Thank you for joining me here! I hope you enjoy this series and I’d love to hear from you about what you are reading these days.
Book #1:
As You Wish by Cary Elwes with Joe Layden (Length: 273 pages). If you are even somewhat of a fan of the movie The Princess Bride, this is a must read! Written by the actor who played Westley, this memoir puts you right in the middle of both the pre-production and the production of this incredible movie. This is very well-written (the actor is super smart as well as being super good-looking–who knew?!) as well as very thoughtful about all of the major (and minor) actors. Full of behind-the-scenes information, this isn’t gossipy, but is just plain interesting. After reading this, I came away even more impressed about this charming movie, and I’m especially impressed with the director, Rob Reiner, who seems to be an amazing human being. The synergy amongst and the cast and crew is apparently like lightning striking, and this lightning resulted in one of the best movies of all time. In my opinion. 😉
Book #2:
When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain (Length: 370 pages). Wow. This is an intense, very well-written mystery/thriller, and I’m so glad I was able to pick it up. I happened upon it on the New Releases shelf when my local library finally opened to in-person browsing, and I was so excited to see it as I’ve been hearing so much about it. This is excellent!! Based around the real-life abduction of Polly Klaas in 1993 in Northern California, this novel centers around Anna Hart, a detective who specializes in crimes against children. Anna returns to Mendocino, where she spent 8 years of her childhood as a foster kid, and as an adult is escaping some (initially unknown) personal trauma of her own. The central mysteries here (involving other teen girls who are missing) are a bit thin–I guessed who the abductor was very early on–but this is still very much worth reading, for the character development, the excellent writing and for the very propulsive and exciting plot. Let me know what you think!
Lora Terrill 