The Search Committee

by Tim Owens
Hennepin County Library, paperback, 389 pages
genre: Christian relationship fiction

First-time author. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it. I hope this isn't what the Presbyterian church is really like . . . not many of the characters seemed to have much of a personal relationship with the Lord. Great character study - I enjoyed Frankie's and Travis' narratives the most.

We had a wonderful discussion about it at Fish Tale last night (and yes, the cheesecake was wonderful).

An Invisible Thread

subtitled: The true story of an 11-year-old panhandler, a busy sales executive, and an unlikely meeting with destiny

by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski
Hennepin County Library, hardcover, 238 pages
genre: memoir

Maurice and Laura. Child and adult. Black and white. Shockingly poor and extremely sucessful. This is a wonderful narrative of the two people, how they met and mattered to one another, and how their histories shaped their lives. Amazing story. I'm glad I read it. Similar in ways to Same Kind of Different as Me, but basically secular.

Frank: The Voice

by James Kaplan
Hennepin County Library audioCDs (18 discs)
read by Rob Shapiro
genre: biography

This was a fascinating but also disturbing story. I didn't know much about Frank Sinatra, but he certainly wasn't someone I'll ever hold in very high regard. Despite the impact his mother Dolly had on his psyche, he was an arrogant, shallow, selfish person. He cheated on his wife horribly and treated his friends like dirt.

Listening to so much detail about his life made it hard to have the narrative stop when he won his Academy award for From Here to Eternity. He had another lifetime (and two more wives, I believe) after that! The author went into great detail about recording sessions, conversations, etc.

My favorites: asking my father-in-law if he had ever heard Sinatra sing live (he had) and getting curious about some of the songs and movies mentioned. I just got FHTE from the public library - I've never seen it before. I found myself Googling Montgomery Clift, Ava Gardner, etc. A small part of me wants to read a biography that goes from 1954 to the end of his life. I also got curious about his first wife and his children. But what a skunk of a man!

6/9/12 - Louie and I watched From Here to Eternity last night . . . how sad that the romantic relationships were so messed up! Interesting that this was the Academy Award winner in 1953.

The Orchid Affair

by Lauren Willig Hennepin County Library audioCDs 13 discs read by Kate Reading genre: historical romance Decent story, but also frustrating. Why do I listen to romance stories?! Interesting look at France just after the revolution. Didn't care for the juxtaposition of the modern day characters against the historical backdrop. Laura's characterization was bizarre - confident or unsure? Spy or neophyte? Sultry or uptight? Andre Jaouen worked well as a hero. Good enough story to keep me reading. Not good enough for me to recommend to others.