April 2016 Reading

Barbarian Days by William Finnegan (library) The story of a surfer from California to Hawaii and the rest of the world
Catherine by April Lindner A modern retelling of Wurthering Heights
Nuts by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg The story of Southwest Airlines unusual management style and why it has been so successful
The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Kiernan The story of the women who worked at Oak Ridge, TN during WWII ...a part of the Manhattan Project. I really enjoyed this one! And I will be doing some more research about Oak Ridge and maybe reading some more about this part of the war effort in the USA. I am especially fascinated with Ed Westcott's photos of the area.
The Last Painting of Sara De Vos by  Dominic Smith (library) very interesting following the history of a painting by a woman (gasp) thru it's history of sales and fraud
Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky (library) so much fun, a group of friends stalking their favorite Boy Band end up kidnapping the most lame member of the band
Bettyville by George Hodgman ( library). So sad. But very good.  I enjoyed reading it, but it was really depressing. Be warned, if you are feeling fragile.
Open Season by C J Box the first of the Joe Pickett game warden books.   I'll be going thru all these in this series.
The Mystery of the Martello Tower by Jennifer Lanthier fun kids mystery by a Canadian author. There is another Hazel Frump mystery and I will try to track that one down too!
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (library) so much fun a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. I really enjoyed it!!
The Secret River by Kate Grenville (library) the story of a family sent to Australia as convicts in the 17th century. After their prison terms were served most stayed in Australia and joined the other settlers, with some rising to prominent positions in Australian society. Approximately 20% of modern Australians are descended from transported convicts. Once deemed the "convict stain", it is now considered by many Australians to be a cause for celebration to have a convict in one's lineage.
Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson (library) about a reclusive author and her quirky son Enjoyed very much, the author is a cross between JD Salinger and Harper Lee
Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann This book is just too precious. I loved it. It is a murder mystery and it is told from the point of view of Sheep!! They wake up one morning and their shepherd is dead, it is foul play and they decide to find out what happened. There is another book by this author, but as she is German, it has not been translated into English yet!!  Bummer. Another reason I should have learned German!!!