Good Reads X 3

Finding a good book to read is pure enjoyment for many folks, myself included. But, there can be too much of a good thing — all at once. That was my very happy dilemma when reserves placed on 3 library books ALL became available simultaneously. And, all were new books with a shorter checkout time which meant some fast reading on my part.

Walking on Water is the 5th (and final) book in the Walk series by Richard Paul Evans posted about earlier. The fictional series details life-changing events for Alan Christoffersen, who after losing his wife, ad business, and home within a month, decided to walk cross-country from Seattle to Key West. Previous books detailed his journey and lessons learned about love, forgiveness and hope. Here, he heads back west to face a crisis that could threaten his new-found well-being. But the love of a new friend and the wisdom of an old friend help him move ahead. 

It's best to read this series in sequence: The Walk (2010), Miles to Go (2011), The Road to Grace (2012), A Step of Faith (2013), Walking on Water (May 2014). 

Irish author Maeve Binchy, who died in 2012, was among my favorite authors. Her writing, however, didn't end with her death. Chestnut Street is one of several posthumous publications. When not immersed in novel writing, Ms. Binchy composed short stories about residents of this fictional street in Dublin and in these short stories, all the characters live or work on Chestnut Street. 

Assembled by her longtime editors and husband, Gordon Snell, the stories are vintage Binchy: tales of friends, neighbors, parents, children, husbands and wives. Binchy explores relationships presenting short vignettes of people's lives.  Before she died, she had completed over 30 sketches; all filled with her trademark humor and emotion. I was glad to have more of her work to enjoy.

Donna Leon's, By Its Cover, is the 23rd novel in a series featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti. Although the setting is Venice, this story resembles an actual 2012 event in Naples with the theft of rare books from the Girolamini Library by its director. Typically with a Brunetti mystery, there are many subplots. This story includes theft, blackmail, violence, murder, and assorted characters, from an aristocratic library benefactor to a murdered ex-priest. 

I've just completed two books in the past week and have been savoring Ms. Binchy's stories before bedtime. It's nice to fall asleep in the company of "friends" as her characters quickly become to longtime readers like myself.

What good reads have you enjoyed recently?