the Sunday List of Dreams

by Kris Radish

Connie Nixon is no stranger to making lists. In fact, she has rewritten the list of her deepest desires no fewer than forty-eight times. And each Sunday, for as long as she can remember, she’s tinkered with it. But actually doing something about her desires is a different story—until the night she comes across a box belonging to her estranged daughter…and makes a stunning discovery. It turns out that her seemingly straitlaced Jessica is part owner of one of the most successful sex toy shops in America.

Shocked by her daughter’s secret life, Connie tucks her list in her back pocket and does something utterly impulsive: she hops on a plane to New York City to track down Jessica—and winds up on the wildest adventure of her life. Because with her daughter’s help, Connie’s about to let her own inner bombshell see the light of day.

Now, for the first time ever, things are flying off Connie’s list. Like reconnecting with her daughter. And getting tipsy before noon. And the most startlingly extraordinary desire of all: falling in love.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Book Club, Womens Fiction, Adult Fiction, Literature

374 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Kris started writing the moment she could hold a pencil. She grew up in Wisconsin, graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a journalism degree and hit the ground running. Her father called her "the tornado". She worked as a newspaper reporter, bureau chief, nationally syndicated columnist, magazine writer, university lecturer, bartender, waitress, worm harvester, window washer....to name a few. Her first two books were non-fiction and then Radish became a full-time novelist. The Elegant Gathering of White Snows, Dancing Naked at the Edge of Dawn, The Sunday List of Dreams, Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral and Searching for Paradise in Parker, P.A., The Shortest Distance Between Two Women, Hearts on a String, Tuesday Night Miracles, A Grand Day to Get Lost and The Year of Necessary Lies have won her acclaim and a great following. Her eleventh novel, A Dangerous Woman From Nowhere is being released in 2017. She is also the author of three works of non-fiction, Gravel on the side of the Road-Stories From A Broad Who Has Been There, Run, Bambi Run-The Beautiful Ex-Cop and Convicted Murderer Who Escaped to Freedom and Won America's Heart and The Birth Order Effect: How to Better Understand Yourself and Others. She is working on a book poetry, two new novels, a book of non-fiction and a few bottles of wine.

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am still kind of shaking my head about this one, and wondering if I have just become the world's most critical and nitpicky reader.

How a book in which a middle aged woman, retiring from her very important and forever job as a nurse, discovers her estranged daughter (one of three) is a CEO of a sex toy company (something that never, apparently, got to her before in the wilds of the MidWest where no one sees the news from New York), reunites with her, and becomes a crackerjack salesperson of these Empowering Tools (so to speak)...how such a book could be ultimately boring..that's beyond me. Is it my fault, honey? Maybe.

Also, how in 400 pages of sex toy sales and discussions of Wasted Early Life and Frustration there is really not one sex scene (well, unless the reference to dildo demos at a party imply that there was real demo with friends going on) is puzzling.

Also there's a ton of booze. And while I have nothing against liquor (it's quicker, I'm told) having every major conversation or moment of thought or revelation start with a case of wine or a mixed drink and then another and then another and then a hangover...well, I kept thinking, frankly, try something else. Sobriety. Thought. Weed. I don't know.

Also, I kept wondering, with all the earnest chatter about how these wonderful toys were going to free poor frustrated women of their sad, sad, orgasm-less situations...I kept wondering, wait, don't women in the midwest have hands and imagination and lusty juices flowing and self sufficiency?

But what can I say? I'm an elder, and I'm from California. Perhaps we do it all much differently out here.

[Cynthia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the concept was great--a woman who has denied her dreams and desires her whole life and finally going after them, reconnecting with her estanged daughter, and finding herself. But somewhere along the way I stopped enjoying this book. I don't know if it was because the book just went on and on about sex toys or all of the crying for joy. Every single paragraph was just overflowing with too much flowerly language for my taste. Example:

"In the back of her mind, in a place that never really grows totally weary, a place that is filled with flying daggers to protect the weak, rows of flesh flowers, and arms as wide as the word--a place cultivated...etc (pg 128-129)."

The paragraph by itself is written well but when paragraph after paragraph describes the same things over and over again it gets redondent and as a reader I quickly lost interest in the character's list of dreams.

[Melodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Connie Nixon has reached retirement after a long and productive nursing career. She has a list of dreams that she has created and edited every Sunday evening for as long as she can remember. After the requisite retirement party she finds herself rambling about her house, finally tackling the dreaded cleaning out of the garage. It is there she is hit with, if not now..when?
And so begins her grand retirement adventure. It is by turns emotional,ridiculously funny, frustrating, eye-opening. I had no trouble identifying with Connie. Nursing is a tough career, leaving little emotional room for oneself. So I could see how she went from one nurturing career to basically teaching sex ed in her daughter's adult toy store.
However I felt the second half of the book was very repetitive and I felt bludgeoned by the very sex toys that were supposed to be so liberating! The book was written in 2007 but I felt like the women were treated as if it was the fifties.
All in all, it was a decent coming of (retirement) age story. It's message of female empowerment and living life as the precious gift it is was not lost on me.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can't say this is the worst thing ever written, as I haven't read everything. It's by far the worst thing I've ever read. Poorly written, even more poorly edited. " Wondering if you stay alone and when you turn 45 who will help you with your canes...". Wait, WHAT? At least one of this woman's daughter's is over 30, she's already stated she's 58. And a male character was introduced by using the word "studly". Oh my. I've read other things by Kris Radish, and really enjoyed them. IMHO, this one was a complete waste of time and money. This one's going in the trash, just to ensure that at least one copy doesn't get foisted upon some poor hopeful reader. Complete and utter dreck.

[Slone · Rating 2 out of 5]

An OK book, but too repetitive. Yes, Nurse Nixon is wild and empowered, but she takes too long to realize it and embrace it. Maybe that was the point: It took all that meandering prose for HER to realize it, but when the reader knows it, what's the point after that? When YOU know where the plot's going before it gets there, what's the incentive for reading more? It has to be good writing, and this was too overwrought and wordy to be that.

The second of two books about lists that I've read lately, and definitely a distant second to the other, "The Next Thing on My List."

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first I have read by this author. I liked it. It was inspriational for where I am in my life right now. It made me think about my own list of dreams, saying yes, not being afraid and doing what I wanted to do. It also made me think about older women, age, and my relationship with my mother. The ending could have been stronger.

Will definitely make for interesting book club discussion!

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me cry. A lot. A whole fucking lot.

There's something about the idea of waiting to live, waiting for other people to be done or ready so that you can live your life, that really hit home for me. I love the sexual revolution parts, the parts about finding yourself. It makes me want to buy this for my mother and a hell of a lot of other women.

[Tamalam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I basically skimmed through the end of it. I was going to rate it "didn't like" but I liked the IDEA of the story - just not how it was written. Connie is a newly retired nurse, who was also a single mom to three daughters. Apparently she lived her whole life making a "list of dreams" she hoped to start following now that she has more free time on her hands. Upon cleaning out her garage, she discovers that her oldest daughter is successfully running a sex-toy business! She immediately (and impulsively) jumps a plane to NYC to check it out, and ends up living her list faster than she thought. Or slower, as that's where the book starts to drag for me.

[Gloria · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is chick-lit for the middle-aged woman (mostly). The author has a clear agenda... to encourage woman to own their own lives and live out their dreams. That is great. The story rambles, however, and keeps emphasizing certain points. Whenever a character's relationship even starts to get warm and fuzzy, Radish backs off leaving you a bit disappointed. It has a feminist tone rather interestingly mixed with Midwestern values. In general, a light and good read. Rural Indiana meets New York City!

[WildBookBosomed · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book, I just lost interest. I wanted to like it--and some parts I did read made me chuckle a little--but I just could not get into the characters or feel like I wanted to see what happened. It may be my age, and that the main character was retirement age, so it didn't grab me right away- or it may be that I lost interest in the language of the book and how much it repeated itself-

I thought the story plot was different and that is what made me grab the book in the first place- but it could not hold my attention after 150 pages- I got bored.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I finished this book I felt entertained and satisfied. The characters were very similar to Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral and the outcome was predictable, but the story and the way it was told made the journey of discovery fun.

I wonder how many women keep a secret list of dreams? Or, as it's sometimes called, a "bucket list?" What are the things they long for at various times in their lives? How do their longings change as they age or as circumstances change?

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this would be just a nice comforting book for an easy read. The first 3 or 4 chapters moved along rather predictably....then it suddenly became interesting and very different. As a recovering Catholic girl, I found this exciting and new. It is not soft porn that some of my friends like to read, but to say any more would give away something that is really fun and mind boggling. The book also covers mothers and their relationships with adult offspring which is quite interesting.

[Ellie Revert · Rating 1 out of 5]

The basic idea was good, but the author kept going over and over and over the same things--maybe better editing would have helped. I'm 67, so the age group is right for me to connect---but my life is so fulfilling that it's hard to imagine the depth of Connie's many wasted years before finding some freedom. (not sure I needed to know so much about sextoys, though)

[Cindee Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I began reading this book, I really loved the story and the message behind it. By the second half of the book, I felt like the author was hitting me over the head with a cliche. What started out so well, ended on a disappointing note.

[Kathy Bringardner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I'm finished reading the books by this author. I absolutely loved Annie Freeman's Fabulous Travelling Funeral and have been disappointed in the rest of her books. This one was a bit ridiculous and mildly entertaining.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

had me laughing.

[Maria Ferreira-straight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read. Good story about relationships between mothers and daughters.

[Debb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the general idea of this book, and I did enjoy how it was written, but it got to be a little much for me.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read "Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral" also by Radish a while back, so I knew this was going to be a celebration of women, feminism to the highest p0wer (excuse the pun!) and a great read. I was not at all disappointed. An obsessive list-maker myself, I also desired to read this book when I read that the female protagonist, Connie Franklin Nixon, also spent a lot of time (30+ years!) making lists. What she discovered, which made sense to me, is that it is fine to make a list and to expect/plan to stick to it, but how wonderful and refreshing it is to discover that the list can be refined, redone, revamped and re-defined along the way. We need to be flexible in life if we wish to take advantage of whatever curve-balls and home runs life might throw at us. I also enjoyed one subplot of the book that deals with nurse Connie's changing/evolving relationship with her eldest/adult daughter since I am in the throes of redefining my own relationship with my eldest/adult daughter who recently left the proverbial nest. I hope that I, too, will come to the place where Connie and Jessica finally arrived - two empowered adult women supporting one another and, most of all, loving one another, no matter what!

[Kristal Stidham]

Question #1: Why did she put the list at the end of the book? It would have saved me a lot of confusion in the first few chapters if I knew what was going on with the list.

Question #2: Why are there three women in hospital gowns on the front cover, none of which resemble characters in the book? I was more than a bit thrown off by that too.



I had a hard time getting into this one. Kris Radish has a tendency toward free-flowing writing that often results in sentences that are 8 lines long. Having a man in the house who likes to blast the volume on action movies or sporting events is NOT conducive to enjoying, or even understanding, Radish's prose. I think the low rating I gave this book is more a result of having to slog through it than of the content.



On another note, to all who enjoyed this book and are inspired to write their own list of dreams -- I HIGHLY recommend No Opportunity Wasted by Phil Keoghan, the host of The Amazing Race. In it, he gives advice about how to compile your list, suggests categories to guide your thoughts, and encourages you to start doing it N.O.W. I started checking things off almost two years ago and it has made a HUGE difference in the richness of my life.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her three decade old career as a nurse is counting down to the final days leaving fifty-eight years old Connie Nixon frightened about the future as she is also selling her home in Indiana. Over the past thirty years, Connie has been compiling a SUNDAY LIST OF DREAMS to include thirty-seven places she wants to visit and people she wants to see. Now with the clock ticking down, she makes last second revisions to add changes she feels she must make starting with don¿t be afraid and toss out the alarm clock. -- Connie has two items that makes everything else seem superficial to her. She writes 'maybe sex' and 'recapture Jessica'. Most important is Jessica who left Indiana for Manhattan three years ago to become the CEO and part owner of sex-toy stores. Connie heads to New York with plans for quality time with her daughter, who in turn has a special agenda to welcome her mom to the Big Apple. -- THE SUNDAY LIST OF DREAMS is a delightful inspirational tale starring a wonderful protagonist who learns relationships not locations are the key to a fulfilling life. The story line is well written and leaves readers with a warm contented feeling to be active with loved ones. Fans will enjoy Connie Nixon takes Manhattan while Jessica reclaims her mom in loving vibrant often amusing ways. --

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the most part, I liked the story. I felt it contained an important message about how precious life is and how one should enjoy life's many blessings. It also emphasized the importance of mending relationships, in this case a mother and daughter. I especially loved how some parts of the story made me laugh out loud. What I wasn't a big fan of, however, was the repetitiveness of some parts of the story and the many different names referenced for each character. It sometimes got confusing and even annoying when a different name was used each time she wrote about one of the characters(Frannie, O'Brien, Frannie O'Brien). Speaking of confusing, I felt it would've made more sense to begin the story with the list instead of putting it at the end of the book. Maybe include the first list at the beginning of the story and the revised list at the end? Finally, kudos to Radish for using the sex toy industry as a story line. Although it sometimes bordered on TMI, it's always refreshing to have a different topic in a story rather than the same-old, same-old.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this book. I loved an Elgant Gathering of White Snow by this author, and was prepaed for the "woman power" vibe, but my god, the ADJECTIVES! I wanted to delete about half the descriptions about crazy sexy in charge nurse Coonie Franklin Nixon's new empowered sexy crazy take charge life. Get the picture? This book needed some serious editing. I am not usually one to bash someone's personal style of writing, but this drove me CRAZY. The story was great, there were some awesome characterss, but the whole "life plan, mull over your choices and take a NEW direction" thing was so overdone. I ended up skimming quite a bit of the last half of the book just to find out what happened in the end.>

[Katey B · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited to read this book (I, too, make lists obsessively!) but I found myself really struggling to get through it. There were great, captivating passages, and then the author would get bogged down in a schlocky mire of describing (AGAIN) how women were part of a cosmic universe, or something.
I found the characters likeable, but their motivations and actions at times far-fetched. Did it really take our protagonist the majority of the novel to figure out what living her list really meant? Would her daughter go from years of estrangement to using her mother as her go-to idol in how to live her life? Eh.
There were some great moments, but overall, I had to force myself to get through the book in hopes that the end would be a great payoff. It was not.

[Jill Furedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

We'd gotten in a promotional copy of this book at work, so I picked it up to try. However I think I'm the wrong demographic: this is geared towards my mother's age group, though I suppose you could say it's learning about the struggles of previous generations (I use struggles loosely here, yes there are issues but not the earthshattering variety). I also didn't read the back enough to realize it would be so focused on empowering women's sexuality. It's a little awkward and uncomfortable to read about women in their 50s and 60s who have never been sexually satisfied and their discovery of sex toys. But the characters did grow on me once I got past the blatent delivery of the 'empowering' message.

[Susan Ferguson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was okay. A mom was cleaning out her garage after retirement and found some papers in a box of her estranged eldest daughter that shows she owns a sex toy shop. She wonders how she could have so lost touch that she has no idea what her daughter was doing. She sets out to get back in touch with that daughter and try to understand.
There was far too much introspection and soul-searching for me. Also, there was an obsession with women who were sexually unfulfilled and the right of every woman to be so no matter what means she chooses - men are good (sometimes) but sex toys are great. Also, there is an idealistic view that women are kind, caring, nurturing, never mean to one another (except moms and kids). Rather saccharine.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story in this book really could have potential. if another writer such as Jennifer Weiner were to tackle it, they would probably produce a fairly quality story. Kris Radish's writing, however, is pretty abominable, in my opinion. It's incredibly flowery, overly descriptive, and overall pretty corny. I think the book could have been half its size if she had just cut out some of her unnecessary descriptions about deep-down feelings and longings of the hearts. I only finished this book because I wanted to see how it ended and I have guilt issues with leaving a book unfinished.

On the upside, the last 100 pages are so are a bit better than the rest.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

At the suggestion of my stepmother I have read most of this author's books. She writes for older women about female bonding and the beauty of aging. I enjoyed all her books including this one.

Her characters, however, are not fully developed and I was often confused about or lacked empathy for the myriad of women who became a part of the storyline. Also in this book and the others I have read the main conflict is strong but the plot points and climax seem weak so there is a sense of plodding.

But it's the author's deep conviction about the two themes, female bonding and aging that gives her books life and spark and would cause me to read her again and again.

[Pammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this paperback. I read it over the summer and am finally updating this list...thank goodness for saved passwords! The main character is a list-maker (like me). She writes and re-writes things she hopes to do, and over time makes progress toward accomplishing those goals. It actually inspired a friend of mine and me to begin goal journals this summer! The story shows how a rather conservative middle-aged woman makes some discoveries about herself and her grown daughter that lead to a whole new world of opportunity and adventure. It's hilarious and I just can't divulge what the daughter's secret is or what happens after it's revealed...

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a fun book. The writing isn't the best. I saw this in the returns section as I was leaving the library, and read the back. Its about a divorced, retired nurse who just discovered her daughter is owner of a growing sex toy company. I just had to read it as homage to my friend Lori!! I was pleasantly surprised. It was whitty and somewhat empowering. Although I have to admit, I did skip a paragraph or two, because it got redundant. However, it does make we want to start my own sunday list of dreams. If you need a fun, not too deep book. read this.