A long overdue reading update…according to Goodreads I’ve been running behind schedule on my 2018 reading goals  – but there are still plenty of days in the year & I’m confident that I’ll reach my goal before the end of the year. Evidently I haven’t shared any reads in this “new” year. Looking over the first quarter of this year, these are the highlights of my bookshelf:

  • The Great Halifax Explosion by John U. Bacon –  I first heard about this last fall on NPR while driving to work one morning. This falls into my excellent narrative nonfiction bucket – I learned so much while reading this – both about the history/evolution of Halifax and then the improbable events that brought about the epic explosion in the harbor in 1917 & the disaster relief & rebuilding. So many things that I had never heard about before.
  • Doc by Mary Doria Russell – A “what if…” story about Doc Holiday that shows how the friendship with Wyatt Earp came to be. This was a fun read – the Holiday House in the Ville is tied to Doc’s family and there were some local Georgia references in his childhood story.
  • Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon – A “what if…” story about the final voyage of the Hindenburg dirigible – imagining storylines of the passengers and crew on that trip that came together to the moment that the blimp exploded as it was preparing to land in New Jersey.
  • The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America’s Enemies by Jason Fagone –  The fascinating story of Elizebeth Friedman – who was instrumental in developing the cryptology field in the US with her husband – and a woman whose code-breaking work largely went unrecognized for decades. Another well written narrative nonfiction – filled with so many details about the works she did and the lasting impacts that work has on the country.
  • The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine – A fast paced read that tells the story of a woman coveting a wealthy wife/mother and the scheme that she undertakes to move into that woman’s life…and of course there are some secrets that could ruin the plan. A popcorn read that has been getting a lot of social media play – but worth a read.
  • The Café by the Sea by Jenny Colgan –  I find that Jenny Colgan books are a “go to” for me when I want fun reads that are just a bit light but not too fluffy. A far northern Scottish isle is the setting for this story about a woman who is forced to return home to this isolated island to help her law firm’s big American client. Along the way, she takes stock of her life and why she left and how she can help the locals find a solution for the American client seeming to take over the island. A cute story and I’ll look to read the next story in the series once it is available.
  • The Tuscan Child by Rhys Bowen – A “back and forth” story set in WWII Italy and England/Italy in the 1970s. A woman chooses to go to Italy to track down the story of her father’s time there when his plane was shot down during the war. A good story by the author of last year’s WWII tale, In Farleigh Field.

My reading game is strong in April and there will be plenty of reads to share next month. What are you reading these days? 

 

Linking up with Anne at Modern Mrs. Darcy for Quick Lit and Show Us Your Books hosted by Stephanie & Jana.