Thursday, March 22, 2012

Early Spring Fever

If you haven't been outside in the last few weeks, you've been missing out on one of the warmest Marches on record.  And not just warm.  The afternoons, in particular, have been gorgeous.  Sunny, cloudless, just breezy enough to keep things comfortable. 

It has been giving everyone I come into contact with a wild case of spring fever.  From early gardening to kids playing outside to some brave souls even going to the beach to walk, people are taking advantage of this early warm streak.  Personally?  I like to go out on the deck in the evenings after work and enjoy the light as long as it'll stick around, book in hand.  So, if you're feeling the need for some spring reads, here are my picks.

If you like family sagas, try The Bird Sisters, by Rebecca Rasmussen.  Elderly sisters Twiss and Milly live alone in the house in which they grew up, tending injured birds and losing themselves in memories.  For Milly, in particular, the memories turn to dreaming of what might have been, before an accident change the course of the sisters' lives.  Poignant and brimming the love and sacrifice that comes with sisterhood, this novel is full of surprises. 

If you're more in the mood for a suspense novel, I have an unusual one for you.  The Book of Lost Fragrances, by M.J. Rose.  When the heiress to a faltering French perfume company with a long history inherits the company, she is plunged back into a world she left behind nearly fifteen years ago.  Her brother, also an inheritor, hints that he has an earth-shattering discovery that will fix the company's financial woes, and then disappears.  It's up to Jac L'Etoile, reluctant heiress and unlikely sleuth, to uncover both what has happened to her brother, and what secret he was keeping.  Full of history and intrigue, this is a beautifully detailed and haunting work of suspense.  Note, if you enjoy Rose's writing, I highly recommend her other work, too!

So, what are you reading these days?

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