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WOW - APRIL IS ALMOST OVER!

Posted by Christine L, 3 years ago

44. THE POSTMISTRESS by Sarah Blake. I found this book to be a wonderful read. I know it doesn’t seem to make sense to write it but it was a “slow paced” book that was an exciting “page turner” at the same time. The book follows three women during WWII. Frankie Bard, a female war correspondent and one of “Murrow’s Boys” (the character loosely based on real life correspondent Mary Marvin Breckenridge Patterson). Although the book title suggests otherwise I found Frankie to be the driving force in the book. She was in the thick of things as the story unfolded and held the key to how the story would end.
Iris James is the postmistress in small town Franklin, Mass. All of the mail and news in town goes through her and she is the pulse and backbone of the community and the epitome of propriety. Through her character the other characters all intertwine.
Emma Fitch is the innocent young doctor’s wife, left behind when her husband is drawn by guilt into the war effort in London.
The book is described as being about “two women who are afraid to deliver the news and one women waiting desperately to hear it.” But the book is about so much more. I fell in love with the characters immediately and couldn’t wait to find out what happened to them with every turn of the page. Although difficult to read at times, the vivid descriptions Frankie gives of the people in bomb shelters and the flight of the “unwanted” trying to get to Spain or America was enthralling.
Overall and excellent read.

45. THE YEAR OF FOG by Michelle Richmond. Abby Mason is about to be married to Jake and part of that package involves being stepmother to Emma. Abby has already fallen in love with the little girl. While on a quiet, foggy walk on the beach Abby is momentarily distracted and when she turns around Emma is gone. The book tells the story of what something like that does to an individual, a relationship and the community in general. The most heart wrenching part of this book is the total despair that the author makes us feel for Abby as she suffers through having made one lapse in judgment that held the most severe of consequences.

46. REMARKABLE CREATURES by Tracy Chevalier. I am a long time fan of Ms. Chevalier because she can literally transport the reader to whatever era she is writing about. She does it again with this book, taking us to a cold and lonely stretch of beach in search of “curies”. Mary Anning is our heroine and we follow her as she grows up in a time when poverty was rampant, society was sexist, and women were supposed to know their place. Striking up an unlikely friendship with older spinster Elizabeth Philpot does not help Mary’s place in life or society but gives her the courage and stamina to face whatever life throws in her way. At the same time Mary takes some of the stuffing out of Elizabeth’s biting tongue and prim ways. Although the themes of the book; religious doctrine, poverty, inequality of both gender and class and are not new, Ms. Chevalier does weave an interesting and entertaining story around them. I remain a fan.

47. DEADLY HOUSEWIVES edited by Christine Matthews. Fourteen short stories that demonstrate exactly why you should not aggravate or anger a “housewife”. Each story tackles an annoying problem … a cheating spouse … an irritating neighbour … a problem at work … a meddling mother-in-law or out of control teenagers and gives a somewhat lethal solution to that problem. As with any compilation of short stories, some were more enjoyable than others but overall it was a fun and (ahem) educational (?) read.

48. EAT THIS! NOT THAT! 2010 by David Zinczenko. I picked this book up because I was working on a topic for a weight loss group presentation. Anyone interested in, not just weight loss, but a healthier lifestyle should add this book to their reading list. It’s not the kind of book you sit down to read on a Sunday afternoon but WOW is it packed full of information. I found so much information in this single book that I could have used it to do several meeting presentations (and just might). After going through this book I picked up the Eat This! Not That! Restaurant Guide and am slowly working my way through that one as well … let me tell you, there are some pretty scary numbers in there if you are trying to maintain any semblance of healthy eating when you go out. The positive thing, it offers you choice options and even some recipes to make those restaurant favourites at home in a healthier manner and for less money. Even if you are not interested in the topic next time you are in a bookstore just page through one. They are fun books to look through and I’ll wager you have more than one “I didn’t know that” moment.

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