Weekend light reading

I hate to say this but there was another one that I started reading and it wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be and I couldn't get into it. I feel bad that I decided to not finish it because it was losing me but that is the way I felt about Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson. This one had been a 'if you liked that one, you probably would like this one' type book and I checked it out of the library, so no great loss. Again I got halfway through it and it wasn't keeping me. The story starts with the conception of a baby from the day 1 and goes from there. I think it was difficult because the main character is a fetus. I didn't finish it, so it is a don't bother. But my weekend did get better. I read Magic and the Modern Girl by Mindy Klasky and I am hooked. It is actually, I think, 3rd in a series, and I will have to backtrack the first two, (OCD) to read. The main character is a librarian, yes I gravitate to those books since I work in a library, and she is a newly unveiled witch. Her mom and grandmother have powers, too, but not as much as Jane has. I felt this book was very modern witchy and fun, with the exception of maybe her creation of a anima, kind of like bringing a doll to life thing. It seems when she was doing the spell, her mind was drifting and the purpose of her anima gets blurred and whacked out of proportion. The final showdown with the anima is a little strange but interesting. The love life issues were breath-holding and the storyline was quite good, with some historical info on the DC area thrown in. It is a should read and I will read more. http://www.mindyklasky.com/ The other book was a sure thing. I read the next in the Shenandoah Album books by Emilie Richards. These books to me are a good down home, snug in my bed, warm feeling reads. This one, Lovers Knot, takes the reporter from the last book and delves into her traumatic life. She is carjacked, while at a pharmacy getting medicine, and shot twice. She recovers only to decide that her life will never be the same. Her relationship with her husband is strained so she plans to take a timeout at her husbands' grandmothers house up in Toms River, that had been left to him along with a quilt. The quilt unravels a very interesting mystery surrounding the Shenandoah National Park and the removal of people for the building of the park. Again this is another flip the house book, a happy ending book and a very interesting historical mystery of sorts. I will continue to read the series and recommend as a must read. http://emilierichards.com/ All library books

Scenic mystery

Yes, I finished my book and here it is. I have, from when Nevada Barr started writing, been following and reading her series with National Park Ranger Anna Pigeon (Davidson). I have loved every one of her books mostly because of the fact they all deal with a murder in a National Park. That was what drew me first to the series - I have a love for America's National Parks. I have been to a lot of them, including many of the one's she has written about. But Nevada writes about the more obscure ones that you don't hear about everyday and about aspects of the National Park system that you wouldn't know. Her breathtaking discriptions of them are wonderful and her mystery writings skills have improved with each one. Her last one, Winter Study, was maybe a little more gruesome than her others but it was still great. This one takes place in Big Bend National Park in Texas. She is technically on vacation due to the stress of the circumstances of the last book and is on her belated honeymoon with her husband. This should have been a nice diversion for her but of course it develops into more. Another life threatening experience, as if she needs them. The main plot about the rafting down the Rio Grande is rivetting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. The subplot with the Mayor wanting to be senator is a disappointing but is needed. She is definitely a must read author but you should read them in order. My favorites were Liberty Falling (Ellis Island), Deep South (Natchez Trace) and Flashback (Dry Tortugas Nat Park). www.nevadabarr.com/