pickEven if most don‘t include a romance with a future Hollywood star, I think every family has their own lore — those colorful stories that hint at who the parents were *before* …or who they might have been had things gone just a little bit differently.
In this novel, Lara‘s trip down memory lane to clarify her lore for her 3 adult daughters made for a charming read.
(Plus Patchett absolutely nailed the behind-the-scenes drama of summer theater.)
pickA captivating story that shows the reality of show business through one young actress' experience and early retirement. And her beautiful and ordinary family life that follows, told to her adult daughters during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The audiobook, performed by Meryl Streep was a masterpiece.
Tackle the TBR 🤓📚
What are you reading?
#boleybooks #tomlake #AnnPatchett #bookbeast #novel #bookbuds #bookclub #letsread
bailedI think this is my second dud from Reese‘s Book Club. This book was written well but just boring. Soooo boring. Set during Covid with all her daughters home, a mother decides to tell her girls her life story and all her glory playing Emily in Our Town. I think I made it 100 pages in and was just over Our Town at that point. I would definitely try this author again but just couldn‘t get through this one. #hailtothebail
pickAfter loving The Dutch House on audio with Tom Hanks, @Billypar let me know that Meryl Streep is the narrator of Tom Lake and I had to listen. I loved the story of mothers and daughters and how we become disillusioned about what we believed to be true or important in our youth. The book portrays their relationships as adults as they look back on the past, experience the present and look toward the future. The pandemic is there but subtle.
pickMostly listened to this on audio. It was masterfully written - Patchett is unparalleled in that regard. The story—I didn‘t really connect with the story. Partly I was rankled by the MC/narrator, Lara‘s, rosy wistfulness about the COVID lockdown. It‘s one of my pet peeves (partly because my family did not have a cozy, bread-baking, ‘growing closer free from the distractions of hectic life‘ experience). But partly I just felt a bit detached 👇
pickI love Ann Patchett. I love Meryl Streep. I love "Our Town".
So, yeah, I loved this book on audio.
⭐⭐⭐⭐✨/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
pickThis was an ok read. It helped giving my head a break from some heavy stuff going on around. The writing was good but story-wise, I liked Bel Canto a lot better.
pickIt‘s really rare that I listen to audiobooks, but I‘d heard that this one, read/performed by Meryl Streep, was exceptional—and that was absolutely the case! Both the book itself and the reading were outstanding, and this kept my mind occupied on a long road trip last week. So so good.
