This will be a longer post than usual. As you know, I am an avid reader and love to share some of the books I have enjoyed from time to time. If you are interested in hearing about some good books, grab yourself a cup of coffee and make yourself comfy for awhile!
Girl Underwater
The subject at the heart of this book by Claire Kells is Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Avery Delacorte and members of her swim team traveling home for Thanksgiving are in a plane crash. Avery and a couple other individuals survive and the novel is the story of how Avery struggles to find her place in the real world after this earth shattering event. It was an absorbing story, and as the Amazon review says: "In the wilderness, the concept of survival is clear-cut. Simple. In the real world, it’s anything but".
Our Souls at Night
I adored this very short book by Kent Haruf. It was the last book he wrote before passing away not too long ago. If you haven't read any of his other novels, you should. Elderly widow Addie Moore and her neighbor widower Louis Waters only knew each other slightly when their spouses were alive. One night around bedtime, Addie turns up on Louis' doorstep with an interesting proposal. That they sleep together. Not in a sexual manner, but to provide each other with conversation before they fall asleep. The two embark on an unusual friendship and help each other alleviate the terrible loneliness they both feel at night. The town is full of gossips, and all kinds of trouble results, but this is a wonderful and very unusual story.
A Fall of Marigolds
This novel by Susan Meissner takes place on Ellis Island in September 1911. A nurse named Clara Woods, who has suffered a terrible loss, is caring for a fevered immigrant in the Ellis Island hospital. She has a dilemma forced upon her which forces her to confront some assumptions she has made about the man. There is a parallel story running through the book about a female character in the present day who lost her husband in the September 11 Twin Towers attack. The two women suffered similar losses and are in need of feeling hope again.
This was a really good story, and it kept my attention throughout.
Remember Mia
This was one of those riveting novels which has an unreliable narrator. Estelle Connor suffers from Postpartum Depression and her daughter Mia goes missing. Then, Estelle is in a terrible automobile accident and cannot remember anything that happened in the days leading up to the accident and her daughter's disappearance. She doesn't believe she would have harmed her baby, but finds herself the prime suspect in the disappearance. Fast paced plot, twists and turns in the storyline and an ending I didn't see coming. This one was definitely a page turner!
Paper Towns
This novel by John Green has been a popular book club selection. The storyline involves a young man smitten over an unattainable, unpredictable teenaged girl, a crazy road trip and a clever mystery. The book is aimed at young adults I think, but was well written and entertaining for me to read. Our protagonist Quentin's musing on how we can never really completely know another person was thought provoking.
Circling the Sun
Another book club selection is this book about Beryl Markham, the famous female aviator who grew up in Kenya and was part of the Out of Africa love triangle of Isak Dineson and Denys Finch Hatton (the Meryl Streep and Robert Redford characters in the film). An engrossing love story set in Colonial Africa--this book was sort of like Great Gatsby goes to Kenya. It turns out Finch-Hatton was quite the womanizer in real life, and was involved with both these accomplished and unusual women at the same time. Beryl Markham was a trail blazing feminist, way ahead of her time. She trained race horses and flew airplanes, both activities just not done by women at the time. I definitely recommend this one!
The Glassblower
It took me awhile to get into this book, the first of a trilogy by Petra Durst Benning. The book is about three sisters from the little German town of Lauscha, where all the men have been glassblowers for centuries. The girls' father dies and they need to find their way in a man's world. I was frustrated by the dumb decisions all three characters made, but did get caught up in the story. It was interesting to learn about the development of glass blown Christmas ornaments and how they were all shipped to America at first, but then caught on with other countries in the world.
Jo Jo Moyes: After You
JoJo Moyes is an enormously popular British novelist. I had previously read You Before Me, a very thoughtful novel on the subject of assisted suicide. This book is the sequel, concerning how Louisa carries on with her life after Will's controversial death in a Swiss clinic. Anything by JoJo Moyes is well written and engrossing. I highly recommend her.
Susan Wiggs: The Apple Orchard and The Beekeepers Ball
A lot of you are going to love these books by Susan Wiggs. She is a very prolific author and her books are romantic and full of wonderful details and conversations between the characters. The discovery of this author is going to thrill those of you who enjoy this type of novel. Landscape and setting are integral to all of Wigg's books, and this series (The Bella Vista Chronicles) is set in Sonoma, California, amidst vineyards, charming towns, and apple orchards. It is a family saga with a message of how important loyalty, friendship and family are. There is romance for sure, and you will get so caught up in the author's descriptions of things. The main character is a red-headed antiquities assessor from San Francisco who finds out she has a family and sister in Sonoma, and part owner of an apple ranch. The story is set in the present day, but there is a subplot about the Danish resistance in WW2.
The second book in the series is The Beekeeper's Ball, which concerns the life of the sister, who plans to start a cooking school in the large family home in the country. Interesting characters and a fun read. Predictable, but that's ok. The road to getting to the end you know is coming is very enjoyable.
That's all for now. Hope you enjoyed my little synopses and will be encouraged to read some of these books!
Will be sure to look at some of these. A Fall of Marigolds sounds particularly interesting. I recently listened to Kristin Hanbah's The Nightingale and loved it. Am currently reading The Lake House by Kate Morton (won an advanced copy!) and enjoying it.
Are you on Goodreads?
Posted by: Susan | October 14, 2015 at 05:17 AM
I just received the paperback edition of Ken Follett's Edge of Eternity. This is book #3 of a trilogy that started with The Fall of Giants. They are all giant 1100 page books, following five families and their descendants from pre-war II through modern day, all from differing countries including the US, Europe, and Russia. How their lives intersect over the generations is astonishing, but great reading, lots of history. I'm ready for Winter nights on the couch with a good book.Thanks much for your recommendations. I will undoubtedly read more books over the next few mos.
Posted by: Stephani in . TX | October 14, 2015 at 06:27 AM
Thank you for the book reviews! I am an avid reader, too, and always appreciate titles and authors' names.
I've read many of the Kate Morton books and have loved every one. Will have to put my name on the library list for this new one.
Hugs!
Posted by: Barbara Anne | October 14, 2015 at 06:32 AM
Nicole
I love your book reviews and have read more than a couple that you have recommended in the past.
Posted by: Dianne | October 14, 2015 at 07:00 AM
thanks Nicole. Great reviews and. Rey helpful!
Mary
Posted by: Mary Kastner | October 14, 2015 at 07:27 AM
That would be very helpful!
Mary again
Posted by: Mary Kastner | October 14, 2015 at 07:27 AM
I appreciate your picks, for sure! Could you pick your favorite from these for me??
Posted by: Tracey Holzer | October 14, 2015 at 08:03 AM
Thanks for the reviews, Nicole. I am just finishing up the Glassblower triology, and just recently read Circling the Sun and other books about Karen and Denys (and Beryl). Will look into some of the others you mentioned.
Posted by: Vicky | October 14, 2015 at 08:05 AM
Love your book tips! I'm just reading 'After You' and I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. As much as I loved the first book and the theme there I just don't like the Louisa in this book (she's throwing away the chance to work and live in NY? Really?) and this whole Lily thing. It's to constructed for me (Sam's not Jake's dad, Lily is forced to be a bad person, and so on) and I think the author just wrote it to make money (like with second parts of movies).
I'm also reading (as my subway book) 'Always the bridesmaid' by Lindsey Kelk and that book is fun. Light and sweet and like one of these girl's movies you know like Notting Hill or Bridget Jones.
And I've finished 'The case book of Sherlock Holmes' and you can never go wrong with him;-)
Posted by: Hildy | October 14, 2015 at 09:05 AM
Thank you so much for taking the time to create this list! I have put most of them on my wish list to read. I'm always looking for suggestions for reading materials and my "quilt bloggy friends" always come through! o:)
Posted by: Denise in PA | October 14, 2015 at 10:14 AM
Thank you for sharing these! I read less now that I've retired from teaching and quilting has taken more of my attention. I appreciate your reviews, and have written them all in my little notebook of books to look for at the library. :D
Posted by: Jayne | October 14, 2015 at 10:50 AM
Thanks for all these reviews. I have added some titles to my "reading" list. And I'd like to add my own resounding recommendation for Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf, which is fabulous, absolutely luminous, and for Paper Towns by John Green. Yes, he's an author of young adult books, and a fine one, and all of his books are worth reading. Thanks, Nicole!
Posted by: Debbie R. | October 14, 2015 at 03:13 PM
kent haruf, just finished Looking for Alaska. Made me laugh more than once and contemplate life. wonderful author!
Posted by: darlynn | October 14, 2015 at 04:53 PM
i am so sorry, ugh! Not Kent Haruf, though awesome author. john green wrote Looking for Alaska. that's what i get for not proofreeding....yes I know.....HA!
Posted by: darlynn | October 14, 2015 at 04:55 PM
Thanks so much for all the good book recommendations. I'm always looking for something new to read.
Posted by: Joan | October 15, 2015 at 01:29 AM
I love your book reviews, Nicole! Can't wait to go to the library and find some of these titles.
Posted by: Joan S | October 15, 2015 at 05:16 PM
Nicole, I enjoyed your book reviews and ordered "The Apple Orchard" right away. Been having an enjoyable day reading it. Thank you!
I am going through treatment for breast cancer. I was diagnosed the week your sister passed away. I have thought of you and your family often and pray for you. Always enjoy your posts even if I don't comment very often.
Beverly from Wa state
Posted by: Beverly Van Oostrum | October 15, 2015 at 05:47 PM
Thank you again for your book reviews. I love to read also and have read many good books from your recommendations. I just finished Our Souls at Night...I loved it! Have you read The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry? I'm reading Defending Jacob now which is very good!
Posted by: Cathy | October 16, 2015 at 03:02 AM