January 2018 Reading Log

The Bookshop on Water's End, is the story about Bonny Blankenship as her life falls apart.  She asks her friend Lainey and her daughter Piper to join her as her family's summer home in Waters End, South Carolina.  However the mysteries from the past help Bonny and Lainey work through some of their personal struggles.  This is a wonderful summer book and I will give it ⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.  

This was my favorite book this month.  It's Winter Carnival in Quebec City during Louise Penny's Bury Your Dead novel and Chief Inspector Gamache is on leave after a terrible attack on his fellow officers and himself on their last case.  Gamache stumbles across a murder at the Literacy and Historical Society.  In order to solve the murder he must undercover a 400 year old secret in Quebec's history....AND Gabriel is sending him letters daily stated Olivier didn't do it.  It doesn't make sense. Chief Inspector Gamache is starting to second guess all his decisions. This is a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 star book.    

In the book, How to Find Love in a Bookshop, Emilia is trying to keep her promise to her father, to keep his bookshop going after his death.    Emilia is struggling with bills her father left behind while a property developer is aggressively trying to buy the bookshop from her.  Nightingale Books  seems to be the center of the community and Emilia quickly makes new friends.  Many of her customers rely on her for advice for books and life.  At times there seems to be so many different story lines/characters to keep straight but they all fall into place by the end of the book.  I enjoyed reading this book and would give it ⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. 

Commonwealth begins when Bert Cousins shows up uninvited to Beverly and Fritz Keating house for the baptism party of their daughter Franny in Southern California.  Bert has his eyes set on Beverly and from there the two families are forever changed.  The story is mainly told from Franny's point of view.  She describes her life growing up in a blended family far away from her father.  The novel deals with family relationships as the family goes through different transitions throughout life.  This is a ⭐⭐⭐/5 star book.  

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan is a not your typical bookstore book.  Lydia works at the Bright Ideas Bookstore in Denver and tries her best not to be noticed.  She was involved in an violent crime as a child that she still struggles with emotionally.  So working in the quiet bookstore with the "BookFrogs" and shelving books quietly each day helps her make it through each day.  Until one day when Joey, one of the "Book Frogs" commits suicide in the bookstore leaving lots of questions for Lydia.  Like, why does Joey have one of her childhood birthday pictures in his pocket?  Why does Joey leave her all kinds of books with holes in them?  Lydia is forced to rethink and remember everything she can from her childhood including that violent night.  This story made me feel uneasy at times but I was constantly motivated to read what happens next.  I think this is a ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 star book. 

The Cafe by the Sea, by Jenny Colgan, is a charming story.   Flora has to go back to the island she grew up on to represent a client. Flora comes home to her brothers and father who like Flora and still struggling with the death of their mom.  Once back on the island everyone wants to remind Flora how wonderful the island is, but Flora's heart is with someone else, her boss.  This is a cute and charming story.  A reminder that it is important to be part of the community.  This is a ⭐⭐⭐/5 star book.  

 A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman is a wonderful story about an old man who has lived his life working hard and following the rules.  After the death of his wife he is struggling with the purpose of his life and how to move forward.  Ove's neighbors help him find his way and develop new friendships.  The book is very humorous.    This is a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 star book.   

 Ann Bogel's book, Reading People, is one of those books that you wish you would have read years ago when you first got married and your kids were little. The ability to understand and label certain personality traits can help you put into perspective why someone else is doing something  and that could help you understand your husband or child's way of thinking.  This is a ⭐⭐⭐/5 star book.

The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes begins with Jennifer Sterling, in London.  She doesn't remember anything from the car accident she was in.   She doesn't remember who she is, who her husband is, or her friends, or who was in the car with her.  Her husband is acting very nervous and not answering all her questions. She comes upon a love note signed B, however Jennifer does not know who B is.  The first half of the book is about Jennifer's struggle trying to figure out who B is?  The second half of the book is about Ellie, a writer, who comes across the letters in the newspapers' library. She wants to write a story about Jennifer's love story.  While writing the story she begins to make comparisons to her own life.  This was a great love story, I give it ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. 

I loved the book Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore so much I decided to listen to Ajax Penumbra 1969 on Audible.  It was a cute short story.  In 1969, Ajax Penumbra is sent by the university that he works for to San Fransisco to look for a very old book.  Ajax stumbles upon an 24 hour book store and there he finds the answers to his questions.  He finds a whole new group of friends and a new purpose for his life and never returns to the university.  This is a ⭐⭐⭐/5 star book.