Be Home By Dinner

A local author that gives his outlook down memory lane around the neighborhood. I tried to look at some reviews and many have said that the author captured how it was to grow up in the 70s,80s, and 90s. I was pretty excited to read about my old neighborhood and new again.

He hit on a lot of the homemade memories I remember. Like WillowGrove Mall, Springfield Mall, Flourtown, Lancers Diner without saying the name, only diner I know that looks out on the AF field. And the famous Treasure Island, Boy Scout camp. (Where my son had went and also he and his sister worked).

I tried looking for a common storyline but got bored with the story. Seemed like it was a never-ending one. Garvey went through what most of us did with growing pains. Had many friends. But also grew apart from them one way or the other. Had girlfriends for awhile. Rode Huffy bikes, calling back, be back. As long as he was back by dinnertime. Of course getting into trouble. Garvey's parents purchased their home with the G.I. Bill. (Just like my parents did).

There was a thread of a mysterious yellow car that wasn't so nice. We find out that this man, Kova and a Father Pal wasn't the nicest or the up and up people they claimed to be. Sadly some who Garvey knew were hurt by them.

Besides everyone listening to KYW News Radio, using gas powered lawn mowers, coming home from a good day of doing stuff outside the house and walking into a home that had a lemon smelling and Windex clean house, everything else was a story about a kid growing up. 

With watching tv and using a "Clicker" to turn the channels, the days of pimple popping until accomplished with blood, drinking beer (as Garvey puts it a "cold urine flavor"not a fan of it either) and what a surprise,  a welcome rebirth of my identity when I went to high school. Pretty much a nice memory lane book.

I am hoping Carl Franke, the author does better with his next book. There is something there. I just don't enjoy reading never-ending books.

I give Be Home By Dinner 3 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

It was a pretty good book. First thing I thought about while reading is Autism and Aspergers. How Christopher  dealt with his everyday life and with his parents.

It is a wonder how the brain works. Each one of us reacts differently. I like how Christopher thought about animals, in this case dogs."You always know what a dog is thinking" He used the death of Wellington as a mystery. For him it is like a puzzle. Along the way he learns a lot about life and others learn a lot about him. He was happy being a detective and finding out things.

He did find out who killed Wellington. So his relationship changed with his father, especially finding out that his mother was alive. Sadly a lot of people don't have the patience with Autistic or Aspergers people. For that, his mother couldn't handle the pressure.

Great that Christopher felt that he was smarter than the other children. He kept up with his Level A tests so eventually he can go to university.

A journey to show how Christopher thinks and will get along in his life.

He was brave and found his mother. And he wrote a book. With all that he can do anything.

I added a few highlights from Goodreads that I thought interesting

I give The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time 4  

Because I did skip quite a few pages that started to slow the story down.
All in all good story.

The DollHouse

This was one of those books that was a Free Friday Nookbook. I must say I enjoyed it very much. I love how the author intertwined a good story of all sorts with the history of New York in this case, back in the 1950's. The characters were interesting. The author went back and forth then and today, which bothers me in books. But not The DollHouse. It told a story than, in 1950s and followed it up today 2016, which made perfect sense. DollHouse named for the "Dolls" who lived there.

Who knew that Rose a journalist, would find a story in history of the Barbizon, a women-only hotel in the last century. And the tallest in the neighborhood back then. The whole idea was to create a private club type building for women. Hotel guests had to supply three character references. She found out from the other ladies that they stripped the place of all it's character when they went condo. The powerful feeling like walking into a Moroccan bazaar was gone.

Darby McLaughlin so new to the city and naive, with book in hand titled "The Art of Conversation" tried to learn to be on her own. Rose tried to get this story written but to no avail. Seasoned as she was, the rest of the office were of bright young things. She preferred long-form writing, which didn't put her as a young bright thing. But Rose went about to do her story. She liked collecting facts and making a story out of them. At its perfection, science and art.

She had to tell this story of this hotel, of these bright young things. It just wasn't Darby, it was the other women also who came from different backgrounds.To be models, secretaries who tried to make it in a man's world. Because for Rose she seen some of her own life in theirs. Rose wanted to find out the ones who live there now what they thought of change from a women's hotel to a condo.  Darby McLaughlin was the link how women were treated in 1950 and the way they are now. She found the girls come to NY City only to learn a skill until they found "Mr. Right". Rose followed the story and found another part of Darby's story, Esme Castillo. Why were they fighting? And what else happened? What did she do with her life that makes her so unforgettable ? She made a friend Esme. Had a boyfriend, Sam. Sang in a jazz club and tried to do the right thing by her friend Esme, when she did the wrong thing. Her fault I guess, just to care.  It's about losing people you love, being alone in a big city with nothing more than four walls of your apartment"

 And after that Darby seemed to just fade in the distance. As Rose puts it Darby had a swagger almost, an elegant mystery.

Connecting their stories with Rose, Rose who was pushed aside by a married boyfriend, her dad with dementia (that I know all too well), and was giving a good stiff talking to by Darby and Stella (one of the other ladies). Rose had fears. If lonely and scared, deal with it now, they told her. Life only gets lonelier and scarier no matter how many people fill your home and heart. "It's up to you". So Rose did just that. Made decisions about her dad and Jason who she became closer to after the mess of Griff.

I give The DollHouse 5 

Will be looking forward to other books of this author.

Where'd You Go Bernadette

What can I say about this book. I'm glad I got the chance to read it. At times it seems far- fetched. Other times it was a little confusing to follow. But definitely laugh out loud parts. From the reference to parents being Mercades parents to the crazy things it seems what Bernadette did. And a trip to the Antarctica.

I can see Bernadette putting her whole self into raising Bee. I felt that way. When my son was born I too put my heart and soul into him.

In the beginning of the story it read to me as a typical rich family, until I started reading about Bernadette giving up her career to raise her daughter and let her husband run with his career as a Microsoft Employee. But not that she had no faults. She contributed losing her career too. Doesn't excuse her husband Elgie of his role and what he did. Taking the funny part aside and the neighbors/school community like Audrey and family, Soo Lin etc... 

It comes down to what really is all about Bernadette. She is creative and when a person's creativity is stifeled they can do off the wall stuff.  So in that point you could say Where'd she go? Bernadette had to slip away in order to get her life back on track, for her family.

I did make visible some highlights I thought funny etc on Goodreads that complete my review.

I give Where'd You Go Bernadette 4 

I'm glad I read the book. I haven't seen the movie yet but characters they picked does not fit what I imagined in my mind. 

Death on the Nile

Another juicy Agatha Christie novel. I like the fact that the Hurcule Poirot's series is a series that need not to be read in order. Also liked how there was a nod in the story of Hercule Poirot from Murder on the Orient Express.

Death on the Nile is a good one to read. I had to stay alert to the characters and scene that was written. Not only did one mystery occur a second one happened in a matter of days. 

As Poirot started out he was asked about vacation, (holiday). And he said" How true is the saying that man was forced to invent work in order to escape the strain of having to think." Which I knew that Poirot's enjoyment is work. You know there is going to be a murder /mystery. For he does travel and finds work.

All kinds of characters on the trip of Egypt. I'm really not sure if there was any characters that stood out for me. Sure there were rich, not so rich, and ones that were just servants. I try not to guess what's going on because I want to be surprised. But this story was slightly predictable. The whole Linnet, Simon, and Jacqueline scene toward the end there, I know was bringing questions into my head. But Joanna, Linnet's friend, her aloofness was a bit to take til when I found out why she was so overly dramatic.

I like how Mrs Allerton was a kind of character that saw good in people and took to Poirot. She always believing there is happiness in the world. Even though "love can be a very frightening thing." " That is why most great love stories are tragedies"as Poirot would say. 

 Than there is always the servant's and elderly like Louise Bourget, Miss Bowers, Dr Bessner, etc.. that suspicion always fell on.

Again all characters were separate but intertwined at the same time. Three murders, and robberies all as one. Some as thinking why is character only have a small part? To find that they had something to do with the murders or robbery. The cold-bloodedness that strikes Race and Poirot to have the murders that some were thought have done is not ringing true.

Of course we have the interviews of Hurcule Poirot and Inspector Race. But we know who is going to solve these cases. Who made me laugh this time was Poirot. He had some doozy's. Like he likes an audience. "I must confess. I am vain, you see. I am puffed up with conceit. I like to say " See how cleaver is Hercule Poirot!"

The end of the story Mr. Ferguson, a character that portrayed to be something else said,"It is not the past that matters but the future." Hmm.. I wonder if Christie could see something in the future?

I give Death On The Nile 5 

I look forward to another Agatha Christie novel. Who knows where that will take me :)