Time 2 Read: Marylee MacDonald

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Goodreads 2015 Reading Recap

A new year has begun. It’s probably time for me to talk about my Reading Journey 2015. It’s probably past time! But I spend a lot of time tracking my reading, so it is probably appropriate to take a few days to see where that journey took me! I’m going to start out looking at some numbers and how I did with my goals in reading and completing (or not!) challenges, and then take a few days to think about where I want to go in 2016.

I’m going to start today by looking at the actual books I read in 2015. I tracked these both on Goodreads and with a spreadsheet. If you are on Goodreads, you probably have already seen the pretty page Goodreads has prepared to summarize our 2015 reading journey. Sadly, though you can share a link on Facebook or Twitter, there is no way to preserve and share a copy of the full page. Maybe next year, Goodreads? I did capture a screenshot of the most important information, which I am sharing with you hear.

As you can see I read 59 book or a total of 20, 583 pages, or an average of 349 pages. (That jives well with a question I answered by an author earlier today, who asked if we prefer to read long books or short books. My answer was ‘medium books’ of ‘about 350 pages’!)

The longest book I read was Lone Star by Paullina Simons, coming in at 576 pages, and the shortest was a book of poems, Poisoned Apples by Christine Heppermann, coming in at only 107 pages.

The average rating I gave was 3.5 Stars, which is also good. It means I liked most of the books I read, and that I don’t just hand out stars easily. The most highly rated book by other people that I read in 2015 was Montpelier Today by Marylee MacDonald, with a rating of 4.33 Stars.

The most popular book of all that I read was The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins, read by 477, 545 readers, and the least popular book was An Old-Fashioned Christmas by Ellen Stimson, read by only 44 readers. These numbers are not all that surprising. These numbers are about readers and not ratings. The first came out early in the year with a lot of hype, and the latter came out only last month and had appeal for a very specific audience.

If you’d like to see more, take a look at my 2015 Goodreads Year in Review here!

This post turned out to be a little longer than I anticipated, so I am going to continue tomorrow with a post based on my reading spreadsheet.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Review: Montpelier Tomorrow

Montpelier Tomorrow

by Marylee MacDonald

Why did you choose this book? a story of family drama

When did you read this book? August 2015

Who should read this book? readers of contemporary issues

Source: TLC Book Tours

Here is a synopsis of Montpelier Tomorrow from Goodreads

Mid-life mom, Colleen Gallagher, would do anything to protect her children from harm. When her daughter’s husband falls ill with ALS, Colleen rolls up her sleeves and moves in, juggling the multiple roles of grandma, cook, and caregiver, only to discover that even her superhuman efforts can’t fix what’s wrong.

My Review

Wow! I wasn’t sure what to think of this one when I picked it up. It sounded interesting, but I didn’t know if it would hold my interest. It did!

This is a story of a young grandmother, who was widowed suddenly at a young age, and knows the struggles of single motherhood. Years later, with her children grown, she learns her daughter is about to experience a similar fate when her son-in-law is diagnosed with ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative disease that ultimately results in death. (This is the disease commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). While death is certain, getting there is not pretty. As the person loses muscle function, he becomes completely reliant on others for his physical needs, including feeding, grooming, and transport. In this case, Tony, the son-in-law, becomes resentful and cruel to those close to him. This is understandable, of course, as he is facing a terminal diagnosis and resents having his needs attended to by his mother-in-law. But it isn’t easy for his family to live with. And at various times, they lash out at him and each other; a stressful situation for everyone.

There are some hard decisions to be made. Should Tony agree to go on a respirator when he can no longer breathe on his own? This will keep him alive, but unable to communicate his wishes if he ever decides enough is enough and he wants nature to take it’s course. Is it selfish of him to choose the respirator and extend the time his family must center their life around him? Is it selfish of them to want him to let go? Colleen also faces some difficult issues. Just how much does she owe her daughter? Is she obligated to remain indefinitely as Tony’s caretaker? Is it selfish for her to want to return to her life in Chicago? These are some of the ethical questions the book addresses. Book clubs will have a great time discussing these issues.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys family dilemnas. I have one copy to give away! If you would like to win a copy of Montpelier Tomorrow, just follow the link to fill out the entry form. Contest closes at midnight (central) September 17, 2015.

{Click here to go to entry form!}

About Marylee MacDonald

A former carpenter and mother of five, Marylee MacDonald began writing when her last child left for college. Her fiction has won the Jeanne Leiby Chapbook Award, the Barry Hannah Prize, the Ron Rash Award, the Matt Clark Prize, and the ALR Fiction Award. Her novel, Montpelier Tomorrow, was a Finalist in the 2014 IPPY Awards and the Faulkner-Wisdom Prize. She is widely published in literary magazines such as American Literary Review, Bellevue Literary Review, Folio, Blue Moon Literary & Art Review, Broad River Review, Four Quarters, New Delta Review, North Atlantic Review, Raven Chronicles, Reunion: The Dallas Review, River Oak Review, Ruminate, StoryQuarterly, The Briar Cliff Review, and Yalobusha Review.

Find out more about Marylee at her website, see what she’s pinning on Pinterest, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter. You can also follow her blog and add her to your circles on Google+.

My Rating: ★★★★ 4 Stars