No, I haven't stopped reading books, even though I haven't written about my reading of books since May 26. If I were still in school and had an overdue book report, I'd have to take a failing grade. If I had books checked out from the library and didn't get them back on time, I would have to pay a fine. As it is, I'm not getting a D or F, nor do I owe money to the library, I just have ten books to write about.
Elizabeth Berg is my adopted author at Gibson Memorial Library. Her latest book, Once Upon a Time, There Was You, is a story about love, family and second chances.
Even on their wedding day, John and Irene sense they are making a big mistake. Years later, after divorcing, the only thing they still have in common is their daughter, Sadie. When she goes missing, the couple is brought back together even though they are both dating other people. As they help Sadie deal with her trauma, they examine what went wrong in their marriage and question getting back together.
Berg writes knowingly about the human heart: the dynamics of marriage and family. And in this latest novel, she writes terrifyingly about the abduction of a young woman.
I especially loved the passages when Irene was filling out a profile for an online dating service - perfect examples of Berg's writing abilities.
Both "The Great War" (WWI) and World War II figured in my reading. I read the first three of Anne Perry's World War I series: No Graves As Yet, Shoulder The Sky and Angels In The Gloom. I find I am liking this series as much as I did her William Monk books.
The WWII book was Frank Delaney's, The Matchmaker of Kenmare. This was a much different story than I thought it was going to be. The two main characters are a matchmaker and a collector of Irish folk lore so I was expecting to read a lot of Irish mythology. Instead, it was a telling of Ireland's neutrality during WWII and of two people who got up close and personal with the fighting in France while acting as spies for England.
I've read my way through all the Anne Perry William Monk books until later this summer when the next one comes out. Execution Dock follows Monk as the new Superintendent of the Thames River Police as he tries to fulfill his predecessor's aim in bringing to justice the man responsible for the deaths of several young boys. Perry's mysteries are always good reads.
A Reliable Wife is Robert Goolrick's first novel after writing the haunting memoir The End of the World As We Know It. I love period pieces, so I was almost certain I would enjoy a book about Wisconsin in 1907. Especially one about a mail order bride. This was an interesting book. I did like it. But it is obvious to me Goolrick hasn't put all his childhood demons to rest by writing his memoirs.
I normally bypass Christian books, but I accidentally checked one out - Michael Phillip's, Angel Harp. I read it because of the Scottish setting.
Andrea Kane's, Wrong Place, Wrong Time is an equestrian murder mystery set in New York State.
Friday's Daughter, by Patricia Sprinkle, is set in Georgia with a nod to North Carolina. It is a Cinderella story about three sisters, the youngest of which remains single, takes care of first an ailing aunt, then mother, finally father, with promises of inheriting the family home. When that doesn't happen because Daddy never got around to changing his will, it looks as though this Friday's daughter ("loving and giving") will continue being a caretaker the rest of her life. I'm partial to Smoky Mountains settings in books regardless of the story line.
Summertime.....and the reading is easy......
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