**The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce is the odyssey of a recent retiree who is Jolted
out of emotional numbness by a letter from an old friend who wants to say
goodbye before she dies. He embarks on a
600-mile hiking journey to his friend's side without a plan, “phone, or
supplies, an endeavor that stirs up memories of his unhappy marital and
parenting experiences.” A novel with unsentimental charm, humor, and profound
insight.
**Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is another coming of
age story about a girl who grows up without parenting or education. Kya is
becoming an important, self-taught naturalist whose progress is interrupted
when she is accused of murdering a former star quarterback who was obsessed
with her. This mystery is beautifully
interwoven with a growing awareness/understanding of the differences in the
natural order of live and the demands of civilization. "Painfully beautiful."(NYTimes)
*Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly brings together two of
his detective creations with his legendary professionalism. Working the night beat, Det. Renée Ballard
makes her way back to Hollywood Station,
only to find retired detective Harry Bosch going through old file cabinets,
obsessing over a cold case involving the murder of a 15-year-old runaway.
First, she throws him out, then they join forces to solve this and a couple of
other cases.
*Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty introduces the
ultimate transformative, New Age seminar. Tranquillum House seems like the
ideal place for rest, relaxation and repair. Owned by Masha, a former
high-powered executive who switched careers after a heart attack, the bucolic
wellness center is a refuge for broken souls with deep pockets. Everyone has
problems. Everyone has issues, but is the staff able to offer redemption,
transformation or trauma?
Confessions of Stephen Colbert by Colbert, host of "The
Late Show"(and staff) provides a compilation of satirical, irreverent
writings about numerous memories and behaviors for which he is almost sorry,
based on the popular segment from the show. A (very) quick, pleasant read.
When You Find Me by P.J. Vernon is her fiction debut in a
Southern Gothic mystery steeped in politics, adultery, alcoholism, family dysfunction,
psychosis and murder. Visiting her family's South Carolina estate, Gray Godfrey
wakes from a night out to an empty bed. Her husband Paul is gone and a classic
hangover has wiped her memory clean. Is he taking a break from marriage or
something more permanent? There are lots of red herrings, coincidents and plot
twists witha dramatic, if predictable, finale.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh is about a recent college
graduates 's efforts to escape the angst of her world by embarking on an
extended hibernation with the help of a drug smorgasbord and New York’s worst
psychiatrist. The NYTimes named it a
notable book of 2018 and numerous literary critics called it “One of Best Books
of the Year.” Sorry, but I thought it
was depressing, dark and unbelievable.
**Help Me: One
Woman’s Quest to Find Out if Self-Help Really Change Your Life? by Marianne
Power is her hilarious, thought-provoking,
and honest account of a year-long quest to find out if self-help books really
can change your life. She
manages to distill the essence of gurus from Stephen Covey to Eckhard Tolle and
a dozen more, apply their essence to her life for a month in hopes of finding
perfect self-knowledge and happiness.
The test doesn’t work out perfectly, but the reader learns a bit and
enjoys this marriage of Bridget Jones and Tony Robins.
*The Reckoning by John Grisham is a Southern Gothic murder
mystery, courtroom drama, and family saga. The story revolves around a
Mississippi war hero who refuses to defend his actions in killing a local
minister during a bizarre trial. We take an incredible journey, from the Jim
Crow South to the jungles of the Philippines during World War II and an insane
asylum filled with secrets. Not
Grisham’s best, but an engaging read.
*As Long as We Both Shall Live is JoAnn Chaney s wicked, masterful examination of a
marriage gone very wrong, a marriage with lots of secrets. Marie Evans
falls off a cliff while hiking with her husband Matt, but detectives have
doubts that it was an accident, especially when they learn about the suspicious
death of Matt's first wife—a worthy competitor in the Gone Girl sweepstakes.
*The Alice Network by Kate Quinn is, according to the NYTimes,
“an enthralling new historical novel” that brings together
a pregnant American student. Charlie St. Clair, who is banished to Europe just
after WWII and takes the opportunity to search for her missing French
cousin. She teams up with Eve, a former
spy from the real WWI Alice Network, to solve a mystery involving a French
collaborator who managed to betray and injure them both. “Both funny and heartbreaking, this epic
journey of two courageous women is an unforgettable tale of little-known
wartime glory and sacrifice.”
**Washington Black by Esi Edugyan might be
considered a Black Forest Gump. Chosen to be a family
manservant, an eleven-year-old Barbados field slave is initiated into a world
of scientific inquiry and dignity before betrayal propels him throughout the
world in search of his mentor and his true self. The book was a finalist for
the Man Booker prize and named as one of 2018’s Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, Washington Post, TIME,
Entertainment Weekly, Slate, Boston Globe, NPR, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, and The
Economist
*The Library Book by Susan Orlean explores the unsolved
mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, the 1986 Los
Angeles Public Library fire. She also
overlays the evolution of Los Angeles and the crucial role that libraries and
librarians play in modern American culture. The book jumps from one interesting
story or another but never loses the reader’s interest. “Everybody who loves books should check out The
Library Book.” —The Washington Post
*Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver depicts two families and a world teetering, one in 2016,
and a different but connected type of 19th-century teetering. Kingsolver
captures how humans are inevitably connected through the possibility of
collapse, whether it’s the collapse of our houses, our bodies, logic, the
social order or earth itself. In an…
"absorbing novel, the two narratives reflect each other, reminding us of the
dependability and adaptiveness of our drive toward survival.”NYTimes
Country Dark by Chris Orffutt introduces Tucker,
a young Korean War veteran who returns to Appalachia to work for a bootlegger.
He falls in love and starts a family, but when his family is threatened, Tucker
is pushed into violence and everything from bad to worse. The story of people
living off the land and by their wits in a backwoods Kentucky world of shine-runners
and laborers whose social codes are every bit as nuanced as the British
aristocracy.
*Women Rowing North:
Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing as We Age by Mary Bray Pipher offers a timely
examination of the cultural and developmental issues women (and men) face as they age. Aging omen growing often
contend with ageism, misogyny, and loss, yet, most elders are deeply happy and
filled with gratitude for the gifts of life. Their struggles help them grow
into the authentic, empathetic, and wise people…a worthy goal for all. “bound
to become the bible of baby boomer women." ( Library Journal)
The Good Detective by John McMahon is an impressive first
novel featuring “a decent if flawed hero battling personal troubles
while occupied with a murder case of great consequence to his community."
(NYTimes). Detective P.T. Marsh was a rising star on the police force of Mason
Falls, Georgia--until his a personal tragedy undermines his the ability to see
the line between smart moves and disastrous decisions. McMahon provides
procedural details with a sharp sense of people and their problems, their
language and values in a small Georgia town. Detective Marsh is a
sardonic and sympathetic character who will be around for future books.
*Cemetery Road by Greg Illes is a complex, engaging,
sometimes over the top, Southern potboiler reminiscent of Pat Conroy. Iles “writes with passion, intensity
and absolute commitment.” (Washington
Post). Bienville, Mississippi and Marshall ‘s
family’s 150-year-old newspaper are failing, but a dozen powerful patriarchs
who rule the town through the exclusive Bienville Poker Club have offered
economic hope in the form of a billion-dollar Chinese paper mill. There’s massive
corruption, dishonesty, prejudice, gun violence, adultery, incest and
murder—just a typical Southern town. Despite its flaws, Illes kept me engaged
for most of the 500 pages.
