Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.

Anonymous

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Okay, we don’t “stay where we are” all that often, but reading still transports me.

It’s comforting to delve into a series or style where I know what to expect, but it’s exciting to discover new themes and styles too. July and August had me returning to read more from authors I’d found in the spring, but of course there were also new finds – and isn’t one of the beauties of reading that there’s never a shortage of books to fit any mood or occasion?

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(Repeat note: There are no plot synopses here, just my impressions/opinions of each book. If you’re intrigued, it’s really easy to find out more about the plots by searching for the book or author on Google, Amazon, or in your own specific library app.)

JULY

This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger. While by no means a follow-up to Ordinary Grace, the sense of being completely immersed in a place and time comes through again. Set in the Great Depression, and touching on themes of residential schools and bogus faith-healers, it was a riveting story. I remember thinking that it was SO much better than John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath in giving me an understanding of and empathy for what people went through in those times.

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River City, by John Farrow, is part of hos Émile Cinq-Mars detective series. I loved the other Émile Cinq-Mars books that I’ve read, but found this one too chock-full of historical facts to make it an entertaining read – although it did teach me a lot about Montreal and Canada’s history that I didn’t learn in school. (Please ignore the unfixed typo in my Facebook post)

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The Little Italian Hotel, by Phaedra Patrick. My Facebook post says it all.

Prologue to Murder, by Lauren Elliott. Much as I enjoyed this, it’s not a series I’ll likely continue. Definitely fun, but just not as much fun as some others I’ve begun.

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A Very Typical Family, by Sierra Godfrey. There’s something satisfying about reading about a dysfunctional family having to find common ground, and maybe even forgiveness.

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The Storm Murders, by John Farrow, returned to a more traditional detective novel format than River City, and I enjoyed it immensely.

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AUGUST

The Secrets of Love Story Bridge, by Phaedra Patrick is at the same time the same as (i.e. wonderful, relatable characters) and different from her other novels. I continue to be attracted to her books for their individual uniqueness. For a change, this was a hard copy from the library.

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…and as mentioned in my Facebook post, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper was worth a second read. If possible, I enjoyed it even more the second time around!

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The Undeniable Heart of Olivia Denard, by Viola Ardone is based on true events, and was riveting. Using a combination of real and fictional people to populate the cast, the contrast between the women’s lib movement in North America and its counterpart in a very traditional part of Italy is portrayed in a very readable way.

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Crow Mary, by Kathleen Grissom. A real person, novelized with great compassion and respect.

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A Lesson in Dying, by Ann Cleeves. What amazes me is how Ann Cleeves has created several completely different detective series, and each of them remains unique and interesting. I’m finding it hard to decide which series to concentrate on – and unlike the author, I find it too confusing to keep up with all of them at once!

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The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese. Anotherbook that sneakily taught me a whole series of history lessons, hidden in a truly wonderful narrative.

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The Long Call, by Ann Cleeves, introduces yet another new detective in another completely distinct series. How on earth does she do it? Never mind – I’m a little besotted with this latest character.

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The Satapur Moonstone, by Sujara Massey. Sometime in the past I read the first novel featuring Perveen Mistry (The Widows of Malabar Hill). Having read this second instalment, I’ll now go looking for numbers 3 and 4.

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Son of a Trickster, by Eden Robinson. This was a “librarian’s pick” at our local library in Coquitlam BC, and did not disappoint. In fact, it was one of the most surprisingly emotional books I’ve read in a long time, written in the first person by a young indigenous man whose family believe him to be an incarnation of the Raven.

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The Four Winds, by Kristin Hannah

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The Heron’s Cry, by Ann Cleeves – because I just can’t resist Matthew Venn!

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…and that was it for our busy summer months. Part 3 still to come at the end of November.