Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

I love reading when I'm on vacation.  That's when I do some serious reading.  I don't mean I read serious books.  But I can spend more time reading in large blocks of time which really gets me seriously involved in the book.  I've been saving Wild for vacation because the subject matter appealed so much to me.

Cheryl Strayed hiked most of the PCT from the Mohave Desert to the Oregon/Washington border.  Her reasons for doing this are many but primarily she was in a rough time in her life and was needing to "find herself".  Through flashbacks in her story, we learn about her family and her relationships with her mother and her siblings.  She's brutally honest and seems to hold nothing back about her life.  And her story about hiking the trail left me torn between thinking it would be amazing to try something like that and at the same time thinking she was crazy to attempt it.  Absolutely loved this book, and I look forward to more books by Cheryl.  -June

The Gap Year by Sarah Bird

I thought this book would be about a magical year for a young woman between high school and college.  And, if I'm interpreting the cover correctly, it would also be about that same year in the life of her mother.  Wrong.  This book is all about a very tumultuous high school senior year and the relationship between daughter and mom.  I loved the writing and loved reading the book.  It so much nicer to read about the strain between parent and child than to live through it.  And I think the author does a great job of portraying the two differing points of view.  However, I think the end was a bit too tidy and some of the events in the final pages made me think, "Huh, where did that come from?"  But overall, I recommend it and I'm sending it off to BT who, as a mother to a beautiful daughter, might have more insight into that relationship. - June

The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler

Anne Tyler.  When anyone asks me my favorite author, she's always at the top of the list.  There's something about her writing that simply transports me into the world she writes about.  I don't know how she does it, but I feel I know the characters, see the setting, feel like I'm there.  While The Beginner's Goodbye may not be my favorite book by Anne Tyler, it's still worth reading (or in my case, listening to it).  Aaron's wife, Dorothy, has died.  Through the use of flashbacks, we learn how they met and what their married life was like.  And when Dorothy starts to appear to Aaron after her death, they talk about things that were left unsaid between them.  Some of the secondary characters were very interesting too.  Recommend it.  -June

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

Strange relationships.  How about this one?  A young teenage girl and her dead, gay uncle's partner.  Hard to picture, but in this wonderful book, it all makes sense.  The book takes place in the mid-80's when AIDS was still something of a mystery, and people were afraid and embarrassed by associating with individuals affected.  June and her sister, Gerta, pose for a portrait that their Uncle Finn is painting as he is dying.  After Finn's death, June meets and connects with Toby, Finn's partner, and it's their relationship that makes up much of the book.  I loved the characters in the book, and it was one of those rare books where the ending really satisfied me.  I did think the actions of Greta were sometimes overdone, but her relationship with June was very touching.  I'm sure the many references to wolves in the book have all kinds of symbolic meaning, but I'll be darned if I can figure them out.  And I think the title of the book (which is also the name of the painting) may cause some people to avoid the book.  But I loved it and highly recommend it.  -June

Night Sins by Tami Hoag

This was trashy in so many ways!  I listened to this book on a long drive this weekend, and I chose it because I thought Tami Hoag wrote fast-paced mystery books and it would keep me awake.  Well, I stayed awake because I was groaning out loud at how ridiculous it was.  I hate to admit I listened to the whole thing with hopes it would get better or at least have a satisfying ending.  It didn't.  Why do mystery writers feel the need to throw in lusty romance scenes.  It was more of a romance novel than a mystery.  AND the ending left me hanging without really solving the crime.  I now see there's a sequel.  I won't waste my time on that one.  -June

Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl

Warning: Don't read this book when you're trying to lose weight.  This is a memoir (although the author claims she might embellish) from Ruth Reichl who was a food critic and the editor of Gourmet Magazine.  It's all about her history with food from stories about her mother and grandmother to her jobs in restaurants.  Recipes are sprinkled throughout the book, and each chapter is almost a short story by itself.  One of my favorite parts of the book has to be the stories about her mother.  Obviously, her mother had some emotional problems, but she would serve outdated or moldy food at large dinner parties as Ruth ran around trying to warn the guests.  I also loved reading about her life in Berkeley in the 70's where she lived in a home that I suppose would be like a commune.  And, of course, Ruth did the cooking.  My only complaint was that the ending was rather abrupt, but I see that there is a sequel, "Comfort Me with Apples", that picks up where the "Tender at the Bone" leaves us.  Recommended!  -June

Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

Caleb's Crossing takes place in the mid-1600's on what is now Martha's Vineyard and the Boston area.  Caleb is a Native American who crosses from his world to the English world, and he ends up being the first Native American to graduate from Harvard.  This is the part of the book that's true.  Most of the rest of the book is fiction and presents a story that includes Caleb. Even though the book is named after him, Bethia is the narrator and the main character.  Her story includes Caleb and her relationship with him.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book with just one tiny exception. Bethia is just a little too advanced, and to me, she sometimes came across as unrealistic - almost like a 20th century woman who was plunked down in the middle of the 1600's.  The characters are well developed, and the descriptions of the island are beautifully written.  Recommended.  -June

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

I'll admit it - Toni Morrison is an incredible writer.  There were sentences (sometimes paragraphs or pages) that I had to reread just to admire the skill with which she chooses her words and forms her descriptions.  So why is it that I have so much trouble liking her books?  Frankly, I think I'm so focused on the beautiful writing that I can't get into the story.  The Bluest Eye was another book club choice, and it was a good one for discussion.  Yet we all sort of felt that we read it because we had to and not because we enjoyed reading it.  Did I like it?  Yes, I did.  Will I read another book by Toni Morrison?  Not unless it's assigned.  -June

The Financial Life of Poets by Jess Walker

Can you tell I have a "thing" about Jess Walker these days since I've read two of his books in the past month?  After reading Beautiful Ruins, I started checking out some of his other novels, and Financial Life of Poets was a deal to download on my Kindle.  It's certainly very different from Beautiful Ruins, but both are very well written.  Financial Life is the story of a man who lives with his wife, two sons, and his father who is suffering from dementia.  The man has lost his job as a reporter, and is not able to find another job.  He's days away from losing his home.  Somehow in the midst of all this bad news, there's a wacky sense of humor in the writing.  Then things get really crazy as our main character starts getting involved in selling pot, and he's convinced his wife is having an affair.  And there are several other sub-plots going on at the same time.  It may not be all that believable, but it sure is a fun read.  -June

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

Here we go again..... another Holocaust book.  That's kind of the way I felt about picking this one up, but a friend strongly recommended it so I added it to the Kindle.  The book starts off with a bang.  An elderly man who is attending his grandson's wedding realizes that the grandmother of the groom is his long-lost wife.  Now that gets your attention.  The author then goes back in time to Prague before the war where we meet the young woman and man along with their families.  Their stories are fascinating if you enjoy learning and reading about the horror of concentration camps and the torture the people endured.  Hard to read.  But I thought it was quite well written.

My only complaint is an odd one. The couple is separated soon after their marriage, and they continued to love each other throughout their lives.  Every couple of chapters, the author had one character or the other relive those few intimate moments they shared.  I'm no prude, and I think a few juicy sex scenes can be fun to read, but this was kind of soft porn overdone.  Some of these memories go on for pages.  I actually found myself skipping over them because they were repetitive.  But other than this one minor issue, I feel it's a good read.  If you're looking for yet another Holocaust book.  -June

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walker

While planning a recent trip to Italy, I read Nancy Pearl's review on this book.  She raved about it, and since some of it took place in Italy, I decided to add it to the old Kindle to take on the trip with me.  Good decision.  It's always interesting to be in the location of a book.  Actually, the Italy part of the book takes place in the Cinque Terre area of Italy which is a gorgeous part of that beautiful country.  This is one of those books that jumps around in time and from character to character.  The first story takes place in 1962 in Italy where we meet a man who owns a hotel on the coast of Italy.  A beautiful American actress arrives who is very ill, and, of course, the man is fascinated by this woman.  Story number two is in the present time in Hollywood where we meet a famous movie producer and his assistant.  As the two stories progress, they come together, and it's a fabulous story.  Really loved this book and highly recommend it.  -June

Straight Man by Richard Russo

When this book came out in 1998, I remember reading a review in the newspaper and knew I needed to read it.  I'd never heard of Richard Russo (this was long before his Pulitzer Prize) and I fell in love with this book immediately.  I raved about it to all my friends and made them read it.  So now, years later, I forced the book onto my book club telling them it's an all-time favorite.  Reading it now, I still love it, but as I read it this time, I wonder how my book club members will receive it.  I just hope they see the humor there and not just focus on a man who is obsessed with peeing.  The book takes place in one week in the life of Hank, a university professor and chairman of the English Department.  We meet his family and his colleagues who are all unique and, in typical Russo style, quite quirky.  One of my favorites is his secretary who ends every sentence as if it were a question by raising her voice at the end.  All hell breaks lose during this week, and as we read about Hank, it's hard to decide if he's incredibly sane or mad.  But we love him regardless.

I'm glad after all these years I was able to reread this book and know that I still love it.  I'll continue to force it on my friends. -June