❤️❤️ Heart Warming Books

 

    I heard a podcast recommending The Guncle by Steven Rowley and put it on hold with Libby. It was a long wait. When it popped up, I had forgotten everything about it. You probably know, but Guncle means gay uncle and can refer to an actual uncle or a gay man functioning in the role of an uncle. The Guncle is a predictable story, but it is heartwarmingly well told. Uncle Patrick is the adult in charge of his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. Their mother has just died; their father needs a stint at rehab. It is guaranteed to be a memorable summer for them all. It has humor, dogs, discussions about grief, and what siblings can mean to each other. The book is LGTQ-friendly, not a surprise. There is a standard plot line that caring for others can bring about caring for yourself. There is some truth in that. Some of what motivates me to do the hard work of therapy is to better love my loved ones. I found this book encouraging in that journey. 

🌴🏳️‍🌈👨‍👧‍👦

    I am not alone in my love of Emily Henry; her latest book is Funny Story. It is a modern-day romance with a great hook. Daphne is engaged to Peter. He comes home from his bachelor party and announces that he's actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra, who lives with long-term boyfriend Miles, and he and Petra are going to give Daphne an entire week to move out of the house in Peter's name. Devasted, Daphne and Miles decide to share Miles's tiny apartment until Daphne can find something else. Those aren't spoilers because this all happens in the first few pages. What I like about Emily Henry is that the romance that occurs is secondary to the character's growth and discovery. It is a painfully beautiful thing to read, and she does it well. 

❤️‍🩹📚🍷

🦴 Russian Mystery, 🦄 Fantasy, and ❤️ Accidental Romance

 

        Reading works translated from other languages is stimulating. My understanding of story and character grows as I encounter authors who don't have English as a first language. The Silver Bone, by Andrey Kukov, translated by Boris Dralyuk, is a mystery that takes place in Kyiv in 1919. The protagonist is practically drafted into becoming an investigator when he comes to lodge a complaint about two Red Army soldiers who have moved into his apartment. There is much going on in this book, mystery, murder, romance, and magical realism against the backdrop of a turbulent time of the region changing hands, causing food scarsity and disrupted services. Andrey Kukov lives in Ukraine, and his writing feels timely.

🔎👂🪆💘🦴

    I have heard of the book The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. It both followed a predictable path and also was unpredictable. The main character is an eternal unicorn who suspects she is the last unicorn in the world, and to find out, she leaves the safety of her forest to search for other unicorns. A writing teacher once told me every story starts out either with going on a journey or a stranger coming to town. This journey changes the unicorn and the world around her. It squarely lives in the fantasy category: unicorns, magic, curses, and witches, but it also feels literary as it explores accepting who we are instead of who we want to be. I found it to be a thinky-thinky book, and that was unexpected. I also read two other Peter S. Beagle stories that are novella sequels--Two Hearts and Sooz-- to The Last Unicorn. Several characters continue their adventures in The Way Home. They wrestle with loss and loyalty and love in a not everyone-lived-happily-ever-after.

🦄👑🧙‍♂️🏰

    My book club's travel book for June is Better Than Fiction by Alexander McCall Smith, a compilation of famous authors' true travel tales and what I thought I borrowed from Libby. However, I actually borrowed Better Than Fiction by ALEXA MARTIN. So close. I started listening and wondered why it sounded so much like a romance book set in Denver, Colorado. Turns out, because it was a romance book set in Denver, Colorado. I enjoyed it as a romance book and it did make me interested in going to Colorado. It sounds beautiful, with terrific food, amazing views, and bookstores. I love a good bookstore. 

📚⛰️🏔️💖

🚵‍♀️ Travel,🐮Talking Cows, and 💍 a Magic Attic

 

    The book club travel for May is Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road by Kate Harris. To tell the truth, this wasn't the book I was most looking forward to, but I ended up loving it. It is a prize-winning story. Harris and her friend, Mel Yule, cycle the Silk Road through the baking heat of India to the snow and freezing temperatures of the mountains of Nepal on a bicycle. As she recounts each place she has visited, she shines a kind light on the inhabitants and her encounters with them. Because of her background in scientific and historical studies, the facts she relates are not isolated but often reflect how things fit together- the people, the history, and geography. She focuses on the environmental impact of governments and businesses on the terrain and culture. Spoiler Alert: it's not good. 

    Here is an eleven-minute video capturing her ten countries and ten thousand miles: https://youtu.be/aAf3FTOPSEk?si=NtyyYPePZ3F6Z4Z8

🚵‍♀️🐪☀️🏔️❄️🚵‍♀️

    This was a strange, fun book. Jann Arden is a Renaissance woman who is a singer/songwriter, writer, and actress and probably bakes her own bread. She has two other memoirs, but this is her first novel. The Bittlemores reminds me of a Dicken's novel, where everything is terrible. Terrible people do awful things to powerless people in their grasp only with talking cows. There are kidnappings, mistaken identities, and mixed motives. Despite the talking animals, it is not a silly book. Arden explores how terrible people become terrible people. The villains have some of my sympathies, making this a compelling read. The plot is heartwarming. The characters feel genuine. The ending is satisfying, and everyone gets what they deserve.

🐮🐄🪙🐈🏚️

     I love a mind-bender time book, The Husbands, by Holly Gramazio. The premise is Lauren has a magic attic that supplies her with husbands. This starts suddenly without warning. She only gets one husband at a time. When the current husband enters the attic, the new husband comes down. With each husband, her life somewhat changes. Lauren might have a different job, or her sister might not have kids, or she's richer or poorer, or she takes drugs. The plot reminded me of Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. Through Lauren's many interactions, Kate Gramazio explores what makes a lasting marriage, whether it is worth it, and what you might do to attain it. It has a twisty plot, a compelling central character, and good book club discussion fodder. 

🪜💍👩‍❤️‍👨😍

A Week of Fun Stuff ❤️🪄

 

    I'm traveling this week and wanted something fun and easy to listen to on the plane. Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory rocked it. Because it was a romance, I was looking for the formula to be followed. I found an excellent description of this on the website DIYMFA: https://diymfa.com/writing/structure-romance-writing/

    Here is an abbreviated version of their list that compares the Hero's Journey to The Structure of Romance:  

    I love a list!!

• Call to Adventure/Meet Cute
• Refusal of the Call/Rejection of the Relationship
• Acceptance of the Quest/Giving the Relationship a Chance
• Trials and Temptations/Three Dates
• Midpoint Crisis/I-need-you-but-I-can't-have-you
• The Road Back/Pulling Back Together
• The Fall
• The Sacrifice
• Declaration
• Denouement/The HEA (Happily Ever After)

    Let me say that Party of Two has it all, plus some steamy bits. Guillory's heroine isn't rescued but does face some unaddressed hurts from her past. Also, she loves cake and fries. It made me hungry. 

    This book is the fifth in a series, but it stands alone.

❤️💐🎂🍰

    Patricia Wrede's best-known books are the Dealing With Dragons series--so good and funny. Several years ago, maybe ten, she wrote two epistolary novels with Caroline Steremere about two friends, Cecelia and Kate, coming of age and discovering their abilities. The story takes place in England in the early 1800s (think Jane Austin) in a world where magic is real, but not everyone has the ability. The Mislaid Magician, or Ten Years After, is a revisit to these now-married-with-families friends as they try to solve the mystery of a missing magician. The manners and expectations are reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice with well-meaning but overbearing relatives. It is appropriate because I'm visiting friends this week as well!

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