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June 2023 Book Report

Summer is my favorite time of the year to read. The days are long, and the weather is perfect for sitting by the pool or on my patio engrossed in a story. I like beach reads that are page-turners, mysteries I can’t put down, juicy celebrity memoirs filled with gossip, historical fiction that exposes me to a whole new world or culture, and family dramas that serve as an escape from reality.

I consider myself a fast reader, but it’s been quite a while since I finished a book in one day. The last time that happened was when we went to Punta Cana, and I only brought three novels for a seven-day trip. What was I thinking?! I finished those books quickly because we sat on the beach all day. By Wednesday, I was desperate for a new novel and so happy when I came across a cart of wayward books other hotel guests had left behind. Crisis averted!

Lately, I’ve been spending time refamiliarizing myself with my TBR pile. I’m almost embarrassed to say that between the print books on my shelves, the novels downloaded on my Kindle, and the audiobooks on my iPhone, I own about 200 titles I haven’t read yet. Some people have a TBR pile, and that’s cute. I have a TBR TOWER (yes, all caps are necessary here because it’s a big tower) with books. I had all good intentions of reading next but never did. As I went through each title in the TOWER,  I remembered what it was that intrigued me about the book and found myself getting excited all over again to read it.

So, I’ve decided to only read the books from my TOWER for the month of July (except for any library holds that come through. I have four titles on hold right now). In no particular order, here are the books I want to read in July:

  • “The Perfect Marriage” by Jeneva Rose (Audiobook)
  • The Maid by Nita Prose (Kindle e-book and my book club’s next pick)
  • “Loyalty” by Lisa Scottoline (Hardback book because I wanted it so bad, I spent $30 on it.)
  • “The Most Likely Club” by Elyssa Friedland (Kindle e-book)
  • “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” by Elizabeth Gilbert – (This will be a re-read for me, which I rarely do. However, it’s been a few years since I read it, and I could use a boost in the creativity department)

But before I dive into my mini-TBR pile (yes, it’s a cute little manageable pile again). Let me tell you about the books I read in June.

Happy Place by Emily Henry

This is the IT beach read of the summer. It’s been on the New York Times bestseller list for nine weeks and is at Number Two as I write this. There was so much hype surrounding this book which can sometimes be a problem for me. Here is the setup: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, have lots of good sex, and get engaged. Then, boy dumps girl without explanation and doesn’t tell their friends about their breakup, and they are all vacationing together somewhere in Maine – their happy place.

I hated it. But let me tell you why.

I admit that I’m not a romance reader. If romance is part of a larger story, that’s fine, but if romance is the entire story, it’s not always for me. However, I’ve enjoyed other books by this writer, so I had no problem spending one of my precious Audible credits on it. Unfortunately, I found these characters to be privileged and immature for their age (mid-thirties). The conflicts in the book could have been easily fixed if the characters had talked to each other – but I guess it wouldn’t make it a bestselling book, right? The whole plot trope of huge misunderstandings due to miscommunication and then stretching it out for 400 pages was super annoying. I wanted to reach in and strangle most of the characters because I wasn’t rooting for any of them. By the sixth hour of a seven-and-a-half-hour audiobook experience, I DNF’d the book. I couldn’t take it anymore, and I’m glad I did because I know how it ended, and that ending would have pissed me off as well. But I’m still counting this book toward my Goodreads goal because it is six hours I will never get back.

The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth

In my opinion, this is the book that should have been the IT book for the summer. A young family moves into a beautiful house that overlooks a cliff. They love everything about the house except that it is a popular location for people to come and commit suicide. Gabe, the husband, prides himself on having talked seven people from jumping, but one night he is unsuccessful, and a young woman dies.

This thriller unfolds with the perfect mix of flashbacks and present-day events told from the perspectives of both Gabe’s wife, Pippa – who wonders if her husband pushed her off that cliff – and Amanda – the woman who died. Throughout the book, marriages unravel, family secrets come to light, and lives change forever. It was the perfect beach read for me.

This author does a masterful job of toggling between the storylines of the two women and still writes a suspenseful story that kept me turning pages until late at night. Sometimes, the character development is lacking when you have a great story, but not in this book. I loved the main characters and the minor players with important roles in the book. I especially liked the children, the coffee shop owner, and the bodyguard. Highly recommend!

The Church of Baseball: The Making of Bull Durham by Ron Shelton

When I’m not reading, I’m probably watching a Phillies game on television. Baseball is in my blood, and I count baseball movies like Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, and Moneyball as some of my favorites. When I heard this author and movie director talking about his new book on a recent podcast, I immediately put it on hold at the library. Last year, I read “Off the Cliff” about the making of Thelma and Louise, which was excellent. So, it was time for me to dive into another Hollywood story.

The Church of Baseball was a fun read. Usually, my favorite parts of these books are the behind-the-scenes stories you won’t hear anywhere else. In this book, I also thoroughly enjoyed the author’s writing process and how he sold the movie. His commitment to the story and the actors was admirable, and he wasn’t willing to budge. I can’t imagine this movie without Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon, but movie producers and other bigwigs were skeptical about the casting choices for Nuke and Annie. In the end, Bull Durham became a classic baseball movie that is a must-watch whenever I catch it on television.

The one thing that I felt was missing from this Hollywood story was a woman’s touch. “The Church of Baseball” was told from the director’s point of view using the notes from interviews he did with the cast and crew. It was a movie made in a man’s world with Susan Sarandon basically invited to the party. “Off the Cliff: How The Making of Thelma and Louise Drove Hollywood to the Edge” discussed the groundbreaking movie from all perspectives. The actresses (including Sarandon) shared their stories and love for the film. The screenwriter and much of the crew were women trying to break into the business and earn respect from a male-dominated field. They shared their insights on the making of this movie too. And the reader comes to appreciate that this action movie with two female leads was unheard of back in the 80s and was a blockbuster. Both of these films came out around the same time and are both classics. But in my opinion, only one of these films broke the glass ceiling, which made the book and the movie that much better.

How is your summer reading going? Let me know in the comments!

XO,
Elisa

May 2023 Book Report

Summertime is my favorite season because it is the time of year when I find it easier to give myself permission to prioritize reading over everything else. For me, summer and books are like Santa Claus and Christmas. They just go together.

Right now, there are way too many summer reading guides to count, and I can’t get enough of them! I’ve added even more books to my already overloaded TBR pile, but I’m also in the mood to shop my shelves because I have so many titles at my fingertips. Right now, I am reading “Symphony of Secrets” by Brandon Slocumb and “Write the Damn Book Already: Tell Your Story. Share Your Message. Make an Impact” by Elizabeth Lyons. (I’m trying! I’m trying!)

In the meantime, I read three books this month and reviewed them below. Let me know what you are reading right now in the comments!

The Teachers: A Year Inside America’s Most Vulnerable, Important Profession by Alexandra Robbins

In college, I wanted to major in secondary education and become a history teacher. I loved my history teachers, and I’ve visited Williamsburg, Virginia, and other colonial battlefields numerous times, so it made sense that being an expert in colonial history and teaching would be my chosen career. Unfortunately, I didn’t care much for my educational theory classes, so I decided to change my major to the more impractical B.A. in History with a minor in Journalism. After reading this year-in-the-life account of three school teachers, I think I made a wise decision.

I’ve always known that teachers are dedicated to their students, but I don’t think I’ve appreciated their efforts enough — and I’m the daughter of a public school teacher! This book gives a behind-the-scenes look into the school year and what teachers go through to succeed in their classrooms, which too often is detrimental to their personal lives. From covering for other teachers and leading extra-curricular activities to dealing with difficult parents and even more difficult administrators, the author (an NYT award-winning journalist) lays it all out through inspiring stories and sometimes shocking details.

If you are looking for a good non-fiction, in-depth read, I recommend this four-star book. But if you are a teacher, this book is probably not for you — especially over the summer. In fact, enjoy the work/Iife balance that I hope comes with the summer months for teachers. You deserve it, and the rest of us take it for granted. For the rest of you, you can get lost in candid classroom moments and invest in the well-being of the students and, more importantly, teachers.

What I do not recommend is listening to this as an audiobook. While the author is a talented writer, she is a terrible audiobook narrator. Her attempts to read the book using various accents are awful. And I do mean awful! They are offensive, stereotypical, and cringy. Yes, she tried, but she should keep her day job.

Defending Britta Stein by Ronald H. Balson

It’s been a while since I’ve read a World War II/Holocaust book. Admittedly, it’s not my favorite genre. I’ve read so many because I work in the Jewish community, and typically the book signings and author events center around this time period. Nowadays, the books in this category have to stand out for me to want to read them. And even then, I’m not rushing to pick them up. For instance, I still haven’t read “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah, which seems to be the new gold standard of Holocaust books since Anne Frank’s diary.

Defending Britta Stein came onto my radar because someone in my book club recommended it. I trust her reading tastes immensely, and I was pleased to see that the author wrote one of my favorite historical fiction novels, “Saving Sophie.” That was a good sign, so I downloaded the book on my Kindle. Here’s the setup:

Britta, a 90-something-year-old woman, is on trial for defamation of a local World War II “hero” who is about to be honored by their town with all kinds of accolades. After spraypainting words like TRAITOR and WAR CRIMINAL on the outer walls of his restaurant, she is quickly caught by security cameras and owns up to the crime. But she insists this man is no hero and wants to tell her side of the story. Most of the book is Britta taking a long time telling her lawyer and granddaughter about her life in Nazi-occupied Denmark. She tells her story in painstaking detail, and unfortunately, by the time she gets to the big reveal about the traitorous actions of this man, I lost interest. I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if the author had put the reader right into the action instead of relying on Britta’s storytelling.

However, I wanted to see how the trial panned out, so I kept reading. Sadly, the trial was rushed at the end of the book, and the cartoonish prosecutor with a passion for the limelight distracted me. I think if there is going to be a book about a trial, the author should spend a decent amount of time on the trial as they do on the backstory. I did give this book three and a half stars because the history of the Danish people saving 7200 Jews from the Nazis is an important story to tell and should be told more often. The author did an excellent job depicting the kindness of strangers, and we could all use a little more of that these days.

I’m Wearing Tunics Now: On Growing Older, Better, and a Hell of a Lot Louder by Wendi Aarons

My new favorite podcast is Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, where our host interviews brilliant and successful women of a certain age. So far, she has talked with Jane Fonda, Fran Leibowitz, Rhea Perlman, and others about their life experiences and gives them the opportunity to pass along their wisdom to the rest of us. The interviews are brilliant, funny, and inspiring. As a woman in her 50s watching my parents age and my children grow into young adults and wondering how the next chapter in my life will unfold — this podcast is exactly what I need right now.

So, it was no surprise when I couldn’t wait to read this funny and poignant memoir about second acts and self-acceptance. The author’s reflections on middle age and wanting to chase her dreams spoke to me on many levels. Ladies — her stories are our stories. Her journey is so familiar and validating that I just want to take her to lunch, share our experiences, have a good laugh and then go to a Barry Manilow concert with her. She is a big fan, like me. I don’t want to say to spoil the book for you. But I’ll leave you with this marketing blurb from Amazon. If any of this resonates with you, I highly recommend this book.

Through personal essays and satirical pieces, you will learn how to:

  • Follow your dreams, even if you aren’t a wide-eyed twenty-something stepping off a bus in L.A.
  • Throw yourself a middle-age-reveal party
  • Start over again even if you’re 40 (okay, fine, 50)
  • Find the perfect cocktail to pair with your perimenopause
  • Not feel pigeon-holed into a boring middle-aged life, or a perfect-mom life, or any kind of life that makes you feel unseen and unhappy
  • Embrace the comfort of a linen tunic

One More Thing

I am working on a summer reading list that I will happily share with you next week. Stay tuned! And don’t forget to support your local indie bookstores!

XO,

Elisa

April 2023 Book Report

Last month, I read and reviewed four books. I hoped to keep my momentum going through April, but alas, I only finished one book. On the plus side, it was an excellent read, and I highly recommend it.

Search by Michelle Huneven tells the story of a woman who is invited to join her congregation’s search committee for a new minister. She belongs to a Unitarian Universalist church which attracts people from all religious backgrounds to their community. While this denomination is unfamiliar to me, the personalities and politics involved in seeking a new spiritual leader are pretty universal. I enjoyed listening to this fictionalized memoir (meaning the names are changed, but the story is the real deal. My experience working in the Jewish community as a communications professional has allowed me to interact with fantastic people with different priorities and opinions who all have one thing in common—a love for their congregation. That same love and desire for what’s best for the future of their community are what drive this particular search and this book. And if you aren’t involved in a congregation, you will still enjoy this book for its relatable characters and stay until the end when they choose a minister and the effect that decision has on the committee members, including the author.

I listened to the book on Audible, and the narrator did an excellent job distinguishing between the various characters. This is no easy task because the reader needs to follow along with each person’s back story and contributions to the committee’s work. Because the narrator did such a fantastic job, I enjoyed the book even more as I listened to everything unfold. If you read this one, let me know. I’d love to talk about it with you!

In Other Book News:

I am four books behind on reaching my Goodreads goal of 40 books read by the end of the year. But I’m not too worried. Summer is coming, and my pretty back patio will soon beckon me to sit outside, enjoy the nice weather, and read some fantastic books.

Right now, I’m in the middle of reading several books, hoping to finish three of them in May. The books I’m reading right now are:

  • This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub – I’m about halfway through this time-travel novel. I stopped reading a while back because I simply lost interest. But I’ve heard so many rave reviews about this book, and I want to see how it ends.
  • I’m Wearing Tunics Now: On Growing Older, Better, and a Hell of a Lot Louder, by Wendi Aarons – I just started this funny memoir about “second acts, self-acceptance, and celebrating what happens when a woman gets older.” I’m only a few chapters in, but I can relate to this author; her experiences are mine too. I’m sure I’ll finish this one quickly.
  • Beartown, by Fredrick Backman – I know. I know. I haven’t read this one yet, and it’s a lot of people’s favorite 5-star book. Sometimes I think the hype leads to my disappointment, but I hear it’s well-deserved in this case.
  • Defending Britta Stein, by Ronald Balson – This World War II novel is our next book club pick. I just downloaded it yesterday from Amazon after being unable to find it at my local indie bookstore.

Speaking of indie bookstores, I visited one of my favorites yesterday and purchased two books: “The Most Likely Club” by Elyssa Friedland and “The School for Good Mothers” by Jessamine Chan. I also got an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of William Landay’s “All that is Mine I Carry With Me.” His last book, “Defending Jacob” (a limited TV series), was one of my favorite five-star reads several years ago. I thought I had the book downloaded on Audible and also wanted a hard copy. I realize now that I have it on Kindle, so I’ll probably give this copy away. This is one of the occupational hazards of having too many books to read—you may acquire more than one copy. Good thing it was free.

One More Thing

This is the last post for the April Ultimate Blog Challenge. I didn’t quite make 30 posts, but I’ve written more than I have in months. I’ve also met some excellent writers and read their terrific blogs. This writing community is so supportive, and I always appreciate having the opportunity to write with them four times a year. I am also incredibly grateful to all of you who continue to read my blog posts and subscribe. Just because the month is over, I’m not done blogging. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.

XO,
Elisa

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