What are you Reading?

I try to read every single day. Actually it is part of my bedtime routine~~wash face, brush teeth, put on my favorite jammies and climb into bed with my Kindle. I do love opening a hard cover book, which would always be my first choice, but the Kindle does make book shopping rather easy.

So here are the books I have been reading over these winter months. I love it when someone shares a good book suggestion with me, so I hope you will enjoy these as much as I did.

This book, Need to Know, was a page turner.  I finished it in 3 days.  I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.

The author, Karen Cleveland is a former CIA analyst. She has master’s degrees from Trinity College Dublin, where she studied as a Fulbright Scholar, and from Harvard University. This is her first novel.  Here is what John Grisham is saying about this.

“Perhaps there will be two or three readers out there who manage to finish the first chapter of this terrific debut and put it down for more than an hour. But they’ll be back. And they’ll devour Need to Know like the rest of us, skipping lunch, losing sleep, turning pages until the end, where we’re all left waiting for more.”—John Grisham

Perfect husband. Perfect father. Perfect liar?

The Inheritance is the first novel I have read by Heidi Hostetter.  I am always looking for a good story surrounding a fabulous house. Three estranged sisters jointly inherit a run-down beach house from a relative they don’t remember, in a town they’ve never visited. In a small beach community where nothing is private, the sisters attempt to restore the house and rebuild their family.

I am still thinking about this Dan Brown book, Origin.

In the trademark style of Dan Brown, he cleverly weaves elements including science, codes, religion, history, art and architecture.  I found the ending of this book a bit disturbing and continue to find evidence that it may, after all, be true.

John Grisham‘s newest legal thriller, The Rooster Bar, is a fun read…..so Grisham-like. This is about three disenchanted law students who try and game the system.

 

“Downton Abbey for the White House staff”—-Today

The Residence is a refreshing inside look into the private world of The White House. Kate Andersen Brower pulls back the curtain on the world’s most famous address.  She spent countless hours interviewing butlers, maids, chefs, florists, doormen and other staffers. This book is focused on the professionals that do everything and anything within the White House over the course of several presidencies. If you want to find out which First Lady stole the White House silver, then read this.

The Good Widow was the first book I have read from Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke.  I liked it so much that I quickly read another. The Year We Turned Forty.

The Good Widow is a twisty, emotional thriller filled with suspense.  Again, I read this one in record time. The Year We Turned Forty is about three best friends who get an opportunity to return to the year they turned 40. Such an interesting concept that deals with friendship, regret, and redemption.  I like these authors so much I will more than likely read their other books too.

Sweet Tea Tuesdays, by Ashley Farley is about 3 best friends who meet every Tuesday for 26 years. This book is about friendships between women and the love between mothers and daughters.

I just started Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police series (recommended by my friend, Rick).  I do love most books with the plot located in France. Bruno, is a policeman in a small village in the South of France. He’s a former soldier who has embraced the pleasures and slow rhythms of country life. He has a gun but never wears it; he has the power to arrest but never uses it. Until there is a brutal murder….

Happy reading!  We’ve had cooler weather here in Phoenix which is perfect for cozying up with a good book….often times much better than watching television.  If you have a book(s) to share, please do!

 

 

The book that is open faced in my first photo is a beautiful collection of illustrations by Marjolein Bastin, Nature’s Sketchbook.  This book was given to me by my daughter.  It is filled with lovely sketches of nature-such as birds, bees, bunnies, and flowers.