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Greetings Readers!

The summer seems to be racing to an end and September will be here before we know it!

What are you reading? What is next?

Enjoy these last days of August!

This week I read and absolutely loved Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce.

For Women in Translation month (a challenge for another group I belong to) I'm reading Valentino and Sagittarius: Two Novellas and The Aosawa Murders.

I'm also just starting How to Be an Epicurean: The Ancient Art of Living Well.

Wishing you all a good weekend.

I hadn't heard of that one by Rachel Joyce @Story��. Glad you liked it.

For a bingo book about a Canadian natural disaster, I finally finished The Wake: The Deadly Legacy of a Newfoundland Tsunami and am so glad I read this book.

I also read Dear Martin this week. It's a great book for teens about the BLM movement.

After those two, I moved on to some lighter fare with Be Frank With Me and I'm continuing in that vein with The Travelling Cat Chronicles.

Happy Friday!

I'm looking forward to another book by Rachel Joyce. Glad you loved it, Story��! And I really liked Dear Martin, Allison. Glad you enjoyed it.

This week I finished Real Life, which fell a bit flat for me, and The Gown, which was such a fun read and just what I needed right now.

I'm currently reading The Pull of the Stars, which is a great read if a bit intense in the parts with childbirth scenes, and When These Mountains Burn, a dark Southern novel partly dealing with the opioid epidemic.

Susan wrote: "I'm currently reading The Pull of the Stars, which is a great read if a bit intense in the parts with childbirth scenes, "

Oh yes! The childbirth scenes made me so happy I've never given birth. Yikes!

Happy Friday!!
This week I finished American Dirt and 2 audiobooks, The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row and My Sister, the Serial Killerand I enjoyed all of them.
Currently reading The Perfect Girlfriend for the weekend.
I am hearing so many positive reviews for The Pull of the Stars, so might read that next!

Happy Friday everyone! It seems I need to add The Pull of the Stars to my "to read" list, which seems to keep growing and growing . . . .

I'm currently working on Gone with the Wind. I thought it was high time I picked up this sweeping epic. And since I'm a slow reader, I'm thinking this one will take me a good deal of time to finish.

Happy Friday as well!!

Haven’t posted much recently. Covid seems to be negatively impacting my reading. Although recently I have been making a concerted effort to read more. Am mixing things up and reading different books than usual - surprisingly an equal male/female ratio of authors compared to my usual strong reading preference for female authors.

I just finished The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by American author James McBride. It is his tribute to his Jewish white mother who converted to Christianity and raised 12 black children with 2 black husbands. Such a tenacious woman!! All 12 of her children graduated from college, many with masters and doctorates because of her strong encouragement in education and ability to make do with very little money.

Also read a children’s book written by Sheree Fitch and illustrated by Emma Fitzgerald (prompted by Story��'s comment on her whimsical illustrations in Hand Drawn Vancouver: Sketches of the City's Neighbourhoods, Buildings, and People.) It was called EveryBody's Different on EveryBody Street. It was originally published as a fundraiser for the Nova Scotia Hospital Foundation to raise awareness about mental health and addictions. It is a wonderfully inclusive book both children and adults will learn from and enjoy.

Read 2 books A Deadly Venture and A Family Matter in a 4 book Mystery Series that takes place in my original home town of Hamilton, Ontario by Canadan author Chris Laing. Both were easy reads and I loved the waltz down memory lane. It is set in the 50’s and 60’s and features many memorable places and people.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse was another pick-me-up book I chose by UK cartoonist Charlie Mackesy - his first attempt at a graphic novel targeted to an adult audience. I’d classify it as a picture book rather than a graphic novel. It was short and sweet with black ink line drawings. There were a few nuggets of ways to better live one’s life but nothing earth shattering or particularly novel. It was a quick half hour 3 star read for me.

Also read Champagne for the Soul: Celebrating God's Gift of Joy by Canadian author Mike Mason. It’s designed for 90 days of reading, about 2-3 pages per day. Mason starts with a passage from the bible, explains it a bit and ties it into what's happening or happened in his own life. Mason is a recovered alcoholic and he is very generous with his wisdom and sharing - foibles and all. It would make a nice bed side companion for someone of Christian faith. And fyi, it is not at all preachy.

Am half way through One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet by Richard Wagamese and loving every minute. Even though he has passed away from this earth, his spirit remains behind in the stories and traditions he writes about.

Happy Reading All!!