The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margo by Marianne Cronin

This book was what I needed after reading Rabbit Hutch and Trust. It's a lovely book about friendship in the most unlikely of places... a hospital. Seventeen-year-old Lenni befriends 83-year-old Margo, and they realize that together they have lived 100 years! As their friendship develops, they open up their lives to one another. I found it to be enchanting and well written. 

It may not win the awards the others mentioned above have received, but it was a nice change of pace and I highly recommend it. - June

P.S. A movie version is coming!

Trust by Hernan Diaz

BT, I know you said you gave up on this one, and boy oh boy, I was tempted. But there was a part of me that just thought that it must get better if it won a Pulitzer. So I slogged and skipped my way through it, and here's what I think..... The author or the editor could have cut out about half of the text and it would have been much better. All of the financial details were way beyond me and also unnecessary for the plot.

The novel is divided into four parts... a short novel, an autobiography in progress, a memoir, and a diary. There are many conflicting parts to the basic story, and the final section does pull most of it together and reveals a big surprise, but there are still many unanswered questions. 

Am I glad I stuck with it? I guess so. The ending was creative. But it was just a long hard road getting there. - June

Small World by Laura Zigman

Two middle-aged sisters who have both recently divorced, move in together and try to work out issues from their past. The novel is interesting but not riveting and the characters are both irritating and predictable. But it was a good book to listen to as I walk around the neighborhood.

There were two small sub-plots that run through the book that I liked. The first is the reference to the main character's use of the neighborhood website where lost pets and personal grievances are aired. She converts these to poetry that she keeps in a notebook. She does this just because she likes the way some of them sound. Odd but fascinating.

The other one pertains to her job. Joyce works for a company that takes old family photos, scans them, digitizes them and cleans them up. Then a book or slide show gets created. As Joyce sees the old photos, she is shocked to see risky behavior, and when she sees it, she corrects it in the photo. For example, if a family is standing together by a cliff, she Photoshops a safety rope into the picture. Or she adds a gate to protect a child from wandering into a pool. Just a little creative side to Joyce - and the author.

Recommended if you're looking for a good audiobook to pass the time. -June

Friends, Lovers, and the Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

I always loved Chandler. My favorite friend character kept changing - sometimes Joey, sometimes Rachel, but always Chandler. His comedic timing was perfection. So after all of the publicity surrounding his addiction and then his tragic death, I thought I should read his autobiography. Well, I made it almost to the end of the audio book, but I couldn't listen to his voice anymore. It was really hard to hear him talk about his relapses and his near-death experiences when I know how this story ends. I'm guessing that the book ends with hope for a better future for him, and I couldn't force myself to hear about it. Maybe if I had read the book instead of listened?? Anyway, his backstory is interesting but his path into alcoholism and drug addiction is hard to hear. But it's well written and it was nice to know he could laugh at himself through it all. I do recommend it. - June 

The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty

My dear BT. PLEASE read this. I'm begging you. I want to talk about it and although I read it for a book club meeting, I'm afraid that this is a book that most of them will hate and probably not finish.

Is is without a doubt the strangest book I've ever read. And yet the writing..... that is what kept me going. The detailed descriptions, the character development, AND there's even a wonderful obituary.

The Rabbit Hutch is a low-income apartment in a small town in Indiana. The main characters in the novel live in this building plus a wild variety of characters, some of whom only appear for a chapter and yet are beautifully described (Father Tim!). 

Anyway, it's a wild ride and has way too much sex for most of my book club members but somehow I think you can handle it.

So yes, I do recommend this book. -June

The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page (not to be confused with The Story Keeper)

This is a nice little novel. It has some very fun characters and interesting plot lines. The book is all about Janice, a middle-aged woman living in Cambridge with a creepy husband named Mike. Janice is a cleaning woman, and she has a variety of clients who provide stories that Janice "keeps". She also rides the bus to work where she often listens to the stories of the other passengers. She has her own stories, of course, and these come out along the way. I'd recommend this book... while it's not the best book of 2023, it certainly held my interest and I wanted to know what happens to Janice and some of the other characters. Oh, and there's a cute terrier too! - June

The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason

This is a haunting book that takes place in World War I, something I am embarrassed to say I know so little about. The story starts in Vienna in 1914 when a young medical student enlists after the war breaks out. He is not fully trained as a doctor, but he is sent to a small hospital up in the mountains where he is expected to care for the wounded soldiers that continue to appear at his door. He is assisted by several orderlies and a nun who is a nurse. The first half of the book takes place in this hospital.

The second half has a different setting, mostly back in Vienna where the doctor now works in a hospital there. I don't want to give away any more.

The book contains a lot of medical terminology and doesn't hold back on describing the gruesomeness of war. It also is shocking the conditions that people endured during that time - lack of food, proper hygiene and medical supplies, lack of information regarding family members, etc. And get ready to pull up a map or two with all of the names of towns in Poland, Austria, Germany .... most of which I never even seen.

The writing is excellent! But if you aren't interested in reading a page describing the gaping wounds of a soldier or the way the ward smells after it's full of men who haven't bathed in weeks, then you can just skim those parts. But the story is worth it. - June

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

I'm not into video games, but my son is a big gamer. When I heard about this book and read all the positive reviews, I wondered if he'd like this novel, but I wanted to try it myself first to see what I thought. It's about two young friends, Sam and Sadie, who decide to put college on hold and create a game together. The book then follows their careers and their relationship as they start their own company and continue to create other games.

The characters are very well developed, and while they are certainly flawed, they are likeable. And the minor characters are also believable; in fact, Marx was my favorite. I enjoyed the book, and while I'm not sure my son will feel the same way, it's heading his way for Christmas. -June

Two Mediocre Reviews from BT

Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday - started off like it but then meh....

The New Wilderness by Diane Cook - Yes and no - but mostly yes

from BT

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

As soon as I started listening to this book, I asked myself.... What are you thinking? Here I am, in a point in my life where friends are dying monthly (or sometimes weekly) and I choose to read about two friends, one of whom is dying! Do I really need to read about death and losing people we love? Well, as it turns out, I did need to read this book. It's a very well-written, thoughtful, hilarious, touching novel. 

Ash and Edie have been friends since childhood, and once the doctors say that Edie doesn't have much time left, Ash moves her to a hospice close to her home. (Edie has a young son who she wants to protect from this process and so her husband and son stay in New York while Edie moves to be near Ash.) As Edie gets closer to death, Ash does her best to support her while at the same time she makes questionable choices in her personal life. The many peripheral characters (other hospice patients, staff, other family members) all play a role in this drama and yet they manage to be endearing and funny.

I highly recommend this one - especially the audio version.

But note to the author.... did you really need to have one character names Jules and one named Jude? Couldn't you have thought of a more unique name so old people like me don't get them confused??

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

This beautiful novel has haunted my ever since I started reading it. The writing is amazing - and yet I found I had to keep putting it down, walk away, and think about it before moving on. The characters (and there are so many of them) are real to me. I wanted to get into my car, drive to Lee County, Virginia, scoop up all the hungry children and bring them home with me. Much has been written about this Pulitzer Prize winner, so I don't need to give a summary of the plot - which would take pages - but it is truly one of the best books I've ever read. I don't even want to start another book now. I just want to keep thinking about this one. - June 

Found in a Bookshop by Stephanie Butland

 Found in a Bookshop by Stephanie Butland (unfortunate last name...not her fault)  A woman inherits a used book store and must fashion a way to sustain the little store through the pandemic.  She "invents" Book Prescription wherein customers write to her describing their situation/feelings/needs and she replies and recommends several books that might speak to their needs. So, you have a story with several interesting characters and a list of recommendations, some of which I have read, others I will add to my insanely long list.  It does jump character by character chapter by chapter, but you'll get used to that style.  Her bookshop is called Lost for Words. - Turd