Book a week:Week 20

Oh yeah! 

My 20th book is finished!!!!! "Long Bright River" by Liz Moore is the 20th book. 

I got this book because my friend Vivian recommended it. I always trust her recommendations. 

The book is based on substance addiction. Two sisters, grown up in the same house, turned to live very different lives. One, became a cop and the other, a substance abuser. 

Mickey is a cop and a single mom. She has her own problems with life. Her sister Kacey lives on the street. Her ex boyfriend is not paying child support. Her son is only four years old! She needs a reliable babysitter too. 

Mickey is awkward in social situations. Their mother killed herself, when Mickey and Kacey were little. They were brought up by the grandmother, a very cold woman, who was traumatized by the overdose and eventual death of her own daughter. Their father left them too. The family didn't really care about education or being on the right side of the law. 

Kacey is missing. Even though Mickey is not on speaking terms with Kacey, she wants to find Kacey. 

Being born when mother was addicted to drugs, Kacy had withdrawal symptoms at birth. No one really knew about it then. Mickey's search for her sister made her realize how their mother's addiction might be the root cause of Kacey's fate. She also finds out where their father is living now. 

The novel taught me a lot about why people cannot get out of addiction. I didn't know a baby born to a woman who is a drug addict, needed to be held, and given medication to  help them from withdrawal symptoms. 

This tells the story of the strength and vulnerability of women.

A good read indeed. 

Any suggestions for my next read?

Book A week: Week 19

Last week, I finished the book, "Still Life" by Val McDermid. 

I love the cold case getting resolved. 

the story begins with a dead body caught by the fishermen, from Scotland. The evidence prove, he didn't drown. So, it becomes a murder case. Police found that the body belongs to a French citizen. When they found the dead man's real name, the case became more interesting. He was the brother of a man who disappeared without a trace from Scotland ten years before. 

Now, the case is more interesting. With possibility of political embarrassment, the case was assigned to DCI Karen Perie. 

Finally, Ms.Perie finds out the truth. It is really stunning! Love the style of narration. 

I used to skip some lines while reading novels. This one demands my full attention. 

Will I read another from Karen Perie series???

Yes, I will try for sure!

Bindu

Book A Week: Week 12

I can't believe, I am reading a LOT now a days. 

This  last week I finished "Camino Island" By John Grisham. It is not a legal thriller, like most of Grisham's novels. This one deals with rare books. 

There was a theft in Princeton library. Thieves took the precious manuscript by F. Scott Fitsgerald. FBI is involved in the case. Princeton will pay any thing for the safe return of the book. 

A private investigative team is also trying to get the book back. 

In the beautiful Camino Island, there is a thriving book store. Do the book store owner know about the manuscript? 

The private investigator team think so. Then will they get the manuscript back? If so how?

Grisham keeps us on the edge with his narration. 

I love reading Grisham's thrillers. 

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Bindu

Book a Week: Week 11

For week 11, I read "Recipe For a Perfect Wife" by Karma Brown.

Alice is fired from her job. But she lied to her husband about it. Actually, she was not honest to herself, when she agreed to move to suburbs. 

When Alice was agreeing to Nate about having a baby, she lied again. She was not ready for it. 

She was "writing a novel" was another lie she was telling everyone. 

But, things changed with Alice when she discovered Nellie's cook book. She started cooking. Then she learned more about Nellie. Then, she gained more information about Nellie  from her unsent letters to her mom. 

Karma Brown narrates two parallel stories of two women lived in the same house on different times. It is full of twists and turns. Both women had their own struggles. Actually, women still struggle to have ownership of their own body and mind, it seems. 

Throughout the story, I was questioning why Alice had to lie to her husband? We can understand Nellie as a victim, but who is Alice? Why can't she tell the truth about events happened in her life to her husband? 

I have to agree that it was a page turner. In the end Alice decided to stand for herself. A relief to my curious mind!!!

Bindu

A Book A week:Week 9

Last week I finished Emma Straub's "All Adults Here".

The novel starts with Astrid witnessing a bus accident. It happened just before her hair appointment. 

The accident make her think over her life. She was thinking about her past, her kids and then the future.

She realized she was not a great parent to her 3 kids. Now, her grand daughter is here to live with her. 

She realized, she has to do certain things now, or she will never get a chance. So, she decides to stick with truth. That is a lot of courage. 

I really loved reading this book. The style is capturing your attention. 

 

Bindu

A book a week: Week7

The last week I finished reading "The temptations of Forgiveness" by Donna Leon.

The story is taking place in Venice. It is the mystery of  commissario Guido Brunetti. It starts with Brunetti's meeting with his wife's colleague. Then he was called to visit a man in the hospital, who seems like got attacked.

It turned out the man in the hospital is the husband of his wife's co-worker.

Brunetti's investigation revealed the killer. Now the author leave us think about the morality of all this.

It is an okay book to read. Will I read another book about Brunetti's detective work? Not sure, may be not.

 

Bindu

A Book a week: Week6

Hi 

Yes, I did finish reading another book last week. 

This time it "American Dirt" by Jeanine cummins. 

The story begins with Luca learning about bullets flying through their place. His mom Lydia, a book store owner comes in to the bathroom and they both hid there. when everything was over there were 16 bodies in the backyard. Every one, Lydia loved are gone. 

Lydia knows, it was her favourite customer, who did it. When her husband and journalist Sebastian uncovered "The Owl", she was not thinking about this massacre.

The story moves on with Lydia's decision to escape from Mexico and the watching eyes of  The Owl. There was no one to help her. 

The novel tells us about her journey to America. The hardships they encounters, the people they met and connected through their journey are explained really well. It made me in tears to know the cruelties suffered by the sisters in the story. Ever thought of good looks being your worst enemy? 

While reading the book, I thought, the author must be an immigrant herself. Later, over the weekend, I learned about the controversy surrounding the book. I am not the one to judge! i loved the style of the book. I can seriously tell you that it changed my view point about illegal immigrants and refugees. I wonder, what will be the story of the person mentioning that they came to Canada as a refugee. 

The novel ends with Lydia getting settled in the United States. Luca is back to school too. 

Bindu

A Book A Week: Week5

Hi

I am still continuing to read one book a week. Last one was "Everything I Never Told You" by Celeste Ng .

It tells the story of a mixed race family, their secrets and the challenges. The story begins with Lydia's death. The story reveals how James Lee and Marilyn got together and started a family. 

Marilyn wanted to stand out and James, son of Asian immigrants wanted to blend in. Marilyn had to give up her dream of becoming a doctor, because she got pregnant. She tried to fulfill her dream by forcing Lydia to become a doctor.

Lydia, who find it hard to live up to the expectations of her parents started pretending. When her brother is ready to go to Harvard, she finds it hard to survive at home. She started going out with Jack, thinking he will be her lover. But, Jack confessed to her he actually is in love with Nath. 

While Nath believed Jack was the reason for Lydia's death, Hanna finds out the truth. When Nath fights with Jack and fell in to the lake, he realized he will never understand Lydia's death. He was dragged to safety by Jack. 

Celeste Ng's other book was "Little Fires Everywhere" . I read that one before. 

Bindu

Book A Week Week 3: Little Fires Everywhere

On the 3rd book for reading a book a week. Last week I finished reading "Little Fires Everywhere", by Celeste Ng. 

The story begins with a house on fire. Elena Richardson somehow escaped from the fire. It was scary to know, the house was put on fire by some one. 

They cannot find Izzy, the youngest child of the Richardsons. Their tenant Mia and her daughter vacated the house. 

The story happens in the 1090s. Mia Warren and her daughter rented a little home owned by Richardsons. When the house was fire, Mia already vacated from the home. 

We learn the background of Mia and Elena through the story. Finally, we understand who set the fire and why.

There is a Netflix show loosely based on the novel. There are considerable difference between two though.

When Elena's friend is trying to adopt a Chinese baby and the mother of the child shows up, Elena and Mia have different ideas. Suspected of Mia's motives, Elena digs out Mia's past. During this time, many things were happening in her home. Her daughter Lexie got an abortion. Trip fell in love with Mia's daughter Pearl and Izzy becomes Mia's unpaid assistant. 

The author takes up to Shaker and its planned life. Then make us ride with characters. 

Who started the fire and why? Ever wondered, how many little fires we started in our lives already?? 

 

Bindu

Book A week: week2

What is your soul is not ending with you? What if there is a databse of the souls kept by government? What if the scientists can find out  if a soul is reborn? what will happen your soul previously belonged to a criminal? 

 Soulprint dwell in to that scenario. 

As a part of my reading a book a week, last week I finished "Soulprint" by Megan Miranda. 

Alina Chase is held in an island for all her life. Why? Because her soul belongs to the whistle blower and blackmailer June. Alena is held there for her own protection, authorities told her. 

On her 17th birthday, she wanted to get out and wanted to have a normal life. Other three teens are trying to help her escape. 

June broke into the soul database and used it to blackmail people. That is what every one thinks. Everyone sees Alina as June. But, in her heart, Alina knows she is not June. She wanted to be different from June. She tried so hard for that. But everyone saw her as June.

Her rescuers wanted her to break in to the soul database. They all went through high adrenaline events. With all the tense circumstances, Alina started to trust Cameron. Eventually she fell in love with him too. 

Megan Miranda takes us for a ride with Alina Chase's journey.  Alina  follows the clues left by June to find out who was actually responsible for the black-mailings . That journey led her to find love too. 

I loved reading this book. For a person who was not a fan of sci-fi, this one was fun. 

 

Bindu