Novel Sunday

I'm back from the greater beyond...nothing wrong, just extremely busy between work and home and trying to fight the boys for time on the computer. I thought that if I designated certain days with a task it would be easier to keep up with the blog.
So starting with Novel Sundays...the goal this year is to try to read 60 books (to give some perspective...2005 I made it to 59, 2006 it was only 50 and last year I read 53 books). I have some tricks up my sleeve to keep me on task...namely my friend Jill who read almost 80 books last year, the writers' strike, and some reading challenges. I have already read two and just started the third.

Here are the pages that I have turned already:
A Thread of Grace by Maria Doria Russell


Let me set the stage...one of my favorite books of all time is the author's very first book, The Sparrow, although the sequel left a lot to be desired. Glad to report that I'm back to being a devoted fan! This story is set in the latter stages of World War II in the mountains of Italy where I was fascinated to learn that many native-born Italians took in Jewish refugees saving them from the horrors of the concentration camps. There are multiple characters to keep track of and thankfully there is a cheat sheet at the beginning of the book so I didn't get thoroughly lost. The reader is immersed wholeheartedly in the times...you almost feel as though you are hiding out along with the refugees fighting the elements in the dead of winter in the Italian Alps. If you love good historical fiction, pick up this book.

The Sonnet Lover by Carol Goodman

I only discovered this author in November and promptly read everything that she has written to date with The Sonnet Lover being her latest (and I believe best so far). The author's books can best be described as literary thrillers. This novel takes the reader to present-day Tuscany and I can still recall the overwhelming scent of lemons and figs from her descriptions. The college professor heroine of the novel is on a mission to unravel the mystery behind the mysterious death of one of her students while at the same time trying to find the missing sonnets by Shakespeare's presumed Dark Lady. I always enjoy a book where I lose track of time and get annoyed if I'm interrupted in my reading. A page turner to the very end!

Current read...it is an advanced copy of Tracy Chevalier's Burning Bright, which I'm just getting to reading now so not so advanced anymore. After that the plan is to pick up Great Expectations by Charles Dickens for this year's first reading challenge, My Year of Reading Dangerously.