LIBBY’S LIKES: READING MATERIAL!

Let’s get reading, shall we?

Whether you read books…. you know, the traditional hold-in-your-hand-and-turn-the-page kind, or on your iPad or other device, I’ll bet you’re always ready to hear about new reads. Right?

Here are three I read this past summer and can recommend to you:

1. The French House
by Don Wallace

I loved this book! Of course, it’s about France so it was kind of a natural like for me, but it’s great. Follow Don and his wife, Mindy, as they buy a small house on an island off the coast of Brittany,France. It is a complete, utter mess and needs A LOT of work. The problem is they have neither the money nor the time: they live in New York where they are struggling to make ends meet but want desperately to spend more time in their French house. It’s real. The story unfolds at a perfect pace; characters are introduced slowly; the details of their lives, the island, and the people are explored and there is a kind of textural quality that really appealed to me.

2. The Sea Garden
by Deborah Lawrenson

This book, really three novellas woven into one, was a treat to read. Deborah is a friend of mine, through our blogs and maybe just a bit because I envy her having a house in the Luberon. This book was just published in June and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! I loved the back and forth in time quality and her skill in interweaving these stories. France, the Mediterranean, World War II, England, one of the main characters as garden designer/landscaper…. the combination, for me, was compelling and thrilling. Again, a must read.

3. The Secret Life of Violet Grant
by Beatriz Williams

While thinking about how to approach a review of this book here I realized it, too, is told in two different time periods. Hmmm. Guess I have a thing for this kind of writing without realizing it! Contemporary time is 1964 when we meet Vivian Schuyler in New York City as she receives and opens a suitcase that had belonged to her aunt Violet in 1914 at the outbreak of WWI in Europe. It’s a page turner alright: I downloaded on my Kindle before a long and tedious flight home and couldn’t put it down.

If YOU have any great recommendations for us, we would love to see them in the comment section here. I actually keep a list of books (and yes, movies too) on both my iPhone and iPad and am always adding to them. Then I look them up, usually on Amazon, and they go onto my Wish List. And eventually I order them, one by one. I probably end up reading about 50% on my Kindle and 50% as “real” books: a lot depends on if I am traveling and need to save space.

Would love to hear from you with some new ideas!