July has been a long, hot, dry month, so I tried top ick books set in the winter to escape.
Shelved Under Murder by Victoria Gilbert This is the second book set in the Blue Ridge Library in fictional Taylorsford, where residents are gearing up for the annual Heritage Festival. Amy, local librarian, stumbles across the body of a well known local artist when she arrives at the artist's studio to pick up a donated item for the festival. Amy is drawn in the international art world and art forgeries. On her personal front, her boyfriend is out of town dancing with his ex-partner and her aunt is embarking on a romance with an art forgery expert called in as a subject matter expert. The book was well-paced, and while the romance was a little saccharine, it didn't overwhelm the mystery. I was a little irritated when Amy locked the front door of her house at a crucial moment and it was clearly contrived as a plot device. More irritations: the author used the phrase "bubble of laughter" to describe Amy's inappropriate reaction to stress at least three times, and Amy "shoved her fist to her mouth to stifle a burst of nervous laughter" several times as well. I rolled my eyes every time Amy did one of these actions. But the book was pleasant summer time reading, and did take place partly in December. I'd grade it a C, with a possibility to move up to a B if Amy can lose some of her annoying habits. (Net Galley)
Walden by Henry David Thoreau My book group's summer read was actually a choice of one of two titles, and I chose this one (principally because it was my suggestion). The second part of the book takes place in autumn and winter, and I felt the beautiful winterscape of Walden Pond in his prose. There is nothing I could say that hasn't been more cogently said by a real critique, so all I'll say is that I loved it.
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