I Am So Behind (July reading)

 

 I apologize to those who follow me. We bought a new place in Illinois, and sold our condo in Alabama all within 2 weeks this month, so things have been crazy!

I did have some good reading in July! I can honestly say that I liked each of the above 5 books!

1) The Measure by Nikki Erlick: On one random day, every person 21 years and older in the entire world woke up to a small wooden box on their doorstep. Inside was a thread, either long or short. It turned out that the measure of the thread you received told you how long you had left to live. Would you decide to open your box? Do you want to know how long you will live? 

The book follows the stories of several different people as they struggle with the decision to know how long they have to live.  It is untimely, a quite moving book. The message I took from it was to live a life of meaning.

2) Wish You Were Here by Jodi Pocult: I hadn't read any of her books for several years, but this one intrigued me.  This was such an interesting story.

Diana, who had her whole life planned out, and Finn, her boyfriend who was a surgical resident at a hospital, were planning to travel to the Galapagos, where Diana was sure that Finn was going to propose to her.  Suddenly, the city was hit by a plague and Finn had to stay there to work.  He encouraged Diana to go on the trip by herself since the trip was non-refundable.  She reluctantly agreed to and that was when things got interesting.  As soon as she arrived, the island was shut down, including the hotel where she was to stay and everyone had to isolate themselves. There was barely any wifi, her luggage had been lost and she knew no one.

Diana slowly acclimated to where she was as she began to meet some people willing to help her. She ended up on the island for a long time, and eventually, Diana was able to get back to her home. But when she awoke, she wasn't where she thought she was going and.....

That's all I'm going to tell you! 

3) The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller: another fascinating book with a very interesting ending!

Elle, went to the paper palace, as it had been called, with her family one August and everything changed in her life in a moment. She had been going to this place every summer growing up and her oldest friend Jonas had been there also.  Now, coming there when Elle was 50 years old, happily married with 3 children, one night Elle and Jonas discreetly left the party happening inside and had sex for the first time ever with each other, while their spouses were still inside at the party. Now Elle was left with a decision....she had always been in love with Jonas and when she was younger had thought that they would have married. Now years later, the attraction was still there and she struggled with what to do.

This was a very simplified version of this story...there are many family dynamics at play in the story, along with some tragedy. It is a good book!

4) The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse: This novel is about the happenings in a long abandoned sanatorium that was developed into a very minimalist, rather exclusive, hotel up in the Swiss Alps. Elin Warner was a detective that was taking some needed time off. An invitation to her estranged brother Isaac's engagement party came to her and she decided that perhaps she could mend fences with her brother and reconnect with his fiance, Laure, who she had been childhood friends with.  However, when Elin arrived at the hotel the vibes were not good.  And the next morning, Laure was missing.

So, of course,  Elin was back in detective mode as other things kept occurring. This was a good mystery. I had not realized that it is the first of a series, so I am looking forward to reading more about Elin!

 5) A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler: I will say, right off the bat, that after I finished this book, my first thought was "This would make a great book for a book club!"

Valerie lived in a good neighborhood, raising her biracial son, Xavier, by herself.  Valerie was a college professor and soon Xavier was headed off to college. All was great until the Whitman's arrived.  They tore down the house next to Valerie's, including the beautiful old trees, and built a mansion-type showhouse. Valerie was a professor of forestry and ecology, so everything the Whitmans were doing to the property was hard for her to take.  And they also had a troubled teenage daughter to boot who, of course, got involved with Isaac. 

This book raises so many questions, about friendship, love, neighbors, and race. It was a very heart-rendering read, but a very good read.