Share Your Shelf-July

Hello friends and happy August! It's still full on summer here and I'm glad. The first Thursday of the month means it's time for Share Your Shelf, hosted by Joanne (Slices of Life), Marilyn (Memphis Bridges), Tanya (The Other Side Of The Road), and Jen (Overflowing With Thankfulness). Here we go...

I think my July books are pretty typical of how I like to read in a given month. There's a couple of fiction (one was Audible), a memoir, and a non-fiction selection too. Here's the lowdown on July-

1. First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

I listened to this one and enjoyed the narration. This was a Reese Witherspoon book club pick, so naturally there was a lot of hype around it. I almost don't want to read these books that are endlessly talked about because I have trouble tamping down my expectation. 

I will say her choices often make me think she picks books based on what will translate well to film, which isn't a bad thing and is obviously her niche. This is a cat and mouse tale that I think might actually make a better movie than book, something I hardly ever say. 

There were a number of threads woven together in this one, and some back and forth between past and present which I liked and thought worked. And of course there were some unbelievable bits, but I think enough surprises to keep it interesting. In my opinion the main character wasn't very likable, and without spoiling anything will say that the way she fell into and then excelled at her 'career' felt a little far fetched. Still I gave it four stars. 

2. Hard By A Great Forest by Leo Vardiashvili

I loved this book. It definitely took a few pages to get into, but once I got there I wanted to keep reading. It gets rave reviews, but I know won't be everyone's cup of tea. Perhaps because there are escaped zoo animals roaming the city I kept thinking back to Life of Pi by Yann Martel, another book I loved. 

I think if you liked Life of Pi, The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns (one of my all time favorites), then you might like this one too. Completely different plot lines, but similar in mood, and how the book makes you feel. If you pick it up keep reading. 

The title Hard By A Great Forest is taken from the opening line of Hansel and Gretel, and references to various classic literary works are cleverly woven throughout the novel. The setting is Georgia, the country not the state, and a part of the world whose history is rarely told, at least not in anything I've ever read. 

This is a tale of family. Of love and loss and sacrifice set against the backdrop of post war Tblilisi. The main character, Saba, is just a child when he and his father and older brother flee the fighting in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. They're granted asylum in England and their mother is left behind with plans for her to come later. Two decades go by, and all three men are struggling to make peace with both the people and the homeland they left behind. 

When the father decides to return to Georgia his sons wait for news. Weeks go by before they receive a 

message telling them 'I left a trail I can't erase. Do not follow it." But of course how can they not? Saba eventually must retrace his father's footsteps and find what remains of their homeland and their people. 

This is a story about the trauma of war, both on a nation and on the individuals who call that nation home. It's gritty (there's some language just fyi), it's tender, and at times absolutely heart breaking. Five stars for me. 

3. Stolen Focus : Why You Can't Pay Attention And How To Think Deeply Again  by Johann Hari

When I first picked this book up I actually had a thought as to whether or not I could focus well enough to read a book about how we can't focus-ha! In the early chapters Hari presents a lot of well documented information about all the ways technology has hindered our ability to focus, and what our brains actually need in order to focus. 

I had high hopes for this book, and it grabbed me right from the start. As the book wore on the author felt the need to insert more and more of his political viewpoints (completely non-essential to the content) into his writing and blech!! BLECH! I absolutely cannot stand when an author decides he/she needs to educate the reader as to how they should think about issues that have zero to do with the topic at hand. 

I went online and read a bit about the author, and he has a checkered past in terms of journalism, including being suspended from one publication, and then later resigning due to plagiarism. He has also been accused of fabricating elements of his stories on more than one occasion. It takes a lot for me not to finish a book, but about halfway through opted not to finish this one. 

4. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

I love Ann Patchett's writing voice. This isn't a page turner by any means, but not a bad read either.  It wasn't about a whole lot, and I think maybe that was the point. 

The plot centers around a family who own a cherry farm, and who shelter in place together during the pandemic. Covid isn't talked about in any big way, it just explains why these grown young women ended up back home with their parents. The mom (Lara) and dad (Joe) together have three young adult daughters. As they work the orchard Lara tells her girls about a season in her life (in the 80's) spent at Tom Lake, a summer stock theatre kind of place. While there she had a relationship with a fellow actor who went on to become very famous. The girls consider what they thought they knew about their mother, the choices she made, and they begin to see her in a slightly different light... as a woman, and not just their mom. 

I've heard this described as a gentle read, one that reminds us everyone has a story, and I agree. I gave it three stars. 

5. When The World Didn't End: A Memoir by Guinevere Turner

Wow, this was a tough book to read. When The World Didn't End is Turner's experience growing up in the Lyman family cult, eventually being forced to leave the cult, and ending up in an even more dire living situation with her mother and the mother's abusive boyfriend. 

She spent the first 11 years of her life in the cult, with well over 100 other children and various adults coming and going from the different properties. The children did not attend traditional school, medical care was hit and miss, and girls were given as brides to the men around the age of 13 or 14. The Lyman cult believed the world was coming to an end on January 5th 1974, and their group would be taken to Venus by spaceship. 

Turner kept journals all throughout her childhood mostly because journaling was required by the cult leaders. In her memoir she tells of her experiences from ages 6-18, using her own journal writings, but without adding in her now adult perspective. I'm sure recounting all that took place during her tumultuous childhood was extremely painful, and maybe that's why she never inserted her adult voice into the story. I get it, but I thought the book absolutely needed a dose of adult wisdom and hindsight. 

I would have liked to know more about the Lyman family in terms of what their actual beliefs were, and that information is scarce here, again probably because it's mostly told from a child's perspective. 

For the most part, I don't like rating memoirs. Rating a person's personal life story shared in writing is not the same as rating a work of fiction. It was interesting to get a peek into the cult, but like I said earlier, this was a hard read. Today Turner is a successful screenwriter and penned American Psycho among other works.

What have you been reading this summer? If it's good, do share! 

Show Us Your Shelf-June

Happy birthday America! I hope you're celebrating this big beautiful country today, and all the freedoms we still enjoy. It's also time for the book link party hosted by Joanne, Marilyn, Tanya, and Jennifer-Show Us Your Shelf. Here's what I read in the month of June-

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

Set in 1789 Maine and inspired by the life of Martha Ballard, an 18th-century midwife and healer, The Frozen River is a work of historical fiction billed as a mystery.  

As the Kennebec River begins to freeze, a corpse floats down and becomes trapped in the ice. Martha Ballard, midwife for the town of Hallowell, Maine examines and identifies the body as Joshua Burgess and declares he was murdered. Burgess was involved in a recent town scandal, the rape of Rebecca Foster, the pastor's wife, who named him and a local colonel and judge as her attackers. There are a number of threads to the plot, which are woven together with finesse. The legal system in the 1700's was still figuring things out and much of how justice was served back then was new to me. It added a lot to the tale. 

Each of the novels six parts includes a flashback to a second storyline and the format works really well in this novel. If you like historical fiction I recommend this one. 

The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan 

Anthony is a former short story writer who takes comfort in rescuing lost objects and then writing stories about them. He has amassed quite a collection of seemingly meaningless objects, each tagged with time and place details. Laura, a young woman recovering from a painful divorce, answers an ad and becomes Anthony's secretary, and grows to become his very dear friend. Laura is eventually tasked with returning these lost objects to their rightful owners. A second storyline is woven into the tale, and there's a gardener/love interest along with an across the street neighbor with Downs Syndrome, aptly named Sunshine who feature heavily in the Laura plot.

There's a great deal of back and forth with the two storylines, which the reader knows will eventually collide. Probably a bit too much coincidence happening, and there's also an element of 'magic' that isn't appealing to me, but there's a quirkiness to the characters and a certain charm to the storyline that made this a pretty good read. Three stars for me. 

Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan

If you enjoyed Kwan's novel (and/or the film based on his earlier novel) Crazy Rich Asians , then you'll probably like this one too, maybe just not quite as much. If you're not familiar with Kwan's style of storytelling it will take a minute to get into, but once you're in you're in. This was an entertaining read, set in the world of the ultra rich and privileged

The future Earl of Greshambury, Rufus Leung Gresham, son of the Earl of Greshambury and a former Hong Kong supermodel is, much to his mother's dismay, in love with the girl next door. The Greshams are throwing an extravagant wedding in Hawaii for their daughter Augie and her Norwegian prince Maxie, when a series of mishaps and outright disasters overwhelm the occasion, leaving the family finances and their reputation in tatters. Rufus is expected to find a wealthy bride and recoup the family fortune. 

Rufus wants nothing more than to live in his surf shack, create his art, and woo Eden, the girl he's loved since childhood. A secret tragedy, hidden for two decades, makes for an interesting twist to the Greshams troubles. 

There are some very unlikable characters in the novel, but they didn't ruin it for me. I especially loved the English country home setting, and while it's all a bit over the top (waaay over the top) this was a fun read. 

Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

Thinking this one should be required reading for high school seniors or college freshman. Or anyone espousing the notion that communism is a good thing for any society. I am so grateful to live in the land of the free. 

Nothing To Envy follows the lives of six North Koreans over a period of fifteen years and gives us a look at what it's like to live under the most repressive regime in the world. No internet connection, for that matter very often no electricity, government only radio and television broadcasting, a police state that rewards neighbors informing on neighbors, and one where a truly innocuous comment can land you in prison (or worse) for life. 

Citizens know only what they hear from their leader which is that everything outside N. Korea is evil, capitalism most of all, and that their government will take care of them. Until it doesn't and they make the decision to flee. Sadly their decisions are not without consequence for the ones left behind. Heartbreaking consequences. This book was haunting, sad, and made me appreciate once again the freedom we have to think, speak, worship, move, and choose in abundance.

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews

Traci Eddings, a 'townie' who fell in love with, and then married, the son of the owner of a local resort, is now a widow running that same resort, The St. Cecelia. A mix of mystery and beach read the tale follows Traci as she faces numerous challenges in maintaining The Saint's reputation as a five star resort. New information surfaces about a drowning that occurred at the hotel two decades earlier just as a murder occurs on resort property. There's a long list of characters, a love interest, and some truly cringy dialogue, but still an enjoyable summer read. 

So what have you read lately that you loved? 

Show Us Your Shelf-May

It's the first Thursday of a new month which means it's time to Show Us Your Shelf. I read quite a bit last month, and listened to two books on audible as we spent what felt like a lot of time in the car. A good book definitely makes the road trip miles pass more quickly. 

Here's what I read in May-

Foster by Claire Keegan, who manages to say so very much in so very few words. 

At only 128 pages this tale still manages to pack a punch. The story of a young child taken to live with foster parents on a farm in rural Ireland. Simple on the surface, but the depth of emotion portrayed (and felt) is immense. Five stars for me. I previously read her novel Small Things Like These, and again would say wow. Keegan has such a gift for the written word. 

Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen

Harry Crane, who is a lifelong lover of trees and is employed in a desk job with the U.S. Forest service makes his way to the woods following the death of his wife. Part fairy tale, part sad realities of life, we follow Harry on his journey through grief into healing with the help of a young girl and her mother who are walking a similar path. It was a little on the long side, but still a very enjoyable read. 

Homecoming by Kate Morton-

One of my favorite authors...if you've never read The House at Riverton or The Forgotten Garden I recommend. I absolutely love her voice and the way she brings a story and it's setting to life. Homecoming is a multi-generation tale set in Australia with a timeline both past and present. 

The story revolves around a tragedy in a small village where a mother and her four children are found dead after a Christmas Eve picnic, with no obvious cause of death. Lies are told and secrets kept and the resulting consequences of those actions and their impact on a family and community make this one worth reading.

Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi-

One man's journey from Islam to Christianity. The transformation in his belief system doesn't happen overnight, but takes place slowly, methodically, and carefully, and comes at great cost. Qureshi does a wonderful job of explaining Muslim beliefs and practices as well as showing the evidence for Christianity. He was a man who valued and pursued truth, and grew to love Jesus wholeheartedly. 

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang-

A little known author, June Hayward, a white woman, steals an incomplete manuscript from a fellow author and sometime friend who happens to be Aisan and also dead. The stolen manuscript's plot is the story of Chinese migrant workers in labor camps during WW1, so themes of cultural appropriation and race feature heavily in Yellowface. Cyber bullying also comes in to play as there is much online drama when the stolen manuscript turned book hits the market. 

I liked the book, but maybe not as much as all the hype led me to believe I would. I found the main character (June) very unlikable and when I dislike the main character it taints my review. A couple of years ago I read a book called The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz and liked it better than Yellowface. They're very different but share the common plot line of a stolen story. 

What have you read that you loved lately? 

Hop over to any of the host blogs -Slices of Life, Overflowing With Thankfulness, Memphis Bridges, and The Other Side Of The Road- to add your link and see what others are reading.