Tag: Goodreads

Book Recommendation: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August

Perhaps I should have thought twice about using the title “Book Recommendation” to blog about books I’ve read. Why? Because every so often I’ll read a book that I’m not sure whether I’d call my post a “recommendation.” That’s the case with this book. Many of the reviews I read praised this book. I am not sure it lived up to the praise. It’s not that it was bad … I just was left disappointed. I’ll explain more in a minute.

So before I get into it, let me share the Goodreads synopsis:

Some stories cannot be told in just one lifetime. Harry August is on his deathbed. Again. No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes. Until now. As Harry nears the end of his eleventh life, a little girl appears at his bedside. “I nearly missed you, Doctor August,” she says. “I need to send a message.” This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.

Interesting concept, right? It peaked my interest. I have had great success in the past with books that have a neat premise. This book had a lot of potential, but it never really did much. The book tells the story of Harry, who is a man who never really dies. Well, ok, he does, however after he dies, continues to relive his life over and over again. One Goodreads review described it to be like “Groundhog Day,” but instead of reliving the same day over and over, Harry is reborn after death in the same time and place every time.

So basically, he repeatedly has to start his life over as a child even though he has the memories and knowledge of many years and lifetimes. Toward the beginning of the book, Harry is given a message that the “world is ending” and that is happening faster than it should. It seems that he is the one who can stop it from happening. To me, this sets up an exciting read, but instead I thought it was a slow read.

Perhaps it was slow because Harry and the rest of the characters are kind of bland. You’d think that if this guy had fifteen lives, there would be a bit more character development. At the same time, the main character is usually someone you like or are rooting for (unless the main character is evil and then it is sort of the opposite). In this story, I really never felt like there was any character I liked.

I am not sure why I was under the impression that this would be sort of a time-travel type story, and it technically isn’t. There are, however, many time-travel-related plot holes that would come up as I read (Maybe I’ve watched Back to the Future too many times and these things bugged me) that left me with questions.

There were so many good reviews about this book. Maybe I am missing something. I listened to the audio book and found myself re-listening to segments. That’s not odd, because every now and then I will reread a passage in a book to make sure I get what is going on. I really wanted to like it more than I did. I say that because this is simply my opinion. Maybe you will read it and say, “Keith has no idea what he is talking about! This book is great!” If that is the case, please let me know! To me, the book has an very interesting but poorly executed premise that could have been something so much more.

Book Recommendation: The Little Liar – Mitch Albom

I’ve known the name Mitch Albom since I was 15, when he started writing for the Detroit Free Press. He started with sports related columns, but eventually started writing a second column that focused on … well, “life.” I’ve always enjoyed reading his columns, even when he and I disagreed on a topic.

As an author, his big breakthrough was in 1997 with his book Tuesdays With Morrie. That was followed by The Five People You Meet in Heaven, For One More Day, Have a Little Faith, The Time Keeper, The First Phone Call From Heaven, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto, The Next Person You Meet in Heaven, Finding Chika, and The Stranger in the Lifeboat.

I have read a few of his books in the past and enjoy his style of writing. He has been able to take much of what makes his newspaper columns so popular and do the same with his novels. Last year he published The Little Liar and after reading the synopsis, I knew I had to read it.

From Amazon.com

Beloved bestselling author Mitch Albom returns with a powerful novel of hope and forgiveness that moves from a coastal Greek city during WWII to America in the golden age of Hollywood, as the intertwined lives of three young survivors are forever changed by the perils of deception and the grace of redemption.

Eleven-year-old Nico Krispis has never told a lie. His schoolmate, Fannie, loves him because of it. Nico’s older brother Sebastian resents him for both these facts. When their young lives are torn apart during the war, it will take them decades to find each other again. 

Nico’s innocence and goodness is used against his tightly knit community when a German officer barters Nico’s reputation for honesty into a promise to save his loved ones. When Nico realizes the consequences of the betrayal, he can never tell the truth again. He will spend the rest of this life changing names, changing locations and identities, desperate to find a way to forgiveness—for himself and from the people he loves most.

Albom’s extraordinary storytelling is at its powerful best in his first novel to confront the destruction that lying can wreak both on the world stage as well as on the individual lives that get caught up in it. As The Stranger in the Lifeboat spoke to belief, The Little Liar speaks to hope, in a breathless page-turner that will break your heart open and fill it with the power of the human spirit and the goodness that lies within us all.

Narrated by the voice of Truth itself, The Little Liar is a timeless story about the power of love to ultimately redeem us, no matter how deeply we blame ourselves for our mistakes. 

I have read my share of books set in World War II, Concentration Camps, and that era in general. I suppose that is why it popped up as a recommendation on Goodreads. I really enjoyed this book. While the setting and situations involve sadness (the Holocaust, the War, etc…), it was more about the characters and their stories that really grabbed me. The innocent child who believed he was doing right; the hateful German officer and his terrible thoughts, the family members who fought to survive and those who never had a chance; sibling rivalry, jealousy, and a drive for justice – all of those characters and how their stories intertwined made this book a memorable one.

If you love historical fiction, you will enjoy this one.

Book Recommendation: Before We Were Yours

This is another book that was recommended to me by my wife. When I read what it was about, I wasn’t sure I could get through it. There is something about the poor treatment of children that I have a hard time with. I wasn’t sure I could handle this emotionally. I added it to my “To Read” list.

It seemed like I kept seeing this book pop up on the “Must Read” Historical Fiction lists, on Facebook, and even in blogs that I follow on Word Press. I decided to read it and I was not disappointed. It was a powerful read that made me aware of some real terrible things that happened in real life.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.

Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.

Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.

With each chapter, I got more and more engrossed in the story. As I made my way through the book the past and the present begin to slowly come together and many of the questions are answered. It was an emotional read, but I am glad that I picked this one up.

Book recommendation: Remarkably Bright Creatures.

I have seen this book come up over and over again on Goodreads, in blogs I follow, and online. You know the old saying, “You can’t judge a book by its cover?” Well, that holds true here.

This was a book that I just wouldn’t have read by looking at it or even after reading the brief descriptions of it. It just didn’t seem like something I would enjoy.

My wife, you may recall, recently joined Goodreads and has been listening to audio books now. It’s been fun to see many of the books I have read pop up on her “want to read” list.

She read this book and loved it. She said she thought I would like it. A few of my friends had recently read it as well and said it was one of the best books they read this year. So I checked it out and was not disappointed.

It was a great story! Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Remarkably Bright Creatures, an exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope, tracing a widow’s unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus.

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago.

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors–until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova.

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late.

Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible.

The characters were very real and they dealt with real life issues (death, addiction, grief, gossip, depression, love, etc). At first you wonder how everything fits together, but as the story moves along the puzzle comes together nicely.

It is a heartwarming story that I am so glad I read. I highly recommend it.

Book Recommendation: The Marlow Murder Club

One of the things I love about Goodreads is how they will take books that you have read and offer suggestions based on them. You may recall that I have read all of the available books in the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman. This book was suggested based on those. I admit there are similarities, but this one was just as good.

This is the first book in the series. It was very well written and there were plenty of twists and turns throughout it. There were likable characters and characters that you like to hate. I was left guessing right up to the end, and there were some surprises that wrapped everything up nicely.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

To solve an impossible murder, you need an impossible hero…

Judith Potts is seventy-seven years old and blissfully happy. She lives on her own in a faded mansion just outside Marlow, there’s no man in her life to tell her what to do or how much whisky to drink, and to keep herself busy she sets crosswords for The Times newspaper.

One evening, while out swimming in the Thames, Judith witnesses a brutal murder. The local police don’t believe her story, so she decides to investigate for herself, and is soon joined in her quest by Suzie, a salt-of-the-earth dog-walker, and Becks, the prim and proper wife of the local Vicar.

Together, they are the Marlow Murder Club.

When another body turns up, they realize they have a real-life serial killer on their hands. And the puzzle they set out to solve has become a trap from which they might never escape…

The author, Robert Thorogood, is an English screenwriter. He is best known as the creator of the BBC 1 Murder Mystery Series, Death in Paradise. I was excited to learn that the PBS show Masterpiece is adapting this book into a 4-part miniseries that will air on PBS soon. 

It’s no secret that I love a good mystery, and I enjoyed this one a lot!

Read More Books

About a week ago, my wife told me she wanted to read more books this year. She sent me a text with a book and asked me to get it from the library for her. She didn’t have a library card at the time, believe it or not.

I told her I read 66 books last year and she couldn’t believe it. She asked me how I did it. I told her than most of the books I read were actually audio books that I listened to on the way to and from work. I explained how much I really enjoyed that and how it made the drive go by faster. 

Well, she got herself a library card and downloaded the Libby app from our library. She began listening to a book by her favorite author and almost finished it at work in one night. She let it play while she worked. She then realized she could connect it to the car and started listening to it there, too.

I had mentioned that I use Goodreads to find books that interest me. She created a Goodreads account and it’s been fun to see her adding many books to her “want to read” list. Some of the books she added are ones I have already read. 

On Goodreads, because it is the start of the new year, they have a yearly reading challenge. 

My wife thought I was crazy to put my reading goal at 100 books. I figure I read 66 last year, I may as well try for more this year. 

Last night while I was at work, Sam texted me from work and asked if I had read a specific book. I told her I hadn’t and asked what it was about. She sent me the synopsis and I added it to my “want to read” list. Somehow, I think she may very well be the one to read 100+ books this year.

I am close to finishing book #2 for the year and it is a good one. 98 more to go!

Are you on Goodreads? How do you find the books you want to read?

Book Recommendation: A Man Called Ove

With each book I read by Fredrik Backman, the more I like him. I just finished A Man Called Ove, and it was so good. 

I kind of held off on reading this one because I heard people say how sad it was. Were there some sad parts, yes, but life is not always happy. We all go through sad times. This book was that way. Much like the other Backman books I read, I found myself laughing out loud at times. Other times, I was anxious to find out what happened next. 

Backman has a way of presenting his characters in such a way that you connect to them. They are real people with real emotions and experience real life situations. I think we all know someone like Ove, and all of the people in his neighborhood. To me, this could take place in almost any city anywhere.

Here is the Goodreads Synopsis:

A grumpy yet loveable man finds his solitary world turned on its head when a boisterous young family moves in next door.

Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon, the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him the bitter neighbor from hell, but must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?

Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.

I compare Ove to Ebenezer Scrooge of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Not because he has this miraculous change and becomes a happy, cheery guy, but because of that grumpiness that IS Ove. That doesn’t mean you can’t like him, because you can. He has quite a story.

This book was made into the movie A Man Called Otto starring Tom Hanks. I like Hanks, but I’m not sure I want to see an American movie take on such a wonderful book. I started this blog by saying that I held off reading this book because of things I had heard about it. After finishing it, my only regret is that I didn’t read it sooner. 

Book Recommendation – Britt-Marie Was Here

Frederik Backman is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. His books are full of characters that you connect with. They are “real.” His books make me “feel,” if that makes sense. I find myself belly laughing out loud at times and holding back tears at other times.

Just this week I posted about the novella I read by Backman. You can read that here:

Book Recommendation – And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

I believe the first book I read by him was Anxious People, which I simply loved. 

Book Recommendation: Anxious People

When I read My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, I was first introduced to the main character of today’s recommendation – Britt-Marie. You can read about that one here:

Book Recommendation: My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry

In the above story, Britt-Marie leaves her husband and drives off. Her story picks up in Backman’s follow up, Britt-Marie Was Here. I was intrigued to know what her story would be and I found this to be a delightful read. Again, there was laughter and moving moments. There was a whole lot more to Britt-Marie than I could have imagined.

Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. A disorganized cutlery drawer ranks high on her list of unforgivable sins. She is not one to judge others—no matter how ill-mannered, unkempt, or morally suspect they might be. It’s just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention. But hidden inside the socially awkward, fussy busybody is a woman who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart that anyone around her realizes.

When Britt-Marie walks out on her cheating husband and has to fend for herself in the miserable backwater town of Borg—of which the kindest thing one can say is that it has a road going through it—she finds work as the caretaker of a soon-to-be demolished recreation center. The fastidious Britt-Marie soon finds herself being drawn into the daily doings of her fellow citizens, an odd assortment of miscreants, drunkards, layabouts. Most alarming of all, she’s given the impossible task of leading the supremely untalented children’s soccer team to victory. In this small town of misfits, can Britt-Marie find a place where she truly belongs?

The one thing that really stood out in this story was that you have Britt-Marie, fresh from leaving her husband in a rundown and dying community and they both really need each other. Despite the obstacles that are thrown in the paths of each of them, they both learn to persevere and compliment each other. Both experience change as the novel progresses and it will leave you wanting more.

In 2019, there was a movie made based on the book. I think you can see it on Amazon Prime, but I’m not sure I want to as the overall rating was 5 out of 10 stars. Probably proof again that the book is almost always better than the film adaptation.

Book Recommendation – Everyone On this Train is a Suspect

You may remember that I stumbled on Benjamin Stevenson’s Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone last year and I just loved it! You can find my review of it here:

Book Recommendation: Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone

I have been waiting a long time for the follow up sequel – Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. Thanks to the good folks at NetGalley and Mariner Books, I was able to read an advance copy of it. It did not disappoint.

The main character of the book is again Ernest Cunningham. In this sequel, he has had great success with his first book (Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone) and comes face to face with some authors who are, well, much better known than he is. Here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Ernest Cunningham returns in a deliciously witty locked room (train) mystery.

When the Australian Mystery Writers’ Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn’t pan out.

The program is a who’s who of crime writing royalty: the debut writer (me!), the forensic science writer, the blockbuster writer, the legal thriller writer, the literary writer, and the psychological suspense writer.

But when one of us is murdered, the remaining authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime. Of course, we should also know how to commit one.

How can you find a killer when all the suspects know how to get away with murder?

It is just as entertaining as the first book. Ernest will, as he did in the first book, keep you abreast of things that you need to know. He offers up hints as to what is coming, etc. That was one of the things that I loved about the first book.

We see a bit of insecurity in Ernest this time around. He is the newly successful writer who is now among all of these other writers and he feels that he really doesn’t belong. He feels that way because he really didn’t come up with the story he wrote, he just wrote down what he experienced. He didn’t actually come up with the plot. He feels these other authors are way above his level of writing.

Now, his publisher wants another book from him. We learn fairly quickly that he has – nothing. No idea, no story, no nothing! Well, that is until one of the authors is murdered. The events that unfold on the trip come together and wind up being this story.

Once again, I was guessing right up to the end. Benjamin Stevenson does such a wonderful job in keeping you guessing. I love that we get the thoughts of Ernest and how he speaks directly to the reader at times. How it all plays out and how it all comes together is like wrapping a Christmas present – everything falls into place and it is tied up with a nice ribbon on top. 

I loved it just as much or more than his first book. I truly hope that there might be another book in the future. I enjoyed this so much!

Thanks again to Net Galley and Mariner books for allowing me to read such a wonderful mystery!

Book Recommendation: The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

I mentioned this book a few days ago, and I finally finished it. I really enjoyed this one. It was such a unique mystery. I may have posted the Goodreads synopsis, but here it is again:

Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m. There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit. We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer.

Understood? Then let’s begin . . .

Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others . . .

The most inventive debut of the year twists together a mystery of such unexpected creativity it will leave listeners guessing until the very last second.

The Amazon synopsis has a dead on description:

“Pop your favorite Agatha Christie whodunnit into a blender with a scoop of Downton Abbey, a dash of Quantum Leap, and a liberal sprinkling of Groundhog Day and you’ll get this unique murder mystery.” ―Harper’s Bazaar

The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a breathlessly addictive mystery that follows one man’s race to find a killer, with an astonishing time-turning twist that means nothing and no one are quite what they seem.

Aiden Bishop knows the rules. Evelyn Hardcastle will die every day until he can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others. With a locked-room mystery that Agatha Christie would envy, Stuart Turton unfurls a breakneck novel of intrigue and suspense.

International bestselling author Stuart Turton delivers inventive twists in a thriller of such unexpected creativity it will leave readers guessing until the very last page.

I’ll cheat a bit and give you the Wikipedia plot, because it’s better than what I could write:

At the start of the book, the novel’s protagonist awakes in a forest, suffering from memory loss, and calling for someone named Anna. He doesn’t remember his own name. He finds his way to a manor, where his friends tell him that he is a doctor called Sebastian Bell who is attending a party thrown by the Hardcastles, the family of Blackheath Manor. After he falls asleep that night, however, he awakes to find himself in the body of the butler, and it is the morning of the previous day.

He learns that he has eight days, and eight different incarnations, to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle, which will take place at 11pm at the party that evening. He will only be allowed to leave Blackheath once he finds the killer. If he is unable to solve the mystery in the eight allocated days, the process will start again and he will awake again in the body of Sebastian Bell with his memory wiped. He also learns that there are two other people competing to find out the murderer, and that only one person will be permitted to leave Blackheath.

The book really does remind me of an Agatha Christie mystery. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the story and with each character you learn something new. You see the story from each of the “hosts” eyes and things aren’t always what they seem. The ending was something that took me by surprise and it had everything that a good mystery should have.

Kudos to Stuart Turton! I highly recommend this one.