Welcome to Quick Lit, where we share short and sweet reviews of what we’ve been reading lately on the 15th of the month.
I started this month at the beach, which is always good for my reading life—or at least for my reading quantity. I re-read old favorites so they would be fresh in mind for upcoming episodes of One Great Book, and plenty of advanced review copies so I could share them with patrons in our One Great Bonus episodes. And I also enjoyed reading a new-to-me old mystery, just for the fun of it.
Today’s list is a little longer than my Quick Lit lists usually are, but I couldn’t bear to leave any of these titles off.
I hope you’ve read some good books lately. Tell us your favorites in comments?
Quick Lit July 2019
The New Girl
This is my second-ever Daniel Silva book. I love a good spy thriller—they're perfect poolside reading—and this one has much to recommend itself: tight pacing, an intriguing setting (in the international art world), characters exchanging F. Scott Fitzgerald lines over dinner. I particularly appreciated how Silva took his inspiration from all-too-real international events: this time, the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the involvement of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In this book, Silva asks what if?, imagining how events might play out in the real Middle East. Don't miss the author's note at the end. More info →
The Lager Queen of Minnesota
When I was recently reviewing my second quarter reading, I realized that I hadn't finished an audiobook since March! That's unusual for me, and it means I get less reading in—so I immediately downloaded a few promising titles from Libro.fm. This new title from the author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest follows several generations of a Minnesota family as they establish themselves in the brewing industry—and fall to pieces in the process. Despite the family feud and plenty of tense moments, the tone is relentlessly hopeful, and the story hugely listenable. (I walked six miles yesterday just so I could get to the end!) Coming July 23. More info →
Iron Lake (Cork O’Connor Book 1)
When a Minnesota reader mentioned that Krueger may be just the ticket for Louise Penny fans waiting for the next Gamache novel, I immediately downloaded the series' first book from my library. This procedural set in rural Minnesota features a strong sense of place, long-running grudges, and an ousted sheriff seeking justice where the authorities will not. Recommended for Louise Penny fans, yes, and also those who enjoyed Snow Falling on Cedars and this year's Summer Reading Guide pick The Current. More info →
If You Want to Make God Laugh
Marais's debut Hum If You Don't Know the Words was a 2017 Summer Reading Guide selection and I've been looking forward to her new release, which comes out tomorrow, July 16. The book tells the story of three women, two sisters, Ruth and Delilah, and the much younger Zodwa, whose lives become intertwined after the sisters discover an abandoned day-old baby on their doorstep. Each of the women is actively dealing with a personal crisis, and in rotating points of view, we learn each about each woman’s secrets and situation. An absorbing tale of friendship, and redemption, and the transformative power of love. More info →
Things You Save in a Fire
While this doesn't technically come out until August 13, many of you have your hands on it already because it's a July early-release Book of the Month selection. As a novelist, Center has said she is “interested in the ways people bounce back,” and after our protagonist and veteran firefighter Cassie throws a few very public punches at a community event, she struggles to figure out how to do just that—in a new firehouse that is reluctant, to say the least, to welcome a female firefighter into their boys' club. Her new position is complicated further when she falls for her fellow rookie, and is forced to finally think about her feelings (ugh). A fast, feel-good read. More info →
Light from Distant Stars
After enjoying Shawn's YA novel The Day the Angels Fell, I've been eager to read this new release, his first novel geared toward adults, which hits shelves tomorrow. The story begins with a death: a son discovers the body of his father, he's filled with guilt and fear, he doesn't want to tell his sister he was the first one to know. But why? As the memories come pouring back over the ensuing days, the reader begins to find out what went on in this troubled family. Recommended for Billy Coffey fans. More info →
What have YOU been reading lately?
P.S. 7 series to read next after you’ve run out of Louise Penny novels, 40 great book club novels, and the Quick Lit archives.
112 comments
Things You Save in a Fire is one of my favorites this year! I have a ton of good books from June/July. https://neverenoughnovels.com/2019/07/08/what-to-read-july-2019/
Thanks for doing these Quick Lit posts, Anne. I get so much inspiration by, not only what you’re reading, but what everyone else is as well. I appreciate you.
Here’s my list: https://shannanenjoyslife.com/2019/07/12/quick-lit-next-page-please-june-2019/
In THE BOOKBAG this month … my 12 all-time favorite summertime reads!
http://www.lindastoll.net/2019/07/my-12-best-summertime-books.html?m=1
I spent last month reading the 5th installment in Outlander and fell behind a bit on my reading! Fortunately, I finished up the Chronicles of Narnia and transitioned to History narratives with 1776! Thanks for sharing!
Oops! Here’s my list 🙂 https://incessantbookworm.com/2019/07/15/quick-lit-11-what-are-you-reading-lately/
This month, my reading life included a creative twist on a classic fairy tale, a tender love story, a remarkable faith memoir, and the best audiobook I have EVER listened to!
https://kendranicole.net/quick-lit-reading-wrap-up-part-two-july-2019/
A sister trip to Ireland allowed for quality reading time on the flights.
My List: https://joyinthemorning-joy.blogspot.com/2019/07/quick-lit-july-19.html
Thank you for hosting!
Last month was my first beach trip with a grandchild! So I put my books on the shelf instead of reading. 🙂 Nonetheless, I found time to read outside of the trip.
Here are my favorite 8 books I recommend from last month’s reading.
https://www.lisanotes.com/books-i-recommend-june-2019/
I’m rereading The Shell Seekers for the 10th time. Hopefully it will help me get out of my reading slump!
Daniel Silva is my favorite author and Gabriel Allon is my favorite character. Dying for The New Girl to be released!!
I’m currently reading The Golden Hour and can’t put it down! This summer I’ve managed to read 10 books already and I’ve got to say that The Gown has been my favorite read!
Agree!!!
I am currently reading
Into the wilderness by
Sara donati ( thank you) and am re_ reading a fine balance by Robinton Mistry
Would love to get my hands on a book by Roy
McGreggor
Loved Sara Donati’s books. If you like Outlander you will love her books.
hey,
Here in Australia most of us are on winter school holidays so I’ve had three weeks to (amongst other things) read. Firstly, I re-read ‘interview with a vamper ‘, then onto ‘Games of Thrones- book 1’. Now, I’m just finishing ‘Heroes’ by Stephen Fry.
Happy reading to all the book lovers out there!
I’ve been curious about the Stephen Fry book. Is it good?
Enjoy that winter holiday!
I’ve been reading a lot of Ann Tatlock books. I read I’ll Watch the Moon earlier this year, and loved it so much I am reading her other books now. Finished her Every Secret Thing (loved!) and A Place Called Morning this month. Buried Dreams, Planted Hope is by a former pastor’s daughter about dealing with grief in the loss of her fiance due to an accident just months before the wedding. I enjoyed The Inheritance, Louis May Alcott’s first novel, written when she was 17 but just discovered and published in the 1990s. Finally read Wuthering Heights (didn’t like it much) and am currently reading The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot. I’m also reading Rorie’s Secret by Leisha Kelly, Suffering Is Never For Nothing by Elisabeth Elliot, Sweet Mercy by Ann Tatlock, and Loving People by John Townsend. Others I’ve read are in my end-of-month summary here: https://barbarah.wordpress.com/2019/06/30/end-of-june-musings/
The Gown has been my favorite book so far this summer! I have also enjoyed The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny. However, I just finished Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch and Gaskell’s North and South, both of which were unfortunately let-downs. Today I will be starting Mark Adams’s Turn Right at Machu Picchu and hope I enjoy it!
We read “Turn Right” for book club. I enjoyed it; many other members did not. Made me really want to go to Machu Pichu. Good luck with it!
Just read “A Thinking Girl’s Guide to Real Magic” and quite enjoyed being swept into a fun new land while still being able to see all those P+P threads throughout.
I read this book in 2013 and absolutely loved it. I’ve been disappointed ever since that she has never written Book 2 in the series. Anyone know why?
PS The title is actually “The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic” by Emily Croy Barker.
I’ve read a lot of good books this summer, some of which I found here. Here’s my June middle grade/YA wrap up:
https://livingalearninglifestyle.com/recommended-reads-middle-grade-and-ya-june-edition/
And my adult wrap up:
https://livingalearninglifestyle.com/recommended-reads-adult-fiction-and-nonfiction-june-edition/
Thank you for reminding me of The Sound of Gravel. I picked it up a few years ago, got distracted, and want very much to be reunited with this sad memoir.
Just finished Girls Like Us by Cristina Algier. So good and twisty – I finished it in a day!
I’m glad to read this since it is next on my list and I actually have it!
I am listening to The Pillars of The Earth by Ken Follet on the Libby app. This is my first audiobook in a very long time, and I am loving it! I am a busy mom, and I listen while I cook dinner. It’s satisfying to see the hours pass by so quickly (it seems I spent A LOT of time cooking – Ha!). I know I would still barely be scratching the surface of this book if I had tried to read a hard copy.
My young daughter and I are also listening to 26 Fairmount Avenue by Tomie dePaola. The first few chapters have been delightful.
Thanks for your updates, Anne! Longtime podcast listener and blog reader – first time commenting :).
Oh the Pillars of the Earth was a 90 degree turn for my reading life. Don’t give up this was one of the most precious gifts of my life
I’ve read several Daniel Silva books and they’re always good. It might be time for me to pick up a new one! My New Year’s Resolution was to read more this year and I just finished my 18th book at the end of June. That’s a lot for me but I’m loving it so much. https://creatingthislife.com/book-report-quick-reviews-of-what-ive-been-reading-5/
Finally got back in my reading rhythm this month after having a baby in April! Recursion was one of my favorites, but I read quite a few good ones:
https://www.marilumorgan.com/what-i-read-in-june-2019/
It’s been a rough reading month for me! A middle grade graphic memoir was the best thing I read. https://cocoonofbooks.blogspot.com/2019/07/what-ive-been-reading-lately-quick-lit.html
Love the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva but I’m not quite at The New Girl yet. Gotta’ get busy reading the few in betweens I haven’t read yet. So looking forward to it. Here is what I’ve been reading lately: https://susanbowers.typepad.com/in_the_storm/2019/06/a-reading-odyssey-june-2019.html
I’ve started the Inspector Gamache series. I’m adduced!
I always enjoy your quick lit posts.
I have been in a bit of reading slump myself or maybe just a summer slow down. https://myviewofthehoneypot.blogspot.com/2019/07/what-i-read-july.html
I didn’t get a ton of reading done in June, but I did get to Salem for a Nathaniel Hawthorne pilgrimage (you know you’re a book nerd when you march past all the witchy stuff to get straight to the House of the Seven Gables!).
https://susandcook.blogspot.com/2019/07/quick-lit-july-2019.html
I just finished Damsel by Elana Arnold and loved it so much. It’s lush and vivid and the cover is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. If you love Fairytale retellings, pick up this book! My favorite read of the summer so far.
I always enjoy these Quick Lits, especially seeing what books make repeat appearances.
I’ve traveled the world through my recent books and loved it. I’ve experienced the Gilded Age in New York, a remote fjord in Norway, a crime spree in Iceland, Cuba past and present, island life in Wisconsin, mythical Africa, a lesbian bar in New York City, and Iran on the eve of a revolution. Can you guess what I’ve read?
http://www.avikinginla.com/2019/07/reading-lately-reading-challenges-update-june-2019/
It was a good reading month for me, with 10 books read since June 15, and a lot of really good ones. My favourites were The River by Peter Heller and The Gown by Jennifer Robson. Among others, I also enjoyed Pride and Prejudice (Audiobook narrated by Rosamund Pike) and Blood Work by Michael Connelly. Blood Work was a rare reread for me. I’m slowly working my way through Connelly’s complete backlist. I started reading his Bosch series pre-grad school, and now that I’m retired, I can get back to it!
I love comment threads like this! Thank you for all for taking the time to share! My only problem is that I want to read ALL of your suggestions and there isn’t enough time! As Anne says, “Happy Reading Everyone!”
Yes! That’s the only downside 🙂 My TBR list is growing by the second.
I’ve read
The Emissary, which was *interesting*
Ordinary Graces by William Krueger- beautiful and sad-made me think of To Kill a Mockingbird, in a way
Currently reading-Love Walked in by Maria de los Santos, and am enjoying it!
I also finished The Emissary recently! I don’t know what to think but I don’t regret reading it!
I finally read Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos – such a good satisfying read! I also read Evvie Drake Starts Over and it was delightful! I just started the Lola Quartet and it is really good!
I run hot and cold with Marisa de los Santos but Belong to Me is one of my favorites. Especially Piper’s story.
This is a plug for a website with book reviews written by my granddaughter. It’s not books read this month, but more randomly. Check out hellohermione.com.
I think you’ll like it.
Virginia
What a fun website name!
I just finished Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera, which came out in June. Totally absorbing read, a moving historical novel about three women whose lives become intertwined in 1924 South Carolina. Great book. Totally recommend.
I was looking at Things You Save in a Fire just the other day—sounds like it could be interesting!
I’m steadily working my way through my summer reading list (many of the titles of which I got from you–thank you!), and here’s how it’s shaking out so far:
http://www.toloveandtolearn.com/2019/07/15/loving-and-learning-lately-16/
Two recent five star reads:
DEAR WIFE by Kimberly Belle – a suspenseful, twisty tale! – and WE WALKED THE SKY by Lisa Fiedler – a YA historical fiction that I just absolutely loved.
This month Read: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (loved it; cannot wait to read more of him)
Currently Reading: Recursion by Blake Crouch (almost finished and loving it; loved Dark Matter too)
Up Next: The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
I read 20 books in June, and I’m off to a good start for July. If You Want to Make God Laugh was a great read!
I’m planning to pick up If You Want to Make God Laugh soon!
Here’s mine:
https://www.sarahsbookshelves.com/july-2019-books-to-read-and-skip/
Lots of new books on this list to check out.
One of my favorite kind of books are well-written novels inspired by true events. There seems to be a lot of them lately. Gotta love it.
https://purplecrayonyourworld.com/fascinating-novels-inspired-by-the-lives-of-real-people/
Oh, I may read If You Want To Make God Laugh!
Here’s my QuickLit list for the month, if anyone is interested.
http://dumilch.com/july-books-quick-lit/
Hey, I just read Iron Lake a few weeks ago! We went up to Minneapolis and I found a copy in a local indie. I enjoyed it (but am also eager to see how Krueger develops as an author in later books) and finding mysteries set in the city/state I’m visiting is one of my new favorite traveling activities.
What a fun coincidence! I didn’t expect anyone else to have read it recently, and I’m happy to have the bookish company.
Thanks to summer break, I managed to read quite a few books myself. During the summer months I like to give myself permission to read those books that don’t require that much mental attention, hence a larger number of books.
https://reviewsandco.blogspot.com/2019/07/what-ive-read-lately-15.html
This month the book club I’m in celebrated meeting every month for 15 years! 15 YEARS! The book for July was “Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore” by Robin Sloan. https://shereadsandwrites.com/2019/07/13/15-years-of-the-dinner-and-a-book-club/
I enjoyed that book – and WOW 15 years!
I can’t wait to get my hands on The Lager Queen of Minnesota! My favorite recent read was Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson; it was a great story about 3 women attending the Military Academy at West Point. Highly recommend! Check out more of my reads here:
http://www.anopenbookblog.com/what-i-read-june-2019/
I love, love your books lists! Just requested these all at the library.
Currently reading and enjoying:
The Cactus by Sarah Haywood
Save Me The Plums by Ruth Riechl (MMD Summer Reading List 2019)
The Friend Zone by Abby Jiminez (MMD 10 Romance Novels for Summer)
I’m excited for The Lager Queen of Minnesota. I’ve been in a bit of a slump recently, but hoping things pick back up soon!
https://anovellook.com/home/2019/6/30/book-review-china-rich-girlfriend-amp-rich-people-problems-by-kevin-kwan
I’ve been reading a ton of graphic novels for the tween set this summer in addition to a few other things. I shared the full list here:
https://mommablogsalot.com/2019/07/15/what-ive-been-reading-this-summer/
Just started “A Jane Austen Education”, from your Great Deals on Ebooks list, and I’m loving it already! Love the point of view, the honesty, and the writing.
Happy to hear it!
Things You Save In a Fire is so well done. Katherine Center has become an auto read author for me! I read one of my favorite books of the year, a fast paced feel good, and one of the most hyped thrillers of the year. http://www.tbretc.com/etc/readingweek71519
I have been on a WWI, WWI reading binge since I read Pam Jennof’s The Lost Girls of Paris (great book!). I have since read all of Pam Jenoff’s books (The Kommandant’s Girl was one of my favorites) The Tattooist of Auschwitz was an amazing read, The German Midwife, The Huntress, The Alice Network, The Great Alone and Winter Garden by Kirsten Hannah, Bear Town and all of Fredrick Backman’s other books, the Rose trilogy by Jennifer Donnelly, and Before We Were Yours.
If you haven’t read Claire Lombardo’s “The Most Fun We Ever Had”, I highly recommend it!
I’m reading The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. It is her first novel, published in 2016. Very good! Funny and thoughtful!😊
Thanks- I was looking for a few new (to me) titles! The New Girl will be #1 if I can get it quickly at the library.
I always enjoy seeing what others are reading! I also had a higher than usual month thanks to vacation! My Quick Lit is HERE!
Have just finished both of Katherine Center’s new books. I was fortunate to get an advanced copy of her new one. I loved the book and it went fast after she move to be with her mother. Our book club is reading EDUCATED for August. I have always taken time to read some beach reads. SUMMER OF 69 is waiting on me.
Read NORMAL PEOPLE,
AMERICAN DUCHESS, and QUEEN BEE by Frank. Have so many more to also be read.
Yes, William Kent Krueger! So glad you enjoyed the beginning of the Cork series. Now go check out his stand alone, Ordinary Grace-BEAUTIFUL novel! I met him and heard him speak last year and it was amazing.
Ordinary Graces really is a beautifully written book- one of my favorites this year so far!
Agree! Loved Ordinary Grace and also one of my favorites this year. I listened to the audiobook and felt like the story was perfect in that format. I was interested to listen to the interview with the author at the end of the audiobook..interestingly he said he thought that it would lend itself to audio.
Love seeing what everyone is reading. I’ve been a book hangover myself…just now getting going again.
The Eyre Affair – vacation read
Little Fires Everywhere – so glad you recommended this one last month
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone – audiobook, I’m halfway through
Literally all three of these are on my TBR! I picked up The Eyre Affair after hearing about it on a past episode of What Should I Read Next – it sounds like so much fun! Perfect for a vacation read!
Libro.fm??
I’m intrigued. Who will tell me more?
YES! It’s a great audiobook provider that helps support independent bookstores. The store I own is linked up with Libro.Fm and I explain it to people this way, “You know how when you download a book from Audible, Jeff Bezos gets some of your money to build his personal space ship? Well, this way, our store gets some of your money instead.” 😉
Sold! I will be sure to transfer my membership. I imagine I can retain the Audible app and have access to the audiobooks I own (I have several I haven’t listened to yet!) This would just be my new account. Right?
As a mom of 3, I’d love to hear your advice on how you managed to read 9 books while on holiday with the family. I think of myself as a pretty fast reader, but still can’t imagine accomplishing this much material.
The key is that my youngest is now 9. I could never have read quite that much when they were tiny! Also this was a very low-key vacation. We went on a family trip earlier this summer and I didn’t read nearly as much, because we were always on the go.
I’m currently finishing up the latest Brad Thor novel Backlash. A good spy novel. I have two Karen White novels i checked out at the library to work on next. And I’ve gotten hooked on Preston & Child’s Pendergast series I’m trying to catch up on.
I just finished The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and I can’t stop thinking about it.
I just found out I get to be in conversation with Kim Michele here in Louisville next month for a bookstore event! Can’t wait to discuss her book women in person.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a criminal, but sometimes I peruse my lengthy Kindle list, with 60% of it unread, or those partially read I’ll get back to them books, and then – the thought of being locked up in a cozy jail for about six months with absolutely nothing but said Kindle, doesn’t seem half bad. #toomanybooksnotenoughtime
bwahahaha!
Just finished My Life as a Rat by Joyce Carol Oates. I had hoped for more. Next is The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang, published in 1937 – from one century to another!
My June Wrap Up ….
https://readingladies.com/2019/06/30/june-reading-wrap-up/
I read and loved Celine, and The River is on my TBR list. Didn’t care for the Huntress, wound up skipping a lot to see how it wrapped up. Reading Together Tea by Marjan Kamali now and really like it. I have The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek from the library for the next book… More to pick up on hold. Ahh, summer reading!!
Thanks for the comments, I love to see what everyone is saying about the books they’ve read or listened to. And thank you to Anne for the posts.
This has been a great summer for new fiction! I’ve read much more new fiction than normal and found some gems! Plus I always have my “vintage” fiction going. =) It’s all here: http://miathereader.com/2019-summer-reading-re-cap-fiction/
I quit one book this month and finished 6 more. I’m definitely getting better at following Anne’s advice to ditch a book that isn’t working for me, and my reading life is happier as a result 🙂
https://goteamotto.blogspot.com/2019/07/what-weve-been-reading-lately-july-2019_16.html
Things You Save in a Fire hasn’t gripped me yet like I hoped it would! I’m so surprised by that. So I set it down and decided I’ll revisit it again.
Right now I’m reading Three Women by Lisa Taddeo and Girls Like Us by Randi Pink and I’m definitely hooked on both of those.
Hello,
I love your podcast and because of it, I downloaded an audiobook to listen to while on vacation at Cape Cod: The Shell Seekers. I don’t think this was recommended as an audiobook and there are problems with the speed of the recording (this is a long book) and it is forcing me to slow it down to 0.75 which is too slow but 1.0 is too fast. Anyway, I am enjoying it and it was perfect for Cape Cod but now back home and still listening to the final chapters. Keep up the good work.
I love William Kent Krueger. I just picked up book ten in the Cork O’Connor series. The characters develop over the series like Louise Penny so it helps to read in order. Ordinary Grace is a stand alone by Krueger and also very good. I’m also enjoying Robert R. McCammon’s Matthew Corbett series and Adrian Mckinty’s Detective Sean Duffy series.
I’m glad to hear the series is worth staying with!
I’m a new fan of your podcast and loving it! I already had Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin on my TBR shelf but your recommendation bumped it to the top. I’m halfway through and loving it! Next is White American Youth by Christian Picciolini, a memoir by a young man who was part of a white supremacist group that details how he got out. And next after that is Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian which I’ve seen recommended but know nothing about. I LOVE going in with no expectations or spoilers!!
Thanks for listening, and for sharing your recent reads!
A\Good Morning-Love the suggestions.
For a very good character driven series, you may want to check out Robert Parker and the Spencer series. The originals are the best, now that Robert Parker is deceased I believe others are continuing the series but they are not as good.
Also, a vey good new book is Once More We Saw Stars, sad but very good, a memoir.
Since you mentioned the Gamache novels (I believe fall of 2018) I have been hooked. Along with audiobooks and other books on my reading list – I have not been without one or two of these novels in the waiting. Far from being just “mysteries” there is a life lesson or two I’ve picked up from each story. Can you say addicted?????
Just wanted you to know you were a source of inspiration – thank you for all of your thoughtful posts
Craig Johnson’s Longmire series is another good series for Louise Penny fans. (Both authors are favorites of mine.)
I’ve *just* added both If You Want To Make God Laugh and Things You Save In A Fire to my TBR – they both sound fabulous, complex and compelling.
Hi Anne!
I am currently reading Little Fires Everywhere and I’ve noticed a theme in my reading that I’m loving! My most recent favorite reads have all included art/artists in one way or another. Art is a passion of mine and seeing it in stories thrills me! Do you have any recommendations for me? 🙂
I’m late to the game with some of these titles…just finished Where the Crawdads Sing and it’s now one of my top ten. Love it. Also just finished The Current by Tim Johnston on Anne’s recommendation. Great book (thanks Anne!). Reading Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and it is fantastic! Listening to the audio version of Come as You Are by Emily Nagoski (in my opinion a must for every woman). And just finished Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez with my 9 year old son – FABULOUS!
I have just read Out of Bounds by Val McDermid, one of her Karen Pirie novels. I can’t believe I have waited this long to read her books, perfect for Louise Penny fans.
Always enjoy reading book recommendations. Here are some of my favorites reads so far this summer, including a backlist book that I wouldn’t have read if not for Anne Bogel! 🙂 https://courageforabetterstory.wordpress.com/2019/06/22/a-few-favorite-reads/
I have read 3 very different books this summer that reflect the Canadian experience in very different ways: The River by Peter Heller, The Woo Woo by Lindsay Wong, and I’m Afraid Of Men by Vivek Shraya. I would recommend all 3, just a warning that The Woo Woo can causing spontaneous outbursts of laughter, so read in public at your own risk. After hearing about Louise Penny on the show (I absolutely adore What Should I Read Next) I decided to try Still Life. I unfortunately left it at my brother’s when I was visiting, so I will have to wait until Christmas to finish it (torture). Keep the mystery, suspense, and horror recommendations coming!
We took our three teenage boys on a cruise this month (our first ever!), and I promised them I would only bring my Kindle, and no physical books. The best part of keeping that promise? I was able to read I’ll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos, and it was at least as good as you said it would be, Anne! I loved her first two novels (Love Walked In and You Belong to Me), but this one was even better. Right now I am reading This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell. Earlier this summer I plowed through The River by Peter Heller, and it was a great ride. This podcast and blog help me love my library even more, since I can easily jump on their site and reserve all the goodies Anne gives us.
https://livingbetweenthepageswithmelissarice.wordpress.com
I’ve fallen in love with the Cork O’Connor books and while I am a huge Louise Penny fan, I think these are much more Longmire than Ganache. Midwestern Longmire is right up my alley!
Always love your reviews, Anne. I recently read The Huntress after hearing your recommendation on WSIRN and it was fantastic.
Here is a recent blog post I am excited about as I prepare for our first baby. It is on encouraging early childhood literacy: https://elle-alice.blogspot.com/2019/07/encouraging-childhood-literacy-through.html