This will not be a very inspired post, since, although it’s been more than a month since I last posted, I’ve read very few books that I can actually tell you about. I’ve spent most of the past month reading Silver Birch nominee contenders, which I have to keep secret until the nominee list is announced in mid-October. But now that the selection lists are done, I’m free to read whatever I want until mid-January - WOO HOO!!!.
I wanted to briefly tell you about two books that I read, one for my August book club meeting and one just for fun. Simon Sort Of Says by local award-winning YA author (and astrophysicist!!) Erin Bow tells the story of how a boy who is the sole survivor of a random school shooting learns to overcome his PTSD after his family leaves Omaha to live in a small town that is part of the National Quiet Zone (no internet, no tv, no radio), a place where he can be Simon Now instead of Simon Then. I’ve read this book a couple of times and it was so incredibly impressive both times. Every word and phrase and humorous moment (there were many, if you can believe it!) were placed precisely where they should be and chosen to convey exactly what the author was trying to say. I took a chance that my ladies would also enjoy this book, and they did! And, as an added bonus, the author joined us via Google Meet from BC where she is house-sitting for a friend, and was willing to answer all our questions and listen to our comments. She was quite happy to do this, too, I think, since she usually speaks to grades 6 and 7 students - this was her first seniors’ group! It was awesome, and one of my members thanked the author for writing it and also thanked me for choosing it for our list, as she would never have read it otherwise, which made my day.
The other book I read is also by a Canadian author, Susan Juby, who lives in BC and who has written mainly for a YA audience until recently. I read Mindful of Murder last year and loved it, so I was thrilled to discover that there was a second book in the “Helen Thorpe” series, A Meditation on Murder. Helen Thorpe is a former Buddhist nun, professional butler and reluctant amateur sleuth. In her second mystery, she must learn if the deaths of several of her new client’s friends are connected, and if so, whether her client could be next. I found this book unputdownable, and reached the final satisfying conclusion far too quickly. I especially enjoy the way Juby drops in Buddhist teachings throughout the story, but not in a jarring way, just as a natural part of the story. While I think I enjoyed the first book slightly more than this one, I would still highly recommend it, and I was thrilled to learn that there is to be a third book in this series - HURRAY!! At that discovery, I identified my feelings as pleasant, pleasant.
That’s all for today. I hope to be back to my routine again by next week. Until then, stay cool and keep reading!
Bye for now... Julie
