Saturday, August 31, 2013

A Summer of Books

 I'm sitting in the kitchen waiting for little pasta shells to boil so I can make some shrimp salad for dinner. Shrimp salad is a summer favorite around here and summer is all but gone today. I cooked the shrimp and need to peel it. Also need to chop up some celery and onion. A simple and satisfying meal. Maybe I will throw the last of the blueberries into some muffins too! An ambitious feat for me!

This has not been a summer of blogging for me, but it has been a summer of reading. I have read lots of good books this summer and listened to a few as well.

The King's Deception - Steve Berry


The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer was my favorite!
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I read and enjoy all types of books and must admit that this one sat on the shelf for a long time simply because the name turned me off. Once I picked up the book and read a few pages I was hooked. This is a beautiful book in every respect. It takes place during and just after WWII in Guernsey, in the Channel Islands between England and France. The island was occupied by the Germans during the war and the book describes life there; the hardships as well as the joys. The characters are so endearing that you fall under their spell and feel that you are a part of their merry band. You feel the need to go there and meet them all.
The worst part is when you have completed the book and discover that the author, Mary Ann Shaffer, passed away in 2008, the year the book was published. A great loss for all of us who love this book! We would have loved more from this author.
If you are a Goodreads member you can friend request me and we can share what we read! I love that website!

I have been getting a little sewing done as well, but nothing that I can show, which I feel bad about. I have also been painting and doing yard work, not too exciting, and it leaves me exhausted! It all takes a very long time as I work for a half an hour and lay down for a half an hour. 

Don't forget to check out my Patchalot Patterns Facebook page and please LIKE my page! 

Have a great Labor Day weekend! And put your flag out!



5 comments:

JoAnne said...

I agree with you about the Literary Society! I just fell in love with those characters and really wish I could visit, too. I have a few books like that that I keep and read when I want to "visit with old friends." I really like "I Am the Messenger" too. Did you read or listen to that one? I have the audio and love the narration with the Aussie accent. Have you read The Book Thief by him as well, it is tremendously good. Thanks for the list, I'm going to note the ones I haven't read yet.

Karendianne said...

Lovely to see you and your reading list. So sad re: loss of Author. I'll make sure this is on my list.

Gayle said...

I read several of the books you have on your list and enjoyed them too. Just shared a new one on my blog today.

Me and My Stitches said...

I love to read too, and have read a couple of the books on your list. I just finished another good one from Maeve Binchy - have you read a lot of hers? Hope you had a great summer!

Cyndi said...

I, too, loved Literary Society, albeit I listened to an audiobook so that I could feel I was accomplishing two tasks at once.....sewing and reading! Thanks for the list of books to check out for future reading!