The Lord and Mary Ann by Catherine Cookson

Mary Ann loves her Da, more than anything in the world. Da has a drinking problem, but Mary Ann is convinced that if she can find him just the right job, he would be set for life. So she finds him a job on a farm, believing that if he was away from the temptations of town, he would change into the perfect Da she knew deep down he was.

However, she can't count on others to do what she thinks they should, so her plans go awry in this second book of the delightful Tyneside series featuring Mary Ann, an extraordinary child.


192 pages

A Grand Man by Catherine Cookson

"A Grand Man" is what Mary Ann calls her 'Da'. Determined, mischievous,  loving Mary Ann and her father share a special love. 'Da" adores Mary Ann, is usually drunk, and keeps the family in poverty because of his inability to hold down a job. Mary Ann will never admit 'Da' is drunk; she insists he is "sick."  She schemes to keep him in a job and away from the booze.

 I  read the entire Mary Ann series 30 years ago and decided to re-read it since Cookson has a double letter. I still love the irrepressible Mary Ann.

 152 pages

Pavilion of Women by Pearl S. Buck

Madame Wu is the much-admired matriarch of a prominent Chinese dynasty. On her fortieth birthday, she decides to find her husband a concubine, because that part of her life is over now. She moves out of her husband's quarters into quarters of her own, and begins to pursue her own interests. She begins to pursue intellectual pursuits, studying with a local priest. She has always been considered a woman of great wisdom, and now is becoming even wiser.

She allows her children to pursue their own lives and passions, and gives her husband permission to become his own person also. He is at first opposed to this entire enterprise, but comes to enjoy the life his wife has now gifted him with. The household continues to run efficiently, but now has more emotional connections.

This is a very interesting book. When I attempted to read it as a teenager, I found it boring. This time, I found it fascinating.


316 pages

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

On a cold winter's night in Lexington, KY, Norah Henry goes into labor. It is 1964, and Lexington is in the midst of a blinding blizzard. Norah's husband, Dr. David Henry, administers drugs and delivers twins; a healthy baby boy and a girl with Down syndrome. Deciding that his wife cannot handle having a 'handicapped' child, he instructs his nurse, Caroline Gill, to take the child to an institution and never reveal its existence.

However, Caroline cannot bring herself to leave the child when she sees what life is like in the institution, so she takes the child and disappears. She moves to another city and raises the little girl as her own. Norah is told that her son Paul's twin died at birth.

Norah and David's life deteriorates under the burden of guilt (David's), grief (Norah's), and the longing for a lost sibling (Paul's).  Meanwhile, Caroline and baby Phoebe build a warm, satisfying life, albeit one also built on a lie, as is David and Norah's. A compelling read.

434 pages

Rise and Shine by Anna Quindlen

Rise and Shine is a tale of two sisters.  Meaghan Fitzmaurice is a successful television journalist, happily married, and the mother of a wonderful son.  Her younger sister Bridget has had many careers over the years and has finally found her life's calling as a social worker.  They have settled into their proscribed roles over the years but everything changes when Meaghan slips up and makes a derogatory comment on-air.  The gaffe was but a symptom of a personal unraveling. The beautiful life is falling apart and Meaghan runs off to the Caribbean. Once again Anna Quindlen creates a realistic story of women coping with changing circumstances and re-negotiating personal relationships. And it has a happy ending!  337pages.

I Am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits

In 1939, a five-year-old named Josef hides under a table and watches as his family is murdered in Transylvania by the Romanian Iron Guard. The family's maid takes him back to the farm where she grew up and pretends he is her son. Five years later, Josef rescues a five-year-old girl named Mila whose parents are murdered while running toward a rabbi they think will save them.

Josef helps Mila find Zalman Stern, a Satmar Jew. Satmars are a very conservative Jewish sect. After the war, Zalman arranges for Josef to be sent to Williamsburg, Brooklyn to become a Satmar scholar. When Mila is 18, Zalman arranges for her to marry Josef and go to America with him.

Josef and Mila have a very loving relationship, within the confines of their faith, which dictates everything they do, sexually and otherwise, in their marriage. Mila has been taught that her purpose in life is to be a dutiful wife, and be fruitful and multiply. But the years go by, and she doesn't conceive. She is tested, but for Josef to be tested he will have to commit a sin. Mila finally takes matters into her own hands, and the result leads to ultimate tragedy.


336 pages

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste NG

16-year-old Lydia Lee is dead. Her body is found in a lake near her small Ohio town. Her dad, a Chinese American college professor, her mother, her brother and sister, are sure someone killed her. The police believe it is a suicide.

As the story unfolds, there are multiple layers of family dynamics and small-town 1960's American values as pertains to those 'different' from the norm of white, middle class homogenous citizens.

This is a profoundly moving study of the way families evolve, and the communication, or lack thereof, that leads to sometimes tragic outcomes.



298 pages

The woman from Paris, a novel by Santa Montefiore

I picked up this book solely because it had Paris in the title and had a blurb on the cover by the creator of Downtown Abbey!  It's a light bit of fluff that has nothing to do with Paris. Instead it's about a British country estate and its family. The book opens with the funeral of the current Lord Frampton. He died unexpectedly while skiing in Switzerland and the family is struggling to come to terms with his early death. His illegitimate daughter crashes the funeral and shakes the family out of their grief.  Is she really his daughter or just plotting to get her hands on a piece of the estate? Total escape reading. 392 pages.

Left Bank by Kate Muir

I picked up this book at the library because it was about a modern day french family.  Olivier is a hip, young french philosopher who is married to Madison, a ex-pat Texan and popular french film star. They have a young daughter, a nanny, and a cook. The story begins with their daughter's disappearance at a popular theme park just outside Paris and then looks back at the events leading up to the fateful day and its aftermath.  I felt I was getting a behind-the-scenes look  at the daily life of a french power couple and their friends.   346 pages.

Seaview Inn by Sherryl Woods

Hannah Matthews is a single mom, a public relations whiz, and a cancer survivor on a brief hiatus when she returns to her sleepy hometown of Seaview Key to try to talk her grandmother into moving into a retirement home. Luke Stevens, a friend from high school, returns to Seaview Key to recuperate from an injury he sustained in Iraq as well as cope with an unexpected divorce. Friendship turns to love in this gentle, contemporary romance. A pleasant, non-taxing read for a summer day. 394 pages.

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, read by Ruth Ozeki

A Tale for the Time Being is about many things: bullying in Japan, WWII, depression, loss, community, and time.  Ozeki is playful with language while dealing with some pretty heavy subjects.  Nao (pronounced Now) is a young Japanese school girl whose family has relocated from the Silicon Valley back to Japan.  Her father cannot get a job, she is being horribly bullied at school, and only her grandmother, an aging Buddhist nun is able to help.  Meanwhile, across the ocean, a few years ahead, a writer is struggling to write her mother's biography.  One day on the beach she finds a Hello Kitty lunch box.  Was the lunch box washed away by the 2011 Japanese Tsunami?  How did the watch of a Kamikaze pilot get into the box?  An engrossing story that will keep you guessing what will happen next. 432 pages.  14 hours 43 minutes.

Peace Like A River by Leif Enger

I had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up to read.  After finishing it, I'm still not sure.  Is it about the unintended consequences of our actions?  Is it about faith and belief?  Is it just a story about a young asthmatic boy struggling for breath and courage to live?  320 pages.

Benediction by Kent Haruf, read by Mark Bramhall

I first fell in love with Kent Haruf's writing in Plainsong.  Haruf writes sparely yet his characters are so well developed you feel like you're visiting with longtime neighbors.  Benediction takes you into the lives of Dad Lewis, wife Mary, and daughter Lorraine just when they learn that Dad has terminal lung cancer. If you can make it to the end of this book without weeping, you're made of sterner stuff than me.  272 pages. Unabridged audiobook.  8 hours 49 minutes.

A Book for Black-Eyed Susan by Judy Young

Cora was 10 years old when her family leaves their home in Missouri and sets out on the Oregon Trail in search of a brighter future and greater opportunity in the West. But Cora’s mother dies in childbirth, leaving Cora and her father with a newborn infant to care for. Her father makes a decision about the baby that breaks Cora’s heart, but she finds a way to use the past to forge a link to the future.

A MASL ‘Show Me’ Award book nominee, 2013-2014.

32 pages

Anybody Can Do Anything by Betty MacDonald

Some of you may recognize Betty MacDonald as the author of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books.  But did you know that MacDonald wrote the Egg and I which was turned into a film starring Claudette Colbert and Fred McMurray? The book Anybody Can Do Anything describes how Betty MacDonald became a published writer after leaving her husband and the chicken farm so lovingly described in The Egg and I.  MacDonald packed up her two kids and hitched a ride back to Seattle to move back home with her mother, brother, and sisters.  The family survives the Great Depression in grand style, working every job they can, sharing their house and food with all they meet, and having a good time despite having no money!  256 p.

Blossom Sisters by Fern Michaels

(Posted for Paul Mathews)

His grandmother and his two aunts raise him, buy him a large house, and pay for his college education.  His wife is a two times married gold digger who wants the house and car.  His childhood buddy and his lawyer help him through this and in the end he is back with his now happy family.  266 pages.

Ryan's Return by Barbara Freethy

Photojournalist Ryan Hunter returns to his hometown of Serenity Springs to make peace with his family. Kara Delaney, a relative newcomer to the town but leader in the business community, is in charge of a centennial celebration that she hopes will attract the attention of tourists despite local detractors. Ryan and Kara's paths intertwine as the flood waters rise and secrets are revealed. I was much more interested in the family relationships than the romance. It was an easy and entertaining read. 386 pages.

The Buzzard Table by Margaret Maron

The Buzzard Table is the concrete slab where an ersatz naturalist feeds roadkill to the local vultures, commonly (but inaccurately) known as buzzards. When first a local realtor's body is found near the table and a few days later, a barely breathing high school journalist, the naturalist is the prime suspect.  Margaret Maron skillfully continues to develop the story of Judge Deborah Knott, her husband, Sheriff Dwight Bryant, and their large extended family.  She mixes in some bits about U.S. foreign policy and rendition flights into the everybody knows everybody else's business aspect of small town life to create a thoughtful, satisfying read.   305 pages.

Spinning by Michael Baron

Dylan thinks he has it all - a good job, status and women galore. He is a smooth talker who spins situations to his advantage. Then one day Diane and her daughter, Spring, come into his life. Dylan soon discovers what he has been missing and that sometimes spinning plates crash. The story made me smile and laugh on occasion. It also has its tragic moments. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I'll definitely look into others by the author. 304 pages.

Wallflower in Bloom by Claire Cook

 Deirdre Griffin is the social media guru behind her brother Tag's success as an inspirational speaker/lifestyle coach.  Then her brother tries to break up a growing attraction between his old high school friend and Deirdre. She decides to use her mad tech skills to get voted on as a last minute replacement for a celebrity contestant on Dancing With The Stars. I thoroughly enjoyed the Dancing With The Stars story line and could relate to Deirdre's constantly being overshadowed by a popular older brother.  Unabridged audiobook.  7 hours 49 minutes. 272 pages.