Almost Famous Women. Finished 2-8-17, rating 4.5/5, short stories, 236 pages, pub. 2015

The fascinating lives of the characters in Almost Famous Women have mostly been forgotten, but their stories are burning to be told. Now Megan Mayhew Bergman, author of Birds of a Lesser Paradise, resurrects these women, lets them live in the reader’s imagination, so we can explore their difficult choices. Nearly every story in this dazzling collection is based on a woman who attained some celebrity—she raced speed boats or was a conjoined twin in show business; a reclusive painter of renown; a member of the first all-female, integrated swing band. We see Lord Byron’s illegitimate daughter, Allegra; Oscar Wilde’s troubled niece, Dolly; West With the Night author Beryl Markham; Edna St. Vincent Millay’s sister, Norma. These extraordinary stories travel the world, explore the past (and delve into the future), and portray fiercely independent women defined by their acts of bravery, creative impulses, and sometimes reckless decisions.       from Goodreads

I don’t read short stories. I like big books where I can really get to know a character and spend time with a story that has the time to develop and take a few twists and turns.  But for book group this month we read Almost Famous Women  and I was pleasantly surprised. As it turns out, I was the only one since the other seven ladies didn’t care for it as a whole.

Each story started with a picture of the woman so that you could have a visual when you were reading and that was important for the first story.

Violet and Daisy Hilton were joined at the hip, literally.  This one was both disturbing and fascinating. People that you know showed up in the stories, Marlene Dietrich, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Lord Byron, Butterfly McQueen, Beryl Markham…but like the title says, most of the women in the book were almost famous.  I liked some more than others but particularly liked the one about Joe Carstairs and her private island, Romaine Brooks and her very creepy nurse, and Lord Byron’s illegitimate daughter broke my heart.  I liked the mix of known and unknown and it made me check out more information on a few of the women.

The book group as a whole found the stories needlessly depressing and I can’t really argue on that point.  They were dark. There was a PTSD link in a few and more than one death.  We all noticed a homosexuality thread throughout the stories.  Most of us could pick out a favorite story or two and the book read really fast so that’s a plus.

So, I really liked it but I was the only one.  Read at your own risk 🙂

This counted as one for Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge, story collection by a woman.

Dream More. Finished audio 1-26-17, 3.5/5, memoir, pub.2012

Unabridged audio read by Dolly Parton. 1.5 hours.

Based on the hugely popular commencement speech Dolly Parton gave at the University of Tennessee that became a sensation, Dream More is a deeper and richer exploration of the personal philosophy she has forged over the course of her astonishing career as a singer, songwriter, performer, and philanthropist.

Using her speech as a jumping-off point, Parton explores the four great hopes she urges us to embrace: dream more, learn more, care more, and be more. She culls examples of these values from her own life as illustrations, from growing up poor in the hills of eastern Tennessee to her experiences as the iconic performer she has become today.         from Goodreads

I needed this little bit of light this week.  I don’t know much about Dolly Parton. I saw her in a few movies way back when, remember hearing her sing (I loved Islands in the Stream and 9 to 5 when I was kid), and know her as a big personality in a tiny(ish) body.  This short memoir laying out her philosophy of living was inspirational – but too short. It really did need to be longer.

“Care more and leave the judging to God.”

Dolly wants us all to dream more, learn more, care more, and be more.  And after listening to her tell you about it you’ll want to do just that.  She has so much energy and joy and does so much with what she’s worked so hard for that she has a new fan.  I loved hearing how her Dad told her he was proud of her and she thought it would be something about her great success, but he went on to say that he was proud of her for being known as the Book Lady around town.  Love that.  I didn’t know anything about the charity she founded to get books in the hands of every child from birth to kindergarten and am so impressed and inspired.

I looked into Imagination Library, the non-profit that Dolly and her team have helped replicate all over the world, and saw that there was no library in Cleveland!  How can that be?  Needless to say it’s going on my list of things to look into in the near future.  Is anyone involved in one of these local groups?

Waiting on You. Finished 1-16-17, rating 4.5/5, romance, 457 pages, pub. 2014

Blue Heron series #3  (1-The Best Man) (2-The Perfect Match)

Colleen O’Rourke is in love with love… just not when it comes to herself. Most nights, she can be found behind the bar at the Manningsport, New York, tavern she owns with her twin brother, doling out romantic advice to the lovelorn, mixing martinis and staying more or less happily single. See, ten years ago, Lucas Campbell, her first love, broke her heart… an experience Colleen doesn’t want to have again, thanks. Since then, she’s been happy with a fling here and there, some elite-level flirting and playing matchmaker to her friends.

But a family emergency has brought Lucas back to town, handsome as ever and still the only man who’s ever been able to crack her defenses. Seems like maybe they’ve got some unfinished business waiting for them—but to find out, Colleen has to let her guard down, or risk losing a second chance with the only man she’s ever loved.    from Goodreads

I love this series set in New York wine country.  The small town is charming, the people are eccentric and the dialogue is snappy.  As with the first two books I laughed out loud many times and was brought to tears at least once.  Higgins is so talented. I can’t wait to read everything she’s written.

Colleen, who owns the town bar with her twin brother, was in the first two books, but I was never really interested in her story.  Probably why it took me so long to start this one.  Colleen, it turns out, is a beautiful but somewhat broken 31 year old and I felt for her.  Lucas came to Manningsport broken by the deaths of his parents and he and Colleen found love.  Of course, young love rarely runs smooth and the two part ways.  I loved Colleen’s attempts to set up athletic Paulie with beautiful Bryce and her relationship with her half sister.

There were a few somewhat problematic parts for me on both sides, but in the end that’s what makes this one more real than some other romances.  They both did some unappealing things and in the end that made me cheer for them to find solace in each other all the more.