We're Back! With a great book called Jane Steele

I'm back.  Sorry for the hiatus of about a year.  Sometimes, stuff you have to do gets in the way of things you want to be doing.  But I'm back now and I have a great book to share with you.

This book!  Oh my goodness, it is riveting!  And such a clever premise!  I'm not giving anything away, I hope, when I tell you it is about a character who is a big fan of Jane Eyre.  Even Amazon describes the book as a "reimagining of Jane Eyre."  Lyndsay Faye found a way to give new life to the classic by Charlotte Bronte.

The book is set in England, shortly after the second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849.  Our male heroes are returned from the war, scarred (literally) and with a young daughter in need of a governess.  Here is where Jane Steele enters their lives and not without a most interesting past of her own.

I did not read this book in one sitting, but only because real life got in my way.  Isn't that a recurring problem?  If you are a fan of historical fiction with a touch of romance but primarily a strong female lead character who takes life head one, then you will love this book.  Take it on your next vacation.  Or just read it in snippets when you have time.  You will be glad you did.  I give it five beach umbrellas!

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Lab Girl by Hope Jahren

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren (New York: Alfred Knopf, 2016)

This book is fabulous.  It captured my interest from the first chapter.  Hope Jahren is a gifted and engaging writer and I hope she writes more nonfiction, but non-technical, books like this one.  Her stories from her career as a scientist are funny, familiar (especially for those of us who make a living in academia),  and revealing.  She writes about her colleagues, her own personal struggles with her own demons, and she interweaves these personal and professional stories with scientific observations about plants and trees.  She places a story about her own struggles with anxiety next to a chapter on trees and how they struggle to grow and survive.  It was masterfully crafted and I could not put it down until I finished.

If you want a captivating non-fiction book that will teach you a little bit about yourself as well as a little bit about botany and geology, then look no further.  I loved this book and I give it five beach umbrellas.

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Moonshell Beach by JoAnn Ross

Moonshell Beach by JoAnn Ross (New York: Signet, 2012)

If you want a fun beach read where the guy wins the girl, choose any of the Shelter Bay novels by JoAnn Ross.  The setting is a picturesque little town on the coast of Oregon called Shelter Bay.  It has a lighthouse on a cliff and a bevy of former Marines and Navy Seals.  I have only read the one book, Moonshell Beach, but I think all of the books in the series concern the love lives of these former military men and the women they meet while living in the little town. 

These books are escapism at its finest, with little doses of real life and real-world problems (at least, American real-world problems) to keep it interesting.  This book had domestic abuse, stalking, and paparazzi contributing to the plot. But you also get romance, beautiful, wealthy people, and a wedding.

The characters were interesting and flawed just enough to deepen the story.  I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read.  I’ll look for others in the series for light-hearted reading.  I give it three beach umbrellas.

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A Shimmer of Hummingbirds by Steve Burrows

A Shimmer of Hummingbirds by Steve Burrows. (London: OneWorld Publications, 2017)

This book is extremely interesting because it combines a British police procedural mystery with bird watching.  The main character, Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune, is off on a bird watching expedition to Colombia but his reasons for the trip involve more than checking bird species off of his list.  Because of his absence, his colleagues back in England must handle a baffling murder without his insight.  And they have the help of one of Jejeune’s least favorite detectives to solve the mystery. 

Author Steve Burrows weaves these two stories together in a lovely tangle that kept me guessing until the end of the book.  Alternating the action between Jejeune in Colombia and his colleages in Saltmarsh in the UK added intensity and daring to the action.  As interesting as both story lines were, I really enjoyed the descriptions of the landscape in Colombia and the various birds that Jejeune encountered on his trip. 

This book is number four of a series about Jejeune.  I plan to go back and read some of the earlier books and to keep an eye out for new ones.  The book is not an easy read, but once you get hooked, you don’t want to put it down.  I give it three beach umbrellas.

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Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert. (New  York: Riverhead Books, 2015)

Is there a place for magic in this world?  There is if you equate magic with creative inspiration, as Elizabeth Gilbert does in this book.  She lists numerous examples of how inspiration and the act of creating swept into her life at the right time.  Does inspiration seek you out and show up at the right time, just when you need it?  Yes, according to Gilbert, but you have to be able to recognize it.  You need to be open to inspiration.  I found this concept, even though I had heard it before, to be thought-provoking and exciting. 

Gilbert is also a proponent of creating every day, whether you are an artist, a writer, a crafter – whatever your creative outlet.  Just do it, to borrow a phrase from a well-known sportswear manufacturer.  Every day, you need to stretch your creative muscles.  Furthermore, Gilbert advises being creative for the enjoyment of it, not for the potential glory.  Write because you love it, not because you want to write the great American novel.  In my opinion, this is great advice and I am trying to adjust my thinking accordingly.

If you are artistic and want to live healthily as an artist, then read this book. I give it four out of five beach umbrellas.

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Coming in April 2018 - Beach Reads - A Book Reviewing Blog

Look for book reviews and book talk beginning in April 2018.

We can hardly wait!