For our April 2021 reading selections, I looked for books with a message - hope, determination, survival, or acceptance. We are all faced with situations that seem unwinnable or even intolerable at some point in our lives. How we handle them and how we let them define us are what really matters. Sometimes perseverance and humor are our best options.
In the Land of Second Chances by George Shaffner – In Ebb, Nebraska times are tough. People are starting to give up hope until Vernon L. Moore comes to town. Moore is a salesman selling games of chance, but he’s so much more. He draws people out, learns their stories, and persuades them to see their situations in new hopeful ways. Where is he from? Why did he come to Ebb? Is hope contagious?
The Cup of Coffee Club: 11 Players and Their Brush with Baseball History by Jacob Kornhauser – Kornhauser interviews eleven men who played in only a single major league baseball game and how they handled the disappointment of never making it back to the majors. Their insights provide an unprecedented look into the struggles of being a professional ballplayer.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – When Kate, Ruth, and Tommy were young students at the elite British boarding school, Hailsham they were told how special they were, but never why. As adults, they reunite to discover the secrets at Hailsham and the truth of their births. It’s a slowly evolving plot with many twists and turns by Ishiguro, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Remains of the Day.
The Women Who Kept Everything by Jane Gilley – Gloria Frensham is 79 and she hasn’t left her home in years. Gloria is a hoarder who has saved every scrap of paper, piece of clothing, furniture, and package that’s come into her home. When a fire breaks out, Gloria is forced to leave all her prized possessions and return to the outside world. Without her home, Gloria could be headed to a senior living center. How does she prove to herself and everyone else she’s still capable of independence and ready to take on the world armed with only a small suitcase of belongings?
The Upside of Falling Down by Rebekah Crane – Clementine Haas wakes up in an Irish hospital, the lone survivor of a plane crash, with complete amnesia and a pack of Irish reporters hounding her for an interview. When she learns her father is coming from America to take her back to a life she can’t remember, she persuades a handsome stranger to help her escape to a new life in a quaint Irish town. As Clementine struggles to reinvent herself, the lies start tripping her up and threaten this new relationship that may be her best chance for happiness. Can she remember her old life and how will it mesh with the new life she desperately wants?
A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy – When Chicky Starr decides to turn a dilapidated house in a small town on the west coast of Ireland into a vacation getaway, everyone thinks she’s crazy. Helped by her niece and a local handyman, Chicky succeeds and welcomes her first eclectic assortment of guests. What could possibly go wrong? How will it all become incredibly right?
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig – The Albatross Society protects special people like Tom Hazard who have a rare genetic condition that stops their body from aging allowing them to live for centuries. Their only condition for this protection is their clients are not allowed to fall in love. When Tom begins a new job as a teacher in London, he meets an incredible woman and despite centuries of following the Albatross Society’s rule, he falls in love. What are his chances for living a normal life for the first time?
First Person Singular: Stories by Haruki Murakami – This is a group of short stories about everything from love and music to baseball from an internationally acclaimed author. Sometimes Murakami is the storyteller and sometimes he uses a narrator who tells their story in the first person.
Tiny Dancing Shoes and other Stories by Audrey Kalman – The people and animals in Kalman’s stories learn living ordinary lives are no obstacle to accomplishing extraordinary things in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
Perfectly Impossible by Elizabeth Topp – Anna works as a personal assistant for an ultra-wealthy New York socialite about to be honored at the Opera Ball. It’s Anna’s job to be perfect, so her boss can be perfect, but Anna has other plans for her life. She’s an artist who wants to make a living as an artist. When her boyfriend starts his new dream job, Anna feels like she’s running out of time to change her own life. Can she keep it together until the Opera Ball is over and begin her new life on a high note?