Book Journey

Juliet and Sadie are as different as sisters can be. Juliet, with the successful career as an architect, charming Brit husband and two magnificent daughters; and Sadie who is single and teaches by day yet dreams of becoming an artist.
When their father John has a stroke that leaves him with little speak and gaps in his memory, the girls coming rushing home to help their mom. As the family gathers the cracks begin to show, their parents marriage is not as all as it seemed… Juliet spends more time in the closet having a panic attack then she would ever wish anyone to know, and Sadie finds herself back in her home town where the love of her life still resides and she is the reason they are not together.

Set around a familiar setting of adult children returning home to care for an ailing parent or home left in their name, there is still something to say for a comfortable narrative. Higgins, takes this comfortable setting that feels like a good cup of soup and spices it up with some interesting twists such as impending divorce that goes awry.

Higgins lets the story unfold from the perspectives of the different characters as times hilarious, and at times sad, I truly had my favorite I was rooting for (hint hint – always a fan of the underdog!) I absolutely loved Barb and her conversations with her friend about what she knew about John.

Overall, worth the read. I love a good solid story even with a familiar foundation.

This is the audiobook listen that almost wasn’t. While browsing through Audible for my next listen I came across this gem and was so exited to know that Matthew McConaughey had written a memoir. What did I know about Matthew? Now a whole lot. I knew I enjoyed many on his movies. I knew he was (or came off as) arrogant. I knew I had some vague recollection of an encounter with police that involved nakedness….and bongos.
So yeah.. not much.

I listened to the sample of the audio and that is what almost made this a no…. Yes people, that small snippet of an audio, or that blurb about a book on a dust cover is important. What I heard was Matthew fast talking like a rap-poem and not all all what I hoped to listen to. A quick browse through other audio options brought me back to Greenlights and I decided to give it a try. After all, one of the beauties to Audible is that if you do not like the audio – you can return it – no questions asked.

Turned out, I really enjoyed it. In fact I enjoyed it so much I finished it – and promptly listed to it again.

Sheila, why would you do that?

When listening to audio I am usually multi -tasking; cooking, cleaning, painting, crafting … something. So while I am listening, it is not like a book where I can pause, and reread a line to let it sink in more. In Greenlights, Matthew had some pretty interesting thoughts on life, and quotes I wanted to remember. It was worth the listen. BOTH times. (Yes, he talks about the bongos incident)
What I heard was someone that grew up around the craziness of being accepted as an actor with little to no experience but a drive – an inner need, that is impressive. Coming out the other side I found a whole new side to this actor I knew little about – coming out more mature, a firm believer in himself and God and finding joy – even in the mistakes along the way. All in all, a healthy and beautiful way to view life.

Highly recommended for fans of his movies…. don’t let that audio sample fool you. 😉

Hey all, my book group, Books Burgers and Brews will be discussing this book, Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda, on Monday, November 16th at 6 pm Central time VIA ZOOM. Books Burgers and Brews is an open invite book group that used to meet at Prairie Bay in my home town, prior to COVID. Now we continue through ZOOM.

If anyone wished to join us in the conversation or even tune in just to listen, you are welcome to do so. Here is the free registration link:

ZOOM LINK

You can see more details on the Books, Burgers, and Brews Facebook page.

After a painful loss, Brynn Wilder decides to take a little time for herself in a quaint little town on Lake Superior. She finds a room at a Boardinghouse and finds herself among some long term guests who quickly ease into her life. Among these guests would be Alice, the sweet elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, who is being cared for by her ex-husband and his partner, and Dominic, a young handsome mysterious man who catches Brynn’s eye.

Brynn soon learns that one of the rooms is locked and unavailable to guests because an unknown woman had broke into the boardinghouse when it was closed over the winter and apparently stayed unbeknown to anyone, and died there as well. The details remained under investigation.

Haunted with this knowledge, and enwrapped in a new world with new friends, Brynn begins having bizarre dreams. In her dreams, she goes into the locked room, often speaking with Alice within these dreams and slowly learning of things, she could not possibly know.

“People get so caught up in themselves and their dramas, or they get ensnared in their own sorrows and tragedies, they forget to appreciate the beauty around them.” 

Full disclosure, I love Wendy Webb. Her books usually contain a bit of gothic/supernatural aspects to them that I enjoy. The Haunting of Brynn Wilder is no different. There is so much entwined within this book that I do not wish to give too much away as that is part of the beauty – discovering these things for yourself.
What I can say, is I could easily envision this quaint town among the lake, towns people all up and curious about any newcomer, and the delight in discovering someone who reaches into your soul – even if they scare you a bit at the same time. I have to say the ending left me in tears… good ones.
If you enjoyed Wendy’s previous book, Daughter’s of The Lake, you will see this book is set in the same fictional town and has character or two you will recognize, like revisiting an old friend.

Final thoughts: A three tissue read (maybe four)
A perfect read for anyone who lives to dive into the “what if’s”

When Cecelia has an extremely traumatic experience, she no longer feels safe in her home. She, her husband, and young daughter move to a wonderful neighborhood where smart homes are offered. These homes are deemed to not only make you feel secure, they provide above and beyond comforts – such as knowing what temperature you like your water for bathing, when you want the lights on and off, notifying you when someone is approaching you home as well as who they are and if you wish to answer, as of course – how you take your coffee.

At first all seems well in this dream home. And then, things change. The homes AI (artificial intelligence) Saya, starts to play music that she claims Cecelia requested. The bath water is scalding hot and the coffee waiting for Cecelia in the morning is not at all the way she takes it. Cecelia felt at first that this was a malfunction in the home, until Saya starts calling Cecelia , “Lydia”, even though they are supposed to be the first people in this home. As things continue to malfunction in all areas of Cecelia’s life, she finds she has no one to turn to. Her husband is becoming more distant, and she has no real friends since the move. Cecelia learns that is she wants to survive she is on her own to do so.

I read this with my book club and was fascinated with the “smart” home. I would love dinner to be ready when I came home! In fact, I enjoyed most of the story line. At times it felt stretched and as my book club pointed out, there were lose ends that went no where and a few underdeveloped characters that we felt could have added to the story – but its hard to care about people you don’t really know.

I always enjoy a book that is unique in its telling and I have to give Nina Laurin credit for that. I listened to this one on audio while painting and enjoyed the story line and found the ending to be a surprise – which I loved.

Give it a go if you are looking for something different and a good thought provoker. I would love to hear what you think if you do.

“No commitment” days are my favorite. You know, the days that you are doing only what you decide to do. No going to work, or having to go somewhere, no must accomplishes on the list… its a day just for me and I covet them. An overfull schedule of “to do’s” zaps me of all energy.

I need days like this to reset. It means I may stay in my soft comfy leggings all day (oh who am I kidding – I am absolutely staying in them all day!) It means, coffee or tea or both. Reading, relaxing, comfy chair, possibly a nap… its all up to me.

Best days….

So what is my non-plan? I want to write reviews for the books I have read recently. I love sharing book stuff. I have a few things I want to do for the Friends of the Brainerd Public Library website, write a newsletter and finish listening to Diane Chamberlain’s Big Lies In A Small Town.
I may cook later, but I may also just have leftovers and call it good. I don’t think I will leave the house today and the introvert in me rejoices. 😀

Best part is … a day like this and the energy returns. My ideas start flowing and in some sort of magical way I refill my depleted soul and I am ready to pick up my sword again.

What do you do with your commitment days?

I am on the tale end of a full week ( with bookend weekends) off. Normally if I take time off its because I am going somewhere or have a big commitment, like Camp.
Not this time.
For the first time in as long as I can remember, I just spent 9 days at home working on house projects, doing things I have wanted to do – but just have not had the time. I absolutely loved it. Waking up around 6:30 every morning, coffee, creating, clearing of the head… I left the house only for groceries and supplies for my projects.
And… there was audio.

As I look at the titles of what I chose to listen to this past week I am a bit concerned… lol. They all have an air of mystery to them, great suspense – but nothing over the top heavy or creepy. They were great listens while I painted my kitchen cabinets, cleaned out cupboards and closets, repurposed furniture, and tackled the job of painting the entire lower level of my home.

A few teasers before I write reviews…

A Woman Alone by Nina Laurin: Read with my book club, nominated by Paula. Cecelia, along with her husband and daughter have recently moved into a neighborhood of smart homes. Homes that are the wave of the future – they do nearly everything for you, know your favorite tv shows, when you work and come home, when you need to wake, sleep, cook your dinner and know how you like your coffee. The concept is to feel completely safe, but Cecelia does not. There are things she notices that others do not… and she begins to fear for her life.

The Girls Weekend by Jody Gehrman: Chosen by me, while browsing through Audible. June and Sadie have been for the most part life-long rivals all along hanging together in the same group of friends. Competing back in their school days from everything from best grades, accomplishments, and yes, even the guy. Now, many years later a Girls Weekend has been planned at Sadie’s home to celebrate their friends upcoming baby. Reluctantly, June decided to join at the last minute, after all it would be nice to see the other girls. What starts out as a weekend get together quickly turns into something else… a missing host… a smashed phone… and a lot of blood. Leaving all the girls as suspects and every one of them with a reason to kill.

The Haunting of Brynn Wilder by Wendy Webb: A long time fan of Wendy and her books, this was an easy choice. Brynn Wilder is due for a break. After a tough year, Brynn takes a break by staying in a boarding house in a town called Wharton, near Lake Superior. Brynn meets some wonderful long term guests including a man who more than catches her eye. But all is not as it seems in this quiet town as Brynn is soon to find out. One of the rooms is closed to the public and as the tragedy unfolds… Brynn begins to feel that somehow she is connected – drawn in through her dreams, and quite possibly her nightmares.

All three have been quite enjoyable and the time off during this strange year – priceless. Highly recommend if you can find a way to take a mini break and shut the world out (at least a little bit) its well worth the reset. Full reviews coming. 😉

Ready to go!

Just as good as I thought it would be! ~Sheila

Admittedly, I am a Twilight Junky. I absolutely ADORED all the books… and yes, the movies too. I don’t know what if it was the combination of a Young Adult read (which I love!), with the combo of a magical force (oooh! Double love!) in this case Vampires and Werewolves… but there you have it. I loved it all. I couldn’t get enough.

That said, I was cautiously optimistic when I heard about this book. On one hand SUPER EXCITED that after all this time another book was here and this time from Edward’s perspective – yet we have all experienced the case where someone tries to make lightning strike twice in books and/or movies and in the long run, you wish they would have left well enough alone. #StayOnTop

I am happy to say, I really enjoyed this revisit to Forks, Washington. I mean yeah its a little cooler than I like and the sun doesn’t shine too bright, but I do have friends there. I am still unsure if my love for this book was the feel good feeling of having the chance to be back in that world, or if I really enjoyed it for the story. The world – may never know. Bottom line for me is, who cares. I listened to this on audio and enjoyed the comfy familiarity of the setting. I did enjoy hearing Edwards side of the same story I knew from Twilight, yet from his perspective – his thoughts as he went from loathing Bella, to trying to fight his love for her – the need to be with her always.

Good stuff. IMO.

Twilight Fans, I would love to know your take on this read? Did you have the experience I did, where I kind of hope the whole series is continued this way… or was it just too much like the first book and basically a re-read of a book you may already have on your shelf?

Summer and Elin Hildebrand go together like beaches and great reads. I get excited every summer to see what Elin will come up with next. In 28 Summers, I was not disappointed – a unique intro to each chapter, a fun story surrounding Nantucket and I am all in! ~Sheila

When Mallory Blessing inherits a Beach Cottage on Nantucket, she is more than happy to host her brother Cooper’s bachelorette party. What follows the evening of the party is anything but planned, and leaves Mallory in an awkward situation, alone at the cottage with Cooper’s College buddy, Jake. Or is it awkward? In reality, Mallory finds Jake to be kind and charming, and someone she is a more than a little attracted to. The feeling is mutual.

While life pulls them in very different directions, Mallory and Jake make a decision to meet up each year just like in the classic film, Same Time Next Year which they both enjoy. What follows is 28 years of life happenings, wishes and dreams, and the reality of living separate lives 51 weeks out of the year.

I am a BIG fan of Hilderbrand’s books. While never heavy, they are engaging and I loved the 28 Summers theme and how each chapter starts with the highlights of that year. I listened to this one on audio and was so captivated I often hung out in my car a little longer than I should have in grocery store parking lots and in my garage – just to hear what was going to happen next.

While Hilderbrand’s books are usually (if not always) centered around a Nantucket setting, they are never a “cookie cutter” format and each one I have read I found to be refreshing and captivating. If you have not experienced this author I highly recommend you do, and if you have experienced this author yet not this book – I think you will enjoy the story around 28 Summers.