I've been to two book groups and had fun, plus I'm settling in for a 'Comfort Reads' summer....

Hello book people!  I'm here again to share a bit about what I've been reading and where I've been talking about reading.  Hope everyone has had a good week.  We've moved into a bit of a stormy season, but sometimes rain and storms are forecast and they show up and sometimes they don't.  Typical for Central Texas during May.  It has been nice to see the lake levels trending up because summer is on the way.

I was able to attend two book groups in the last week and enjoyed both of them.  The Mystery Book Group discussion was about The Golden Gate, written by Amy Chua.  This is a historical mystery set in Berkeley, California during the mid-1940's, but it also has portions that occur during the 1930's.  It is the author's debut mystery and it was liked pretty well by most of the group.  Lots of characters and the shifting back and forth in time was not well-loved by some.  I kind of thought the story could be tightened up a bit as we seemed to start over with each character, but I would try another book by the author.  Lots of things to learn about other cultures and also that historical time period. 

I also talked about the book I'd read for May in the Afternoon Book Group I attend.  This was a sort of 'Reader's Choice' month and the book I selected was The Correspondent by Virginia Evans.  I know that several of my blogging friends have read this one and it has certainly been popular.  Many in the group found it difficult or impossible to get a copy, but I think some will eventually read it.  This is an epistolary novel and I'm very partial to those books, though I did read this one on audio.  It was populated by various narrators, which suited me just fine.  Several in the group did try this one and almost all who did were very, very complimentary of it.  It's about an older lady, Sybil, who has spent her life corresponding through actual letters and she continues to do so.  She writes to family, to friends, to authors, and also to someone that we're not sure who they are until the end.  Sybil was a bit of a 'grumpy old lady' at times, but I will say that by the end she changed her views on many things.  She 'grew and changed', which I always find a good thing.  Again, like the previous book, there were a few issues that I had, but I think they were all personal to me and not a problem with the book itself.

Both of these book groups are gearing up for the second half of 2026 and what books will be selected, so I'll probably share those choices in a few weeks.  I always like to hear if any of you guys have already read some of them and what you might have thought.  So, have you read The Correspondent or The Golden Gate?  Do tell!  

I've already read the books for June for both groups, so I'm going ahead and beginning my 'Comfort Read Summer'.  I think I mentioned that I was thinking about making that a thing for me this year.  I've shared that 'comfort reads' in my life are possibly books that I've read before and enjoyed so, so much or they are books that I've read and they made me feel positive about things or maybe just a book in a well-loved series that I haven't tried as yet.  I'm planning on reading with those goals in mind for most of the summer.  I usually take a blog break also in summer, but maybe I'll try not to do that this year.  Will make a goal to stop around weekly, hopefully, and just share what's been going on and what's been on my 'comfort' list.  

Right now, things are going well with the 'family senior living' move, etc.  And I'm listening to the first book in David Baldacci's Amos Decker series, Memory Man.  I'm reading the first book in Nora Roberts' Three Sisters Island Trilogy on my Kindle.  The title of that one is Dance Upon The Air.  Highly enjoying both of these books.  Hope all have a good holiday weekend upcoming and I'll try to check in next week.  I'll leave you with another pretty chalk picture.