Five Books

 At this point in my life, I like the idea of some goals for the year.  My niece Elyssa put on facebook that her goal for this year was to read sixty books.  I sort of tucked that idea away.  I read quite a bit and wondered whether I actually read that many books in a year.  Ever since Chuck's surgery I found my reading to be really compromised as I had trouble concentrating.

However, at the end of this first month of 2019 I realize that - including the books I have listened to - I actually completed five books this month.  And I do wonder whether reading for me right now may be a particularly healthy activity as I am able to get out of myself and engage in other stories and other lives.

So, I write this today as a record of the books of this month and to encourage me to continue with this goal - 5 books a month.  Completed - as a library customer I take out and peruse many more - so completion is the goal.

Here are the 5 of this month. 

Sunburn by Laura Lippman.  I heard Laura Lippman speak at the Virginia Festival of the Books and have become a real fan of her writing.  This is a story of a woman Polly who leaves her husband and daughter when they are on vacation in Ocean City to start a new life.  It begins with a meeting at a bar between her and a man called Adam.  Over the course of the novel secrets unfold and there is a fair amount of suspense.  I really enjoyed this.  I listened to it on Audible.  It was the first book I was able to finish since Chuck's passing.

The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter.  Another writer I became acquainted with through the festival of the books.  I read a couple of her novels about female cops in Atlanta and liked them.  This was about two sisters who had a horrific experience in childhood.  It went back and forth between the present and the past and mysteries about their life unfolded slowly.  Again I listened to this on Audible and it seemed long at times.  The ending was well worth the read.

The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin.  I read this last week staying with Geoff and Vicky.  It is wonderful.  It is the story of AJ Fikry whose wife has died and whose bookstore is in financial trouble.  The story is told with every chapter referencing a different s book.  The literary allusions abound in this quirky story filled with hope and love and life.  I absolutely recommend it.  It was just what I needed.

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware.  I started this in North Carolina and finished it in the airplane ride home.  It is one of those books with a narrator who you are not sure you can trust - Laura "Lo" is a journalist recovering from a burglary at home when she goes to cover a luxury cruise with only a handful of cabins.  She drinks too much,  doesn't get enough sleep and is on anti depressents which makes her story of the missing woman of Cabin 10 suspect to the authorities.  It was a page turner and has a satisfying ending.  I liked it ok.

Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne Lamott.  This book was given to me by a friend and it was the perfect gift at the perfect time.  I have referenced it often in this blog as I have slogged through the last months of suffering and grief.  I am grateful for Anne Lamott's wisdom, wordplay, humor and humanity.  My book club is reading it and I totally recommend.

So, the year begins with a little bit of satisfaction for starting this project of reading.  I feel like I need some disciplines to anchor me as I wander and wonder about what is next.

"No man is an Island; Every book is a world."  from The Storied Life of AJ Fikry