[85] Behind Every Good Man by Sara Goodman Confino
Fiction / Historical, can’t remember why I downloaded this!, Audio

Synopsis: Beverly Diamond finds her husband cheating on her with his secretary. With no degree or financial support, Beverly throws herself into helping an underdog senatorial candidate, Michael Landau, run a modern, women-focused campaign against her husband’s candidate. I should note – this is set in 1962.

Review: I was so confused by this book at first – like what’s with the old-timey names, and why can’t this woman just get a job? Then something revealed that the story was set in the 1960s, and suddenly everything clicked. At that point, I was barely tolerating reading it though, mostly because of all the barriers Beverly faced and her fraught relationship with her mother. But surprisingly, I got into it and really wanted Beverly to succeed. She turned out to be incredibly smart and likeable – someone you can’t help but root for. What can I say? It was a RIDE.

Recommend? Sure! Be warned if you listen to it – the way the narrator does the children’s voices is extremely grating

[1] Mullane’s Guide to Learning to Fly: Deep Dives into Select Topics for Today’s Student Pilot by Patrick Mullane
Non-fiction, saw on this 24 books for pilots to read in 2024 list, Kindle

Synopsis: Through anecdotes from his own personal pilot training, Mullane tackles topics every aspiring pilot needs to know with a straightforward and humorous approach.

Review: I really enjoyed this book, even though parts of it left my brain feeling fried! Combining real-life situations with straightforward language and humor is a great way for me to understand and remember a concept – especially when I can compare it to what I’ve seen and heard in my passenger flying experience. Mullane’s snarky takes on things I’ve also wondered WhY iS iT sTiLl DoNe ThIs WaY added to the fun.

This is a fantastic tool and helped me immensely, though I wonder if it would have made any sense to me a year ago or earlier, before Steven shared a lot of these concepts with me and I was riding along with him. Random – I also enjoyed the historical tidbits and explanations, like why planes in the U.S. have an N on their tail number or even why a bikini is called a bikini.

Recommend? Yes, if you are interested in a glimpse of what it takes to get your private pilot license, this is a great place to start!

[2] A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
Fiction / Romance / Paranormal, saw in a book store, Kindle

Synopsis: Eileen Merriweather escapes into romance novels to avoid real-life, but when her car breaks on the way to a book club retreat, she finds herself in Eloraton – the magical town from her favorite romance series. Trapped in the late author’s unfinished story, Eileen believes she’s meant to complete the town’s happy ending. Complicating matters is a grumpy, alluring bookstore owner who doesn’t want her meddling. As Eileen navigates fictional and real-life emotions, she starts to wonder if Eloraton’s happily-ever-after is tied to her own.

Review: I saw this in a bookstore and put it on Libby, having no idea what it was about. That’s my preferred approach to books – I hate blurbs that give away too much of the plot and would rather go in knowing nothing. But had I looked this up and seen the “paranormal” genre or any hints of magical realism, I would bolted. Those aren’t my genres.

So, I do want to say the premise was wonderfully creative, bravo! But the fictional novels and their characters, which were so important to Eileen, were painfully boring to me. I struggled to keep the characters straight and found it hard to connect with the town’s happenings. I skimmed this book more than I have any other. All because I wanted to see it resolved, but… (spoiler in next paragraph!)

The magical realism was never explained, which left me unsatisfied, and the love story felt rushed and oddly restrained. It seemingly leaned on the sunshine/grumpy trope, but Eileen only really felt like “sunshine” once she reached the fictional town. While the concept was unique, the “book-within-a-book” approach ultimately didn’t work for me.

Recommend? No

[3] Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
Fiction / Family Life, rec from Val, Audio

Synopsis: At 57, Julia Ames feels like she finally has a handle on life. But a few surprises and a reemergence of her past upend her sense of control. As old patterns threaten to resurface, Julia navigates maternal ambivalence, intergenerational friendship, and the unpredictable twists of life. I know, not very descriptive but I don’t want to spoil what little of a plot there is in this character-driven novel. And that is not a dig!

Review: This is a book where very little happens plot-wise, but it dives deeply into Julia’s character. I’ll be honest – Julia is NOT very likeable. She’s cynical, sarcastic, only really cares for her immediate family, and feels the need to hide her true self around most people. Her strained relationship with her mother and feelings of being unloved in her youth are palpable and shape who she is.

That might sound horrible, like why would I read this?!, but the writing was so beautiful and richly detailed that I was completely hooked, eager to understand why Julia is the way she is. Bonus points for being set in Chicago, which I loved! I do wish there had been more exploration of her husband feeling like his family didn’t understand him or find him interesting, but he wasn’t the focus of the story. Overall, a very compelling and intricately written character study with concepts I’ll be thinking about for some time.

Recommend? Yes!