Hello everyone. I hope you are well.
Everybody should be able to be proud of their country. Certainly, we all disagree with things our country does, or its policies. Rightfully so, those disagreements make us think, ponder, and wonder if there could be a better way. We grow as a species because of learning from each other, nicely not with violence. That being said, right now it is agony being in the United States. Now before you Americans get on your soap box telling me if I don't like it to get out, put on your big girl panties and hold on. I am talking about our upcoming Presidential election. If you live in Europe, Asia, Canada...anywhere else...kiss your phone and computer for me. I am being driven MAD, yes mad I tell you, because of political ads. We are the only remaining house with a land line phone, political parties call it repeatedly...the phone is ringing at this very moment. Not politics this time, someone trying to get my Medicare card information to steal. You can't get Medicare until you are in your mid 60's of which I am not. Anyway, now not only are they calling the one land line in existence in the entire United States (the rest probably cancelled due to telemarketing calls)...now they are calling our cell phone! Not only calls but endless texts. I try my best not to comment on politics, to be honest, it isn't fun like books. I just can't stand it anymore! I can't read because of all the dag gum calls!!! Last week, between telemarketing and political calls, we had 24 calls in one day. TWENTY-FOUR. I swear to you I'm going to vote for Daffy Duck, just end it already. Stop calling and texting me. Don't get me started about YouTube ads, all politics and they won't let you skip them. It is so bad I'm starting to look forward to the Walmart ad with the little claymation animals dancing to Le Freak by Chic (look it up, disco, 70's). Then there is all the stuff in the mail, so much I could wallpaper my bathroom (which might be where it all deserves to be). Ugh, I need to calm down. We need to talk about a book.
I recently read Like Mother, Like Mother by Susan Rieger. This is a story about families. Specifically, we follow Zelda, Lila and Grace. Zelda is the grandmother who has an abusive husband. We learn about Zelda's past, including that her husband has had Zelda hauled off to an asylum. He tells their children the difficult news, later following up with the fact that she has died there. We also encounter Zelda's daughter, Lila, grown up and a woman with power. She runs a major newspaper in Washington. Married to her work, Lila's children and husband suffer. Finally, we follow Lila's daughter Grace. Grace resents her mother's career and the attention that it stole from her. There is a bit of a mystery that, once answered, really emphasizes the practices and traits that are passed down. Are those actions repeated from generation to generation or purposefully changed?
I read books of all kinds but primarily thrillers. Sadly, although my favorite to purchase and read, thriller stories become hard for me to remember. Ultimately, most years my favorite book is not a thriller but something far more character driven. Like Mother, Like Mother may be my favorite for the year. The writing is wonderful, telling the story fully but without dwelling on the unnecessary. The characters, well, I don't think I'll ever forget them. If you can finish this book without shedding sad and happy tears, then you have far more control than I do. Enthralling from beginning to end, I loved every second.
Many, MANY, thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. You made my reading year!
We've also been getting final expense insurance calls (always fun), home improvement calls (I tell them I want to build a moat and fill it with sharks), and calls wanting to give me a legal referral for the car accident that they KNOW I've had in the last two years (I tell them I ran over a telemarketer). To those that do the job of a telemarketer, I'm sorry, but the do not call list exists for a reason! My sanity!
PS. There are NO telemarketing calls in Like Mother, Like Mother. Thankfully.
PPS. I am laughing my butt off. While waiting for hubby to read this and double check that I only messed up a few words (my usual), I got another telemarketing call. They wanted to know if I ever thought of writing and publishing a book. They offered to do it through Amazon and could give me a $90,000 advance. When I told them to send the contract to my attorney, they hung up. Gosh, I wonder why! Getting deep around here!