Families | Book Chatter

The Lonely Hearts Book Club
By Lucy Gilmore
Sourcebooks Casablanca, 9781728256214, March 2023, 368 pp.

The Short of It:

Probably my favorite book of the year. Books featuring other books win me over every time.

The Rest of It:

Sloane is naturally curious by nature which makes her an excellent librarian. As excellent as she is, she likes to keep to herself. She’s engaged to a successful chiropractor and their plans for the future seem promising.

Enter Arthur McLachlan. An old, crotchety patron who finds Sloane to be terribly insipid and boring. He dismisses everyone he meets and sends all the other librarians running for cover. Sloane’s love of books and reading encourages her to spew forth with banter that is not at all welcome. Or is it?

When Arthur’s regular visits to the library stop, Sloane grows worried and seeks his whereabouts. This leads to the introduction of many, wonderful characters. I won’t name them because you must meet them yourselves. As these people gather around Arthur, they all realize that although they do okay on their own, they are really meant to do life together, in community so a book club is formed.

It’s SO MUCH MORE than a book club. These are wonderful, flawed characters, all searching for love and friendship. It’s a feel good read and we all need those these days. Highly recommend.

Do yourself a favor and read this book. Books about books get me every time. You can thank me later.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance
By Alison Espach
Henry Holt and Co., 9781250823144, May 2022, 352pp.

The Short of It:

This book met all my expectations and then some.

The Rest of It:

Sally adores her older sister Kathy. They are about as different as two sisters can be, and yet they managed to do quite well in their shared bedroom. Sure, they squabble but Sally looks up to Kathy because Kathy always knows the right thing to say or do. She is sophisticated without trying and yet when they are alone together, she shares all her insecurities with Sally, which makes Kathy flawed just like the rest of them.

One summer, as they while away their hours by the community pool, Kathy catches the eye of Billy. A good looking boy, working at the snack stand. After some missteps, the two fall hard for one another, which leaves Sally to observe her sister’s new found infatuation from afar. She can’t help but feel a little jealous because one, she wanted to spend the summer with Kathy and two, what would it be like to have a boyfriend like Billy? She wonders if she will ever have someone like him.

As the summer unfolds, Sally finds herself attached to Billy in a way that no one wants. Linked by tragedy, the two struggle to find a way to move on and let me tell you, it’s heartbreaking and poignant but in such a good way. Memory and what could have been, had me re-reading passages as I slowly turned the pages. These characters leap off the page and you feel for them.

I loved this book. I don’t know what I was expecting when I picked it up but it’s good and I didn’t want it to end. It will be on my fave list at the end of the year.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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