December's Reads

My favorite read this month has to be “The Hive” by Gill Hornby.  I was by turns angry or amused and midway through I was laughing out loud.  This is a story of a clique of moms who run their version of the PTA in an English town (village? It’s never quite clear).  You can find analogies in the work place almost as easily as observing the power struggles of the Queen Bee mother and her little worker bees.  It’s a light hearted read but well written and the characters are nicely drawn.

The next book was not nearly as well written and the characters were rather narrowly drawn.  “Summerset Abbey” by T.J. Brown is the first in a trilogy but is a very sad attempt at capturing the enthusiasm of “Downton Abbey” fans.  I managed to get through it but I’m not sure I will want to read the next installment.  I would say, well if you are desperate for a light read it is alright but just borrow it from the library.  Even at the bargain bin I think it was money thrown away.  Sorry, I hate to be critical of a book but there you have it.

A friend has lent me another book “The Truth and Other Lies” by Sascha Arango, a German author.  Good grief, I have only begun this book but it has me by the seat of my bed (sorry, I am one of those who reads best in bed).  I won’t say anymore except to say that the first 3 chapters have me totally enthralled.  Major suspense and two thumbs up!

I had begun “Mr. and Mrs. Madison’s War” by Hugh Howard which is all about the war of 1812 and while it begins well I made the mistake of picking up the above mentioned book simply to browse it so sadly the Mr. & Mrs. are going to have to wait until I finish Sascha Arango’s first novel.

And then, there’s Christmas.  I wonder what surprises lay ahead of me?  Hint hint, loved ones.