The engaging Valerie Koehler of Blue Willow Bookshop kick-started our summer by sharing some of her favorite recently-published books. Valerie has a way of whetting one's appetite with her book talks, and I know we've all added to our "to read" lists today. Here are the titles she shared with us:
- The Mapmaker's War by Ronlyn Domingue: A fantasy tale of a mapmaker journeying into uncharted lands.
- The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro: A mystery about an art forger hired to make a forgery of a stolen painting.
- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson: The tale of a girl born in England in 1910 where each chapter is a portion of her life presented if something had happened differently.
- Life After Life by Jill McCorkle: A very different book by the same name, this one a story about a quirky cast of characters at a retirement home.
- The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Steadman: Valerie's favorite from last year, this is a story of a young couple who discover a baby near their lighthouse.
- Me Before You by JoJo Moyes: The story of a woman from a small village in England hired to be a companion to a wealthy couple's quadrapalegic son.
- Guns At Last Light by Rick Atkinson: A well-written and detailed non-fiction account of World War II.
- The Lost Husband by Katherine Center: A fun Texas romance from a local author.
- The Drowning House by Elizabeth Black: A mystery set in Galveston.
- And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini: An immigrant story from Afghanistan to the United States.
- Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman: A thriller about a retired female FBI agent.
- Unflinching Courage by Kay Bailey Hutchinson: A series of true stories about the women who shaped Texas.
- Suitors by Cecile David-Weille: A light, funny story of two wealthy sisters trying to find husbands.
- Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra: The story of three different Chechnyan families affected by war.
- Son by Phillip Meyer: An epic tale of one Texas family--a must-read for fans of Lonesome Dove.
- The Ability by M.A. Vaughan: A fun read for children and teens about a band of kids who save the world, of course.
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: A young adult novel told from the point of view of a captured British spy. (This also happens to be your blogger's favorite book of the year!)
- A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash: Another favorite of Valerie's, this novel is told by three characters in a small evangelical church in the North Carolina hills.
- Wild by Cheryl Strayed: The true account of a woman's journey hiking the Pacific Coast Trail.
- Quiet by Susan Cain: A fascinating look at introverts and how they've been approached by parents and educators.
