Lots of Reading Lately

I've fallen behind in making individual posts for the books I read, so here is a quick catch-up post.

The Year the Music Changed (Diane Thomas)

• This was a book club selection. As I began the book, I was quite skeptical. The book (written as a series of letters) explores the relationship between a young Elvis and a teenage girl named Ascha McEachern. Both of the characters are trying to find their way in the world and they seek help and support from one another. I expected this would be overwhelmingly cheesy, but it wasn't. A bit cheesy? Yes, but worth it. The kind of book that draws you in and gives you a warm fuzzy feeling.
• Last night was our meeting at Marilee's house. She had a DVD of Elvis performances playing when we arrived. She also offered us fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches as an appetizer. Yummy! Marilee knew the author and so she called in and joined our conversation on speakerphone during dinner. Unfortunately for her, she missed out on the bbq sandwiches, dill pickles, Lay's potato chips, and baked beans. We had a great conversation. I have missed meetings since March, but it felt so good to see them all again. A great group of women.

The Heart's Progress (Claudia Bepko)

• This is a book that will be on the reading list for one of my upcoming classes, so I wanted to check it out. Wow! This is the story of a woman who decides to live her life with a woman after she leaves her heterosexual marriage. A perspective I've never heard. I needed this story. After a lesbian relationship in college, Claudia decides to do what is expected of her and marries a man. Become a wife and move to the suburbs. The author speaks of her struggle to fit into this role. Trying desperately to make it work and ultimately accepting the truth of her life. A brave and true story.

The Tenth Circle (Jodi Picoult)

• I think I might be finished with Jodi Picoult for a while. This was a good book, but it felt too much like her other books. Almost formulaic. After reading My Sister's Keeper, I grabbed everything by this author that I could find. This is my way. I have obsessive tendencies. This is the fourth I have read and it might be a few months before I tackle the fifth. This book is another story about a family. This time the focus is on a daughter who is struggling with a breakup while her parents flounder in their own marriage. The mother is a Dante scholar (hence the 10th circle (of hell) reference) and the father has a mysterious past in Alaska. A good story, but not as good as I had hoped.