Best of Books Read 2016

Finally! My 2016 book summary! Shouldn't there be trumpets or a drumroll or some kind of fanfare? It's not even February yet!

My lateness was not due to a lack of great books - 2016 was an excellent reading year! I read 75 books in 2016, and I have added all of them - with links to my reviews - to my Book Reviews tab. And you can see how I did on my 2016 Reading Challenges here.

Here are some summaries, fun facts, and my picks for Best Books Read in 2016:

Total Books Read = 75
Adult Fiction = 34
Adult Nonfiction = 7 (11 total nonfiction)
Adult Graphic Memoirs = 2
Teen/YA = 19
Middle-Grade = 13
Audiobooks = 28

(there is overlap in some categories, in case you are checking my math!)

Book Written by Women Authors = 46 (61%)

Diverse Books (with characters or by authors who are not white European-derived heterosexuals) = 23 (31%)

Books from my own shelves (TBR) = 23 (31%)

Now, for some of my choices in several Best Of categories:

Best Adult Novel 

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

 

 

Best Nonfiction  

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

Best Memoir  

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

  

Best Audiobook

Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx by Sonia Manzano

 

Best Teen/YA

Unbecoming by Jenny Downham 

Best Middle-Grade  

Pax by Sara Pennypacker  

And a few Top Ten (or Top Whatever) Lists:

Top Ten Adult Novels:

• The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez   
• Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
• LaRose by Louise Erdrich 
• Marriage on the Street Corners of Tehran by Nadia Shahram
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah 
• Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel 
  Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• The Summer Guest by Alison Anderson 
• A Tale for the Time Being  by Ruth Ozeki
  The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

 

 Top 5 Nonfiction for Adults (including graphic memoirs)

• Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo 
• How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness: A Mindful Guide by Toni Bernhard  
• Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman 
• Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi
• When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi 

 Top 7 Teen/YA Novels

• Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx by Sonia Manzano
• The Cage by Megan Shepherd
• The Memory of Light by Francisco X. Stork
• Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys 
• Solitaire by Alice Oseman 
• Unbecoming by Jenny Downham 
• Vivian Apple At the End of the World by Katie Coyle  

Top 8 Middle-Grade Novels

• The Big Dark by Rodman Philbrick 
• The Lightning Queen by Laura Renau 
• The Marvels by Brian Selznick 
• My Name Is Not Friday by Jon Walter 
• A Night Divided by Jennifer Nielsen 
• Pax by Sara Pennypacker 
• This Side Of Wild by Gary Paulsen 
• Swing Sideways by Nanci Turner Steveson  

What an amazing reading year!  Here's to more great books in 2017!

What were your favorite books read in 2016? Do you agree with any of my picks? 

Fiction Review: Dark Matter

I always give my husband a stack of books as gifts for any holiday (and he does the same for me) – the best gifts are the ones that I want to read, too! One of those was a birthday gift last fall, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. Crouch is the author of the novels and screenplays that form the basis of two of our favorite TV shows: Wayward Pines and Good Behavior (review coming next week), so I was looking forward to reading this novel.

The premise behind Dark Matter is original and intriguing. College physics professor Jason Dessen is happy with his life. He enjoys his job and loves his wife and teen son. They have a nice home in Chicago and a happy family life together. Occasionally, he considers what his life might have been like had he taken another path – he was on his way to some ground-breaking research when his wife (then girlfriend) got pregnant – but he loves the life he has and wouldn’t trade his family for any amount of fame or accolades.

Then, one night after celebrating a big award with an old college friend who is living Jason’s road not taken, Jason is abducted and knocked unconscious. When he wakes up, he is still Jason Dessen…but a different Jason Dessen. Everyone around him seems to know him, though he doesn’t recognize any of them. This other Jason seems to be a renowned physicist who achieved a breakthrough no one thought possible, which might be exciting, except that this Jason doesn’t have a wife or son.

Terrified, confused, and determined, Jason sets off to find his family and get his old life back. It’s not a simple thing, though. The forces behind this sudden shift in his life are formidable, and finding his way back to the way things were might be impossible. Aching for his family, Jason won’t give up, though. I don’t want to spoil the book with any more details, but suffice it to say that what is going on here is riveting and fascinating and becomes ever more so as the story unfolds.

This book is so amazing that I just want to grab each of you by the shoulders and shout, “You have to read it!” The mystery behind what is going on in Jason’s life is mind-blowing and so compelling you won’t be able to set the book down. That’s a trite thing to say, but it is literally true in this case. My husband observed that I read this book in record time. It was an excellent pick for a week when I was sick and could just obsessively read for hours!

At its heart, this is science fiction, with a hefty dose of physics, but it is also filled with emotional depth. Jason’s quest to get back to his family and his old life brings up dozens of thought-provoking questions. What would your life be like if you had taken a different path? And perhaps most compellingly, what would you do to get your family back? My husband was thrilled that I had finally read this novel so that we could talk about it…and he is not someone who normally enjoys discussing books!

We both loved this completely unique, captivating novel. The characters are fully formed and feel real, in spite of the science fiction angle. The concepts introduced are mind-bendingly fascinating and also very thoughtful. Oh, and by the way, it is also an action-packed suspense novel. My husband and I both loved this sci fi thriller and can’t wait to read more from Blake Crouch. And – squeal! – Sony Pictures bought the movie rights to Dark Matter back in 2014, though there is no development news on the movie adaptation yet. Whenever it is developed, it should be brilliant, just like the book it is adapted from.

340 pages, Random House Publishing

Random House Audio

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.

 

Or get this audiobook from Libro.fm and support local bookstores (audio sample here, too).

 

Print and e-book from Amazon.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 

TV Tuesday: Mercy Street

I had two pleasant surprises today at lunchtime - first that I was alone for an hour (a rarity during my sons' winter break from college!), and second that Mercy Street has just started its second season on PBS. I am really enjoying this historical drama about a hospital in Virginia during the Civil War.

The drama centers on a makeshift hospital in Alexandria, Virginia, during the Civil War. Although Virginia is a southern state, Alexandria (very close to D.C.) has recently been conquered by the Union so that slaves have been freed, though there are still plenty of loyal Confederates in town who aren't happy with the situation. The "hospital" is a hotel in town that has been turned into a medical facility to treat wounded soldiers on both sides (though partisan medical personnel aren't always too happy about that).

Into this tumultuous environment comes Mary Phinney, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead (in a very different role than as Laurel on BrainDead), a northerner who lost her husband and has come to the hospital to help care for wounded soldiers and work as a nurse. Ambitious head nurse Anne Hastings is not at all happy to have Mary on board. Dr. Jebediah Foster, played by Josh Radnor of How I Met Your Mother fame (it took me a while to recognize him here!), is glad to have the extra help, though, and he immediately sees that Mary is capable and responsible. Other doctors, nurses, and support people round out the hospital's staff.

Meanwhile, Emma Green, played by Hannah James, also begins volunteering at the hospital, just to visit and support the soldiers there - the Confederate soldiers. Emma's family is a prominent one in town - they actually own this hotel - and is appalled by what is happening to their town and their way of life. Emma hopes to provide some much-needed moral support to their wounded boys. Gary Cole plays Emma's father, who is being pressured into signing papers to officially side with the Union, a thought that disgusts him.

We see the black citizens of Alexandria, too, working at the hospital. Though officially free, they all work very hard, have difficult lives, and are still often mistreated. McKinley Belcher III plays Samuel, a well-spoken young man who works at the hospital. Aurelia, played by Shalita Grant (another surprise whom I didn't recognize at first, from NCIS: New Orleans), has been separated from her husband and small son and hopes to find them one day. One white administrator at the hospital is abusive to her, preying on her hopes to reunite her family.

And all of that is just the beginning! There is a LOT going on in this show - with the hospital staff, their patients, and the people who live in town and interact with them. I am not generally a fan of period movies or TV shows (I have no interest in Downton Abbey, for instance), but I am finding the historical setting here fascinating - perhaps because it is close to home but so very different from our world. Medical treatment in the 1860's is particularly intriguing - and often gruesome - like when the doctors are arguing over whether to use chloroform or just operate on someone while they're awake!

The cast here is amazing - all are very talented, and it's interesting to see some familiar faces in VERY different roles. I am particularly drawn to Mary and to Dr. Foster. It took me a couple of episodes to get into the show because it is somewhat complex, with a lot of different characters, but now I am hooked. In addition to the normal happenings in the hospital and the war going on outside of it, there are some big incidents that move the story forward, like a plot to assassinate Lincoln when he visits the hospital and, at the start of season 2, the possibility of a smallpox outbreak. The show combines action, suspense, drama, and romance. I am really enjoying it and can't wait to see what season 2 brings now!

Season 1 of Mercy Street is available for free on Amazon Prime (link below) or for $1.99 an episode On Demand. Season 2 - which just aired its first episode - is just the opposite, free On Demand or $1.99 per episode on Amazon. However, you can see ALL episodes of Mercy Street - seasons 1 & 2 - free on the PBS website. It is also available on DVD.

Have you tried Mercy Street yet? What do you think of it?

Movie Monday: Mr. Holmes

Two weeks ago, with our 22-year old son home for a rare evening with us, the three of us chose a movie, Mr. Holmes (tough to find one we all agree on!). It's about an elderly Sherlock Holmes, struggling with dementia and trying to recall his last case.

As the movie opens, Holmes, played by Ian McKellen (aka Gandolf), is returning to a bucolic cottage in the country from a trip to Japan. He is elderly now and is struggling with memory loss; in fact, he traveled to Japan in search of an old folk remedy. He lives at the cottage alone but has the help of a housekeeper, played by Laura Linney, who lives next door. Her young son, Roger (played by Milo Parker), is intrigued by Holmes and has been reading the stories of his mysteries that Watson wrote. Holmes is a bit of a grumpy old man here, and focused solely on his memory problems, but he gradually grows fond of Roger.

Holmes is trying to recall and write down the details of his last case, the case that led him to retire, and the woman who was at the center of it. Bit by bit, often agonizing over his inability to remember, Holmes writes the story of this case, as small momentos or other clues bring back memories of what happened. So, while the movie is taking place in the present, where Holmes is elderly, some scenes go back to the past, recreating that last case and the woman whose memory haunts Holmes.

This film was different than we expected - with its older, gentler, struggling Holmes - but all three of us ended up enjoying both its drama and its mystery. There are hints of the classic Sherlock Holmes, both as he recalls that last case and also as he confronts a small, present-day mystery that affects Roger. Meanwhile, we watch the relationship between Holmes and Roger grow and become significant to both of them.

It was an enjoyable and intriguing movie, a quiet mystery wrapped in a family-type drama about aging, with greater emotional depth than we first expected. The actors were all excellent, and the story kept us guessing.

Mr. Holmes is out on DVD and is currently available for free on Amazon Prime (link below) or on Netflix DVD only.

It's Monday 1/23! What Are You Reading?

Ugh - had a rough weekend. Stressful, too busy, and feeling overwhelmed & exhausted! Trying to make a fresh start this morning, focusing on the positive, and not letting the overflowing to-do list overwhelm me. Thinking about books is a good start to a healthier, positive mindset!

Here's what we read last week:

• I am in the middle of a new review book (due out in May), 'Round Midnight by Laura McBride, author of the highly acclaimed We Are Called To Rise (which I haven't read yet). This new novel is about four women in Las Vegas whose lives are intertwined. I was enjoying it but had to set it aside temporarily (which I NEVER do!). I will get back to it later today.
• I set that one aside to read a novel for my neighborhood book group meeting this Wednesday. My library request has STILL not come in, but a neighbor lent me her copy. We are reading The Whip by Karen Kondazian, a novel based on the real-life story of Charley Parkhurst, a woman who moved out West in the 1800's and pretended to be a man in order to work as a stagecoach driver. It's been very interesting, though also heartbreaking to read about the losses she suffered.
• I am still waiting for an audio copy of Anne Frank Remembered: the Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family by Miep Glies and Alison Leslie Gold from the library (my own downloaded audio quit partway through!). 
• In the meantime, I just started a new middle-grade audiobook, The Scourge by Jennifer Nielson. I've only just started it, but it's about a dystopian world where a disease is ravaging its citizens and one young girl learns some secrets while being held in a quarantine colony.
• My husband, Ken, finished the latest Jack Reacher book by Lee Child, Night School, from his favorite author & series.
• Now, Ken is reading another Christmas gift from me, The Trespasser by Tana French, the latest in her books about the Dublin Murder Squad. He loves her literary murder mysteries. I have only read the first one so far - I have some catching up to do!
• Jamie, 22, has been reading The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. He is up to book 3, The Dragon Reborn, and enjoying it, though his reading slowed down last week as he got hooked on the TV show Quantico and binge-watched all of it! 

 I TRIED to catch up on blog posts & all my 2016 wrap-ups last week, I really did! I managed a few posts & hope to finish my 2016 summary & sign up for 2017 challenges this week:

TV Tuesday: Good Girls Revolt, a stunningly good show set in 1969.

Summary of Books Read in December - a good reading month!

Summary of 2016 Reading Challenges - win some, lose some, they were all fun!

Saturday Snapshot: Rare sunshine on a winter hike

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

Saturday Snapshot 1/21: Rare Sunshine!

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. 

Ugh - we had another mostly dark, dreary, and wet week here in Delaware. Enough already - I need my sunshine! We did catch a few brief glimpses of sunshine this week, and I tried to take advantage of those and get outside when I could. Last Sunday, my husband and I took a short walk at our local nature center to enjoy a gorgeous day and the winter landscape:

My husband walking down "Walnut Alley"

Bare branches and blue skies

Reflections in the creek

A hiking selfie with cattails behind us

Hope you are enjoying the weekend!

Summary of 2016 Reading Challenges

 Well, it's January 19 already. I had hoped to sum up 2016 sooner, but this is still 2 weeks earlier than last year, so I'm counting it as a victory!

As in 2015, I joined 6 Reading Challenges in 2016, plus I added two shorter seasonal challenges in the summer and fall. Here's what I joined, what my personal goals were, and how I did. You can see all the details, and my lists of books on my 2016 Reading Challenges page.

Read Your Own Damn Books hosted by Estella's Revenge
I have an entire bookcase of books waiting to be read! In 2015, I managed to read 24 TBR books off my own shelves, so in 2016, I wanted to beat that and read at least 25 of My Own Damn Books.

(drumroll please)....Oh! I only read 23 TBR books from my own shelves - missed my goal by 2 books. But still, 23 books that I already owned is pretty good...so why is my TBR bookcase still overflowing??

2016 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge hosted by Girlxoxo

I was glad to see a new challenge hosted by one of my favorite blogs in 2016! The idea was to read one book a month from each motif. This was fun! I managed to read within the monthly motifs all but 2 months, which is pretty good. I would have done even better if I'd have remembered to LOOK at the motifs at the beginning of every month :)

JANUARY- Who Dunnit?
     The Art Thief by Noah Charney
FEBRUARY- New Releases
     This Side Of Wild by Gary Paulsen
MARCH- Take a Trip
     Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Canada)
APRIL- Best of the Best
     The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens (won many awards!)
MAY- Story of Survival
     Oddly, every one of the 7 books I read in May fits this motif! Here is one example: My Name Is Not Friday by Jon Walter
JUNE- Girlxoxo Recommends
      Yikes, forgot to look at this one until after June was over! But I did read The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater, and Girlxoxo recommended the first in the series, The Raven Boys. That counts, right?
JULY- LOL
     Oops - I didn't read anything even remotely funny in July! All six of the books I read were on very serious topics. Fail.
AUGUST- Genre Jumble
     Not sure if this counts, but I read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, and it was only the 2nd classic I'd read all year (and very few last year).
SEPTEMBER- Steampunk, Science Fiction, and Fantasy
     Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel (sci fi)
OCTOBER- Things That Go Bump in The Night
     The Drowning by Rachel Ward
NOVEMBER- Fiction Takes A Break
     When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
DEC- That’s a Wrap
Finish a series you’ve been meaning to finish or read the next book in a series you started but never finished. - Oops - Fail. I did start a new series - does that count? The Outliers by Kimberly McCreight

2016 Nonfiction Reading Challenge hosted by The Introverted Reader.

I signed up for the Explorer level (6 - 10) & was hoping to read more than the 8 nonfiction books I read in 2015. And...I read 11 nonfiction books last year! That's quite a lot for me and definitely a win. Here are the nonfiction titles I read:

1. This Side Of Wild by Gary Paulsen 
2. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
3. How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness: A Mindful Guide by Toni Bernhard
4. Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx by Sonia Manzano 
5. Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley
6. Blog, Inc. by Joy Deangdeelert Cho 
7. Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi 
8. Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo 
9. Nathaniel's Nutmeg by Giles Milton 
10. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi  
11. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

2016 Classics Challenge hosted by Pretty Books.

This challenge was to read one classic a month, which I definitely did NOT manage! I ended up reading 4 classics (the same number I read in 2015), but joining the challenge definitely motivated me to squeeze in those four, so it was well worth while for me. Here's what I read:

1. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka 
2. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 
4. Tales of Mystery by Edgar Allen Poe 

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge hosted by Mom's Small Victories, another of my favorite blogs. I signed up for this one back in 2014, so this is a continuation - it is an ongoing challenge, rather than an annual one. I read 21 books set in other countries/cultures in 2015, and...30 international books in 2016! I really enjoy traveling through my books and learning about other places. Some of the new places I traveled this year included Burma, Bosnia, East Indies, Ukraine (where my family came from), Poland, Prussia, and more! Visit my 2016 Reading Challenges page for the full list of 30 books/places.

Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I played most months (except for January and December). I think my best Bingo month was 20 squares!

States Where I Am Reading: 

There was no official Where Are You Reading? Challenge last year, but I still wanted to track which states my books take place in (in addition to those with an international setting for Travel the World in Books, above). In 2015, I read books set in 23 different states, and in 2016, I visited 27 U.S. states through my books! That's in addition to 20 different countries in 2016 (see the
Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge above).

Big Book Summer Challenge hosted by Book By Book (me!)

This summer, for my own annual Big Book Summer Challenge, I read 5 books with 400+ pages between the end of May and the beginning of September:

1. The Marvels by Brian Selznick, 665 pages (middle-grade)
2. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, 507 pages
3. The Many Lives of John Stone by Linda Buckley-Archer, 444 pages (YA)
4. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater, 438 pages (YA)
5. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson, 460 pages

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril (R.I.P) Challenge, hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings
And, in the fall, I once again enjoyed the R.I.P. challenge and read 8 creepy, spooky books (same as in 2015):

1.  The Many Lives of John Stone by Linda Buckley-Archer
2.  They Are Trying to Break Your Heart by David Savill
3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
4. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel 
5. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
6. The Hunt by Megan Shepherd
7. Girls on Fire by Robin Wasserman
8. The Drowning by Rachel Ward 

R.I.P. Reviews 

Books Read in December

Finally getting to my December summary on January 18th - hey, I've done much worse before!

December, of course, was super-hectic with the holidays, two trips to visit family, and my sons home from college. But I managed to read 5 books, including one Big Book left from my Big Book Summer Challenge, so it was a good reading month for me:

• Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman (CT) - memoir
• The Outliers by Kimberly McCreight (ME) - teen/YA audio
• The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker (Burma) - adult fiction

• LaRose by Louise Erdrich (ND) - adult fiction, audio
• To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (UK) - adult fiction

I finished a total of 5 books in December, capping off the year with some good ones! It was mostly an adult fiction month, with one memoir and one teen/YA novel thrown in for good measure. Two were audio books. I enjoyed all of these, though some more than others. My favorite was Orange Is the New Black. My husband and I love the TV show on Netflix, but the original memoir was excellent - moving, well-written, funny, and highlighting some important issues in our criminal justice system, too. I hope Piper will write more. LaRose gets Honorable Mention for best fiction of the month.

Progress on 2016 Reading Challenges:
This is my favorite part of my monthly summary - updating my Reading Challenges! I read 2 more TBR books in December for my Read Your Own Damn Books Challenge. For the Monthly Motif Reading Challenge, December was finish or continue a series - I didn't do that, but I did start a new series (The Outliers).  I read one memoir for my 2016 Nonfiction Reading Challenge which brings my nonfiction total for the year up to 11. No classics for the 2016 Classics Challenge. For my Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge, I added 2 books set in Burma 9that was a unique one) and the UK. I am also tracking the states my books are set in, even though there is no Where Are You Reading challenge this year, and I two more states - Maine and North Dakota. And To Say Nothing of the Dog was the Big Book left over from my Big Book Summer Challenge this summer (493 pages), so i am glad I finally got to that one!

Look for my 2016 Reading Challenges Wrap-up tomorrow!


What was your favorite book read in December?

TV Tuesday: Good Girls Revolt

As I've mentioned here before, I use my lunchtime to watch shows just for me (in a house with 3 men, I don't get that chance very often!). With my sons home for winter break now, my alone time is limited (my older son and I watch NCIS at lunchtime instead), but I took advantage of a few days on my own last week and my husband's business trip to finish watching the first season of Good Girls Revolt on Amazon Prime, a new-ish show based on real-life events.

This show is SO good!! You must watch it! Hmmm...guess that's not much a a review is it? Let me try again...

Good Girls Revolt is set in NYC in 1969 and is based on a nonfiction book with the same title by Lynn Povich. The real-life story is about a group of women working for Newsweek who sued the magazine because they weren't allowed the writing jobs that men had; they were relegated only to support positions. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was still fairly new and had not been applied much yet to women's equal rights.

The TV show is based on the book but fictionalized, about a group of young women working for "News of the Week." As in real life, they are only allowed to be secretaries and researchers. Even when they do much of the writing and/or editing of an article or are the creative force behind a great story, they get no credit or byline - those go solely to the men at the magazine. Though this is the way things have always been, the young, ambitious women there slowly, gradually realize that this situation isn't fair and they want more.

The show focuses on several young women. Genevieve Angelson is in the lead as Patti Robsinson, probably the most ambitious of the young women and the one who first recognizes the disparity. She is the researcher for reporter Doug, played by Hunter Parrish, whom she also has a personal relationship with. Cindy, played by Erin Darke, is a quiet, mousy young woman who works writing captions for photographs (again, secondary to a male photographer). Cindy is married but not happy; her husband expects her to be a typical 60's wife and mother, but Cindy loves her job and doesn't want to leave it. He's given her a 1-year deadline to quit work and "settle down." Jane, played by Anna Camp, is different than the other "working girls" because she comes from a wealthy family. She is also a researcher at the magazine, supporting a male reporter, but her father sees her job as just a fun lark until she gets married to the country-club boy she's been dating. There are many other young women in the newsroom, all played by wonderful actresses, rounding out the group of "girls" in the office. And I loved seeing Grace Gummer as Nora Ephron in a few episodes (she doesn't last long under the restrictions at News of the Week)!

That's the basic plot, with the first season focusing on the women pulling together and trying to get support for their cause, while keeping it a secret from the men in the newsroom. However, the show also delves into their personal lives and pulls in all sorts of different aspects of "the women's movement" that was just starting at that time: roles as wives and mothers, social unrest in the general population, and a growing awareness of sexual freedom, too.

It's fascinating to see what it was like for women in 1969 and the kinds of things we now take for granted. But that's not all. The show does an incredible job of depicting 1969/70 with beautiful costumes, scenes of social unrest in the city, and fascinating settings. It's a gorgeous, enthralling show to watch but focused on some serious and engaging issues, too.

I just finished the first season last week, and I absolutely loved it! The show really grew on me, episode by episode, until I was completely hooked. The acting is superb, the writing outstanding, and the sets and costumes perfect. Plus, of course, there is the outrage at what the women put up with, as you root for them to see what is possible and be successful in their quests for freedom and equality. All in all, it's an excellent show and highly recommended.

This is an Amazon Prime original show, so it is available exclusively on Amazon (link below). I hope there will be a season 2...and I want to read the book, too!



    

It's Monday 1/16! What Are You Reading?

Wow, mid-January already! Though it feels like the start of the new year to me. I spent the past 2 weeks sick with a cold (which knocked me out due to my immune disorder) and am finally feeling like myself again! I felt normal (my version of normal) for the first time yesterday and was SO productive. Happy New Year!

For us, the holiday season lasts through mid-January. Our youngest son turned 19 on Friday. We went out to a Japanese Hibachi restaurant (family tradition) for dinner and then he and his brother and a few friends headed to the Poconos for a weekend of snowboarding. Seems weird not to at least be accompanying them after so many years of birthday parties, but my husband and I enjoyed the quiet time this weekend. They come back tonight, so I have a pork roast in the crockpot and a cake in the oven! Birthday celebrations in my family tend to last a week or more :)

Anyway, lots of good books being read in our house last week:

• I just this morning finished All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, a book I've been meaning to read for ages (and that my husband gave me LAST Christmas). It's a Pulitzer-Prize winning novel about the stories of two young people on opposite sides during WWII and how their lives intertwine. It was excellent - just as I'd heard and deserving of all of its awards - but it also felt a little too long to me. I think I have overdosed on long WWII novels lately!
• Today, I will start a new review book (due out in May), 'Round Midnight by Laura McBride, author of the highly acclaimed We Are Called To Rise (which I haven't read yet). This new novel is about four women in Las Vegas whose lives are intertwined.
• On audio, I am listening to Anne Frank Remembered: the Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family by Miep Glies and Alison Leslie Gold. It's a memoir, and the narrator is wonderful, with an accent and warmth that makes you feel as if Miep herself is sitting next to you telling her story. It's fascinating so far. The only problem is that my audio ended abruptly in the middle of a sentence! Something must have gone wrong with my download (I got it free from SYNC two summers ago). I was loving it and am desperate to hear the rest! Now waiting for a copy from my library system to get delivered so I can finish it.
• My husband, Ken, is reading the latest Jack Reacher book by Lee Child, Night School. He loves this series and is enjoying the faster pace after reading The Last of the Mohicans.
• Jamie, 22, has been reading The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. He is up to book 3, The Dragon Reborn - and flying through it! He may be done by now - I haven't seen him in a few days.

Lots of blog posts last week - these end-of-year summaries take a long time to write up! My 2016 book summary is (finally) coming this week. Here's what I posted last week:

Movie Monday: Favorite Movies Watched in 2016 - all of my 2016 reviews & my faves

TV Tuesday: Favorite TV Shows of 2016 - all of my 2016 reviews & my faves

Fiction Review: To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - a fun & farcical time-travel story

Fiction Review: LaRose by Louise Erdrich - a moving story about family & community

Saturday Snapshot: Cloudy Skies - from overcast to blue!

What are you and your family reading this week?    

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

My son's 1st birthday

My son's 19th birthday (he's between his brother & his Grandad)

 

Saturday Snapshot 1/14: Cloudy Skies

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. 

We have had a LOT of overcast, dark, gray days here the past two weeks, though we finally saw a bit of blue sky & sunshine toward the end of this week (back to overcast now). Here are a few pics of the changing sky over my neighborhood this week:

Another dark, gray, gloomy day - I need sunshine!

The sky is starting to brighten!

gasp - I see tiny glimpses of blue sky!

Getting better...

Ah! Sunshine and blue skies finally on Friday!

 
And back to overcast & gray today as we await a tiny bit of snow. Hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend!