July Booking It

It is summer and the reading is slow.  Please check out what others are reading at Life as Mom. I did manage to read a few books.  I read Lucky Baby by Meredith Elfkin.  This book was basically about adopting a older child from China.  It was OK.  The hot reads shelf at the library is going to be the death of me. The main character was a Violist who a strained relationship with her family.  I use to play the viola, too 

The second book I read was a travel book.  The Good Girls Guide to Getting Lost by Rachel Friedman.  I loved the book. The sub title is "A Memoir of Three Continents, Two Friends, and One Unexpected Adventure. " (Rachel also played the Viola. There seems to be a theme here.)Rachel decides on a whim to buy a ticket to Ireland after graduating from college.  This is the start of her adventure.  She meet a Australian girl  there in Ireland also on an adventure. They eventually end up a yearlong odyssey.  This is a coming of age book. I see a lot of myself in Rachel.  My friend Mrs Epi reminds me a lot of Rachel's Australian Friend who spurs onto bigger adventures.  This book reminds me of this quote "...to grow, you have to get outside and go."  While that quote isn't in the book. It does a good job of summing up Rachel's travel philosophy. Travel requires you to let go and go outside of yourself to stretch.

Lastly, I read Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant. The book is set in 16th century Italian Convent, Santa Caterina.  The main character, Serafina, in a novice nun.  She is very unhappy as she was basically sent off to the convent by her noble Father.  Serafina of course is in love so there is the whole star crossed lover theme going on. The book also covers the church politics of the day.  It is a really fascinating read as Dunant keeps you wondering what Serafina's fate will be.