Finished audio 6-10-10, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2009

Unabridged audio read by the author

Helen is a 50 something widowed author who is still trying to find her way a year after her husband’s death.  She cannot do the most basic things around the house relying instead on her 27-year-old daughter Tessa and she has not been able to write at all.  When she finds out the nest egg she thought would support her financially is gone, having been taken out of the bank by her husband before his death, she has no idea what to think.  She takes a job teaching a writing workshop and the eccentric students force her writer’s instincts to kick in.  When the truth comes out about where the $850,000 went a fork in the road presents itself and Helen is forced to evaluate her life and what she wants to do with it.

Elizabeth Berg always writes books I can relate to even though I am not in the same age range or situation as the main character.  There is such truth and beauty in her writing that I am immediately drawn in, as I was here.  And the fact that she read it herself was wonderful.   My favorite part of the book revolved around Helen receiving a not-so-flattering letter from a reader and how it affected her.  It felt like Berg may have been telling her own story.

I did feel it was similar in some ways to another of her books, The Year of Pleasures, and I actually think I prefer The Year of Pleasures.  Helen did get on my nerves at times.  What woman, no matter how reliant she is on her husband, calls the police when she has a leak? 

So, it was good, not my favorite, but a solid read, or in my case, listen to.

I borrowed this audiobook from the library.

Finished 6-7-10, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 1998

His voice began to drift off.  The earth, baby…sometimes I think it’s just a holding pen for crackpots.  Who knows what planets have discarded us as factory rejects, unfit to live among more civilized planetary societies.  We may be living on the dark side of the moon and don’t know it.”

-The Court of Two Sisters chapter

Dena is a high-profile, on the rise network anchor who has the looks and smarts to have the world at her feet.  Only she has no real friends, is afraid to love and drinks herself into oblivion most nights.  The bright lights of New York City have always been her goal and now that she’s there she finds that she must do questionable gotcha interviews to stay on top.  It’s the 1970’s and the beginning of  tabloid journalism and even the icy, ambitious Dena has qualms about the tactics and the stress leads to a serious health issue that sidelines her in the small town of Elmwood Springs, Missouri.

Dena’s 1970’s story jumps back to the early days of Elmwood Springs and the people who that relate to Dena.  It’s a small town with nice, honest, and eccentric people.  When Dena finds herself convalescing there her heart begins to thaw just a little and she begins to question her childhood and the mystery surrounding her mother.  Dena also touches base with her best friend from college, Sookie, a loveable woman living in a small Georgia town.

Dena has so many flaws, but for some reason she is easy to like because you sense the goodness underneath all of the reserve.  Everyone seems to love her een though for most of the book she offers nothing back, how lucky is that?  The story itself is charming and rich, if a bit meandering at first.  I enjoyed the rose-colored glasses view of Elmwood Springs as the ideal dream and loved its juxtaposition with mean, heartless New York City.  Neither seemed particularly accurate, but it was a fun ride until the mystery involving Dena’s mother unraveled.  For me it seemed a bit anticlimactic.  Realistically, I know it could have happened but I was hoping for more.  It didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the book, only left me with a less positive feeling than I’d felt the rest of the book.

I really liked my first Fannie Flagg book and its southern charm.

This is from my personal library and chosen by Debbie, Molly, and Sarah.  Here’s what they had to say…

“I love all of hers because of the great characters and the small town settings.”  Debbie

“A novel about a small-town filled with many interesting, quirky characters.”  Sarah

“She writes with great humor and I have a feeling you will want some good laughs after reading the rest of my choices. Plus, I have this book sitting in my to read pile and would love to have someone to read along with it ;0)”  Molly

Finished 6-4-10, rating 3/5, non fiction, pub. 2000

It had been startling

and disappointing to me

to find out

that story books

had been written by people,

that books were not

natural wonders, coming up of themselves

like grass.

-Eudora Welty

With a title like this how could I not pick it up, especially since I found it at Half-Price Books?  There are seven different groupings of women with short bios of each woman included.  I enjoyed some chapters more than others and there is a large selection of women from every time period and geographic location (although it is clearly Anglo based).  I had heard of maybe a little more than half of these women and enjoyed getting to know some women that I knew of, but had never read.  Betty Friedan, Mary Baker Eddy, and Gertrude Stein were a few that interested me the most, since I knew so little about them.  I didn’t realize that Gertrude Stein was buried at the Cemetery of Pere-Lachaise in Paris or else I would had looked for her when we were there last week. I’ll be talking about that cemetery in my Paris recap on Sunday.

I thought the book was good, but considering the title, a little boring.  I read it in snippets, so it took me a long time to finish.  This would not have happened if I had been truly engaged.  This book is gift sized and I do think it is a fun gift for a book lover, especially those who are interested in biographies of women.

This is from my personal library and was chosen for me by Amanda, Angie, and Mystica.  Here’s what they had to say…

“Partially because I love the title, and also because it sounds like the name of a self-help group that I probably need to join (okay, so there’s actually no probably about it.)”  Angie

“What a really apt title for almost all of us!”  Mystica

“Awesome title!”  Amanda

Finished 5-16-10, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2007

Sanitized simulacra, lack of indoor plumbing, and oppressive mothers notwithstanding, there is something about the simplicity and quiet of  this world that not only does not disappoint, but which exceeds any expectation.  I don’t have the constant noise in my brain from all the Internet, ipod, and radio signals streaming all those sounds and words and pictures into my consciousness practically every waking moment of every day.  I never even noticed that noise in my brain until I realized I didn’t have it anymore.

Chapter 14

Courtney Stone goes to sleep in current day Los Angeles and wakes up in 19th century England.  And she’s not even herself.  She finds herself in the body of Jane Mansfield whose love life strangely mirrors her own.  Courtney has always been a fan on Jane Austen and the regency time period, but she finds that novels do not always capture the dark side of pre-plumbing living.  How long will she be stuck in Jane’s body?  And is there anything she can do to get home?

This was a fun and frothy read.  I loved when she was able to meet Jane Austen and Austen thought she was a lunatic.  I enjoyed the story, but I’m not sure it’s one that will stick with me.  It was almost too light, but still fun.  I know there is a sequel and I will probably pick it up at some point.

This was from my personal library.

Finished audio 5-9-10, rating 4/5, Legal Mystery, pub. 2006

This was originally published as a serial in the Sunday New York Times Magazine.  Turow added material and published it in book form.

George Mason is the main character of this legal thriller and his first appearance was in Turow’s Personal Injuries, which I’ve never read but still really enjoyed this one.  Mason is an appellate judge and he is in the middle of deciding  a high-profile rape case that reminds him of an indiscretion of his 40 years before, his wife is battling cancer and he is receiving death threats both at work and at home.  George Mason has a lot on his plate. 

I liked his indecision over the rape case and how it related to his college days.  It made him see the boys convicted in a light that most of us would never entertain and I thought that was the most compelling part of the story.  But ultimately the story hinges on the death threats and who wants the judge dead and I found the culprit to be a satisfying one.  I mean, I didn’t really suspect him or her but it made some sense at the end. 

I think because this story was originally a magazine serial it didn’t really focus enough attention on every aspect of the story.  I wish his wife’s illness had been integrated a little more, but that is  a small complaint.  I found the story to be thought-provoking and a good thriller.

I checked this audio book out of the library and Jason and I listened to it on our trip to and from my parent’s house for Mother’s Day.  Read by Stephen Lang.

Finished audio 5-5-10, rating 3/5, spiritual fiction, pub. 2007

Narrated by Roger Mueller

Mack is haunted by the death of his youngest daughter.  Becoming a shell of his formal self he keeps God at a distance even as his wife embraces God, or Papa as she likes to call him.  One day a few years after the kidnapping Mack receives a note from Papa that asks Mack to come to the Shack.  Mack hides his intent from his wife and children and heads to the Oregon wilderness one weekend.  Mack is greeted by a large black woman (God), and nondescript Jewish man (Jesus) and an Asian spirit (Holy Ghost).  As the weekend unfolds Mack learns about what love and God really mean and he is able to come to terms with his heartbreaking past, even beyond that of the death of his daughter.

There are many hot button issues covered here with religion, forgiveness, pain, and grace being a few of the prominent ones.  Mack spends alone time with each of the trinity and learns from each of them, some lessons more meaningful than others. 

My Mom raved about this one as did many people who read it and I wanted to love it too.  Only I didn’t love it, but I did like it.  There were lots of things to think about in this one, but it didn’t change my view of the world or my role in it.  There were lots of things in here that I already believed and there were others that were interesting and thought-provoking.  I guess I just don’t like fiction books that cram too many spiritual ideas in.  The story becomes irrelevant and almost trite.  I’d rather read a fiction story that addresses one issue or a nonfiction book that doesn’t bother with trying to manipulate my feelings.

I listened to this in the car which I do not think was ideal.  Maybe if I had been able to set the book down and think on it at various times I would have enjoyed it more.

I borrowed this unabridged audio book from the library.