First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

Fiction - 3.5 stars

Sarah Addison Allen is the master of the light, feel-good read. I love her stories of women finding themselves in small-town Southern towns. This story started in Garden Spells, the story of Claire and Sydney Waverly and their struggles with the Waverly heritage. 

In First Frost, the story of the Waverly brood continues. Claire has transformed her catering business into a candy business, but she is not completely happy. Meanwhile, Sydney struggles with her daughter Bay's interest in a forbidden friendship and her own inability to have another child. The best thing about a Sarah Addison Allen book is that all of these problems are resolved and it ends with hope. I recommend it as a bedtime or beach read.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Fiction - 3.5 stars

As part of my quest to read the classics assigned in high school with an adult perspective, I re-read this classic to see if I enjoyed it more than my 11th-grade self did. While I did understand the themes and context much more, I will say that I did not find it an enjoyable read. Hawthorne's language is unnecessarily complicated and flowery, and it tends to make the read very slow and dry. I am not a fan of over-description, and he is definitely guilty of that.  

That being said, the subject matter of the book is more modern than most of that time. It is set in 17th century Puritanical New England, and it tells the story of Hester Prynne who has a daughter through an adulterous affair and is forced to wear a scarlet "A" on her breast for all to see. The purpose of her penance is for her to create a new life of repentance and dignity, but it eventually becomes a part of her for which she is nearly unapologetic. I recommend the book as a reminder of how the founders of our country behaved and treated citizens. 

The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister

Fiction - 3.5 stars

In this sequel to The School of Essential Ingredients, Bauermeister continues to tells the stories of characters first brought together in Lillian’s cooking classes, adding a few new stories to the mix. Al, the restaurant’s accountant, is stuck in an unhappy marriage with Louise, his wife of 29 years. Chloe, Lillian's young sous-chef who is terrified of love and connection; Isabelle, an elderly woman struggling with giving up pieces of her life due to the onset of Alzheimer’s; and Finnegan, the tall dishwasher whose depth surprises even himself. Tom, the widower who begins a relationship with Lillian, is tested when he discovers that their future is bound together. I enjoy Bauermeister's writing style, and while she does not dwell with any character for very long, the reader gets enough of each person's story to get a glimpse into their struggles. Another quick read, The Lost Art of Mixing is as enjoyable as its predecessor.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Fiction - 3.5 stars

Claire Waverley is a caterer who uses plants from her garden to evoke feelings in her clients. She works in her garden, talking to her mysterious apple tree as if it can hear her. Family legend says that if someone eats from the apple tree, he sees the most important event in his life. Claire's sister, Sydney, flees with her daughter from her life across the country with an abusive man. She comes back to Claire in Bascom, NC and finds herself in the very place she escaped. Evanelle, an older cousin, has the gift of clairvoyance, and distributes gifts before the receiver know they're needed. These Waverley women are the talk of the town, and their legacy of loneliness and magic brings them closer together as they find love and friendship. Garden Spells is an enchanting, easy read, and like The Peach Keeper, it's just a good story. It's an awesome read for a lazy Sunday.

This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

Fiction - 4 stars

Judd Foxman's father has died, his wife has cheated on him with his boss, he's quit his job (see previous for reason) and he's moved into a basement apartment of a noisy house inhabited by a Chinese couple. He's not doing well. On top of all of this, his father's final wish is for his (dysfunctional) family to sit shiva and spend seven days and nights under the same roof. Longstanding grudges resurface, secrets are revealed and former passions are reawakened in this week-log remembrance of a man they all loved but barely knew. This is one of the books I won during Barnes & Noble's Page to Screen weekend giveaway, and I am so lucky. I probably would not have picked it out myself. I can see why they've made a movie of the story, and I highly recommend it for anyone feeling a little down about their own dysfunctional family.

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Fiction - 3.5 stars

In her novel, The Peach Keeper, Sarah Addison Allen blends friendships, sibling relationships, and Southern hospitality into a sweet story with a very happy ending. Thirty-year-old Willa Jackson returned to her rural North Carolina home in Walls of Water to escape her failures. Instead of escaping them, she faces them head-on, reconnects with her family, and begins new relationships that she never thought she'd have.  In the meantime, she becomes involved in a 75-year-old murder mystery involving her grandmother and the beautiful mansion her family occupied in the 1930s. While not a Pulitzer Price winner, the book club candidate is an easy read, perfect for the beach or to read while sitting on your front porch swing, sipping sweet tea. It took me all of two days to read it, and I loved every minute of it.

The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

Fiction - 4 stars

Do you ever read a book and think, "Wow, that was just a really good story"? That is exactly what I thought when I finished this last night. When I saw that the movie was coming out, I knew I had to read it first, and I'm so glad I did. Morais includes such vivid charaterization and vivid scenes of food preparation, I know the movie will be beautiful. Loosely based on his relationship with Ismail Merchant (the late producer behind Merchant Ivory films), Morais writes a beautiful story of an Indian boy, Hassan, whose family moves from India after the death of his mother. After a short stint in London, they move to Lumiere, a small village in the French Alps. There, Hassan learns the art of French cooking, and gathers relationships that carry him through his adulthood and his ultimate achievement, 3 Michelin stars. It's just a really good story.  Read it, you won't be sorry.
Bonus for me, it includes a few Indian recipes from the book and movie. Can't wait to try them out!

Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon

Historical Fiction - 5 stars

Swoon! In this eighth installment of the Outlander series, Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, the story of Jamie and Claire Fraser continues into 1778. In the cliffhanger from the previous book,  An Echo in the Bone, Jamie Fraser returns from "the dead" to discover that Lord John has married Claire to protect her from the British Loyalists. Meanwhile,  William has discovered who his father really is, Ian has fallen in love with a Quaker, and Claire is busy trying to stay sane. No spoilers here - I'll merely say that things don't calm down upon Jamie's return.
 
The Frasers are under the illusion that Brianna and her family are safe in twentieth-century Scotland. However, all is not peaceful at Lallybroch. She and Roger embark on their own journeys in search of family.

According to Barnes and Noble review, "Written in My Own Heart’s Blood is the brilliant next chapter in a masterpiece of the imagination unlike any other." I whole-heartedly agree.

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

Historical Fiction -4.5 stars

I am a huge Philippa Gregory fan, and this book is no exception. This standalone sequel to The White Queen is told through the eyes of Lady Margaret Beaufort. As a girl, she had visions of being Joan of Arc and performing some grand feat for God. Instead, she was rejected by her first fiancé, she became first a mother and then a widow at 13, and then married (Henry Stafford)and was widowed again several years later. She wed her fourth husband (Lord Stanley) in a pure business arrangement, including being granted a vow of chastity. While not at the altar or mourning, Lady Margaret was maneuvering in court and out to place her son, Henry, onto the throne as he was the next Lancaster heir. The Red Queen offers a portrait of a woman who refused to believe that she was not the most important in God's eyes. Her arrogance and unrelenting desire for her son to be king prove to be successful as her son becomes Henry VII, father to Henry VIII and grandfather to Elizabeth I. I recommend the book, but I do not like Margaret. Her nickname, "t' old bitch", proves absolutely true.

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Fiction - 5 stars

In this full-length novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the sudden death of Sir Charles Baskerville is said to have been caused by the gigantic ghostly hound which has haunted his family for generations. However, when Dr. Mortimer involves Sherlock Holmes in the mystery, Holmes characteristically dismisses the theory as nonsense. Claiming to be immersed in another case, he sends Dr. Watson to protect Sir Henry, the Baskerville heir, and to observe the suspects first hand. Mystery abounds in this story, and Megan and I thoroughly enjoyed Conan Doyle's deliberate use of character to keep the reader out of the loop. While it stands on its own as wonderful story, for its time, I can imagine that reading each chapter in The Strand was something for which people held their breath.  Megan and I both recommend it highly!
                       

 

The Gathering by Anne Enright

Fiction - 3.5 stars

As part of my personal challenge to read all Man Booker Prize-winning novels, I bought The Gathering on a whim.  Anne Enright won the Booker prize in 2007 for this work of James Joyce-like drama. In this portrait of a large Irish family, the nine surviving children of the Hegarty clan are gathering in Dublin for the wake of their drifter brother, Liam, who has recently drowned in the sea near Liverpool, England. Veronica, his older sister, goes to collect the body, all the while reliving the secret she shares with him—something that happened in their grandmother’s house in the winter of 1968. It is a novel about love, hate, disappointment, and how secrets and memories affect us until the end. While it is as well-written as Joyce, it is also as depressing and hopeless as Joyce, giving the book a truly Irish quality.

*Note: The Man-Booker Prize is the British award for literary fiction, similar to the Pulitzer in the US.

Ape House by Sara Gruen

Fiction - 4 stars

From the author of Water for Elephants, Ape House is the story of a group of bonobos and their caretakers from a language lab at the University of Kansas. After a series of events gives the bonobos a prime time television audience, it is up to a reporter who met the bonobos before the events to uncover a story that will change all lives involved forever. I loved this book! Gruen writes with humor and imagery, and I found myself staying up late to finish the chapter/page/etc. Warning - not for children as the bonobos love of sexual acts is a prominent part of the story.

The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

Fiction - 4 stars

In her debut novel, Erica Bauermeister creates a captivating story in which the main character, respected chef and restaurateur Lillian, finds and then tries to instill love and know-how of the sensual and healing aspects of food in others.  Through a season of Monday evening cooking classes in her restaurant, she teaches her students to look inside for inspiration and "feel the food" that they want to make. The novel also highlights the story of each of her students, sometimes painful and sometimes not. Bauermeister's words seduce the senses, and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this quick and satifying read. While this would be the perfect book club selection for adults, I think anyone with an interest in cooking or food would love it.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Fiction - 5 stars

Our February book club selection, Pride and Prejudice, is probably my favorite story of all time. The story is of Elizabeth Bennett, 2nd daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bennett of the British landed gentry. She is a girl with gumption. In the story, she meets Mr. Darcy, a proud aristocrat who immediately turns her off, and she doesn't mind telling him so. However, she uses such manners and grace in telling him that he is drawn to her spirit despite her dislike and initial refusal of him. As he seeks to win her respect, he in turn makes her fall deeply in love with him. (I know this is a spoiler, but if you don't know the story of P&P, you need to crawl out from under that rock!) Neither of these characters is a pushover, and both have intelligence, integrity, and are incredibly loyal. These characteristics are what make me love them so. I highly recommend this book to everyone!

Death Without Company by Craig Johnson

Mystery - 4.5 stars

Book #2 in the Walt Longmire mystery series is just as well-written as the first. In this book, the sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming is investigating the poisoning murder of a Basque woman whose story is so intriguing, Walt can't let it go until he's figured out the puzzle. Including realistic scenes of hand-to-hand fighting, shooting, and even drowning, this book is one I couldn't put down. I recommend it for any mystery fan.  

Cold Dish by Craig Johnson

Mystery - 4.5 stars

George and I got hooked on the Longmire series on A&E this summer, and because we both fell in love with the show, we decided to read the first book in the series. We are both so glad we did as the show is so different from the books. Cold Dish is such a fantastic first novel for Craig Johnson. It introduces Walt Longmire, Sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming, and a supporting cast of characters that will quietly and subtly knock your socks off. Walt's best friend, Henry Standing Bear, is a perfect example. Henry, like Walt, is a Vietnam War veteran. He is not content living too far away from the Cheyenne Reservation on which he grew up, and so he owns the local bar placed just outside the Reservation boundaries. He is a big, tough man whose quiet ways and thoughtful presence make him oh so popular with the ladies. Vic, the deputy from Philly who cusses like a sailor and gives Walt a really hard time, is also an attractive woman and competent forensics investigator. The best aspect of the books is Johnson's humor. I found myself laughing out loud many times at Vic's attitude and at the self-depracating comments that almost always escape Walt's lips. George is on book 5 right now, and has loved them all. I can't wait to start on the second one! However, it may have to wait until I get done with my next Mother-Daughter selection.

Ratking by Michael Dibdin

Fiction - 3.5 stars

This book is the first in the Aurelio Zen series of mysteries. I enjoyed the writing style, as Dibdin wrote in a very vivid and conversational way. The story - the patriarch of the Miletti family is kidnapped and Zen is assigned to invesigate - weaves in and out of the lives of the Miletti's, their closest companions, and Zen himself. Zen lives with his mother and is in a relationship with an American woman. He's been caught up in controversy and assigned to a desk job in Rome. But, in the end he's a cop through and through. I really enjoyed the book and I'm really excited to read the next. However, I will say I enjoy the short-lived BBC series more than I enjoyed the book - mostly because of Rufus Sewell.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Fiction - 3.5 stars

Little Bee is the perfect book club book. The story of a Nigerian immigrant (Little Bee) to the United Kingdom and the woman she searches for and finds (Sarah), the books deals with real issues. For Little Bee and her fellow immigrants, the issues include the reasons for illegal immigration (horrors from the home countries), life in the British detention centers, and the struggle to survive outside the centers and to "belong." For the other characters in the book, issues like adultery, depression, suicide, and making the right choices are just a few of the issues that make this a complex story full of emotion. Cleave does an excellent job of creating these very different characters, yet portraying them and their issues as very similar, which makes them fit together perfectly. I enjoyed it - easy read and interesting subject matter, and I recommend it to anyone wanting a good discussion book.

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Fiction - 2 stars

I gave this book 2 stars only because I am supposed to appreciate it as a work of fine literature. Never before reading this, and not since I read Love in the Time of Cholera have I experienced such a violent dislike of book or a writer. Now, I am not a huge Hemingway fan, but I would read A Farewell to Arms once a week for a year before I would pick up another Faulkner work. If you are a Faulkner fan, I am sorry if I've offended you. However, "No way, Jose - you can't make me" is what I would say if anyone asked me to read Faulkner again. Can you tell I didn't like it?

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Fiction - 5 stars

If you've never read this book, you absolutely are missing one of the best stories ever told. It is the story of Huck Finn and Jim, the runaway slave that he takes with him down the Mississippi. This sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is truly a classic, and I am glad to have read it.