Reading in the Garden

Behind the Hero Charles Lindbergh made his mark in history with the first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927. That daring feat made him an American hero, famous and sought after the rest of his life.  And right behind him was his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh. She endured not only the relentless public frenzy, but also Lindbergh’s exacting, serious, and controlling ways.  Most heart-breakingly, she endured the kidnapping of their first son, Charlie.   This historical fiction is told from Anne’s point of view. She gives us insight into her life with the living legend, how they met, how he taught her to become an aviatrix, learn morse code, and navigate by the stars.   She lets us into her struggle to find privacy and then courage when their son was held for randsom, when their lives were changed forever.   She tells us of their marriage, Charles’s expectations of her as a wife, as a mot...

Bound by Books This book is about five neighborhood women who form a book club and friendships that span over thirty years. On a whim, Minneapolis housewives decide to start a book club in 1968, which they call “Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons” after one of their husbands makes a snide remark about their group. This club is about more than eating bon bons, or good desserts, though, or even the books they discuss. It’s about sharing a part of themselves.  It’s about trust, and heartache, secrets and support. As the lives of these very different women move on with highs and lows, there are two things that remain constant:  their friendships and the book club.  For anyone who’s been involved in a book club, as I’ve been lucky enough to do now for almost a decade, this book is partiularly gratifying.   It reminds me that books aside, we are a group of friends whose time together I truly value. The books are fun to discuss. We get riled up. We vent. We relate ...