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1199 reviews
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This was the perfect companion book to The Sing Sing Files, which I listened to this week. The cover and title are great, but they don’t really give you an idea what this book is about.
It is about a wonderful bookclub in a women’s prison, where Harriet (aka Bookie) brings books to the women and tries to find ones that resonate with them and help them to grow. She bonds with them (more than she should), and when Violet is released and they run into each other, she welcomes Violet back into the real world, when her own family doesn’t want anything to do with her.
It is such a lovely found family story for all of them - Harriet, Violet, and Frank Diagle, the husband of the woman in Violet’s accident, that sent her to jail.
It is also a beautiful love letter to parrots and how loving animals are, and the difference they make in our lives.
“Hard to believe that on Harriet’s first day as volunteer Book Club leader, these same twelve women had struck her as nearly identical. Of course that was the point of uniforms, to render the women interchangeable.
…
She could hear the women now, channeling voices dying to be heard.“ ch 3
“Books won’t solve my problems, Harriet.”
“No, but they give your problems perspective. They allow your problems to breathe.” Ch 9
“ The line between this and that, you and her, us and them, the line is thin.” Ch 11
“The writer writes the words. The given reader reads the words. And the book, the unique and unrepeatable book, doesn’t exist until the given reader meets the writer on the page.” Ch 26
“ She’d been raised to say yes, to agree and approve and adapt and accommodate, to step aside as the architect of her own happiness. After Lou’s death she vowed to say yes only when that yes belonged to her, solely to her. “ ch 30
“It’s what Harriet would call the meanwhile, the important thing that was happening while the rest of the story moved along.” Epitaph
It is about a wonderful bookclub in a women’s prison, where Harriet (aka Bookie) brings books to the women and tries to find ones that resonate with them and help them to grow. She bonds with them (more than she should), and when Violet is released and they run into each other, she welcomes Violet back into the real world, when her own family doesn’t want anything to do with her.
It is such a lovely found family story for all of them - Harriet, Violet, and Frank Diagle, the husband of the woman in Violet’s accident, that sent her to jail.
It is also a beautiful love letter to parrots and how loving animals are, and the difference they make in our lives.
“Hard to believe that on Harriet’s first day as volunteer Book Club leader, these same twelve women had struck her as nearly identical. Of course that was the point of uniforms, to render the women interchangeable.
…
She could hear the women now, channeling voices dying to be heard.“ ch 3
“Books won’t solve my problems, Harriet.”
“No, but they give your problems perspective. They allow your problems to breathe.” Ch 9
“ The line between this and that, you and her, us and them, the line is thin.” Ch 11
“The writer writes the words. The given reader reads the words. And the book, the unique and unrepeatable book, doesn’t exist until the given reader meets the writer on the page.” Ch 26
“ She’d been raised to say yes, to agree and approve and adapt and accommodate, to step aside as the architect of her own happiness. After Lou’s death she vowed to say yes only when that yes belonged to her, solely to her. “ ch 30
“It’s what Harriet would call the meanwhile, the important thing that was happening while the rest of the story moved along.” Epitaph
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
There are a few storylines in this book that confused me for a little while, but then when they came together, I figured it out better.
Egypt, 1936 - Charlotte goes on a dig and meets her husband and has a child. She helps uncover some precious artifacts about an Egyptian queen.
New York City, 1978 - Annie lives with her alcoholic mother while trying to make ends meet. Her landlord asks her to run an errand to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where her life changes.
At the same time, Charlotte is working for the Met to organize Egyptian art and various exhibitions. She is living with a man who she doesn’t feel like she can be completely honest with, even about some pieces at the museum that she feels were illegally acquired.
The Egyptian art in this story is based on certain pieces but the storylines had to change, so she made them all fictional pieces and events. The scenes in the book that brought more action in real life were related to other pieces, instead of the ones mentioned.
There were parts of this I really loved and parts that moved slower. I have enjoyed how Fiona Davis always finds another great NYC landmark to highlight.
“Lots of museums are asking themselves the same questions these days, including the Met. Is the goal deaccession-sending everything back to its country of origin, no matter what—or is it better for an institution like the Met to hold on 8 to the object and keep it safe?” Ch 35
“The irony that Charlotte was desperate to find her missing child while Joyce was doing everything she could to erase Annie from her life was not lost on Annie.” Ch 31
Thank you libro.fm for providing audio copies to librarians! I enjoyed listening!
Egypt, 1936 - Charlotte goes on a dig and meets her husband and has a child. She helps uncover some precious artifacts about an Egyptian queen.
New York City, 1978 - Annie lives with her alcoholic mother while trying to make ends meet. Her landlord asks her to run an errand to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where her life changes.
At the same time, Charlotte is working for the Met to organize Egyptian art and various exhibitions. She is living with a man who she doesn’t feel like she can be completely honest with, even about some pieces at the museum that she feels were illegally acquired.
The Egyptian art in this story is based on certain pieces but the storylines had to change, so she made them all fictional pieces and events. The scenes in the book that brought more action in real life were related to other pieces, instead of the ones mentioned.
There were parts of this I really loved and parts that moved slower. I have enjoyed how Fiona Davis always finds another great NYC landmark to highlight.
“Lots of museums are asking themselves the same questions these days, including the Met. Is the goal deaccession-sending everything back to its country of origin, no matter what—or is it better for an institution like the Met to hold on 8 to the object and keep it safe?” Ch 35
“
Thank you libro.fm for providing audio copies to librarians! I enjoyed listening!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice by Dan Slepian
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
I have seen this book compared to Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, and it is similar for sure - it is the story of Dan Slepian, who began investigating one wrongful conviction at the Sing Sing correctional institution in New York, and subsequently finding 5 more at the same facility, that were processed by some of the same offices.
As Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer, Dan Slepian is a journalist, so he has a different process and goal as he is doing his research. As he tells each person, if I find facts against your case, I will report on those as well, I am interested in the truth, not a defender for your case (my summary of his words).
The audio for this book is incredible, read by Slepian, with letters read by the people who wrote them, and other audio from real events. One case is weaved through most of the others is for Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez. It took so many years for progress to be made in the case, and it’s shocking that he is still labeled as a murderer (at the time of this book)… but there is good news in a special update to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/last-stop-on-the-road-to-freedom/id1671212466?i=1000671609706
After reading Just Mercy, I knew that many innocent people are in jail, but this book did bring so much reality to their lives, the lives they missed and the personal pain people endure when they are wrongfully imprisoned (in JJ’s case for 20 years).
This book is based on his Pulitzer Prize podcast finalist, The Sing Sing Files https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/letters-from-sing-sing/id1671212466
“While I have a responsibility to the truth, I also have a responsibility to be a decent person, and it has been a tricky thing to navigate in my dealings with false imprisonment and the men who had suffered because of it. And that moment in the courthouse was one time when I was not living up to my obligations as a human being. I was behaving in a way I was taught to behave. That rigidity, that lack of humanity, that desire to appear ethical, is why people are wrongfully convicted in the first place.” Ch 19
“He said he had been convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years to life for a murder in the Bronx despite giving police the names of not one or two but thirteen witnesses who could swear he was a thousand miles away in Florida at the time of the crime for which he was convicted. The number left me dumbfounded. How could I not investigate this one?” Ch 20
This story is told in more detail in his podcast
13 Alibis - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/13-alibis/id1463081342
As Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer, Dan Slepian is a journalist, so he has a different process and goal as he is doing his research. As he tells each person, if I find facts against your case, I will report on those as well, I am interested in the truth, not a defender for your case (my summary of his words).
The audio for this book is incredible, read by Slepian, with letters read by the people who wrote them, and other audio from real events. One case is weaved through most of the others is for Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez. It took so many years for progress to be made in the case, and it’s shocking that he is still labeled as a murderer (at the time of this book)… but there is good news in a special update to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/last-stop-on-the-road-to-freedom/id1671212466?i=1000671609706
After reading Just Mercy, I knew that many innocent people are in jail, but this book did bring so much reality to their lives, the lives they missed and the personal pain people endure when they are wrongfully imprisoned (in JJ’s case for 20 years).
This book is based on his Pulitzer Prize podcast finalist, The Sing Sing Files https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/letters-from-sing-sing/id1671212466
“While I have a responsibility to the truth, I also have a responsibility to be a decent person, and it has been a tricky thing to navigate in my dealings with false imprisonment and the men who had suffered because of it. And that moment in the courthouse was one time when I was not living up to my obligations as a human being. I was behaving in a way I was taught to behave. That rigidity, that lack of humanity, that desire to appear ethical, is why people are wrongfully convicted in the first place.” Ch 19
“He said he had been convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years to life for a murder in the Bronx despite giving police the names of not one or two but thirteen witnesses who could swear he was a thousand miles away in Florida at the time of the crime for which he was convicted. The number left me dumbfounded. How could I not investigate this one?” Ch 20
This story is told in more detail in his podcast
13 Alibis - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/13-alibis/id1463081342
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
This is one of the most beautiful children’s books I have ever seen. The illustrations throughout and the reference in the back of magical (impossible) creatures were delightful. This book was listed as the Waterstones, Barnes & Noble and Target children’s book of the year.
It’s a lot to live up to, and it seems like it did for many readers. My son loved fantasy when he was this age and I know he would have enjoyed this one. I saw Rick Riordan gave this an amazing review, and I feel like it reads like so many of his books and those in his RR Presents label.
The book mainly alternates between two points of view -
Mal, a young girl who has a special set of wings that allows her to fly - and Christopher, a boy who is a magnet for animals. He gets sent to his grandfather’s house and is told not to enter a specific part of the forest. Which of course, he immediately does. Mal and her baby Griffin were in a horrible chase and he finds that he needs to protect them. They end up with their own motley crew of characters to help them fight the evil forces that are damaging their world of Archipelago.
Honestly, I felt like it read like all the other fantasy books I’ve read. But if you have a child who loves fantasy, my guess would be that they would love this. It is a longer read for either older elementary or middle school readers. I felt like it took forever for things to really happen (50% in until you find out).
Katherine Rundell has such an interesting life and career and definitely has the skills to write a great story.
“And then she spoke the most powerful and exhausting, the bravest, most exasperating and galvanic sentence in the human language.
Some sentences have the power to change everything. There are the usual suspects: I Love you, I hate you, I'm pregnant, I'm dying, I regret to tell you that this country is at war. But the words with the greatest power to create both havoc and marvels are these:”
"I need your help." P59
It’s a lot to live up to, and it seems like it did for many readers. My son loved fantasy when he was this age and I know he would have enjoyed this one. I saw Rick Riordan gave this an amazing review, and I feel like it reads like so many of his books and those in his RR Presents label.
The book mainly alternates between two points of view -
Mal, a young girl who has a special set of wings that allows her to fly - and Christopher, a boy who is a magnet for animals. He gets sent to his grandfather’s house and is told not to enter a specific part of the forest. Which of course, he immediately does. Mal and her baby Griffin were in a horrible chase and he finds that he needs to protect them. They end up with their own motley crew of characters to help them fight the evil forces that are damaging their world of Archipelago.
Honestly, I felt like it read like all the other fantasy books I’ve read. But if you have a child who loves fantasy, my guess would be that they would love this. It is a longer read for either older elementary or middle school readers. I felt like it took forever for things to really happen (50% in until you find out).
Katherine Rundell has such an interesting life and career and definitely has the skills to write a great story.
“And then she spoke the most powerful and exhausting, the bravest, most exasperating and galvanic sentence in the human language.
Some sentences have the power to change everything. There are the usual suspects: I Love you, I hate you, I'm pregnant, I'm dying, I regret to tell you that this country is at war. But the words with the greatest power to create both havoc and marvels are these:”
"I need your help." P59
Eddie Winston Is Looking for Love by Marianne Cronin
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
“There are men of over ninety
That have never yet kissed a girl.”
The Ramblin’ Rover by Andy Stewart
Both books by this author have two main characters- one of an older age and one remarkably younger and how they become found family. I have found I love British found family books and this is no exception.
Eddie Winston (the main narrator) is 90 and working at a charity shop. One day, Bella comes in with a box of things that were her boyfriend’s, who has recently died. Eddie has a habit of keeping things that he thinks means something to people, just in case they come back for them later. Because he once had a woman he cared about, whose husband donated a locket that was special to her, and she felt it was better to not look for it, than to not be able to find it.
We go back to his meetings with her as a young man, we meet Bella in the park, and we go with Eddie on his search for his first kiss. This book gives us several points of view from different characters (some with very minor roles), but it’s always a surprise what will happen.
“I’ve never really known whether I am rescuing or stealing the items I take from the shop. Whether I am an archivist or a thief.” P32
“Why won’t you tell me about your first kiss?” “I can’t tell you,” I say, raising my glass and toasting to her, “because it hasn’t happened yet.” P50
…
“It’s not too late, Eddie Winston.” P54
“My grandmother used to say that anger is the jacket that fear wears to keep from shaking.” P57
“The years fly, don’t they?” she says with a sigh.
I wonder if they do. Like birds, forever flapping away from us, off to sunnier climes.” P100
“I wanted to know what Shakespeare and Brontë and Austen had to say about the matter, so that I might be better prepared.”p170
“And it all begins,” she says, “with just one moment where something tips, from friendship into something else.” P175
“Bella’s definition of love will have to be expanded to include friendship. Because friendship is just two people who can’t keep away from each other.” P200
That have never yet kissed a girl.”
The Ramblin’ Rover by Andy Stewart
Both books by this author have two main characters- one of an older age and one remarkably younger and how they become found family. I have found I love British found family books and this is no exception.
Eddie Winston (the main narrator) is 90 and working at a charity shop. One day, Bella comes in with a box of things that were her boyfriend’s, who has recently died. Eddie has a habit of keeping things that he thinks means something to people, just in case they come back for them later. Because he once had a woman he cared about, whose husband donated a locket that was special to her, and she felt it was better to not look for it, than to not be able to find it.
We go back to his meetings with her as a young man, we meet Bella in the park, and we go with Eddie on his search for his first kiss. This book gives us several points of view from different characters (some with very minor roles), but it’s always a surprise what will happen.
“I’ve never really known whether I am rescuing or stealing the items I take from the shop. Whether I am an archivist or a thief.” P32
“Why won’t you tell me about your first kiss?” “I can’t tell you,” I say, raising my glass and toasting to her, “because it hasn’t happened yet.” P50
…
“It’s not too late, Eddie Winston.” P54
“My grandmother used to say that anger is the jacket that fear wears to keep from shaking.” P57
“The years fly, don’t they?” she says with a sigh.
I wonder if they do. Like birds, forever flapping away from us, off to sunnier climes.” P100
“I wanted to know what Shakespeare and Brontë and Austen had to say about the matter, so that I might be better prepared.”p170
“And it all begins,” she says, “with just one moment where something tips, from friendship into something else.” P175
“Bella’s definition of love will have to be expanded to include friendship. Because friendship is just two people who can’t keep away from each other.” P200
The Lodge by Kayla Olson
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Vermont is so dreamy. Any time of year. We went there in the summer and it was so fun to return for ski season in this book. We didn’t make it to Stowe, but it’s fun to imagine.
Alix Morgan has been an entertainment writer for years, and she gets a big break to ghostwrite a memoir for a former member of a big boy band. He sends her to a resort in Vermont to write it, while he is jetsetting around the world. He doesn’t make it easy for her - he ghosts her a lot, so she has time to spare, which is quickly taken up by the cute ski instructor who happens to share the penthouse next to hers. All of their dates were so thoughtful and wintery. It gave me all of the best winter yet cozy vibes. There is also this little mystery about another missing member of the band, as well as a couple of big twists and some moments that really made me smile.
“He melts into me, holding me in the silence like his world will fall apart if he dares to let go.” P261
Alix Morgan has been an entertainment writer for years, and she gets a big break to ghostwrite a memoir for a former member of a big boy band. He sends her to a resort in Vermont to write it, while he is jetsetting around the world. He doesn’t make it easy for her - he ghosts her a lot, so she has time to spare, which is quickly taken up by the cute ski instructor who happens to share the penthouse next to hers. All of their dates were so thoughtful and wintery. It gave me all of the best winter yet cozy vibes. There is also this little mystery about another missing member of the band, as well as a couple of big twists and some moments that really made me smile.
“He melts into me, holding me in the silence like his world will fall apart if he dares to let go.” P261
The Empress of Cooke County by Elizabeth Bass Parman
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This cover (which I think is adorable) makes this book seem like lighter content than it is. It’s hard to classify the genre. It takes place in the 1960s, but I would say it’s southern fiction.
Posey wants to be a rich southern Tennessee housewife, an empress of Cooke County. But she is married to a man who owns a general story and is content in the house he grew up in. She tries to marry off her daughter to a guy from a great family, so she will have a better life, but her daughter Callie Jane isn’t sure marriage is what she wants right now. Callie Jane works for her dad and tries to follow her mom’s rules, but she also wants to become her own person.
Chapters alternate between Callie Jane and Posey’s perspective. The audiobook is narrated by Brittany Presley.
I loved the father daughter relationship. The hair and a few other descriptions kept taking me back to the 1960s, which helped me remember the times. If you love a small town southern story, this is one to consider. Check triggers possibly, if you have them, this does have a couple.
“People remember Victoria as only a queen, but she was an empress, which is the only thing better than being a queen,”… “When you’re a queen, you rule the country, but when you’re an empress, you rule the world.”
…
“I can’t impress Cooke County with a beat-up truck.”
…
“…her mother had to “empress” the whole county.”
“…moniker was for her mother: the Empress of Cooke County. Nothing was ever good enough, and appearances were valued way more than the truth.” P19-20
“The Empress (tarot card) embodied abundance and success. What Callie Jane had was an unfulfilling life orchestrated by her parents, her fiancé, and even her future mother-in-law, all of whom had more ideas for her life than she had for her own.” Ch 4
“You and I were both a mess, trying to make everybody else happy, even though it’d mean we were miserable.”ch 22
Posey wants to be a rich southern Tennessee housewife, an empress of Cooke County. But she is married to a man who owns a general story and is content in the house he grew up in. She tries to marry off her daughter to a guy from a great family, so she will have a better life, but her daughter Callie Jane isn’t sure marriage is what she wants right now. Callie Jane works for her dad and tries to follow her mom’s rules, but she also wants to become her own person.
Chapters alternate between Callie Jane and Posey’s perspective. The audiobook is narrated by Brittany Presley.
I loved the father daughter relationship. The hair and a few other descriptions kept taking me back to the 1960s, which helped me remember the times. If you love a small town southern story, this is one to consider. Check triggers possibly, if you have them, this does have a couple.
“People remember Victoria as only a queen, but she was an empress, which is the only thing better than being a queen,”… “When you’re a queen, you rule the country, but when you’re an empress, you rule the world.”
…
“I can’t impress Cooke County with a beat-up truck.”
…
“…her mother had to “empress” the whole county.”
“…moniker was for her mother: the Empress of Cooke County. Nothing was ever good enough, and appearances were valued way more than the truth.” P19-20
“The Empress (tarot card) embodied abundance and success. What Callie Jane had was an unfulfilling life orchestrated by her parents, her fiancé, and even her future mother-in-law, all of whom had more ideas for her life than she had for her own.” Ch 4
“You and I were both a mess, trying to make everybody else happy, even though it’d mean we were miserable.”ch 22
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Murder
Gather Me: A Memoir in Praise of the Books That Saved Me by Glory Edim
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I really loved this memoir by the Well Read Black GIrl, Glory Edim. She has such an interesting life story - from a mother from Nigeria who immigrates with a Nigerian man who lives in DC, to the demise of their marriage and his return to Nigeria. Her mother goes into a deep depression, leaving Glory to manage her mother and her brothers at a young age.
The book is told through the perspective of books that she read that helped transform the way she thought. She mentions one or two then describes how she interpreted them in her life and how her thoughts changed.
I really enjoyed listening to her narration and visiting with her in Zibby’s bookclub. If you want a shorter memoir to try, this one is about 8 hours at 100% speed and worth a listen.
“She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. It's good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind.”
—TONI MORRISON, Beloved
Epigraph
Davis, Giovanni, West, Brooks, Butler, Lorde, hooks, Adichie, Shange, Kincaid, Hurston, Naylor, Angelou, Bambara, Walker, Hansberry, Morrison, Smith, Sanchez.
“Books have been my ladder, my stepping-stones, my therapist, my teacher, my medicine, my parents, my religion, my lover, my fool, my instructional manual for life. Words, sentences, pages, and chapters have echoed my loneliness, reflected my joy, guided me to the shadowy corners of my heart and soul that needed to be coaxed into the light, given me strength, helped me grow and change.
Books taught me to bloom.
Books gave me my direction. My career. My community. My chosen family. My purpose.” Prologue
“In between her loving preparations of food, there was no room to understand the struggles her daughter might be going through.
No space to contemplate what it was to be a minority, to grow up Black in America. Instead, she fed and nurtured me the best way she knew how.” Ch 1
“I wasn’t searching out these books to see myself reflected because I was already surrounded by people who looked like me…. What I was truly interested in were stories of children who were in peril and somehow made it out. I needed to read to understand survival and… come out an in tact person. I was looking for practical advice.” Ch 2
“You think your pain, and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world. And then you read James Baldwin.” Ch 8
The book is told through the perspective of books that she read that helped transform the way she thought. She mentions one or two then describes how she interpreted them in her life and how her thoughts changed.
I really enjoyed listening to her narration and visiting with her in Zibby’s bookclub. If you want a shorter memoir to try, this one is about 8 hours at 100% speed and worth a listen.
“She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. It's good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind.”
—TONI MORRISON, Beloved
Epigraph
Davis, Giovanni, West, Brooks, Butler, Lorde, hooks, Adichie, Shange, Kincaid, Hurston, Naylor, Angelou, Bambara, Walker, Hansberry, Morrison, Smith, Sanchez.
“Books have been my ladder, my stepping-stones, my therapist, my teacher, my medicine, my parents, my religion, my lover, my fool, my instructional manual for life. Words, sentences, pages, and chapters have echoed my loneliness, reflected my joy, guided me to the shadowy corners of my heart and soul that needed to be coaxed into the light, given me strength, helped me grow and change.
Books taught me to bloom.
Books gave me my direction. My career. My community. My chosen family. My purpose.” Prologue
“In between her loving preparations of food, there was no room to understand the struggles her daughter might be going through.
No space to contemplate what it was to be a minority, to grow up Black in America. Instead, she fed and nurtured me the best way she knew how.” Ch 1
“I wasn’t searching out these books to see myself reflected because I was already surrounded by people who looked like me…. What I was truly interested in were stories of children who were in peril and somehow made it out. I needed to read to understand survival and… come out an in tact person. I was looking for practical advice.” Ch 2
“You think your pain, and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world. And then you read James Baldwin.” Ch 8
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent
Libby Lost and Found by Stephanie Booth
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I love Libby and her childlike perseverance to help her Children.
Libby is the real author behind F.T. Goldher’s popular series about the Children (kind of like Harry Potter fame but more so). Libby recently found out that she has early onset dementia and can’t seem to finish her last book. A super fan named Peanut writes her often and wants to help her finish her book. Desperate, Libby flies to meet her. Libby’s menagerie of a family keeps her secrets and tries to help her finish her book.
With a book within a book, we get to read parts of The Falling Children, as well as quotes that Peanut recites to learn more about the stories.
“Libby's characters may be clever and brave and go on spectacular adventures, but she is exceptionally dull.” P15
“…we become the stories we tell ourselves." P59
“There's always a 'lie' in what we believe, an 'if' in life, and an 'end' in friends,…” p82
“this only makes Peanut love F. T. Goldhero even more. He cares more about who people are on the inside, which means Peanut has a chance, too.” P121
“…the Children became more real than anything in Libby's own life. Out of her imagination sprang flesh and bone. More importantly, their story became a place for her to hide.” P159
“It's so un-Rosemary now. She's even having to stop modeling. It is dangerous and terrifying and perfect.” P208
“Falling' conveys this sense of excitement and danger and feeling out of control. But there's also something so hopeful about it-you can fall in love, for instance. Or into good luck. Or a pile of crisp autumn leaves.” P215
“Sometimes we need to tell ourselves a story to prepare for the truth,…” p267
“The best way to make something real," says Everlee,
"is to give it a name. Even better, a story.” P367
“What do you want readers to take away from this book?
That the parts of ourselves we perceive as weak-nesses, those secrets that we're most ashamed of, are really our biggest strengths. That just because you're going through something difficult doesn't mean you have to go through it alone. And that imagination can sustain us in the most lovely, unexpected ways.
Also, dogs really do make everything better.”
Author interview
Libby is the real author behind F.T. Goldher’s popular series about the Children (kind of like Harry Potter fame but more so). Libby recently found out that she has early onset dementia and can’t seem to finish her last book. A super fan named Peanut writes her often and wants to help her finish her book. Desperate, Libby flies to meet her. Libby’s menagerie of a family keeps her secrets and tries to help her finish her book.
With a book within a book, we get to read parts of The Falling Children, as well as quotes that Peanut recites to learn more about the stories.
“Libby's characters may be clever and brave and go on spectacular adventures, but she is exceptionally dull.” P15
“…we become the stories we tell ourselves." P59
“There's always a 'lie' in what we believe, an 'if' in life, and an 'end' in friends,…” p82
“this only makes Peanut love F. T. Goldhero even more. He cares more about who people are on the inside, which means Peanut has a chance, too.” P121
“…the Children became more real than anything in Libby's own life. Out of her imagination sprang flesh and bone. More importantly, their story became a place for her to hide.” P159
“It's so un-Rosemary now. She's even having to stop modeling. It is dangerous and terrifying and perfect.” P208
“Falling' conveys this sense of excitement and danger and feeling out of control. But there's also something so hopeful about it-you can fall in love, for instance. Or into good luck. Or a pile of crisp autumn leaves.” P215
“Sometimes we need to tell ourselves a story to prepare for the truth,…” p267
“The best way to make something real," says Everlee,
"is to give it a name. Even better, a story.” P367
“What do you want readers to take away from this book?
That the parts of ourselves we perceive as weak-nesses, those secrets that we're most ashamed of, are really our biggest strengths. That just because you're going through something difficult doesn't mean you have to go through it alone. And that imagination can sustain us in the most lovely, unexpected ways.
Also, dogs really do make everything better.”
Author interview
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
The Time Keepers by Alyson Richman
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
The Time Keepers tells the story of several families:
- Jack - a vietnam veteran who is working in a clock repair shop called Golden Hours
- Tom and Grace and their two daughters - Tom’s father founded the clock shop. Grace is an immigrant who has a tragic story of her own.
- Anh and her nephew Bảo - who escaped southern Vietnam when their families were destroyed bc they were seen as traitors
Along the way, we get to know several people in Jack’s service - his girlfriend, mother, Vietnam marines, hospital workers
- and Tom and Grace’s life - friends who are not sincere, and boys that are up to trouble.
Grace finds Bảo on a street corner and develops a friendship with his aunt. From there the story begins to weave.
Rickman writes in the author’s note:
“The Time Keepers is foremost a novel about time, memory, and healing. I have intentionally chosen to switch between past and present tense in different passages of the book in order to highlight how we mentally process pain, trauma, and love.”
The last few Vietnam War books I have read, have all carried a theme about how veterans came back from the war and were not just disregarded but treated horribly. This one shows many facets of the war, and the effects of the war on many families.
But it also shows how Jack has tried to heal his life through his work on the clocks. I loved all the characters, but especially Jack towards the end of the book.
“She (Grace) lost her sister at a young age, so maybe I’m drawn to her because she embodies the Golden family philosophy that you have to find a way to move forward.” Ch 9
“Sundials can measure the hours in the day and reservoirs every drop of water. But no one has ever invented an instrument to quantify love.” Ch 25
“Time must move forward.” It really was the only way to survive.” Ch 40
“Jack had developed a weakness for broken things. Over time, he’d come to learn that there were two types of people in the world: those who threw things away once they stopped working, and those who tried to salvage them. “ ch 48
“And even when a watch didn’t work as it should, there was the expectation that it could still be resurrected with the proper care. But could a life be as well?” Ch 54
Loved hearing about her research in this interview: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCP8FY_yfrX/?igsh=MWluY3E5MW02bnhsMQ==
- Jack - a vietnam veteran who is working in a clock repair shop called Golden Hours
- Tom and Grace and their two daughters - Tom’s father founded the clock shop. Grace is an immigrant who has a tragic story of her own.
- Anh and her nephew Bảo - who escaped southern Vietnam when their families were destroyed bc they were seen as traitors
Along the way, we get to know several people in Jack’s service - his girlfriend, mother, Vietnam marines, hospital workers
- and Tom and Grace’s life - friends who are not sincere, and boys that are up to trouble.
Grace finds Bảo on a street corner and develops a friendship with his aunt. From there the story begins to weave.
Rickman writes in the author’s note:
“The Time Keepers is foremost a novel about time, memory, and healing. I have intentionally chosen to switch between past and present tense in different passages of the book in order to highlight how we mentally process pain, trauma, and love.”
The last few Vietnam War books I have read, have all carried a theme about how veterans came back from the war and were not just disregarded but treated horribly. This one shows many facets of the war, and the effects of the war on many families.
But it also shows how Jack has tried to heal his life through his work on the clocks. I loved all the characters, but especially Jack towards the end of the book.
“She (Grace) lost her sister at a young age, so maybe I’m drawn to her because she embodies the Golden family philosophy that you have to find a way to move forward.” Ch 9
“Sundials can measure the hours in the day and reservoirs every drop of water. But no one has ever invented an instrument to quantify love.” Ch 25
“Time must move forward.” It really was the only way to survive.” Ch 40
“Jack had developed a weakness for broken things. Over time, he’d come to learn that there were two types of people in the world: those who threw things away once they stopped working, and those who tried to salvage them. “ ch 48
“And even when a watch didn’t work as it should, there was the expectation that it could still be resurrected with the proper care. But could a life be as well?” Ch 54
Loved hearing about her research in this interview: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCP8FY_yfrX/?igsh=MWluY3E5MW02bnhsMQ==
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Medical trauma, and War