Reading in the Garden

 August 2026 Book Recaps Theo of Golden  by Allen Levi (Book Club) ✨✨✨ Theo of Golden was my book club selection (along with many other book clubs who have chosen it).  It follows an 86-year-old man who moves to the town of  Golden, Georgia and begins purchasing and gifting portraits hanging on a café wall. The recipients are the subjects of the pencil portraits, and as he presents the art to them, he learns their life stories. Theo is not just generous, he’s sincerely interested in the men and women he meets. He exudes a warmth and kindness we’d all want to strive for.  Everyone in my book club ended up loving it, although another person and I actually had a difficult time getting into it. There wasn’t much action, and we wondered if we’d have to examine all the lives of the 92 people represented on the café wall, which would have gotten tedious. I would read a few sentences, then set the book down letting myself be lured away by social media. But pat...

 July 2026 Book Recaps The Astronaut!  By Oana Aristide I enjoyed the originality of Astronaut! It packs a punch with an unlikely friendship between an old radical and a little girl, and a string of brutal killings that are attributed to bear attacks, and political dissent culminating in a possible moment of great change in the oppressive Ceausescu regime of Romania in 1989, all with a dark, biting humor.      July Classic Challenge: The Sun Also Rises  by Ernest Hemingway The Sun Also Rises is about a group of expats living in Paris and traveling to Pamplona, Spain to see the running of the bulls and bullfights. But mainly, the story centers on a free-spirited woman everyone seems to be in love with: Brett. She’s engaged to one man, sleeping with others, and flirting with everyone.    I didn’t quite connect with this book. Getting hammered was their main pastime, which I could overlook, but antisemitism was a strong factor in the story and there ...

 June 2026 Book Recaps The Wild Robot   by Peter  Brown 🤖 How can I resist when my granddaughter asks me to read a book that they are reading in her classroom? I already knew that The Wild Robot by Peter Brown is a very popular mid-kids book and there is even a beautiful commemorative edition available.   Now I can see why it’s so loved. The story of Roz, the robot, landing on a remote island, exploring nature, getting to know the animals, and adopting a baby gosling, is adorable. The chapters are short and illustrations are wonderful.   🎬  I’ll have to watch the movie with my granddaughter! And if she wants, we can continue to the next two books in the series.    Fallen for France   by Elizabeth Letts This novel is an example of one of the things I love about reading—experiencing and learning things I didn’t know much about, in this case: WWI, Morocco’s involvement as a French colony, and distinguished Arabian horses. It’s so well-wri...

 May 2026 Book Recaps The Foursome  by Christina Baker Kline What an utterly fascinating story about an absolutely unique circumstance of two sisters marrying conjoined twins, Eng and Chang!! The couples were stitched together in marriage like a strait jacket with no breathing room—a mesh of personalities, temperaments, desires, and opinions. A peek into their lives felt a little voyeuristic, a look at something so unimaginably foreign—yet Kline brings us to a thoughtful level of understanding with respect and compassion. So well written!    They married in 1843 and together they had 21 kids! There are so many facets to the book: not just their marital relationships, but  family tragedies, financial issues, slavery, and then the Civil War, which was interesting to read about. Wow!    James  by Percival Everett (Book Club) I’m so glad I read James. It’s humorous, poignant, and terrifyingly real at times.     It’s the retelling o...

 April 2026 Book Recaps A Fortune of Sand   by Ruta Sepetys In this new historical fiction by Ruta Sepetys, she dives into the story of a wealthy American family set in the late 1920s in the Detroit area.    There's something mysterious and enigmatic about the family. Secrets abound. What are they all hiding?—The controlling loudmouth father? The second wife? Two siblings who are up to something? A handsome reclusive neighbor? And something's off about an exclusive arts program where the youngest daughter is a resident.    I had my own theories, but I did not see the twist that came!    So good!   While I did enjoy this book, my favorite of Ruta’s is I Must Betray You – Jaw-dropping! Next favorite, Salt to the Sea.       When the Cranes Fly South  by Lisa Ridzen (Book Club) This popular book has been selected in many book clubs that are displayed in a section of the bookstore where I work—and I can see why.  It’...

 March 2026 Book Recaps Calamity Club  by Kathryn Stockett   Kathryn Stockett is coming out with a new book!! (And I was able to read an advance copy 🎉 )   Oh my heart, how I love this book! Eleven-year-old Meg is the center of an unforgettable cast of characters. She's a little spitfire—smart, resilient, and larger than life, battling her way through unimaginable struggles set during the damn (one of her favorite words) Great Depression. The story is filled with desperation, heartache, ingenuity, warm hugs, and laugh-out-loud moments that flew by in the blink of an eye. I loved it as much as, if not more than, "The Help." Meg and the ladies will continue streaming through my mind for a long, long time. They feel like newfound friends.   This book will be released on May 5, 2026, right before Mother's Day. So drop hints for this perfect gift now! 🎁💐   If you get a chance, read this book with a friend, like I was lucky enough to do, so we could share the ...