Alas, Babylon (1959) by Pat Frank. If you are of a certain age, you may have been required to read this title in high school or college. I did not read it as a nuclear war was about the last thing I had on my mind as a teenager. Just as well. I would not…
If you like a novel with characters that act like real people just as your neighbors here in Tanglewood—the ones you wave to as you walk your dogs, or that those you have gotten to know when playing petanque, then you should enjoy South of the Buttonwood Tree (2020) by Heather Webber. Welcome to the…
It is a mystery. The kind of mystery that might take place in any community, especially a closed, tightknit community. You know the kind. The kind of happening that starts folks talking amongst themselves. One of the locals, Mrs. Creasy is missing. All the neighborhood residents are talking with each other. Ideas are being tossed…
The Keeper of Lost Things (2017) by Ruth Hogan is a rather magical tale with some very likeable characters, a bit of mystery, and of course, lost objects. In the opening chapter you will meet and get to know a little something about Anthony Peardew, a successful writer who has just returned from a trip. …
As a kid living in the 50s, I grew up watching westerns on television which led to playing Cowboys and Indians with the neighborhood kids. But one thing I never did, was read an actual western. Now, at the age of 74, I can officially mark that off my imaginary list of things I have…
Allow me to introduce to you Aloysius Archer who is the lead character in David Baldacci’s One Good Deed (2019) crime thriller. Archer has just been released from Caderock Prison, placed on parole, and sent to Poca City. He has a long list of “don’ts” and rules he is to live by for the next…
Do you enjoy reading a novel that leads to laughing out loud and a main character who is a bit quirky? One whose world is filled with good people, and loves good books? Then I suggest you read The Bookish Life of Nina Hill (2019) by Abbi Waxman. Nina’s background may help explain her quirkiness. …
Ah, the summer of ’69. I think there are a few of you reading this who might just recall what life was like in your hometown that particular summer. Stay (2019) by Catherine Ryan Hyde is a coming of age story where you will first meet Lucas Painter as a 14-year-old as he tries to…
Right off, you are going to meet 54-year-old Julianna who cannot figure out why the newspaper on the seat of her car is dated June 23, 1962. She figures someone in the news office must have made an error since it was June 23, 1923. In The Third Hill North of Town (2014) by Noah…
The cover art did its job again! I came home with this book because those bathing suits on the clothes line attracted me. Sometimes the tale between the pages supports the images that first caught my eye. Other times it is more like “What were they thinking!” With They Left Us Everything (2014) by Plum…