Three Great Reads

Reprinted from the Citizen:

We’ve turned the calendar page to a new year, and that means setting new goals. Reading websites like Goodreads engage their members to set goals for the year and give them tools to do so. I aim to read 100 books annually and usually end up in the 85-90 range. Last year I took advantage of being home most of the year by reading 137 books.

I’m off to a good start this year as well, and today I’ll share three novels that help me forget everything that’s going on in the real world for awhile.

The Queen of Suspense Mary Higgins Clark sadly passed away last year, and her latest collaboration with talented mystery writer Alafair Burke is Piece of My Heart. True crime TV show producer Laurie Moran is preparing for her wedding in the Hamptons when her young nephew Johnny goes missing from the beach. 

Did he drown in the ocean or was lured away by someone? Does the fact that Johnny resembles Laurie’s son Timmy mean that Timmy was the target? Laurie’s husband and Timmy’s father was murdered, and Laurie’s job means being involved with dangerous criminals at times, so that possibility had to be considered.

Laurie’s father is a retired high level police officer in the NYPD, and he becomes convinced that a man he put behind bars years ago is behind it. The man has made recent accusations that Laurie’s dad lied about his confession that help lead to his conviction.

Piece of My Heart grabs the reader right away and never lets go, and although we know that Johnny is alive, the puzzle to discover who took him and why is one that will keep the reader guessing until very near the end. The book is part of a series, but you don’t have to have read any of the others to follow this one. It will encourage you to read the others in this excellent series.

Scottish author Douglas Stuart’s debut novel, Shuggie Bain tells the story of a young boy’s life with his alcoholic mother. Shuggie lives with his mother, father, older sister, and brother in his mother’s parents’ home in Scotland.

Shuggie’s mom Agnes left her first husband for her handsome second husband. She soon tires of his cheating, and he tires of her alcoholism. He moves the family to a remote, impoverished neighborhood into a home of their own. 

The neighborhood women take an instant dislike to Agnes, with her stylish clothes and good looks. Agnes looks down on them as well. Shuggie’s dad stays away for longer and longer at a time until he finally leaves for good, and Agnes falls deeper into her depression and alcoholism. She spends the money the government gives her for food on alcohol.

Shuggie’s sister leaves to get married as soon as she can, and Agnes throws out his older brother in a fit of anger. Young Shuggie is the only one left to care for his mother and himself.

Shuggie Bain is a lyrical, emotional portrait of a young boy whose life is defined by his mother’s alcoholism. The writing is powerful and beautiful, and Stuart based his book in part on his own life. It also gives the reader a look at how Margaret Thatcher’s economic policies affected everyday people. It deservedly won the prestigious 2020 Booker Prize for fiction.

Julia Claiborne Johnson’s new novel, Better Luck Next Time is a lighter read. She takes us to the Flying Leap, a dude ranch in 1938 Reno where wealthy women go to complete a six week Nevada residency in order to obtain a quick divorce.

Told from the perspective of a handsome young cowboy Ward, we meet some of the women staying there one summer. Nina is an aviatrix who arrives to stay for the third time in order to divorce her latest husband. She is a lively one, always ready with a quip or cutting insult.

Nina takes a shine to Emily, who came from San Francisco to await her divorce from her wealthy husband. Emily misses her teenage daughter terribly, but her husband has left her for a younger woman and she has no choice.

The writing is crisp and very witty; I laughed out loud several times at some of the dialogue between the characters. Ward is such a wonderful character, you can see while some of the women fall in love with him. Better Luck Next Time would make a delightful movie.

Piece of My Heart by Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair Burke- A

Published by Simon & Schuster 

Hardcover, $26.99, 319 pages

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart- A+

Published by Grove Press

Trade paperback, $17, 448 pages

Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson- A

Published by Custom House

Hardcover, $28.99, 288 pages

Friday 5ive- January 8, 2021

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post featuring five things that caught my attention this week. I'm not going to include the ugly event at the Capitol this Wednesday, as I think that captured everyone's attention. Let's hope we can turn a page on January 20th.

1)  I get up at 6:30am and head to the laundry room in our apartment building twice a week. I'm usually the only one down there, so it's a good time to do laundry. When I got up this morning, I saw this beautiful sky over the East River, just as the sun was coming up. It was a very vivid sight to start the day.

2)  My friend from back home Barbara called me this week and cryptically asked if I was home. When I said I was, she said that I was going to get a delivery today, a surprise. A few hours later, an Instacart delivery person rang my door with all the ingredients to make Barbara's famous meatballs and sauce- along with Italian bread and salad. What a thoughtful, lovely gift! She sent me directions on how to make it, and it was the best meatballs and sauce I've ever made. We had it for two nights and put the rest in the freezer. Sometimes I just open the freezer to look wistfully at it. I love this idea, I hope it catches on.

3) I received my medal from my latest virtual bike ride. I have been riding the Ring of Kerry in Ireland, a 124.3 mile journey. I love that I get "postcards" along the way, describing interesting sights along the way. Next up, I'm riding St. Francis Way, a journey from Florence to Rome in Italy. 

4)  My husband and I starting watching Homeland on Hulu (originally on Showtime). Damian Lewis plays a Marine who is rescued after being missing and presumed dead for eight years and held prisoner by Al-Queda. His homecoming is difficult for his family, his fellow soldiers, and a CIA operative played by Clare Danes who has questions about what happened to him while in captivity. We're into season two, and the acting by Lewis, Danes and the great Mandy Patinkin, as Clares Danes' boss, is fantastic. 

5) I'm back in the groove with my reading. I read Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke's latest collaboration, Piece of My Heart, while watching a New Year's Day Odd Couple marathon. The fast-paced novel quickly captured my full attention as I was drawn into the story of a young boy missing from a beach. It's one of a series of books about Laurie Moran, a producer of a true crime TV show (like 48 Hours or Dateline), but you don't to have had read any of the other books to understand this one. I couldn't put it down and it kept me guessing right up until the end.

Gabriel Bump's coming of age novel, Everywhere You Don't Belong was on the New York Times list of the Most Notable Books of 2020. He tells the story of Claude, a young Black boy growing up on the South Side of Chicago with his Grandma and her friend Paul. Good books put the reader into the mind and shoes of their character, and Bump does an amazing job at getting us to understand Claude's life. My full review publishes on Monday. Fans of Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give have their next read.

Julia Claiborne Johnson takes us to a 1938 dude ranch in Reno, Nevada where wealthy women stayed for  while they waited out their six week residency requirement to get a divorce in her delightful novel Better Luck Next Time. It's witty and had me laughing out loud more than once. 

Stay safe, socially distant, wash your hands, wear a mask, and get a vaccine when it's your turn and we'll make it through this.

The Friday 5ive- Christmas books

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention during the week.

I know you'll be surprised to know that I have a lovely collection of Christmas books that I display during the holidays. The following are five of them that I think you may like.

1) Many writers have a Christmas book in their collection, and the late Dorothea Benton Frank's The Christmas Pearl is one of the best. It takes place in her beloved Low Country of South Carolina, where 93 year-old Theodora is remembering the the beautiful family Christmas' of her childhood as her bickering family comes home for the holidays. The edition I have has dozens of down-home family recipes at the end. We all miss Dottie.

2) In the historical romance genre, Lauren Willig's The Mischief of the Mistletoe is her Christmas novel from her popular Pink Carnation Series. While teaching at a girls school in Bath, England, Arabella and her friend Reginald find a Christmas pudding with a cryptic message inside that will lead them into a Christmas caper. The cover of this one is so lovely.

3) Mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark writes a series of Christmas books (some with her daughter Carol Higgins Clark), and her Silent Night takes the reader on a New York City adventure as young Brian follows a man who steals his mother's wallet into the subway and this changes the life of the thief and Brian.

4) I adore Mary Poppins, and when I saw this slim volume of Christmas stories, Aunt Sass, by P.L.Travers, I had to have it. Travers wrote these three stories to give as gifts to her friends about three people who influenced her- a Chinese cook, a foul-mouthed ex-jockey, and Aunt Sass, the inspiration for the character of Mary Poppins.

5) Last year the New York Public Library published 100 Christmas Wishes, a beautiful collection of vintage holiday cards that would delight any fan of Christmas.  It's so pretty to thumb through, and I got my copy signed by Rosanne Cash, who wrote the forward.

Do you have a favorite Christmas book? Share it in the Comments section.

A Bookish Broadway Evening

Last night was the inaugural fundraising gala for ArchCare at the beautiful Gotham Hall near Macy's in NYC. My husband is the President and CEO of ArchCare, which is the long term healthcare arm of the Archdiocese of New York.

The venue was gorgeous, inside of an old bank building. It's similar to Cipriani's on 42nd St. It was rescheduled from October 30th due to Hurricane Sandy, and just about everyone who was originally scheduled to attend were able to join us, over 500 people.

Gotham Hall

The event was a huge success, raising over one million dollars to support the programs of ArchCare, who provide care for the frail and elderly of the diocese in nursing homes, hospitals, daycare centers and in-home.

This is a book and Broadway blog, so you may wonder how this ties in here. First, I was seated next to one of the most successful authors of all-time, Mary Higgins Clark and her wonderful husband John Conheeney.

Ms. Clark is a lively dinner companion. We chatted about the book she is just finishing up, featuring a Vietnam vet who returns home, can't adjust to life back home and leaves his wife and two young daughters, ending up living on the streets for twenty years. His daughters grow up and get involved in a mystery. It sounds very intriguing, I know I'll be looking for it next year.

She was very animated talking about her book, and she told me that she writes every day, seven days a week, because she does not write fast and she writes at least one book a year. Her formula must work, because every single one of her 42(!) suspense novels has made the best seller list.

The one thing she loves more than writing is her family. She spoke so lovingly about her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews; her face lit up as she told me about them and their plans for Thanksgiving.

She is a very lovely woman, dressed elegantly, a perfect lady. Her jewelry was classic and complemented her so well. I so enjoyed our conversation, and she is a big supporter of ArchCare and the Catholic Church.

Mary Higgins Clark

The only time we stopped talking was to enjoy a performance by Broadway star Norm Lewis. Lewis, who was nominated for a Tony this year for his astonishing performance as Porgy in Porgy and Bess wowed the crowd with his rendition of God Bless America. His powerful and smooth voice gave me goosebumps. (TV viewers may recognize him as Olivia Pope's ex-boyfriend in Scandal)

He returned to  stage to sing three songs. He began with the classic, You Can't Take That Away From Me, one of my favorites. His next song was a tribute to one of his favorite crooners, Andy Williams, as he sang Moon River so beautifully. His last song was a Sondheim classic that perfectly fit the theme of the evening, You Are Not Alone, from Into the Woods. I think I like his version as much as Bernadette Peters, and that is saying something.

I got to meet Mr. Lewis, and he was so gracious. I told him that I'm looking forward to seeing him perform the Coalhouse Walker Jr. role in the concert version of Ragtime at Lincoln Center next February. He even invited me backstage! You know I'm taking him up on that.

Norm Lewis signing at the ArchCare gala

It was a lovely, successful evening and we are very grateful for the support of all involved.