Quick Lit February 2020 Archives

Keep It Moving: Lessons for the Rest of Your Life

by Twyla Tharp

I read—and loved—Twarp's previous book.

Oona Out of Order

by Margarita Montimore

The premise of this caught my attention: what if one woman doesn't live her life linearly, but completely out of order, one year at a time? On the eve of her nineteenth birthday, Oona is in a good place: at a New Year's Eve party with the man she loves, counting down to both the new year and a new year in her own life. But just as the clock strikes midnight, Oona passes out—and wakes up as a 51-year-old, in an unfamiliar place, greeted by a stranger who expects this to happen, and a letter from herself explaining the wild ride she's just begun. I appreciated the creativity of this story, which reminded me of Back to the Future for theme and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine for tone.

Olive Kitteridge

by Elizabeth Strout

Retired schoolteacher Olive is not keen about the way her small town of Crosby, Maine is changing. (Crosby is fictional; the town was so named as a tribute to Strout's college roommate., though literary sleuths suspect the town is based on Brunswick.) Through a series of interconnected short stories, we get to know Olive’s family and some of the town's residents as they grapple with their respective problems, including infidelity, suicide, eating disorders, domestic violence, and more. This may sound like a dismal collection but each story glimmers with care and compassion, even offering hope as prickly Olive comes to develop a better, more honest understanding of herself and those around her. This is one worthy of rereading.

September: A Novel

by Rosamunde Pilcher

I was pleased to find this large Pilcher novel, the one published immediately after The Shell Seekers, in the hotel library when I was traveling last month—and even happier to discover that its minor character Noel Keeting play a major role here. The novel opens in May and, in rotating points of view, Pilcher examines the life and love troubles of several characters who we know will all find themselves at the old family home in the Scottish Highlands come September, because they've been summoned to attend a celebration for the daughter of one of the small town's leading families.

Loveboat, Taipei

by Abigail Hing Wen

In this fast-paced YA debut, a girl travels halfway around the world to find herself, and maybe find love, too. Ever Wong is an eighteen-year-old Asian American girl in Ohio, a talented dancer who, unknown to her parents, harbors dreams of pursuing professional dance. When her parents find out she's considering dance instead of med school, they send her to Taiwan to spend the rest of the summer at Chien Tan—an immersive high school program devoted to language and culture. When Ever arrives she's surprised to discover that far from the scholarly summer she expected, the students themselves call the program "Loveboat," because it’s tons of fun and so many long-term relationships begin here. I enjoyed the audiobook version, narrated by Emily Woo Zeller.

Quick Lit February 2020

Keep It Moving: Lessons for the Rest of Your Life

Oona Out of Order

Olive Kitteridge

September: A Novel

Loveboat, Taipei

Buckle Up!

summer reading starts May 16th