This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett: I’m used to reading Ann Patchett’s fiction, so this- a collection of memoirs- is going to start off as feeling unfamiliar, but then, her familiar voice comes through. Notes on everything from owning her independent bookstore in Nashville (Parnassus Books) to losing her sweet dog weave through essays that read like conversation over coffee.
The Life and Loves of a He Devil, by Graham Norton: I’m not a huge TV person, but I adore Graham Norton. I recently started following him on Instagram and find myself cracking up at his show- the guest he has there, the openness of them, as well as his quippy humor are just charming. So, when I saw this book of his while perusing Kindle Unlimited (yes- we’re still on our Kindle kick), I downloaded immediately. His humor comes across in the book the same as it does in his show, and I finished this quicker than I care to admit.
The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett: A re-read for me, this is a hard one. A story of what happens when a very light-skinned pair of twin girls are born in the South, we follow the two in different directions, one embracing her blackness and the other running from it. After not speaking for years, we witness their homecoming.
The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy, by Robert Arthur: I’m going to stop giving full descriptions of all of these 🙂 Another cute adventure with The Three Investigators, this one deals with a mummified prince who suddenly has something to say.
Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver: I’ll always love a Kingsolver read, and this is no exception. Multiple “love” stories are woven together over one summer in a few very different lives. I love how stories told in a small town or Appalachia always seem to overlap with kin or folktale.
The Mystery of the Green Ghost, by Robert Arthur: The 4th book in the series, I feel like this book was as far as I got when I was a kid. Thrilling as always.. I wish I could have been friends with these guys.
Animal Farm, by George Orwell: One I’d never read, even while in school. Wanting to brush up on some banned books this year, I picked it up. Considering our current political environment, this was both interesting and one I wanted to toss aside, but I trudged on.
The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure, by Robert Arthur: This one is fun, with a museum heist and a “how’d they do that” robbery. One of the more upbeat in the series!
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman: Oooook. This was a little wackadoo. I borrowed from a girlfriend in my Pilates class, after we were discussing how much I love Stephen King. I wish I could put into words just what I read, but I can’t, ha. I’ll just say that the end leaves you questioning how many times we’ve been here before.
The Secret of Skeleton Island, by Robert Arthur: Reading this, the 6th in the series, I was reminded a little of The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver. That’s all I’m going to give you.
** this post is not sponsored in any way. all thoughts and opinions are my own **
Animal Farm is a great classic read.
It was good to finally get to!