What I’m Reading

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately. I’ve pretty much given up on night time television.  There’s nothing on that I care about watching – not enough to give up sleep for, anyway!

So, instead of vegging in front of the TV, I’ve been reading. Once the monkeys go to bed, I snuggle up in my chair in our sitting room and read until I can’t focus anymore. Some nights, that’s five minutes, some it’s more.  It just depends.

I’ve been really lucky, too, in that I’ve found some really great books to read.

I think the last one I shared with you was Juliet or maybe it was Septimus Heap?

I thoroughly enjoyed Juliet. It was a really great book. One I would recommend to anyone.

I have taken a break from Septimus Heap because Big Girl is reading it, too, and she wanted to catch up to me in the story so we can talk about it. So, I’ve been reading other books while we get to the same point in the story.

Here are some of the books I’ve read in the past few weeks:

Prayers for Sale
by Sandra Dallas

This was a really, really good book. I gobbled it up in a matter of days, enjoying it like I would a delicious dessert for my mind.  The characters are really well-written and the story consists of an 80-something year old’s reminiscences of her youth in a gold mining camp in the mountains of Colorado and her current relationship with a young, newly-married girl.  I was hooked within the first few pages and couldn’t wait to sit down and read in the evenings. I was sad when the story was over, wishing I could spend more time with the characters (always a good sign, in my mind)

I would highly recommend it to you. Especially if you are in the mood for something a little bit different.

The Lace Makers of Glenmara
by Heather Barbieri

This one just captured me from the very beginning.  It is the story of a heartbroken young woman who is traveling through Ireland trying to recover from being jilted by her fiancé (for another woman, of course).

She ends up in a small village that has a lace making group – middle-aged women who each have stories of their own.  The book weaves their stories, and Kate’s (the main character) together beautifully, and the imagery is spectacular.

I finished this one last night and am hoping to find more stories by this author.

Another one I’d highly recommend.

Now, I’m starting The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry.

It’s the story of a young psychotherapist, Zee Finch, who is thrown in a tailspin when one of her patients commits suicide.

She travels back to Salem, where she is from, and finds her father in poor health and needing care.

I’m not much further into the book than that, but I loved The Lace Reader, another book by Barry, so I am looking forward to reading this one.

I’ll let you know how it turns out.

And what about you?

What are you reading these days?  Any recommendations?