Too Late for the Beach but Read Them Anyway

Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers by Mary Rodgers Guettel–This is a book is for all those Broadway musical aficionados, and for all the New York City dwellers, East Side or West Side. But who has really heard of Mary Rodgers? She was, in fact, the daughter of Richard Rodgers, of Rodgers and Hammerstein fame and Dorothy Rodgers (inventor of The Johnny Mop and other inventions). Mary grew up an angry child, mostly at her mother but managed to become a writer, composer and philanthropist.  

She wrote Once Upon a Mattress, a wonderfully resilient Broadway play and the original Freaky Friday children’s book. And we all know how that turned out.

So that is the bare bones of Mary Rodgers, but SHY is much more than that. She knew a lot of people, a lot of famous people and was not afraid to tell all, about them as well as herself. She collaborated with NYT theater critic Jesse Green, who finished the memoir after her death.  

I listened to the audiobook and was privileged to hear Christine Baransky narrate it. Jesse Green narrated the footnotes, with some comments of his own, and also read the last part of the book. It was fast paced, funny, sarcastic, self-deprecating, sad and a good read.

The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson: Mabel and Arthur had been married for many years. He was a good husband, a dependable man who loved Mabel, no matter her faults, and he loved to make lists. When he died, his last item was “Find D” and Mabel was determined to honor that request. Dot was Mabel’s best friend who disappeared from her life before they got married and Mabel never stopped thinking about her.

But Arthur had another item on his list… he wanted to make sure that Mabel would be well cared for, so he hired a woman to help her in the event of his death. And through that woman, who became her friend, she made other friends, and they all joined Mabel on her quest. Will Mabel and her friends find Dot? You must read it to find out.

This is a story of love, marriage, friendship and the realization that life goes on even as we age. This is the second Laura Pearson book that I’ve read, and I enjoyed this even more…not so preachy.  It was a good beach book.  

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If it Bleeds: New Fiction (actually novellas) by Stephen King—You’ve heard my Stephen King raves. He is a grand storyteller with sometimes just a hint of horror and those are his books that I enjoy.

“Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” features a young boy who works for an older gentleman and together they form a friendship. Craig was 9 when he first met him and was determined to drag him into the 21st century and finally did by giving him an iPhone. And when Mr. Harrigan passed away, the iPhone became very useful.

“The Life of Chuck”, now a motion picture, shows the life of Charles Krantz, not necessarily in chronological order and his impact on the world. It’s magical.

“If it Bleeds” brings us back to King’s Mr Mercedes and his heroine, Holly Gibney, now older and working for a detective agency. When a nearby school is bombed Holly becomes obsessed with the news reporter who seemed to arrive too quickly. The theme of good vs evil, a common one of King, plays a big role here. (and one a little too close this week)

“Rat” is about an ambition haunted writer and the lengths he will go to finally write a novel. If you’re interested in the way a writer writes, it’s a creepy but fascinating piece.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnson—Fred Fife is a down on his luck 82-year-old when he stumbles upon a wheel chaired elderly man, obviously to him anyway, very dead. In an accident, the wheelchair gets loose, plunging the dead man into the river along with Fred’s wallet. Fred somehow is mistaken for who we now know is Bernard, a resident of a nursing home. Much as he tries, no one believes Fred….and the food is so good there and the bed so comfortable and the staff and clientele so friendly. What is he to do?

What starts out as a case of mistaken identity and a silly farce, becomes a story of the power of one man to make a difference and the reconciliation of father and daughter, the father she never really knew and the daughter he always wanted.

I fell in love with Fred, and you will too. And hopefully, you’ll be able to watch this story on Netflix. Keep a box of tissues nearby.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera—I found this book in the Lucky Day Collection at my library and indeed it was a lucky day for me. I chose it because all the blurbs on the cover were written by my favorite authors: Liane Moriarity, Stephen King, Alice Feeney and Alex Michaelides (my next book club book). I love novels where the main character isn’t perfect, where she’s the “bad” girl. And this is it.

The first sentence of the novel is: “A podcaster has decided to ruin my life, so I’m buying a chicken.” Intriguing…

Lucy, living in LA, is waiting for her boss to fire her and her boyfriend to kick her out. All because she’s widely assumed to be the murderer of her best friend, Savvy. And it’s all there for people to listen to in the latest crime podcast, Listen for the Lie. When Lucy’s grandmother summons her home to Plumpton, TX for her birthday party, Lucy must go. And she must confront Ben, the podcast guy. Did Lucy kill Savvy? We don’t know and Lucy doesn’t remember. But going home to a town full of people that are sure she is a murderer cannot be easy.

This first adult novel for Amy Tintera is funny and sad and scary with some sex thrown in (by practically everyone in Plumpton) It’s a perfect beach book and I finished it very quickly. And of course they’re developing it for a TV series. If you like Joshilyn Jackson, another of my favorite authors, you’ll definitely enjoy Listen for the Lie.

As we roll into September, enjoy my most favorite weather and get ready for under the blanket reading. Which type of reader are you?