It's the first Thursday of the month which means it's time to share what we've read the month prior. Just a note (or possibly a few paragraphs) about how I rate books using the Goodreads five star system.
I'm extremely stingy with five stars. If I give a book five stars I have absolutely loved it and continued to think about it after the cover has been closed. It's a book that will probably be added to my list of all time favorites.
Four stars for me means it was a great read.
Three stars is good, but maybe not memorable. It likely had some flaws that bothered, but still not a bad read.
Two stars is unfortunate and I should have probably quit before I did.
One star. I don't think I've ever given a book one star because if it's that bad I'm sure I've put it down before finishing.
Also, I hesitate to rate memoirs because they're someone's lived experience and it doesn't feel right to rate that.
Now for what I read in January-
Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed by Maureen Callahan
Whew. This book. If you're a Kennedy fan you likely won't be after reading this one. This isn't a book I would have grabbed on my own, but my sister gave it to me to read and once I got started it was hard to put down. I can't remember a book that made me as furious as this one.
I will say this is billed as non-fiction, but the author takes a good many liberties in posting internal conversations she wasn't actually privy to. Casting this as non-fiction might be a stretch…calling it an historical re-telling feels more accurate.
Honestly there was so much absolutely awful behavior it wasn't necessary to add imagined or supposed dialogue. The dirty deeds stand on their own. If social media had been around when some of this had been happening I doubt the family would be as revered as they are in American culture today.
This book isn't about politics at all. At times I felt like I was reading a tabloid but wow, some truly despicable stuff has been perpetrated by the men in this family. The book features nine different women very negatively impacted, some in fact having their lives completely ruined, by various male members of the Kennedy clan. Some of the stories-crimes-escapades I was more familiar with than others, and some I'd forgotten about until I read them re-told here.
I'm not sure of the author's motives, but I feel like she wanted the stories of these women to be known and heard. Almost without exception the women were cast as 'they did it to themselves' or 'they knew this was what it meant to be married to a Kennedy' while the men take zero percent of the blame or responsibility.
While not everything presented as fact is indeed a confirmed fact, you still come away feeling kind of sick to your stomach. At least I did.
The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu
Another book my sister recommended and thought I'd like since I taught school. I will say upfront there is some language and lots of the expected progressive point of view expounded upon, so if you don't have the stomach for that you might want to give it a miss.
If you've taught school, particularly high school, I think you'll nod your head a lot, laugh a little, and will relate to much of the humor and inner workings of a high school as told from the faculty point of view.
The story begins with a substitute teacher dying (of natural causes) in the faculty lounge on a school day, and his death being discovered by a young new teacher. The substitute had been a teacher at the school for decades before retiring, and then returning as a sub. Each chapter following his death features one of the faculty members recounting their own personal experience and interactions with the sub, almost like a series of short stories. I enjoyed the format very much.
The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis
I have read and loved a lot of C.S. Lewis's writing, but had never read The Great Divorce until now. This is a relatively short, allegorical tale of a bus ride from hell to heaven. You'll need your thinking cap for this one.
In the tale anyone can take the bus, any one can stay in heaven, but sadly in the end most opt to return to the 'grayness' below. They're unable to give up the very things that prevent them from accepting heaven. The characters have a myriad of excuses as to why, and wow this book makes you think. I will definitely be re-reading it from time to time.
The story begins with the main character at a bus stop where the bus is taking people to heaven. They begin in The Valley of the Shadow of Death so not quite hell, and end up in The Valley of the Shadow of Life, so not quite heaven. This person goes on to encounter a variety of characters responding to the opportunity to remain in heaven or return to hell. The word divorce is used in the sense that there is a choice to be made and there's no middle ground. There is a complete division between heaven and hell.
Absolutely loved it and still thinking about it today. Five stars for me.
The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle
Let me just say from the beginning I loved the setting. The story begins with Stella and her antique dealing husband (Adam) hopping around Europe ending their tour in Paris, and about to head back to their home in Atlanta. There's an explosion and in the aftermath Adam is missing. Is he dead? Is he/was he the man he said he was? All questions to be answered as the story progresses, with the backstory revealed one chapter at a time.
When I read books like this I scratch my head at how little fictional married couples seem to actually know about each other. About their work, their pasts, their family dynamics...all of it. And they don't seem curious about it either. I know people try and often succeed to keep affairs hidden, but criminal activity? Maybe I'm too much in my hubs business lol.
There were some holes in the plot, and some unbelievable bits, but overall it was an enjoyable easy read. Three stars for me.
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adriennne Young
June Farrow is determined to get to the bottom of her mother's disappearance, and at the same time end her family's 'curse'. When she steps through a mysterious door she begins (or continues) a journey through time, discovering secrets about both her past and her future, and the choices she must make that come with the knowledge gained there. Another three star read for me.
