5 Fabulous Books to Jump Start Your Reading for 2017.

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Don’t ask me why, but making a New Year’s resolution is something I do every year. Usually, the focus is food or exercise or a commitment to be more organized or more compassionate and of course, more books in my life.

In the beginning – I came up short- and in what seemed like no time at all, that promise to myself was buried deep in the recesses of my mind- maybe not totally forgotten right away, but certainly quite gone by the end of March. And to assuage the quilt, I always vowed to do better next year.

It took a little effort and some tweaking, but I’ve found that if I keep it simple and don’t quit went I have a setback – the simple act of pondering change really is a catalyst for change.

Since I’m part of a book website and blog, I thought why not do something related to books and reading this year? Everyone says that the rewards of volunteering are in-measurable, that getting involved and helping others is a fulfilling experience.

So, my resolution for this year is to inspire a love of reading in young people. There are many volunteer programs dedicated to enriching the lives of children through reading and what better way to share my passion for books?

Have a great year reading everyone – below are 5 fantastic quotes to inspire you to read and 5 fantastic books to jumpstart your year of reading.

The Chaperon By Laura Moriarty

The Chaperon
by Laura Moriarty

My Thoughts: Women have made incredible progress with freedom and equality. This well-written book will give you a look into what it was like for women in the 1920s and make you appreciate being a modern-day woman.

From the JacketThe New York Times bestseller and the USA Today #1 Hot Fiction Pick for the summer, The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922 and the summer that would change them both.

Only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star and an icon of her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study with the prestigious Denishawn School of Dancing in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone, who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle, a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip, has no idea what she’s in for. Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous black bob with blunt bangs, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will transform their lives forever. . . Read our Review

“It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” ~ Oscar Wilde

The Boys in the Boat By Daniel James Brown

The Boys In The Boat
By Daniel James Brown

My Thoughts: A Beautifully written and inspiring story. It shows what it took for nine men to win a gold medal in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

From the Jacket: The Boys in the Boat tells the mesmerizing tale of Joe Rantz and the 1936 Olympic eight-oar crew from the University of Washington. But it is much more than a story of athletic endeavor. It’s about a child abandoned by indifferent parents, Americans’ struggle to survive during the Great Depression, a young man’s love of a young woman, and the amazing physical and psychological demands of rowing. It’s about loss and redemption. It has drama and pathos, and moral scope. And it culminated on an extraordinary international stage in Berlin in 1936, with Adolf Hitler looking on.

With incredible attention to detail and poetic insight into the sport of rowing, author Daniel James Brown follows crew member Joe Rantz from his difficult early childhood through to his last days and, along the way paints a vivid portrait of a remarkable boy through his personal quest to find his place in the world. Joe’s story is told in such heartbreaking detail that readers cannot help but root for him as he meets and ultimately overcomes one devastating setback after another. . . Read our Review

The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it.” ~ James Bryce

indian-brideIndian Bride
By Karin Fossum

My Thoughts: Wonderful mystery – a little different than usual.  Loved the author’s writing style, and the plot has some surprises.  Do not miss this one!

From The Jacket: When perpetual bachelor Gunder Jomann goes to India for two weeks and comes home married, the Norwegian town of Elvestad is stunned. On the day the Indian bride is supposed to arrive, the battered body of a woman is found in a meadow on the outskirts of town. None of the good people of Elvestad can believe that anyone among them would be capable of such a brutal murder. But in his quiet, formal way, Inspector Konrad Sejer understands that good people can commit atrocious deeds and that no one is altogether innocent, including the cafe owner who knows too much, the girl who wants to be a chief witness, and the bodybuilder with no outlet for his terrible strength. Another psychological mystery from one of Europe’s most successful crime writers, From publisher description. . . Read our Review

“Books open your mind, broaden your mind, and strengthen you as nothing else can.” ~ William Feather

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth HoffmanSaving CeeCee Honeycutt
By Beth Hoffman

My Thoughts: A delightful read with lots of Southern Charm. Warm, easy-to-like characters and a story show the importance of life’s little things.

From the Jacket: Twelve-year-old CeeCee Honeycutt is in trouble. For years, she has been the caretaker of her psychotic mother, Camille, the tiara-toting, lipstick-smeared laughingstock of an entire town, a woman trapped in her long-ago moment of glory as the Vidalia Onion Queen. But when Camille is hit by a truck and killed, CeeCee is left to fend for herself.

To the rescue comes her previously unknown great-aunt, Tootie Caldwell. In her vintage Packard convertible, Tootie whisks CeeCee away to Savannah’s perfumed world of prosperity and Southern eccentricity, a world that seems to be run entirely by women. From the exotic Miz Thelma Rae Goodpepper, who bathes in her backyard bathtub and uses garden slugs as her secret weapons, to Tootie’s all-knowing housekeeper, Oletta Jones, to Violence Hobbs, who entertains a local police officer in her canary yellow peignoir, the women of Gaston Street keep CeeCee entertained and enthralled for an entire summer. . . Learn more

“A good book is the purest essence of a human soul.” ~ Thomas Carlyle

Before I go to Sleep by Before I Go To Sleep
By S.J. Watson

My Thoughts:  I loved this thriller – it’s captivating, suspenseful, and intense from cover to cover. You won’t want to put this one down.

From The Jacket: “As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I’m still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me. . . .” Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love—all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may be telling you only half the story. Welcome to Christine’s life. . . Read our Review

“You may have tangible wealth untold; caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I, you can never be. I had a mother who read to me.”Strickland Gillian

Happy Reading!
Linda


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