Mothers of Sparta: A Memoir in Pieces
by Dawn Davies
Wonderful Essays (9/24/2017)
The Mothers of Sparta is a Memoir in Pieces as stated in the subheading. They are wonderful, in-depth essays. After reading all the essays I get a pretty complete story of her life so far. I don't think I will forget about her son in the title essay or her dog in King of the World. She writes about things that are hard in her life as well as her joys and embarrassments, very relatable. When I finished the book I was amazed she had the time to write. I wish her well!
Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After
by Heather Harpham
You Just Never Know (6/21/2017)
At first I wasn't sure I would like the book Happiness because the author, Heather Harpham and her boyfriend at the time, Brian, were not very mature. She gets pregnant but he doesn't help so she moves across the country to live with her mother. When Gracie is born with a serious illness he starts taking his father/partner role seriously. Reading about what happens to Gracie and how her parents take care of her and each other is a very absorbing story. I don't know how I would handle it if one of my loved ones had a serious illness. Heather was very brave and gave an honest account, the good and bad. I learned a lot about living with someone who is seriously ill. There will be a lot to discuss at our book club meeting.
Seven Days of Us: A Novel
by Francesca Hornak
Thoroughly Enjoyable (5/28/2017)
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Seven Days of Us and didn't want it to end. I was surprised how I got into the story. Life changing events occur with each Birch family member. And these events are revealed to the other family members when they are aquarantined for a week at Christmas. I saw my family members and our relationships in the Birch family. It would take at least a week to have these deep, revealing conversations in my family as well. With a couple of twists I wasn't expecting and the simple ending I would highly recommend this book.
Rise: How a House Built a Family
by Cara Brookins
Uplifting story (10/28/2016)
The story of Cara Brookins and her 4 children was an enjoyable, easy read. She alternates her chapters between Rise (during house building) and Fall (prior to house building) However after a few chapters I decided to read the Rise chapters first because I was more interested in how they built their house and the flow was being interrupted by the Fall chapters. It's amazing how they were able to learn enough on Utube to build a house with some outside help. I was also surprised she was allowed to do her own plumbing.
The Fall chapters showed us how the family was living before building their dream home. These chapters were insightful but disjointed, missed big parts of their life with 2 different abusive husbands and Cara's parents. I learned the affects an abusive person can have on their spouse and children. It seems this family has made great strides in healing and living fulfilling lives.
Tuesday Nights in 1980
by Molly Prentiss
Enjoyable Story (1/17/2016)
A book set in the world of art is not a story I would typically read. So I decided to try this one and glad I did. The author pulls you right in. Having the 3 main characters - Raul, James, and Lucy - not only came from different backgrounds but also different sides of the New York City art world made for a richer story. A few of the twists had me asking myself if that really happened because I wasn't expecting them. Also it was very interesting how significant Tuesday was to the story. Once I got into the story I didn't want to put it down. And not everything was resolved at the end but that's fine with me. Enjoy!
Whispering Shadows
by Jan-Philipp Sendker
Is it A Mystery or A Love Story (1/23/2015)
Whispering Shadows is a well written mystery/love story. It deals with the challenges of keeping secrets from friends and the death of a loved one while solving the mysterious disappearance of a businessman. The author includes wonderful descriptions of life in China and Hong Kong. It was a real page turner for me because I wanted to know what motivated Paul's, Zhang's, and Christine's behaviors. Rooting for Paul and I was very happy with how the story ended. This is the first book I have read by Sendker and would like to read his others.
The Same Sky
by Amanda Eyre Ward
Discussion Worthy (11/5/2014)
I really enjoyed reading The Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward. It was a quick read and very engrossing. Alternating chapters between the 2 main characters Carla and Alice was a great way of telling their stories. However it did become obvious how their lives would intersect. I am going to recommend this book to my book club as it would make for a great discussion on many topics including immigration, infertility, and dealing with loss.
