Book Review: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ann Patchett's latest novel is a family saga set in northern Michigan.  Lara and her husband Joe live on a cherry farm in Traverse City.  Their three adult daughters have returned home at the beginning of the pandemic to help harvest the cherries.  To pass the time, the girls ask their mother to tell them the story of how she met and fell in love with Peter Duke, before he was a famous actor.  The story weaves seamlessly between present day and Lara's time spent as an actor in the summer stock play of "Our Town" in a nearby small town, Tom Lake.

Patchett's writing draws the reader into the romance, peacefulness, and beauty that is northern Michigan.  Her language, phrasing and characters are so compelling.  I was immediately drawn into Lara's backstory and her family, and kept trying to find time to sneak away and read more.  In addition, I learned so much about summer stock theater and cherry farming.  

I read this book on Kindle, but I have heard excellent reviews of Meryl Streep's performance in the audiobook and would like to listen to it in the near future.

Highly recommended!  I have read quite a few 5 star books recently -- ending the year with a bang!

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Review: Come and Get It

Come and Get It by Kiley Reid
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is Kiley Reid's second novel, and after reading her first (Such a Fun Age, published in 2019), I was really looking forward to this one.  However, I was a little disappointed.

This book is set in a dormitory at University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.  There is quite a large cast of characters, but the story primarily focuses on Millie (an RA at the dorm), Agatha (an English professor at the college), and five of the students in the dorm.  The novel is character-driven rather than plot-driven, and deals with the subjects of racism, LGBTQ, social inequities, financial goals, and student priorities.  I think this book might be better appreciated by those readers in the 20s who can identify with many of the characters.  

After her first book was published, I heard Kiley Reid speak at the Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor and was very impressed.  Since then she has become an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan English Language & Literature Department.  I will definitely be looking forward to her next book in hopes that it is more consistent with the writing of her first book.  

Many thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader copy. The book is due to be published January 9, 2024

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Book Review: Simply Symon Suppers: Recipes and Menus for Every Week of the Year: A Cookbook by Michael Symon

Simply Symon Suppers: Recipes and Menus for Every Week of the Year: A Cookbook by Michael Symon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is Michael Symon's 8th cookbook, and he focuses on the family meal tradition, "Sunday Supper," and seasonal meals.  The book is divided into four seasonal chapter, plus holidays, desserts, and batch cocktails.  Each of the recipes in the seasonal sections is actually an entire meal -- main dish paired with a side and a salad.  Due to his heritage, there's an emphasis on Greek/Mediterranean and Eastern European recipes.  Beautiful glossy photos are included for all of the dishes.  Plus there's a handy chart in the back with all the recipes listed, plus their designation if they are flour-, dairy-, or meat-free.  Lots of recipes that I want to try!!  Highly recommended.

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Book Review: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an incredible book, told in a fascinating way.  I finished it three weeks ago, and I'm *still* thinking about it!  There are four different points of time in this novel ranging from 1912 to 2203, encompassing different characters, locations, and points of view.  And interestingly enough, some of the characters are woven into multiple time frames.  The author has a way with language, and the reader is quietly drawn into each of the worlds. 

I read The Glass Hotel by this author last year, and was delightfully surprised to find a couple of the characters and story lines from that book appearing in this book!  And to be honest, I think I should re-read Sea of Tranquility now that I know and understand the time structure.  

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Book Review: Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly (Lincoln Lawyer #7; Harry Bosch #37)

Resurrection Walk by Michael Connelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another book (#7) in Michael Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer (Mickey Haller) series.  The bonus is that Harry Bosch plays a very large part in this book, and Renee Ballard even appears in a small role! 

Mickey Haller has just gotten an innocent man released from prison after serving 14 years of a life-without-parole sentence.  As a result, he is receiving dozens of letters from other prisoners claiming their innocence.  Harry is helping him by reviewing these requests and investigating their cases.  He comes across a letter from a young woman who was imprisoned for killing her husband, a sheriff's deputy.  Haller and Bosch work together to uncover additional evidence and present it to the court for possible vacating of her 11-year prison sentence.

The novel is told in alternating points of view -- Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch -- which is very effective in this situation.  I flew through this 400-page book in just a couple of days, anxious to discover the outcome of the case.  I often find that court cases written by other authors are just too detailed and slow-moving, but Michael Connelly consistently writes extremely page-turning accounts of court proceedings.  

I was lucky to put this book on hold at my library well before its publication date, and was one of the first to read it!  Now if I can only wait until he writes another Harry Bosch / Renee Ballard book!

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Book Review: Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man by Emily J. Edwards (Viviana Valentine #1)

Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man by Emily J. Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Viviana Valentine is a street-smart secretary (Girl Friday) to Tommy Fortuna, the best private investigator in the city.  The time is 1950, the place is New York City.  Their agency has just been hired by one of the city's richest men to investigate his daughter.  Everything goes south when Tommy goes missing, an unidentified man is found unresponsive on their office floor, and Viviana is followed and attacked.  She must use her own powers of deduction to help the local police officers solve their current case. 

Viviana is such an interesting character, and definitely able to hold her own as a private investigator.  She's spunky and has a terrific sense of humor.  She lives in a Chelsea women's boarding house, and her roommates and house mother play a role in this book.  

It's what I would call 'book noir,' and the reader really gets the flavor of 1950s NYC through the dialog, characters, and description of the setting.  Highly recommended for a quick, entertaining read, and I'm really looking forward to reading the second book in this series!  

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Book Review: The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin

The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals by Clea Shearer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is coffee table home organization porn!  Page after glossy page of beautiful pictures of drawers, closets, cupboards, cabinets and pantries.  Everything arranged in a matching labelled bin or tray.  Milk, juice, cereal, flour, sugar, over-the-counter medications all taken out of their original packaging in order to be stored in glass containers.  Items all in ROYGBIV order -- rainbow color. 

I'm generously giving this book 3 stars.  There are some basic organizational techniques included:  start small with one drawer, take everything out, create groupings, and pare down your belongings.  But that's about all.  

Everything else in the book is the beautiful pictures which we all love to look longingly at.  Crayons, Lego and Hot Wheels cars divided into bins by color.   Bookcases with books arranged by color.  They even suggest arranging your spices by color!  But who are these people?!?  Do their drawers and cabinets really look like this?  And stay looking like this?  And who has toothpaste tubes in six different colors?

And they advocate going to the store and buying multiple bins and containers of various sizes.  After all, you can always return them.

This is an escapist book.  I got this book from my local library and spent a couple of hours dreaming of what my house could look like.  But then it was back to reality, and to my own spices which are arranged by type (baking, herbs, seeds, etc.).  I can recommend it for others who also like to dream about an organized home.  

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