Books

Ahhh, Friday night. Again. What to read this weekend. Well, honestly I've been on a roll lately with my reading choices and it occurred to me last week that I have absolutely no loyalty to one author or genre.  Well, most of the time, that is. I read pretty much everything.

I love Bill Bryson's books. All of them. I don't know why I haven't realized before this that his books are all different from his others. His new book is called One Summer - America 1927. I had a really hard time putting it down. He's a master of narrative non-fiction.  I've know this for a long time but every new book reinforces the obvious. In this particular book he takes events from that summer and weaves them into a wonderful adventure.

Too rarely I read Canadian authors. A.S.A. Harrison surprised me. Sadly she didn't live to see this book published.  It's called The Silent Wife and is  a psychological thriller. Not to give anything away but her central character is a wonderfully complicated woman who manages, while living in the present, to completely ignore her ongoing relationship issues. She's a little bit scary. It has a great ending!

The Monuments Men was a terrific read. Until recently, when I saw George Clooney interviewed about his upcoming movie,  I had never really paid much attention to the story of the group of individuals asked by President Roosevelt to go to Europe  during the Second World War. Their mission was to find the great pieces of art which had been stolen by the Nazis and hidden behind enemy lines. They were to return it to the countries it came from, risking their lives many times during the process. These men were for the most part, not soldiers, but rather museum directors, curators and art historians.  Wonderful. Written by Robert M Edsel.

So many books, so little time. Working in a library is sometimes a little bit like taking part in an ongoing book club. Definitely a perk!