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

Being Esther by Miriam Karmel

I loved Esther.  She's the kind of crusty old lady I want to be (or maybe I already am).  She's outspoken, independent, and desperate to maintain control of her life.  This is a book that has no plot.  Each chapter is just another story about Esther's days, her friends, her relationship with her daughter, and  her everyday life.  This is why I read the first five chapters or so and then skipped to the end - because you know how it's going to end, don't you?  I love character driven books, but I do need some kind of storyline to follow.  So while I loved Esther, I wasn't crazy about her book.  -June

The Accident by Chris Pavone

This is a book you need to read quickly.  What I mean is, this isn't a book that you can read a little every night before you go to bed over a month or so.  Because there are lots of characters and lots going on in every chapter.  The focus of the book switches constantly and it jumps back and forth in time.  So it's very easy to get confused and mix up the characters.  An agent receives a manuscript for a book that could damage the reputation of a media executive.  She shows it to an editor who shows it to his publisher.  The book starts to get passed around and whoever reads it is suddenly killed.  There's a lot of backstory and twists along the way.  A fun book and an inside look at the publishing industry.  Enjoyed it.  -June

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

It's 1969 and I'm sitting in my sorority house safely watching television with a crowd of people.  Several kids have to stand because there are so many in the room.  The draft lottery is on TV, and I remember a feeling of disconnect, as if this really couldn't be happening in my lifetime, could it?  Wars are just something that happened a long time ago and we have to learn about them in classes and books.  Occasionally you'd hear a reaction when a certain birth date was read, but I mostly remember the silence as we all listened to the dates - one after another.  There was talk of going to Canada, methods for getting medical excuses, joining National Guard units.  This was really about as close as I came in my experience with the war in Vietnam. 

Reading The Things They Carried was like seeing a whole new view of this war.  Although it's made up of short stories about Tim's company of men, there are certain themes and characters who cross into all the stories.  I loved it.  It's so well written and I can see why many colleges have required students to read it.  I wish I'd read it sooner.  -June

After Her by Joyce Maynard

I've never read anything by Joyce Maynard, yet I know I've read positive reviews on her books on several occasions.  So I grabbed this one from the library knowing very little about it.  It takes place in the 70's where two pre-teen sisters are spending the summer having adventures in the mountains near their home in California.  I love the relationship between the two girls - they are devoted to one another and are so creative in what they find to do.  The book is told from the point of view of the older girl, Rachel, who is just on the brink of discovering boys and all the teenage drama that goes with it.  Along with that part of the story, there have been young women murdered on the mountain trails, and Rachel's father is the police detective who is in charge of the case.  So I loved the story lines, the relationships, and the touches of mystery.  The only thing that kept me from really loving this book was the occasional writing snafu.  Much of the book is very well written, but for some reason I would read paragraphs that were almost identical to paragraphs earlier in the book.  Perhaps this is more of an editing issue but each time it happened, my thoughts would be more focused on the writing than on the story and it threw me off.  However, I'd still recommend it and I would try another one of her books. - June

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

After reading rave reviews about this book, I came across it in my local library and grabbed it.  I am so very glad I did.  This little book is a gem, and I've heard rumors that it will soon be a movie.  But read it first!!  The story is told in the first person by a character named Don who is a genetics professor.  I'm no expert and it never is completely spelled out, but it appears he has Asperger's.  He's brilliant, organized, handsome, and he's looking for a partner.  He decides to try to find a wife, and the way in which he goes about it..... well, it's sweet and funny and very scientific.  You will love Don and you will cheer for him to find what he's looking for.  BT, you will fly through this in a weekend.  Enjoy it!  -June

The Burgess Brothers by Elizabeth Strout

It would be impossible for me to name my favorite book, but if I had to mention a few possibilities, Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout would be one.  The writing and the creativity are just amazing.  So when I saw that she had written another novel, I knew I had to read it and promptly convinced my book club to add it to the schedule.  And boy, did I want to love it.  The writing is still superb, and Strout has a way of developing characters that makes them really come alive.  But this book is hard to read.  Not only did I not like any of these well-developed characters, but I found I almost didn't care about what happened to them. 


The story is about three siblings: Jim, a successful but pompous attorney who is downright cruel to his brother and sister; Susan, a mother who just doesn't seem to have a clue about much of anything and doesn't like anyone except her brother Jim; and Bob, the sibling who has been told he killed their father by rolling the car over him and now he must have a ruined life as a result.  The storyline is all about what happens when Susan's son, Zach, rolls a pig's head into a mosque. The family tries to pull together but their dysfunction makes it awkward and almost impossible.  If the ending was supposed to be satisfying..... well, I'm just not sure it was.  While it was nice to see Jim get what he deserved, I wasn't ready to forgive him and let him move on with his life.  I don't want to give too much away so I'll stop there.  But while I think this is another exceedingly well written book, I wouldn't recommend other to rush to read it.  -June