Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

 

Title:  Greenlights

Author:  Matthew McConaughey

Narrated by:  Matthew McConaughey

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately 6 hours and 51 minutes

Source: Checked out through Amazon Music with physical book checked out from the Kewaunee Public Library.

What public figure would you like to read more about?

Actor Matthew McConaughey has kept diaries for most of his life.  He sat down, reviewed them, and wrote this unique memoir on his life from childhood, through marriage and becoming a father.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Greenlights was the October selection for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.  I had to miss the meeting due to work but did get the book read.

·       The audiobook is read by Matthew McConaughey himself which I really liked.  He has a distinctive way of talking and I always enjoy when memoirs are read by the author themselves.

·       McConaughey had a crazy childhood. His parents divorced each other twice and married each other three times.  There was a lot of violence in his childhood home.

·       The memoir tells his story in a unique way including vignettes, poetry, words of wisdom/bumper stickers, etc.

·       This memoir was a little too personal at times.  He freely talks about his wet dreams and masturbation, and I really didn’t want to know about that.

·       I liked the details on his movies.  I would have liked even more discussion of his movies.

·       It was interesting how he used to live in a camper and traveled cross country in it for years.  He had many adventures.

·       This memoir as very funny.

·       He didn’t talk much about the time right before the book was published.

·       McConaughey also had a lot of self-help tips.  I didn’t like them as much as the personal stories of his life.

·       The greenlights are the title are things that move you forward in life.

Overall, Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey was an interesting memoir about a great actor.  I was entertained, but it’s not a book for everyone.ctor.  I was entertained, but it’s not a book for everyone.

Dear America, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas

 

What is a current topic that you would like to learn more about?  With immigration constantly in the news, I thought it was a great time to read Dear American, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas.

Jose Antonio Vargas was sent by his mother from the Philippines to America to live with this Grandfather at the age of twelve.  He later discovers that he is not a legal immigrant and that there is no pathway for him to become a legal citizen.  In this memoir, he details his journey.

My thoughts on this book:

·       This is a book that all Americans should read.

·       Most Americans don’t realize that our immigration system is so broken that there is no “line” or easy or straightforward way to become a legal citizen.  If you grew up in the United States, but you weren’t here legally, you have to leave and go to another country for ten years to start the legal process.

·       Rhetoric that really bothers me is “my ancestors came here legally.”  I’ve noticed that most of the folks who say this have not actually researched how their ancestors came here or whether it was legal.  They are white, and they just assume it was legal.  They also minimize the fact that until the 1920s, you just had to show up, pay a minimal fee, and be healthy, which is not the process now.

·       I like how Vargas ponders that it is just fate where you are born.  You don’t work to be an American citizen if you are born here.  Why is there so much hate and anger against those born in different places?

·       I displayed my own bias while I read this book.  I thought that Jose Antonio Vargas was Hispanic by his name.  I didn’t think about how Spanish colonization in the Philippines resulted in Spanish names for the population.

·       It is hard to make it as an undocumented immigrant, but Vargas has people who cared about him and helped him out.  He has spent his life thinking that he can’t ever settle down because of his status.

·       He became a prominent journalist.

·       Jose Antonia Vargas is illegal, but the rest of his Filipino family came here legally.  It stinks that his grandfather and mother had him brought illegally as a child and put him in this legal limbo.

·       Illegal immigrants pay taxes, but don’t get any of the benefits.

·       It is good to read about people’s experiences as it helps to put things in perspective.

·       As a gay man, Jose Antonio Vargas would be persecuted in the Philippines.

·       Will we ever actually try to fix our immigration laws and the process to become a citizen? 

Overall, Dear America, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas is a book that all United States citizens should read for a good perspective on the broken immigration process in our country.

Favorite Quotes:

“What you done to earn your box? Besides being born at a certain place in a certain time, did you have to do anything at all?”

“I had to interrogate how laws are created, how illegality must be seen through the prism of who is defining what is legal and for whom.  I had to realize that throughout American history, legality has forever been a construct of power.”

“The Naturalization Act of 1790, our country’s first set of laws dealing with citizenship, said that an applicant had to be a ‘a free white person’ of ‘good moral character’ to be a US citizen.”

“Our country’s mainstream news organizations often fail to report basic facts about how much undocumented workers pay into a government that vilifies us. Whether because of ignorance or indifference, or both, failure to report these facts and provide context has perpetuated the myth of the ‘illegal’’ and who is taxing social services and taking away from ‘real Americans.’”

“According to the SSA itself, unauthorized workers have paid $100 billion into the fund over the past decade…Annually, undocumented workers pay $12 billion to the Social Security Trust Fund.”

“The mainstream media’s coverage of immigration is lackluster at best and irresponsibility at worst, promoting and sustaining stereotypes while spreading misinformation.”

“Between 1965 and 2015, new immigrants and their offspring accounted for 55 percent of US population growth, according to the Pew Research Center.”

Book Source:  Thank-you to #morrowpartner @deystreet for a review copy of this book. 

The Red Cottage by Hannah Linder (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What color is your house or place of residence?  What color would you like it to be?  My house is a very light beige, almost white with white trim and dark green on different siding on the top of the house.  I would like a blue house, but I live in a house on the historic registry, so a color change is not in the future.

Meg Foxcroft lives with her Uncle in the apothecary and loves Tom McGwen.  They dream of living in their own cottage painted red.  After Meg is brutally attacked, she loses all her memories and wakes up in the arms of young Lord Cunningham.  Will she regain her memories? Why was she attacked?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This novel had two tropes I enjoy, the amnesia and second chance romance tropes.

·       It was a clever mystery that was full of suspense.  I really wanted to know how this book would end!

·       I loved how Meg and Tom had to rediscover each other and their romance.  They had great chemistry. 

·       I liked that Tom remain devoted to Meg throughout the novel.

·       The story had a lot of twists and turns and started off with a bang.

·       It is set in 1818 Cornwell and has Gothic Regency vibes.

·       This was a clean read with a kisses only romance, but there was also sexual assault, prostitution, and violence as part of the storyline.

·       The story had a good ending that tied up all the storylines.

Overall, The Red Cottage by Hannah Linder was an engaging Regency romance and mystery with Gothic vibes.  I loved and really enjoyed this story!

Book Source:  Thank-you to @hannahlinderbooks @barbourbooks @austenprose for a review copy of this novel as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. 

The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard

 

Have you had a favorite pet in your life? 

I have had a lot of pets over my lifetime that I have loved, but one of my favorite pets was my cat Rufus.  He was my college cat.  He arrived bedraggled at my Mom’s house one summer right before I started graduate school.  He was a small kitten with fleas, ear mites, and a wounded leg.  I wasn’t sure he was going to make it, but he grew into a sassy cat who could do tricks like fetching items and shaking his paw.  He wasn’t sure about my husband Ben when we first got married, but later he would trout around with him on rounds around the house.  He especially loved when we had kids and let them all carry him around and play with him.  He really loved them.  He sadly died when he was fourteen and I still miss him.  I called him my “soul cat” as he always knew when I was down and would comfort me. 

Grimalkin dies after a happy life as an indoor cat in 1902.  After this, he becomes a ghost cat for the rest of his nine lives and he see all the changes that happen over the next 120 years in Edinburgh.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       “A cat has nine lives.  For three he plays, for three he strays, and for the last three he stays.”  This is an old English Proverb which described Grimalkin’s afterlife.  Cat-sith explains this to Grimalkin after his first death that he has eight more lives.  Cat-sith is a fairy creature form Celtic mythology.

·       This was a fun book to read in October in the Halloween season, but it is a good read for any time of year.

·       I loved the concept.

·       I enjoyed Grimalkin’s relationship with Eildidth, the maid, who discovered him as a kitten and cared for him. As a ghost, he watches her grow older.

·       Grimalkin the cat is the POV for this novel.  He is an orange marmalade cat.  I enjoyed imaging him and his adventures.

·       I loved seeing the changes in history and time over the course of the novel.

·       There were also great footnotes in the book which described the reality or true history.  I really enjoyed the footnotes.

·       There was a great change from 1902 to 1922 with coal heat, electricity, cars, etc.

·       717 Marchmont Crescent in Edinburgh is the setting.  Grimalkin strays from here but always returns.

·       The story ends with the death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022.  I loved the other true history like the publication of Peter Pan.

·       This story was humorous and sad.  It was a sweet and slow read.

Overall, The Ghost Cat by Alex Howard is an enjoyable historical fiction novel that shows the changes over 120 year period in Edinburgh through the eyes of a ghost cat.

Book Source:  Thank-you to @netgalley for a review copy of this novel. 

The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

 

Title:  The Haunting of Paynes Hollow

Author:  Kelley Armstrong

Narrated by:  EJ Lavery

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and24 minutes

Source: Thank you @netgalley for the review copy. 

What is your favorite ghost story? The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving is one of my favorite ghost stories and Halloween favorites.  I was excited to hear that a new novel, The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong, was a modern reimagining of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Samantha Payne’s estranged grandfather has passed away.  She is surprised to discover that he left her very valuable property on Lake Ontario in Northern New York state.  He has left numerous stipulations including that she has to stay in the family cottage on the property for a month.  Her father took his own life there when she was a kid after being accused of murdering a local youth.  Sam needs the money to pay for her mother’s medical care.  She decides to live in the property with her aunt, but when strange things start to happen, is she losing her mind or are there creatures out there too terrifying to contemplate?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       There was a sense of dread and unknown throughout the novel.  Is Sam crazy?  Is she the one doing everything?  Is someone setting it up to spook her?  Is it really a ghost?

·       They visit an old cottage and discover old books left behind when the cottage was abandoned including Twilight, Shopaholic, The Time Traveler’s Wife.  This does tell a certain point of time and I was reading them all.

·       I couldn’t stop listening to this audiobook.  It was a riveting story with a great narrator.

·       The story had a great ending.  The story and explanation for it all really worked for me.

·       I enjoyed the Dutch folklore that was part of the story.  I have Dutch ancestors myself that lived in the state of New York on the Hudson River for two hundred years until they moved to Michigan.

·       This story has both horror and supernatural elements.

·       This story had great characters.  I loved Sam, her Aunt Gail, Ben (caretaker and brother of the murdered boy), and Josie (deputy).

·       The story was creepy and atmospheric.  It was perfect for Halloween.  I started it for the holiday but read most of it this month.

·       This is the first book that I have read by this author, but I will definitely be reading more.

Overall, The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong was engaging horror story, with great atmosphere and characters.

Danger at Darkmoor Park by Syrie James (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Do you make book predictions? How often do they come true?

Selena Taylor is happy to help host a Christmas house party at Darkmoor Park.  When a guest mysteriously dies during a snowstorm, everyone is trapped inside.  Dr. Adrian Scott arrives during the blizzard and helps investigate what appears to be a murder.  Will they be able to solve the crime, and will they be able to resolve the feelings between them?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Gothic Christmas historical romance is a subgenre that I absolutely love. 

·       This is the third book in the Audacious Sisterhood of Smoke and Fire Series.  I loved all three books in this series.

·       I enjoyed that this novel took place during the Christmas season.  A Christmas house party is a perfect setting for a mystery.

·       This was a cozy mystery that kept me guessing until the end.

·       I liked the tension and romance between Selena and Dr. Scott, although I kept wondering if Dr. Scott could be the killer at times.  They had great chemistry between them.

·       I enjoyed the references to Jane Austen.

·       Serena is a great heroine.  She is a strong intelligent woman that runs a school with her sister.  She is also the heiress to Mrs. Hillman.  I loved the relationship between Serena and Mrs. Hillman.

·       I would love this series to continue with all the sisters and their husbands.

Overall, Danger at Darkmoor Park was an engaging Gothic Christmas historical romance and mystery.  I loved this story as a standalone and loved the series of three books overall. I highly recommend the entire series.

Book Source:  Thank-you to @syriejames @dragonbladepublishing @austenprose for a review copy of this novel as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. 

The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel

 

Title:  The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau

Author:  Kristin Harmel

Narrated by:  Madeleine Maby, Kristin Harmel

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 11 hours and 25 minutes

Source: Thank-you to @simonaudio for the review copy.

Do you have a favorite piece of jewelry?  I have a necklace my Great Grandma gave me when I was young that I love and still wear often.

Colette Marceau was trained as a thief by her mother as a child in France before WWII.  Her family is descended from Robin Hood, and they take their duty of robbing from the rich and morally corrupt and helping the poor seriously.  Colette’s mother, Annabel, helped the resistance during WWII, but she was arrested, and Colette’s four-year-old sister Liliane disappeared.  Annabel was executed and Liliane was found floating in a river with the valuable bracelet that Annabel had sewn into her nightgown, missing. Colette has spent her life continuing her mission to steal from the rich and help the poor, while also trying to determine who killed her sister and why. When her sister’s bracelet shows up at a museum display, will Colette, now an elderly lady, find the answers she seeks?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read this book in September for the Brenda Novak Book Group.  Brenda Novak had a great interview with the author as part of the book group meeting. You can still watch it on Brenda Novak’s Facebook page.

·       This was a riveting WWII mystery.

·       The story was told in a dual timeline.  Colette in 2018 at almost 90 and Colette as a young girl during WWII were the two timelines.

·       The characters were well developed.  I loved them all especially Colette and her friend Aviva. 

·       I love Kristin Harmel’s novels.  This was fast paced and engaging like previous novels.

·       I liked the romance between the two different sets of characters.

·       My only disbelief in the story was that there was so many very elderly characters who were all sharp and traveling around fine.  I know there are some 90 years old and older folks out there that are traveling around the world, but they are in the minority.

·       Loss and grief are explored in the novel.

·       It has a satisfying conclusion.

Overall, The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau by Kristin Harmel is a riveting and engaging WWII historical mystery and worked wonderfully on audiobook.

 

Love’s a Witch by Tricia O’Malley

 

Title:  Love’s a Witch

Author:  Tricia O’Malley

Narrated by:  Imogen Church, John Hartley

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 14 minutes

Source: Thank-you to @simonaudio for the review copy.

Did you read any books for Halloween?  I love reading magical books during the Halloween season.

Sloane MacGregor has returned to Briarhaven in Scotland to celebrate her twenty-fifth birthday, which is the birthday where a witch receives her powers.  She also hopes to work with her sisters to break a curse that haunts their bloodline.  Mayor Knox Douglas does not want the MacGregors in town causing problems, but he once had a crush on Sloane, and those feelings may still linger.  Will the curse be crushed?

My thoughts:

·       This was a cozy contemporary fantasy novel.

·       This novel was the first in the new Scottish Charms series.

·       My favorite character was Blue, the fire breathing ember wolf.

·       The story was told through a dual point of view with Sloane and Know narrating alternating chapters.  Narrators Imogen Church and John Hartley did an excellent job capturing the tone and narrating the novel.

·       This book had all the makings of a story that I would love, but it fell short for me and didn’t engage me.  I think the plot moved too slowly for me as it was setting up further books in the series.

·       I did enjoy the strong female characters and the entire town.

Overall, Love’s a Witch by Tricia O’Malley was a good cozy contemporary fantasy novel but didn’t quite engage me fully.

 

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

 

Title:  The Wedding People

Author:  Alison Espach

Narrated by:  Helen Laser

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Length: Approximately 12 hours and 13 minutes

Source: Checked out from the Kewaunee Public Library through Libby.

What book have you recently read due to Instagram?  I kept seeing The Wedding People by Alison Espach on Instagram last year and I finally got around to reading it last month.

Phoebe Stone has arrived at the beautiful Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island.  The hotel has been taken over by “the wedding people,” and everyone has assumed that Phoebe is there for the wedding.  She is not, and she’s the only non-wedding person there.  Why is Phoebe visiting this hotel by herself?  What will the wedding people do with a stranger in their midst?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I thought it was interesting when Phoebe thought about that it was a gift that random strangers give you is that you can say anything you want to, and it doesn’t matter.

·       This was a Read with Jenna book selection.

·       The characters were great with surprising depth.  I loved the characters and they felt real.

·       This was a character driven story

·       Sometimes chance encounters can change our life.

·       It was an interesting side look into adjunct professor versus professors.  Adjuncts do all of the work of a professor, but for less pay and no benefits.  It’s a strange system.

·       Depression, infertility, divorce, cheating, death of a cat, and loss of friendship are all problems that Phoebe is dealing with.  The wedding people are also dealing with a lot of issues as well including the loss of father, wife, mother.

·       Lila (the bride) decides to prevent Phoebe’s suicide as it will ruin her wedding.

·       This was a weighty book, but funny at times.  I loved how Phoebe felt free to finally voices her feelings amongst these strangers.

·       I loved the setting.  Newport was just in The Gilded Age this summer as well.  I would love to visit.

 

Overall, The Wedding People by Alison Espach was a great character driven story that will be one of my top reads of the year.

 

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

 

What is your favorite book of 2025 so far?  Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt is one of my favorite reads for 2025.

Tova Sullivan started working the night shift at Sowell Bay Aquarium after her husband passed away.  She still grieves the mysterious death of her son 30 years ago.  At the aquarium, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus.  When a young man, Cameron, moves to town, will Marcellus and Tova be able to help him with his own investigations and putting his life back together?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I read this novel in September for the Page-turners Book Group at the Kewaunee Public Library. The entire book club that was at the meeting loved it.  While we enjoyed Marcellus the octopus it was important to note that this was not a book about a talking octopus.  It was a book about relationships and life.

·       This book was surprisingly a debut novel.  I can’t wait to see what Shelby Van Pelt writes next!

·       This was a Read with Jenna selection and was also a Goodreads Choice Awards Winnter for Best Fiction 2022.

·       There was a major theme of grief in this story and how to deal with it.

·       It was a unique way to tell a story.  It was told mainly through Tova and Cameron’s point of views with Marcellus having short chapters to further the progress of the story.  His chapters may have been short, but he brought a lot to the story.

·       I heard the audiobook was great and that there will be a movie version soon.  I can’t wait to watch it.

·       I loved Tova.  She was a great character learning to deal with loneliness and grief.  I loved her group of friends too and the small town that they lived in.

·       Cameron annoyed me at first, but I loved his growth throughout the novel.

·       The characters felt real.

·       This story had a bit of magical realism with a talking octopus.  He is “talking” in that he narrates his chapters and communicates with people with objects that he finds.

·       I liked the Puget Sound setting.

Overall, Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt was a beautifully written heartwarming story with a great ending. 

Book Source:  I had already purchased this book before book club with a gift card and was waiting to read it with one of my book clubs.