Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

 

Title:  Us Against You

Author:  Fredrik Backman

Narrated by:  Marin Ireland

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 14 hours and 17 minutes

Source:  Purchased from Audible.com

What series are you currently reading?

Beartown had a transformational year and change in continuing when they find out that their hockey team is going to be disbanded.  A local politician pulls strings to keep the team in place with a surprising new coach. With much of the team now a part of their rival team, Hed, how will they build back the Beartown team?  How can they work through the trauma of the last year?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read Us Against You for the February Pick for the Rogue Book Club. We are going to discuss it in March as there was not enough time for everyone to get the book and read it before our book club meeting.

·       This is the second book in the Beartown series.  We all loved Beartown, and it was a previous book club pick.  We decided to keep reading this series as a book club.

·       Sports mean so much to a small town.  When you try to take away sports, you can cause violence.

·       Sadly, the girl or victim is often blamed for a rape. A rape occurred in Beartown and Us Against You continues the story and shows that while it was a one-time act of violence, it will forever impact the life of the victim.

·       There was a line in the book about how someday there will not be female hockey coaches, there will just be coaches. This really spoke to me.

·       I loved being immersed in this town and in the lives of these characters again.

·       There is a good refresher at the start of the book to remind you about the first book.  You could potentially read this as a standalone, but I highly recommend reading Beartown first.  They are both excellent reads.

·       I liked the nice short chapters.

·       The twist in the book was heartbreaking, but I don’t want to spoil it up for others.  It was very emotional, and I teared up.

·       I like how Backman sets up what will happen in a book with a question or foreshadowing at the start.

·       Fredrik Backman is one of the best authors out there today.  He is able to capture how it feels to be human at any age.  He fully captures the complexity of humanity.

·       One such moment was when a dad pondered on how he didn’t have time to play with the kids when they were small and now that they are teens, they want nothing to do with him.  How did this time pass away?

·       Another such moment was when a teen told her Mom that she had been a great role model to her.

·       Marin Ireland is a great audiobook narrator, and I fully enjoyed this audiobook.

·       I am really looking forward to reading the next book in the series, The Winners.

Favorite Quotes:

“Have you ever seen a town fall? Ours did. We’ll end up saying that violence came to Beartown this summer, but that will be a lie; the violence was already here. Because sometimes hating one another is so easy that it seems incomprehensible that we ever do anything else.”

“You try to be a good parent, in every way, but you never know how. It's not a difficult job. Just impossible.”

“Love and hate. Joy and sorrow. Anger and forgiveness. Sports carry the promise that we can have everything tonight. Only sports can do that.”

"Fathers need to seize the day, because childhoods are like soap bubbles; you get only a few seconds to enjoy them.”

"The complicated thing about good and bad people alike is that most of us can be both at the same time.”

"It's hard to care about people. Exhausting, in fact, because empathy is a complicated thing. It requires us to accept that everyone else's lives are also going on the whole time.”

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman is a story about a town that loves sports, but beyond the rivalries it shows empathy and what it means to be human.  The humor and drama in this novel are top notch.  I highly recommend this series and any book by Fredrik Backman. 

Mail-Order Duchess by Misty M. Beller

 

What is your weirdest reading habit? When I was younger, I used to like to sit in trees and read.  I haven’t done that since my teen years, but I still remember it fondly.  Now I sit under trees when I can.  I love reading outdoors. 

Widow Mandie Beaumont needs to leave her hometown of Savannah to escape her evil brother-in-law who has raped her and is trying to force her into marriage.  She answers an advertisement seeking a bride in Montana and she moves out west.  When she arrives, she discovers that her prospective groom, has passed away.  His brother, Enoch, will become the next Duke of Clarence.  He finds himself drawn to Mandie.  Will these two be able to move beyond past hurt to find new love?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I loved the Enoch was so accepting of the fact that Mandie was pregnant and sympathized with her when she explained that she had been raped.  He said the baby was innocent and that he would accept it as his own.  What a good guy and how romantic.

·       This was a very romantic book and a quick read.

·       The tropes in this novel included mail order bride, amnesia, and marriage of convenience.

·       It is set in the Rocky Mountains which were both beautiful and rugged.

·       The Balfour family is living in Montana even though they are English aristocracy to protect the family from nefarious people back in England who want to destroy them.

·       Mandie hits her head before her arrival and has amnesia at first.

·       Enoch lost his previous love and is afraid to move on.

·       It is a sweet story and very readable.

·       I am currently reading the second book in the series, and I am loving it.

·       Trigger alert that rape is discussed, but the act is not described in detail.  Besides the topic of rape, this was a clean read.

·       I loved the development of Enoch and Mandie’s relationship.

·       There was great tension and action at the end!

Overall, Mail-Order Duchess by Misty M. Beller is a riveting family saga and western historical romance.  I greatly enjoyed this novel!

Book Source:  Thank-you to author Misty M. Beller for an e-book review copy of this novel.

 

Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord

 

What is the genre of the book you are currently reading?

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the review copy of Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord.

In Notes on Heartbreak, Annie Lord details her break-up after a long-term relationship ends.

My thoughts on this book:

·       This was a memoir, but also read at times like a self-help book as well.

·       Lord discusses the relationship from how it started to how it slowly ended and dealing with the aftermath.

·       Lord was very honest on her feelings and made me remember how hard it is being in this type of situation.

·       It is good to know this happens to everyone and you are not alone in your heartbreak.

·       This book detailed the best and worst parts of being in love.

·       I liked that it read like it was her diary.  The reader got to know her inner thoughts, friends, and family. 

·       The author lives in England, which gave me Bridget Jones vibes at times.

·       I thought this memoir was interesting, but I think I would have enjoyed it more when I was younger and experiencing this type of break-up myself.

Overall, Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord is an interesting memoir that details the best and worst of being in love and the end of a relationship.

 

Passage to Tokyo by Poppy Kuroki

 

If you could take a secret passage to any time period, what would you chose?  I think at this moment, I would pick the 1920s.  I’d like to go and visit my Great-Grandma Kile as a teenager and help her out during the terrible time when she and her siblings were abandoned by her father, and she was trying to keep care of her dying mother.

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the review copy of Passage to Tokyo by Poppy Kuroki.

In 1995 Tokyo, Yui Sanada is struggling to help her mother make ends meet and raising her twelve-year old brother Hiro.  One day, Hiro disappears into a tunnel at Ueno Park.  Yui follows him and finds herself in 1923, Tokyo.  As she looks for her brother, she meets a young nanny named Chiyo.  Chiyo takes her home to stay with her family.  While she searches for her brother.  Yui realizes that the Great Kanto Earthquake will happen in a few weeks.  Will she be able to save her brother before the earthquake?  Without about Chiyo and her family?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       There was a historical romance between Yui and Chiyo as their relationship grows.

·       This was also a historical fantasy with time travel involved in the story. I love time travel in novels.  It brings up so many ethical concerns and interesting questions.  If two different time travelers leave at the same time, will they end up in the same time period? When you go “back,” what time period are you going back to?  How does the past change due to time travelers?  How many time travelers are there in this world?

·       This was a new time period for Japanese history for me and it was very interesting.

·       I did not know about this devastating earthquake.  It was written in vivid detail and would have been a terrible thing to see and experience.

·       Immediately after the earthquake there was terrible racism against Koreans and non-Japanese.  Thousands of deaths were actually people murdered after the earthquake due to the rumors that Koreans were poisoning the wells or doing other terrible things.  The rumors were not true, but they caused a lot of deaths.

·       I was sad again thinking about how many people died in the past due to not having proper medicine or medical care.

·       I was sad that at the end of this book, a character disappears during WWII, and it is never determined what happened to the character.

·       This was the second book in the Ancestor Memories series, but it can be read as a standalone.  I do want to go back and read the first book.

·       There was an interesting author’s note at the end as well as historical timeline and glossary.

Overall, Passage to Tokyo Poppy Kuroki was a fascinating historical fantasy sapphic romance that has the reader to experience the Great Kanto Earthquake in real time.

The Jilted Countess by Loretta Ellsworth

 

Title:  The Jilted Countess

Author:  Loretta Ellsworth

Narrated by:  Caroline Hewitt

Publisher: Harper Audio

Length: Approximately 8 hours and 24 minutes

Source:  Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the review copy of the paperback copy The Jilted Countess by Loretta Ellsworth.  Audiobook copy purchased from Audible.com.

What is your favorite Valentine’s Day candy?  I am a fan of chocolate myself – dark or milk chocolate!

Roza Meszaros was a ballerina in Vienna and a Hungarian Countess.  WWII destroyed the opera house, and the communists have taken the family estate.  Her father never returned after being taken by the Nazis. The one bright spot is her fiancé, Joe, an American GI.  After falling in love and becoming engaged, Joe returned to the US.  They continued to write and figure out how to get Roza to the United States.  Two years later, she arrived in Minneapolis, ready for marriage with Joe, but he doesn’t show up.  She soon discovered he has married another.  Needing to find a husband in just under two weeks to stay in the US, Roza tried a desperate bid and told her story to the Minneapolis Star newspaper.  She received over 1,000 offers of marriage.  Who will she marry, and will it work out?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       How terrible to travel all the way to the United States to marry your GI American fiancé, only to find him married to his former American sweetheart.

·       This book was set in St. Paul and Red Wing, Minnesota. This was the second book that I read within two weeks to mention a date at Como Zoo in St. Paul.  I visited that zoo once when my kids were small, but it made me want to visit again. 

·       This was a very engaging story; I didn’t want to stop listening to the audiobook!  The narrator was fantastic.

·       I loved how the letters and dates made it seem like an old-fashioned bachelorette.

·       Roza is a fish out of water in Red Wing Minnesota living a very different life than what she grew up with as an aristocrat.  I loved how she was able to make a life that worked for her with starting a ballet school.

·       This historical romance had one of my favorite tropes of marriage of convenience. 

·       The romance was closed door.

·       Finn has PTSD after losing his entire platoon in WWII.  He has invisible wounds that no one can understand except for Roza.

·       Finn has a degree in mechanical engineering and works for the railroad.

·       I was very annoyed by some of the poor choices that Roza made, but I loved the ending.

·       There is a fascinating author’s note at the end about the real-life countess who inspired the story.  It was interesting that there is no trail for what really happened to her after she was married.

Overall, The Jilted Countess by Loretta Ellsworth is an engaging historical romance that shows how life can go on with a marriage of convenience when two people work together on their relationship. 

Mists Over the Channel Islands by Sarah Sundin

 

If you could choose a group of fictional friends, which characters would be a part of your group?  I would love to have the group of fictional friends and family found in Mists Over the Channel Islands by Sarah Sundin.

Dr. Ivy Picot is a new practicing doctor when her father, mother, and other family members evacuate Jersey island for England.  She stays behind with her sister and brother to help keep the family practice afloat during the German occupation of the Island during WWII.  She meets and is attracted to Dutch Civil Engineer Gerrit van der Zee, but as he works for the Nazis, she knows they cannot be together.  As the years pass, Ivy realizes that everyone must chose a side.  Will she side with the resistance or with the Nazis?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Mists Over the Channel Islands by Sarah Sundin is a very engaging story.  I read this book quickly and greatly enjoyed it.

·       I enjoyed that characters from Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin made an appearance at the end of the novel.  I loved that book!

·       The setting was a unique and integral part of the story.  The Island seemed beautiful, but it was slowly marred by the concrete structures built by the Nazis to reinforce the island.  There was a great author’s note at the end that states that there are tours of some of the structures mentioned in the book.  I love to visit Jersey and see these structures!

·       I was sad to learn that all the diabetics on the island really did die due to lack of insulin.  The rations and doing without were very hard during the occupation on an island.  They only received five ounces of meat for an entire week!

·       The chemistry between Ivy and Gerritt was alive.  They were attracted to each other but couldn’t show it.

·       Ivy and her sister Fern’s relationship seemed very realistic.  Fern is the older sister and can’t accept that as the doctor, Ivy is the boss.

·       I didn’t know why Fern wouldn’t have left the island with her husband and sons.

·       I loved that Gerritt was a civil engineer.  I am an environmental engineer, and my husband is a civil engineer.  It makes sense that he would be the perfect person for espionage to get plans to the allies.

·       This was a clean read with Christian content.  The main characters struggle with finding the path that God wants them to follow, and how to treat all people with empathy and compassion when it is not allowed by the authorities.

·       There are great book club questions at the end.  This would be a good read for a book club that enjoys WWII fiction

·       I also enjoyed the excerpt at the end of the new Christmas WWII novella by Sarah Sundin at the end as well. It will be realized this fall and looks great.  I can’t wait – I love Christmas historical fiction!

Overall, Mists Over the Channel Islands by Sarah Sundin was an engrossing WWII historical romance with a unique setting, story, and characters.  It was a very enjoyable read!

Book Source:  Thank-you to @sarahsundinauthor @revellfiction @greatreadsbookpromo for the review copy of this novel as part of the Great Reads Book Promotion Tour.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

 

Title:  Wuthering Heights: With an Introduction and Student Guide (As Told by Emily Bronte) and Bonus Material by Lord Byron and Alison Larkin

Author:  Emily Bronte with bonus material by Lord Byron and Alison Larkin

Narrated by:  Alison Larkin, Andrew Wincott

Publisher: Alison Larkin Presents

Length: Approximately 14 hours and 41 minutes

Source:  Review copy from Alison Larkin Presents.  Thank-you!

Are you planning on going to see the new Wuthering Heights movie?  It’s on my list, but I am probably going to wait until it comes to streaming.

Lockwood is a new tenant at Thrushcross Grange in Yorkshire, England. Due to weather, he is forced to take shelter at the neighboring estate, Wuthering Heights, the home of his landlord, Heathcliff.  He meets the curious inhabitants. The housekeeper at Thrushcross Grange, Nelly, is able to fill him in on the history of the two families.  Heathcliff was a foundling who was raised with the Earnshaw siblings, Catherine and Hindley.  When Mr. Earnshaw dies, he is treated poorly by Hindley. Heathcliff fell in love with Catherine, but she chooses to marry their neighbor, Edgar Linton of Thrushcross Grange.  Heathcliff spends his life exacting revenge.

My thoughts on this classic novel:

·       I read Wuthering Heights for The Classic Buddy read for January @Dees.reads.  I didn’t finish the book up until February, but I had read it a few other times in my life, so I still enjoyed the group discussion which largely focused on what terrible people the characters were and how it is not a very romantic book.

·       Alison Larkin is a wonderful narrator of this audiobook. She does different distinct voices for all the different characters.  She is one of my favorite audiobook narrators.  She wrote the introduction and study guide at the end.  It was very interesting and puts the book into context.  A poem by Lord Byron was also included.

·       Wuthering Heights is a classic as it looked at childhood trauma and how that trauma could impact a person throughout their life.  Heathcliff takes this trauma and turns it to vengeance on every person he thinks has wronged him, including the one person he loved the most in this world.  He continues this vengeance on the next generation.  Luckily, the book shows that the trauma cycle can be broken, and the next generation can have a new chance.  I think most movies miss the entire point of this book as they focus on the “romance” and most don’t even show the entire second half of the novel.

·       This was Emily Bronte’s only novel.  This novel was different than most Victorian novels of the day which were morality tales.  This Gothic novel had a Byronic hero and intense passionate feelings.

·       I always think of Hindley as an all-bad character, but on this reread, I was reminded that he truly loved his wife Frances and fell apart after her death.

·       It seemed that many of the characters in this novel had mental health problems.  It made me wonder if a lot of the characters could be helped in current times with therapists and modern medicine.  What mental health problems did Emily see within her own family or neighbors that inspired this book?  I also think it’s based a lot on her brother Branwell with his excessive drinking, sleeping with his employer’s wife, etc., but it could have been others as well.

·       Wuthering Heights is a strange novel.  Cathy and Heathcliff are terrible selfish people who do not think about the impact their actions have on everyone else around them.

·       SPOILER ALERT:  I have always wondered – how does Cathy will herself to death?  Does she starve herself to death? SPOILER END

·       The book has an interesting narration as it is a story within a story.  It starts and ends with Mr. Lockwood telling the story and then Nelly Dean taking over for the entire middle section of the story.

·       I wish Heathcliff would have left and never came back.  Catherine, Edgar, and Isabella were happy before his return.  Poor Mr. Earnshaw didn’t realize that he was destroying his family for generations by bringing Heathcliff home.  Heathcliff clings to his hate and bitterness and is a terrible person.

·       Why is this book considered a great romance?  I don’t think Heathcliff really loves Cahterine.  He is obsessed with her but is toxic and would rather destroy her and her family than accept that she has moved on without him.

·       Why didn’t Nelly keep Edgar informed sooner on Young Catherine’s shenanigans?

·       I had gotten about the lawyer’s duplicity.  He was paid off by Heathcliff not to make it to Edgar’s side before his death.

·       Everyone is too alone out there on the moor.  They really needed to socialize with more people.

·       Even though I disliked pretty much everyone in this book, I couldn’t stop reading it.

Favorite Quotes:

“He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

“Be with me always - take any form - drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”

“My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.”

Overall, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is an unforgettable beautifully written classic that shines a lot on how early trauma can impact lives through generations.

 

100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke

 

Title:  100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life

Author:  Dick Van Dyke

Narrated by:  Tom Bergeron, Dick Van Dyke

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Length: Approximately 7 hours and 27 minutes

Source:  Review copy from NetGalley.  Thank-you!

What is your favorite Dick Van Dyke movie or show?  That is a hard one for me as I love so much of his work.  I would say Mary Poppins, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Diagnosis Murder are my top favorites.

Have you met anyone who lived to a 100?  My oldest relative was my Great Grandma Kile who lived to be 97.  There have been some people who lived to 100 in my local community.

Dick Van Dyke just recently turned 100.  In this book, he gives tips for staying healthy and making the most out of life.  He tells great stories from his long life.

My thoughts on this audiobook:

·       Dick Van Dyke reads the intro to his audiobook himself and narrator Tom Bergeron takes over for the rest of the book.  Tom Bergeron sounds so much like Dick Van Dyke that I kept thinking it was him as I listened.

·       I enjoyed the background of how Van Dyke created the old man Mr. Dawes character in Mary Poppins.

·       I loved his short stories and vignettes about his life and career.  I found myself laughing and smiling throughout this book.

·       It was sad that all his lifelong friends are now all gone.

·       He talked lovingly about working with Carl Reiner and how he was a great boss who stood up for everyone.  He said in today’s world, we need more Carl Reiners.

·       I have loved Dick Van Dyke my entire life and have enjoyed his shows and movies.  He also always reminded me of my late Grandpa Stone.  They looked alike with the same tall slim build and had a similar sense of humor.  My Grandpa was a year younger than Dick Van Dyke, but sadly passed away 23 years ago from a brain tumor.

·       Cary Grant would call Van Dyke when he was on an LSD trip and would just talk.  It was odd and funny and then just randomly stopped.

·       He talked about his bad British accent in Mary Poppins and joked that when he was asked to be James Bond, he responded, have you heard my British accent?  They hung up the phone on him!

·       He discussed his past problem with alcoholism and going to AA meetings.  He made a movie called The Morning After about alcoholism.  I need to find it.  When he admitted his real problem to the world, he received a lot of support.  Admitting he had a problem saved his life. I had no idea until this book that he had been an alcoholic.

·       The book is up to date as he discusses evacuating his home due to the fires last year and also about making the Coldplay video.

·       I was sad for him when he discussed how he loved to read but can no longer physically read.

·       He had a funny story about giving up his license.

·       I need to read his full autobiography!  Has anyone read it?

100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke is an entertaining memoir and self-help book.  It was lighthearted and a fun read. I highly recommend it, especially for fans of Dick Van Dyke.