Amy 
Lynnie 
fiction
The Good Luck of Right Now tells the story of Bartholomew Neil's life immediately following the death of his mother, for whom he had been caring. Bartholomew has a mild form of autism and has never had to live on his own and think about his own life goals. The story is told through letters which Bartholomew writes to Richard Gere. Bartholomew feels a connection to the actor because RG was Bartholomew's mother's favorite actor and because, in her confusion during her last days, she thought Bartholomew was RG. Bartholomew's letters become a therapeutic way for him to not feel so alone and confused about his future. It is a heartwarming tale including a cast of quirky characters.
Amy's Review
I listened to the audiobook of The Good Luck of Right Now after a friend recommended this author to me. I had seen The Silver Linings Playbook movie so I selected a different highly-rated novel by Matthew Quick to try. I was worried during the first couple of chapters that I wouldn’t be able to get through it. Bartholomew was depressing and I thought the whole book would be a downer. But, I started liking it once other characters were involved and the story became more hopeful and heartwarming. The style of telling the story through writing letters reminded me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. But, these quirky, damaged, and special characters in The Good Luck were definitely preferable to the infuriating teens from Perks. I will probably never forget the term “girlbrarian”—so cute. And, the extreme usage of the “f” word by Max was funny sometimes when he would insert the “f” word into the middle of a long word (e.g., subma-f**kin’-rine). I would love to know how Richard Gere responded to his inclusion in this novel. I thought the narrator did a great job with this audiobook.
Lynnie's Review
I read this in the summer of 2014 and I couldn't shake the sense of deja vu while I was reading it. While nothing like Silver Linings Playbook, there is a sense of similarity in the damaged characters & the quests they undertake in the pages of this book. The best thing about this book was being introduced to Canada's Cat Parliament- something about which I'd previously known nothing & enjoyed learning about.
But I truly hated the character who introduced us to Cat Parliament & his constant use of the word F**k in every single sentence- it was just annoying & unnecessary. I was also bothered that every character had some sort of mental issue- bipolar, mental & physical abuse, alcoholic, paranoid and/or delusional... it got tedious after a while & blunted the effect of all of the issues.
Overall, if I learned anything from this book, it's that I won't rush out to read another one of Matthew Quick's novels.
Amy 
fiction, historical fiction, mystery, romance
In typical Susanna Kearsley style, this novel tells two parallel stories--one set in present-day and one set in historical times. The current story revolves around Celia Sands, a young British actress who was just offered a dream role that holds some risks. The historical story revolves around the life of a different Celia Sands, an actress living in Italy in the early 1900s and the mystery surrounding her disappearance.
Season of Storms is my least favorite of all the Susanna Kearsley books I've read. (This is number 7.) It annoyed me in several spots. Yes, most of the typical formula she uses was there and, yes, I did enjoy the characters and the settings, as usual. But, the "bad guys" were ridiculously evil bullies. And, then there were the scenes which SK skimmed over instead of writing in the sometimes-too-detailed manner in which she wrote the bulk of the story, e.g., the scene when Celia encounters a dead body and the lunch scene on the island with Alex (and what was all that crazy character movement, indecision, and spastic lack of progress during that lunch scene anyway?) It made me feel that I'd missed something during those scenes. Plus, the awkward interactions between Celia and Alex through most of the novel were so uncomfortable that it was distracting. We never got to know Alex at all--he was too quiet and to himself.
So, no, it definitely wasn't my favorite. This was one of her earlier novels so I will let it pass. :) I did enjoy Rupert and Bryan immensely. I liked the interplay between the actors and their families. And, I generally wanted to keep reading. I liked the infrequent references to the past in italics...it was a successful device for bringing in the parallel storyline without overwhelming the current story.
Lynnie 
contemporary fiction, young adult
I
enjoyed Noggin much more than I expected to. John Corey Whaley has written the story of a
cancer-stricken boy who decides to accept an offer to participate in a
cryonics experiment which will save his head to attach to a donated
(healthy) body at an undetermined date in the future. A mere 5 years
later he returns with a new body- a medical miracle in a high schooler's
body. 5 years is a long time though when you're 16; Travis' friends
have all grown up and moved forward in their lives, his parents are
acting strangely, and yet to Travis, it feels like he just took a nap.
How do you adjust to your life when nothing is the way you remember it,
and you feel like the life you're supposed to be living is just out of
reach?
My one complaint was a particular plot point that seemed
obvious and felt like an elephant in the living room until they finally
discussed it, near the end of the book. It felt like it was being
dragged out in an attempt to throw in a little mystery in a book that
didn't need mystery.
Otherwise, Travis Coates is a very
entertaining character. He looks at his situation with humor among the
confusion and draws you into his world. All of the characters feel real
& believable, despite the far-fetched circumstances in which they
exist. This book is funny, heartwarming, & strange, but an enjoyable
story from beginning to end.
Amy 
historical fiction
Amy's review
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd is the story of a family in Charleston in the 1800s, told from the alternating points of view of one of the daughters, Sarah, and one of the slaves, Handful. I enjoyed getting to know the characters (a few of whom were real people!) and also learning about some of the grassroots efforts of abolition--both in the south and the north. It all felt very believable and the author seemed to stay true to the culture of the time.
I recently visited Charleston, SC and was able to picture the settings quite clearly. I also enjoyed learning more about Quakers after having learned a bit about them from the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. All-in-all, this novel was educational while holding my interest. A good read and I will enjoy discussing in book club.
Lynnie
contemporary fiction
I've
read several of Joshua Braff's books & enjoyed most of them; The Daddy Diaries is no exception. It's a character study, detailing the
life of a recently relocated family- the stay-at-home dad, the sweet,
still enamored with her parents daughter, the sullen teenage boy, &
the hard working wife (& of course, their friends, neighbors &
family). If you are a parent, you're bound to recognize some part of yourself (or your children) in this
story. I laughed out loud at some of the conversations between the
teenage son and father because I have had many of those same conversations! Other parts of the book hit me right in the gut with their truthfulness.
Overall,
while there's not a lot of action in The Daddy Diaries, there is a lot
of heart and that's what made the story enjoyable for me.
Amy
historical fiction
Sara Gruen is also the author of one of my favorite novels, Water for Elephants. I've not read any of her other novels because they did not appeal to me. I enjoyed At the Water's Edge but not as much as Water for Elephants.
This story is about the adventures of a young, American woman named Maddie who is dragged to Scotland at the onset of WWII by her husband and his best friend. They hope to gain proof that the Lock Ness Monster exists so that they can redeem themselves to their parents and high society. I thought her characters were fun and, as a big Outlander fan, I enjoyed the setting in the Scottish Highlands. The story held my interest although several situations felt unreal to me and the characters were a bit exaggerated. Sorry--not much more to say here. Fun story. It was a quick read.
Amy 
Lynnie 
sci-fi
This is one of those rare books that one of us loved and one of us really did not. Make of those differing opinions what you will, but The Martian by Andy Weir is rated 4.36 on Goodreads and also won their Goodreads Choice Awards 2014 Science Fiction category. So, it seems that Amy is definitely the oddball on this one. The book conveys the story of a US astronaut and how he manages to survive on Mars despite being left behind by his crew during severe weather when they thought he was dead.
Amy's Review
Well, it had its moments but I am not enamored with this one. I don’t think I’ve ever skimmed as much of a novel and still bothered finishing it. I estimate I skimmed about 35% of the book. I could go into the mathematical and scientific details of how I came up with that estimate, as astronaut Mark Watney would have, but I don’t care about that great level of detail. That is precisely why I skimmed so much of this book—all the boring calculations!!! I’m a math major and I couldn’t stand all the calculations! I read novels for the enjoyment of the story, the characters, the setting, the plot, the tone, and the author creativity. And all the scientific mumbo jumbo kept getting in the way of my enjoyment and annoying me!
This book is swimming in praise and awards and I just cannot ride with the parade on this one. I liked the sense of humor in the novel. I liked several of the characters and the premise. But the execution of the story didn’t work for me.
Lynnie's Review
What an interesting adventure! I was thoroughly invested in the life & death struggles of Mark Watney after he was stranded during a mission to Mars. What a great protagonist- smart, funny, and a good attitude even in the most unimaginable situations. Spending time in his mind was always interesting. The points of view of other characters in the story- NASA, Watney's former crew mates, and even the public opinion all added to the story to make it completely flushed out.
Admittedly I enjoyed the points of the book where Watney was on his own, out of NASA's control, and we got to see his ingenuity in action (without being told what to do every step of the way). I docked it a half a star because I admit that eventually I got bored of much of the scientific detail though not so frustrated that I didn't want to continue reading. Instead, I just trusted that Watney (or NASA) had done the math & my not caring about the minutiae of the calculations didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story- I'd just skim the paragraph or two about the science or calculations & move along (unlike some other books where I find myself skimming pages at a time). Because let's be honest, I'm not going to find a mistake in their science- I don't have time or training for that!
My teenage son also gives the thumbs up on this book- he's been talking about it ever since he read it.
I'll be thinking about this book for a while- it was a great premise & execution with interesting characters. Can't ask for much more than that.
