June 24, 2023 AMAZING GRACE

Greece. It was amazing. Spent a few days in Athens--Acropolis, Parthenon, Erechtheion, Museum of the Acropolis--did I mention the--food-cappuccino-breathtaking views? It was a whirlwind. Then off to Delphi--the center of the universe for the ancient Greeks--famous for the oracle. Did I mention the cheese, olive oil, tomatoes, honey? Next--to Meteora one of the most incredible sites in the world--The Monasteries in the Sky-- as the monasteries seem to be suspended in midair.  In the 9th century, monks began building  monasteries on top of gigantic rock formations--some 1000 feet high. A total of 24 monasteries were built and today 6 still remain inhabited. It is beyond words. Finally off the Santorini, Fira and Oia. Again, my words will NEVER do justice to the beauty of these islands---by the way--I'm just giving you the highlights of this once in a lifetime trip.  Did I mention the honey?  Plenty of time to read on the 91/2 hour flight so I snuck in a few books including The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James. Yes, I am a huge fan of her books. This one's a mystery, thriller, love story with a bit of creepy and haunted house mixed in. Fun. The main character is Shea Collins. She's a 28 year old receptionist in a doctor's office by day and a cold case blogger by night. One day a patient comes into the office and Shea immediately recognizes her. She is Beth Greer, a woman tried and acquitted in 1977 of the Lady Killer Murders. Shea asks Greer for an interview and she surprisingly agrees to the interview--as long as it is at the Greer Mansion, which is supposedly haunted. The story then shifts back and forth between the two characters from 1960 to 2017 where the reader learns about the history of the two characters and that they actually have a lot in common including some tragedy that has shaped their lives. Did Beth really murder two men in 1977 and get away with it? Or is the story much more complicated? Will Shea employ local private investigator Michael De Vos to help her solve this cold case? Find out the answers to all of these questions and more when you read this delicious thriller for yourself. It's not a huge commitment either--350 pages that fly by. Enjoy. 

June 12, 2023 LEAVING ON A JET PLANE

 

Headed to Greece this week. It's going to be an amazing trip--Athens-Delphi-Meteora-Santorini. Can't wait. Celebrating our thirtieth anniversary. Time sure flies when you're having fun. Seems like just yesterday..........but it's not. It's three kids--one amazing cat--several dogs and a red bellied toad later.  I  do miss the good old days-- when the kids were little. I see young couples now with their kids and  get exhausted just watching them. I hope they appreciate these days because they really are gone too soon. Back to the trip--I'm taking a few books for the flight--it's over 9 hours and I figure I can really get some serious reading done. In the meantime, I'll review the book I just finished. I needed a lighter, easier read this time around so I decided to read Peter Swanson's  new book The Kind Worth Saving, the sequel to The Kind Worth Killing.  I am a fan of Swanson and have read all of his books. They don't require a huge commitment and I enjoy mysteries with a twist or two. As this story unfolds, Joan Whalen has just hired private investigator Henry Kimball to follow her husband as she is convinced he is having an affair with a coworker. Interestingly enough, Joan and Henry have a history. Henry Kimball was once her English teacher in high school when a terrible tragedy occurred. While Kimball investigates Whalen's husband Richard, he gets more than he bargained for---two dead bodies and a feeling that things aren't how they appear. This story is told from multiple points of view with interesting characters who are in many cases deeply flawed. Find out what happens to Kimball and the rest of the characters when you read this 310 page novel that will keep you guessing until the bitter end. Enjoy. 

June 4, 2023 TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME

 

Have you tried playing pickleball? It's really fun. I started playing about a year ago. Even took lessons over the winter. It's a great way to get a little exercise and meet new people. If you've played tennis, table tennis or ping pong, then you're already way ahead of the game.  It basically combines the elements of all three. The rules can be confusing at first but if you stick with it--it finally makes sense. I hear it's the new rave and towns are putting up pickleball courts or fighting about putting them up all over. I actually heard that they are going to make part of the Crystal Mall pickleball courts too??  If you haven't tried it, get out there and give it a whirl. Just try not to get PICKLED and for heaven's sake STAY OUT OF THE KITCHEN.  In other news, I Just finished Kate Morton's new book Homecoming. I am a huge fan of Morton and have read all of her books. I even waited patiently for five years for this gem. As the story unfolds, it's Christmas Eve 1959 and a man stumbles on a gruesome scene in Tambilla, Australia. Sixty years later, Jess, the main character, is coming home to Sydney, Australia, to take care of her ailing grandmother, Nora. Upon her arrival, Jess stumbles on some papers about the tragedy from 1959 and realizes she is related to the family. As an investigative journalist, Jess decides to uncover the truth about the events from 1959 at Adelaide Hills but learns more than she bargained for. Morton is a lovely writer whose vivid descriptions of the scenery and house transport the reader through time-- but I will also say that at times I found some descriptions repetitive and too long. As with her other novels, this is also told from multiple points of view so it can be confusing--so pay attention. There are also several characters as the story drifts between two places at two differents of time--but the lovely part is that they all come together and make sense by the end of this mystery/family saga. Again, it was a bit too long, but Morton is a lovely story teller and I really enjoyed the book. 

May 13, 2023 THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

 

Abraham Verghese is one of my favorite writers. It is important to note though that he is first and foremost a doctor. Because of his commitment to medicine, he has only written 4 books--as he only writes in his spare time. Not sure if anyone remembers but way back in 1995 when I was a RTC student at Connecticut College, Verghese's first book, a memoir, was the summer required reading. It was called My Own Country and Verghese actually came to the college to speak about his book and the stigma associated with the AID virus.  At the time, Verghese was an infectious disease doctor in Johnson City, Tennessee and worked with some of the first AIDS patients. His humanity and compassion for his patients still lingers in my memory thirty years later. He also wrote The Tennis Partner and one of my all time favorite books Cutting For Stone way back in 2009. I've been waiting patiently.....(14 Years) for a new book and it was finally released on May 2, 2023. It's called The Covenant of Water and it was incredible. This epic spans three generations and is set in Kerala, South India on the Malabar Coast between 1900-1977. As the story unfolds, a marriage broker has just arranged a marriage between a 12 year old girl and a 40 year old widower with a two year old son named JoJo. The young girl leaves her family to live on a 500 acre farm called Parambil. The family she marries into has a secret called "The Condition". Someone from each generation dies by drowning. The young girl eventually becomes the matriarch of the family and is known as Big Ammachi. This is a beautifully written novel, with so many interesting characters AND an ending I will never forget AND didn't see coming.  It is also rich in historical details including British colonization, WWII,  Independence in India, and the dreaded caste system. Remember Verghese is a doctor so the novel also tackles the development of medicine in India. Again, this novel is about so many things--family, love, loss, addiction, that Verghese somehow weaves together in a novel you will never forget. It is a commitment though--760 pages--BUT who cares. I could read his novels forever. Happy Reading. 

April 30, 2023 ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

 I'm a huge fan of Charles Dickens. He is arguably the greatest novelist of  his time. He was a

master  at creating characters who came alive. They seemed so real that they could have been a neighbor or you wanted them to be your neighbor. Dickens' characters understood what readers needed and helped them learn from their experiences in his novels.  He understood the human psyche to a tee and wrote about abandonment, poverty and social injustice with a mixture of humor  and emotion that was exceptional. He could also paint a scene with words as wonderful as a Monet painting. When I read book reviews--and see the word  Dickensian--I immediately read the book and those are the authors who become my favorite writers. When I heard that Barbara Kingsolver's new book was a modern adaptation of David Copperfield, I knew I had to read it. Kingsolver is also an incredible writer so I knew I could count on her to do Dickens justice in Demon Copperhead. Damen Fields a.k.a. Demon Copperhead, the narrator of this novel, is born to a teenage mother and lives in a single wide trailer in the mountains of Southern Appalachia. Early on he becomes an orphan and is shuffled through the DDS system where he spends time in several foster homes. This is a story of resilience and survival as Demon lives in poverty then struggles with success, addiction, misunderstood love, and loss. It's also about our society, that's structured to keep the poor living in poverty. It seem that everytime Demon takes a step forward, he takes 3 steps back. He story is at times  heartbreaking, but Demon also finds the humor in his situation as he is wise beyond his years. He's is a character every reader will love and root for because of his unfortunate situation. It was a page turner for me because I was invested in the characters and wanted to know how they would turn out in the end.  This book is a bit of a commitment at 560 pages, but it's well worth the effort as the characters and their plights will stay with you for a long time. Enjoy

APRIL 23, 2023 ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL

 

Not sure if you saw the article in the paper the other day--"Trump touts authoritarian vision for a second term: 'I am your justice'". It should scare the crap out of you. His intention is to instill FEAR so that the public with give HIM the power to fix EVERY problem in our nation because ONLY HE KNOWS HOW TO FIX THEM. Yes, times are CRAZY right now BUT if anyone thinks TRUMP is going to make things better--THINK AGAIN--or read Celeste NG's new book Our Missing Hearts. Set in the unknown distant future, A "Crisis" has taken place in the United States and the new Authoritarian government--based on fear, bigotry and racism--is in power. They have instituted PACT--Preserving American Culture and Traditions--as a way to control the masses. Books are banned, history is rewritten, neighbors are spying on each other and reporting suspicious activity to the government. There is also  a deep hatred of Asian people (the scapegoats)  where violence against them is commonplace. The main character in this novel is twelve year old Bird Gardner. He lives with his father Ethan and mother Margaret in Cambridge. His mother is a famous Chinese American poet whose books have been banned and one day she quietly disappears. The story centers on Bird's quest to find his mother and understand her disappearance when any mention of her name is unpatriotic. That's all I'm going to say about this timely novel except this is a cautionary tale of what could happen in the United States......and it scares me. This 350 page novel is a must read account of HOW NOT TO LIVE. 

April 15, 2023 THE POST WAR DREAM

 

Couldn't have asked for a better April break. The weather was incredible. I actually went to the beach a few times because it was 80 degrees! When I wasn't at the beach though--I somehow managed to buy TOO many books. A few here and then a few there and before I knew it--well you know. I can't help myself. It's kind of like that with me and shoes too. I am always on the lookout for a new pair of sandals, boots, running shoes. That's why I've got to get back to work--I need to stop spending money. Just finished a great book that you might be interested in. Did you read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas? It was written by John Boyne--one of my favorite writers. Well, he has a new book out that I couldn't resist buying called All The Broken Places. Turns out that it's about Bruno's older sister Gretel. Bruno was the boy in the striped pajamas whose father was the commandant at Auschwitz. In All the Broken Places, Gretel Fernsby is a 91 year old woman living in London. She doesn't talk about her past for many reasons including the fear that she could be arrested. After a new family moves into her building, Gretel befriends the young boy who stirs up  memories she'd rather forget. The chapters go back and forth between the past and the present where the reader learns about Gretel's life and the guilt, grief and pain she's managed to hide for most of her life. I really enjoyed revisiting the characters from the first book. It was interesting to learn about Gretel and see how the war shaped her life. It's about 380 pages and well worth the read.