Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore: A Bright Idea Indeed

    My book club members and I agreed that this was such a clever story. None of us could come up with another book that felt similar to this one. Matthew Sullivan didn't just write a mystery, but created fun puzzles and plot twists that I did not see coming.

    Lydia is the main character of Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore. She works as a bookseller at, you guessed it, The Bright Ideas Bookstore in Denver, CO. She has a special place in her heart for the customers she has affectionately named the Bookfrogs. Men who are usually down and out in life, and spend their time in the quiet nooks of the store. When one of these Bookfrogs unexpectedly hangs himself  (not a spoiler) so that Lydia finds him at closing time, it sets her reluctantly on a trail of puzzles that also makes her revisit her past. Soon she realizes there may be more to this Bookfrog than anyone gave him credit for.

    What is so great about this story is that you think you know what's happening, but Sullivan completely takes you by surprise, and he doesn't do this just once, but multiple times! Also, our book club decided that this book contains one of the best red herrings any of us has ever read! I want to say so much more but I don't want to give anything away!

    Lydia's character was relatable and empathetic, but also damaged. In fact, pretty much every character in this story is very damaged, one way or another. Damaged, flawed, and/or quirky. But it all lends itself to really great storytelling.

    My only complaint here was that the ending seemed a little rushed and also weird. You'll have to read it for yourself. Overall, it was a satisfying ending, but the epilogue made me go, "huh?" I think you'll know what I mean when you get there because my book club members agreed.

    This was one I definitely didn't want to put down! I would almost say it's as much of a thriller as it is a mystery. If you're in the mood for a mystery, this one will not disappoint!

4/5 Stars

   

Castle of Water is a Breath of Fresh Air

    This book was truly just what the title of this post says. It was the book I didn't know I wanted. It was so good. Sidenote: I listened to the audiobook and it made a fantastic audiobook! I always do something else while I listen to audiobooks (cook, clean, fold laundry, etc.) and let me tell you, I was finding all kinds of things to clean around here just to have an excuse to listen to this book.

    Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge is about Barry and Sophie. Two very different people who find themselves stranded on a small deserted island together after their plane goes down. They have one thing in common: survival.

    Something I really liked about this book was the point of view. The third person omniscient narrator really stood out to me. Perhaps it was because of the chapters here and there about Barry and Sophie's pasts or the people and circumstances that led up to the crash. It was such an interesting way to tell a story.

    I also liked how realistic the author made everything on the island to be. Making one of the main characters an architect was such a brilliant idea. And can we talk about Barry's contacts? How many desert island movies have we've seen where a character can't survive because they lost their contact lenses? Um, none! Nobody writes that into a story even though it's the truth! I AM BLIND WITHOUT MY CONTACTS. I would surely die if I had to survive on an island without them. I also loved the lengths each character went to for each other's birthdays. So creative and slightly Gilligan's Island, but still believable!

    I just totally fell in love with these characters, their relationship, and even the island itself. The only thing I didn't like, I can't talk about here without spoilers, but I seriously just sat on my couch with my jaw dropped for 15 minutes straight listening to it. Please, do yourself a favor and pick up this book!

5/5 Stars

Beartown: I didn't know hockey could be so emotional

    Wow. This book holds so many feelings and emotions! Beartown is vastly different than Backman's charming A Man Called Ove, but he manages the same amazing character development. You don't have to know or care about hockey in order to like this book; I sure didn't.

    The people of Beartown eat, sleep, and breathe ice hockey. Boys are bred to play the game, and anyone who doesn't play watches intently. Big hopes and dreams are on the line for everyone involved. But it's all about to come crashing down when a big secret is shared and begins to rip the town apart.

    That summary really doesn't do this story justice, but I'd rather spend more time writing about my thoughts! This book isn't about hockey, not really. Backman does such an incredible job of capturing and contemplating human nature (I kind of make myself cringe using that term, but it's true) within the context of hockey. There is so much wisdom here. He brings to light some of the ugliest parts of ourselves as broken people. But he also plants seeds of redemption and forgiveness among it all.

    "A great deal is expected of anyone who's been given a lot." This is a quote and major theme from the book. Through multiple perspectives we get a glimpse into how the different characters use and abuse what they've been given in the form of money, talent, family, and influence. Having everything doesn't mean anything if you treat people like they're nothing. There were times I pleaded with the characters to do the right thing, to stand up, or to back down. I think this was a painfully honest portrayal of the internal and external conflicts we go through all the time.

    Backman is a master storyteller. This year I have finally come to realize that I prefer character driven stories and this book is all about character development. He does it so well, even though there are a lot of people to keep track of, I never felt lost, confused or bored. There were several characters (David, Kira, and Bobo for example) that I judged pretty harshly at the beginning for their first impressions. But they were each so dynamic; there was usually more to the characters than there seemed (just like real people! duh!). And then there were the characters that made me want to scream into a pillow...I'll let you decide who they were for yourself.

    There is so much more I could say about Beartown; it really packs a punch. It's certainly a heavy read but without a doubt this book will stay with me for a very long time.

5/5 stars

Station Eleven or: Eerie Dystopian that Could Actually Happen

    I've been wanting to read this book for a long while and finally got the chance to for my book club. It's often classified as science fiction which I get, but what's different about this novel is that everything is 100% realistic. It could literally happen tomorrow and that's what makes reading this such a nail biter.

   Arthur Leander is a world famous actor who collapses from a heart attack while performing King Lear on stage. His death is not a spoiler, I promise, it happens on page 1. From there readers follow his life (through flashbacks) and the lives of those who crossed paths with him at one point or another. The big catch is that the night of Arthur's death is also the night the world ends. 99% of the population is wiped out. And soon after that anything powered by electricity, gas, or battery dies too. No more air travel, internet, government, or hospitals. We're given details of life 20 years before and after the collapse and bits and pieces in between to form a narrative about art, survival, and civilization.

    So, that summary is kind of vague, but I don't want to give anything away. There's quite a few characters to keep track of and it would be better for you to just go read the book rather than me typing out a long summary of each of them! After finishing I realized how there wasn't ever really a main character because the story was told from multiple points-of-view. You know I love stories told from multiple POVs!
 
    This book wasn't what I was expecting when I heard it was dystopian mainly because of all of the flashbacks to before the collapse. There was just as much happening in the pre-collapse narrative as the post-collapse. It made the story more relatable, whereas so much dystopian fiction feels disconnected from my own world. Mandel certainly has a talent for making ordinary characters interesting to read about. There often wasn't anything special about the people in this story, but she had a way of making me sympathize with them and wanting to know what happened to them. I especially loved they way they were all interconnected with one another. It was like this web that spread over decades tying everyone together even if they never knew it.

    Like I said above, the disturbing part about this book is that it could happen to us at any moment. Nothing Mandel wrote about was out of the realm of possibility in the world as we know it. In our book club we talked about what skills we would have to offer if we survived what the characters here did. How horrifying would it be to never see your family again, trying to move on while assuming they are probably dead. Would we stay where we are or try to move somewhere more promising? So many questions are raised by the time I finished the book that I can't even begin to answer. I don't even want to think about answering most of them, it's too scary!

    There is so much more I could talk about but I think I'm going to leave it at that...hopefully this review is the little taste you need to bite into the book as a whole. Overall, a must read! Although it ends on a hopeful note, it left me a little depressed, so you've been warned!

4/5 Stars

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

    I'm going to come right out and say that this book made me uncomfortable. It was beautifully written and had me totally engrossed the entire time, but I was certainly challenged while reading it. I picked this book up because there was so much buzz about it and I don't like being out of the book loop. I knew what the main idea was, but the story tackled it a little differently than I was expecting.

    Penn and Rosie are doing their best to raise their five children. Without really meaning to, they carry one big secret. Their daughter, Poppy, is not like the other little girls around her. She has to go into the bathroom to change into her pajamas at slumber parties and her parents spend hours on the internet researching hormone blockers. This is because Poppy used to be Claude. The story follows the family over a decade as they navigate life and learn about acceptance of others and oneself.

    Transgender issues and rights are not topics I am very familiar with and honestly, not ones I intentionally seek to learn more about. But I realize stories like this one are reality for people and families around me. And I really believe this gave me a perspective I wouldn't have had otherwise. Although this is only one story and there are many more unique stories out there, I feel my understanding of this challenging, but timely topic has been enhanced.

    I suppose the hardest thing for me to grasp about this story was how easily Rosie and Penn accepted the idea of Claude becoming Poppy. I don't pretend to know how to raise kids, or know what it means to love one's child unconditionally, but there was so little resistance coming from the parents which didn't strike me as very realistic. In general, I thought the majority of characters in this book were very accepting of Poppy's transformation. Clearly there are scenes that stand out to refute that claim, but I mean overall, and especially at the end (sorry, slight spoiler), everyone is just pretty much hunky dory about everything. It's not that I wish bad things for Poppy's character, I just had an impression that things for her and her parents would take a lot more time, explaining, fighting, pushing against the system, etc.

    No matter how I feel about the content though, Frankel is, without a doubt, an excellent writer. My favorite parts of this story were all the bits and pieces of the family throughout the years. How Rosie and Penn fell in love, "watching" the older boys grow up, Grumwald and Princess Stephanie (and how they came full circle!), Poppy and Aggie tapping on each other's windows and more. The real heart of this book is family and love and I can't argue with that.

 4/5 Stars

Sourdough: A love letter to bakers and techies

    If you read Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore than you know what I'm talking about when I say Robin Sloan once again wrote a totally quirky but lovable book. Sourdough is like an ode to carbs. Or bread really. Mr. Sloan, you are a genius. Thankfully I had 2 loaves of bread (honey wheat & zucchini) in the house as I was reading this book, because take my word for it: You will want to eat an entire loaf within the first few pages.

    Lois is a programmer who recently moved to San Francisco for a job at a robotics company called General Dexterity. They specialize in developing robotic arms. Alone in a new city, Lois finds herself depressed and malnourished until she discovers Clement Street Soup and Sandwiches run by brothers Chaiman and Beo. She is soon their most frequent customer and they are her only form of social interaction. When the brothers must close up shop and leave the country, Lois is crushed, until they bring her one last delivery: their sourdough bread starter. She has zero baking experience but quickly learns how to care for the starter and bake the bread. Proud of her new little hobby, Lois begins sharing the bread with those around her and soon finds herself applying to sell the sourdough at one of the local farmer's markets. Instead she is immersed in an underground experimental market of sorts. Her programming skills and new bread baking talent are combined to make an interesting and totally one-of-kind story. 

    That was a lengthy summary, but there were so many strange little details about this story, and that synopsis didn't even skim the surface! What I liked most about this book was Lois's character. She was the nice balance to all the quirkiness going on throughout the story. She was relatable and often provided a breath of fresh air among all of the eccentricity. I loved the little snide comments she would make to herself about her coworkers and acquaintances. 

    This book wasn't just all about baking, it also incorporated technology. More specifically it combined the two and explored the ways people could (potentially) live only off of food gel packets, grow food underground with lights, and use strange and interesting ingredients and tools to make ordinary food extraordinary food. This setting was unlike anywhere I'd ever read about. Many descriptions sounded like science, but I knew it was unlikely that most of it was real or accurate. If there was anything I didn't like about this book, it was probably these scientific explanations that I thought bogged down the story line just a tad. 

    As for the ending, I loved how it all came full circle in a way. Let's just say I was hoping what happened was going to happen, although I really had no idea it would until it did! Those are the best kinds of endings! Overall, I'll say I'm usually turned off by extreme quirkiness in the characters and plots that I read, but Sloan just seemed to do it in a really interesting and balanced way here. I credit the bread. Bread makes everything better.

Sourdough is released September 5, 2017! Thanks to my boss for the ARC!

4/5 Stars

Thoughts on Fitness & Fitness Junkie

Here are my health and fitness routines as told by memes:

Can anyone else relate? ;)

    A healthy lifestyle has never been an easy thing for me to maintain. I never have enough discipline. I would rather eat the cookie/brownie/pie. Vegetables just aren't priority in our house. My husband and I go on regular bike rides but we do it because it's something we enjoy together, not because we're trying to lose weight.

    I confess these things because I can relate to the main character in Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza's newest book Fitness Junkie. Janey Sweet is the CEO of the popular and thriving wedding dress company, B. When her childhood best friend and business partner, Beau, says that she must lose weight or lose her job, Janey initially thinks he's crazy. But before she knows it, she's sucked into the world of bizarre exercise routines, crazy fad diets, and some strange New Yorkers.

    What's great about this book is its commentary on today's health and fitness industry. I loved the way it poked fun at the levels of "health" people will go to in our culture. While some of the characters and situations were rather extreme, I thought there was definitely truth to be found. I mean, we all have those Instagram friends who clearly spend more time photographing their avocado smoothies than actually eating them, right? It was interesting to see how the various characters achieved their version of health and how they all reacted to the pushes and pulls of the behaviors around them. Some were hesitant. Some were desperate. Some believed in what they were doing wholeheartedly. Some were total fakes, and others just did what they felt they had to do.

     For a long while I was unsure where the plot was headed in this story. There were a lot of different directions I could see it taking and I have to say I was surprised at how much of a punch the ending packed in. Regardless of the sometimes implausible plot lines, I think the overlying message of self acceptance is one we could all stand to hear.

4/5 Stars

Another Mystery: I Found You

     It seems I have been on a thriller, mystery kick lately. I've been reading more in this genre than usual. I Found You by Lisa Jewell was another title on Modern Mrs. Darcy's Summer Reading Guide. It sounded very intriguing, but I hadn't really planned on picking it up so soon until I began my search for book club titles at work. My boss raved about this one and it had high praise on Goodreads. When I saw it on the new shelf at work and just couldn't resist the urge to grab it!

     Alice is a single mother who takes in a man suffering from memory loss. He doesn't know who he is, or why he has been sitting on the beach for the last 24 hours. Can she trust him? In another town, young wife Lily is wondering why her husband hasn't returned home from work last night. Involving the police only turn up more questions. Can she trust him? Alternating chapters take the reader back 20+ years when Gray and Kirsty's family vacation takes an eerie turn after a stranger invites them over for dinner. Gray is convinced he has ulterior motives. Can he trust him?

     This book certainly kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Just when I thought I had it figured out, I started to second guessed myself. I would say I Found You is more plot driven and I've learned from the various books I've read this year that I much prefer character driven stories. I felt like I was only getting a shallow view of each of the characters. And honestly, I didn't particularly like any of them. That was hard for me. What kept me reading was the switch between past and present timelines and the desire to know how they fit together in the end. While this was a great summer read, it certainly isn't a light read. There are some pretty dark themes and each character is marked by their own sort of trauma. Don't let that stop you though, there are great twists and turns that left me pleased that it wasn't as predictable as I thought!

4/5 Stars

Rekindled Love & The Dry

    When I started reading chapter books as a kid, I would check out a huge stack of The Boxcar Children mysteries from the library and start reading as soon as we got in the car. I'd average about one per day. Regardless of the fact that they all followed very formulaic plot (rich grandfather takes them somewhere, they discover a problem, they conveniently overhear a private conversation, a mysterious phone call tells them to butt out, they save the day anyway), I was hooked!

    Seeing as mysteries are what made me fall in love with reading in the first place, I don't know why I don't read them more often as an adult! Though many of the books I read have mysterious elements to them, I don't read a lot of straight up detective/police stories. The Dry by Jane Harper was on Modern Mrs. Darcy's 2017 Summer Reading List and I was hearing/reading rave reviews all over the internet and book podcasts. I'm so glad I picked it up! My love with mysteries has been rekindled!

    The Dry is about FBI agent Aaron Falk and his return to his hometown, Kiewarra (Australia). His visit is due to the tragic death of his childhood friend Luke and Luke's wife and young son. The small town is reeling from the tragedy for more reasons than one. All of the evidence shows that Luke killed his wife and son before taking his own life. What Aaron thinks is going to be a quick trip home, soon becomes a lot more complicated when his past catches up with him.

    You can probably tell from my summary that this book isn't exactly heartwarming, but it is oh so satisfying. Just like the main character, I was constantly trying to figure out who I could trust throughout the story; nothing and no one were quite as they seemed. I love books that switch between past and present story lines, and this one did a really good job of that all the way to the very end. The title of the book plays a really interesting and important role both in the setting and the climax. I definitely recommend this to anyone who's looking for a page-turner. I'll admit it has some heavy themes, but it had me on the edge of my seat!

5/5 Stars