The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

Just before I started this book, the Great8 took a trip to Charleston.  We had a wonderful time, and while we were there, we took two tours.  One was a walking tour led by a knowledgeable and articulate Southern lady who told us all about the Charleston way of life, the visits by George Washington, and the fires and earthquakes and plagues.  She also mentioned two prominent free black men who owned a hotel and started an orphanage.  No mention of slavery.  The second tour was a carriage tour where we had a chatty young man who told stories about the various occupants of the mansions we drove by.  Very entertaining even if the stories were totally fiction.  When we got to the end of the carriage tour, one of the Great8 asked our guide to take our picture.  Realizing his tip depended on it, he jumped from the carriage, grabbed the camera, and instead of the usual "Say Cheese", he said "Say slavery sucks!"  I think we laughed the kind of laugh you do when you know someone is trying to be funny but isn't. 


When I got home, I started reading The Invention of Wings which is a fiction book based upon the Grimke family, a prominent Charleston family from the early 1800's.  The book focuses on Sarah Grimke who ultimately becomes one of the first and only female abolitionists.  We also follow Handful, a Grimke slave who, like Sarah, is bright and ambitious but cannot fulfill her dreams. 


There have been lots of books about the South in the pre-Civil War period, but I really think this one is wonderful.  Maybe it's because I had so recently seen the neighborhood where Sarah and Handful lived, but I highly recommend this one. And I can't help but wonder how Sarah would have responded to the casual prompt of "slavery sucks". -June

The Edge of the Earth by Christina Schwartz

What is it about living in a lighthouse that appeals to me?  I know I'd go mad after a few days of that intense isolation, but there's this romantic-sounding life surviving by the ocean that appeals to me.  There's a historic lighthouse in Door County that has docents who live there for a week at a time and give tours.  No electricity.  No indoor plumbing.  And they have people waiting in line to do this.  I'm not one of them.


Back in the late 1800's, Trudy and her husband are assigned to a lighthouse off the coast of California.  She's a bright, inquisitive young woman and soon she is studying all the creatures who live in and near the water.  There's another family who also live on the island and work at the lighthouse, and so her life becomes entwined with theirs. Yet as bright as Trudy is, she seems blind to the flaws of her husband.  He's a jerk, and although she questions his behavior at times, she somehow rationalizes it to herself.  Enjoyed the book very much but found myself skimming over some of the scientific information.  Again, it seems the author did a ton of research and wanted to be sure to get it all into the book somehow.  But I do recommend it.  -June

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

You can't help but notice the covers of this authors books.  I think she's written several and all the covers have the titles in large letters and her name below - no picture or anything to give you a hint as to what the book is about.  Somehow I thought it was just light romantic stuff, and while it isn't award winning fiction, this book was good.  Yes, it's a tad predictable but still worth reading.  Louisa is a young English woman who takes a job caring for a young man who was injured in an accident and is not a quadriplegic.  They come from very different worlds and backgrounds yet they find a way to get past all of that and connect.  I don't want to tell more, but if you're looking for a quick, light read, this might be it.  -June

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

There are just so many books about World War II out there that I didn't think I wanted to read another one.  So when the first friend recommended it, I filed it away and forgot about it.  But after two or three more recommendations (one person even saying it was the best book she'd read in years), I bought it.  And I'm glad.  The story follows primarily two people; a young, blind French girl, and a young orphaned German boy.  When the book begins, they are just 8 or 9 and it follows them until they are around 16 or 17.  It gives a different slant to the war than most other books, and the writing is quite good.  It's very hard to put down, and I highly recommend it.  -June

The Dinner by Herman Koch

This book has won awards and received praise in many reviews.  Hmmmm.  Not in my review.  I liked the beginning and saw a lot of potential in the first half, but then I realized that these characters are crazy and evil.  And even if the book is to show how parents will do anything to protect their children even if they commit violent crimes - well, I guess this parent thinks that what they are doing is immoral.  So does the author want us to agree with them?  Or are we just supposed to continue yelling at the book?  I'm not sure, but I don't recommend this one.  -June

The Last Policeman by Ben Winters

When I described the plot of this book to a good friend, she said it didn't sound like a book I'd read at all!  And she's right.  But the reviews made it sound so interesting, and frankly, I was looking for something different.  Imagine the typical police detective/murder mystery book.  There's a young, inexperienced detective working hard to solve the mystery of a death that appears to be suicide but just might be murder.  Now add to that the fact that the world will end in six months.  Yes, a huge asteroid is headed right towards earth.  While the murder and the asteroid are not really related, what is fascinating to me is how the people of the world have reacted to the news about the destruction that is headed their way.   Some people continue with their lives, but many quit their jobs, develop their bucket list, or decide to kill themselves rather than stay to the end.  The detective has to solve the murder in a world where most people just don't give a shit about who has died and who might have caused it because we're all going to be dead soon anyway.  This is the first of three in a trilogy, and while I may not jump right into the next one, I liked this one enough to keep it on my list.  Recommend if you're looking for something out of the ordinary.  - June

The Promise of Stardust by Priscille Sibley

This is definitely a candidate for a LifeTime Channel movie.  A beautiful and brilliant young woman falls from a ladder and suffers major brain injuries.  In fact, she is declared brain dead.  Her equally brilliant neurosurgeon husband is devastated because she is the love of his life.  But he's ready to pull the plug until he learns she is pregnant.  Then all hell breaks loose because half the extended family feels it would be her wish to die with dignity and her husband knows she would want the baby to have a chance at life.  Lots of drama and lots of mulling over the same issues numerous times.  In fact, after reading almost half of it, I just skipped to the end even though I was able to guess what it would be. 


My big question is why do books like this get great reviews online.  I can only guess that there is a big audience for this type of book.  It just isn't my type.  -June

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennet

This is one of those rare books that you can fly through in a couple of hours and enjoy every moment.  If you are a reader (and you are, I'm sure) you like to read about other readers.  And this reader is the Queen of England.  Imagine that the Queen is just too busy to read, but then finds a bookmobile close to her castle and gets hooked.  That's the plot.  As she reads, she changes as she's exposed to the world of reading.  Fun.  -June

Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes

How about a book that combines erotica with horror?  Kind of a strange combo, and certainly something different from my normal reading.  But once I got into it, even though I could clearly see where it was going, I couldn't put it down. 


The author starts with some short chapters that seem to be unconnected, but then quickly starts alternating chapters from 2004 to 2008 in the life of Catherine, a young woman who has had an abusive relationship with Lee.  We know this almost from the beginning, and we also know that in 2008 she is suffering from the result of this abuse.  But this writing technique if very effective in building the suspense and keeping the book going.  It would have been have very different read if it had been written in chronological order. 


Some of the scenes are tough to read.  The abuse is extremely violent, but being in Catherine's head when it happens, the reader can see how she fought to get through it.  My only criticism is that it's a bit long, but there was no way I would have stopped before the ending. (oh and one more criticism - do people really wink at each other?  There was a lot of winking in this book.) -June

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

Are some authors paid by the word?  This book had an interesting story with strong characters, but the writing seemed very drawn out and wordy.  Maybe if the book had ended when my Kindle only said 50%, I would have been happier.  If you pick this up expecting Eat, Pray, Love, you'll be disappointed.  This is historical fiction, and I'm sure Gilbert did a ton of research prior to her writing.  And maybe she felt that she needed to weave each fact she learned into the plot somehow.  OK, I'll confess that I did like the first half of the book where we meet Alma and her family. And yes, there was quite a bit of detail about mosses and masturbation.  (Bet those two topics haven't been covered in too many other books.)  But overall it was a long book that didn't need to be that long.  -June

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

I've been trying to decide how I feel about this book for days.  Yes, I was caught up in the mystery of secret, but once it's known, the mystery just becomes how the characters are all going to work their way through the messes their lives have become.  Cecelia (the perfect wife and mother) finds a letter in the attic addressed to her and written by her husband.  It's to be opened when he dies but he's still very much alive.  Her life changes as soon as she reads it.  Another character, Tess, finds out her husband and her cousin are in love.  Rachel is an elderly woman who's teenage daughter, Janie, was murdered 20 years ago.  All these lives are woven around each other and come to a dramatic ending.  And a pretty predictable ending too.  Let's just say it's good chick lit but the writing seemed repetitive and drawn out much of the time.  I'd give a lukewarm recommendation at best.  -June

The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson

I remember loving the book Crow Lake.  In fact, I remember giving it to several friends and explaining that it was a quiet book but so well written.  So how did Mary Lawson manage to write a book in 2006 and I haven't seen it until now?  I guess I've just been busy with other authors, but I'm so glad I found this one.  Like Crow Lake, the characters are rich and deep.  And like so many books, the time shifts around so we see the characters in different times of their lives.  The main characters are Arthur and Jake, two brothers who could not be more different.  And Ian, a young boy who is struggling with his future and the departure of his mother.  Ian works during the summers on Arthur's farm, and he is there when Jake comes home.  There are so many themes in the book - jealousy, rivalry, duty to family, revenge - it's all there.  I loved it and highly recommend it.- June