November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Amy  

romance

Fallon and Ben met when Ben crashed Fallon’s lunch conversation with her father on November 9th.  Fallon was moving to New York City that evening but Fallon and Ben made a promise to each other to meet at the same restaurant on November 9 for the next five years.

This story was not what I was expecting when I started reading a Colleen Hoover novel!  The other two novels of hers that I’d read were not romances. But after perusing her library, I now see that she frequently writes romances.  Despite the book not being what I had been expecting (I don’t often read book summaries before reading novels), it pulled me in. I enjoy a good romance and this one was fun. Granted, Ben’s immediate acceptance and general advice to Fallon regarding self-empowerment seemed a bit too good to be true and overly wise for an 18yo man. But I didn’t let this bog down my enjoyment of the ride.

The main theme of their connection was a very romantic one—being accepted by someone else wholeheartedly when you had lost your sense of self and, therefore, being given a second chance at enjoying life.  Their unusual relationship had its ups and downs. But something odd and unexplained happened during one of their days together and this became the driving mystery to wonder about throughout the rest of the novel. I loved Hoover’s story crafting and was completely hooked.

The audiobook narrators were Zachary Webber and Angela Goethals. This is the second story I’ve listened to by Webber and he’s awesome.  He is so great at voice acting and was the perfect fit for Ben’s personality. As for Goethals, when she was voicing the characters as they spoke out loud, she was a wonderful actor with a variety of voices. BUT when she was the narrator, particularly at the beginning of each of her chapters, she was robotic and soulless. I would sometimes cringe because the direct comparison of her voicing to the stellar narration by Webber immediately preceding was so stark.  I give Webber an A+ and Goethals a B. I’d have dropped her lower for making me cringe at times but she really did a fabulous job at other times. So odd.

 

   

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

Lynnie   
Amy      

contemporary fiction, magical realism

 

Zoey is starting college in Charleston, SC and has moved to Mallow Island, a small island off the coast, to follow her dreams. Other Birds follows a collection of characters who live in the quaint Dellawisp Condominiums--think Melrose Place if the residents were multigenerational (and, occasionally, other-worldly). Besides Zoey, Charlotte is a henna artist, Mac is a talented chef, there are the estranged sisters Lizbeth and Lucy Lime, and their property manager, Frazier, who sees dead people. Unfortunately for him, the annoying lady who lived in one of the units has just died. 

Lynnie's Review

 

I’m so sad that I finished this book so quickly. What a pleasure to be able to spend time again in the wonderful imagination of Sarah Addison Allen. I simply adore her novels and Other Birds is no exception. Amy and I both loved First Frost, the only book she's published since we started our blog but we have been long time fans of hers.

Each of the characters in Other Birds has secrets and something that they are holding on to that keeps the spirits of their past tethered to present.

The residents of the Dellawisp come together to help and heal one another and, maybe while they are doing so, also remind readers that family can be found wherever you are willing to open your heart. Sarah Addison Allen’s magical realism is endlessly creative and never fails to keep a smile on my face as I read her books. I miss spending time with all of these characters already. 

Amy's Review

Other Birds is populated with people who had difficult childhoods, feeling unloved and unwanted. They all find this quaint, peaceful place to live and, to no reader’s surprise, eventually form their own family with each other. As with Sarah Addison Allen’s other novels, the magical realism builds mystery and gives the story a whimsical feel. In this novel, the special birds represent companionship and love.

I’ve looked forward to a new novel by Addison for some time. However, I did not enjoy Other Birds as much as her other novels. I think my main disappointment was that all of the different characters have the same basic issue—they had parents who were absent and/or neglectful. They became stuck living empty lives, afraid to connect with people, as a result.  So, of course, they found each other in this strange and wonderful place. They all had secrets and were all a bit damaged. This plot just wasn't as complex as Addison’s other novels.

However, having said that, her characters were as lovable and quirky as always and her world-building was fun. I enjoyed spending time in Zoey’s world. And I was reminded that there are good people in the world who will step in and love a lost child. I will look forward to Addison’s next novel since I'll happily read anything she writes. 

 

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

Amy  

fiction

Byron and Benny, siblings who haven’t seen each other in 8 years, are forced to get together when their mother, Eleanor, dies. She has left them an audio message to be heard together with her lawyer upon her death.  The recording reveals the story of her youth of which the children had been previously unaware.

The novel jumped between timelines in the past and the present.  The more their mother explained about her past, the more her children realized they did not know the truth about her past at all.  I found Eleanor’s story fascinating.  The difficulties of her life were not unique to her, sadly, but her perseverance was inspirational and her particular twists and turns kept things interesting. The Black Cake of the title refers to the family tradition of celebrations with the recipe handed down through the generations.

Charmaine Wilkerson’s storytelling was on point for this family drama where the family’s biggest problems were centered around a lack of communication. The characters are all easy to understand and, while some of them acted stupidly, we all know people who hide pieces of themselves if they don’t feel secure and supported. I thought Wilkerson’s graceful handling of difficult topics like racism, rape, slavery, the environment, unwed motherhood, adoption, “other”ism, gender identity, sexuality, desperation, and poverty kept the book from being too heavy. At the same time, topics like family, tradition, and love are emphasized. I particularly liked the way Wilkerson gave closure to more pieces of Eleanor’s story than I thought she would. I was basically swept into the lives of these people and that is why I’m rating it so high. I wanted to know how things turned out. It ended leaving me with a good feeling.

The novel was narrated by two narrators and, I have to be honest, I really didn’t realize this for most of the novel. I still can’t quite figure out exactly when one of them spoke vs. the other. Lynette R. Freeman and Simone McIntyre both had good vocal repertoires. I think this is why I wasn’t sure when one or the other was speaking. Their voices just aren’t that different sounding.  I think maybe Freeman read Eleanor’s history while McIntyre read the more current storyline? So I don’t agree with the usage of two narrators.  Either one would have been fine, in my opinion. At least one of them didn’t have the best European accents but they did try. They both did a great job with their vocal acting. I’ll give the production an A-.

 

   

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Lynnie
Amy   

contemporary fiction

Sadie and Sam met as children under difficult circumstances and formed a friendship, through gaming, which was abruptly ended. Later in life, after gaming had continued in both of their lives, they reconnected and decide to create a video game together. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow tells the story of their friendship.

 

Lynnie's Review

I absolutely adored Gabrielle Zevin’s The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (it made both my and Amy's lists of favorite books when we originally started this blog!), so I was excited to see Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (TTT) in my library’s list of
new releases.

Very different than A.J. Fikry, TTT is the story of Sam and Sadie and the ups and downs of their decades-long friendship, partnership, and overall relationship. As the book jacket says, “often in love, but never lovers” we see Sam and Sadie over the course of 30 years through their original meeting and as they grow up and apart and together over and over again.

Their friendship binds them, but the ribbons that connect and reconnect them are video games which are themselves a character in this novel. That’s not to say that you can’t enjoy this book if you’re not a gamer- you certainly can. Other than the games that Sam, Sadie, and their partner Marx create, the book doesn’t spend too much time talking about games; most of the older games get a name check and some references that are fun if you get them but not terribly annoying if you don’t. (I certainly missed as many as I got- particularly once their references jumped to the shooter-style games, a genre I have always avoided). But gaming gives them a connection and a reason to continue to come together and collaborate AND a cause for conflict as well.

I found myself equally enamored with and frustrated by both Sam and Sadie throughout the book, just as you would be with any friend. As an observer it was easy to see when they were being ridiculous or when they were right or when they should just step up & call the other one already! Over the years they navigated success, failure, love, depression and more.

There were times they each broke my heart and other times that made my heart leap with joy. Sam, Sadie, and the rest of the cast- Sam’s college roommate Marx, Sadie’s professor Dov, Sam’s grandparents Dong Hyun and Bong Cha and his mother Anna, and Sadie’s sister Alice… as well as other friends and co-workers blended together to create a realistic portrait of the intertwined lives of two people over time.

Overall, I just enjoyed spending time with with this cast of characters. There is one chapter that I didn’t love- if you’ve read it you can probably guess which one- and while I understood the point of the chapter & exactly what was going on, I admit I skimmed that chapter just to get to the other side of it. Still, it was well worth the time to read this wonderful exploration of love and friendship. 

Amy's Review

I loved Gabrielle Zevin’s other novel I read, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. I recall that it left me feeling warm and fuzzy.  This novel is nothing like that. It’s colder and harder but Zevin still succeeded in making me care about these characters early in the story. Sadie and Sam were both awkward in their ways yet continued to be fascinated with each other despite playing down the impact each had on the other. Zevin did a great job divulging a little bit at a time about their pasts to keep things fun.

The gaming aspect was sometimes a hurdle for my enjoyment. Gaming has been a part of my life but never to such a degree as Sadie’s and Sam’s lives. I knew enough about it to appreciate the gaming-related difficulties they went through in the story. But it was the personalities and relationships in the novel which appealed to me much more than the business end of gaming. I often felt the gaming details, while a necessary evil for their story, got in the way.  In fact, about 60% of the way through the book it started to feel like the novel was going on for too long. There was too much emphasis on the game ideas when the only reason I wanted to keep reading was for the relationships. Later, Zevin circled back and almost made all the gaming details worthwhile in the way she treated an end of life experience. It was brilliant and, truly, almost poetic.

Sam and Sadie’s story was sometimes sweet, sometimes sad, sometimes shocking, and sometimes infuriating. Both of them seemed to put road blocks in their own way at times. For two people who knew each other so well, they really couldn’t bridge a critical gap for true connection.  They ended up succeeding in many things but it always felt like they could never really celebrate. Both were too good at sidestepping circumstances that needed further analysis and communication. It felt bittersweet and not fully satisfying. But it was still a good read.

The main narrator was Jennifer Kim. A small section was read by Julian Cihi. Unfortunately, Kim had a mostly robotic vocal delivery.  There was some emotion at times but, most of the time, her style was flat and boring.  Plus, the main two characters were Jewish and Korean and, while she did a great job with the Korean words, she failed on the Yiddish pronunciations.  Other than her failed attempt at an Israeli accent for a prominent secondary character, she really did not have a vocal repertoire and, therefore, conversations between two characters were sometimes difficult to follow. I honestly think I might’ve enjoyed the novel more if I’d not listened to the audiobook. I give her a C. However, Cihi was phenomenal. I wish he had narrated the entire novel. I understand what the producer was trying to do with his narration of the one section but his shining performance made Kim’s look all the worse. I give him an A.

 

 

Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar

Amy  

fiction, biography

Ayad Akhtar wrote of his experiences growing up as a Pakistani American—his family (both immediate and extended), his faith (Muslim), his career, his opinions about American feelings toward Muslims, Muslims’ feelings about Americans, his memorable experiences, and the important people in his life. These Homeland Elegies are delivered as a group of short stories. Maybe it’s more accurate to call them journal entries.

I found Akhtar’s opinions and experiences fascinating. He hooked me from the beginning based on his feelings and conversations with his father regarding Donald Trump. Then he abandoned that story to move to another time in his life. And so on. Through these stories, the reader gets a deep dive into Akhtar as a person—his beliefs, struggles, and personal stories. It is supposedly a novel—not non-fiction or autobiographical. However, it reads like an autobiography and includes so many personal, unflattering portraits of several people, including his father and himself, that it feels true. The character is himself--his real name, his real career, etc. I wonder which parts were fiction. Since he seemingly includes many real-life people in these accounts, I imagine those have to be true. Perhaps the sex scenes are the fiction?

Akhtar sounds like a level-headed, realistic, creative person struggling to make a living like everyone else. He’s an excellent writer, able to convey both simple and complex thoughts and descriptions with ease. His honest views about living in the United States as a citizen with immigrant parents and their own views of the world felt raw and genuine.  In fact, some of his father’s remarks made me laugh out loud with their sad truth. I am really looking forward to discussing this one at book club!

The author himself narrated the novel and he was terrific with his naturally animated, energetic voice. And I loved his accents, particularly when voicing his parents. As characters, they jumped off the page (er…..recording).  He related conversations with perfect voice acting.  I love when authors narrate their own novels, and Akhtar is one of the best I’ve listened to.  However, the one criticism I have is that he sometimes spoke too quickly during passages that included lots of clever wording and thoughts, often during lists of impressions separated by commas.  I had to replay these sections a few times, including the Overture at the very beginning, in order to completely comprehend and digest his words.  They were so rich and full of important stuff and he flew through these sections, sadly. If I were reading the novel, I would have savored these sections and read them carefully, likely re-reading them a time or two to get the full, complete picture. I tried slowing down his narration in the app but the only choice was way too slow so I listened to it at normal speed.  I’ll give him an A.

   

Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey Into the Dark Antarctic Night by Julian Sancton

Amy  

nonfiction, history

Madhouse at the End of the Earth is a nonfiction account of one of the early ship voyages to Antarctica describing the crew of the Belgica, the journey’s goals, and its crew’s experiences in the late 1890s as it aimed to document and study Antarctica and reach the South Pole. Because they got stuck in the ice-covered water for almost a year, NASA uses this book to educate astronauts about living in isolation in unknown, dangerous, below-freezing conditions.

I don’t read a lot of nonfiction but my son suggested I read this book. While I wouldn’t say that it read like a novel, it wasn’t dry and boring.  The story was definitely presented factually (and, thankfully, with a minimum of footnotes) but the storyline flowed chronologically and managed to mostly hold my interest.  The first third of the book introduced all the main people of the crew as well as their motivations and struggles, focusing primarily on those who kept journals and were well-known in their home countries.  It also covered the efforts of the expedition leader, Adrien de Gerlache, to fund his adventure, to requisition the ship, and to staff the crew. The ship finally got stuck in the ice at about the halfway mark of the book. By that point, I knew I would finish to find out how they would survive. Since the book’s prologue was at a point in the future involving two of the characters, I knew that at least two of them would survive. Julian Sancton ended the book by providing information about what each of the men did after their Belgica adventure.

I thought it was well-written, informative, interesting, educational, and worthwhile. I’m glad I read it.

The narrator was Vikas Adam. At first, I wasn’t sure I would like his narration but he grew on me. There isn’t so much acting required for nonfiction factual stories. But Adam read very clearly and informatively—not robotically. And where there were opportunities to add some acting regarding the feelings of the crew members, Adam did a fine job. He didn’t go over the top but appropriately imparted those feelings. There was no need for him to use a diverse cast of voices and he was right for the material. I’ll give him an A-.