It’s time to connect with Modern Mrs. Darcy for QuickLit and share for another round-up of recent reads – and by recent I mean the last couple of months. The reading list keeps growing but in recent weeks I’ve found knitting in my hands more frequently than books (it must be gift knitting season). The Kindle was charged and loaded for my October travels; however, the reading just didn’t materialize even with all the plane time.

Kindle reads + a Swiss souvenir read

• The Game Must Go On: Hank Greenberg, Pete Gray, and the Great Days of Baseball on the Home Front in WWII by John Klima – The true story of how baseball continued in the U.S. during WII and the importance and impact it had so many fronts – the boys that went off to war, those left behind, the evolution of professional baseball into the game/business we see today.
• The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan – I picked up the Kindle version when it was deeply discounted and figured it would be a fun read at some point. One weekend in September, it got consumed. I started it on a Saturday & read just a bit before turning out the light. On Sunday morning I enjoyed reading it for a while to start my day – then I decided to prioritize what actually needed to be done that day & did minimal food prep/cooking and house puttering while devouring the rest of the story. A combination of chick lit + tabloid read + English aristocracy primer all rolled into a cute story. Overall, a fun read.
• The Martian by Andy Weir – I really enjoyed this story of an astronaut surviving on Mars when he is mistakenly left behind as dead on the planet when an astronaut crew has to abandon their mission. A long time fascination with the space program had me appreciating the nods to “historical fact” that were gleaned from other missions and tests. A good combination of internal monologue, determination and sheer will on Mars and on Earth as survival is realized and rescue is planned.
• Yes, Please by Amy Poehler – I follow Amy’s “Smart Girls” initiative through social media and like the work that she and her team are doing and I have always enjoyed her shows, movies, etc. This book was just ok for me – I read it via library loan on the Kindle and thought maybe it would be more engaging in the physical book format where you could actually see/read the “extras” that were throughout the book – letters, notes, etc…on my older Kindle they didn’t come through well and so those nuggets were “missing.”
• At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen – A tale of Scotland, searching for the Loch Ness Monster, love and loss and World War II, the impact of your family background/breeding in Philadelphia mainline society and the chance for redemption and a new start.
• Delicious! by Ruth Reihl – A fun read – part “contemporary classic” tale of a college age girl moving to New York to start work at a magazine while running from her past and falling for a guy and more “typical” storylines and part “imagined history” of James Beard corresponding with a young girl from Akron over cooking, rations and living through World War II.
• A Bell for Ursli: A Story from the Engadine in Switzerland by Selina Chonz & Alois Carigiet (Illustrator) – A souvenir of my October trip to Switzerland, this is a charming children’s story. The tale of a young boy eager to be seen as a “bigger boy” and the lengths he will go to in order to prove that at the annual festival. The Swiss National Museum in Zurich had an exhibit highlighting the work of this illustrator – both his story illustrations and other design work.

What have you been reading lately? As I prepare for Thanksgiving break, I’m looking forward to the books that will be read during that time.