Anne Hart

One of the greatest things about books is learning from other people’s/characters’ mistakes.  In These Precious Days by Ann Patchett, she gives us a very intimate glimpse into some key points in her life. Thank you to Harper for sending me this ARC so I could feel like I was enjoying a little girl talk with Ann.   “Books were not just my education and my entertainment, they were my partners. They told me what I was capable of. They let me stare a long way down the path of various possibilities so that I could make decisions.” I Award 1st place to essay, These Precious Days about taking care of her friend Sooki.  The cover art of the book is by Sooki.  2nd place goes to To the Doghouse about how she became inspired to be a writer thanks to Snoopy.  And my 3rd place Award goes to Three Fathers about her Dad and two Stepdads.  These are all short and sweet stories that would be good for Bookclubs looking for a cozy read that will inspire members to sha...

Have you ever read a book you thought was a retelling and then you read all the reviews to find out you’re the only one?  That’s what happened when I read You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Jeffrey Cranor & Janina Matthewson.  I started thinking it was a retelling of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  The book is written in a unique narrative because it is a fictional autobiography with footnotes and interludes. Miriam is a psychological researcher who has literally and figuratively perfected intentional detachment.  Her odd, almost unreliable narrative is explained by her last when she grows up during The Great Reckonin g. The idea of an apocalypse is a comfort, because it makes death seem like something we can all experience together, in a single moment, a colorful firework burst.”   Miriam seemed like a sociopath to me.   She uses her research to disassociate everyone with the New Society (big brother).   We also have Dr. Rosem...

Do you need a good laugh?  Do you need to know all families are crazy?  If the answer to either is yes, then read ACT Like You Got Some Sense by Jamie Foxx.  I’m so thankful Grand Central sent me this one and at the perfect time.  Jamie’s life story is crazy.  What I loved was his ability to forego anger and resentment and seize every opportunity he has to make his life better.  The odes to his Granny, Estelle Marie Talley is heartwarming if you can get past all the bad language.  Although I don’t like a lot of cursing, Jamie tells it like it was and his.  His upbringing in small-town Terrell, Texas lends to a lot of jokes.  The best parts for me were his honesty about his shortcomings as a father. Raising his two daughters to be humble and hardworking while he was in Hollywood was hard.  You can tell he truly loves his daughters Corinne, 27, and Anelise, 13.   Anelise's antics remind me of my opinionated and daughter. ...

Should the names of killers be excluded so we don’t empower serial killers? In A Killer By Design by Ann Burgess, she makes a point that solving crimes is about the victim, not the killer.  I had read about Ann Burgess in John Douglas’ Mind Hunter.     I did like   John E. Douglas ’ “ Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit ”.   I loved that A Killer by Design was from Ann’s perspective.   The FBI unit relied on Ann’s research yet as a non-agent she had an interesting relationship with the agents.   Ann found “sexual violence was more about power and control than the act of sex itself.” She didn’t come to this all by herself and also gave credit to Candace Delong.   This book was hard to read at parts because it felt like the serial killers wanted to talk about the crimes, specifically their thoughts, actions, sexual preferences, likes, etc. It freaked me out how they were almost bragging.   While I enjoyed getting Ann’...

Have you ever visited the 9/11 World Trade Center memorial in New York?  I have not, but now I have to go after reading Blue Sky Gone by J.S.Farmer.  This beautiful tribute to those affected by the 9/11 attacks was a page-turner.  I loved all the relationships between the two sisters Audrey and Hannah.  It’s great how two sisters can be so different yet so alike.  The details in Audrey’s police training were fabulous as the author was a police officer.  Hannah’s love interest, Travis was a bit too good to be true but I loved him.  The great thing about this story is it follows up with the after-effects of the 9/11 attacks.  The trauma and injuries are still being dealt with daily.  Although this book is like a warm hug, there is no sugar coating the actual events or aftermath.  It’s not just a great story,  it’s an example of how to cope with tragedy.  I loved this book.  

Is there an author you want to read every book they’ve written? After I read The London House, I knew I wanted to read every book by Katherine Reay.  So I’m making my way through her books.  The Printed Letter Bookshop was next on my list and it did not disappoint.  It’s a warm cozy read about legacies, friendships, and the power of books.   Madeline inherits a small bookshop from her estranged Aunt Maddie.  Madeline has a career as an attorney through so she decides she will sell the bookshop and continue her life as usual.  Due to a setback at work she stays longer than intended trying to get The Printed Letter in better shape to be able to sell it.   The employees at The Printed Letter, Claire and Janet become much more than employees to Madeline.  Although Madeline is the main character, the chapters alternate from her point of view to also that of Claire and Janet.  All three are facing life issues and changes.  Each one of...

If you were to write a novel set in a location you loved as a kid, where would it be?  The scenery from our childhoods can strengthen us or haunt us.  In Kelly Mustain’s The Girls in the Stilt House, most of the story takes place in the Natchez Trace area of Mississippi.  Mustain grew up in Natchez, Mississippi, and the swampland around it is full of creatures and stories.  There is beauty and danger in both.  The story takes place during the tumultuous 1920s.  The Natchez Trace is a character in the book all itself with it being the mother of the stilt house in the swamp.  Ada, a young white girl lives in the stilt house owned by her drunk and abusive bootlegging father.  He’s a horrible person!  He’s the reason Matilda, a teenage African American girl who is the daughter of a black sharecropper finds Ada.  Matilda’s father is a bootlegger too.  Lucky for Ada and Matilda, they can help each other in different ways.  The...

Is it better to grow up poor and then become rich or grow up rich and become poor?  In The Last Rose of Shanghai by Weina Dai Randel, it is better to be poor and then become rich.  If you are born poor you’ll know how to survive, whereas if you’re born rich and then become poor you won’t know how to feed yourself.  The Last Rose is about the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in WWII.  The story starts with an American filmmaker in a hotel in Shanghai in 1980 Shanghai, China meeting the millionaire businesswoman Aiyi Shao.  Aiyi then tells the filmmaker the story of Shanghai housing many Jewish refugees who fled from German-occupied Europe during WWII.  Before the occupation, Aiyi is a wealthy heiress running a jazz club.  Then she meets Ernest Reismann who is one of the penniless Jewish refugees.  He’s a piano player and connects with Aiyi through music.  Aiyi makes multiple complex decisions that have consequences for a lot of differen...

Have you ever tried to read a book just because you wanted to feel young, cool, and hip?  When I first tried reading A Visit from the Goon Squad, it was for purely selfish reasons.  It was like I wanted to be able to say I understand post-postmodern literature.  Bragging rights that I’d read the book were what I needed.  When I tried reading it though, I was pissed.  I read to escape work, not read more PowerPoint presentations.  And I thought if this is a bestseller, I can write something so much better.  Obviously, I was wrong.  When I read a review that said to read it like a collection of related stories, then I got it!  Now, 10 years later I really get it.  Basically, it’s the story of Bennie and his younger troubled assistant, Sasha. It explores all the people which connect Bennie and Sasha.  It explores how time (the goon) gets us all.  I re-read this book in anticipation of her newest book The Candy House which h...