I think seeing her presentation definitely made the book better.  If you’re interested this is a talk ( link )she gave at a local library.

The mystery follows the popular two storylines taking place in different time periods approach and works well enough, but I almost wish there’d been less of the 1998 story because the storyline and main character weren’t nearly as interesting as 1978.  I loved young Beatrice getting caught up in scandal and intrigue at the bank during a time that women had less options than they do today.  I was rooting for her to make her way out of the mess without getting caught but we never really knew until the last chapter with Iris in 1998.

Beatrice had all of the dignity that Iris lacked.  Iris drank too much, smoked too much, was late for work too much and maybe let her curiosity get the better of her too much.  I didn’t have problem with her but it was Beatrice’s story that kept me reading.

I liked it and am glad that I was able to hear her speak first because it put the story in context.  I also loved that it took place in Cleveland (and that means I can count it for my Read Harder Challenge).

The Silent Wife. Finished 11-22-16, rating 4/5, thriller, pub. 2013

Unabridged audio read by Karen White and Donald Corren. 9 hours.

Jodi and Todd are at a bad place in their marriage. Much is at stake, including the affluent life they lead in their beautiful waterfront condo in Chicago, as she, the killer, and he, the victim, rush haplessly toward the main event. He is a committed cheater. She lives and breathes denial. He exists in dual worlds. She likes to settle scores. He decides to play for keeps. She has nothing left to lose. Told in alternating voices, The Silent Wife is about a marriage in the throes of dissolution, a couple headed for catastrophe, concessions that can’t be made, and promises that won’t be kept. Expertly plotted and reminiscent of Gone Girl and These Things Hidden, The Silent Wife ensnares the reader from page one and does not let go.  from Goodreads

I read comparisons to Gone Girl, a book I had a love/hate relationship with, and decided to give it a try because I was in the mood for a thriller.  It was…different.

Both Jodi and Todd are for the most part unlikeable.  Todd is a womanizing cheater and Jodi knows it but stays anyway.  After twenty years, Todd finally makes a mistake that will change their status quo and Jodi can’t accept it.

I went through a whole range of emotions with both of these characters.  While neither were likeable, each had their moments of being more sympathetic than I was expecting, so there were those little surprises that made this, in some ways, more enjoyable than Gone Girl.  Quieter, but just as twisted in  a more cerebral way.

I liked it. When  Jason asked me if he should give it a listen, I hesitated.  If you like the more introspective thrillers that deal with ugly topics then, yes, this book is for you.  When I told him this he decided to skip it, but that doesn’t mean you should.

Practically Green. Finished 9-28-16, rating 4/5, greening your home, 224 pages, pub. 2009

Simple copy-and-clip guides that make it easy to buy smart.  At-a-glance charts and lists that break down complicated information in an easy-to-understand manner
30+ DIY projects and ideas for making-it-green yourself, including instructions for making all-natural body care products, simple sewing projects and much more
Healthy, tasty recipes to please kids and adults alike, ideas for packing greener lunches plus tips and tricks for replacing packaged convenience snacks with home-made versions
Let Practically Green guide you to a greener life!   from Goodreads

I’ve spent the past few years ‘greening’ our house in bits and spurts and thought this book was a nice guide for beginners and beyond.  I found new info and lots of reminders of things I still want to do.  I loved the layout which only added to the enjoyment.  It was published in 2009, so some of the information is common knowledge now, but mostly it’s still up-to-date.  It even has handy information sheets that you can cut out of the book for reference.

Our city has a wonderful curbside recycling program, they take almost anything, and just started providing bags so that we can recycle things like clothes and shoes too.  I feel spoiled in that regard, but even without extensive recycling you can make your house safer for your family and future families by buying less chemicals, processed foods and cheap clothing.  It’s always a work in progress around here. There are always things to improve upon.  And buy less.  We heard several times on our trip to Boston that much of the of the city is build on landfill.  The less you buy the less landfill we need to live on.

What’s it about – Greening your home through your food, your cleaners, and your clothes.

What did I learn – If everyone in the US replaced one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper with 100% recycled paper we could save 423,900 trees. About 80-90% of energy used in clothes washing comes from heating the water.  Lots of facts like this pop up throughout the book just so you have something to think about and consider.

Who would like it – Anyone who would like to start the process of living in a way that puts less of a burden on future generations.

The Steel Kiss. Finished 11-6-16, rating 4/5, thriller, pub. 2016

Unabridged audio read by Edoardo Ballerini. 14.5 hours.

Lincoln Rhyme series #12 (1st-The Bone Collector, 2nd- The Coffin Dancer, 3rd- The Empty Chair, 4th- The Stone Monkey, 5th- The Vanished Man, 6th- The Twelfth Card, 7th- The Cold Moon, 8th- The Broken Window 9th- The Burning Wire, 10th-The Kill Room)

Amelia Sachs is hot on the trail of a killer. She’s chasing him through a department store in Brooklyn when an escalator malfunctions. The stairs give way, with one man horribly mangled by the gears. Sachs is forced to let her quarry escape as she jumps in to try to help save the victim. She and famed forensic detective Lincoln Rhyme soon learn, however, that the incident may not have been an accident at all, but the first in a series of intentional attacks. They find themselves up against one of their most formidable opponents ever: a brilliant killer who turns common products into murder weapons. As the body count threatens to grow, Sachs and Rhyme must race against the clock to unmask his identity–and discover his mission–before more people die.                   from Goodreads

So, it happened.  I got behind in this series and skipped one.  I was not happy when I started listening and realized that I was missing some information.  Sure enough I missed #11.  I almost stopped, but since it was the only thing I had to listen to I soldiered on.

Lincoln Rhyme was a brilliant criminologist for the NYPD until he was injured in the line of duty and this series takes him from suicidal to productive to hopeful.  He is a quadriplegic who works from his townhome in New York City with his trusty aide and detective girlfriend by his side.  At the beginning of this book we find Lincoln not working for the NYC police department because of a case that happened in the last book (the one I missed :(), but through some of Amelia’s sly moves they end up working on the same case anyway.

Amelia’s ex is back in the picture as is a new wheelchair bound intern for Lincoln.  The escalator scene at the beginning of the book will have you reassessing the moving stairs when you’re out and about this busy holiday season.  The main story was good but it was subplots that kept the book moving for me.  I always enjoy my time with Lincoln and his friends.

I recommend this series for those of  you who like police procedurals and appreciate a different kind of protagonist.  Start with The Bone Collector though since it sets it the series nicely.

Following Ezra:What One Father Learned About Gumby, Otters, Autism, and Love from his Extraordinary Son. Finished 9-1-16, rating 4/5, autism, 241 pages, pub. 2011

When Tom Fields-Meyer’s son Ezra was three and showing early signs of autism, a therapist suggested that the father needed to grieve.
“For what?” he asked.
The answer: “For the child he didn’t turn out to be.”
That moment helped strengthen the author’s resolve to do just the opposite: to love the child Ezra was, a quirky boy with a fascinating and complex mind. Full of tender moments and unexpected humor, Following Ezra is the story of a father and son on a ten-year journey from Ezra’s diagnosis to the dawn of his adolescence. It celebrates his growth from a remote toddler to an extraordinary young man, connected in his own remarkable ways to the world around him.    from Goodreads

This was the first book that I picked up for Jason after we received Gage’s PDD-nos diagnosis when he was two.  Now that I’ve read it I understand that it was the PERFECT book for him at the time and would recommend it to any other dad just entering the autism world.  I remember Jason telling me that his big take away was that this dad chose to embrace the obsessions (obviously trains for Gage) and that is something that we still do.  But my biggest take away from the book is the utter acceptance of Ezra by his parents.  I’m not saying they didn’t struggle, they are parents after all, but they weren’t struggling to change him.  This is the approach Jason has always taken and it tones down my, “I can fix this,” attitude.

There was so much that was recognizable here, the sensory issues, the endless loop of questions, the laughing when being corrected that it was comforting to read about Ezra and his continual progress.  Fields-Meyer writes with compassion, love and humor about something that turns a family upside down.  Not just for dads, but for anyone who wants to understand what autism really looks like day to day, this is a great read.  It doesn’t dwell on the therapies but on the boy. As it should be.

This is my first book of my 30 books in 30 days challenge that you can read more about here.