My favorite listen of all time is Daisy Jones & The Six: The actors brought this incredible novel about the meteoric rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer to life - I saw the entire film in my head - and I don’t think I will ever watch the series or any film version for this reason.
The Nightingale: A extraordinary tale of the french resistance during WWII. I could not stop listening… I stayed up late sitting in the dark - it’s that good.
The Shoemakers Wife: The majestic and haunting beauty of the Italian Alps is the setting of the first meeting of Enza a practical beauty and Ciro, a strapping mountain boy, who meet as teenagers. Both end up in America unbeknownst to each other - Ciro in NYC where he master shoemaking and Enza in Hoboken. She ends up with an impressive career as a seamstress at the Metropolitan Opera House. I can’t express how much I enjoyed these characters. I was really sad when it was over.
Fly Girl: A Memoir: When Ann Hood was young her family would pile into the car and visit the construction site of what became Washington Dulles International Airport which opened in 1962. Ann decided planes and travel were where she wanted to be. Graduating from college in 1978 Ann began the interview process and landed a coveted spot with TWA. She survived TWA’s rigorous Breech Training Academy where she learned to evacuate seven kinds of aircraft, deliver a baby, mix proper cocktails, administer oxygen and stay calm no matter what the situation. I remember flying on TWA in the mid 1970’s with my parents. This book is a great bit of nostalgia.
The Dutch House: This Ann Patchett title is wonderful. This book carries with it all the meaning of home and asks what does a building hold of a family when you don’t have either. I originally read the book in March 2020 and first listened in February 2021 and I found it incredible - if possible more impactful than when I originally read it. I re-listened to it in March of 2022 and again in summer 2024. This is my favorite work of modern fiction. The hardcover book is prominently displayed on the top of a stack in the Chalet livingroom.
Tom Lake: Another amazing tale by Ann Patchett. When Lara’s three grown daughters return to the family’s Orchard in Northern Michigan during the pandemic to help pick cherries they beg her to tell them about Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom Lara shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company - Tom Lake. Lara shares much but, also keeps things to herself about the summer she was 25. Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. This book riveted me. I stayed up late listening. Meryl Streep is masterful at acting each character with pinpoint accuracy. Ann Patchett is my favorite author - she’s a master at drawing you in slowly.
Bad Summer People: Jen and Lauren rule the town of Salcombe, every summer. They’re adept at manipulating people to get what they want. Their husbands, Sam and Jason, have summered on the island since childhood. This season starts out as quietly as usual until a body is discovered, face down off the side of the boardwalk. None of them would claim to be a particularly good person. But who among them is actually capable of murder? This is a deliciously smart and entertaining read.
Sometimes I find the narration so enjoyable I look up what other titles this person has narrated and I usually find myself listening to them as well. Case in point Marin Ireland. Marin is an actress and brings something so wonderful to the stories. I have listened to: The Beartown series, This Time Tomorrow, Pineapple Street, Nothing to See Here, Remarkably Bright Creatures and Good Company.
Summer Rental: I continue to share this title with friends. I really like these three gals Ellis, Julia, and Dorie friends since grade school; now in their mid-thirties are all at crossroads. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is beginning to question the choices she's made. Julia, whose caustic wit covers up her wounds has a man who’s offering her the world. And Dorie, who was betrayed by the man she loved. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs.
