I will not be finishing this book. I have listened to 26%, and it isn't that interesting.
If you are into swimming statistics and are a big fan of USA swimming, this book is for you.
OVERVIEW
Writing: 5.0 stars
Griffin writes beautifully. He is a strong writer who wrote about personal and intimate events in his family. He writes with "Irish dark humor", but handles the murder of his beloved sister with grace and love.
Narration: 5.0 stars
The narration was wonderful. Griffin has a nice voice for narration and tells the story of his family with the perfect amount of inflection, feeling, and emotion.
Character Arc: 5.0 stars
The audiobook is basically told chronologically in two parts - before/after the murder of Dominique Dunne. As someone whose paternal grandmother was murdered in 1939, I could viscerally understand the horror that the Dunne family lived through, unfortunately.
Griffin writes about the good, bad, and ugly in his family. There was mental illness, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, sexual issues, and the murder of a daughter/sister. But, there was the beauty of a family that rallied around a mother with MS, supported a sister after her death during the trial of her murderer, and loved each other deeply. This was a tortured family who survived it all with love.
Memorable: 5.0 stars
Griffin struggled with dyslexia which was not fully understood in the 60s and 70s. It made me understand my own struggles with depression and how children are sometimes not diagnosed properly.
The large Dunne family loved one another deeply but had their own issues. They all reconciled in the end which is my hope for my dysfunctional family. It gave me hope!
Entertaining: 5.0 stars
It was so entertaining! I love the friendship with Carrie Fisher stories and the "Santa Claus" story.
Book cover: 5.0 stars
A perfect family portrait.
Book title: 5.0 stars
On point!
STRONG recommend
STATISTICS
Release date of 6/11/2024
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
This is the fifth novel by Lian Dolan that I have read. I enjoy her books because they are just so escapist and light!! This novel is about a couple taking a "marriage sabbatical" in separate places for about a year.
OVERALL REVIEW: 4.0 stars
Writing: 4.5 stars
The author writes in an accessible and easy-to-read style. I like her writing because it is descriptive without being heavy-handed.
Character development: 4.0 stars
The two main characters are Nicole and Jason, a married couple with adult children.
The secondary characters are the friends they meet on their "marriage sabbatical", friends from home, coworkers, and family.
The tertiary character is the "marriage sabbatical" itself. It is a HUGE part of the storyline.
Storyline: 4.0 stars
The storyline begins with Jason taking a year-long sabbatical from work. Jason goes to Argentina and Nicole goes to Santa Fe. They agree to a "marriage sabbatical" allowing them to have relationships with other partners during Jason's sabbatical. I didn't find the storyline to be believable, especially the ending. It just didn't work for me.
The main locations were Portland, Oregon; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Patagonia, Argentina.
Memorable/Informative: 4.0 stars
I enjoyed learning about what makes Portland and Santa Fe tick as cities!
Book cover: 4.0 stars
Nice.
Book title: 4.0 stars
Appropriate.
DEFINITE recommend
BOOK INFORMATION
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow (ebook)
The Marriage Sabbatical by Lian Dolan
288 pages
William Morrow
Release date of 4/2/2024
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
The Bookshop Ladies by Faith Hogan
OVERVIEW
This is the fourth book by Faith Hogan that I have read and the fourth book in the Ballycove series. The Ballycover series are books about a fictional village in coastal western Ireland.
Reading Faith's books has made me put Ireland higher on my bucket list! I know that Ballycover doesn't exist, but there are similar towns to visit!
OVERALL REVIEW: 4.5 stars
Writing: 5.0 stars
Faith writes so beautifully that I overlook the time flying by. I actually inhaled this lovely book. It was just what I needed after a few weeks of personal drama. The author's writing is so easy and yet so descriptive. I love her writing so very much!
The descriptions of Ireland, the people, and the community make the Ballycove books so brilliant!
Character development: 4.5 stars
The main characters are Fern, Robyn, and Joy. Fern is Robyn's mom, Robyn is the owner of a small bookshop, and Joy is the widow of Robyn's biological father. Yes, it is a complicated story, but it is what real life is like!! It is messy!!
The secondary characters are the relatives and friends who mainly live in the village of Ballycove.
The tertiary character is Ballycove. The novel would not work anywhere else in the world, but Ballycove.
Storyline: 4.5 stars
This book is simple. A husband makes a deathbed confession about a secret daughter to his wife and leaves a valuable painting to the daughter in his will. The widow decides to deliver it personally which sets off the chain of events that create this sweet novel.
The main location was primarily the fictional Ballycove, Ireland.
Memorable/Informative: 4.5 stars
I love learning about Ireland from the Irish language to the rich culture and the amazing people.
One of the characters says (paraphrasing), "All Americans have a little Irish in them". This is true as I am 11% Irish!!
Book cover: 4.5 stars
So beautiful.
Book title: 4.5 stars
Lovely.
STRONG recommend
BOOK INFORMATION
LAPL library borrow (ebook)
The Bookshop Ladies by Faith Hogan
304 pages
Aria
Release date of 6/20/2024
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
I will not be finishing this book, unfortunately. I have read 51% of this book and it is repetitive. This is, AGAIN, a situation of trying to make a book work when I just should have let it go a week ago!
The book is full of explicit descriptions of the sexual relationship with her husband. I wanted to learn more about Georgia.
