People of the Book

by Geraldine Brooks

So I decided to give Brooks another try, after 'Caleb's Crossing' disappointment. And was glad I did.
This was an amazing book, with a huge scope.
It follows an ancient religious text and bounces from an art restorer/archivist working with the book to the people who had impact on the book throughout five centuries of its existence.
So many voices: a Jewish teenage freedom fighter in WWII, an African slave and artist, a rabbi living in Venice during the Inquisition, and more.
Every character is picture-perfect, the story is compelling...it was a perfect read.

The Secret Scripture

by Sebastian Barry

I didn't expect much from this book, I'd never read anything by this author -- but I will now.
The story is told from two different narrators, an English/Irish psychiatrist and director of a state-run mental hospital, and Roseanne,  a patient.
Through a slowly-evolving story we learn about Roseanne's life as a desperately poor Irish girl, a young widow and mental patient. The doctor's life is told in parallel, mostly over his many decades running the asylum Roseanne spends most her life in.
The back and forth is told perfectly, with distinct yet subtle language differences.
The story is tragic, sweet and compelling.
Loved this books.

Caleb's Crossing

by Geraldine Brooks

Typically I love historical fiction but this one seemed too...I don't know, like a high-class Harlequin romance novel.
It's based on a bit of actual history, one of the first Native Americans to attend an American university -- Harvard, no less and way back in the 1600s. It's told through the eyes of Bethia, a Colonial girl who befriends him.
Some of the history was interesting, Colonial politics, Native traditions and daily life, but the storytelling was too melodramatic and the formal English language, while factual, made it worse.

The English Patient

by Michael Ondaatje

Such a huge fan of the movie, knew the book would be exceptional -- and it was.
The author has such an unusual way with words, odd sentence fragments and rambles. But it totally works.
The book takes place prior to and in the waning days of WWII. There is an odd assortment of characters -- a petty thief who is also a drug addict, a nurse traumatized by life, an Indian bomb disposal expert who tries to live his life by holding himself apart, and a scientist fatally burned an an accident.
They all hole up an a wrecked villa and their lives prior out spill out in little rivulets, over time.

Loved, loved. loved. this book.

Christine

by Stephen King


This was one of his older books that I hadn't read yet, a good summer choice.

Dennis and Arnie are typical teens, except that one is a popular jock and the other a pimply loser. When the geek impetiously buys an old clucker car, Christine, strange things start to happen.
King always tells such a good story. His characters are quirky and well-drawn, not typical. His momentum is amazing. This book was not quite as gory as some, more suspenseful but King has never been one to shy away from blunt crudeness from time to time and being about teenagers, this book has it.

The Bone House

by Stephen Lawhead

Okay, so obviously I need to research by audio book choices better.

This was 1. a fantasy, which I don't enjoy now like I did when I was 12.
and          2. a serial that I was started partway through.

Really annoying.

It was all I had with me on vacation, however, so I stuck with it.

Kit is pursuing a 'skin-map' that holds many secrets; he's part of a special group that can 'lay travel' through time and space.Yeah, characters not all that interesting and plot convoluted (maybe not if you started at the beginning, but....)

The Deepest Water

by Kate Wilhelm

This was another simple summer read, a crime/dysfunctional family thriller and although I had the villain picked out after the second chapter (and I was right) I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Abby's father, a writer, is killed and she is determined to find out who did it. He lived in an isolated area and had few friends, so it seems everyone is suspect.
One odd thing -- the author is from Oregon and the book is set there too, so I thought I'd really enjoy that part of it. Yet this was an audio book and it was crazy-making that the actor doing the book kept mispronouncing local place names. What kind of crappy producer doesn't make sure geographic names are researched and pronounced right? Yachats was "Yeah-chits". Drove me nuts and almost make me want to walk away from the book.