September Good Reads

I actually read 3 brand new books this month.

Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman released Sept. 10.

Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital by Sheri Fink also released Sept 10.

The Returned by Jason Mott released August 27.

I don't think I've read that many uber-current books in a while. Usually I'm a little slow to discover the good stuff.

Empty Mansions

I loved this. It had all the elements of a great read: history, wealth, big houses, and a recluse.
The book starts with a history of Huguette's father and then morphs into descriptions of the amazing houses he built. That is followed by a social history of Huguette and how she turns into an eccentric old lady living in a hospital for 20 years while commissioning doll-houses to be built for her around the world.
The first half is the best since it is mostly history, but the book starts to bog down once Huguette is living in a hospital and dies causing an investigation into the people closest to her and her last two wills. It gets a little boring.
What ticked me off the most with this book that I loved was that it ended too soon. I was reading it on my Kindle, which means reading it blindly, with no idea how long a chapter would last or where the book would end. I got to 65% and that was it. I was expecting 35% more and all there was left was notes and bibliography. That is frustrating.

Five Days at Memorial

I loved this one too. It was a page turner. I felt guilty because I have not read much about Katrina and her aftermath. I am so far removed here in  Arizona, that it just wasn't on my radar. (I do not watch news). I picked this up to educate myself and I was not disappointed. Sheri Fink does a really great job of not taking sides on this hot-button topic of euthanasia. She presented the facts as she had investigated them and then followed the court rulings in the aftermath.
Of course the first half of the book was riveting. It gave an hour by hour and day by day account of what happened in the hospital. I couldn't stop reading. It was fascinating the way things disintegrated so quickly and the way that no one seemed to be in charge anywhere. I learned so much.
The second half of the book focuses on the legal case that was brought against one of the doctors and two nurses accused of hurrying along death for a few patients. I really didn't know which side to cheer for. Both sides had a real point. I have since been thinking  a lot about the choices that are made in extreme situations. Can one be help accountable for them? When is the end of life? That is always the sign of a good book if you are still thinking about it after you have put it down.

The Returned

I read a good review of this and put it on my library list. The premise is awesome. People that have been long dead are suddenly returned to the earth. I was totally on board. The story is told from a very emotional perspective with relationships examined and questions that are asked.
The whole time I was reading it I was waiting for that Stephen King moment, but it never came. There is nothing creepy or weird or supernatural about this story, but I wish there was. I want Stephen King to read the Stephen King version.
This was interesting, but not grabbing and memorable.
It will be turned into a TV series next year. Maybe the producers will be able to take an awesome idea and give it a little kick to spice things up a bit. It certainly needs it.