We’ve reached the half-year mark since the last time I wrote about my favorite books…so here we go. There are some unusual picks for me here and I hope you enjoy them. Let me know if you’ve read them already, if you read them now, or if you have other books to suggest to the rest of us!
Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel: When this one appeared in the inbox for my dad and me, I had to say, “Are you kidding? Dad, where in the world did you find this?” I’ve enjoyed many of Frankel’s other books, but I just didn’t see a book about a 77-year-old pregnant woman living in a retirement community resonating with me. And yet, somehow, this book was charming, laugh-out-loud funny and endearing. It also involves very important topics without being preachy. Well done!
The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page: It’s not often that you read a story with the housekeeper as the central character. A touching story about her life, as revealed through the relationship she develops with the elderly lady of the house.
The Forgotten Midwife by Laura Anthony: If you have not read the works by this author yet, run to buy them! Anthony writes historical fiction set in Ireland about important historic time periods that are, perhaps, little known (well, at least to me). This story is based in Ireland in 1953 and centers around a character forced to join a nunnery and work at a home for “fallen girls.” It’s a powerful work.
The Half of It by Juliette Fay: A tender, beautifully rendered story of one woman, the regrets she has, and the ways she tries to make it right. Perfectly written.
The Braid by Laetitia Colombani: I’m not a fan of short stories, even when they interweave at some point. But this book…wow this was something else. It’s the story of three very different women in three entirely different time periods and cultures who intersect because of a braid.
This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page: I love this author’s sweet books, so I was willing to give it a try even though it involved the slightly overused theme of gifts given beyond the grave to the one left behind. This one hit all the right notes and was written with humor, compassion and love.
Fun For The Whole Family by Jennifer E. Smith: A sweet story of four very different siblings who reunite after years of not speaking.
Bear Necessity by James Gould-Bourn: Talk about quirky. This is a sweet, sad, and ultimately uplifting story of a father trying to reach across the divide to help his depressed son. It involves a life-size panda suit. Go figure.
The Second Chance Book Club by Stephanie Butland: A down-and-out young woman has a second chance at life when her great aunt leaves her a beautiful home. And she embraces the motley crew her aunt loved to create a new life for herself. Lovely.
