Book #47: The Mermaid Chair

Nothing beats the feeling of a good read. Well almost nothing. A feeling that would rival it is finding out that the author of said good read, has written another one (or two!) and you didn't even know about it!

It was how I came to add The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd to my bookshelf. Years ago I had utterly devoured and thoroughly enjoyed - yes, the book was as sweet as honey itself - The Secret Life of Bees. In fact, it has been so long ago that I may just have to put it on the TBre-read pile. But I hadn't realised Kidd had another book to her name, and after seeing it on a fellow book blogger's site - thank you Lucy at The Secret Life of Books (how apt is the name of her blog!) - it immediately went to the top of the pile.

The Mermaid Chair is very different to The Secret Life of Bees. It's the story of Jessie Sullivan, a mother, wife, daughter, friend and woman who is desperately seeking that extra 'something'. And, as the opening line of the story reveals, she finds it in a rather unusual place:

"In the middle of my marriage, when I was above all Hugh's wife and Dee's mother, one of those unambiguous women with no desire to disturb the universe, I fell in love with a Benedictine monk."
p1, Prologue, The Mermaid Chair

Jessie finds her Benedictine monk on Egret Island, the place she grew up in and the place she returns to in order to look after her increasingly frail - and slightly disturbed - mother. But it's also here that she returns to memories of her childhood and discovers the truth about an event that shaped much of her younger years.

It's an easy read, but not one I'd place high on my list of books I've most enjoyed. I got a little frustrated with what I deemed to be the selfish acts of Jessie, but then perhaps in a voyage of self-discovery one needs to put themselves first. I just didn't enjoy the fact that in doing so she was hurting loved ones around her.

This is the only catch with finding another book written by an author who's work you've already enjoyed. Can they live up to expectations? Produce another novel that captures you in the same way their previous one did?

Which authors have done that for you?

Book #9: Recipe for Bees

I love a light read! And this one was absolutely perfect for a lazy afternoon. I avoided all housework, all email communication and my growing 'to-do' list to curl up with Recipe for Bees  – thoroughly indulgent and thoroughly enjoyable! 

A soft story – Recipe for Bees by Gail Anderson-Dargatz is nothing really to write home about, nor one that will imprint itself on the memory in years to come – but unlike my previous reading material, Recipe for Bees came along at just the right moment.

It’s the story of Augusta, told as her son-in-law is undergoing an operation for a brain tumour, yet what this side story has to do with the actual plot is anybody’s guess. It doesn’t provide any addition to the main theme, nor is there any connection to be made in a twist at the end, but its harmless none-the-less. The same could be said about the bees in the story. Why there’s this added element to the book, I’m not sure. There are very few mentions of it – other than the first opening paragraph – and as you delve into Augusta’s story, one forgets honeybees are even buzzing around.

Yet, I love a good historical novel, which this had elements of. Augusta went back in time, recalling life as a girl, a young married woman, gossip in the town, affairs, relationships, and growing old with her husband. A sweet story but nothing mindblowing, memorable, or magical about it – just sweet enough to go with a cup of tea.

Book #3: Trust Me

Shopping at second-hand bookshops, is very different to walking into a bookshop – it’s much more exciting, because you simply don’t know what will be there waiting for you. It means you can’t really have a book in mind that you wish to walk out the door with, because chances are, it’s not going to be on the shelf. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though – it just means you’ll walk out with something you’d never even considered (and it could be even better than what you’d hoped for to begin with).

But nothing beats stepping into a second-hand bookshop to see on the shelf, a book that you’ll been longing to find, or a book by one of your favourite authors – that you’re just about to get for a bargain price. That’s how Trust Me, by Lesley Pearse, ended up on my bookshelf.

I can’t quite remember how I first came across Lesley Pearse’s books, but I certainly remember the first one I read. It was called “Never Look Back” (check out the Friday favourites!). Each of Pearse’s books is an easy read – they’re a perfect holiday book, a perfect plane book, or a perfect book to curl up with on a wintery afternoon. They each have the perfect blend of characters, an historical element that beats any a history lesson, and a somewhat predictable ending that you’re never quite sure how you’re going to reach.

Trust Me is the story of two sisters, their childhoods spent in orphanages in both England and Australia. It’s a story of two girls sharing so much, yet having nothing in common; two girls from the same family yet two girls who are so different in their approach to life, and the challenges their lives pose. From the streets of Sydney to the dry dusty Australian Outback, this was one I couldn’t put down.

Book #2: The Legacy

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of trash! As a writer, sub-editor and proof-reader, I spend my days reading, writing, and re-writing. Some copy reads smoothly, it’s well written, informative, and enjoyable – other copy is rubbish. It needs working, reworking and started again from scratch. It lacks soul, it has no voice, and is simply a convoluted mix-up of the English language. Yet that’s not trash!

Trash takes you away to another world. It’s light hearted, free, and requires a limited amount of thinking – and that’s exactly what you need every once (or twice) in a while. The Legacy was exactly that for me. A light read recommended by a friend. “It won’t take you long” she said. And Richard and Judy agreed. It was part of their summer bookclub must reads. But all were wrong.

My second book of the year set me back a week. This lighthearted read weighed me down each evening as I hopped under the covers, trying to get through yet another chapter.

A simple story: grandmother dies leaving family home to her granddaughters, sisters who have a secret – both from each other and family members around them. One sister wants to keep it a secret, the other wants to know... and so the story begins.

Half the book is set in the present day – sister number two researching the family history. The other half of the book is set in the 1900s and follows the story of the girls’ great grandmother – the family member with the secret.

I’ve leave you to discover it.