The Summer Girls by Mary Alice Monroe

What a wonderful story taking place in the low country of South Carolina.  I have really grown to love this area.  Mamaw is going to be eighty and wants to have her three granddaughters there for the celebration, even more for the summer.  Her granddaughters, all sisters, have taken different paths in their lives and are each are experiencing their own troubles.  All that Mamaw wants is for them to reconnect and have each other to fall back on once she is gone because they are all that they would have.  Monroe did a wonderful job making everyone different and very realistic.  She does bring to the forefront how important family is and that you need to foster those relationships.

Once There Was A Farm by Virginia Bell Dabney

Subtitle: A Country Childhood Remembered -- This was a wonderful recollection of growing up in rural Virginia.  She moved there when she was very young with her mom and two older sisters.  Her father was in Chicago working and would come during the summer for a vacation.  Dabney loved being outside when she was young and did much exploring.  She was much of the time an observer of her family, being the youngest.  There were definitely trials, especially with the depression.  It was a different time to be growing up, especially in such a rural area.  Dabney is a great story teller and painted beautiful pictures for the reader.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nina Sankovitch

Subtitle: My year of magical reading -- Nina decides to read a book a day and review each book for a year.  This will be her "job".  She does this after realizing that since her sister died she just kept trying to fill her time and days running here and there.  She was volunteering for everything for her kids.  She was not taking the time to deal with her grieving and how to process this major change in her life.  Reading had always been a huge cornerstone in her family.  From the time she was a child with her parents reading to her and her siblings, to going on great adventures in the books she chose for herself.  She continued this with her own family and children.  One of the things that helped her sister in the end was reading.  So, she decided to take a year and read.  Through doing this she was able to get lost in many stories and many that were dealing with grief.  Through this process she was better able to work through her own grief and feel better about where she was.  It also allowed her to really see what was important within her family and know when to step up or back down.  She will always miss her sister and think of her everyday, but this year in books helped her make it a little easier.

the time keeper by Mitch Albom

This was a very interesting story about time.  When did we start to keep track of time?  Why do we keep track of time?  Why do people want to squander their time?  This book follows two people, one in the prime of her life and the other a gentleman who wants more time.  Both of these people are experiencing something "tragic" in their lives and are trying to deal with it in their own way without thinking of other people and the consequences of their actions.  We then enter into a type of Charles Dickens and the visiting of Father Time who can show them what will happen.  They are both struck by what they see and wish to do things differently.  The take away from this book for me is to embrace every moment and enjoy it for what it is, time will keep marching on and we need to choose how we are going to use that time.  Don't squander it.

Home of the Braised by Julie Hyzy

Hyzy never disappoints me.  Ollie and Gav are going to get married, but of course there are some hiccups in that whole process, especially when they come across five dead bodies.  Everything was very hush, hush about their findings, but there seemed to be some people very much in the know.  Of course Ollie cannot just let the authorities do their job, she sticks her nose right in there.  Over all things were more low key in the action and higher in the mental figuring.  There is a wonderful ending that I will not share, so you just need to get this book and see how things are progressing the the White House kitchen!

The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderband

Another good story from Nantucket.  Dabney runs the Chamber of Commerce and knows everyone and everything about the island and the people.  Her life is really good until she gets an unwelcomed visitor from her past.  It throws her summer into a tailspin and things just start tumbling around her.  The pain of keeping secrets catches up with her and how everyone deals with the unfolding of the story is very touching and real.  Hilderband did a wonderful job building characters and showing the pains and joys of relationships and their fragility.

Acadia-The complete guide by James Kaiser

This is really a great read that gives a wonderful overview of the island.  Hits on the history without bogging you down and the colorful culture with lightness.  Kaiser goes over the highlights of Acadia National Park and points out some good hikes and quiet spots.  He talks about each of the towns on the island and their characteristics, what they offer and what to take in.  If you just want to get a good overview of the area this is a great book.