Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner (I listened to the audio book on Libby, read by Juliet Stevenson)

 This was 13 hours of pure listening delight! I was getting ready for my back surgery, a hemi-lamenectomy on L4-L5, so I wanted to catch up on housework beforehand. I swept, vacuumed, mopped, and attacked the windows, all while enjoying this fascinating story with a fascinating tableau of characters; some real and some fictional. I loved everything about this story: the allusions to other authors, particularly Jane Austen, the academic environment of Cambridge, the setting of London, the fun characters who inhabit the bookstore, and the way the characters grew and learned and developed over time. It was also almost a mystery, as the author kept me wondering, how will Evie find this book and how will she get it out to the public honestly? 

The underlying theme was how women were disenfranchised when the men returned from World War II. And the creative and intelligent ways they were able to function despite their mistreatment. It was also fascinating to read about the underlying as well as overt prejudice the Indian character, Ash, experienced. I loved the way the successful independent women were able to mentor and encourage the three women who were the bookstore workers. It is an instructive story, really, to show how people need each other, and the advantages of being vulnerable. The author did a masterful job of weaving together a lot of complexities that resulted in a very satisfying outcome for all of the characters involved. I can't wait to read the novel that preceded this one...and I need to do a little research to see how much of this story is true... Peggy Guggenheim and George Orwell's widow (and others) were great characters, and did they really encourage other women? And did Samuel Beckett help encourage Vivien or any other woman become a playwright? I'll look into that.

My surgery went well yesterday, and I was so excited to have it done that I couldn't sleep. I listened to the ending in the middle of the night. Nice to have an escape like that!

The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg

 What a joy this book was! It takes disparate people from one high school class and traces their preparation and attendance at their fortieth high school reunion. Although their time frame is a little later than mine, I could relate to the feelings and the environments that they flashed back to. The smoking in the girls' restroom, the dominance of the cheerleaders, the jock, the nerds, etc. 

The people in this book ran the gamut of the high school crowd, and the way they grew and developed into the people they were at their reunion. Since Leonard and I went to every Napa High reunion they ever had, I could relate to the agony over what to wear, and the wondering of who would be there, and what they would be like... I also witnessed a few Dorothy-like moments where people tried to hook up with their high school crushes and that was disconcerting and sometimes pathetic to see. Still, it's a human thing to wonder about, and I feel lucky that I got to go to those with Leonard! And still have some very sweet and nostalgic moments without any embarrassment or bad behavior!

What was really heart-warming about this book was the way people were willing to forgive each other for past mistakes. It showed a very shallow woman coming into her own. It showed a lot of heart and growth. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, it's one of those books that I'm going to reread right away. It's a feel-good book, especially at the end. Berg writes wonderful and real characters that make me happy to be like some of them in some ways. Actually, they inspire me to be better...

Joy School by Elizabeth Berg

 This is a follow-up to Durable Goods and it is equally delightful. It takes Katie from Texas to Missouri and her figuring out how to fit in in her new environment. She falls for a young man much older than she is, and the way this romance unfolds is very real and sweet. I could relate to her thinking! Thank goodness this young man was extremely sensitive and kind. When I fell for older young men at this age, I never let it develop into anything. I would admire from afar. It was fun to watch Katie move toward what she wanted, even though it was clearly beyond her. She had real adolescent thoughts and feelings that were described with empathy and soft humor. So good! 

I also loved how Katie learned about friendship and how her friendship with Cynthia developed. And it was awesome that she had a friend in her father's friend Ginger, who turned out to be a soft landing for Katie. Another very enjoyable, relatable read! Thank you, Elizabeth Berg!!!

True to Form by Elizabeth Berg

 This book was  delight. Berg captures so much of my adolescent thinking and in my time period, that it's just a joy to be there with her. Katie is 13, and I'm sure I read the previous two books about her a LONG time ago, but this book easily stands on its own.

From her turning orange from using too much QT to her friend getting pregnant, it's just so relatable. Katie has a summer job babysitting and helping an elderly couple, and these scenes are poignant and true. I was so much like Katie that it's uncanny. And I also wanted to fit in, but I didn't and maybe still don't have the courage to stand up to the snobs like she does. Just wow.

I also liked how she tries to make it right with her friend Cynthia after betraying her... She tries everything, including a Catholic-like confession, to get things right again. It's a beautiful description of repentance and coming to understand where your thinking can get you in trouble. So good! 

I also enjoyed her descriptions of her love of walking and the stars and of nature. And her description of how intimately she knows Cynthia when she describes everything that's in her purse. I remember being that close and intimate with a few friends at that age and it is very sweet and growth-inducing! Now I'm ready to go back to the library and get the two previous books about Katie--Durable Goods and Joy School. Somehow I didn't record them in this record so I must have read them beffore 2011? Not sure if that's the case or if I just didn't write about them. I do recall that June Apaza and I both read and talked about Durable Goods. We agreed that it felt so true to adolescent feelings and challenges. 

The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley by Courtney Walsh

 So...we are now in a new Ward, the Stonebridge Ward, where I thought we'd meet lots of like-minded folks. They look like us--well-dressed and educated--older--drive SUV's and live in our neighborhood...have grandkids...etc., etc., so I was excited to learn they have an active book club. I read online that they are reading The Happy Life of Isadora Bentley so I ordered it to be prepared to enjoy a good discussion, I liked the title and it sounded light and fun.

Well...like so many of the rom-coms I've been exposed to lately, it's frustrating to read. Every point is repeated ad nauseum. I almost tossed it after the third page; a young woman trying to be tragically funny. Example after example of her runner-up life, what a loser she is, on and on and on... But, I had just returned from a great trip to Indiana to see the Stevenson's, and I was nursing a bad cold and needed to stay in bed, so I stuck with it. It was the perfect sick in bed read.

It got slightly better as the main character, a seemingly autistic woman with no social skills, gradually emerges and tries to be happier. She is encouraged along the way by a loving elderly man, a spunky neighbor who takes her to yoga, and of course, a handsome love-interest. They gradually all help her out of her very hard shell. 

Along the way there are some good messages for recluses. I liked that she found friendship in unexpected places and that she was open to them. The bad message, though, I think is that the handsome professor would have that kind of patience... should one expect a prince charming? I don't think so. Yet there was enough exploration of Isadora's feelings and her realization that "happiness is a choice" is a good message. Some of the other hints at happiness were also good --exercise regularly, get out in nature, and confront what's making you unhappy. It was kind of a self-help manual within a story. 

I'll be interested in what the ladies in our ward have to say about this one and wonder who suggested it...

Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg

 I know I read this back in the day when June Apaza and I were TIE colleagues, and we both really enjoyed this one. It must have been prior to 2011, when I started this record, though, because it's not described here. My memory is that I enjoyed it on a flight sometime during my flying off to conferences era...and talked with June about it. I'll have to ask her.

At any rate, I loved it this time too. It is "early Berg" and so simple and powerful. She has so much empathy for her main character, Katie. She is only 13, and in the early sixties, Berg captures so much that I can relate to. It's just uncanny, the way she thinks! What is heart-breaking is how her father treats her, and how she is coping with the loss of her mother. Her description of her relationship with her older sister is heart-breaking, too, yet sweet when Diana lets her in. 

Berg captures so well the feelings I had as an early teen! The insecurities about what to wear, how to do my hair, and wanting to be older and have more autonomy. Happily, my family life was rich and wonderful, but there are still parts that resonate with me. I also like the way she describes Katie's friend Cherylanne. I knew girls like this, too, and it's just fun reading about how she relates to the world, always knows about make-up and hair and how to deport properly. She's hilarious!  And Cherylanne's mother, Belle, is such a good example of how one caring adult can make a big difference in a child's life. 

Katie becomes very insightful about her father and why he's the way he is. It's with a lot of compassion and beginnings of understanding. 

Until the Real Thing Comes Along by Elizabeth Berg

 I really enjoy Berg's descriptions and metaphors that immediately resonate with me. She picks specific images like American cheese or OshKosh overalls and I'm right there with her, particularly from when I was a young mother. This is a very poignant story of a woman who always wanted to be a mother but who could never seem to find the right father. She leads a quiet life after having fallen in love with a man who is gay and they remain good friends. But no one can live up to the closeness she feels with him, and so she convinces him to impregnate her... This is an interesting exploration into what it would take to change one's fundamental nature...Berg does it with honesty and vulnerability. I think, though, that Patty's acceptance of Ethan's departure is unrealistic... That she could welcome him, along with his new partner, seems like it would take a mighty big heart. But maybe that's what one would need: an example that it's possible...