Tag / Elin Hilderbrand

by admin

2024: The Year In Books

As 2024 comes to a close, my fourth full year of remote working, I managed to once again surpass my previous records by completing a whopping 61 books, two books more than my previous high set last year and my fourth consecutive year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I completed the challenge in mid-November and surpassed last year’s total in mid-December.  I read 22,622 pages, by far my highest total of all time and just the second time I’ve managed to surpass 20.000 pages.

Of those books, only five were non-fiction and, of the remaining 56 novels, only five were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with two hard covers, two paperbacks, 53 e-books and no audiobooks.  I continued to take advantage of my library card, which helped me procure 46 of the books I consumed throughout the year.

Over 69% of the books I read this year were by authors I had read before. The 19 authors that I read for the first this year were:

Jessica Knoll Isabella Maldonado Kathleen McGurl Lisa Taddeo
Lisa Jewell Millie Bobby Brown J.M. Dillard Lee Goldberg
Avery Cunningham Margot Douaihy R.F. Kuang Jessica Simpson
Jeffrey Lang Dayton Ward Holly Wilson Karin Smirnoff
Walter Beede Michael Connelly Rob Harvilla

Karin Slaughter, Jeffery Deaver, Laura Lippman, Elin Hilderbrand, Jessica Knoll, Michael Connelly, Minka Kent, Lee Goldberg, Rebecca Forster, Stephen King, and Sarah Pekkanen were the authors that I read multiple titles from during 2024.

17 of the books I read were released this year, while only three of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1997.

Continue reading →

by admin

Book 60 (of 52) – Swan Song

Swan Song – Elin Hilderbrand

When a new couple arrives on Nantucket, they initially upend the social scene but quickly seem to be wearing out their welcome.  When their live-in concierge, a young woman they met in the Virgin Islands, goes missing off their yacht the same night their mansion burns down, the retiring police chief has one final case to solve: what really happened on that boat?

Elin Hilderbrand first crossed my path two years ago, when The Hotel Nantucket was a finalist for a Goodreads Choice Award.  Two years, three novels, and one short story later, she returns with her final Nantucket beach read, appropriately titled Swan Song.  Many of the characters appeared in her previous works, including a couple I recognized from the few I’ve read, and the retirement of the police chief does seem to parallel her own decision to move away from this location and its characters.  There’s still plenty of her back catalog for me to wade through, though, so the story isn’t quite done for me just yet.

by admin

Book 36 (of 52) – Natural Selection

Natural Selection – Elin Hilderbrand

Stuck on a trip to the Galápagos Islands by herself after her boyfriend suddenly left at the airport, a real estate agent from New York tries to rationalize her relationship while learning to let go and enjoy the solo trip.  When she learns the truth about her boyfriend, she leans into the theories of Charles Darwin, that the species most likely to survive is that which adapts to the world around it.

Natural Selection is a short story from Elin Hilderbrand, one which takes place far away from her usual locale of Nantucket.  Given the short length of the work, there isn’t a whole lot of world building or deep characterizations, but it does tell a complete story, one which maybe could have been blown out to a full-length novel.

by admin

Book 24 (of 52) – The Rumor

The Rumor – Elin Hinderbrand

Rumors abound on the small island of Nantucket.  When Madeline, a best-selling author, has trouble coming up with an idea for her new book, she looks to get back her investment in a group of houses being built by her best friend Grace’s husband, which the rumor mill then turns into the two of them having an affair.  Grace, meanwhile, is having an affair, with the landscaper she is working with on her award-winning yard, which the rumor mill turns into her being pregnant with his love child.  In the midst of all this, Grace’s husband Eddie is broke and looking to make a quick buck to get himself back on his feet.  When a shady opportunity falls into his lap, he decides to go along with it, which ultimately puts him in a bad position.

First published in 2015, Elin Hilderbrand returns to my bookshelves with The Rumor, another in her string of summer beach reads set on her home island of Nantucket. Written while Hilderbrand was undergoing treatment for breast cancer, this outing, while good, felt like it was missing a little something to me.  A lot of these rumors could have been cleared up with a simple conversation, but plot contrivances kept them from happening.

by admin

Prolific Authors – 2 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we start things off with the now 41 authors I’ve read twice, an increase of six over two years ago.

Max Barry

An Australian author, I’ve enjoyed the two novels of his I’ve read, Jennifer Government and Company.

Laura Caldwell

I have no idea how I came across the work of this local author, but I must have enjoyed it enough to go back for seconds.  Unfortunately, she passed away in 2020.

Michael Chabon

Winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, the most recent of the two works of his I’ve read.  I have another, Wonder Boys, waiting in the to read pile, so he rise up some day.

Fate Of The Union – Max Allan Collins with Matthew V. Clemens

Matthew V. Clemens

The co-author, with Max Allan Collins, of the final two chapters of the Reeder and Rogers trilogy.

Ernest Cline

The man responsible for both Ready Player One and Ready Player Two.

Bill Clinton

The former president has co-written two novels with James Patterson.

Felicia Day

The first author here that I’ve happened to meet in person.

Cameron Dokey

She makes the list based on two entries in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.

Diane Duane

Living in Ireland, she is responsible for a Star Trek: The Next Generation book and a Spider-Man novel, of all things.

Warren Ellis

The comic writer, currently in exile after being called out for abusing women, makes the list thanks to two prose novels.

David Fisher Continue reading →

by admin

Book 38 (of 52) – The Five-Star Weekend

The Five-Star Weekend – Elin Hilderbrand

Following the untimely death of her husband, a famous gourmet food blogger gathers her closest friends from different phases of her life to gather at her home on Nantucket for a weekend of celebration and indulgence.  Each woman arrives with her own drama or worries but attempt to leave the real world behind for the weekend.  What each one realizes is that doing so is easier said than done.

Elin Hilderbrand returns with The Five-Star Weekend, her latest summer beach read set on her home island of Nantucket.  I first came across her work last year, and this outing had a similar vibe.  As a Midwesterner, I never really thought about summering on Nantucket, but thanks to these works I can see the appeal.  If only I had the bank account to swing such a thing.

by admin

2022: The Year In Books

As we wrap up 2022, my second full year of remote working, I managed to surpass my previous records by completing a whopping 55 books, an increase of one book over last year and my second consecutive year completing the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge.  I surpassed last year’s total with a mere three days remaining in 2022.  I read (or listened) to 19,328 pages, by far my highest total of all time and only the third time I’ve passed 10,000.

Of those books, fifteen were non-fiction and, of the remaining 40 novels, only two were tied to a TV show, either as the source material or as a tie-in.  None of the books came out of my dwindling “to-read” drawer, with 44 e-books and three audiobooks.  I continued to take advantage of my library card, which helped me procure 37 of the books I consumed throughout the year.

A little more than half of the books I read this year were by authors I had read before. The 31 authors that I read for the first this year were:

Adam Nedeff Kelsey McKinney Simone St. James Laura Dave
Jeff Warren Carlye Adler Matt Paxton Jordan Michael Smith
Alyssa Milano Alex Finlay Taylor Jenkins Reid Emily Ratajkowski
Samantha Downing Dave Grohl Mary Lynn Rajskub Stephanie Perkins
Michael Schur Joseph Henrich V.E. Schwab Brianna Madia
Jimmy Piersall Richard Whittingham Richard Osman Colleen Hoover
Jenette McCurdy Sally Rooney Josh Malerman Alice Sebold
Katie Mack Penn Jillette Elin Hilderbrand Nita Prose

Alex Finlay, Simone St. James, Karin Slaughter, Megan Goldin, Jeffery Deaver, and Richard Osman were the only authors that I read multiple titles from during 2022.

16 of the books I read were released this year, while only two of them were released last century, with the oldest first published in 1953.

Continue reading →

by admin

Book 54 (of 52) – The Hotel Nantucket

The Hotel Nantucket – Elin Hilderbrand

After a 1922 fire killed a young maid, the Hotel Nantucket saw its fortunes drop.  Before the summer of 2022, a new owner buys the property and spares no expense renovating the property, hiring a local favorite to run it.  Over the course of the summer, the new staff of the hotel comes together to turn the fate, and reputation, of the hotel around.

The Hotel Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand crossed my path when it finished as a finalist for the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Fiction.  The cover grabbed my interest, which is ironic since it has nothing to do with the book’s plot, and I was able to check it out from the library.  I did like it and, the next time I feel the need to return to Nantucket, I’ll look out for one of the author’s many other offerings.