From the Stacks
By Carol Ann Robb, PPL Reference Librarian
I guess the drought affecting the area spread to my reading—for a while I sure wasn’t finding many titles that spoke to me. And then the skies opened up and broke my dry spell (bookwise, that is. The ground is still rock-hard solid).
First came “Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting,” by Clare Pooley. This book had all the right stuff for me—quirky but loveable characters who build their own community and end up helping each other, which in turn helps themselves. And it takes place in England. Oh, there’s even a dog (though it’s a little one).
Part of me did think, “oh, the English wouldn’t strike up friendships on a commuter train” and then the queue started for the Queen’s lying-in-state and you saw strangers quickly becoming mates as they stood in line for hours. I thought, “oh, the author was ‘clare-voyant’”—Iona and company could have easily met while queuing up. I liked this book so much that I was almost afraid to start the next one which I just knew couldn’t live up to my expectations.
Boy, was I ever wrong! Emily Henry’s “Book Lovers” was a terrific read. Even though I was quite sure I knew how the story would end, the characters felt fresh and different, I loved the bookish aspect, and I enjoyed how the author gently poked fun at the whole rom-com genre. Think Abbi Waxman’s Nina Hill with an edge.
Next up are a couple of mysteries: “Truth to Lie For,” the fourth installment of the Elena Standish series by Anne Perry, followed by “A Deadly Bone to Pick,” by Peggy Rothschild (it has a dog in it so it should be good, particularly since it’s a Golden Retriever). Then I’ll be re-reading “Book Woman’s Daughter,” by Kim Michelle Robinson for the October book discussion. I wish I could organize the rest of my life as well as I do my reading!