The Husbands by Chandler Baker

The Husbands by Chandler Baker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An interesting commentary on gender roles and twisty mystery all in one!

Overworked and underappreciated, Nora is a mom to a young child, an attorney working to make partner, and pregnant. She is burning the candle on both ends and feeling it. Her husband, Hayden is loving and supportive - as long as it doesn't interfere with his life. The young family is quickly outgrowing their house and looking for another when they discover Dynasty Ranch - a seemingly perfect neighborhood. Of course, nothing is ever really perfect...

The mystery involves one of the Dynasty Ranch husband's death in a house fire. Nora is asked to look into it for insurance/wrongful death purposes.

I listened to this book as I walked, (a big shout out to The Walking Book Club and MacMillan Audio) and found it engaging enough to keep listening after I finished my walk. It started a bit slowly, but the observations about working mothers were spot on and Nora's exhaustion and sense of being overwhelmed are familiar to all working moms. I think the slower pacing in the first half works to set up the action in the second half. It left Nora (and me!) wanting to believe what we were seeing even though knowing something was off. (Moral - always listen to that little voice!)

Just when I began to believe this would be a Stepford Wives knock-off, the plot took a turn, the pacing picked up, and things got really interesting. This was just about when both plot threads (gender roles/mystery) converged. There were a few times when characters didn't act true and there were a few plot hole or leaps, especially as the book neared conclusion, but the action at the end carried me through.

And then there's the ending...be sure to read all the way to the end!

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Nomadland by Jessica Bruder

 

Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a nonfiction account of the mostly invisible culture of nomads. Often retirement aged people who have fallen on hard times, although we also see those few younger folks who choose to live on the road.

I was fascinated by this book. I am currently retired and always thinking about what lays ahead. I would not be looking forward to the exceptionally difficult life of working as part of Amazon's Camper Force, processing sugar beets, or cleaning firepits and rest rooms as a camp host. So interesting.

As I was reading this book I kept thinking about the Hubert Humphrey quote, “The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.” 

I have not seen the movie and was surprised to learn the source was nonfiction.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the filmmakers weave all of the nomad's stories into one narrative.

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The Hangman by Louise Penny

 

The Hangman by Louise Penny
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It took me a while to discover Louise Penny and Inspector Gamache, but her books and his story has rapidly become a favorite of mine.  I came across this title which is rarely included in the lists of Gamache books so of course, I HAD to read it.

The Hangman is a novella written by Louise Penny and is a part of the Gamache world of books. The story is more straightforward and the characters are not as fully drawn as in her full novels. Don't let that put you off - this book is special for other reasons.

This is a GoodReads Canada book - not to be confused with Goodreads, the social sharing website for things about books. It's a program sponsored by ABC Life Canada, and funded by Canada's Office of Literacy and Essential Skills. The idea is to provide emergent adult and young adult readers with material they will want to read, and to introduce them to authors and series they will want to continue reading as their proficiency increases.

All in all brilliant idea - and the reason I gave this book 5 stars - 3 for the story and 2 bonus stars for the Good Reads program.



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The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister

 

The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's the story of a young girl raised on an isolated island with her father who is a scientist interested in smells.

The story was kind of average, but the descriptions of smells, and scents was incredible. Smells always take me to a particular place or time and this is the first time I've read a book has been able to do the same. I loved it. The author's strength was her beautiful descriptions of senses we tend to discard.

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The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

 

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the story of Lackshmi and her journey to independence in India during the 50s. She is a woman living and working alone during a time when most marriages were still arranged. She's a making a name for herself an herbalist and henna artist. She needs to tread a bit lightly since even the slightest whiff of gossip could send her clients running. Then one day a surprise arrives that changes everything.

A beautiful book about a time, place and people who are mostly unknown to me. I loved learning about the art of henna and I'm always drawn to books with folk medicine. There is so much we discount because it's not modern. The writing is beautiful.

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The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nora Seed is despairing of her life and living.  She takes pills and never expects to wake up again, but she does and it's in a library filled with books that each represent the infinite ways her life could have gone.  She gets the chance to see what would have happened had she made other choices.

I loved this story - I've always been a sucker for the movie, It's a Wonderful Life, and this book made me think of that movie.  The thought that life is not a linear trip is one that I like to play with.  I love the notion that the small choices in your life and affect big changes in others' lives.  All of the options presented to Nora seem logical, but I really liked seeing the difference the small changes.  I loved the chapter titles and the way the work of great thinkers was sprinkled throughout.  

I was aware of Matt Haig, but only as a children's author.  I am really glad I read this adult book and look forward to reading more of his work.

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"Harry -- yer a wizard."

 

"Harry -- yer a wizard." is a line spoken to Harry by Hagrid early on in the first book of the Harry Potter series and a favorite of mine.

This book opened up the world of children's literature.  It is smart on so many levels and is enjoyed by children and adults.  I first read this book as soon as it came out and immediately knew it was something special.  I ran out and bought copies for all the eleven-year-olds in my life.

Since it's been 20+ years since its original publication, I thought I'd reread the books and see how they held up.  While it may have been a while since I read the books that doesn't mean Harry and pals have been absent from my life.  I've seen all the movies several times, play HP trivia, enjoy all the cultural references, and have proudly knitted (and wear) a Gryffindor scarf.

Boy oh boy, did the books hold up!!  I think they were better the second time around.  I appreciated the names of the characters and spells much more, could pick up subtle foreshadowing, and really took the time to immerse myself into the rich world JK Rowling has created.  

This is a series worth returning to again and again.