Over the past few weeks, I have read several books that I need to catch up on. Two of them, I read while on vacation and two of them after coming home. None were the best reads ever but were worth reading.
1) Secrets of Nanreath by Alix Rickloff: this is a historical novel that took place in two different time periods both in Cornwall England. In 1913, Lady Katherine chose to move away from her life and family, and go off with a bohemian artist. In 1943, her daughter, Anna, was assigned to Nanreath Hall, where her dead mother, Lady Katherine had been from. Nanreath Hall had been taken over as a hospital and Anna was a nurse. Anna was raised by a kindly couple and had very vague memories of her mother. Being assigned to Nanreath Hall meant that perhaps Ann could begin to uncover her mother's past. It was an interesting, easy read.
2) Some Assembly Required by Anne Lamott: I really enjoyed this book. It is a journal that the author had written as her only son became a first-time-father with a son. It was especially touching to me as my only son was the same eighteen months ago! I love Lamott's writing in general anyway, and this was no exception!
3) The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher: This was recommended by my daughter (as was Secrets of Nanreath) and was chosen by one of my book groups for our March read. [Sidenote: luckily we were able to meet before the self-isolation went into effect]. The book is a historical fiction novel about Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy. It was really a fascinating read about someone I pretty much knew nothing about. Her life was incredibly interesting but terribly short.
4) The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak: This was a book highly recommended by a book group on Facebook. It was an interesting read, but I was not as enamored with it as others seemed to be. It is set in two different time periods: the thirteenth century and in 2008. I rather enjoyed the story that was set in the 1200s which was about the great poet Rumi meeting his mentor Shams of Tabriz which apparently is all true. The story set in 2008 I found rather simple, about an unsatisfied housewife named Emma who lived in New England. She had been sent a manuscript from her employer to review. It was by an unknown author and the package included a postcard from the author in which he briefly described the novel that was based on Rumi and Shams. Ella began an email correspondence with the author and you can probably guess the rest of that. So this novel is a 50/50-I enjoyed parts of it and didn't enjoy other parts of it.
