Book #70:
The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley (Length: 351 pages). This is the second book by this author I’ve read; the first was The Invisible Husband of Frick Island, reviewed last month. This book was also slow to start, but I enjoyed her characters more here. Louise is in her 80s and Tanner is her new, young helper/driver and the pair ultimately drive cross-country to California, chased by law enforcement as Louise is on the lam for some mysterious crime she committed when she was younger. The plot, once it gets going, is a lot of fun and the dialogue is well-written here. 3.5 stars from me.
Book #71:
Bookends by Zibby Owens (Length: 263 pages). This is a memoir written by a popular book podcaster and author. Essentially the very wealthy mother of 4 young children leaves her husband for her tennis pro. The author discusses her childhood, teen years, college years and how she broke into the podcasting industry. I found the content a bit naval-gazing and not relatable, but her writing is strong, I enjoyed the parts about how 9/11 affected her and she’s great about discussing grief and depression. She also mentions all the books she’s read during various times of her life (with a list of all of them in the end, asterisking the authors she’s interviewed on her podcast). Ultimately, I’m not sure why we, as readers, should even care about her and her life, but perhaps fans of her podcast may find this is worth a read.
Book #72:
The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers by Samuel Burr (Length: 361 pages). I had so much FUN reading this book which is about a fellowship of puzzlemakers who lives in a commune of sorts in England. The group ends up raising a child who was left of their doorstep. This child, Clayton Stumper, is now in his 20s and when the woman he thought of as his primary mom passes, he is given a series of puzzles by her to help him figure out what to do with his life, and to possibly find out who his birth parents are. The puzzles in this book are fun . . .there is one crossword puzzle clue at the beginning of each chapter (so audio probably isn’t the optimal way to read this one). The plot is propulsive, thanks to each clue, the characters are sweet, and if you enjoy coming of age and found family stories, this is definitely the book for you. It’s admittedly a tiny bit cheesy but I don’t care. 4 solid stars from me.
Book #73:
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore(Length: 490 pages). I finally got my hands on this one–likely THE book of this year (made Obama’s favorite books of the year list too!)–and this will absolutely be in my top 3 books of the year. This is a mystery set in the 1960s and 1970s in the Adirondacks at a family-run Camp Emerson. First the family’s 9 year old son, Bear, goes missing. A decade and a half later, his sister goes missing too. This mystery isn’t violent or exploitative; it’s more of a suspense type of novel. The plot is excellent–very intricate and well-designed. The characters are exquisitely developed and I thought the author’s use of flashbacks is perfect here. Given the constant jumping back and forth and between various characters, plus the map of the property in the front of the print/e-book versions, audio is NOT the way to go here. This is a true 5 star read for me and I’m definitely going back and reading more from this author.
Lora Terrill 