Sister's Choice Quilts

My interests are quilting, reading, cooking, family, decorating, and matters of style. I post regular quilting tutorials and book reviews of current fiction.

What I Read On My Vacation

One great thing about vacations is that they usually supply a good amount of time for reading.  My ideal vacations do anyway.  I have a very busy life right now, between caring for a frail 92 year old man, a 2 year old toddler, a part time job, and keeping up a 3600 square foot house.  Reading, one of my favorite past times has taken a back seat over the past four or five months.  (Sewing?  Let's not even go there),

I did get three entire books read in the week we were on vacation, and they were all pretty terrific.  I know many of you enjoy getting book recommendations, so here is what I read on my vacation (credit to Amazon.com for synopses below):

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The Funeral Dress by Susan Gregg Gilmore is a tender, graceful novel that addresses questions of class and social
isolation, Gilmore tells
the story of a motherless young girl raised in poverty in a small holler
in Tennessee. When 16-year-old Emmalee Bullard lands a job as a collar
maker in a textile mill in 1974, she finally finds the camaraderie she
has longed for. Her alcoholic father, bitter and overtaxed by the
responsibility of raising his daughter after his wife’s death, has spent
more time berating Emmalee than helping her. Then Emmalee becomes
pregnant, and Leona, a seamstress who mentored her, offers Emmalee a
place to live and a helping hand. When Leona and her husband are killed
in an auto accident, Emmalee feels compelled to sew a funeral dress for
her dear friend, despite the overwhelming disapproval of the ladies at
the local church. Gilmore imbues her story with a deep compassion for
the lives of the working poor while offering a vivid picture of factory
life and the sense of community it inspired among its workers.

Death at the chateau beaumont

Set in charming and historic Aix-en-Provence, France, Death at the Château Bremont
introduces readers to Antoine Verlaque, the handsome and seductive
chief magistrate of Aix, and his on-again, off- again love interest, law
professor Marine Bonnet. When local nobleman Etienne de Bremont falls
to his death from the family château, the town is abuzz with rumors.
Verlaque suspects foul play and must turn to Marine for help when he
discovers that she had been a close friend of the Bremonts. This is a
lively whodunit steeped in the rich, enticing, and romantic atmosphere
of southern France.

The cuckoo's callilng

London PI Cormoran Strike’s final feud with his arguably insane fiancée
leaves him camping in his office, wondering how his last two clients
will keep him afloat and pay for his new secretary, Robin. When a
childhood acquaintance asks him to investigate his supermodel sister’s
apparent suicide, Strike finds a distraction from his problems that’s
happily attached to a check. Lula Landry was surrounded by rabid
paparazzi, a drug-addled social circle, a dysfunctional adopted family,
and a shifty, newly found birth mother, making suicidal despair hard to
dismiss. But with Robin’s surprisingly adept assistance, Strike
dismantles witness statements, applying masterful deductive skills to
find evidence of murder. This debut is instantly absorbing, featuring a
detective facing crumbling circumstances with resolve instead of clichéd
self-destruction and a lovable sidekick with contagious enthusiasm for
detection. Galbraith nimbly sidesteps celebrity superficiality, instead
exploring the ugly truths in Lula’s six degrees of separation.

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My fave of the three?

The Cuckoo's Calling.  The protagonist is a compelling Afganistan war vet, who has only one and a half legs as a result of a war related injury.  He manages to solve a complex mystery with the help of his appealing "temporary" secretary (who we know will be around for the long haul).  The characters are amazingly well drawn and I was interested and in suspense throughout all 464 pages.  The most fun info about the author?   Robert Galbraith is actually a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling, the author of all the Harry Potter books.  Definitely an adult book, but so well written.

 

18 responses to “What I Read On My Vacation”

  1. I haven’t read the other two (added to my list) but did read the Cuckoo’s Calling. I bought it about 10 seconds after I heard it was really by JK Rowling. Have you read Louise Penny’s mystery series? It is wonderful.

  2. I haven’t read the other two (added to my list) but did read the Cuckoo’s Calling. I bought it about 10 seconds after I heard it was really by JK Rowling. Have you read Louise Penny’s mystery series? It is wonderful.

  3. Thanks for the book recommendations! I have not read any of these you listed.
    Like JoAnne, I’ve enjoyed Louise Penny’s book series. Currently I am on the waiting list at the library for her newest book.
    Kate Morton is another author I like a lot. So far, each of her books stands alone and is not part of a series.
    Am looking forward to photos of your new, larger home (hint, hint!). I hope your schedule somehow slows down but only for good, pleasant reasons.
    Hugs!

  4. Thanks for the book recommendations! I have not read any of these you listed.
    Like JoAnne, I’ve enjoyed Louise Penny’s book series. Currently I am on the waiting list at the library for her newest book.
    Kate Morton is another author I like a lot. So far, each of her books stands alone and is not part of a series.
    Am looking forward to photos of your new, larger home (hint, hint!). I hope your schedule somehow slows down but only for good, pleasant reasons.
    Hugs!

  7. i have the Cuckoo’s Calling on my iPad but i have not gotten around to reading it yet. I had been reading Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series and then my daughter said I had to finish Rick Riordan Percy Jackson series (a YA series), so I’m wrapping that up before moving to more adult content.. I’m looking forward to it.

  8. i have the Cuckoo’s Calling on my iPad but i have not gotten around to reading it yet. I had been reading Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series and then my daughter said I had to finish Rick Riordan Percy Jackson series (a YA series), so I’m wrapping that up before moving to more adult content.. I’m looking forward to it.

  9. Looks like I will be getting a new book! I appreciate the book reviews. Hey…be sure to see my blog quilt offer! Feel free to spread word. This is a first for me!

  10. Looks like I will be getting a new book! I appreciate the book reviews. Hey…be sure to see my blog quilt offer! Feel free to spread word. This is a first for me!

  11. I also LOVED The Cuckoo’s Calling!!! And, YES she has already penned another (it will be a series) BUT I think it will be released until either this November or sometime next year my brain can not remember!

  12. I also LOVED The Cuckoo’s Calling!!! And, YES she has already penned another (it will be a series) BUT I think it will be released until either this November or sometime next year my brain can not remember!

  15. You certainly are a very busy lady Nicole. Keeping up that large home would be a full time job for me!
    Thank you for sharing your book reads, they all sound interesting so I’ll check out a couple for my next vacation at Christmas.

  16. You certainly are a very busy lady Nicole. Keeping up that large home would be a full time job for me!
    Thank you for sharing your book reads, they all sound interesting so I’ll check out a couple for my next vacation at Christmas.