And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman

I finished reading And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman the other night. Out of 10, I'd give this novel a 7. It was entertaining but as far as mystery/crime novels go, it felt a little light. The main character, Helen/Heloise was a madam who runs a prostitution business from her suburban home. That could have been interesting but it just wasn't. 

The character wasn't all the likeable (or developed). The story line alternated between then and now, which is fine when done well but I just never really became invested in the story. The ending was the most satisfying but then trickled off to be sort of unbelievable. 

If you're looking for an easy read with no big surprises or mystery, here you go.
  

Book Read:  And When She Was Good

Author: Laura Lippman

ISBN:  978-0-06-170687-5

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

I'd seen the book The Stone Diaries for years on shelves at bookstores, the library, and thrift stores, but I'd never read it. I decided to check it out and started reading it last week.

I just finished it this afternoon on a gray day here in Arizona. We rarely get gray days here, even in the winter, so it felt like a good time to read the last 30 or so pages of this Pulitzer Prize-winning book. What a gem!

Daisy Goodwill is born in 1905 in Canada, and her mother dies in childbirth. Her life starts there and is lived more than 80 years in the U.S. and Canada. Husbands, children, grandchildren, gardening, a job, and hobbies fill her days. The story is both unremarkable and remarkable, just like a real life. 

If you've never read The Stone Diaries, set aside the time and do. It's subtle and beautiful and toward the end, perfectly thoughtful and insightful.
 

Book Read:  The Stone Diaries

Author: Carol Shields

ISBN:  978-0-14-310550-3

Beautiful Lies by Clare Clark and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Okay, for whatever reason I didn't post about reading Beautiful Lies by Clare Clark when I finally finished reading it. In fact, the book is mostly forgotten. The book was interesting but too damn long (and not that interesting, I guess. Not to me.). 

I agree with a review I read where the reviewer said something like "if they'd cut out the smoking parts, the book would have been a quarter as long." Seriously. The main character smoked. A lot.

 At 481 pages, this book took me more than 2 weeks to finish.  Way too long and uninteresting.

Book Read: Beautiful Lies

Author:  Clare Clark

ISBN:  978-0-15-101467-5

 
And then I picked up Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn to read. Wow! What a difference! I'd been hearing about Gone Girl for months but didn't really know anything about it. I could guess from the title that it was about a girl (woman) who was missing.

Yessir, it is. And so much more! This is the best book I've read in ages. Run to the store, the library, wherever you can find it and start reading Gone Girl. It's captivating and thrilling!

At 411 pages, I read this book in 3 days. Fabulous!

Book Read:  Gone Girl

Author: Gillian Flynn

ISBN:  978-0-307-58836-4

Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead

Well, I finished this book but was tormented all the way through it by the bad characters. They weren't written badly; they were, for the most part just bad people. Unlikeable. Shallow. Self-obsessed. Rich snobs who I wouldn't hang around with for longer than it took to drink one of their drinks then high tail it outta there.

But I guess that made the book what it was. The setting is an island over a weekend. Daphne, seven-months pregnant, and Greyson are getting married and the entire wedding party is made up of shallow people except for Dominique who seemed to me to be the only one of the lot who had any good sense and couldn't wait to get back to her life with real people in it.

Book Read: Seating Arrangements

Author:  Maggie Shipstead 

ISBN:  978-0307599469

The Painted Bridge by Wendy Wallace

I loved this book. I picked it up by chance at the library and when I started reading The Painted Bridge, I knew right away it was a winner.


Anna Palmer is sent to a private asylum outside London by her preacher husband. The reason? Because of a trip she takes to help victims of a shipwreck. This is 1859 so of course that act was considered to be wildly unladylike. Phooey. I would have been locked up for sure!

The struggle for her to convince her jailors (doctors and the owner of the large house) that she shouldn't be there is a central theme. When the owner's daughter, who is anorexic, wants to go to the fair to see the Fasting Girl, all hell breaks loose.

Book Read:The Painted Bridge

Author:  Wendy Wallace

ISBN:   978-1-4516-6082-1

Immortal Bird: A Family Memoir by Doron Weber

I finished this book a few days ago and even though it was not the best memoir I've ever read, it certainly was heartfelt and an important story.


Doron Weber is a father of three children. This book mainly deals with his oldest son Damon who was born with a heart defect. He lives to 13 with few troubles after several open heart operations, but then he develops problems that eventually require a heart transplant. This sad, sad story is told several years after Damon dies from an infection that his doctors misdiagnose as rejection of his new heart. This book should be required reading for medical doctors in training as well as seasoned ones to learn about health care from the family's perspective.

Like a too-spicy meal, this book will stay with me longer than I'd like.  Damon's short life was full but ended way too soon.

Book Read: Immortal Bird

Author:  Doron Weber

ISBN:   978-1451618068

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

Okay, I have to say that The Chaperone is the best book I've read in quite awhile. I love Laura Moriarty's books (she also wrote The Center of Everything, The Rest of Her Life, and While I'm Falling), and this one was her best.

The Chaperone is Cora Carlisle, who lives in Wichita, Kansas in the 1920s. She decides to chaperone the teenage Louise Brooks to New York City so she can attend dance school there. This book is historical fiction:  Louise Brooks was a real person who went on to be a silent film star. The photo on the cover of the book is a real photo of Louis Brooks.

But, back to Cora, because the book is titled The Chaperone after all. Cora is married and has two almost grown sons, who will go off to college in the fall, when she decides to take the train across the country one summer. She has her own reasons for wanting to go to New York.

I tell ya, this book is surprising but believable without being over the top. Cora turns out to be a fascinating character who is ahead of her time in small town middle America.

Book Read: The Chaperone

Author:  Laura Moriarty

ISBN:   978-1-59448-701-9