The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read part of this on my Kindle, but listened to most of it on Audible. I enjoyed both formats. The story is told alternately between a psychotherapist, Theo, and his (silent) patient's diary, so his parts are read by a man, and the diary is read by a woman. The writing is great and I don't want to say much more for fear of giving anything away. I look forward to more from this author.

*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***

Debbie, if there's any chance you're going to read this book, stop reading now.



Stop.  Stop now, I tell you!



Okay, you've been warned.

Here I go....

I'm glad I didn't read any reviews of this book before I picked it up.  As I read the reviews after the fact, people say things about the "big twist" and the "twists and turns" in the book.  Reading that kind of review, even if it doesn't tell me what the twist is, builds anticipation, so I'm just waiting for "the thing" to happen, and when it does, I'm often disappointed. 

Even though this is called a "psychological thriller," it's really not that.  I was glad to hear an interview with the author at the end of the audiobook where he says other people put that term on the book.  He was surprised by the word "thriller."  He thinks of it as a slow, suspenseful story.  The lady doing the interview points out that there's a real richness to the characters and their lives.  I agree with that.  It's not so much a thriller--there are no jump-out-of-your-seat moments, that I usually associate with thrillers.  Instead, it's more clever and I found myself grinning when all was revealed.  The author said he had Alfred Hitchcock in mind as he was writing it, and I can see that. 

And now a word about potential spoilers.  As you see, I didn't really give away any plot points here.  However,  I've written before about inadvertently spoiling something for my sister, hence my warning to her above. 

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I've had this book on my shelf for at least 10 years but had never read it. This year, I kept seeing Kristin Hannah's name all over the place, because of The Great Alone, and I decided before I delve into that, I should read her book that I already own.

I started off liking Firefly Lane a lot. The story of two girls meeting in 1974 at the age of 14 and becoming best friends resonated with me and reminded me of some of my own childhood friendships. Then through 30 years of their friendship, it just started to drag and become unbelievable and clichéd. I disliked both of the main characters at different points for different reasons and it was difficult to believe they'd still be friends over all those years.

I can definitely understand the comparisons to Beaches, which I enjoyed a whole lot more. (However, I also read that 30 years ago, in my late teens, so maybe I'd feel differently reading it now.)

Nit-picky minor detail: If the girls met at the age of 14 in 1974, then presumably, it'd be approximately 1978 when they graduate high school and then 1982 when they graduate college. There's a scene right before their college graduation where they were listening to the Purple Rain soundtrack. That album didn't come out until 1984. As soon as I read that I was annoyed. And the annoying feeling, unfortunately, never went away as I read the book.

Despite all that, I finished the whole thing and even shed a few tears toward the end. It wasn't the best book I've ever read, but I liked it well enough and it didn't turn me off Kristin Hannah forever.

For what it's worth, I enjoyed the "soundtrack" of the book--the author makes notes of the songs they're listening to and I created a playlist that's fun to listen to.  Here's the playlist.

2019 Oscar Predictions (and Wins)

The Oscars will be on shortly and I just finished watching "Roma," the final Best Picture nominee that I needed to see.

Here are my predictions for who I WANT to win, and who I think WILL win.  Movies I haven't seen yet are in italics.  

UPDATE:  I've added who won in RED.

BEST PICTURE

• BlacKkKlansman WANT
• Black Panther WILL
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• The Favourite
• Green Book WON
• Roma  
• A Star Is Born
• Vice

There's been a lot of talk about Oscars not awarding blockbuster movies, which is why I think Black Panther could win this.  Each year it seems Oscar voters try to address all the criticism they receive from previous years. This list of nominees is evident of that.  A couple years ago, the biggest hashtag on Oscar night was #OscarSoWhite.  Now look at all the diverse nominees this year.  Hopefully that's not just a temporary correction.  I personally liked BlacKkKlansman the best of these nominees and am hoping for it to win.

BEST DIRECTOR

• Alfonso Cuaron for Roma WON
• Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman WANT / WILL
• Adam McKay for Vice
• Pawel Pawlikowski for Cold War
• Yorgos Lanthimos for The Favourite

This category is fully of great nominees this year.  Roma and The Favourite were intriguing to watch, but I think the award they're more deserving of is the award for best cinematography. (Roma did win Best Cinematography)

Spike is due for an Oscar and I think it's well deserved for BlacKkKlansman.  I think the Academy could give him the award this year and give themselves a pat on the back for honoring not only this movie, but also his whole body of work.

BEST ACTRESS

• Yalitza Aparicio in Roma
• Glenn Close in The Wife WANT / WILL
• Olivia Colman in The Favourite WON
• Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born
• Melissa McCarthy in Can You Ever Forgive Me?

I love actors who can convey so much meaning with just their facial expressions.  I saw The Wife the other day and Glenn Close does this in spades.  She's very deserving of this award.  I just can't predict whether she'll win or not, but I went ahead with the prediction that she will win.  It could go any way.  All of the performances are great--I didn't see Melissa McCarthy, but I'm sure her nomination is deserved--she's so talented.

BEST ACTOR

• Christian Bale in Vice WANT
• Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born
• Willem Dafoe in At Eternity's Gate
• Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody WILL / WON
• Viggo Mortensen in Green Book

Christian Bale just disappears into Dick Cheney and I think this would be a deserved win.  Rami Malek was great too as Freddie Mercury and I wouldn't be upset by his winning.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Mahershala Ali in Green Book WANT / WILL / WON
• Adam Driver in BlacKkKlansman
• Sam Elliott in A Star Is Born
• Richard E. Grant in Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• Sam Rockwell in Vice

Mahershala is just so great at what he does.  I would be really happy to see Adam Driver get this too.
Sam Rockwell was great as Dubya in Vice, but his role didn't provide much oomph to the movie.  Same for Sam Elliott in A Star is Born.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Amy Adams in Vice
• Marina de Tavira in Roma
• Regina King in If Beale Street Could Talk WANT / WILL / WON
• Emma Stone in The Favourite
• Rachel Weisz in The Favourite

Emma and Rachel were great in The Favourite and might cancel each other out in votes.  Despite that, I have to go with Regina King.  She was so good in Beale Street, and again, does so much acting with her eyes and facial expressions.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
• BlacKkKlansman WANT / WON
• Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• If Beale Street Could Talk
• A Star Is Born WILL

I'm behind BlacKkKlansman all the way, but I wouldn't be mad if A Star Is Born won.  I liked it better than the Barbra Streisand version.  A win here would keep it from being shut out of the Oscars.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• The Favourite
• First Reformed
• Green Book WILL / WANT / WON
• Roma
• Vice 

I'm torn on this category.  I think Vice was quite clever, but I liked Green Book better, and would like to see it win.  I think it could.

So that's it.  I'll come back tomorrow with who did win.  I'm looking forward to Queen and Adam Lambert opening up the Oscars tonight.  Should be a good show considering the musical numbers.  Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper will be singing too.  Will we miss there being a host?  I suspect not, but we'll see!

UPDATE/Comments on the Show:

Who needs a host when the show opens with Queen and Adam Lambert?!  That was fun to see everyone in their red carpet gowns just rocking out.

Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's performance:  ooh la la!

As my sister said, we need more Spike Lee at awards shows...she pointed out that he's so entertaining!

My biggest disappointment was Glenn Close not getting her Oscar.  Olivia Colman was great in The Favourite, but I was really, really pulling for Glenn Close.  Olivia gave a great speech though!

I'm surprised Green Book won Best Picture.  Based on what I'm seeing on Twitter, there's a lot of disappointment.  Well, people are pissed, actually.  I'm not disappointed, I enjoyed the movie.  Just surprised.

I did a decent job with my predictions this year.

Overall, it was a good show.  I didn't miss a host.  It didn't run on too, too long.  And now I have some more movies to see.

The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the true story of Anthony Ray Hinton, an innocent man who spent 30 years on death row. It's so difficult and frustrating to read about how the system was stacked against Ray, and so astounding to read about Ray's perseverance and positive attitude. It should be required reading for every single person.

The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati

The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'd give this 3.75 stars.

The author pays a lot of attention to detail so I always had a very clear vision of the characters, scenery, clothing, and atmosphere. The book is very long and I felt some parts perhaps had too much detail. There's a little bit of everything here: female doctors (in the 1800s), one of them half black, racism, misogyny, contraception and men controlling women's reproductive rights, humor, sadness, religion, conservative folks and progressive folks, orphaned children, the police, and oh, a serial killer. It was a lot. I was very disappointed that some storylines weren't resolved over the nearly 800 pages, but I am now indeed curious about the coming sequel.

Please, let me explain

I was tagged in a 7-day Facebook challenge the other day. You know the kind--you post a picture of some sort for seven days in a row. Just the photo. No explanation. And then you tag someone to challenge them. Deep down, I've been wanting to be tagged in one of these things, but then when it actually happened, I found myself in a conundrum.

Here's the challenge:

I am posting the cover of seven books that I couldn’t put down. No explanations, no reviews, no comments, just the cover. Each time I post a cover I will ask a friend to take up the challenge as well. One book cover a day for a week. This is Day 5 and I nominate Valerie. Looking forward to seeing your selections.

Seems simple enough, right?  But here's the thing...the person who challenged me had a very substantial list of books.  Thought provoking, profound.  And when I thought back on books that I couldn't put down, I'll admit, I was embarrassed by them.  I felt unable to post them without some sort of explanation or justification--in defense of my choices.   I started drafting a list and then found myself manipulating it so it would make me look good.  And then that felt like cheating.  So, that's what brought me here...to write a blog post about it, where I can give all the explanation I want.

So, first, here are the book covers that I would have posted on Facebook.  These are indeed books that I couldn't put down, but they're different than other books I had in mind, which you'll see in a moment.

      


Now, here's my real list...full of trashy novels and sensationalistic pop fiction, along with some explanation:

Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews

When I was in 6th grade, my whole class (81 students) passed one copy of this book around.  There was pressure to finish quickly so I could pass it to the next person, but I also was so into it.  I think I felt so grown up reading it.  I then ran through anything that came out by VC Andrews.

Wifey by Judy Blume

My 6th grade class also passed around Judy Blume's Forever, and it felt so scandalous to read it!  But, when I was in 8th grade, my friend got a copy of Wifey and we "snuck read" it in her bedroom.  Whenever anyone came upstairs, we'd hide it under the mattress.  Judy Blume was our favorite author, so of course we'd read this book, whether it was for adults or not.  It's about a woman who's unhappy in her marriage and basically sleeps with any man who comes around.  I read it again as an adult and enjoyed it just as much.

The Cradle Will Fall by Mary Higgins Clark

This is the first adult book I read straight through in a 24-hour period.  I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and it was so exciting.  I also read a lot of MHC after this, but this was my favorite.

Butterfly by Kathryn Harvey

This is still my favorite steamy novel.  I read this when I was in college.  A coworker at my summer job told me about it and I raced through it.  It's sexy but also has a good revenge story that keeps you on the edge of your seat.  I read this every few years and always enjoy it.






Fine Things by Danielle Steel

Are you seeing a theme here?  I read a lot of Danielle Steel, but this one was my favorite.  It wasn't as trashy as some of her other titles.  I stayed up really late to finish this and it's the first time I really cried and sobbed while reading a book.  Awww.  Bernie Fine.  I loved him.

The Other Side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon

One night in college, my suite mate and I stayed up until three in the morning, while she told me this whole story.  (Also, we were hunkered down in my dorm while a helicopter searched for someone who had escaped from a nearby mental institute.  I remember she'd pause the story so we could watch the helicopter search lights.)  And even though my friend told me everything, I read the book anyway.  It was SOOOO good.  I then read everything by Sidney Sheldon that I could get my hands on.  Again, this was my favorite.


The Firm by John Grisham

Here's another one that I read in a 24-hour period.  Another coworker and I then went on a John Grisham tear.  I guess we weren't the only ones...he was quite popular at the time.







I also have a couple of honorable mentions:

Chances and Lucky by Jackie Collins

I LOVED Jackie Collins.  SO trashy, and so fun.  These had an element of family crime/mafia drama that I also enjoyed.  I remember reading Lucky when I was in college and being in a math class (math was my major) where students were freaking out because they couldn't get #15 on the homework.  I couldn't be bothered.  I was too into what Lucky was doing and figured the professor would explain when he got there. 

Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe

I've been wanting to re-read this for a while.  I have a feeling it will hold up because it tackles racism, money, privilege and greed.  Just like our news today.  I was drawn in quickly and read this over two days.







Do you see why everything needed an explanation?  If I didn't explain, people might think I stopped reading in 1995.  It's a fun trip down memory lane to think of all these books.  I look forward to re-reading some, if not all, of them.

My year in books - 2018

I had a challenge to read 24 books in 2018, and ta-da!  I read 25!  Woo hoo!  Here's what I read:

Valerie's read-in-2018 book montage

Valerie's favorite books »

Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood

Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As you read reviews of this book, you'll see the words "heart wrenching" used over and over again. There are no better words to describe this fictional retelling of the real-life kidnapping and sexual assault of 11-year old Sally Horner in 1948. I knew it was going to be a tough read, and I appreciated that the author was not needlessly graphic about Sally's abuse. I was captivated by the narration of the audio version as well as by the story itself, and listened it over two days. Other emotions I felt while listening were anger, frustration, sadness, and hope. I think the author did a wonderful job bringing this story to life. I docked it one star because some portions dragged a little bit and could have probably been shortened. This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and it will probably stay with me for a while. I'll need to read a comedy next, I think.

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I listened to the Audible of this. The author (an actress from Downton Abbey) is the narrator, and she is fantastic. I give the audio performance 5/5 stars. The story, however, dragged a lot for me. I grew rather frustrated with the protagonist and her dumb choices, and I was left wanting with a lot of unanswered questions at the end.

My friend Kerri read this and asked who I would cast in the movie.  Even though both characters are British, I would cast Emily Blunt and Jon Krasinski as Erin and Mark.  There's no reason the husband can't be American.  I'm still thinking about who could play Eddie Bishop, an older criminal who's in prison, and a subject of Erin's documentary.  I was thinking Jason Staham, but he's too young.  Need someone like him, but a bit older.

Holiday Rituals

The holidays are here!  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I've written before about my annual viewings of Home for the Holidays and Pieces of April over Thanksgiving.  I did the same thing this year.  I just love those movies.  For some reason, I cried more than usual at Pieces of April--the movie is great and really tugs at the heartstrings.

I started thinking about other rituals I have at this time of year.  I won't listen to Christmas music until the Friday after Thanksgiving, and then, I always start with Mariah Carey's "Merry Christmas" album.

Next I listen to "Soul Christmas" with the cream cover, and then I put on "Soul Christmas" with the green cover. 

After that, I just put all of my Christmas songs on shuffle and listen throughout the season. 

This weekend I'll put up my little Christmas tree and do a little decorating (very little since I moved into a condo).  As I do that, I'll put on Love, Actually and have some hot chocolate.

If I'm home on New Year's Eve, I'll listen to Ella Fitzgerald's "Swinging Christmas" and watch Bridget Jones' Diary.  If I go out that night, I'll still watch Bridget Jones at some point in the first few days of the new year.  I'm already looking forward to it!

***

In other news, I also watched When Harry Met Sally and Moonstruck over Thanksgiving weekend because I'd been talking about them recently.  I still love them.  I was telling a friend that Moonstruck really holds up because you can't really tell what time period the movie is.  It doesn't look to be the 80s...it could be any time, except for shots of the Manhattan skyline that feature the Twin Towers, and a couple of scenes where you can see cars.  Do you know that movie is 31 years old?!