With that in mind, my latest library visit not only had me pick up another Christina Baker Kline novel(A Piece of the World) but a chunky new book from Marian Keyes as well.
Again,Rachel is a follow-up to her 1997 novel Rachel’s Holiday, where our title character Rachel Walsh is now a counselor at the very rehab center that ended her addiction cycle back in the day.
While she feels that her life is pretty much in order,despite a tendency to buy too many sneakers, Rachel finds that she is not over her former love Luke, who she divorced several years ago.
Luke is brought back into her world upon a death in his family and even she tries to maintain minimal contact , Rachel has to admit to herself the truth about her feelings both then and now.
I literally stumbled over this book at the library, taking a seat and pleasantly surprised to find it on a nearby display table. It’s been a long time since I’ve read Marian Keyes(did read Rachel ‘s Holiday as well as other stories about the Walsh family) and getting reacquainted with Keyes’ blend of engaging humor and well crafted drama has been well worth the wait indeed:
Meanwhile, I got a bit splurge-y and bought from both Book of the Month Club AND the Literary Guild! Yeah, feeling slightly guilty for that but I do intend to read most of them before Labor Day.
From BOMC, I chose The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan plus Elin Hilderbrand’s new beach read, The Hotel Nantucket.
The latter location is a newly renovated establishment bought by a rich Londoner and opening up under the hopefully steady hand of Lizbet Keaton, determined to make sure that everything goes smoothly.
While a main worry of Lizbet and her boss is getting a top notch review from hotel blogger Shelly Carpenter, there are other issues of concern such as a new employee trying to cover up a misdeed of his recent past, Lizbet’s ex showing up to rekindle their freshly ended relationship and a ghost.
I must confess that ghost character ( a young chambermaid named Grace who perished in a hotel fire or did she…?) is what sealed the deal for me on this one.
One of my favorite TV shows this year is Ghosts , the sitcom set at a old manor house being turned into a B&B by the current living owners with one of them being able to see their eternally present guests, making me so eager to meet the dearly departed Grace as soon as can be:
Also got a similar duo from The Literary Guild with Alison Weir’s The Last White Rose and The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner.
When twenty two year old Ruby announces her engagement to her rather new boyfriend Gabe, things are in an uproar among her loved ones for many different reasons.
Her stepmother Sarah is worried about the haste of this impending marriage while step grandmother Veronica is thrilled to have the perfect send off to her Cape Cod house that she’s planning to sell after so many years.
Sarah’s is equally concerned about her husband’s steady distancing from her(which might be a cover for an affair) and as both sides of the family converge upon Veronica’s summer house, she begins to wonder if holding this wedding there was a good idea after all.
Weiner has been putting out a set of Cape Cod themed novels the last few years, with this one being the third, and while they are stand alone stories, it’s hard to not complete the series so to speak.
Plus, this whole summer wedding setting is irresistible for heartfelt drama and relatable laughs, a page turning package of entertainment that Weiner excels at. Much like the upcoming HBO Max remake of Father of the Bride, The Summer Place is a welcome sight to see this hectic heatwave season:
Definitely, my book shelves are overflowing with potential ports of printed delight and yes, I am thankful for that privilege.
While the fact that the real world is in a bit of a mess on numerous fronts at the moment, I am doing my best not to despair at the state of things right now.
Instead I chose to hold onto to the notion of radical hope, that folks will work to make our collective future one that we can all look forward to with a sense of joy and achievement.
With that in mind, my stress relief includes good books and positive pop culture events like the upcoming Tony Awards this weekend. I may not be able to attend the theater yet the clips that I’ve seen of Six, the musical about the wives of Henry VIII, has me rooting for those royal rock stars to win big.
Plus, my favorite number is Anna of Cleves with “Get Down” as she revels over her divorced status with unabashed delight, something that hopefully the cast and crew of Six share in that night:
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