#11 Juliet's Answer by Glenn Dixon

#11 Juliet’s Answer by Glenn Dixon

After reading several novels that were heavier in subject matter I was on the hunt for something lighter.  This book by Glenn Dixon perfectly fit my requirements.  
And he’s Canadian!

Although this is a memoir many parts of it read like a novel. Glenn tells us of his experiences teaching high school English for over 20 years. He includes exchanges with his students that highlight his knowledge and love of Shakespeare, his search for making connections with his students and helping them to find the connections between a century’s old play and their fast-paced, modern teenage lives. During a summer break, he embarks on what would become a life-changing journey. Though his motives are couched in delving deeper into the history of Shakespeare’s famous play in hopes of improving his teaching methods, the author secretly hopes to discover answers to his own questions by seeking council with the master of advice on love: Juliet.

Glenn travels to Verona to join the Secretaries of Juliet; people who answer the thousands of letters sent from all over the world with questions about love and heartache. Assigned the task of answering the English letters, Glenn sets out to provide words of wisdom to ease the broken-hearted not realizing the impact his response could have on the recipient or himself.

This book was a delight to read. Not only was my long ago knowledge of Romeo & Juliet updated (high school English class was a very long time ago), but I found it interesting to read a man’s perspective on the loss of love and to see Glenn’s growth as he learns how to respond to the heartache of others. While his early responses are filled with clichés they gradually become heartfelt replies that give insight into our need to feel love regardless of a person’s gender, country of origin, religion or age. As an added bonus we get to be an armchair traveler, wandering with Glenn as he explores Verona, a truly magical city and one which is definitely going on my bucket list! Until next time, dear reader…have you read a book today?

 Julie

#10 The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall

#10 The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall

This is a novel that captivates from the outset. The story follows Sadie, a brilliant student at an academic prep school where her father, George teaches. George is a gifted teacher and noted hero for saving the school from a crazed gunman years before and an all-around good guy until some of his students bring charges of impropriety and attempted rape against him. What follows is an exciting and at times, shocking exploration into the inner workings of a court case; the arrest, police interviews, the gathering of evidence and the formation of a case.  But what I found most intriguing are the relationships between George and his family.  As George clings to innocence, his family is thrust into the spotlight, exposed to the ugly world of speculation, of their friends assuming he’s  guilty until proven innocent and the horrors of emerging evidence that leads them to doubt a man they love.  

Forced to face a community that once cherished them, George’s family deals with his arrest and trial in different ways revealing both the best and worst of human nature.   His wife, Joan must face the loss of her life partner and must pick up the pieces of not only her life but the lives of her children. Each person is tested beyond the limits of the human spirit as they are forced to continue living their lives with the shadow of George’s potential guilt hovering overhead.  

This book shares the story of an all-American family on the precipice of ruin. Their strength, innocence and trust in people’s inherent goodness are shattered when their lives are unexpectedly turned upside down. What is frightening though is that while this novel is a work of fiction, we read about stories like this in the news every day.  Not just accusations of crimes but horrific accidents or awful diagnosis’s that force families into another life than what they imagined. 

This is a fast-paced novel that runs the gamut of emotions and challenges our morality. It leads us to ask some important questions: how well do we truly know someone? How do you support them when they’ve done something horrible and are we acting out of a sense of duty or pity? And maybe we should ask ourselves; how would I deal with this if it were happening to me?

On that happy note…until next time, have you read a book today?

Julie

#9 Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen

#9 Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen

If you know me at all, dear reader, you know that I am a long-time Springsteen fan. My love of the Boss goes back to my teenage years when I bought one of my first pieces of piano sheet music. In 1980 Hungry Heart was tearing up the charts.  It was a melancholy song but had a light, breezy sound that I loved.  My love of his music was further fueled a few years later on a high school band trip where I met a guy.  It’s always a guy, right? Anyway, Gordie Wright loved all things music and could spout off trivia about any song or LP; names of producers, sound mixers, even the cover photographer.  You name it, he knew it.  His knowledge of Bruce was especially vast and we carried on our friendship/crush long-distance for years with him sending me mixed tapes containing some of my favorite songs by Bruce. Check out “New York City Serenade” on the Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle LP.  To this day it is still one of my all-time favorite Springsteen tunes.

This is a comprehensive memoir covering the life of Bruce Springsteen.  Beginning with his childhood and family history, it is an in-depth look at the life of a rock legend. The stories of his early interest in music, guitar purchases and early performances is often humorous and self-deprecating while local gigs at coffee shops, church basements and clubs with his many early bands playing shows up and down the coast of Jersey reveal a musical education that was hard fought.

Springsteen shares from his heart throughout his memoir and the sections in which he makes human connections or shares a particularly difficult time are rich in language and emotion, just like his music. His poetic lyrics, stories of the American working class and sometimes political sentiments are all centered around his distinctive voice and musical sound honed throughout years of old fashioned hard work. As he unfolds the story of his life, he introduces us to the other characters in, the people that helped shape him into the musician and man he is today: Clarence Clemons, Little Stevie Van Zandt, Jon Landau and his wife Patti Scialfa.  He shares openly the difficulties growing up with his father, struggles with members of his band and the trials of becoming a world famous musician creating many albums that were released to critical success but not successful commercially and about his lifetime trouble with depression. 

Bruce Springsteen is the type of famous guy you could sit down with at a local bar and have a drink, shoot some pool and enjoy a great conversation. He’s as down to earth as I thought he was before reading this book and I highly recommend it for musicians and non-musicians alike.  Even if you’re not the Springsteen fan that I am, you will still enjoy reading about a man of humble beginnings, his humanitarian efforts and insights into life, love and friendship. And of course, the music. Long live BRUUUCE! Until next time…have you read a book today?

Julie 

#8 Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney

#8 Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney

Lillian Boxfish would make such a cool Grandmother! She is a feisty, octogenarian living in New York and the novel follows her on a walk about her neighborhood on New Year’s Eve 1984.  As she stops along the way, Lillian recounts for us her life as an intrepid adventurer arriving in New York City as a young woman in the late 1920’s to take a job with R. H.  Macy’s and how she becomes the highest paid woman in advertising in America by 1931. We learn about New York during the jazz age as she shares snippets of her life as a single woman doing all the things good girls aren’t supposed to do: smoking, drinking, dating and having sex.  A self-proclaimed single woman with no interest in marrying she does eventually tie the knot which dramatically alters her career and life.  As her journey around her neighborhood unfolds, Lillian encounters various characters that help illuminate the city she loves, her “big, rotten apple”; how it’s changed over the years and how it remains the same.

I enjoyed this novel for many reasons.  It is a quick read, easy to get into and uses poetry to not only build Lillian’s character but to highlight life from a another era.  Lillian is a charming character who makes this novel very entertaining.  It is also poignant as we travel with Lillian through the years as she ages; reflecting on her experiences of love and loss and the changes in the city she calls home.   Until next time…have you read a book today?

Julie

#7 The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Don’t you find dear reader, that we tend to gravitate towards the same genre, even the same author every time we visit the local bookstore?  In my attempt to step outside my reading comfort zone for this blog, I stumbled upon this book which I would classify as suspense; a genre which is definitely not my first choice of reading material unless the mystery is a classic author like Agatha Christie.

The Woman in Cabin 10 captivated my attention from the beginning, opening with a memory of a dream, insisting that the narrator stop digging. Cue the dramatic music! From there we meet Laura or Lo, a travel journalist with a desire to impress her boss.  Just days after a horrific event leaves her life shattered and drinking excessively, Lo embarks on an assignment to cover the inaugural cruise of a luxury liner ill-prepared to do her job. On the first night, when she should be schmoozing with the other guests, she drinks heavily, still reeling from her traumatic experience. After hearing something that goes bump in the night, she has reason to believe a passenger has been murdered and the body dumped overboard. In her attempts to find out what happened, Laura’s own weaknesses emerge as doubt arises but when she discovers evidence is missing and receives messages to stop digging, echoing her dream, she pursues her investigation and stumbles upon a nightmarish mystery full of twists and turns that leaves the reader wondering which guest did it.  Very Agatha Christie!

This was a book I couldn’t put down and if it wasn’t for the demands of work and family, I would have read it in one shot.  As it was, I stayed up way too late on more than a few nights unable to stop reading. Next time you’re in your favorite bookstore, dear reader, I highly recommend you add this book to your purchases.  Until next time…have you read a book today?

Julie