Summer Reading
Finally after cold winter months and the chill of spring, the hope of summer will soon be upon us. Whether you plan a trip to the beach, park, or just your backyard, make it a summer filled with reading and books. Here are a few suggestions from books I've recently edited. Happy reading!
DANCE UPON A FIELD: Seeds For Life By Karin Boutall Roz Dells, manager of a thriving garden center, tossed a foreclosure notice in the trash. Ridiculous! She had made her payments on-time for years. Besides, she could not be bothered with computer-generated spam. Not today. She was busy launching the library's Seed Exchange Program, and the library staff was counting on her to make the program a success. But when the library receives a demand notice to shut down the Seed Exchange, she wonders if this is spam or something more sinister? Set in a small Gulf Coast town, Dance Upon a Field is a story about friendships and the power of community that bands together.
DANUBE DEFIANCE by Jane Golden This new book by critically praised novelist Jane Golden continues to serve up to readers a fun escape to a new culture in Europe. This time the protagonist, Jeni, finds her social status and marriage in jeopardy, as well as her life. Golden`s unique sense of humor and fast-paced writing are on full display as a cast of characters follows a winding stream of clues to a dramatic conclusion near the Danube Delta. Throughout it all, Jeni is pressured to execute a haphazard plan for a Mardi Gras party for her beloved organization, the International Ladies of Bucharest.
SAILING INTO THE WIND: A Memoir of Life Lessons by Marion Bowman What does it mean to be a woman? Marion Bowman seeks the answer in Sailing into the Wind: A Memoir of Life Lessons. Transformed by the women's movement of the 1960s, she reaches to break free from society's label of "wife and mother" as the definition of womanhood. Reflecting on her own life after her sister's death and the ensuing questions of her children, Marion sits down to write about her life and ponders this in-depth question with raw honesty and openness. Marion was born in exotic Belize, in the dusty coastal town of Stann Creek. The middle child in her family of three siblings and many cousins, they spent days fishing in sailboats and living a quiet life until relocating to the busy city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Shortly after college, Marion's path became similar that of other young women--a path to becoming a wife and mother. Love for her children fostered duty and self-sacrifice, while her role in marriage was guided by society's confines. Yet an ache began to churn within her heart.In Sailing into the Wind: A Memoir of Life Lessons, the struggle of seeking one's own identity beyond that of wife and mother is examined, and how it's okay to want more. Recalling a love of sports and developing passion for adventure and travel, Marion grows in independence and learns to sail in the wind as she discovers what it means to be a woman in the world. Ponder this deep question about your own journey, and explore what it means to be a woman.
Happy Reading!
