Summer Reading Revisited

Friends, I am going to be honest with you, I honestly thought Autumn would never get here, and now, I am a bit concerned we may never see cooler temperatures for more than a day or so.   I am one of those who is distressed when seasons and holidays are rushed.   Though Autumn is my favorite season, I refuse to welcome it before summer takes her last bow.  

Now that Autumn is officially here, it is time to look back on this past summer's books.  Early in the season, after listening to a podcast questioning the definition of "literary fiction", I made the decision to mostly read authors new to me, genres I normally do not gravitate to and books I could find at my local library.  It was a great reading summer!

With a To Be Read list several pages long, I always had a book ready to be opened.  I am not an exceptionally fast reader... I read about 20 books over the summer.  I found new authors, a mystery series I fell in love with and now want to read from the beginning to the end (I will never catch-up),  and I discovered books so moving I had difficulty recuperating.

Here is a recap of books I most enjoyed over the summer.

Gods in Alabama, Joshilyn Jackson

What would you do for those you love?

Plot driven, strong character development.

There is a bit of a mystery, and a twist at the end.

The Night Circus, Erin Morganstern

WOW! WOW! WOW!

Atmospheric, strong character development,

beautifully crafted.  I can't believe I kept moving this

book down on my TBR list.

Reading People, Anne Bogel

non-fiction

A simple yet enlightening look at why we do the things we do

and why some folks drive us crazy.  A good reference for deciphering the

many personality test available.   Find someone to read along with you.

Take some of the tests.... loved this one.

The Lost for Words Bookshop, Stephanie Butland

For anyone who loved Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine, will

enjoy this one.   It begins a little slow...

layers are gradually peeled away, making this a really good read.

Southernmost, Silas House

This one is at the top of my favorites for the year.

It grabbed my attention from page one, and slowly

stole my heart.   A profound statement on just loving.

Into the Water, Paula Hawkins

I enjoy how this book started slow and

gradually, gained speed.   This mystery is not solved until

the very last page.

Where the Crawdad's Sing, Delia Owens

 I loved this book!  Oh my gosh, from page one I felt as if someone

was holding my heart in their fist and squeezing.   Heartbreaking, but so full of hope.

Perennials, Julia Cantrell

The perfect ending to my summer reading.  

Set in one of my favorite towns, Oxford, Mississippi, this is a story of

family bonds, what cements them and what shatters those bonds.  
Perennials is not a fast paced tale... 

do you really want to rush a beautiful sunrise?  
One word description....

Bittersweet. 

Now the series that hooked me?  
Louis Penny's Three Pines Mysteries.

     

I have been hearing about this series for awhile; not wanting to get tied up waiting, I have avoided anything labeled number "whatever" in a series.   I actually began somewhere around #7 and realized I probably should go back to the beginning, #1,  Still Life.  I am still a newbie to "Three Pines", but I am loving them.  As I moved from one to another a nostalgia I can't explain enveloped me...  I not only want to read them.... seriously?  I just want to move to Three Pines and be a character in these books.

  My summer reading was an eye opener and ever so enjoyable.  There are a lot of good, entertaining, well-written books to be picked up and read, not considered literary fiction.  I believe there is a book out there for everyone (let me know if you need help finding it).

So... Autumn is here.  I've finished my first book, bought a pumpkin scented candle and baked pumpkin bread.  Now I just need Mother Nature to kick it into gear and give us some autumn like temperatures. 

Happy Reading friends!

  

Project Weekend

The weekend is here, 

and none too soon.

It has not been one of my better weeks...

I've piled a lot on my plate...

(my mantra)

It will all get done...

It always does.

In the meantime...

I'm starting a new project.

Yikes! Go figure!

I am always up for a DIY project.  Yes, I'm the one, hand raised, 

saying, "I can do that".  Oh, how that little sentence gets me in so much trouble.

Actually, I enjoy a project that uses both the brain and hands.  And, I get so much satisfaction when it is finished.  

Actually, this one has been on my list for a while, and

the sand in this hour glass is quickly disappearing.

The table is now clear and the leaves

added.  I'll need a lot of space.

Everything is ready to go.

Have you guessed?

(I love a mystery)

I'll share my progress.

Are you a DIYer?

Do you have projects for the weekend?

I would love to see them.

You encourage and inspire me daily!

Whatever you have planned,

Enjoy, and Be Safe!

Hugs!

The Cemetery of Forgotten Books

"After a while it occurred to me that between the covers of each of those books lay a boundless universe waiting to be discovered, while beyond those walls, in the outside world, people allowed life to pass by in afternoons of football and radio soaps, content to do little more than gaze at their navels.  It might have been that notion, or just chance, or its more flamboyant relative, destiny, but at that precise moment I knew I had already chosen the book I was going to adopt, or that was going to adopt me. "
                                                                     Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Shadow of the Wind

Gothic mystery is not usually the description I am drawn to when looking for a book to pick up.  When I hear gothic mystery I think of, and mistakenly so, the recently bestselling vampire novels.  I am an eclectic reader though, and while using a bit of time, between appointments, in a favorite nearby bookshop, I found myself drawn to a book in the window.

I picked it up, read the synopsis, and author's bio.  There were those words "gothic mystery".  Translated from Spanish to English and the second in a series,  I just didn't think it was what I was looking for.

I browsed "everyone's favorite" shelf, checked out what local book groups were reading and slowly worked my way along the wall stacked with fiction to fulfill every bibliophile's desire.   I continued the hunt, touching, looking for a favorite author; waiting for a title to jump off the shelves and into my hands. 

There was Wilke Collins's The Woman in White staring at me,  a rather dark mystery I enjoyed, but not really a favorite.   I moved on.

 Charles Dickens was nearby, an author I found as a teenager and still enjoy visiting time and again.   Great Expectations, A Christmas Carol and Bleak House, all a bit dark, gothic and sinister.  

Nearby quietly sat Daphne duMaurier's Rebecca, a favorite.  I removed it from the shelf's grasp and held it as if greeting an old friend.   The words gothic, mystery  and romance began swimming in my head, but these are classics I fought back.   Other titles began asking to be remembered, Emily Bronte's Wurthering Heights and Charlotte's  Jane Eyre.

My browsing time was running out.  If I was going to leave with a book (and I never leave empty handed) I would need to make a decision quickly.  I arrived at the last shelf of fiction, scanning near the bottom, there it was again, squeezed between a the end of the "Y's", but before the last "Z".  I suspect it had been expecting me from the moment I returned its identical twin back in the shop window.

I picked it up and rushed to make my purchase. 

 "Add it to my baker's dozen", please."

The Angel's Game  is the second book and prequel to The Shadow of the Wind in Carlos Ruiz Zafon's El cementer do los libros olividados (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books) series.

Throughout each of these novels, Zafon masterfully transports us down the dark and often sinister streets of early 20th century Barcelona building his multi-layered stories within the story along the way.   At times you may feel you should be taking notes to keep up with both events and characters.  The endings are perfection!

With each book closing at around 500, and a little more, pages,  you might want to save opening these for a cold snowy weekend when you have nothing else to do.  I promise... once Mr. Zafon pulls you in,  you will not be able to escape until you read the last word.  And, if you enjoyed one, you will immediately rush out to find a second.  This is a series, but both of these novels can stand on their own.

Some reviewers give higher marks to The Shadow of the Wind.

I equally enjoyed both.  I was probably slightly liberal giving both four stars;  when a book holds my attention to the point I am standing at the stove stirring tomato sauce all the while reading feverishly to find out what happens next, gets my four stars. 

There is a third book in the series The Prisoner of Heaven.
I may need to pace myself!

Thanks to all the authors of my past who reminded
 me, yes they are classics, and gothic mysteries;  so many of my favorites.

Have you read either of these titles?
I would love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Reading!

*****

Thank you all for your kind "feel better" wishes.
I am feeling much better.