On The Road Again

in July 2018 we took our granddaughters on holiday with us a couple of weeks and 3000 km. Plenty of good times and lots of places to visit.

It is not easy trying to get teenage girls out of bed and packed ready to go. Also takes a bit of time to fit all the luggage in just the right place.

Books I was reading in July:

The Little Italian Bakery by Valentina Cebeni

This book was set in the 1980's. Elettra struggles to keep her mother's bakery open after her mother Edda has a stroke. Elettra dreams of being a journalist working in New York and finding her father.
Clara, a mysterious friend Edda instructs Elettra to make aniseed bread rolls and take them to the Convent of Saint Elizabeth on Titan's Island and leave the rolls at the feet of the statue of Saint Elizabeth at the Convent and pray for Edda. 
Elettra's mother worked at the Convent when she was young, Elettra travels to the small isolated Island in the Mediterranean.where she hopes to find answers to her mother's early life and the name of her father.
This was a novel about tragedy, secrets and everlasting friendship.and an old Convent.

The Love That I Have by James Moloney

his novel was set in Germany during 1944 and 1945. It is about Margot, a girl aged sixteen who has left school and started working in the mailroom at a concentration camp. One of Margot’s jobs is to collect the letters posted by prisoners and burn them. Margot feels bad about burning the letters because she has an older brother who is a prisoner of war and she wonders if someone burns the letters he writes. Margot takes a few letters home to read with the intention of re-posting them. She is overwhelmed with the outpourings of love contained in the letters.
There is a lot of conflict and tension as Margot makes decisions that could put her life in danger as she tries to discover more about one of the prisoners writing letters.
I did have a bit of trouble believing that prisoners would have money to buy writing paper, envelopes and stamps. At times I felt that Margot was very foolish. The descriptions of the characters were good, especially Margot’s older sister Renate who was possibly having an affair with an officer. Margot and her best friend Lili share secrets and their hopes and dreams. Lili tries to give advice to Margot, but Margot ignores Lili’s advice.
This novel is a love story about war, concentration camps, friendship and families. 
I loved the ending.

The Wrong Light by Matt Coyle

This novel is about Private Investigators, it is set in the present time in San Diego. 
Rick Cahill is hired by a radio station to find out who is stalking Naomi, a radio announcer. Naomi does not want the police involved, which makes Rick’s job more difficult. Rick takes on the job but is also trying to solve another crime. Rick hires two investigators to help.
The novel is about stalking, murder and crime. The action mostly takes place at night. Rick is constantly under threat of being killed by some Russian’s who are trying to protect a secret.
There is a lot of action and murders throughout this novel. There is conflict between Rick, Naomi and the police.

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain

A woman is robbed and her handbag stolen. Laurent finds the handbag in a garbage bin. He tries to find out who owns the handbag by looking at the items in the bag. There is no name or contact information. There are a lot of items and a red notebook containing thoughts and lists that sparks an interest in Laurent.

This novel was set in Paris. It is about relationships. It made me thing about the items I have in my handbag.

My handbag is a backpack. If I carry my bag on one shoulder I get a sore back. So I use a backpack.My Reading Journal would make some interesting reading if I lost my bag.

Our Winter Garden

During June 2018 I was enjoying our winter garden with lots of vegetables and things to look at and some happy birds. I enjoyed some good books and some books a little bit strange.

I spent a lot of time in our garden watching the birds who were very cheeky and trying to take food off us if we were eating outside. I only finished a few books in June The books I was reading in June were:

One Day In December: A Christmas Love Story by Josie Silver

I loved this book. It was full of romance, heartache and what ifs. It starts in 2008 just before Christmas. Laurie is on a bus in London and headed home for Christmas when she sees a guy waiting at a bus shelter – their eyes meet – and the bus moves on, leaving Laurie hopelessly in love with a stranger.

 Laurie and her best friend Sarah spend almost a year searching for the stranger Laurie nicknamed Bus Boy.

This is a romance about friendship, relationships and families. You will love this romance. It will make you wonder what if? Over and over. It reminded me of two of my favourite romance movies, Sleepless in Seattle and Serendipity.

A Superior Spectre  by Angela Meyer

The description of this book enticed me to read it. I was curious in how the two characters would see life through each other’s eyes.

Jeff somewhere in the future and Leonora from the late 1800’s, were able to haunt each other.

Leonora is a young girl living in the highlands of Scotland with her father. She has an affinity with nature and developing an interest in caring for animals. At night she has strange dreams and sees things that she can’t fathom. Meanwhile somewhere in the future Jeff travels from Australia to lose himself in Scotland. Jeff is dying and wants to spend his last days in isolation from his family and friends.

To amuse himself he takes a tab that lets him inhabit Leonora’s body in the past. He experiences life in Scotland life through Leonora and sees and feels her experiences. Jeff is also haunted by his past and early memories of sexual experiments as a homosexual. These memories also haunt Leonora.

Some sections were very explicit and confronting.

The Trouble With Choices

This novel was set in South Australia. It is a romance about families, relationships and secrets. Three sisters each have a secret but find they can't fall in love and move on until they share their secret. I loved the characters and the way they interacted with each other and their grandparents and other family members.

High Teas and Get Togethers

Wow in May 2018 I did lots of reading and had lots of celebrations. Started the month with a High tea to farewell a staff member then a Mother's Day High Tea with family members then a 40th birthday celebration for a family member. Lots of fun times with family and friends and lots of birthday for family members. Finished the month with a few days at my favorite resort.

The books I was reading at the time were:

 Grandghost by Nancy Springer

I loved this ghost story. It was about an artist who writes children’s books. Beverley is getting old she lives on her own and her agent will only consider her work if it can be delivered in a digital format. Beverley has an old phone and a very slow modem. She is starting to get forgetful and is afraid of getting Alzheimer’s like her mother. Her two daughters live too far away to regularly visit and she does not get along with her next door neighbour.

Beverley longs for a grandchild and to console herself she starts painting a young girl.

When things get to much for Beverley she goes out to her back yard and digs up old bricks that had been buried long before she bought the house. One day while she is digging up bricks Beverley finds a small child’s skeleton. After the discovery, Beverley’s life changes. Beverley starts to believe she is being haunted by the child and she needs to convince the police and her daughter’s that she fit and able to look after herself.

This was a ghost story about family relationships and child abuse. I loved the way this was written and how Beverley interacted with her neighbour, the police and her family members and new friends.

The Year That Changed Everything by Cathy Kelly

This was a book about families and relationships. As usual Cathy Kelly wrote a good story. I always like the way Cathy writes. The Year That Changed Everything was set in Ireland in the present time. Three woman celebrate special birthdays. Callie turns 50, Sam turns 40 and Ginger turns 30.
Callie has a perfect life and lives in a mansion with a spoild daughter and a controlling husband. Things change on her birthday and Callie needs her friends and family to get her life back.
Sam turns 40 and has a baby on her birthday - but being a parent is not easy and she needs her family to help.
Ginger is betrayed by her friends on her 30th birthday.
I love the ending in this book.

A Place For Us by Harriet Evans

A book about families, relationships and secrets. Set in 2012 and 2013 mostly with some flashbacks between the 1940's to 2012. 

Book of Colours Robyn Cadwallader

This was a historical novel set mostly in London in 1320 to 1322.

John Dancaster has been commissioned to illustrate a book of hours for Lady Mathilda. John is assisted by his wife Gemma, apprentice son and two Journeymen who have finished their apprenticeship. Throughout the book is a description of how a book is illustrated with details of how colours are sourced and mixed. There were lots of descriptions about people involved in illustrating books and their life.

I loved the way life in London in 1321 was described, also the descriptions about how people lived and worked.

John and Gemma struggle to complete the book of hours and they employ Will to help. Will is haunted by his past but helps Gemma keep her secret safe.