AUGUST/SEPTEMBER BOOKSHARE 2016

Hello, Book Lovers:

We met last night and enjoyed an interesting exchange of summaries of books recently read and enjoyed. It was a great evening to be outdoors and learn about some wonderful books at the same time. 

Here are the books that were reported on:

MARYANN STEVENS:

“Mrs Polifax, Innocent Tourist”. A wonderful read full of adventure and intrigue starring the wonderful Emily Polifax, part-time courier for the CIA and full-time amazing woman.

Dorothy Gilman

“The Eagle Has Landed” By Jack Higgins. An exciting, partly true account of the invasion of a crack German squadron into a quiet English vision to kidnap Winston Churchill.

LANI PACKARD

“Faro’s Daughter”  by Georgette Hyer A Regency romance set in the mid 1700’s that tells of aristocrats vying for the affection of Deborah Grantham, mistress of her aunt’s elegant gaming house.

SARA TRIVEDI:

“Home By Morning”, “Home By Nightfall” and“The Fires of Home” by Alexis Harrington. Three novels about the devastation of World War I and the lives it affected.

“The Great Trouble” by Deborah Hopkinson. Fictionalized account of the true history of a cholera outbreak in London and how it was finally eradicated.

“The Washington Hypothesis” by Timothy Ballard. A modern-day investigator explores the connection between the American Covenant, Latter-Day Temples and George Washington

SUE DE MARTINI

“The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown. A true account of the inspiring U.S. rowing team from Washington 

who competed in the Olympics held in Germany prior to World War II.

“Passionate Minds: Emilie du Chatelet, Voltaire and the Great Love Affair of the Enlightenment”  by David Boudanis

“Empty Mansions” by Bill Deadman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr. The mysterious life of Hugette Clark and the spend of a great American fortune.

“The Elephant Company”  BY Vicki Croke.  The inspiring story of an unlikely hero and the animals who helped him save lives in World War II.

BETH HEDENGREN

“The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves” by Matt Ridley This book  makes the case for an economics of hope, arguing that the benefits of commerce, technology, innovation, and change—what Ridley calls cultural evolution—will inevitably increase human prosperity. 

“The Lunar Chronicles” by Marissa Meyer. This is a series of five young adult fantasy novels by American author Marissa Meyer. Each book entails a new take on an old fairy tale, including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Snow White. The story takes place in a futuristic world where humans, cyborgs, androids, and a race of moon colonists all coexist.

“The Little Paris Bookshop” by Nina George. Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can't seem to heal through literature is himself; he's still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.

GERI CHRISTENSEN:

“Aunt Dimity’s Death” by Nancy Atherton. Lori Shepherd thought Aunt Dimity was just a character in a bedtime story…Until the Dickensian law firm of Willis & Willis summons her to a reading of the woman's will. Down-on-her-luck Lori learns she's about to inherit a sizable estate--if she can discover the secret hidden in a treasure trove of letters in Dimity's English country cottage. What begins as a fairy tale becomes a mystery--and a ghost story--in an improbably cozy setting, as Aunt Dimity's indomitable spirit leads Lori on an otherworldly quest to discover how, in this life, true love can conquer all.

“The Unexpected Guest” by Agatha Christie. A play turned into a novel that is a great mystery and a fun read. Keeps you guessing right up to the last chapter with a surprise twist at the end.