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Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

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  Click here to purchase from Amazon This memoir has gotten a lot of buzz in the book industry the past few months, but that didn't make me want to read it. I happened to watch CBS' Sunday morning news and they interviewed Michelle Zauner. That did the trick. Then I had to read it, and luckily it was 50% off at B&N so I snagged it.  Michelle's mother is Korean, and Michelle's father is white. She grew up feeling a bit lost in between, but absolutely loved all of the Korean foods, stories, and family history her mother shared with her. Very rocky teen years full of rebellion and depression created a wedge between Michelle and her mother that was hard to overcome.  The news that her mother had cancer rocked Michelle's world, and she promptly packed her bags and flew back to Eugene, Oregon to help care for her during treatment.  This memoir is about Michelle's grief, and how she climbed out of it with the help of her boyfriend Peter, her Korean f...

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse

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Order here from Amazon This was definitely a novel that hooked me from the beginning. I know I'm really into a book when I get annoyed at everyday life getting in the way of me sitting and reading! I had to wait an extra day this weekend to focus on the last hundred pages   this morning and woke up early just to finish.  I'll warn folks right now that there are some gruesome parts in the story. So if you have a queasy stomach you are forewarned.  This novel takes place in the Swiss Alps at a new resort called Le Sommet. This resort is unusual in that it was a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients back in the 1920-30's.  Not a place I'd want to stay at, for sure. But  it's been redone at great expense and is upscale luxury for those who want to ski or be pampered in the spa.  Elin Warner has arrived with her boyfriend Will for an engagement part for her brother Isaac and his fiancé Laure. Elin is a mess. She's a police officer from En...

The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm by Hilarie Burton Morgan

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  I cannot resist reading about women who move to the country and live a farming life. I guess it's because I think they're very brave. And they're so darn handy at creating something out of nothing, or using very little to create that something. Hilarie Burton Morgan joins my list of women I admire, who roll up their sleeves and jump in with a brave heart.  The Rural Diaries  is about Hilarie and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (you know, that heartthrob of a guy from Grey's Anatomy, and the nasty Negan from The Walking Dead), and their decision to move to Rhinebeck, New York and live on a farm.  After meeting in L.A. through mutual friends, their connection was pretty quick and deep. Driving through Rhinebeck, they immediately felt at home and wanted to put down roots away from the craziness of Hollywood. And so they did.  But this story is not all fairy tale and happy ending; at least not for a few years. Hilarie recounts their beginnings, with their young son Gus, ...

Fox Crossing by Melinda Metz

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  So far in December I've read a few books that have nothing to do with this holiday season. I found this book when I was looking at new paperbacks at B&N and it certainly gave me the winter feels. The blurb on the cover says "A novel of a small town, love, luck, and one extra-special fox...". Sealed the deal for me. I absolutely love reading about small towns. This small town is in Maine; Fox Crossing has a population of 713. It's also the last stop before people start back on the Appalachian Trail, so it definitely sees a lot of hikers from all over the country.  Annie Hatherley works and manages her family's outfitting shop-Hatherley's Outfitters. She's an experienced trail guide and works as an extractor-someone who goes out to find people in trouble on the trail and returns them to safety. She's a prickly one, is Annie. She routinely gets angry at customers who come into her store, naively thinking they are ready to hike the 100 Mile Wildernes...

The Whisper man by Alex North

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This month has been a tough one for getting through books. I've struggled, when I usually zip through a few a week. I started reading The Whisper Man a few weeks ago, and kept putting it down, picking it up. I just couldn't get my head into a novel about a serial killer of little boys. But this weekend was rainy and gloomy, and I decided to buckle down and finish it. There was much more to it, and the deeper I got into the story, the more gripping it became.  Tom Kennedy and his little boy Jake are moving to the small town of Featherbank to start over after Tom's wife and Jake's mother dies unexpectedly, leaving both in the depths of grief. Jake is a quiet boy; he loves to draw, and is always having conversations with his imaginary friend, a little girl who keeps him company. A new house, a new school; Tom hopes Jake will come out of his solitude and make friends. Tom, a published author, is stuck trying to begin a new novel, but he's suffer...

The House Swap by Rebecca Fleet

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The House Swap is another entry into the psychological relationship thriller. It does, however, have quite a different twist on it; one where you just don't see it coming for quite some time.  Told in two storylines: 2013 and 2015, you would think not much could happen in a few years. You'd be wrong, especially when it comes to the relationship between Caroline and Francis, a couple who's marriage has been slowly disintegrating due to Francis' addiction to pills, and the resulting affair Caroline has with a coworker. A mess, right? It's a bit sad to see what was once a solid relationship erode over time, and neither participant seems to know how to fix it.  Move to 2015, and Caroline and Francis are house swapping for a week to get away and continue to repair their relationship. The house is oddly bare of any personal touches; it's neat as a pin and pretty much empty of anything-more like a hotel. Making arrangements only through email, the owner of this home i...

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones

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The Other Woman joins the genre of relationship thrillers that started with Gone Girl. This one has a twist, however:the dread of every woman who meets her boyfriend's parents: a mother who doesn't like you.   Emily meets Adam in the bar of a London hotel after attending a work conference. She's  reluctantly attracted to the tall, dark, handsome Adam after he rudely jumps in line ahead of her for drinks. He charms her, and soon they are dating. Emily quickly falls for Adam, and a few months go by before he agrees that it's time to meet his mother. Emily is really looking forward to it, but oh boy, she is in for a surprise.  Pammie (this name just drove me nuts!) certainly seems like a lovely woman, and her sons Adam and James fuss over her. But she's not very welcoming to Emily-and only Emily sees it. Criticism masquerading as compliments, deliberate miscommunication, "accidental" texts sent to Emily that are critical. Emily feels like she can't win, a...

The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland

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I'm always a sucker for a book that takes place in a bookshop or a library. Words like "witty" and "charming" were used to describe this novel, and I thought I was in for a lovely, summery, light read.   It wasn't quite like that, although I did like the novel. It was certainly slower in pace and more solemn that I expected. Loveday Cardew is a young woman working in a second-hand bookshop. It is her refuge from a past that left her living in foster homes and being on her own for most of her life. She's very private, and no one knows her past as a happy little girl with two loving parents, before it all went horribly wrong when she was ten years old. Now 25, she's found her small slice of contentment, and a family with the shop's owner, Archie, a delightfully charming man who seems to know everyone and has done everything.  Enter Nathan, who stops in the bookshop after losing his book of poetry near the bus stop. Loveday found it, and posted a no...

Still Me by Jojo Moyes

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Well, since  After You had me bawling at the end, I had to wait months before I found out just what adventures awaited Louisa Clark in New York City.  Yes, this is the third book with Louisa Clark, who became a very well known character when Me Before You  became that novel you had to read, even knowing it would completely wreck you. Well, the follow up, After You, wrecked me, too.  I felt hopeful reading Louisa's adventures in New York City, and expected they would end happily.  I'm not going to tell you if that is what happens, because that would just spoil the whole book for you.  What I will tell you is that Louisa is still on her journey to discovering just who she is, and just what makes her happy.  She's decided to accept a job, working as the assistant to a very rich woman-Agnes Gopnik- leaving Ambulance Sam, who helped her grieving heart heal.  A very new relationship, it will need to stand the test of long distance.  Anyone wh...

Sweet Tea and Sympathy (A Southern Eclectic Novel) by Molly Harper

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I picked this novel out at my library and decided to read it last weekend while the temperature outside had a high of -10 (without the wind chill) and I went deep into hermit mode. I reluctantly left the house Sunday morning for a grocery run, and then returned, not leaving until Tuesday morning for work.  January through March, I prefer to stay home every night, out of the cold.  The bitter cold Iowa has had for the past week or so has made it even easier to just say "Nope, not going out!" and plopping myself on the couch.  I haven't even turned the TV on; preferring quiet and a good book.  I recognized Molly Harper's name from the years of shelving romance novels at Barnes and Noble.  She's pretty popular, and has fun, paranormal romance down.  I may have even read one or two of her books in the past, so I was willing to give this one a try.  The subtitle: A Southern Eclectic Novel  had me wondering just what the heck that was--does it...

The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hayes-McCoy

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It's been about 13 years since I visited Ireland, but I can still remember the stunning beauty:  the intense colors, the fresh air, and the small towns and villages. Someday I'll return for another visit, but in the meantime, I was lucky to read The Library at the Edge of the World  and be reminded of that special time in Ireland.   Hanna Casey has returned to live with her mother in a small home set just outside of Lissbeg. She's newly divorced, with a grown daughter (Jazz) who's off on her own as a flight attendant. Hanna's ex-husband had been carrying on a years-long affair with a family friend behind Hanna's back. Very angry, Hanna only wanted out, and left behind the chance to be compensated for supporting her husband's career during their long marriage. So broke, she's living with her mother, working as a librarian in the Lissbeg public library. Not where she expected to be; after all, her dreams were to work in one of the great libraries of  Londo...