Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg

Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg

Read by Bill Clegg

6 hours, 54 minutes

Published September 2015 by Gallery/Scout Press

Publisher's Summary: 

On the eve of her daughter's wedding, June Reid's life is upended when a shocking disaster takes the lives of her daughter, her daughter's fiancé, her ex-husband, and her boyfriend, Luke-her entire family, all gone in a moment. June is the only survivor.

Alone and directionless, June drives across the country, away from her small Connecticut town. In her wake, a community emerges, weaving a beautiful and surprising web of connections through shared heartbreak.

From the couple running a motel on the Pacific Ocean where June eventually settles into a quiet half-life, to the wedding's caterer whose bill has been forgotten, to Luke's mother, the shattered outcast of the town-everyone touched by the tragedy is changed as truths about their near and far histories finally come to light.

My Thoughts: 

Well, first off I need to admit that I thought that Bill Clegg was Bill Bryson. I mean, I didn't think they were the same person; apparently I thought that there was only one author with the first name of "Bill" and I thought he was the guy who wrote At Home: A Short History of Private Life. Which I'm only admitting to so that you can understand that I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into with this one. Even after I read the first paragraph of the publisher's summary. Which accounts for, to some extent, why it took me so long to get into this book, to be able to follow along. 

In the early morning hours of the day of June's daughter's wedding, while June is out of her house, there is an explosion and fire at the house, killing everyone in it - June's daughter, Lolly; Lolly's fiancé, William; June's ex-husband, Adam; and June's boyfriend, Luke. Almost immediately, I was convinced I was listening to a mystery, because it wasn't clear to me why June wasn't in the house, why she was fleeing. It wasn't until a couple of hours of listening that it was truly clear to me that June had fled to try to flee her grief, to make some sense out of the senseless, as she travels across the country, using Lolly's journal's as a guide. 

We gradually get the full story of the people involved and what actually happened through a variety of points of view: Lydia Morey, Luke's mother; Dale, William's father; the couple who run the motel June eventually ends up at; the maid at that hotel; and Silas, a young man who worked for Luke. Each of them has their own story to tell, their own sadness and grief to process. So many books that bounce from point of view to point of view leave me confused or wishing to get back to one or another of the characters - I never felt this way about this book, becoming completely absorbed in each storyline. Readers come to know and care about each of characters and I loved how everything came together, very unexpectedly for me, in the end. 

Did You Every Have A Family made the longest for the National Book Award in 2015. I can understand why. Kirkus Reviews says this book is: "An attempt to map how the unbearable is borne, elegantly written and bravely imagined." It truly is an utterly unique way of exploring grief and the consolation we find in the smallest of things. 

Life: It Goes On - March 30

Happy Sunday! You know that saying, "March come in like a lion and goes out like a lamb?" Well, we've had the exact opposite this month. Today is grey and cold and there is snow forecast for our area in the next couple of days. Think I'll be drinking a lot of hot coffee today. Mind you, Friday it was 81 degrees and we had dinner and drinks in short sleeves on the patio of a local brew pub. 

Bit of a strange week ahead for me: the Big Guy is doing a lot of traveling this week so it will largely be the cat and me, plus I'm taking care of Mini-him's and Miss C's cats while they are out of town for the next five days. I'm going to be a real cat lady! 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: Kaliane Bradley's The Ministry of Time. Really interesting premise. 

Watched: As much college basketball (men's and women's) as I could. Also a couple of episodes of Shrinking, which is just so very good. 

Read: The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George and Twist by Collum McCann. 

Made: This morning I made cheesecake French toast (delicious but very rich for breakfast!), a recipe I found on Facebook from Applesauceandadhd (she of the aggressive tutorials). 

Enjoyed: Last night I really wanted some good mozzarella sticks for supper. Off we went; first place was packed so we left and went to a second place which is NOT a place I wanted to go (and I was kind of a whiny baby about it). But BG was sure they would have mozzarella sticks so we ordered them and a pizza. When I tell you they were terrible, I am not exaggerating. Even BG wouldn't eat them; we left them on the table. About now you're wondering why I enjoyed this, right? Here's why: when I fall into a mood like I was in at that point, I'm typically irretrievable. But last night I was able to enjoy everything else about the dinner and laugh about how horrible the mozzarella sticks were. I was glad I was able to come home in a good mood and enjoy the rest of my evening and I was proud of myself for not wallowing. 

I do still want good mozzarella sticks.

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: I'm still way behind on 40 Bags. Part of the reason is because I've been working hard on clearing out spaces in the past few months so a lot of places have already been gone through. But this week, I'm bound and determined to get to the basement, which always needs more decluttering. The woman who started this considers it part of the sacrifice of Lent; I don't agree. I'm not sacrificing anything; this is for me. But it times up well with Lent and I'm always in the mood to declutter this time of year, so I join up. 

Thinking About: What to watch while I have the t.v. to myself so much of this week. It's definitely time for another viewing of Hamilton. 

Feeling: Pretty blue about the state of our democracy. 

Looking forward to: Once Mini-him and Miss C return from their trip, Mini-him will take off on some work travel. Since Miss C and I will both be without our guys, we're planning on doing a lunch or dinner and some shopping, a first for us. I can't wait. 

Question of the week: If you got to choose what to watch, without having to consult a significant other, what would you choose? 

The Hunter by Tana French

The Hunter by Tana French

Read by Roger Clark

16 hours, 24 minutes

Published March 2024 by Penguin Publishing Group

Publisher's Summary: 

It's a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die.

Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He's found it, more or less: he's built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he's gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey's long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the townland, and suddenly everything the three of them have been building is under threat. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn't want protecting. What she wants is revenge.

My Thoughts: 

Tana French is one of the author's whose books I will pick up without having the slightest idea what they are about. I read all six of the books in her Dublin Murder Squad series and there wasn't a weak link in the bunch. Five years ago she introduced us to Cal Hooper in The Searcher; I was so excited to find that she was writing a second book about Cal and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. And now I'm crossing my fingers that this is not just a two book series. I'm looking this series as much as I did the Dublin Murder Squad series; possibly even more. 

I was recently trying to describe this book to someone, to put it into a neat genre. But it's not a book that easily falls into any one genre. Yes, there is a murder...eventually. It's a bit of a Western (and it is set in western Ireland)...there's even a bit of a gold rush.  I suppose it could be characterized as a crime novel, there's plenty of crime to be had in it. But it's far more about its characters and their relationships and an exploration of the grey areas between good and bad. 

It's a slow build of a book, but I was perfectly fine with that as we are reintroduced to the inhabitants of Ardnakelty, with all of their eccentricities, humor and long history. Relationships deepen and change. Hidden agendas are uncovered, motives revealed. Ardnakelty is much like a family - they can tease and hold grudges amongst themselves, but outsiders beware. More than two years after he's arrived, Cal is still something of an outsider, which is fine with him. As a former police officer, he struggles with the law of the land he now calls home. But in protecting Trey, and the others in the community he has grown fond of, he has to learn that sometimes things aren't just black and white. 

This one will still be on my best-of list at the end of the year, both as a novel and as a audiobook. Roger Clark does an incredible job. Clark is an Irish-American actor who easily handles the different accents and the storytelling. 

Life: It Goes On - March 23

Happy Sunday! The sun is out but it's chilly and the wind is gusting - which I suppose is all fairly typical for March in Nebraska. As is the fact that Monday and Tuesday last week we ate dinner on the patio and then Wednesday we had a blizzard with 6" of snow. By this morning, all but the biggest piles of snow have completely melted. It's a strange month. But I can see spring from here so that's a good thing. Later this week, we'll get everything uncovered on the patio and begin moving things to their fair weather homes. Then I'll really be able to start envisioning my flower plan for the year. 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: A couple of hours of Jennifer Niven's All The Bring Places, which has been on my TBR for a long time. But I quickly realized something that I've long suspected - I'm just generally not a fan of young adult books. Which is not to say they aren't great books; they just aren't books that appeal to me. So I moved on to Therese Anne Fowler's Z, which I'm loving. Next up is Kaliane Bradley's The Ministry of Time. 

Watched: So much basketball. I LOVE March Madness - both the men's and women's tournaments! We had four teams from Nebraska make it to the NCAA tournament; sadly all four have been knocked out, but we certainly had fun cheering for them and it won't stop our watching the rest of the tournaments. 

Read: I finished Ruth Reichl's The Paris Novel for book club and then got back to Colum McCann's Twist. Tomorrow I'm picking up five books from the library - time to get ready physical books! 

Made: We spent most of the week grazing on leftovers from last weekend's festivities. I did make potato soup from the mashed potato leftovers and yesterday we made a chicken soup from the leftover rotisserie chicken. 

Enjoyed: Book club on Tuesday and last night we went out for Ruebens and basketball with friends. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: The other day I realized that I had missed the kick off of this year's 40 Bags In 40 Days so I'm working to get caught up on that. Lord knows I have plenty of areas that I still want to work on, which is crazy with as much as I work to keep us from living in a hoarder house. 

Thinking About: Ways to use up all of the lettuce I bought for last weekend that didn't get used. 

Feeling: Like my back might finally be starting to get better. Still can't sit for an extended period without having pain but we're getting there. I need to be back up to speed before it's planting season!

Looking forward to: I have nothing on my calendar for this week (not that we usually have a busy schedule!). 

Question of the week: What's your favorite salad? 

Abigail and Alexa Save The Wedding by Lian Dolan

Abigail and Alexa Save The Wedding by Lian Dolan

288 pages

Published May 2025

My copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Publisher's Summary: 

Penelope and Chase make a lovely couple. She’s a bubbly Southern California girl with killer work ethic. Chase is smart and charming and has political aspirations. They’re planning a spectacular California wedding, wrapped in peonies and thousands of little white lights, soaked in custom cocktails and romantic hashtags. Everyone’s excited about Penny and Chase’s wedding­­­­­­—except their mothers.

The Mother of the Bride, suave Greek-born Alexa Diamandis, doesn’t understand why any woman would get married. Ever! Raised in Athens and now perfectly situated in sun-splashed Montecito, California, she raised Penny as single mother by choice, supported by Lord Simon Fox, her old college friend who just happens to be an English aristocrat, and a wealthy circle of lady friends who call themselves the Merry Widows.

The Mother of the Groom, Abigail Blakeman, is a garden club stalwart firmly planted in coastal Connecticut. She thinks the whole enterprise would be so much easier if the wedding was at their golf club. Especially because the Blakeman’s fortunes have taken a turn for the worse—not that you would ever know it by looking at Abigail. Keeping up appearances is exhausting, but it is everything.  

But when a sudden twist of fate calls them into action, these two very different women are forced to take over the wedding planning. Despite their differences, Alexa and Abigail charge in to save the day. How far will two moms go to make their children’s dream wedding a reality?

My Thoughts: 

This is Dolan's sixth novel and I've read them all. Her last, The Marriage Sabbatical, didn't work as well for me as her others, but I never considered that I was done with her writing and I'm glad I didn't. Abigail and Alexa brings Dolan back to what enchanted me with her writing in the first place. Dolan writes with a light touch, even when she's tackling some tougher subjects, her books are focused on her female characters and all of their relationships, and her locations always come alive. 

I love the way Dolan writes relationships between women: mothers and daughters, mothers and other mothers, and especially friend groups. In this book, Alexa, through her work, has earned a place in a friend group called The Widows; these women have formed their own family and will do anything to help family (and have the means to do so!). Abigail doesn't have that kind of friend group. She's spent her life trying to live a very particular kind of life and when finances chased her to the edges of that life, it meant that she had to give up the people she'd always spent time with and now feels friendless. Fortunately, as Abigail becomes more comfortable with who she is now, she also finds she has friends she can depend on when she needs them. And when Chase and Penelope call off the wedding, just as Alexa and Abigail begin to understand each other, they will both need all of their friends and connections to get the couple back together. 

In Abigail and Alexa Save the Wedding, Dolan is back to California and I always feel like I'm getting a tour of the area by a friend who's lived there and loves it. Which is not to say that Connecticut and New York City don't always get their share of attention, but it's the Montecito area that's the star location of this one. 

Perhaps my favorite part of this book were the bridal columns (written by a friend of Abigail's) inserted throughout the book. As a person who is hoping to be a mother of the groom in the coming year, I actually found them to be packed with good information...and also really funny! 

Dolan's books are always the kinds of books that you know will have happy endings and when I pick them up, I pick them up looking forward to that. Characters I can cheer for, some quirkiness, all of the lovely details that make things come alive but never too many, and love (there is always love!) - Dolan never disappoints!