Well I did it! I read a complete book this week, the first week of the 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge. I really had to make an effort to get the book finished so quickly, spending at least an hour each morning reading before everyone got up, and then there was one day this week ds3 was sick and I snuck in a lot reading while he napped on the couch. So I don’t know if I can maintain this pace or not.
I read Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand. Just picked it up at the library off the “new and popular” shelves on a whim. I really enjoyed this selection, especially since dh and I lived in Britain for three years and I could easily picture many of the settings described in the book. The lovely villages with their expansive greens, boxy houses lining the tiny quiet streets, and little shop on the corner were all painted in adequate detail. Not to say the writing was bad, it was just good…not outstanding but certainly better than most. The story centered on a retired and widowed military man who loses his brother and not only has to deal with that grief but with the family squabbles over a beloved endowment from his father. The author cleverly threw in a somewhat scandalous late in life romance and a couple of obnoxious Yankee characters for good measure. I was especially drawn in by the ending of the story, which contained an unexpected but well written twist. Not to worry, the Major gets his happy ending, but I was pleased that it came in such an interesting and unusual manner. The characters are endearing and the plot will keep you reading…in fact, I was struggling between finding out what happened in the end and watching my Colts try and advance in the playoffs last night. The book had a happier ending lol.
I’m not sure what I will tackle for next week as I don’t have any new physical books on hand, but I did download some freebie electronic versions to my computer so I might try one of them.
Sounds like fun!
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