Book Chatter

sunday-matters (1)

For months now, my reading pace has been excellent. My secret is having all the books I want to read lined up and ready to go. But then, I read a slow book and my perfect little reading world began to tilt and fall off its axis. I quickly lined up a few reads to motivate me to keep going and then, those books didn’t seem all that exciting. Now, I am back to square one and working on that book line-up again. If I manage two reviews a week and keep it that way, that will make me very happy. If I can do so with great books, even better.

Right Now:

Coffee, church, youth group, a long walk. In that order. Maybe some takeout later while watching a movie.

This Week:

Very happy to report that I snagged a vaccine appointment for my daughter for tomorrow! I was worried that we would have to wait a long time since they just opened it up to 16+ but the school district worked out a deal and voila, first appointment tomorrow. Yes!

On Wednesday, our book club will meet online to discuss Anxious People which I read awhile back and enjoyed very much.

Reading:

I am currently reading Three Perfect Liars. I feel like it is a good choice to jumpstart the reading train again. It’s reminding me of the movie Baby Boom. A young professional takes a six month maternity leave only to return to her temp, sitting at her desk and working with her most important client. It’s very readable and pulls you in quickly.

I do think Northern Spy will be my next read. It was recently chosen for Reese’s book club.

Also, don’t forget to enter my giveaway for Promises to Keep!

Watching:

I mentioned in one of my recent posts that we started to watch THEM on Amazon Prime. A black family moves to an all white Compton in the 50s and let’s just say their welcome is less than ideal. It’s a mix of racial motivated horror as well as supernatural horror linked to events in the past. It’s terrifying on many levels and has quite a bit of violence and disturbing imagery. We just finished it. I heard that there will be another season but I don’t know how there could be. What kept us watching is the acting.

Grateful for:

Good coffee. Need I explain? I wish we had more indie coffee shops around me though. The local chain leaves a lot to be desired IMO.
Having passionate kids. My son is heading up the planning for a memorial for Kristin Smart. She disappeared 25 years ago. They just arrested two people and the anniversary of her disappearance is coming up. She was a Cal Poly student so he, and a group of others have been planning for a memorial in her honor. It will be a collection of art works, letters, etc. He was recently in the news if you’d like to read more.

What do you have planned today? What are you reading that I must know about?

The Husband’s Secret
By Liane Moriarty
Berkley, 9780451490049, 2017, 496pp.

The Short of It:

Liane Moriarty has become one of my favorite authors. I discovered her books during the pandemic. She knows how to grab my attention and The Husband’s Secret delivered just what I needed.

The Rest of It:

As with many of her books, Moriarty’s stories often incorporate many characters and story lines that come together nicely but there is usually a main thread to pull you in and in The Husband’s Secret, Cecilia finds an envelope that is addressed to her, written in her husband’s hand. The instructions on the envelope ask that it be opened in the event of his death. His death? She wants desperately to read it, but when she mentions the letter to her husband John-Paul, who is very much alive, he begs her not to. Inside of that envelope is a secret he’s been keeping that will forever change their lives.

What I really enjoy about these novels is that Moriarty always manages to include the neighborhood in the story. The other characters are neighbors or friends or people you see at the school drop off. Their lives seem on the surface to be pretty perfect, but they are presented with challenges and not-so-pretty moments. Definitely not the shiny, sparkly moments captured on say, Instagram.

In addition to Cecilia’s plight above, we have Tess and Will who are happily married, or so they thought, until Tess’s cousin admits to being in love with her husband. We also have Rachel, a women who has had to deal with the grief of her daughter’s murder. A murder that was never solved and now her only son is taking his wife and son out of the country and Rachel will be without the distraction of her darling grandson, Jacob. How will she cope?

The Husband’s Secret was a satisfying read. The characters are so well-drawn and as a reader, you get the feeling that you are listening to a private moment between two people and I just love that. I think I have about three Moriarty novels left for me to read but so far, this is one of my favorites.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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