The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Volume 2)

 

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Volume 2) by Beth Brower

Fiction

2019

Finished on September 3, 2026

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

“I was sitting at my desk reading, with a cup of tea, my windows flung open, when I heard The Tenant enter his garret, just on the other side of the wall from myself.”

The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian’s. But Emma’s plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian’s.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be, which comprise a series of novella-length volumes. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

I was pleased to see a list of characters at the beginning of this second installment of Emma Lion's journals. The first volume introduces an extensive cast of characters which made it somewhat challenging for this reader to keep track of all the relationships. I enjoyed volume two quite a bit better than the first, and I'm eager to reader more of this charming series. 

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Vol. 1)

 

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Vol. 1) by Beth Brower

Fiction

2019

Finished on August 27, 2026

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

“I’ve arrived in London without incident. There are few triumphs in my recent life, but I count this as one. My existence of the last three years has been nothing but incident.”

The Year is 1883 and Emma M. Lion has returned to her London neighborhood of St. Crispian's. But Emma's plans for a charmed and studious life are sabotaged by her eccentric Cousin Archibald, her formidable Aunt Eugenia, and the slightly odd denizens of St. Crispian's. Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

All my blogging friends have been raving about this series, so I purchased the first volume for my mom last Christmas. She loved it (no surprise there!) and went on to buy the next seven volumes in the collection. She's very impatient, as I'm sure many readers are, to read the ninth volume, which is due out before the end of the year. 

I had extremely high hopes for this epistolary work, but it wasn't until the final entries that I felt compelled to move on to the second volume. What should have taken me no more than a day or two to complete took well over a week! I checked in with a couple of friends who echoed my frustration with this book, but assured me that the series does get better. Much better. I hope so, as I have all the remaining volumes stacked and ready to go!

It wasn't until I finished the book that I discovered that the author also wrote The Queen's Gambit. We loved the miniseries and look forward to watching it a second time later this fall. 

The Correspondent

 

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Fiction

2025

Narrated by Maggi-Meg Reed, Jane Oppenheimer, Carly Robins, Jeff Ebner, David Pittu, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Mark Bramhall, Petrea Burchard, Robert Petkoff, Kimberly Farr, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Peter Ganim, and Jade Wheeler

Finished on October 4, 2025 and August 5, 2026

Rating: 5/5 (Outstanding!)

Update: I read this a second time, listening to the audio edition, which is outstanding. I loved the full-cast ensemble of 13 narrators, especially Maggi-Meg Reed, who brings Sybil to life with a wide variety of emotions. What a remarkable debut novel. I couldn't love it more!

Publisher's Blurb:

A woman tries to heal old wounds and make sense of the world the only way she knows how—through letters—in this charming, laugh out loud debut novel about a life fully lived.

“Dear Ms. Van Antwerp,

There is a movie coming out this month and I saw the trailer and it made me think of you. It’s about an old woman who lives alone like a hermit.  She is eccentric and rude….”

Sybil Van Antwerp is a mother and grandmother, divorced, retired from a distinguished career in law, an avid gardener, and a writer of letters. Most mornings, around half past ten, Sybil sits down to write letters—to her brother, to her best friend, to the president of the university who will not allow her to audit a class she desperately wants to take, to Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books. 

Because at seventy-three, Sybil has used her letters to make sense of the world and her place in it. But as Sybil expects her life to go on as it always has, letters from someone in her past force her to examine one of the most painful periods of her life.

Filled with knowledge that only comes from a life fully lived, The Correspondent is a gem of a novel that is a testament to the power of the written word.

What a delightful book! Several blogging friends have raved about The Correspondent, so when I saw a copy on the shelf at Imprint Bookshop (in Port Townsend, WA), I couldn't resist. One of my favorite subgenres is epistolary fiction, and as I sat down to start this post, I did a quick search to see just how many I've read/reviewed. Wow. I had no idea I'd read so many.* When I was a bookseller at Barnes & Noble, I created an endcap with some of my favorite epistolaries. Today, I'd need two endcaps! 

I wonder what it is about a book centered around a collection of letters that is so satisfying. Until the advent of email (I think we started with Prodigy and then moved on to AOL), I used to write to a few of my childhood friends, a good friend who moved to the East Coast, and to a few relatives (my grandmother, my godmother, and my mom, all after I moved from California to Nebraska). I loved finding pretty stationery to use for my letters, and had a couple of fountain pens that were fun to write with. I miss sitting down with pen in hand to write long, chatty letters, but typing is so much easier. Once we had a computer, I began to type letters, printing them out to send in the mail. Even that method has gone by the wayside. I try to send birthday cards through the mail, but texting & Facebook seem to be the favored mode for that communication. After reading The Correspondent, I'm inspired to start writing again. 

But back to the novel. What a wonderful achievement for Virginia Evans. I never would have guessed this was her debut! I enjoyed the book from the first page, and wound up starting over after I reached the 60th page. I knew it was going to be a winning read and I didn't want to read it too quickly. 

Sybil reminded me of Olive Kitteridge with her unfiltered, opinionated comments, saying exactly what she felt, not mincing words. And yet, I loved the spunk and kindness that came through in her letters. I also like that she received replies from the various authors to whom she wrote. (Yes, I know she's not a real person, but I was still happy for her.) I was especially thrilled to read the details of Ann Patchett's reply on a postcard with an image of her dog... I, too, have received the same postcard from Patchett in response to a letter I sent to her a few years ago! I also found myself nodding my head as I read the exchanges between Sybil and Joan Didion. I read The Year of Magical Thinking after our daughter died. "The club of parents who have buried children is a membership I wish I did not own, but the sense of being seen is comforting."

In addition to my love of epistolary works, I enjoy books that reference other books, and The Correspondent is chockful of titles, many of which I've read (denoted with the check mark):

• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
• The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis
• Round House by Louise Erdrich
• Inferno by Dan Brown
• Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier ✅
• The World Below by Sue Miller ✅
• To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf ✅
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ✅
• State of Wonder by Ann Pachett ✅
• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett ✅
• Run by Ann Patchett
• Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese ✅
• Blue Nights by Joan Didion
• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion ✅
• The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie ✅
• Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
• The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
• Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
• Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers
• Ulysses by James Joyce
• 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff ✅
• Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck ✅
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte ✅
• Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry ✅
• The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
• The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
• Stoner by John Williams ✅
• The White Album by Joan Didion
• Amongst Women by John McGahern
• That They May Face the Rising Sun by John McGahern
• The Stories of William Trevor by William Trevor
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series by Stieg Larsson ✅

Dear Virginia,

Thank you for creating such a wonderful character in Sybil. I loved each and every letter, and will recommend your novel to all of my book-loving (and letter-loving) friends. Please write back! Actually, I would prefer you skip a reply and get to work on another book. Meanwhile, I plan to re-read your excellent book in the coming months.

With great admiration,

A fellow lover of snail-mail.

*Below is my list (with links) of the epistolary books that I've read:

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (5/5)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (4.75/5)

These is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy Turner (5/5)

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding (3/5)

The Color Purple by Alice Walker (5/5)

Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor (3.5/5)

Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger (4.75/5)

Love & Saffron by Kim Fay (5/5)

The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg (4/5)

Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod (4/5)

Letters From Skye by Jessica Brockmole (3.5/5)

Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson (4/5)

Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend by Laney Katz Becker (5/5)

Dear Exile: The True Story of Two Friends Separated (for a Year) by an Ocean by Hilary Liftin (3/5)

The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt (4/5)

A Celibate Season by Carol Shields and Blanche Howard (4.5/5)

My Dear Cassandra: Selections from the Letters of Jane Austen (Penelope Hughs-Hallett, editor) (3/5)

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed (4.5/5)

Delicious by Ruth Reichl (3.5/5)

That Part Was True by Deborah McKinlay (4.5/5)

Impatient with Desire by Gabrielle Burton (4/5)

Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham (2.5/5)

The Recipe Club by Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel (3/5)

'Tis the Season! by Lorna Landvik (4/5)

Between Friends by Debbie Macomber

The Boy Next Door by Meggin Cabot

Kate & Frida

 

Kate & Frida by Kim Fay

Fiction

2025

Finished on May 7, 2026

Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A companion to the instant national bestseller Love & Saffron, this bright and comforting novel follows the surprising friendship between two young women in 1990s Seattle and Paris, illuminating the power of books to change our lives.

Sometimes a book can change your life...

Twenty-something Frida Rodriguez, daughter of Love & Saffron’s own Joan Bergstrom, comes to Paris in 1991, relishing the city’s butter-soaked cuisine and seeking her future as a war correspondent. But when she writes to a bookshop in Seattle, she receives more than just the book she requests. A friendship begins that will redefine the person she thought she wanted to become.

Seattle bookseller Kate Fair is transformed by Frida’s free spirit, spurred to kiss her handsome coworker, to believe in herself as a writer, and to find beauty even in loss. Through the most tumultuous years of their young lives—personally and globally—Kate and Frida’s friendship sustains and nourishes them as they show each other how to overcome self-doubt and the necessity of embracing joy even through our darkest hours.

A buoyant, mouth-watering oasis of a novel, Kate & Frida is a love letter to bookshops and booksellers, to the way stories shape how we perceive ourselves, to the passion we bring to life in our twenties, and to the last precious years before the internet changed everything. 

I loved Kim Fay's previous novel, Love & Saffron, so I was particularly excited to read Kate & Frida, which is also an epistolary work. I wrote about my favorite epistolary books that I've read over the years in my review of The Correspondent, hoping to add Fay's latest release to that list. Sadly, Kate & Frida missed the mark. Maybe this novel was a bit too light, coming so soon after I finished The Lacuna, which is a marvelous work of literary fiction by Barbara Kingsolver.

As I read the opening letter to Kate (living in Seattle) from Frida (living in Paris), I had an overwhelming sense of deja vu. Frida requests a book (Martha Gellhorn's The Face of War) from The Puget Sound Book Company, and Kate sends the book along with a chatty reply. And so begins a three-year-long exchange of letters, very much like those in 84, Charing Cross Road, one of my all-time favorite epistolaries. And yet I struggled to stay engaged with Fay's novel, growing impatient to be finished and moving on to something with more depth. Having grown up in Seattle, and working at the Elliott Bay Book Company, the author is very familiar with the location, as well as life as a bookseller. I enjoyed those aspects of the story. I also learned about the Bosnian War, about which I knew very little. But despite the setting and book-related topics, the novel felt trite. The pop culture references were initially fun to see, but grew tiresome as the story progressed. I felt like the author had a laundry list of memories she wanted to include, but didn't know when enough was enough. Traveler's checks, evening rates for long-distance phone calls, Walkmans, L'eggs pantyhose, Disneyland E tickets, phone books, pay phones, mixtapes, and Smurfs brought back memories of the early 1990s, although at times I thought maybe they were more from the 80s than the 90s. In any case, I really didn't need to have a constant reminder of the time period. 

Recommend with reservations.

The Lacuna

 

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

Fiction

2009

Finished on May 1, 2026

Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities.

Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico—from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City—Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence.

Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II. There in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America's hopeful image and claim a voice of his own. He finds support from an unlikely kindred soul, his stenographer, Mrs. Brown, who will be far more valuable to her employer than he could ever know. Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach—the lacuna—between truth and public presumption.

With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life, Barbara Kingsolver has created an unforgettable portrait of the artist—and of art itself. The Lacuna is a rich and daring work of literature, establishing its author as one of the most provocative and important of her time.

Wow. Why did I wait so long to read this remarkable story by one of my favorite authors? I was quickly pulled into Barabara Kingsolver's gorgeously written novel, filling my copy with dozens of Post-It flags. The first half of the book is quite a page-turner, and I enjoyed learning about Rivera and Kahlo's art, paintings with which I'm familiar from my art history studies. From journal entries to correspondences (to Frida), we have an intimate view of Harrison Shepherd's life from start to end. This immersive tale is filled with vivid settings, as well as realistic characters. One of the things I love about historical fiction is learning about a specific time period. Kingsolver touches on numerous points in our history from the 1930s to 1950s. This would have been a perfect 5-star read, but as I reached the three-quarter mark, it lost momentum and I struggled to stay awake for more than a few pages each night. The story regained my interest toward the end, and the finale was very satisfying.

Some favorite passages:

“Mr. Shepherd, ye cannot stop a bad thought from coming into your head. But ye need not pull up a chair and bide it sit down."

I should like to write my books only for the dear person who lies awake reading in bed until page last, then lets the open book fall gently on her face, to touch her smile or drink her tears.

The jacaranda in the courtyard has put on its bloom. This purple can't be ignored, it's like a tree singing. The walk down Londres Street to the market is a concert: the small jacaranda on the the corner hums the tuning note, then all others in the lane join in.

When Cortés’s men first arrived here, they asked in Spanish, “What is the name of this place?” From the native Mayans they received the same answer every time: “Yucatán!” In their language that word means: “I do not understand you.”

His mother had let him carry two valises: one for books, one for clothes. The clothes were a waste, outgrown instantly. He should have filled both with books. 

Algebra, a language spoken on the moon. For a boy with no plans to go there. 

If you're a Kingsolver fan and you haven't read The Lacuna, don't wait another moment. This one's a gem, and one that I will read again.

Highly recommend.

Meet Me at the Museum

 

Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson

Fiction - Epistolary

Published in 2018

Finished on January 8, 2024

Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

In Denmark, Professor Anders Larsen, an urbane man of facts, has lost his wife and his hopes for the future. On an isolated English farm, Tina Hopgood is trapped in a life she doesn't remember choosing. Both believe their love stories are over. Brought together by a shared fascination with the Tollund Man, subject of Seamus Heaney's famous poem, they begin writing letters to each other. And from their vastly different worlds, they find they have more in common than they could have imagined. As they open up to one another about their lives, an unexpected friendship blooms. But then Tina's letters stop coming, and Anders is thrown into despair. How far are they willing to go to write a new story for themselves?

Several of my friends have read and recommended Anne Youngson's debut novel, Meet Me at the Museum since it first hit the shelves in 2018. I recently read and enjoyed her second novel, The Narrowboat Summer, so I was eager to read this debut with my book group. As with The Narrowboat Summer, I needed to read 50 pages or so before I fell into the story; once there, I didn't want to stop reading. As the book drew to a close, I was not surprised by the turn of events, but they left me feeling unsettled. 

Comparisons have been made between Meet Me at the Museum and Helene Hanff's classic epistolary (and true story) 84, Charing Cross Road. The latter is much shorter, easily read in an evening, and the friendship between Hanff and Frank Doel (the chief buyer for Marks & Co. in London) remains platonic whereas the relationship between Youngson's characters leans more toward an emotional affair.  Tina Hopgood reminds me of the main character in the sappy romantic novel and movie, The Bridges of Madison County, which also examines the life of a unhappy and unfulfilled farmer's wife. And yet, not all women who live and work on farms are dissatisfied. In Riding the White Horse Home, Teresa Jordan's mother lived a fulfilling life as a wife and a mother, but also a "full-fledged business partner in the family corporation." In her memoir, Jordan explains that she believes her "mother found satisfaction in these roles of wife, mother, and business partner, but she had chosen as well, to be something bigger and more complex than any of them: she had chosen to be fully herself. Early on, she had decided not to make sacrifices she couldn't make willingly; from that authentic core, she was able to marry and mother free of martyrdom or guilt." On the other hand, Youngson's main character comes to resent her role on the family farm. Overall, I enjoyed this epistolary work, and look forward to hearing what members in my book group have to say about it. Recommend.

These are some of my favorite epistolaries:

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

These is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 by Nancy Turner

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man by Fannie Flagg

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor

Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger

Love & Saffron by Kim Fay

The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg

Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod

Letters From Skye by Jessica Brockmole

Love & Saffron

 

Love & Saffron : A Novel of Friendship, Food, and Love by Kim Fay

Fiction

2022 G. P. Putnam's Sons

Finished on January 23, 2023

Rating: 5/5 (Outstanding)

Publisher's Blurb:

The #1 Indie Next Pick, in the vein of the classic 84, Charing Cross Road and Meet Me at the Museum, this witty and tender novel follows two women in 1960s America as they discover that food really does connect us all, and that friendship and laughter are the best medicine.

When twenty-seven-year-old Joan Bergstrom sends a fan letter--as well as a gift of saffron--to fifty-nine-year-old Imogen Fortier, a life-changing friendship begins. Joan lives in Los Angeles and is just starting out as a writer for the newspaper food pages. Imogen lives on Camano Island outside Seattle, writing a monthly column for a Pacific Northwest magazine, and while she can hunt elk and dig for clams, she's never tasted fresh garlic--exotic fare in the Northwest of the sixties. As the two women commune through their letters, they build a closeness that sustains them through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassination of President Kennedy, and the unexpected in their own lives.

Food and a good life--they can't be separated. It is a discovery the women share, not only with each other, but with the men in their lives. Because of her correspondence with Joan, Imogen's decades-long marriage blossoms into something new and exciting, and in turn, Joan learns that true love does not always come in the form we expect it to. Into this beautiful, intimate world comes the ultimate test of Joan and Imogen's friendship--a test that summons their unconditional trust in each other.

A brief respite from our chaotic world, Love & Saffron is a gem of a novel, a reminder that food and friendship are the antidote to most any heartache, and that human connection will always be worth creating.

Wow. Three 5-star reads in the first month of the year! I'm on a roll, thanks to all the great recommendations from fellow book lovers. There are so many wonderful things about living on the Oregon coast, but we are in dire need of a good bookstore, so unless we're on a road trip in the RV, I never get the opportunity to wander around and admire the new releases, or pick up a book based solely on its attractive cover art. I've grown to depend on bloggers, Instagrammers, Goodread's friends, and Ann Patchett's laydown diaries (on Parnassus Books' Instagram feed). I'm pretty sure that I heard about Love & Saffron from more than one of these platforms. 

Easily read in a single sitting, I forced myself to slowly savor the book, reading it over the course of two evenings. Going into the story cold, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it's comprised entirely of letters between the two main characters. (No, I didn't even read the book blurb, which would have revealed this fact.) I'm a huge fan of epistolary novels, and as I read, I envisioned scenes from 84, Charing Cross Road (starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins). Like those two characters from Helene Hanff's marvelous book, Joan and Imogen not only exchange letters, but gifts of unique food items and recipes. Spanning the years between 1962 and 1966, the historical details are an added bonus (although I momentarily felt that Fay was working from a mental checklist--almost to the point of distraction--including the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy's assassination, the Beatles, a new TV show called The French Chef, starring Julia Child, etc.), as are the women's comments about their current reading material. In addition to 84, Charing Cross Road, Love & Saffron brings to mind the correspondences and friendship between Julia Child and Avis DeVoto. (Coincidentally, Imogen's husband discovers the joy of cooking and purchased a copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.)

There is so much to enjoy about this book (which I had to remind myself is fiction and not a culinary memoir). My love of the Pacific Northwest, and familiarity with Seattle and the surrounding area, is just one aspect of the story I relished. The sweet friendship between the two women reminded me of the importance of the special friends in my own life, and how one comes to cherish those kindred spirits.

Love & Saffron will enchant fans of Laurie Colwin, Ann Hood, Helene Hanff, and Erica Bauermeister. Highly recommend!

Looking Back - Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Dear Stranger, Dearest Friend by Laney Katz Becker

Fiction

2000 William Morrow

Read in October 2000

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

In the bestselling tradition of Beaches comes a poignant and unforgettable novel of two very different women separated by miles and experience and the extraordinary long-distance friendship that changes and illuminates their lives.

Lara is a smart, sophisticated New Yorker who is frightened about her future. In search of answers, comfort, and advice, she goes on-line. And that's where she, "meets" Susan, a strong and steady, no-frills Midwesterner. No two women could be less alike. Yet from the moment they connect, it is clear that they share something deep and important, something that's nestled in the warmest corner of the heart.

What begins as a chance encounter on the Internet quickly blossoms into a very special relationship. As their e-mail messages fly back and forth, Susan and Lara forge a powerful bond of trust, honesty, and understanding. And soon they are sharing their lives in full -- talking of husbands and children, dreams and desires, the daily cycle of success and setback -- and together learning to laugh uproariously over the small and large absurdities of the world. When a devastating crisis arises, they are there for each other, providing the life-affirming strength and the lightness that is needed to cope with tragedy... and to triumph.

Lara and Susan originally go on-line looking for kind words and good advice. But they find in each other the greatest gift of all: a true and forever friend.

Vivid, funny, original, and profoundly moving, Laney Katz Becker's magnificent debut novel is sure to be a classic, read and reread by women everywhere, an intimate portrait of two complete strangers who become soul mates across hundreds of miles, and who discover the strength and the will to reach out and take hold of the wondrous stuff of life.

My Original Thoughts (2000):

I read this in two days! Love it, although it almost made me cry on several occasions. Wonderful format (epistolary emails). Not only is it a great story of friendship, but a wonderful source of information about breast cancer and its treatments.

Two women "meet" on the Internet. One has just found a lump on her breast and the other is a breast cancer survivor.

My Current Thoughts:

I was surprised to see that I gave this book a 5-star rating since I usually reserve those high marks for more literary works. However, I still have this book on my shelf, and although the medical information is most likely outdated, it's one that I have intended to read a second time. I love epistolary works and when I read this my online friendships were really taking hold. Remember the days when you mentioned an online friend to someone and they couldn't believe you were so close to someone you'd never met in person? Not so unusual these days, is it?

Looking Back - Dear Exile

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

Dear Exile: The True Story of Two Friends Separated (for a Year) by an Ocean by Hilary Liftin and Kate Montgomery
Nonfiction
1999 Vintage
Read in September 1999
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A funny and moving story told through the letters of two women nurturing a friendship as they are separated by distance, experience, and time.

Close friends and former college roommates, Hilary Liftin and Kate Montgomery promised to write when Kate's Peace Corps assignment took her to Africa. Over the course of a single year, they exchanged an offbeat and moving series of letters from rural Kenya to New York City and back again.

Kate, an idealistic teacher, meets unexpected realities ranging from poisonous snakes and vengeful cows to more serious hazards: a lack of money for education; a student body in revolt. Hilary, braving the singles scene in Manhattan, confronts her own realities, from unworthy suitors to job anxiety and first apartment woes. Their correspondence tells--with humor, warmth, and vivid personal detail--the story of two young women navigating their twenties in very different ways, and of the very special friendships we are sometimes lucky enough to find.

My Original Thoughts (1999):

Good. Not great, but not bad. Entertaining. Quick read. 

My Current Thoughts:

I have no idea what led me to this book. Maybe, as a letter writer myself, I was drawn to the correspondence between these two women, but I don't remember a thing about their lives or this book.

The Rainbow Comes and Goes

The Rainbow Comes and Goes: A Mother and Son on Life, Love, and Loss by Anderson Cooper & Gloria Vanderbilt
Nonfiction - Memoir
2016 HarperAudio
Read by Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt
Finished on September 3, 2019
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A touching and intimate correspondence between Anderson Cooper and his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, offering timeless wisdom and a revealing glimpse into their lives

Though Anderson Cooper has always considered himself close to his mother, his intensely busy career as a journalist for CNN and CBS affords him little time to spend with her. After she suffers a brief but serious illness at the age of ninety-one, they resolve to change their relationship by beginning a year-long conversation unlike any they had ever had before. The result is a correspondence of surprising honesty and depth in which they discuss their lives, the things that matter to them, and what they still want to learn about each other.

Both a son’s love letter to his mother and an unconventional mom’s life lessons for her grown son, The Rainbow Comes and Goes offers a rare window into their close relationship and fascinating life stories, including their tragedies and triumphs. In these often humorous and moving exchanges, they share their most private thoughts and the hard-earned truths they’ve learned along the way. In their words their distinctive personalities shine through—Anderson’s journalistic outlook on the world is a sharp contrast to his mother’s idealism and unwavering optimism.

An appealing memoir with inspirational advice, The Rainbow Comes and Goes is a beautiful and affectionate celebration of the universal bond between a parent and a child, and a thoughtful reflection on life, reminding us of the precious insight that remains to be shared, no matter our age.

I first encountered Anderson Cooper's exceptional writing when I l read his previous memoir Dispatches from the Edge (reviewed here) and fell in love with his stories. I opted for the audio version of his new book and found enjoyment in both his and his mother's narratives. Gloria's voice brings so much emotion to the memoir, I found myself tearing up as she shared painful memories of her childhood, as well as that of the loss of her son, Carter. I borrowed a hard copy of the book from my library in order to mark my favorite passages, but think I may have to buy a copy for a second reading. This was such a great memoir!

When we're young we all waste so much time being reserved or embarrassed with our parents, resenting them or wishing they and we were entirely different people. This changes when we become adults, but we don't often explore new ways of talking and conversing, and we put off discussing complex issues or raising difficult questions. We think we'll do it one day, in the future, but life gets in the way, and then it's too late. I didn't want there to be anything left unsaid between my mother and me, so on her ninety-first birthday I decided to start a new kind of conversation with her, a conversation about her life. It ended up changing our relationship, bringing us closer than either of us had ever thought possible. (Anderson)

My mom has been famous for longer than just about anyone else alive today. Her birth made headlines, and for better or worse, she's been in the public eye ever since. Her successes and failure have played out on a very brightly lit stage, and she has lived many different lives; she has been an actress, an artist, a designer, and a writer; she's made fortunes, lost them, and made them back again. She has survived abuse, the loss of her parents, the death of a spouse, the suicide of a son, and countless other traumas and betrayals that might have defeated someone without her relentless determination. (Anderson)

My mom is now ninety-two, but she has never looked her age and she has rarely felt it, either. People often say about someone that age, "She's as sharp as ever," but my mom is actually sharper than ever. She sees her past in perspective. The little things that once seemed important to her no longer are. She has clarity about her life that I am only beginning to have about mine. (Anderson)

How can my body betray me when there is so much still to be done? You see, it isn't age itself that betrays you; it is your body, and with its deterioration goes your power. You end up obsessed, entirely focused on your health, paying attention to every nuance, every ache and pain. Instead of working or living your life, you waste your time on appointments with doctors. (Gloria)

I wish I had written this post as soon as I'd finished listening to the book. It's been almost a month and life has been very hectic, so I'm afraid this is all I can share. If you're a fan of memoirs, you don't want to miss this one. It's not just a memoir about Gloria Vanderbilt's life (which was very enlightening), but also a inspirational, heartfelt love letter between a mother and her son. Highly recommend!

84, Charing Cross Road

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Nonfiction - Memoir
1990 Penguin Books (First published in 1970)
Finished on November 14, 2017
Rating: 5/5 (Excellent!)

Publisher's Blurb:

This charming classic, first published in 1970, brings together twenty years of correspondence between Helene Hanff, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a used-book dealer in London. Through the years, though never meeting and separated both geographically and culturally, they share a winsome, sentimental friendship based on their common love for books. Their relationship, captured so acutely in these letters, is one that will grab your heart and not let go.

I don't know how many times I've read this delightful book of letters, but I fall in love with it every time I pick it up. Last year I read it in one day for Nonfiction November and in spite of knowing the ending, I still got choked up when I read the letter to Helene from Frank's secretary.

You can read my previous post for 84, Charing Cross Road here.

Looking Back - The Pull of the Moon

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg
Fiction
1996 Random House
Finished on October 6, 1997
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Dear Martin, I'm sorry the note I left you was so abrupt. I just wanted you to know I was safe...I won't be back for a while. I'm on a trip. I needed all of a sudden to go, without saying where, because I don't know where. I know this is not like me. I know that. But please believe me, I am safe and I am not crazy. I felt as though if I didn't do this I wouldn't be safe and I would be crazy...And can you believe this? I love you. - Nan.

Sometimes you have to leave your life behind for a while to see it and really live freshly again. In this luminous, exquisitely written novel, a woman follows the pull of the moon to find her way home. Sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, always honest, The Pull of the Moon is a novel about the journey of one woman - and about the issues of the heart that transforms the lives of all women.

My Original Notes (1997):

She did it again! I LOVE this book and author. I fell right into the cadence of this novel, not wanting to put it down, yet not wanting it to end. This is always the case with Berg's books. I know I'll reread all of her books someday. I enjoyed this one so much and would love for Rod to read it also. I'd love to hear his opinions on it. I loved the way Nan met strangers in strange, distant towns. As a result, I think she met herself.

My Current Thoughts:

I don't think I ever got around to reading this a second time, but it looks like it only took me two days to finish, so maybe I'll throw it in the RV for our next camping trip and give it another read. I can't imagine Rod wanting to read it, so I'm curious to see why I thought he might!

Berg wrote a collection of short stories (Ordinary Life), which includes a follow-up letter from Martin to Nan. I enjoyed the entire book, but was especially pleased to read the letter from Martin's point-of-view. 

A favorite passage:

Oh just wait. It takes a lot of time, that's all...You'll have come to a certain kind of appreciation that moves beyond all the definitions of love you've ever had. A certain richness happens only later in life. I guess it's a kind of mellowing.

A Celibate Season

A Celibate Season by Carol Shields and Blanche Howard
Fiction
1991 Penguin Books
Finished on September 9, 2017
Rating: 4.5/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

A passionate and profound portrait of marriage -- told entirely through letters -- from two award-winning authors.

"In retrospect it seems somewhat wacky to me that... we didn't stop to consider the problems that might accompany ten months of celibate life."

For Jocelyn and Charles, the demands of family and career mean a ten-month separation, during which they decide to communicate with one another by writing letters. Each finds this intimate and exhilarating, as they are able to reveal things that would never be spoken aloud. Yet as the months pass, their letters depict two very distinct views of their time apart -- and of their marriage. As the separation begins to unravel the threads that bind their marriage together, we bear witness to the evolution and eventually the breakdown of communication. For their "season of celibacy," as they originally joked, is proving to be more of a challenge than either had ever imagined, one that tests the strength of their marriage and their commitment to one another.

I am a huge fan of epistolary novels and A Celibate Season didn't disappoint! I enjoyed this slim book, although it got a little bogged down with the details of Jock's (Jocelyn) job with the Commission in Ottawa. I was not happy with the last few letters (I almost threw the book across the room!) in which there was a turn of events that I wasn't expecting and left me feeling disappointed with both the characters and the authors. And yet, I was satisfied with the conclusion of the story and believe it's a book I will want to read again at a later date.

Looking Back - The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street

Looking Back... In an effort to transfer my book journal entries over to this blog, I'm going to attempt to post (in chronological order) an entry every Friday. I may or may not add extra commentary to what I jotted down in these journals.

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street by Helene Hanff
Nonfiction - Memoir
1995 Moyer Bell (First published in 1973)
Finished in December 1996
Rating: 4.5/5 (Terrific!)

Publisher's Blurb:

When she’s invited to London for the English publication of her wildly successful book, 84 Charing Cross Road—in which she shares two decades of correspondence with Frank Doel, a British bookseller who became a dear friend—New York writer Helene Hanff is thrilled to realize a lifelong dream. The trip will be bittersweet, because she can’t help wishing Frank was still alive, but she’s determined to capture every moment of the journey.

Helene’s time in London exceeds her wildest expectations. She visits landmarks like Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle; explores Shakespeare’s favorite pub, Dickens’s house, and the Oxford University courtyard where John Donne used to walk; and makes a host of new friends from all walks of life, who take her to the theater, introduce her to institutions like Harrod’s, and share with her their favorite corners of countryside.

A love letter to England and its literary heritage, written by a Manhattanite who isn’t afraid to speak her mind (or tell a British barman how to make a real American martini), The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street is an endearing account of two wildly different worlds colliding; it’s an outsider’s witty, vibrant portrait of idiosyncratic British culture at its best, as well as a profound commentary about the written word’s power to sustain us, transport us, and unite us.

My Original Notes (1996):

Just as good as 84, Charing Cross Road. I would love to see it as a movie! A wonderful way to see London again [I had recently visited England]. Helene Hanff has a wonderful sense of humor. Both books would make a great gift set for anyone who loves England, books or romance! Should be read at least once a year.

My Current Thoughts:

Well, I must have loaned my copy out, because I can't locate it anywhere and I know I loved it. Darn it!

Highly recommend.