Summer Reading

A couple of years ago I swore off fiction. I had been working my way through Oprah’s book club selections and was already becoming increasingly disappointed with each additional book, when I read "Back Roads" by Tawni O’Dell. That book was the last straw; I could no longer bring myself to read any more fiction. "Back Roads" was one of the worst books I have ever read. It seemed like O'Dell was trying to shock her readers by cramming every horrible thing in life (murder, incest, etc) into one book.

Slowly, I have been coming back to fiction. Recently I was looking for a couple of really good recommendations for summer reading when I came across the ornery librarian's blog http://ornerylibrarian.blogspot.com/. Originally I was drawn to her blog because of its name; but I kept returning for the reviews. I especially enjoy her bottom line remarks.

This summer I read three books reviewed on her blog and was not disappointed. I started with Steve Martin's "Shop Girl". She recommended it saying it was the best book on her blog. Who would have thought Steve Martin could write. Many times while reading I could almost hear his voice. I found this book to be a winner.

My next pick "The Lady and the Unicorn" by Tracy Chevalier was also good. I had read “The Girl with the Pearl Earring” and I as well as the ornery librarian liked this one better. I enjoy art history and was intrigued by the story of the tapestries. I did find the artist’s jokes about his unicorn a bit lame however.

My final selection was "The Accidental Tourist" by Anne Tyler. This was my first Anne Tyler experience. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be checking out more Tyler.

Bottom line: If you are interested in a reliable book blog check out the ornery librarian.