The Guest List by Lucy Foley (Evening Edition book club)
An up-and-coming celebrity power couple are getting married on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. Jules and Will are beautiful, ambitious, wealthy, and surrounded by their closest friends and family - what could go wrong? Well, just about everything. The island is rumored to be haunted and seems to bring out the worst in all the wedding party and guests. The whole book covers only two days - the day before the wedding and the wedding day. Told from six different perspectives the reader gets the back story of all the main characters from flash backs from each character's view. When someone at the wedding is murdered anyone of the main characters could be the victim or the killer. This will definitely be a wedding to remember, but for all the wrong reasons.
One of my book clubs is reading this book and while I had heard of it and knew it was popular I hadn't had a big desire to read it. But, I went into reading it with no preconceived ideas of what to expect. I liked it a lot more than I thought I might. I think Foley did a great job of creating such a dark and foreboding atmosphere in the book - both with the setting and the characters. She also did a great job with each of the main characters and making them all suspicious and both possible victims and killers. I don't read tons of mysteries or thrillers, but I did not see the end coming. All the way up to the very end all the characters could have been the victim or the killer and I thought that was an impressive way to write the storyline. I'm not a huge fiction reader anymore, but I was honestly impressed with this one and how well she crafted all the storylines together.
One of my book clubs is reading this book and while I had heard of it and knew it was popular I hadn't had a big desire to read it. But, I went into reading it with no preconceived ideas of what to expect. I liked it a lot more than I thought I might. I think Foley did a great job of creating such a dark and foreboding atmosphere in the book - both with the setting and the characters. She also did a great job with each of the main characters and making them all suspicious and both possible victims and killers. I don't read tons of mysteries or thrillers, but I did not see the end coming. All the way up to the very end all the characters could have been the victim or the killer and I thought that was an impressive way to write the storyline. I'm not a huge fiction reader anymore, but I was honestly impressed with this one and how well she crafted all the storylines together.
A Life in Light by Mary Pipher
A Life in Light is Mary Pipher's memoir in short essays. She had a turbulent and dysfunctional childhood, but somehow always managed to see the light in everything. I think she shows that some of our nature is just innate. Neither of her parents showed much affection to her or her siblings, but Pipher always did even from a young age - to friends, her family, everyone. A college boyfriend asked Pipher why she wasn't angrier, this was after he went home with her for Thanksgiving and witnessed her family firsthand. She said, "I had no anger, only a deep yearning to believe my family was okay and that we loved each other." (p. 157) That was how she coped, but it just seemed built into her from birth, not a learned behavior from her family. And that has obviously helped her over the years deal with all the struggles and ups and downs of life. This collection of memoir essays highlights Pipher's quest of always looking for the light - both metaphorical light and physical light like sunrises and sunsets. Overall, a lovely collection of essays and a quick, easy read.
Some quotes I liked:
"I liked the precision and clarity of the work. Under Mrs. Oliver's tutelage, I felt as if we organized the English language and the entire world into something manageable...Her classes were calm and orderly. There was a hum in the room that came from our collective engagement in the work of the day...My home life was disorganized and chaotic, and Mrs. Oliver's class allowed me to believe things could be otherwise." (p. 100)
"Because I wasn't interested in makeup, hairstyles, or clothing. I diverted the group to topics I did enjoy. I asked how their families worked: Did their parents fight? What were the family rules? How did they get along with their siblings? What were the dinner table discussions like? Looking back, I realize that I was trying to see what normal looked like. My own family felt odd and out of place, and my parents were unusual in their habits. How did it feel to have a homemaker mother as all my friends did, and a dad who came home to quietly enjoy the evening?" (p. 123)
Some quotes I liked:
"I liked the precision and clarity of the work. Under Mrs. Oliver's tutelage, I felt as if we organized the English language and the entire world into something manageable...Her classes were calm and orderly. There was a hum in the room that came from our collective engagement in the work of the day...My home life was disorganized and chaotic, and Mrs. Oliver's class allowed me to believe things could be otherwise." (p. 100)
"Because I wasn't interested in makeup, hairstyles, or clothing. I diverted the group to topics I did enjoy. I asked how their families worked: Did their parents fight? What were the family rules? How did they get along with their siblings? What were the dinner table discussions like? Looking back, I realize that I was trying to see what normal looked like. My own family felt odd and out of place, and my parents were unusual in their habits. How did it feel to have a homemaker mother as all my friends did, and a dad who came home to quietly enjoy the evening?" (p. 123)
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead (Books & Banter book club)
Ray Carney "was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked, in practice and ambition." (p. 31) Ray grew up in a family of crooks and hoods who never lived a straight life. He is determined to do better with his life. He went to college, is married with one child and one on the way, and owns a successful furniture store. But, his crooked family tree often pops up with opportunities from time to time - especially when it comes to his cousin Freddie. And being slightly bent and making some extra money never really hurt anyone, right? Ray's slight bent toward being crooked bends a little more and a little more throughout the book. But what makes a man really crooked versus "slightly bent?" This is the question that Colson Whitehead explores through the character of Ray Carney. This is the first book in what will be a trilogy with the second book Crook Manifesto coming out in July 2023. While this book started out a little slow for me, by the end of the first section I was hooked and wanted to see what else was going to happen with Ray Carney. I'll definitely read the next book to see whether Carney can keep being "slightly bent" or if he moves into full on crooked.
Some quotes I liked:
"The way he saw it, living taught you that you didn't have to live the way you'd been taught to live. You came from one place but more important was where you decided to go." (p. 10)
"Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked, in practice and ambition." (p. 31)
"...Carney knew crime's hours when he saw them - dorvay was crooked heaven, when the straight world slept and the bent got to work. An arena for thieving and scores, break-ins and hijacks, when the con man polishes the bait and the embezzler cooks the books. In-between things: night and day, rest and duty, the no-good and the up-and-up. Pick up a crowbar you know the in-between is where all the shit goes down. He upheld the misspelling in his thoughts, in keeping with his loyalty to his mistakes." (p. 136)
Some quotes I liked:
"The way he saw it, living taught you that you didn't have to live the way you'd been taught to live. You came from one place but more important was where you decided to go." (p. 10)
"Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked, in practice and ambition." (p. 31)
"...Carney knew crime's hours when he saw them - dorvay was crooked heaven, when the straight world slept and the bent got to work. An arena for thieving and scores, break-ins and hijacks, when the con man polishes the bait and the embezzler cooks the books. In-between things: night and day, rest and duty, the no-good and the up-and-up. Pick up a crowbar you know the in-between is where all the shit goes down. He upheld the misspelling in his thoughts, in keeping with his loyalty to his mistakes." (p. 136)
Acceptance: a memoir by Emi Nietfeld
Emi Nietfeld grew up in an extremely traumatic and dysfunctional home. Her father transitioned to a woman in 2002 when NO ONE was talking about trans anything and her mother was a hoarder who was extremely good at manipulating people to get her way. By the time she was a teenager Emi was cutting, bulimic, and periodically suicidal. Because her mother was so able to manipulate the doctors and play the victim Emi ended up in a mental hospital several times and also foster care. Somehow Emi got it into her head that her only way out was an Ivy League education. When almost every adult around her seemed to focus on the wrong ways to help her, Emi fought and studied her way into Harvard. But once there it was a different kind of hard - most of her fellow students were legacies or came from very wealthy and privileged families while Emi was struggling with where to go during breaks from school. Once at Harvard she also got into an EXTREMLEY abusive relationship and experienced a horrific sexual assault in Europe. What saves her is rowing. She initially laughed at the rowers because it seemed like such an Ivy League sport, but once she tries it she's hooked. And it also helps her reconnect with her body and realize how much she's abused it and allowed other to abuse it as well. She graduates from Harvard with a degree in software engineering and ends up working for both Google and Facebook in California. In California she meets her now-husband Byron. Byron and his family are everything Emi's family wasn't - normal, loving, and safe. By all accounts it looks like Emi has finally "made it" and is a successful, Ivy League graduate with a six-figure income. But now that she's finally safe all her trauma comes bubbling back up to the surface. Despite her time in mental hospitals and foster care, she's never really had quality therapy to deal with all the trauma of her past. Once she gets into therapy things do improve and that is what leads to this book.
Parts of this book were EXTREMELY hard to read. I thought once she got to Harvard things would improve, but those were the hardest chapters in my opinion. The last few chapters when she talks about meeting her husband and really getting into therapy do make for a happier ending. She is an amazing writer and if not for some of the very graphic scenes/chapters I would have rated it higher. I would give it 5 stars for writing, but knocked down to 3.5 overall because of some of the content. Overall, if you like memoirs in the vein of The Glass Castle or Educated this one falls in that same memoir genre.
Some quotes I liked:
"The world always seemed to urge me to ask for support, as if the problem were that I chose to stew in my despair instead of reaching out to the community who would break my fall. Yet when I admitted to an authority figure how bad I felt, this was what I got: Jan implying that my mom didn't love me, that she and Dave were better than I deserved. There were so few acceptable ways to need help." (p. 95)
"As the freeway scrolled past, I longed to forget the whole summer. But I knew I'd need to discuss it again and again on my college applications, prostituting my sorrow for a shot at joy. That fact seemed the saddest of them all." (p. 192)
Parts of this book were EXTREMELY hard to read. I thought once she got to Harvard things would improve, but those were the hardest chapters in my opinion. The last few chapters when she talks about meeting her husband and really getting into therapy do make for a happier ending. She is an amazing writer and if not for some of the very graphic scenes/chapters I would have rated it higher. I would give it 5 stars for writing, but knocked down to 3.5 overall because of some of the content. Overall, if you like memoirs in the vein of The Glass Castle or Educated this one falls in that same memoir genre.
Some quotes I liked:
"The world always seemed to urge me to ask for support, as if the problem were that I chose to stew in my despair instead of reaching out to the community who would break my fall. Yet when I admitted to an authority figure how bad I felt, this was what I got: Jan implying that my mom didn't love me, that she and Dave were better than I deserved. There were so few acceptable ways to need help." (p. 95)
"As the freeway scrolled past, I longed to forget the whole summer. But I knew I'd need to discuss it again and again on my college applications, prostituting my sorrow for a shot at joy. That fact seemed the saddest of them all." (p. 192)
The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix
One of my friends in one of my book clubs was talking about this book that her son read in school. I was already very familiar with Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his story, but I thought I would check out this YA non-fiction/graphic novel version. It's a quick and easy read with lots of powerful illustrations and quotes. I'm not a Bonhoeffer expert, but I feel like it does a good job of giving both an overview of Bonhoeffer's life and of the rise and fall of Hitler and the Nazi empire. He was such an inspiring person and this is definitely a good overview of his life and impact.
Some quotes I liked:
"And it was at this point that Dietrich became convinced that he must see the church as his friends Frank and Jean did, as a revolutionary force. But this revolution carried with it both a call to civil action and a mission of radical peace that held no ties to nation or state." (p. 37)
"Dietrich came to realize that what God had called him to was, ultimately, not success, but obedience. 'The ultimate question for a responsible man to ask it not how he is to extricate himself heroically from the affair, but how the coming generation is going to live.'...Faith wasn't just about creating a set of comforting thoughts about God; it was living out an ethic that called for sacrifice. You didn't just pray for the tanks to stop rolling, you threw yourself in front of them." (p. 157)
Some quotes I liked:
"And it was at this point that Dietrich became convinced that he must see the church as his friends Frank and Jean did, as a revolutionary force. But this revolution carried with it both a call to civil action and a mission of radical peace that held no ties to nation or state." (p. 37)
"Dietrich came to realize that what God had called him to was, ultimately, not success, but obedience. 'The ultimate question for a responsible man to ask it not how he is to extricate himself heroically from the affair, but how the coming generation is going to live.'...Faith wasn't just about creating a set of comforting thoughts about God; it was living out an ethic that called for sacrifice. You didn't just pray for the tanks to stop rolling, you threw yourself in front of them." (p. 157)
Bad Vibes Only (and other things I bring to the table) by Nora McInerny
I wasn't familiar with Nora McInerny, but picked up this book solely based on the title (and description). This collection of memoir-esque essays focus on embracing all the not-so-great parts of ourselves and not trying to always be happy with good vibes only. McInerny was widowed in her early 30's with a 2-year-old son, so she definitely knows some bad/hard times. But, even without the widowhood she was always an anxious, over-thinking kid who grew up into an anxious, over-thinking adult. McInerny is obviously a talented writer, and there were several essays I loved or laughed out loud at while reading - my two favorites were Strongest Girl in the World and Something Substantial. But, there were also some terrible essays (in my opinion) that seemed somewhat forced or not in the same vein/tone as the rest - Competitive Parenting Association was the worst in my opinion. Because of my mixed views on the essays overall I'm giving this book 3 stars. I really liked McInerny, but didn't love the whole book.
A quote I liked:
"I did not tell her that I spend hours of my life trying to attract peace and happiness like they are songbirds and I am a pine cone covered in peanut butter and birdseed." (p. 38)
A quote I liked:
"I did not tell her that I spend hours of my life trying to attract peace and happiness like they are songbirds and I am a pine cone covered in peanut butter and birdseed." (p. 38)
We Should Not Be Friends: the story of a friendship by Will Schwalbe
I really enjoyed Will Schwalbe's previous books that were more about books and their importance in our lives, so I was excited to read this new one. But, sadly in this book Schwalbe does not come across well at all - and it's his own telling too. The book is about his unlikely friendship with Chris Maxey - or Maxey as he goes by. They meet when they are both invited to join a secret society at Yale at the end of their Junior year. Schwalbe is openly gay and leery of a loud jock like Maxey, but during their time in this secret society all the members become pretty close. Over the years Schwalbe and Maxey keep in touch kind of sporadically, but as they get older they do seem to deepen their friendship. But, the premise makes it sound like these two unlikely friends became extremely close, while Schwalbe couldn't remember Maxey's kids names for DECADES. To me that is not a close friend. It seemed like they got closer as they got older and both started having some serious health issues. I'm not sure if the health issues is what drew them together or if it was just they happened to still be on each other's radars and as they got older they each appreciated that more. Either way it wasn't a super inspiring story about friendship. Schwalbe seemed like kind of a terrible friend and pretty selfish. As someone who has also chosen not to have children, I work hard to not be a completely selfish person and friend and I do know all my friends children's names... I did think Chris Maxey had an incredibly interesting life and I would love to read a whole book about him and his life. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this one.
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult (Evening Edition and Books & Banter book clubs)
Diana O'Toole is on track for all the plans she has for her life. She's working her way up in the highly competitive art auction world, she's pretty certain her boyfriend Finn is about to propose, and they are about to leave on a much-anticipated trip to the Galapagos Islands. But, the night before they are supposed to leave Finn finds out he can't. He's a medical resident and his superiors have canceled all vacation requests due to the COVID-19 virus. Finn encourages Diana to go anyway, and despite her reservations she does. But when she get to the Galapagos things are shutting down there too and she ends up trapped in a foreign country where she doesn't speak the language during the COVID-19 pandemic. This trip will change Diana in more ways than she ever imagined, just like how COVID changed things for so many people around the world.
I've always loved Jodi Picoult's books. But, I absolutely HATED her last book The Book of Two Ways because of the soul mate premise/storyline. And almost right away I could see the same theme emerging in this one. I don't want to give away anything about the "big twist" in the book, but I will list off my main complaints.
1) Diana would have NEVER gone on to the Galapagos without Finn. Nothing about how her character is described would have done that. And as you find out more about Finn he wouldn't have let her. He was WAY too needy to have her go off on this adventure without him.
2) It was insane how quickly Diana bonded with Gabriel and Beatriz. This was so over the top ridiculous - especially with a depressed, self-harming, teenage girl to bond like that with a stranger. And all at the very beginning of a world-wide mystery illness/pandemic. Come on.
3) The whole John Lennon/Yoko Ono/Sam Pride/Kitomi Ito aspect was dumb. Either make it be Yoko Ono or create a new fake celebrity for the book.
4) I did not like the whole alternate life/glimpse into another life/whatever the hell you want to call the twist. I always felt like Picoult was a better writer than to fall back on this tired and overly romanticized "soul mate" troupe. But, this is the second book to do that and I saw it coming from literally the end of chapter one.
5) Also, WAY too soon to be releasing a COVID themed book. This should have waited to be published until at least 2025. Because I follow Jodi Picoult on social media I already knew how she felt about COVID and we did not agree. That doesn't matter of course, but I felt like the sections where Finn talked about how bad things were was a little overly done/heavy handed and it was obvious she was trying to reiterate/make her point with those sections.
She is a very good writer, so I didn't hate reading the book and it was a quick read. But, I do NOT like this whole soul mate thing she's been pushing in the last two books. I didn't like this one and while I didn't guess the twist I did see the soul mate thing coming a mile away. I also did not want to read a COVID themed book because it's just not been long enough that we've been out of it. If not for both of my book clubs reading this one I would have passed. I think I might be done with reading Picoult too based on these past two books and her new soul mate theme.
I've always loved Jodi Picoult's books. But, I absolutely HATED her last book The Book of Two Ways because of the soul mate premise/storyline. And almost right away I could see the same theme emerging in this one. I don't want to give away anything about the "big twist" in the book, but I will list off my main complaints.
1) Diana would have NEVER gone on to the Galapagos without Finn. Nothing about how her character is described would have done that. And as you find out more about Finn he wouldn't have let her. He was WAY too needy to have her go off on this adventure without him.
2) It was insane how quickly Diana bonded with Gabriel and Beatriz. This was so over the top ridiculous - especially with a depressed, self-harming, teenage girl to bond like that with a stranger. And all at the very beginning of a world-wide mystery illness/pandemic. Come on.
3) The whole John Lennon/Yoko Ono/Sam Pride/Kitomi Ito aspect was dumb. Either make it be Yoko Ono or create a new fake celebrity for the book.
4) I did not like the whole alternate life/glimpse into another life/whatever the hell you want to call the twist. I always felt like Picoult was a better writer than to fall back on this tired and overly romanticized "soul mate" troupe. But, this is the second book to do that and I saw it coming from literally the end of chapter one.
5) Also, WAY too soon to be releasing a COVID themed book. This should have waited to be published until at least 2025. Because I follow Jodi Picoult on social media I already knew how she felt about COVID and we did not agree. That doesn't matter of course, but I felt like the sections where Finn talked about how bad things were was a little overly done/heavy handed and it was obvious she was trying to reiterate/make her point with those sections.
She is a very good writer, so I didn't hate reading the book and it was a quick read. But, I do NOT like this whole soul mate thing she's been pushing in the last two books. I didn't like this one and while I didn't guess the twist I did see the soul mate thing coming a mile away. I also did not want to read a COVID themed book because it's just not been long enough that we've been out of it. If not for both of my book clubs reading this one I would have passed. I think I might be done with reading Picoult too based on these past two books and her new soul mate theme.
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