The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

 In the 1940's a group of people in the small English village of Chawton come together in an effort to save the cottage where Jane Austen wrote some of her novels, and make it into a museum.  Four of the members of the "Jane Austen Society" are locals, but come from different social circumtances.  One is a village doctor, who has never quite gotten over his wife's death.  Another is a young widow who is expecting her deceased husband's child.  There is an heiress of an estate facing financial ruin, and a farm hand from the same estate.  They are joined by an American movie star who has the means and influence to make things happen.  As the unlikely group work together and share their common love for Austen's wit and wisdom, relationships form and lives are changed for the better.

As I was going on one day about how well Tom Hanks did with the narration of The Dutch House, my coworkers said, "Well then, you need to listen to The Jane Austen Society, narrated by Richard Armitage."  The general consensus amoung my friends (all middle aged women) was that the story was OK but that listening to Armitage's resonant British accent for 10 hours was the true enjoyment.  I think they are right.  The story was decent, if a little predictable. The characters were well drawn, though the plot was at times slow. Also, I am not convinced that there really are men in the world that love Austen as much as the male characters in the book do.  Still, the best part was the narration.  I was suprised that with his rumbling bass Armitage could do the women's voices so well.  It almost sounded like a full cast.  That said, I liked Tom Hanks better, but that is just personal preference.  (2020, 320 p)

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Count Alexander Rostov is convicted of being an unrepentant aristocrat at the beginning of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1922.  He is sentenced to house arrest at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow where he is to remain for the rest of his life. For 27 years he looks out the hotel windows at the ever-changing landscape of Rusia and sees the leading figures of the age come in and out of the revolving doors of the hotel. During that time his station changes from wealthy heir to hired help, but he never lets go of the principles that make him a true gentleman. Even within the confining walls of the hotel, fate brings love and grief, joy and fullfillment and a host of interesting companions that become his family. 

So, this audiobook is 18 hrs long, and the book description sounds like it could be dead boring, but it was recommended to me by a friend and so I decided to give it a try.  It turned out to be just lovely.  It is slow moving, and kind of gentle, but there is so much humanity,
wisdom and humor in the story.  Towles charactarizations are masterful and the dialog is so intelligent. It also has a really unique view of Rusian politics during the transition from Bolshevik idealism to the harsh reality of Stallin's reign. I enjoyed it very much and I will be recommending it to all my historical fiction loving friends. (480 p. 2016)

The Untethered Soul by Michael A Singer

Mr. Singer presents an impassioned introduction to the basic philosophy of Yoga.  His main ideas are that our mind is filled with a frenetic voice that is constantly commenting on the world around us and within us.  He assurts that if we can observe this voice, it is not really part of our true self, and therefore we can free ourselves from its influence.  If we can learn to quiet our inner voice, and just experience each moment as it comes, our lives can be filled with constant energy and love. 

This is a spiritual self-help book that hit the top of the New York Times best sellers list in 2007.  It had some interesting and useful ideas.  He suggests that when our hearts start to close off to protect ourselves from anything that might challenge our self concept, we should, instead, open our hearts and let the experience and the emotions flow through us. I have been struggling to be happy recently, and this technique has helped me this week.  Some of his other assertions didn't really ring true to me.  His claim that this limitless energy and love is available and just waiting for us to tap into it didn't make sense. Where would this energy come from and what is its source?  Plus, does anyone really want constant joy and estacy?  It sounds exhausing to me, and menotonous. His explanations were hollow at best.  Still, I am glad I read the book.  It was short, engaging, and it reminded me that I need not spend a lot of energy trying to change things I can not change. (232 p. 2007)

Daisies and Devotion by Josi Kilpack

Timothy Mayfield knows he must marry for money, but he hopes that he can also find a wife he can love and respect.  Maryann Morrington is an heiress with plenty of money, but no classic beauty, and, due to tragedies in her family, is older than most debutantes enjoying their first season in London.  Timothy considers Maryann an possibly good match.  She is clever and straight forward, fun to tease and wealthy.  ThenTimothy learns that his Uncle Elliot will give him a generous living if he chooses a respectable wife, and he suddenly feels free, for the first time, so seek for the girl of his dreams. He swiftly relegates Maryann to "friend" status and goes in search of his accomplished, blond, delicate ideal.  Meanwhile, Maryann puts away her feelings for Timothy, and begins her own search for someone who is not just after her money, who will love her as she is.  Will their separate searches for love ever lead them back to each other?

This is the second in the "Mayfield Family" series. I am a little embarrased that it only took a week and a half since I finished the first one to come running back to the series. In my defense, I was listening to it at the same time as The Untethered Soul (review forthcoming) which is so conceptually dense, I felt I couldn't rush through it. I needed something to fill the gaps while the deep thoughts were sinking in... yeah...right..... (I know,  pathetic).  I enjoyed this one very much. It is, like "Promises and Primroses," very clean, proper, and sweet. Timothy is more firtatious and playful than Peter in the first book, but Maryann is pretty much like Julia--proper, self-assured, and willing to stand up for herself, but at the same time, vulnerable. Anyway, it is merely escapist, but a pretty innocuous way to escape. (2019, 298 p)

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart

Coyote Sunraise is a 12 year-old-girl who lives on a refurbished school bus with a man she calls Rodeo, but who is actually her father.  They have lived together, cruising aimlessly from one place to another since the death of Coyote's mother and two sisters in a car accident five years earlier.  At first it seems like an idylic lifestyle for the pre-teen, but all that starts to change when Coyote learns during a phone call from her grandmother that the park near the home where she lived before the accident was going to be torn down to make room for a freeway overpass.  Suddenly it is super important to Coyote to return to the home she hasn't seen since she was seven, but she knows it will be a definite "no go" for Rodeo who can't bring himself to face his terrible loss. Coyote comes up with a scheme to at least get Rodeo going in the right direction, and along the way they pick up one misfit passanger after another. As the strange group of fellow passangers start to feel like family, Coyote's longing for memories of her lost loved ones becomes an unstopable force that drives their impossible journey, but will it drive her and Rodeo apart?

This book got all kinds of good reviews when it came out.  The pre-teen voice of Coyote is delightful, and the portrayal of her and Rodeo's free-wheeling, hippy life style is appealing. Gemeinhart did a great job portraying Rodeo as a man who is trying hard to make a good life for his daughter, but is doing it from a place of utter brokenness. He also manages to mix in some pretty funny scenes to balance out what is often an emotionally heavy story.  The writing is good, and the wisdom is good and I am debating whether to give it a starred review.  The thing holding me back is that I didn't love it.  I wasn't ever eager to start listening to it again (even though the reader was excellent).  It felt too long and maybe a little tiny bit maudlin.  It might have just been the mood I was in this week. I think kids who really liked Wonder or Fish in a Tree would like this book.  (346 p. 2019)

Promises and Primroses by Josi S. Kilpack

Elliot Mayfield is a viscount and the head of a family that has struggled.  He never married, instead dedicating himself to earning back his family's fortune and respect.  Most of his nieces and nephews have given themselves over to riotous living, except his oldest nephew and heir Peter Mayfield. To try to reclaim his wayward family members Elliot creates an incentive for each of them, even Peter, to find a suitable spouse and settle down. Peter has no interest in his uncle's plans. He had a successful marriage, and has two wonderful daughters. He has felt no need to remarry since his wife's death. Then Julia walks into his life.  As his daughter's new governess, she fits amazingly well into his household.  She even shares his love for dogs and dog breading. Julia's mother objects to having Julia work for a Mayfield.  She says its it because of the family's dissolute reputation, but is there something more? And can Peter and Julia's growing attachment survive Julia's mother's disapproval?

I started reading a gritty teen fantasy, The Cruel Prince, by Holly Black, but two hours into the e-audiobook I just couldn't face it anymore and caved.  I turned instead to Josi Kilpack because we have a huge section of her books in our "Rel Fic" (think Christian Romance) section of our library.  This was probably the most clean and polite romance I have ever read! Peter refuses to put one toe out of line when it comes to being a proper gentleman who will avoid scandal at all cost.  Julia is the epitome of restraint.  Yet still there is enough mutual attraction to keep it interesting. I was surpised that it didn't really mention religion except to say that the characters went to church and Peter said prayers with his daughters every night. I enjoyed the book, though it was a little slow paced and the writing wasn't as cleaver as Georgette Heyer's or Roseanne White's.  I will still add Josi Kilpack to my list of go-to authors when I need a good clean historical romance to help me through a difficult week (2018, 322 p.)