The Death of Innocence by John and Patsy Ramsey and JonBenet by Steve Thomas. I'm not sure why this case never captured my attention, despite the fact that part of the investigation took place literally down the road from us. Maybe because I had a newborn and a toddler at the time, maybe because my husband was in the middle of changing careers, maybe because I had started quilting. Whatever the cause, I have seen numerous references comparing JonBenet to Caylee. Personally I don't see it, but recently have been intrigued enough to go back and read the books. Neither is great literature, not even great crime literature. Both could justifiably be categorized as fiction, in my humble opinion. Don't waste your time.
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones. This was a recommendation by one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Weiner, when she appeared on The Today Show with another of my favorites, Harlan Coben. They each have a book out this summer and offered up another four great summer reads. Part way through Silver Sparrow I realized that I have read another of Jones's books, Leaving Atlanta, which reached out across three decades since the Missing and Murdered Children of Atlanta case. Perhaps that was the start of my true crime addiction; I remember being ten or eleven and hearing about these cases on the news. I remember the year Halloween was cancelled, and the curiosity when Wayne Williams was finally arrested.
I also read one of Harlan Coben's recommendations, Misery Bay by Steve Hamilton. This was a great summer thriller, an easy read but not a dumb read, if you know what I mean. Apparently it's the latest of a series that I've never read before, but that didn't affect the storyline. It makes me want to go back and read the others.
Next, I read another of Frances' recommendations, Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. This is a work of historical fiction based on the little known life of the first Native American graduate of Harvard in 1665. It's written as a journal by a woman who grew up on what is now Martha's Vineyard. Brooks' descriptions paint a vivid picture contrasting the wild beauty of the island with the crowded, man made drudgery of Cambridge. Once again, Brooks puts you in a place so deeply that things like "what's for dinner?" and even my latest quilting project are forgotten.
Last, I blasted through Tracy Chevalier's Falling Angels in about 48 hours while my hubby was out of town. I love her ability to completely submerge the reader in an era, in this case London at the turn of the last century. It opens on New Year's Day, 1901, and follows two families through their brush with the Sufferage Movement.
That puts me at thirty-eight books in thirty weeks. I suspect that the start of football practice today and the start of school next Monday will put a damper on my reading, so I'm glad to be a bit ahead.
How are you doing with those New Year's resolutions?
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