Chalet Shelves • Reading Recs 4.15.26

Today I’m sharing some titles I’ve read of late and all three show that I am squarely a member of Gen X. Enjoy!

I listened to these. I love to feel fully immersed with my air-pods in. I borrowed these titles through Hoopla and Libby and I purchased Brat through Chirp. I always try my best to borrow whenever I can and I try to keep my purchasing of titles to a minimum. My Chirp library is predominately filled with classics.

You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried: If you think of yourself as a mid 1980’s film aficionado than this book is for you. I appreciated the nuggets of behind the scenes details; chats with actors and learning more about John Hughes the man responsible for bringing us such memorable film lines as: “Last night at the dance, my little brother paid a buck to see your underwear”. I learned things and that was quite enjoyable but this book should have been edited better. I heard some details and quotes more than once and sometimes more than twice. It is a very long book the listen was 15 hours.

Say Everything: Ione Skye is only 16 when in 1987 she lands her breakout role of Diane Court opposite John Cusack in the movie Say Anything. We learn how she grew up missing her dad - the folk singer Donovan Leitch who left her mom to raise she and her brother on her own. She like her mom was drawn to musicians first dating Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis and marrying Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz with whom she shares two daughters. The title of this memoir really says it all - Ione does in fact say everything - sharing deeply personal and intimate moments of her life.

Brat: In his memoir Andrew McCarthy focuses on the most intense years of his early career. He shares a bit of his growing up and we follow along as his plan actually materializes to only attend college for two years and then become a working actor. We get an inside look at a man who by his own account is most uncomfortable with fame.

Til next time friends Happy Reading or Listening! I’ll see you on the Gram!

Chalet Shelves • What's New 3.18.26

Hello Friends in keeping with the color of the month - Green I’m sharing The Elements Of A Home a book I picked up at The Collective Bookstore - a store located in Verona, New Jersey. If you’re in the area I highly recommend a visit and also this sweet little book. Enjoy!

I find history of anything deeply interesting - be it a person, place or object. These household items we take a commonplace today have theirs too!

Til next time friends be well and I’ll see you over on Instagram.

Chalet Shelves • Reading Recs 2.18.26

I’ve enjoyed these truly brilliant reads recently friends and needed to share them in an article because they are that good! I’ve also updated my favorite books article: Get Your Read On! Enjoy!

I listened to these books. I love to listen and feel fully immersed with my air-pods in. I borrow titles through Hoopla and Libby and sometimes purchase titles through Chirp.

All the Colors of the Dark: This incredible tale of a boy with an eye patch - an unlikely hero of sorts who’s split second act reverberates for years to come. This book is gripping, sad, and brilliant. When I finished it I was sad to leave these wonderful tortured selfless souls behind. It’s a missing person mystery, a thriller and a love story that leaves you blown away.

The Correspondent: Sybil Van Antwerp a 73 year old retired lawyer lives alone and communicates to everyone via letters three mornings a week. The story opens in 2012 with Sybil at her desk. She writes to her brother, her best friend, the dean of the department of the university who will not allow her to audit a class, the authors Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry to tell them what she thinks of their latest books, and to one person to whom she writes often yet never sends the letter. She uses letter writing to connect with others and reflect on her life. The letters reveal her humor, regrets, and personal growth. I found Sybil a captivating person - and the getting to know her through not only the letters she writes but through the ones she receives so enjoyable.

Broken Country: Beth and her sweet husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying in the past. When Frank’s brother shoots a dog that is going after their sheep - the past comes back because the dog belonged to Gabriel Wolfe. The man Beth loved as a teenager and who broke her heart. This story is so layered and you feel every emotion of the characters so deeply. I found it gripping. Its a love story with the pace of a thriller.

Raising Hare: A wonderful true story of what happened when Chloe Dalton stumbled across a baby leverete near her home in the English countryside. Imagine saving a sweet little baby hare, bottle feeding it and watching it grow while never treating it as a pet. Imagine two years later the animal still ran in from the fields when you called it and it slept in your house. The relationship so unusual was wonderful to glimpse. I truly enjoyed this tale of caring.

Til next time friends Happy Reading or Listening! I’ll see you on the Gram!