A Lovely (Laugh-Out-Loud) Train of Events

“If you care about someone and you got a little love in your heart, there ain’t nothing you can’t get through together.”  Ted Lasso

Thatta boy, Ted! I see eye to eye with Ted Lasso 99.9% of the time. (I will, however, tap one of the two buttons coach never hits—snooze—and like it just fine.) If Ted would just hop on the train anywhere between Hampton Court and Waterloo, chances are he’d encounter advice columnist (former notorious socialite), Iona, and her like-minded dog LuLu. Iona, my latest fictional girl crush, is loveable, eccentric, outspoken but endearing, hilarious, and thoughtful. Oh, and she’s British. Iona has more than a little love in her heart. She’s willing to help strangers she nicknames on the train and later befriends get through life’s tough stuff. They effectively get through together.  

When Sharee said she liked Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting more than Dear Mrs. Bird, my mouth was agape. I knew Claire Pooley’s latest book was my next read. A must. Pooley’s “buoyant, bright, occasionally brash novel that’s equally parts funny and poignant” was inspired by her work commute—she asked herself what if she ignored the unwritten rule to keep to yourself on the train? With that thought-provoking question came Iona. When Smart-But-Sexist-Manspreader sits across from her and begins choking on “a grape of wrath” (lol), it starts a train of events where seven quirky commuters are reminded of just how much people need one another. You really should climb aboard and take a “delicious dive” into a heartwarming story that will inevitably expand your definition of family.

Posted by Tracy

We See What We Expect To See

“As far as I'm concerned, you can't beat a good whodunnit: the twists and turns, the clues and the red herrings and then, finally, the satisfaction of having everything explained to you in a way that makes you kick yourself because you hadn't seen it from the start.”     ― Anthony Horowitz, Magpie Murders 

Right on, Magpie Murder man. Right on. Now do me a favor and give Harvard Crimson staff writer, Arielle Frommer, a call. In her recent review of Exiles, Frommer called out our girl Jane Harper. We’re protective of authors named Jane around here. And we’re honest fans of Aaron Falk. If you don’t know who Aaron Falk is, don’t worry—stop reading this post and go grab yourself a copy of The Dry. You’ll be glad you did, pinky promise.

Federal agent Falk stars in 3 of Harper’s 5 suspense novels. (The Dry, Force of Nature, and Exiles.) This go around, our favorite Aussie agent is off duty to attend his godson’s christening. Set in Australian wine country, locals grow secrets like they grow grapes. Not one but two town mysteries go unsolved in Marralee. Despite reported sightings of Kim Gillespie at the Marralee Valley Annual Food and Wine Fair, she remains missing after her year-long disappearance. First mystery. Hidden details behind the hit-and-run accident of Gemma Tozer’s husband lurk in the background of Kim’s cold case. That’s the second head scratcher. Mystery leaves the tight-knit community unsettled and distraught. Naturally, Falk uncovers well-buried clues. More importantly, he unearths new definitions of home and family for himself.

I’ll close with two short but stout thoughts for Arielle Frommer. (Not to pick on a critic.) The great Stephen King remarked, “I love Jane Harper’s Australia-based mysteries”; this fact alone should make you reconsider your choice of the word “underwhelms.” And then we have the aforementioned Mr. Horowitz. Harper’s fifth bestseller gives us twists and turns, clues and red herrings, and a need-to-know whodunnit. She has this crime novel thing down. I guess it’s true what Jane says, “we see what we expect to see.”

P.S. Here’s another reason to savor Exiles: sadly, it’s the last we will read of Aaron Falk.  

Posted by Tracy

The Perfect Blend of Fact and Fiction

"How personal is the political."

It’s been said that there are three things you shouldn’t discuss in polite company: politics, religion, and money—apparently, no one told the Mitford family. Marie Benedict’s newest book, The Mitford Affair, tells the story of sisters in the 1930s: Nancy, the level-headed, oldest sister; Diana, the beauty and wife of the Guinness heir; and Unity, the awkward teenage shadow in the elite fam. Did I mention they are cousins to Lady Clementine and Sir Winston Churchill?

When Diana announces she’s leaving her husband for British Fascist leader Oswald Mosley, Nancy knows something is up. Unity has an announcement of her own: she wants to attend finishing school in Germany, which makes Nancy’s suspicions sky even higher. When Churchill comes to Nancy with the plea to “keep a close eye on” (a.k.a. spy on) her sisters, Nancy is torn between family and country. Are her sisters true Nazis? Do they support Hitler and his movements? And have their efforts to please the men they love put their entire nation at risk? 

Benedict’s books are always the perfect blend of fact and fiction—The Mitford Affair is no exception. A solid 4+ out of 5 stars for this stunning World War II tale that so few know about. If nothing else, the dysfunctional Mitfords may outdo the yearly Thanksgiving antics of your Uncle Jerry!

Posted by Michelle

Gather Perspective

“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” —Marjorie Blackman

You can say that again, Marjorie. Reading is so much more than the act of turning pages. It’s bigger than words themselves, much as I love them. Books are transportation. How did Anna Quindlen put it? “Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey.” Of course, not all journeys are marked by ease. Some are downright difficult.  I’m always a little surprised when I hear someone say they don’t want to read about anything difficult. Or disturbing. Because books mirror life—the good, the bad, and the ugly. I’m with Anne Friedman, “By putting ourselves in others’ shoes, by being enveloped in a good book, we exercise the understanding and critical-thinking muscles that we need to make good choices in everything we do—from the votes we cast, to the policies we support, to the stances we take.” Books are a telescope. They allow us to see from afar, to gain much needed understanding and gather perspective.

I’m grateful I got to walk in Gretel Fernsby’s shoes for a while. As one who has not read The Boy in Striped Pajamas (gasp), I was unaware of Bruno and his Commandant father and family living in Auschwitz’s literal shadows. Gretel’s story can be read independent of her brother Bruno’s. (They intertwine of course.) And while twelve-year-old Gretel escaped from Germany, she never could leave “that other place” behind.  Memories hang heavy. Boyne’s narrative timeline zigzags between the young protagonist who is not completely naïve to Nazism, to the flawed widow in her 90s who grapples with complicity and guilt. Will her past and present meet head-on? Can Gretel atone for her perceived part in her brother’s death? You’ll have to try on her shoes to sense the pain that was passed onto her. When I climbed into her skin, I felt her unease. I felt regret and resolve. Hope, fear, and uncertainty. There was wisdom. I, too, craved redemption. Reading Gretel’s story made me long to hear Bruno’s—I imagine it will be far more difficult to squeeze into his size fives. But understanding is always worth it. In a world where empathy is in short supply, I pray we can all lean into and learn from thoughtful books.

P.S. Listening to All the Broken Places introduced me to the award-winning audible narrator, Helen Lloyd—she was gravy for the brain!

Posted by Tracy

Tracy's Playing Favorites (2022 Edition)

“Even if you fall on your face, you’re still moving forward.” —Victor Kiam 

To Victor Kiam goes the spoils! Looks like I’ve been moving forward and I didn’t even know it.

The fact that it is now March, and I haven’t posted my 2022 favorites could be a fall-on-your-face move, but I’ve been busy mining the best books. Here are last year’s favorites that felt a bit like magic tricks to me.  

FAVORITE BOOK(S) OF THE YEAR

You know it’s an incredible year in the books when you wrestle internally over which read rightfully earns the “favorite” distinction. I can’t decide. My heart is still pumping chocolate for Project Hail Mary. But my girl Mags made reading great again (in back-to-back years) with her latest, The Marriage Portrait. How’s a girl to decide? I guess I’m going to do what any responsible book blogger would do in this situation: let Rachel choose when she posts this.

FAVORITE HISTORICAL FICTION

After many months, I’m still fascinated by Karen Joy Fowler’s look into the infamous Booth family. She provides such interesting insights into the impossibly vain mind of Lincoln’s assassin. (The Book of Lost Names was also an eye-opening historical fiction I read this year.)

Favorite Book I Should Have Read Before Now

(But Didn’t Because of Blog Crossover)

If the 2 of us at 27 carry any book clout with you, dear reader, Circe is a must read. No questions asked. I’m convinced Madeline Miller writes her books on Mount Olympus. She can weave a Greek tale together better than Athena herself.

FAVORITE LISTEN

I’m with audible on this one, no wrestling about it: Project Hail Mary was an outstanding listen. Long live Ray Porter! And Rocky and Ryland of course.

THREE’S A CHARM WHERE THESE READS ARE CONCERNED

It’s no secret we’re R.J. Palacio fans around here. Her young characters endear. If you love a good story that underscores the need for courage in a mixed-up chaotic world, look no further.

I miss Marcellus, the wry (sometimes aloof) giant Pacific octopus that cracked a cold case wide open. I dare you to read this remarkably bright book and not fall in love with the mollusk.

Anthony Marra was one of my best discoveries last year. I’ll let Anne Patchett do the honors: “The word ‘brilliant’ gets used in all of his reviews. Mercury Pictures Presents…is full of history, comedy, and horror. It’s a great literary read.”

 Looking back, 2022 was filled with the wonder of good reads. I’m so glad.

Posted by Tracy

Not Your Typical Walk in the Park

“Trying to work out where it all began, where it all started going wrong. And I suppose the real answer is it started years before you could have ever imagined it did.”

It’s a book and it’s based in London. Dare I give you another reason why I picked up this book?

Katherine Faulkner’s latest novel details the story of a beautiful family home in Greenwich Park, London, and all the family secrets in it. We’re given insights into three characters’ lives: Helen, Serena, and Katie. Helen is the oldest and only daughter in the Haverstock fam. Known for their exquisite architecture company, Helen moves into the family home with her husband, Daniel, as they await the birth of their first son. Serena is married to Rory, the oldest son and middle child of the Haverstock clan. They also await the birth of a baby, a girl. Katie is a journalist; she’s the girlfriend of Charlie, the youngest of the Haverstocks. Don’t worry, they aren’t expecting a child. That would be too cute.

While attending antenatal classes (or birth classes as we Pats call them), Helen meets Rachel, a young and soon-to-be solo momma. The two pregos develop a “friendship”; Rachel keeps Helen company during her time off work. Combine the friendship with the house remodel, and you have a story that isn’t as simple and family-friendly as one would imagine from the looks of the things in Greenwich Park.

Props to Faulkner for providing unique twists on a not-so-average family tale. Who doesn’t love unexpected turns? My only complaint is the author allows you to figure out the storyline too quickly, in lieu of the anticipation we readers love and crave. The twist at the end, however, is delicious. Four out of five stars for this London tale that will put your dysfunctional family to shame.

Posted by Michelle

Starry, Starry Night

“I believe in the joy of reading and having lots of books around you that you want to read, have read and may never read.”  Marilyn Rolapp Brinton

I’m not sure how many followers we have here at two at twenty-seven. Those are details Rae tracks. (She has a lovely eye for detail.) I do know that we lost one of our favorite readers this month. Marilyn Brinton, my sister’s mother-in-law and my dear friend and fellow book lover, passed away. Maybe she’s paid a quick visit to The Midnight Library? Although she wouldn’t need to try on other lives since she knew, better than most, how to live wholly—a life brimming with laugher and love and of course, plenty of good reads. She and I exchanged the best books. I was so excited to give her The Marriage Portrait for Christmas. I’m sure Maggie O’Farrell grabbed Marilyn’s heart like she did mine. When I heard the news of her passing, I cried. The world felt instantly more dim. What an irresistible light. I couldn’t help but think of Shakespeare’s advice, “And when [she] shall die, take [her] and cut [her] out in little stars, and [she] will make the face of heaven so fine, that all the world will be in love with night, and pay no worship to the garish sun.”

I’m mourning the fact that I can no longer share glittering pages with Marilyn. I’d definitely give her my latest, Demon Copperhead. She was a fan of the classics. I wish we could discuss Kingsolver’s undeniable genius in her close retelling of David Copperfield here. I know we’d agree, “It’s hard to think of another living novelist who could take a stab at Dickens and rise above the level of catastrophe.” Named one of the “10 Best Books of 2022” by The Post and The Times, it’s not for everyone. It’s a rough-and-tumble read. The central character, Damon Fields, is born to a teenage girl who prepares for motherhood with amphetamines and Vicodan. Oh, and gin, don’t hold the gin. Damon, nicknamed Demon, is a lot like a meteoroid—when he enters rural south Virginia’s atmosphere at a high speed, his childhood burns up quickly, and he hits the ground hard, not running. Because Marilyn believed in the importance of staying curious, she would look beyond profuse swearing because she knows that profanity isn’t simply a sign of language poverty or lack of intelligence. Surely, she would find deep relevance in the book’s underlying issues that are in need of a monster-sized vehicle for social change: big pharma and the opioid crisis, poverty and rural dispossession, along with the ineffectiveness of child-welfare agencies and our sometimes backward public education system (especially in the backwoods). She would see the best in Demon. I know she would. If possible, she’d pull him into her magnetic orbit and, without preaching, tell him not to save his juice—use it up, Demon. Use it all up. Give it to each and all we meet. Freely. And beautifully.

P.S. If you’re a sensitive reader, check out this review to see if Demon Copperhead is right for you.

Posted by Tracy

Murder With a Side of British Coterie

“After a certain age, you can pretty much do whatever takes your fancy. No one tells you off, except for your doctors and your children.”

Aging is not at the top of my To-Do list. But Richard Osman may have me thinking a little revision is in order. When a murder occurs in the town of Fairhaven, there’s not a better group of sleuths than The Thursday Murder Club. Comprised of four members from the retirement village of Cooper’s Chase, the team sets aside the club’s traditional activities of solving old murder cases from the 70s and 80s to dive head-first into what happened to Tony Curran—the man who built the retirement village himself. The only thing standing in their way of cracking the cold case? If you guessed The Fairview Police Department, you need to join Thursday’s club!

Retirees Elizabeth, Ibrahim, Ron, and Joyce are a lovely team, all with different strengths, weaknesses, and cheeky attitudes. You’ll love the bonds of friendship formed with one other and the police constables. I listened to this book and found myself breaking a smile multiple times at these sassy septuagenarians. (Don’t think for one minute I didn’t laugh out loud.) When I grow up, I want to be like these golden agers!  

Four out of five stars for our fearless friends. The Guardian hailed TMC as the “fastest-selling adult crime debut” in recorded history. Here’s the good news: Osman’s just getting started. He may well be building a crime caper empire. Sequels to TMC include The Man Who Died Twice and The Bullet That Missed. We’re giving you a heads-up to get caught up with the 60+ murder squad by September 2023—that’s when a fourth book shows up with a new crime scene. So grab a few minutes, cozy cover, and your curiosity to watch the geriatrics crack open a few cold cases. Regardless of your age, Osman will take your fancy.

P.S. It shouldn’t surprise The Thursday Murder Club is soon to be a major motion picture, thanks to Steven Spielberg.

Posted by Michelle