The Swerve--How the World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt

A guest reviewer! This is what BT has to say about this Pulitzer Prize winner:

A love letter to books...what The Swerve does so well is to resurrect so joyously a time when people truly loved books and remind us what it is like to sway and swerve to the beauty of the written word. - BT

Pretending to Dance by Diane Chamberlain

What makes a book "chick lit"? Is it the feminine looking cover? The fact that there is always a beautiful female protagonist who ends up with a handsome man? Is it "fluffy" in style and substance? For me, I find that books are chick lit when they are all of these things plus the story is often predictable and the author repeats information as if I won't get it the first time I read it. Generally, as soon as I see that I've got my hands on a chick lit kind of book, I put it down. I think somewhere within this blog I've already confessed to being a book snob.

That being said, Pretending to Dance is part a chick lit, part young adult, and part coming-of-age book. It has some of the predictability that I hate, where it is obvious what is going to happen but for some reason the protagonist hasn't caught on yet. And yes, the author said much of the same thing over and over until I started skimming certain parts. But this book does have interesting characters and they develop throughout the book. And the plot is interesting. I wanted to know how it all came to be in the end.

Molly is a 14-year-old girl who has the worst summer of her life. She has a father who is disabled due to MS, and she is struggling with her newly discovered interest in boys. She lives in a family compound with aunts, uncles, and cousins. I won't give any more away about what happens to her. There are also chapters where Molly is an adult and we see her in the process of adopting a baby. In order for her to move forward with her life, she eventually realizes she has to face some of the things that happened during that fateful summer.

This is a quick read that is worthwhile if you are wanting something light and easy. -June

Sacred Hearts: A Novel by Sarah Dunant

I seem to be reading less and less and binging on Netflix more and more. This novel took me weeks to get through, but I am glad I did. Sacred Hearts is set in a convent in Ferrara, Italy, in the 1500's. Frankly, as the reader, I felt almost like I was locked in the convent with the nuns. The entire book takes place within the walls of Santa Caterina, and as much as I liked some of the characters, there is almost a claustrophobic feeling about the novel.

The main character is Zuana who works in the dispensary and is knowledgeable about herbs and ointments. She's in charge of helping the other sisters who become ill or are ailing. When a new novice arrives, she is assigned to help Zuana. The novice, Isabetta, does not wish to be in the convent, and was sent there by her family because she wanted to marry a man they didn't like. The story line follows Isabetta's struggles and how Zuana deals with her.

The novel is well written and although perhaps a bit too long, I do recommend it. -June

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

This is another one of those books that I probably would not have read without the push to do so for my book club. My club chose it knowing that it was about a doctor who is diagnosed with stage four cancer, and we follow his journey through his treatment until his death. So there were certainly no surprises in reading it. It's received a lot of positive press, and it's well deserved. The book is very well written and the author is incredibly honest about his feelings towards death. The fact that the book is written by a medical doctor who is now the patient and how he sees things differently in this new role..... well, it's a good read and I recommend it. However, I read the whole thing with a lump in my throat knowing what was to come. Very sad but still.... a good book. - June

Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova

Way back in 2010, I read and wrote about Still Alice, a novel by Lisa Genova about a woman who has Alzheimer's Disease. I thought it was a fascinating book, well written, and very moving.

So I was excited to see that Ms. Genova had another book, and it had received decent reviews. Unfortunately, I just didn't feel it had the same kind of heart that Alice had. This is a novel about the O'Brien family. We meet Joe, the father, who is a Boston police officer. And we meet his family, a wife and 4 grown children. And like Alice in Still Alice, Joe is diagnosed with a disease - in this case, Huntington's Disease. Huntington's is a genetic, progressive disease that causes twitches, problems with balance and speech, and eventually leaves the individual bedridden until they die. Joe's mother had it too, and although HD wasn't diagnosed often then, he recognizes the signs and knows it is in his family.

Joe's children have a choice as to whether or not they wish to be tested to see if they have the HD gene. Some choose to take it and others do not. Daughter Katie agonizes over this decision, and this is one of my complaints about the book. Chapter after chapter deals with her indecision and the same back and forth arguments go through her mind to the point I wanted to scream out "Do it already!"

If you have an interest in Huntington's, I'd recommend it. Otherwise, just reread Still Alice. In an author interview, Ms. Genova said her next book will be about an ALS victim. Do I sense a pattern here? - June

Miller's Valley: A Novel by Anna Quindlen

Miller's Valley is a work for fiction but it's written as if it were a memoir and a delightful coming-of-age story. The narrator, Mimi Miller, describes her life, her farm, her friends, and her family as she grew up in Miller's Valley. There is certainly some family conflict and several secrets that will leave you wondering.

Anna Quindlen is an easy author to read. Her writing is clean and clear, and she creates characters you will love. Several online reviewers labelled this a quiet novel, and I suppose that's true. However, I found the plot to move easily as we watch the different characters and their changes and growth. Recommend. - June

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson

Here's a funny story about this book. It was a Pulitzer Prize winner, and even though no one had read the book, my book club decided it must be good so we'd read it. The reviews were outstanding, and we determined that although it was a very long book, it would be worth it for us to tackle it. As I was reading along on my Kindle, I realized that I was eager to put it down and the percentage at the bottom just didn't seem to be moving. I was about 20% into the novel when I wrote to the rest of the club asking for motivation. I had read that the book improved in the second half of the book, and I was looking for assurance that it would. Several members replied that they had already given up, but the few who had persevered said it did indeed get better.

And it did! The novel takes place in North Korea, a country that is a mystery to most of us. While the author visited North Korea to research the book, he admits that because he had limited access there, the novel is definitely fiction. The society he created is frightening but probably has some truth in it. I won't (and can't) even begin to summarize this book with all the complex changes and characters. The author uses a number of techniques including writing entire chapters that are announcements made over a loudspeaker to the citizens of North Korea, and his chapters jump around in time.

I will say that this book was a challenge for me. I recommend it with lots of reservations. If you are squeamish at all, beware. There are some detailed graphic stories that made me literally push the book away. But if you are looking for something very different from other books you've read, you might like it. Obviously the judges for the Pulitzer did. - June

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

It is a fact: I love Anne Tyler! There's just something about her writing style that captivates me. Her books are primarily focused on families, and they pull you into the lives of characters and let you see the family members with all their warts and wrinkles. The reader KNOWS these characters and has people in their lives who are just like these people. There's the son who just doesn't fit into the family, the daughter who is the overachiever, the mother who just wants everyone to get along.

This is the story of the Whitshank family. We meet one generation but the author also shifts to the previous generation and back again. This might confuse some people, and it did cause me to have to pay attention to the growing cast of characters, but it all works. For those of you who like an exciting plot, you will be disappointed. But if you love to join into a family struggling to make it through good times and messy times, this is for you.

Some people have said that this is Anne Tyler's last book. I sincerely hope that this isn't true. I look forward to each and every one. While this one might not be her best, even an average book by Anne Tyler is for me better than most authors will ever write. Recommend. - June

The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah

The Nightingale was recommended to me by several friends. Each time, I listened to what they had to say but as soon as they said it was written by Kristen Hannah, I knew I wouldn't read it. I just associate her writing with romantic novels that just don't appeal to me. But then my book club selected this novel, and at the same time, said that this novel was different from her previous ones. And I believe it is.

It's the story of two sisters in France who struggle through World War II and show their bravery in different ways. There are so many books out there about the war, and while this one described many of the same scenes I've read about before (Nazis rounding up the Jews, concentration camps, etc), it also told some new stories as well. And I have to say I liked the book and it kept my interest until the end.

My only complaint is the writing. While this might not be your typical romantic novel, there are some elements that are there. One of my fellow book club members said it best when she said that the author told us everything when sometimes it is better to just be able to interpret things from the writing. Perhaps the book also could use some better editing as there were things that were told to the reader multiple times. Right after I finished this book, I picked up my next book which is by Anne Tyler, and I was only a few pages into it when I said to myself "Now THIS is good writing". Such a welcome change.

So I recommend this one for the story - but not for the writing style. -June

The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

This is probably the big summer hit for 2016. I've seen it being read in airports, in bookstores, and in book clubs. What is it about us that we love reading about dysfunctional families? Is it fun to look at them and realize that maybe our own families aren't so bad?

The Nest is about four siblings who know that when the youngest reaches 40, they will inherit money in a trust set up by their father. They call this inheritance The Nest. Leo, the bad boy brother, gets into some major trouble and some of The Nest goes to cover up his mistakes. The bulk of the book examines each of the siblings lives and how their hopes for their portion of The Nest are fading. They all are in need of the money but there are also other issues in their lives that they must cope with.

It's well written. The pace is good. And it's nice to see some of the characters develop and change throughout the novel. Recommend. - June

Dept of Speculation by Jenny Offill

This is a tiny, utterly unique little novel. It could easily be read in a day or on a short plane ride. While it might put some people off with the short paragraphs that do not necessarily flow from one to the next, I loved it. They almost read like a series of tweets but they are thought-provoking and well written little pieces of wisdom. But wait.... there is actually a plot. It's the story of a marriage. I won't say more except to say try it. I do think you'll like it. - June

Euphoria by Lily King

What do you know about Margaret Mead? Here's what I knew before I read this book. She was an anthropologist who was born in the early 1900's. Here's what I know now. Just about the same thing. But I did enjoy the book!

Once again, I struggle with historical fiction. According to the book jacket, Euphoria is "Inspired by events in the life of revolutionary anthropologist Margaret Mead..." which means maybe some of the story is true or maybe the author created the whole thing! The main character even has a different name. (Would that be for legal reasons?) As I read it, I decided to just read it as fiction, and when I switched to that mindset, I really enjoyed the book. The story follows three anthropologists in the 1930's in New Guinea; Nell, Fen (her husband), and Bankson. Their relationship with the tribes they visit and their relationships with each other are complex and very interesting. It's a subject that few novels are written about so it's a great topic to discover. I recommend this one and will bring it to you, BT. -June