Books 8-13: Catching UP!

This week has been Spring Break, and I accomplished my mission:  to read!  So far, I have finished three books I had started and read two others...in this order.

1. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - Mar. 20 - This one was Paper Chase Book Club's March's title, one I had read a few years ago and had forgotten enough to enjoy reading again as I became reacquainted with the intertwining lives of several families centered around Nell, who had been left along, abandoned after a ride across the ocean.  Author Kate Morton must be a master at planning plot lines before the first line is ever written!
2. The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow by Joyce Magnin - Mar. 22 - This one I read for Women's Online Bible Cafe Book Club.  The first in a series of four, in this one, the reader meets Griselda and Agnes, sisters, who befriend a homeless man whose past catches up when his prayer that he has asked Agnes to pray seemingly is not answered...or is it, as noted by Griselda, the town's librarian and caretaker of her 700+-pound sister.  I look forward to reading Griselda's story...in book three.  :)
3. The Hammett Hex by  Victoria Abbott - Mar. 24 - I am ahead...for once!  Yay!  This one is our April book for the Paper Chase Book Club.  An adventure of two who vacation in California, this novel (the beginning of another series!) introduces the reader to two opposites...book collector Jordan and policeman Smiley, two who live on opposite sides of the law...sorta...kinda...at times.  A fun read.  I am certainly now glad that I went ahead at the last book club meeting and bought the next three in this series.  For my mother-in-law.  Of course.  :)
4. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult - Mar. 24 - Another twister.  Of the soul, the mind, the heart.  Picoult introduces the reader to Ruth, a nurse who is told to no longer take care of a white baby...because she is black.  Then, the baby dies.  Then, she is charged.  A novel about race, differences, privileges, this one will make you think. 
5. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - Mar. 25 - Remember 1984 and Big Brother?  Bring that concept into the 21st Century following a terrorist attack on Califorinia and meet Marcus (aka Little Brother) who leads movement via the use of the Internet.  This one, I read with a group of senior boys in hopes of inspiring them to read.  Then, of course, I discovered this one, too, is a series; this shared by another senior who I had encouraged to read this one.  Which I bought.  Which she is now reading.  Of course!
6. H20 by Virginia Bergin - Mar. 26 - Warning!  I was not impressed as much by this one as I had thought.  Maybe I have watched too much Walking Dead and read too many other apocalyptic happenings?  Main character Ruby, one of the remaining 27% who survived, just does not react as I had hoped she would.  Would love to hear your comments on this...just too much make-up and hair and clothes...and the world is dying because of life-threatening rain, rain that devours, kills.  (Unfortunately, I looked at the clouds just a bit differently yesterday as I was driving home!)

What have you been reading lately?

6-8: Grin, Olive, and Garden...

From my postings, it would appear that I have not been reading, yet, often, appearances are deceiving!  I have been reading...just a few too many books at one time, thereby completing too few.

Today, on the first day of spring...and the first day of Spring Break, I completed #8 for 2017 and, hopefully, the first of several partially read books...and, here, I will offer a few thoughts on my previous three reads:

1. The Devil's Grin (Sherlock) by Annelie Wendeberg - ebook - Jan. 29:  This mystery I enjoyed, especially the merging of historical character Sherlock Holmes.  Very interesting.  We have enjoyed the fairly recent Sherlock Holmes movies and the television series Elementary; thus, this continued my journey into meeting the famous (or would that be infamous?) Sherlock Holmes.  Main character Dr. Anton...aka a female in disguise as a male doctor...crosses paths with Sherlock and together they work to, of course, solve the current crime.  The first in a series of four, this is a series I would continue...as time allows, of course.
2. Sweet Olive by Judy Christie - ebook - Feb. 3:  This one was Women's Bible Cafe's February read...and was one I purchased on Kindle (maybe in hopes to curtail my growing stacks of novels?)  Main character Camille struggles to reach her uncle's goal of obtaining rights to land as she begins to know the inhabitants of this Louisiana community, one full of artists and works of art.  This one, too, is part of a series, the first of two; the second, of which, I have already purchased on Kindle.  Of course.
3. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - Mar. 20:  This was the March read for the Paper Chase Book Club, one I had read some time ago, one I enjoyed again for its many intertwining plots which revolve around the arrival of an unattended four-year-old by boat.  Spanning a hundred years, the reasons and secrets behind this little girl Nell unfold as the reader travels back and forth and through the thoughts of various characters.

Now, to complete another book I have begun...:)