I've been reading

I have really enjoyed my reading lately.  Both books are a departure from the who-done-it books I usually read, but I'd recommend them to anyone.  I have learned a lot from each of them.  I picked them from off the New York Times best sellers; one is pretty current, and the other is from the 2007 list.  Unless someone recommends a book they think I'll like, that's how I pick most of my books.

The first book is "Such a Fun Age".  Honestly, I almost didn't check it out just because of the title; I don't know why, but it just didn't sound like anything great.  It's fiction, and actually has a little bit of a who-done-it effect toward the end, although nobody was murdered or robbed.  It's a very easy read, one of those books that have you laughing, crying and being surprised; and all the while, you are learning things from a different perspective.  

Here's a review that I agree with whole-heartedly:  “In Such a Fun Age, Emira Tucker’s relationships with her employer and new boyfriend culminate in an unexpected, combustible triangle so ingeniously plotted and observed that my heart pounded as though I was reading a thriller. This is not a world of easy answers but one in which intentions don’t match actions and expectations don’t match consequences, where it is possible to mean something partly good and do something mostly bad. The result is both unsparing and compassionate, impossible to read without wincing in recognition—and questioning yourself. Such a Fun Age is nothing short of brilliant, and Kiley Reid is a writer we need now.” –Chloe Benjamin, author of The Immortalists

I've only read 20% of my other one, but I have no doubt I'll enjoy it all the way through.  It's the one I chose from the 2007 best seller list.  The author is Mildred Armstrong Kalish, and as far as I can tell, it's the only book she ever wrote.  The reason I readily chose this non-fiction book is in the title:   Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression.

First, I spent the first eight years of my life in Iowa farm country, walking to a one-room schoolhouse and living in a small, tight-knit community.  Some of my best childhood memories are from that part of my life.  And second, my mother loved to tell me stories about the depression.  My parents were married in 1932, and I loved hearing her tell how things were in "the old days", even as a very small child.  This book is custom-made for me.   

The weather today is ideal, although I'll be closing windows in an hour or so when things heat up so the A/C can go to work.  Gabe and I took a lovely walk while it was still around 70°.  It's so green and peaceful back there in the pasture, where birds chirp in the woods and all is right with the world.  I remembered to apply Off to keep the ticks away from my ankles and the mosquitos away from the rest of me.  I hate the smell of the stuff, but it's either that or get carried off to the Missouri River by mosquitoes!

I don't have much else to say, so I'm on to other exploits.

Peace.