A Heartbeat at My Feet by Kristin Judd 5

 

"Listen: I've mentioned that, as a dog, human relationships often befuddle me---they're overly complicated ridiculously intricate. Consider, dogs, for example. Consider, if you will, me: I either love someone, or hate them, or am indifferent altogether....

But when you get right down to it, when I love someone, I love them without ambiguity. That's how it is with dogs. But human relationships? Dio Mio...love between humans can be as clear as a muddy pond."

       -Cicero, from the novel

Unexpectedly this was one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a while. I generally do not read romances, and this one contains that element but much more. I am rating it a 5---well-written and so light and entertaining.

Josie Ballard is a young woman hurt by a philandering husband who takes off on a long-dreamed-of trip to Italy. Meanwhile, a "snobbish terrier of indeterminate breeding" named Cicero is wandering Pompeii, mourning the loss of his precious owner, Giorgio. When the two meet up, it seems a match made in heaven, especially when they are led to Hugo, Giorgio's estranged son. Can you say serendipity?

The chapters alternate between Josie's perspective and Cicero's narratives, which are very humorous. Made me laugh out loud at times.

I recommend this endearing story.

The Good Neighbor The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King 4

 

"His signature value was human kindness; he lived it and he preached it, to children, to their parents, to all of us everywhere who could take the time to listen."   -from the Epilogue

I am quite a fan of Fred Rogers. I have seen the film "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" twice. My husband and I visited the Rollins College campus near our Winter Park home where we saw the wonderful statue of Mr. Rogers, a famous alumnus of the school. (see picture) I had enjoyed some of his telecasts of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood back in the day. He visited our Presbyterian church 20+ years ago and was so kind and friendly to our granddaughter who was with us.

Fred Rogers was so much more than a TV personality. He was a talented musician and composer, a puppeteer, an ongoing student of child development, an ordained Presbyterian minister, a writer and the founder and host of "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" for over 30 years. He won numerous awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Above all, by all accounts of coworkers, employees, friends, family and acquaintances, he was a wonderful man---one in a million! I have often said that people today should do more channeling of their inner Mr. Rogers!

I have rated the biography a 4, not exactly a page-turner but very informative. It was inspiring to read of Fred Rogers' effect on people he met, both children and adults, and even Koko the gorilla.

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig 4

 

"Oh dear, Old Bean. Listen. You are at the end of your life and the start of your death. Your life flashes before your eyes. You linger where you are meant to linger. On scenes that provide as a whole, a complete representation of your life. But then, when the time comes, you get on board the Midnight Train and keep on chugging along the track. You don't stick around. Because as I told you, you can't be there when your living self falls asleep. You get on the train and then you wait for eternity."

    -Agnes Bagdale explanation to Wilbur Budd

I wasn't sure what I thought of this book at first; I don't read fantasy often. This one is pretty fantastical with Wilbur Budd dying near the beginning and then essentially travelling the Midnight Train through his life. I loved Agnes, Wibur's ghostly guide on the trip. Her philosophy of life provided so many profound quotes, I had a hard time picking one. Mostly because of this, I have rated the book a 4.

This is not an easy journey for Wilbur since he has to revisit some troubling times and some major regrets, particularly a broken relationship. Agnes keeps warning him not to make changes to the past lest it keep him from eternity but in the end, he can't resist.

Here are only a few of the passages I found so meaningful:

Music had a way of threading through decades like nothing else. A song, after all, was a needle pulling the thread of time, stitching disparate moments into something whole.

There were days in life that rolled by and were never really thought of again. And then there were days that were so beloved or important that they contained inside them everything that came after. Russian doll days that were always inside the expanding future.

Nothing ever just happened, realized the Ghost. Even the most reckless action was a consequence of what had gone before, just as every loud mistake in the world was the product of some quiet and secret pain.

Does any person in their youth truly appreciate the time they live through? Doesn’t the mundane starch of reality always turn to sugar with memory.

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout 3

"So blind we humans are---so blind. To each other and to ourselves, moving through life as though through shadows, putting out a hand in the dark and thinking we have touched someone. And maybe we have, as Artie did with Rhonda Lazarre that day. But mostly we travel through life unsighted, grasping only the smallest details of one another's selves, including our own. Thinking all the while that we can see."      -from the novel

The Things We Never Say is a short book, about 200 pages, with long chapters, only seven. I have rated it 3 since I liked it somewhat, didn't love it.

Living in coastal Massachusetts in 2024, Artie Dam is a high school history teacher, a popular one. As a former teacher myself, I found his relationships with students impressive. However, Artie hides a lot of emotions from others---loneliness, discontent, depression, even suicidal thoughts for a time. A potentially life-threatening accident changes him. Then he learns a family secret that throws him for a loop.

The time setting was interesting---presidential election 2024. Artie's reaction was similar to mine. "The election came and went. Half of the country was stunned, the other half jubilant."

Artie and I were in the former half. 

Basically, I found the book well-written but a downer.

The Guardians by John Grisham 5

 

"This can be a dirty business. We are forced to deal with witnesses who have lied, police who have fabricated evidence, experts who have misled juries, and prosecutors who have suborned perjury. We, the good guys, often find that getting our hands dirty is the only way to save our clients."

            -Cullen Post, from the novel

This is my third Grisham novel in a row. Might not have happened if The Guardians had not been a June Page Turners selection and had The Testament not been the best available in the cruise ship library. Of the three, I liked this one best for a couple of reasons. It reminded me of Framed, a nonfiction by Grisham and a co-writer, Jim McCloskey who heads up an innocence project of his own. I found it fascinating, if disturbing. Also, The Guardians is partially set in Central Florida where I live with mentions of familiar places like the Orange County Court House, a skyscraper in Orlando. I rate it a 5, definitely a page-turner.

Cullen Post is a former criminal defense attorney turned episcopal priest turned innocence lawyer. He works with a nonprofit, Guardian Ministries, out of Savannah. The novel focuses on two of his clients, innocent men falsely imprisoned: Duke Russell dangerously close to being executed in Alabama and Quincy Miller 20+ years in prison in North Florida for a murder he did not commit. Post puts in an incredible number of hours and miles on his old car traveling from prison to prison and finding and interviewing people involved in the original verdicts.

I can only hope there are numerous guardians like Cullen Post in America trying to right some terrible wrongs. Our U.S. justice system is far from just for some Americans, especially people of color and those without resources.

The Testament by John Grisham 5

 

"You die with eleven billion, and people care about your last will and testament. Especially if there's a chance that one of the world's great fortunes is about to be fed to the vultures. The tabloids were there, along with the local papers and all the important financial magazines. The three rows Wycliff had designated for the press were full by nine-thirty. The journalists had a delightful time watching the Phelans gather in front of them. Three artists worked feverishly."

           -from the novel

Troy Phelan is one of the richest men in the world and, nearing death changes his will in a very sneaky way. He has 3 ex-wives and many adult children who can't wait to get their hands on some of his great wealth, and it seems none of them are very deserving.

Nate O'Reilly, a D.C. litigator just out of rehab and way down on his luck is tapped to find the actual recipient of the Phelan fortune. She is Rachel Lane, Troy's illegitimate daughter about whom little is known except that she a missionary in a remote area of Brazil. 

Nate is lucky to survive a plane crash and boat problems in his search for the woman. Fortunately, he has a river guide named Jevy, who, by the way, adds some humor to a story that gets pretty intense.

I found this to be a page-turner; the rating is 5.

A Painted House by John Grisham 4

"I was scared and tired, almost faint again, and I just wanted everything to be normal, with the Mexicans and the Spruills out of our lives, with Ricky home, with the Latchers gone, with the nightmare of Hank erased from my memory. I was tired of secrets, tired of seeing things I was not supposed to see."

        -Luke, from the novel

I thought I had read this novel, but I really didn't remember much of it. It was not the legal thriller for which Grisham is best known. My rating is a 4.

The narrator/protagonist is Luke Chandler, a 7-year-old living on a cotton farm with his parents and grandparents in Arkansas. The setting is fall of 1952. Luke must help with the farm work but dreams of playing baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals. As a former elementary school teacher, I tend to identify with youthful characters.

The Chandler family has little money and they depend on the cotton crop for a living. It is harvest time and they must hire migrants to help with picking in order to get it done in time. These would include a family named Spruill, folks they call "hill people" from the Ozarks, and a group of several Mexicans. At his tender age Luke is exposed to adult situations brought on by these two groups including violence and a sexual encounter. One can surmise the ill effects on him from the quote above.

A painted house of the title is a status symbol in this time and place because people like the Chandlers cannot afford paint and are looked down on by those who can. I will leave it for you to find out more about why the title is fitting.