Date: Jan. 22
Summary:
Rating: three (3) out of four stars
Date: Friday, March 4
Summary:
Rating: three and a half (3.5) out of four
Date: Friday, April 29
Summary: Set in Australia, story of a lighthouse keeper who lives with his wife on a remote island. After several miscarriages, a baby and a dead man wash up on their island. They keep the baby and bury the father. Their decision impacts a number of people and does not stay secret. Interwoven storylines, strong characters, story of forgiveness and struggle.
Rating: 3 out of 4 stars
Date: Thursday, June 9
Summary: Story of the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal. The team was made up of sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, and end up rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936. Follows one rower, Joe Rantz, a teenager without family or prospects, who rows not for glory, but to regain his shattered self-regard. This book was so slow for me that I skimmed and bought the Amazon summary to get through it. I loved the idea of it (and people absolutely love it) but it didn’t keep my interest at all.
Rating: One out of four stars
Date: Tuesday, August 16
Summary: Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But she find a letter (which she’s supposed to open upon her husband’s death – that changes everything. Loved this book. It wove a lot of stories together and I didn’t at all guess what the secret or secrets were. This book successfully made me dislike characters, empathize with the same characters and then root for them. Well done, highly recommend.
Rating: 4 out of 4 stars
Date: Thursday, Oct. 13
Summary: Incredibly sad World War II story that made me cry more than once. Story of two sisters Vianne and Isabelle, who have always been close. Younger, bolder Isabelle lives in Paris while Vianne is content with life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. But when Germany comes to occupy France, their lives are inexplicably changed. The horrors of war are detailed, which makes this is an important, but difficult to read, book.
Rating: 3 out of 4 stars
Date: Thursday, Dec. 1
Summary: Smart, funny and honest look at what happens when you age and hold on to the principles of what you really believe in. Ove is a curmudgeon who is reaching the end of his life and after losing his wife, is finding it hard to come up with a reason to live. He wants to end his life but there is always an interference – the neighbors, the cat, etc. – that gives him new purpose. It’s very well done. Recommend.
Rating: 3 stars (out of 4)