Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky

Title:  Heads in Beds – A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality

Author:  Jacob Tomsky

Genre:  Memoir

Published:  November 2012 – Doubleday

Synopsis (partial):  In the tradition of Kitchen Confidential and Waiter Rant, a rollicking, eye-opening, fantastically indiscreet memoir of a life spent (and misspent) in the hotel industry.

Jacob Tomsky has worked in hotels for more than a decade, doing everything from valet parking to manning the front desk. He’s checked you in, checked you out, separated your white panties from the white bed sheets, parked your car, tasted your room service, cleaned your toilet, denied you a late check out, given you a wake-up call, eaten M&Ms out of your mini-bar, laughed at your jokes, and taken your money. And in Heads in Beds, he pulls back the curtain on the hospitality business, revealing the crazy yet compelling reality of an industry we think we know. It is an incredibly funny, authentic, and irreverent chronicle of the highs and lows of hotel life and boy, is there a market for it: in 2010, the American lodging industry generated $127.7 billion in revenue.  Prepare to be amused, shocked, and amazed as he spills the unwritten code of the bellhops, the antics that go on the valet parking garage, and the housekeeping department’s dirty little secrets.

My take:  Heads in Beds is an interesting peek into the world of Hospitality. In the beginning I found Jacob Tomsky’s memoir entertaining and edgy but by the time I turned the last page I was ready to be done.

I grew tired of the almost whiny tone and the F-bomb laced stories about how and why the upscale hotel’s guests might receive upgrades or be treated poorly. I understand that he and his co-workers feel underpaid but it just seemed wrong that guests who are already paying high rates must pony up extra cash to ensure good service. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem tipping (and always do) after receiving good service. And the valet parking stories? More like horror stories!

That said, I think people who work in the Hospitality industry will enjoy this memoir. They will probably relate to the tales of working in the various areas of hotels from valet and bellman to housekeeping and laundry to the front desk. Tomsky also shares hints on how to improve your stay at a hotel. My hint: if you ever stay at his hotel, take lots of $20s!

Disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not compensated for my review.

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian

Title: The Sandcastle Girls

Author: Chris Bohjalian

Genre: Historical Fiction

Published: July 2012 – Doubleday

Hardcover – 320 pages

Synopsis: (from the book flap) When Elizabeth Endicott arrives in Syria, she has a diploma from Mount Holyoke College, a crash course in nursing, and only the most basic grasp of the Armenian language. The First World War is spreading across Europe, and she has volunteered on behalf of the Boston-based Friends of Armenia to deliver food and medical aid to refugees of the Armenian genocide. There, Elizabeth becomes friendly with Armen, a young Armenian engineer who has already lost his wife and infant daughter. When Armen leaves Aleppo to join the British Army in Egypt, he begins to write Elizabeth letters, and comes to realize that he has fallen in love with the wealthy, young American woman who is so different from the wife he lost.

Flash forward to the present, where we meet Laura Petrosian, a novelist living in suburban New York. Although her grandparents’ ornate Pelham home was affectionately nicknamed the “Ottoman Annex,” Laura has never really given her Armenian heritage much thought. But when an old friend calls, claiming to have seen a newspaper photo of Laura’s grandmother promoting an exhibit at a Boston museum, Laura embarks on a journey back through her family’s history that reveals love, loss—and a wrenching secret that has been buried for generations.

My take: I want to thank John Pitts from Doubleday for sending me a copy of this important novel. Important because I wonder how many people actually know about the Armenian Genocide that occurred in the early 20th century. I don’t recall learning about it in a high school world history class. This book is why I like to read Historical Fiction. Yes, I love a good story but I also like to learn.

The Sandcastle Girls was a difficult book to read because of the atrocities inflicted on the Armenian people. Despite how difficult it was to read, I cared about Bohjalian’s characters as they lived day to day, event to event, moment to moment. Aleppo came alive with the descriptions of sights, smells and sounds giving me a definite sense of the town. The scenes of atrocities both in war and the genocide are vivid. I point that out because it might be too much for some readers. That said, I don’t know how the book could not include those scenes.

In any case, the short answer to that first question – How do a million and a half people die with nobody knowing? – is really very simple. You kill them in the middle of nowhere.

The Sandcastle Girls page 273

The story is told by Laura, a writer and the granddaughter of the two main characters. She writes the story of her grandparents which becomes part of Bohjalian’s novel. The past and present are woven together and come to an emotional conclusion.

I recommend this book to fans of Historical Fiction and Chris Bohjalian.

Note: You can read more about The Sandcastle Girls at Chris Bohjalian’s website.

Disclosure: I received a book for review from the publisher. I was not compensated for my review.

Goodbye for Now by Laurie Frankel

Title:  Goodbye for Now

Author:  Laurie Frankel

Genre:  Fiction

Published:  August 2012 – Doubleday

Hardcover: 304 pages

Synopsis:  (from back of the arc) Sam Elling works for an internet dating company, but he still can’t get a date. So he creates an algorithm that will match you with your soul mate. Sam meets the love of his life, a coworker named Meredith, but he also gets fired when the company starts losing all their customers to Mr. and Ms. Right.

When Meredith’s grandmother, Livvie, dies suddenly, Sam uses his ample free time to create a computer program that will allow Meredith to have one last conversation with her grandmother. Mining from all her correspondence—email, Facebook, Skype, texts—Sam constructs a computer simulation of Livvie who can respond to email or video chat just as if she were still alive. It’s not supernatural, it’s computer science.

Meredith loves it, and the couple begins to wonder if this is something that could help more people through their grief. And thus, the company RePose is born. The business takes off, but for every person who just wants to say good-bye, there is someone who can’t let go.

In the meantime, Sam and Meredith’s affection for one another deepens into the kind of love that once tasted, you can’t live without.

My take:  In the beginning I had an issue with this novel – you shouldn’t mess with grief. We need to grieve when a loved one dies, right? But should we rely solely on our memories or could we benefit from technology – really, it’s almost a constant in our daily lives anyway. Laurie Frankel’s characters remind us that people grieve differently. To some it’s a very personal and singular process but others might be open to controlling the process through unorthodox means. After turning the last page I decided I’m somewhere in the middle. Maybe I would and maybe not.

I’m so glad I read Goodbye for Now. It compelled me to consider things I haven’t been faced with thus far in my life – primarily the death of a close loved one – with the exception being my father-in-law who died several years ago from Alzheimer’s. That’s a grief process all unto itself.

There are a few issues that could be hot topics for book groups. I enjoyed the almost allegorical modern love story of Meredith and Sam as well as the theme that we must look after each other (loved ones, acquaintances, strangers) in this life.

Source:  Doubleday

Disclosure:  See sidebar. I was not compensated for my review.

More Than You Know by Penny Vincenzi

Title:  More Than You Know

Author:  Penny Vincenzi

Genre:  Fiction

Published:  April 2012 – Doubleday

My take:  The setting is (mostly) London. The time is late 1950s to early 1970s.  Eliza Fullerton-Clark is old money, Matt Shaw is no money. Matt is an old basic training buddy of Eliza’s brother Charles. They first meet when Charles and Matt are on leave. There’s an attraction but, given their different backgrounds, neither Eliza nor Matt take it seriously. They meet some time later and find the attraction cannot be ignored. They marry but, as much as Matt loves Eliza, he can’t get rid of the chip on his shoulder where the class difference is concerned. That remains an underlying issue in their marriage.

They start a family and get on with life. Given the time period, you can imagine the issues that pop up: women working outside the home, abortion, drugs, etc. Vincenzi works them all into the story of Matt and Eliza as well as the secondary characters.

More Than You Know is an emotional and entertaining story of the Fullerton-Clark and Shaw families and their friends during a time of great change.

Note: Vincenzi did a great service for her readers by providing a Cast of Characters at the beginning. Without it, it would have been easy to forget who each character was and how he/she fit into the story.

Source:  Doubleday

Disclosure:  See sidebar. I was not compensated for my review.

Calico Joe by John Grisham

Title:  Calico Joe: A Novel

Author:  John Grisham

Genre:  Fiction

Published:  April 2012 – Doubleday

About:  (via the publisher) In the summer of 1973 Joe Castle was the boy wonder of baseball, the greatest rookie anyone had ever seen.  The kid from Calico Rock, Arkansas dazzled Cub fans as he hit home run after home run, politely tipping his hat to the crowd as he shattered all rookie records.
Calico Joe quickly became the idol of every baseball fan in America, including Paul Tracey, the young son of a hard-partying and hard-throwing Mets pitcher. On the day that Warren Tracey finally faced Calico Joe, Paul was in the stands, rooting for his idol but also for his Dad. Then Warren threw a fastball that would change their lives forever…

My take:  Fan that he is, John Grisham has always wanted to write a baseball novel. His offering is Calico Joe. At first glance, Calico Joe is a fast paced story of a baseball player’s career that ended way too soon. It’s also the story of a boy who loved the game. But the day his dad threw a beanball was the day young Paul stopped loving the game as well as his dad.

Fast forward thirty years and we find Paul with a family of his own and almost no contact with his father until he gets the call that his father has cancer and not long to live. Paul comes up with an idea that could help make things right between his dad and Joe Castle before it’s too late.

Grisham’s story is heartfelt. I really enjoyed Calico Joe and think it will resonate with other baseball fans as well. It would be a great Fathers Day gift.

Source:  Doubleday

Disclosure:  See sidebar. I was not compensated for my review.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Title: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Author: Aimee Bender

Genre: Fiction

About: An intriguing tale of a young girl who finds herself able to sense the emotions of the person who cooks anything she eats as well as things about the food itself. She lives with a mother who is extremely unhappy, an emotionally detached father, and an older brother who seems to be in a downward spiral into mental illness. As the novel progresses and Rose becomes a young adult she finds that she’s not the only one in the family with special sensitivities.

My thoughts: Once I started I found it difficult to stop reading this book. Aimee Bender’s writing captivated me for the most part. I was a bit distracted by the lack of quotation marks but fell into a comfortable rhythm once I became used to that.

The awareness of others’ special sensitivities or quirks requires Rose to try to keep the peace at home as well as their secrets – no easy feat for a girl in her elementary and high school years.  As she matures she strives to connect to people but it’s almost impossible without her “gift” getting in the way. Is it possible to set her life on a new course?  Read it and find out!

Recommend? Yes,  I liked it. Rose is a character I won’t soon forget.

Source: Doubleday via Goodreads First Reads

The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart

The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise is about Balthazar Jones who is a Beefeater – he lives and works at the Tower of London.  Balthazar and his wife Hebe are trying to go on with life after the death of their only child.  She works at the London Underground’s Lost Property Office where she tries to reunite lost objects with the owners and Balthazar leads tours at the Tower.  One day, it is announced that the Queen’s menagerie (gifts of animals from other countries) will be housed at the Tower and Balthazar will be in charge.  This sets in motion a string of hilarious events that had me laughing out loud.

There are supporting characters who are quite lonely.  At the same time they add to the comedy with their quirks:  the Reverend Drew whose other job would shock his parishioners; Valerie, Hebe’s coworker, who has a propensity for trying on/out found objects; and Ruby the pregnant barmaid who has a fondness for rats.  All of Stuart’s characters shine in their own way and add a great deal to the plot.

I learned a lot about the Tower of London.  Facts and trivia are interspersed throughout the novel in an easy flow that makes me want to read more about the famous inhabitants since the eleventh century.

The gentle pace, the wonderful characters, and the humorous events of the novel make for an enjoyable afternoon of reading.  The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise is a gem.

Review copy from Doubleday via Goodreads First Reads