Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani

I ended up having to power through the second half of this in time for my book club meeting. I'd like to have that time back please. It just wasn't worth it. While there were parts of this book that were interesting, it really is a romance novel. 

The book takes place in India where American Jaya travels to recover from multiple miscarriages and to find out about her family. She learns about her grandmother who was a write, and an independent woman in a very restricted situation. The book covers every topic you can imagine: grief, marital infidelity, racial prejudice, poverty, oh my...... on and on. 

More than anything, this book needs a good editor. It gets wonderful reviews but just not from me. Or from anyone in my book club. - June

Anxious People by Fredrick Backman

From the very first page.....

This book is dedicated to the voices in my head, the most remarkable of my friends. And to my wife, who lives with us.

Anxious People is funny, quirky, heartwarming, and totally wacko. This is the fourth book by Backman I've read, and it isn't his best. But even at that, it still is definitely worth reading. His writing is so witty and clever that sometimes it almost gets in the way of the story. I was so enthralled with the way he wrote a paragraph that I would forget what the book was about and just focus on that one piece. You'll want to read it with a highlighter so you can go back and read those gems. It's hard to explain. And some of the dialogue is over-the-top crazy.

I will warn you that the first half is hard to push through because you are confused as to where it's all going. But it's worth it in the second half. The characters really come to life then, and that is where Backman is at his best.

I won't even try to tell you what the book is about but here's a partial list..... Parents and children, suicide, love, marriage..... oh yes, and a bank robber. Just read it and report back. - June

Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

This from BT........

Just finished an extraordinary book: Malcolm Gladwell's "Talking to Strangers, an intellectual adventure, a challenging and controversial excursion though history, psychology, and scandals taken straight from the news. In it he revisits the deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, the suicide of Sylvia Plath, the Jerry Sandusky pedophilia scandal and the death of Sandra Bland--throwing our understanding of these and other stories into doubt."

Highly recommend!

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montemore

I can't remember the last book I read that was written in chronological order. It seems all modern authors use the same technique of jumping around in time and place, sometimes with the same characters and sometimes with other connections as we move through time. In this novel, the main character, Oona, actually lives her life out of order.

Every New Years Eve at midnight, Oona leaps to a different time in her life (remember Quantum Leap? Loved that show). There are some people in Oona's life who stay constant throughout these leaps, but most have no idea. It can be confusing but it is also kind of fun, and it's a quirky kind of read. I love creative ideas like this one, and I do recommend it.

My only complaint is that when Oona leaps into her 50's, much is written about how old she looks and the drawbacks of aging. I'm sure it would be a shock to be 19 one minute and 53 the next, but Oona constantly wanted to leap back to being young again. As an old geezer, this was a little offensive, but I do understand it too.

Give this one a try after you've read something heavy and deep. It will be a refreshing change. - June