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This last week I finished the following books:
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| Finished A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay for May’s meeting of my book group, Books & Babble. I was unable to attend due to a music concert at my son’s school, but I wanted to make sure I finished the book. I hope to get time this weekend to complete my review. |
 | I started Night Road by Kristin Hannah and am almost finished with it. I am listening to the audiobook so I think I will get it finished tomorrow while I am planting my garden. I love audio books! Listening to an enjoyable book sure makes chores more enjoyable! |
My Library Loot for this week:
 | I read a blog post about Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon at Bloggin’ ‘bout Books and had to reserve a copy to read! I am really looking forward to reading it! From Goodreads: While parked at a gas station, Rhonda sees something so incongruously surreal that at first she hardly recognizes it as a crime in progress. She watches, unmoving, as someone dressed in a rabbit costume kidnaps a young girl. Devastated over having done nothing, Rhonda joins the investigation. But the closer she comes to identifying the abductor, the nearer she gets to the troubling truth about another missing child: her best friend, Lizzy, who vanished years before. From the author of the acclaimed Promise Not to Tell comes a chilling and mesmerizing tale of shattered innocence, guilt, and ultimate redemption. |
 | I discovered Lipstick in Afghanistan by Roberts Gatley while browse new titles at our library. Looked interesting to me. From Goodreads: Roberta Gately’s lyrical and authentic debut novel—inspired by her own experiences as a nurse in third world war zones—is one woman’s moving story of offering help and finding hope in the last place she expected. Gripped by haunting magazine images of starving refugees, Elsa has dreamed of becoming a nurse since she was a teenager. Of leaving her humble working-class Boston neighborhood to help people whose lives are far more difficult than her own. No one in her family has ever escaped poverty, but Elsa has a secret weapon: a tube of lipstick she found in her older sister’s bureau. Wearing it never fails to raise her spirits and cement her determination. With lipstick on, she can do anything—even travel alone to war-torn Afghanistan in the wake of 9/11. But violent nights as an ER nurse in South Boston could not prepare Elsa for the devastation she witnesses at the small medical clinic she runs in Bamiyan. As she struggles to prove herself to the Afghan doctors and local villagers, she begins a forbidden romance with her only confidant, a charming Special Forces soldier. Then, a tube of lipstick she finds in the aftermath of a tragic bus bombing leads her to another life-changing friendship. In her neighbor Parween, Elsa finds a kindred spirit, fiery and generous. Together, the two women risk their lives to save friends and family from the worst excesses of the Taliban. But when the war waging around them threatens their own survival, Elsa discovers her only hope is to unveil the warrior within. Roberta Gately’s raw, intimate novel is an unforgettable tribute to the power of friendship and a poignant reminder of the tragic cost of war. |
 | The Cross Gardner by Jason F Wright is the June selection for my book group, Wine, Women and Words. We have previously read The Wednesday Letters also by this author. I hope we enjoy this one as well. From Goodreads: Married and the father of a young daughter, John Bevan had finally found the traditional family he lacked as an orphaned child. But all that disappears when a fatal car accident steals away his wife-and the unborn child she carried. Filled with sorrow, John withdraws from life and love. He erects a small cross at the scene of his wife's accident and visits daily, grieving. Then one morning he encounters a young man kneeling before the cross, touching it up with white paint. John's conversations and travels with this mysterious man-known to him only as the Cross Gardener-will forever change his world. From Jason F. Wright comes a timeless tale that explores the questions we ask when our lives are touched by loss: How do we carry on? And who will show us the way? The answers John Bevan finds illuminate the hope that even in our darkest hours we are not alone. |
 | The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond. The Pioneer Woman has been a part of our family conversations for years! I have been a long time follower of her blog, long before she started writing books. If I tell the family supper is a Pioneer Woman recipe, that are always excited. We love her chicken strips and Marlboro Man Sandwich to name a few. I can’t wait to dig into this book!!! I started it already and it feels like listening to with an old friend tell you a story. From Goodreads: I'll never forget that night. It was like a romance novel, an old Broadway musical, and a John Wayne western rolled into one. Out for a quick drink with friends, I wasn't looking to meet anyone, let alone a tall, rugged cowboy who lived on a cattle ranch miles away from my cultured, corporate hometown. But before I knew it, I'd been struck with a lightning bolt . . . and I was completely powerless to stop it. Read along as I recount the rip-roaring details of my unlikely romance with a chaps-wearing cowboy, from the early days of our courtship (complete with cows, horses, prairie fire, and passion) all the way through the first year of our marriage, which would be filled with more challenge and strife—and manure—than I ever could have expected. This isn't just my love story; it's a universal tale of passion, romance, and all-encompassing love that sweeps us off our feet. It's the story of a cowboy. And Wranglers. And chaps. And the girl who fell in love with them. |
I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful holiday weekend. We finally have some nice days here in Minnesota. The rain and severe weather have been limited so far this weekend.
On May 22nd, a tornado touched down in our sister city, Minneapolis, MN. Luckily, over in White Bear Lake we only had some rain and wind, but we did heed the warnings/sirens and headed to the basement. The damage in Minnesota is nothing compare to Joplin, Missouri. Our hearts go out to the victims of the tornado in Joplin. It is a reminder to us in the Midwest to not take severe weather lightly.
Saturday after our trip to the library my brother and his family came to visit before catching a flight to Florida. Today, we had good intentions of getting the garden planted, but looks like we will be doing that tomorrow. I am very thankful for the extra day off this weekend. I always have more to do than the weekend allows. I should be able to listen to a lot of my audio book tomorrow while planting our garden.
Maybe I will even get caught up on book reviews…..
Happy Reading!
Oh, Lipstick in Afghanistan sounds interesting! I'm glad you were safe through the tornado. I used to live in "Tornado Alley" so I understand how terrifying those sirens can be when they go off.
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