So as I prepared for a trek to Toronto to visit a tennis tournament I hadn’t seen before, I visited the Walnut Hills library for summer reading, which I had become hungry for.
I went to the fiction section (everything is mixed in there now – mysteries, romance, serious fiction) and basically looked for small paperbacks, hopefully mysteries.? So they wouldn’t be heavy in my luggage.
I actually got 4 read while gone from Monday through Friday.? The plane trips were short, but one whole day of tennis was washed out.? I have one more to go, which I started last night.
The Island of Dr. Moreau by H. G. Wells – which I had never read!? A classic, and a tiny one at that.? But what a terrific story – and the narrator’s sad state of belief after his experiences.? Easy to see why it lasted.? Poor Dr. Montgomery, poor beasts.
Don’t Hex with Texas by Shanna Swendson – mixes in a lot of magic, romance, Texas craziness, a nutso family.? It’s a non-touchy romance for the most part, with the heat all pent up.? A fun and silly perfect summer book – that ends just right.
The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna – a Finnish tale, with a Foreword by Pico Iyer, one of my all time favorite writers.? This is a whacked out tale of just wandering out of one’s life more or less accidentally, and having everything work out at the end.? But the stories in the middle – bears, detainment in Russia, fires, fishing, the military, lots of drinking.? And the hare, the care and nourishing of whom makes everything happen.? Perhaps a story of how guys can re-create their worlds – maybe that’s why it is/was an international bestseller.
Big Jack by J. D. Robb (who is romance writer Nora Roberts) – this one is a true hard-boiled mystery – with a lot of romance, including actual heat, and a great back story, written by Nora Roberts in another book.? Excellent.
Blood on the Leaves by Jeff Stetson – an Essence bestseller, so i knew it was a book written by a black author for a black audience.? Just a fifth of the way in, wasn’t sure I was going to read a lawyer’s tale, but picked it up intuitively.? Good writing – don’t know why I haven’t heard of this guy.? Will have to google him.? Philosophy in a fast-paced story.
When that one’s done, I’ll be ready to go back to the other non-summer stuff on my stack!