I read 89 books plus reading through the Bible again for a total of 90. That seems like a good number for me. I love to read but don't want to rush. There is all too much hurry in our world today.
I must share with you that I read that if the average person stopped social media they could read 200 books a year! I do spend quite a bit of time blogging, reading blogs and commenting, and on FaceBook. What about you?
Pomfret Towers by Angela Thirkell.
This is the fifth book I've read by Thirkell, they are romances and jolly good fun.
Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn
This book is a delightful discovery for me. Queen Elizabeth, in this novel, goes walkabout and has some nice adventures.
Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson. A single lady in rural England needs an income and writes a novel using local villagers and her neighbors as models for the characters in her book. This causes big problems for her in the village. I have read 3 of her novels and they are all entertaining. I am now a DESsie, which is how the Facebook group that I joined calls D.E. Stevenson enthusiasts.
A Widow's Story by Joyce Carol Oates.
I share some similarities with Oates, including that our marriages were more than 40 years and that our husbands died suddenly. Oates writes very brilliantly of her journey, and I understood when she wrote “My discovery is each day is livable if divided into segments. More accurately each day is livable ONLY if divided into segments … (it is not possible to endure an entire day).”She survived without some of the support I have: children, church and seeing a counselor. Oates is a strong woman.
Three memoirs by Abigail Thomas. These are quickly read and I bought one after the other, they are so good. "A Three Dog Life", "What Comes Next and How to Like It" which chronicles her decades long platonic friendship with Chuck, and ""Safekeeping: True Stories from a Life." In "A Three Dog Life" Thomas shares that her husband was hit by a car and lives in a brain damaged state of now. He has no memory of recent or long term events and lives in assisted care.
"9 Dragons" by Michael Connelly. I am reading this detective series in order and in this recent book Harry Bosch, retired detective, tries to protect his teenage daughter and his ex-wife from extreme danger, as they live in Hongkong.
"When I Lay My Isaac Down" by Carol Kent. Wow, if your life is tough (or easy) read this book to learn how a Christian husband and wife deal with their only child's arrest for murder. He is now in prison for many years. All three of them rise to be strong and help others. They started a prison ministry where they give black tee shirts to prison visitors, since in Florida visitors often do not know the rules about what to wear and are turned away.
"Cruelest Month" by Louise Penny. This is number 3 in the Gamache police series which is set in a city south of Quebec. I signed up for Penny's newsletter. Her husband died close to when my husband died and I find it comforting to read her letters where she talks about widowhood.
"Can Your Forgive Her?" by Anthony Trollope, the first in the Palliser series of novels. Wonderful.
It begins the stories of three strong women, their courtships, marriages and choices in life. Alice, Lady Glencora and Arabella have very different stations in life yet their stories sometimes intertwine. I already read the second in the series and look forward to the third. These are set in the 1870s when Anthony Trollope wrote. Since I fell in love with his novels three years ago I have read about 20 of the 47 he has written and look forward to reading the other 27.
