May is such a busy month. And this week we have three track meets again and I have an evening meeting one night as well. Where is my leisure reading time? It's not happening right now. I actually brought a book along with me to Friday night's track meet and ended up getting to finish it there. There are a lot of great books on my stack to choose from and I'm looking forward to enjoying them - at some point.
These three winners of the past couple weeks are ones I want everyone to read.
The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin - this novel is one I could recommend to a lot of readers. Alice, a 44 year old widow and beekeeper is suffering from panic attacks when she meets Jake an eighteen year old who has been paralyzed in a freak accident. Alice is immediately interested in Jake and his life, seeing a young man with a lot of challenges but who still has a whole future ahead of him. And Jake becomes curious about her beekeeping. Alice lets Jake move in to her house with the intent that he will be a hired hand. She also hires Harry, a young man who has been down on his luck and needs a fresh start. I loved the relationships between these characters and I also loved the storyline involving the pesticides and their impact on the bee population. This is a quiet novel, but one that picks up steam toward the end, and one I could happily share with almost anyone.
Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny- I loved, loved, loved this book and wanted to savor every word of it. Jane is starting her teaching career in a small Michigan town where she meets Duncan and is instantly attracted to him. Duncan is a great guy, but he seems to have had a relationship with nearly every woman in town. And he is still good friends with his ex-wife who is married again. This novel is divided into time periods and we see different snippets of Jane's life, from her days dating Duncan, to her almost-marriage, her time as a mother of young children- watching Jane's life unfold is a pleasure. We know that the life she lives is not the one she planned, but the people in it make it so much richer.
Before She Was Gone by Caroline B Cooney - I've read several of Cooney's YA novels and enjoyed them. I loved this adult novel so much that I'm hoping we can see more from her for adults. Clemmie is a septuagenarian living in a retirement community in Sun City. When she goes to check on a neighbor who isn't responding to calls or texts, she takes a picture of a glass statue that she randomly texts to her nephew. This sparks a whole chain of events including the police finding a dead body next door. But Clemmie has a whole host of secrets of her own that she's been keeping for years and she can't let them all out now - not after fifty years of silence. The story moves back and forth in time, revealing the story of Clemmie's past, and the many twists and turns throughout the book had me furiously turning pages. I loved this one so much!
These three are great books to pick up and enjoy. I've started the new Mary Kay Andrews which feels a little bit like the beginning of summer to me. Have you read any of these?
2 comments:
The first 2 are on my TBR list; glad you loved them.
You have been so busy these last few weeks!! How is your middle daughter feeling after being sick?
My daughter is sleeping off vaccine #2 which she got last night. She woke with a high fever and did not look good so I called her out and she is still sleeping at almost 11:30am. BUT, she got her first job as a summer camp counselor! She got the word yesterday. It's a day camp and local and one she went to as a kid for over 7 years.
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