What I’ve Been Reading Recently

I find books in all sorts of places! Used book stores are a treasure trove to me, as well as libraries, of course. I’ve bought more new books since moving to Germany 4 years ago than I did in the 20 years before that and have used an e-reader especially while traveling.

One of my friends who was moving away gave me Ann Packer’s “The Dive From Clausen’s Pier”. At first I had a hard time getting started, so I set it aside for a while. When I picked it up again, I couldn’t stop reading! I'm fortunate to be able to read while on the cardio machines at the gym- good story lines keep me going so I'm not counting the seconds on the clock.

“Vox” by Christina Dalcher was riveting. I was equally horrified and mesmerized by The Handmaid’s Tale, and this contemporary version kept me turning pages as quickly as possible…  I didn’t even mind when I missed my train by 1 minute and had to sit around in the station for half an hour.

I remember the used book store at Ramstein AB fondly, and now find treasures at the Stuttgart (American) library and the thrift store on base. Phaeda Patrick’s “The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper” sounded especially appealing after I tremendously enjoyed “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman. One of the book clubs I’m in had selected the latter, which was laugh out loud and touching. I liked getting to know these two fictional older gentlemen (widowers) and their families/neighbors.

I sometimes see new titles in bookstores, and research whether I can check them out of the library, get them for my e-reader, or buy the paper version. It’s a bit of toggling around online but I end up with a nice variety of free, print, and e-versions. A great bookstore discovery was “The Secrets of Wishtide” by Kate Saunders. I look forward to the sequel later this year.

No photos of covers, but highly recommend “We Are All Made of Stars” by Rowan Coleman,  “Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone” by Phaedra Patrick, “Charm School” by Nelson DeMille, “Betrayed” by Dee Henderson, and the “Miss Kopp” series by Amy Stewart.