I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

 I don't recall how I heard about this older story, but I read some reviews on Amazon after I believe I heard about it on Instagram. I decided it was worth finding at the library, and I took it along to Sacramento on my most recent trip. It's delightful! It's clean! It's relatable! And there's so much wisdom in the conversations... This family in England that lives in a castle is off-beat, unique, and very, very destitute. Yet their spirits are high and their conversations engaging.

I liked this so much, I could hardly wait to get to bed to read another chapter. And that is saying something since I was staying with Ann and we often play games or just talk into the night. But I wanted to re-enter this beautiful world of rural England where Cassandra appreciates nature, is growing up, and puzzles things out in her mind. As soon as I finished it, I was ready to read it again. And I liked the rather open-ended ending that left me wondering about her more distant future. 

I am going to order my own copy and also send one to Leslie for her birthday...it's the kind of book I believe she will enjoy just as much as I did...

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center (audio book from Libby)

 One of the Instagrammers I follow, can't remember which one, highly recommended this book. Since I could listen to it free, on Libby, I decided to give it a try. It's a light-weight romance with cute characters, not much reality, but a lot of wisdom and some clever dialogue. 

We are in the midst of settling in to our Monterey home, and it was fun to have something light and juicy to listen to while I mopped floors, unpacked boxes, and moved into our new kitchen. A lot of this moving work required my full attention, so I couldn't always listen, but I also took some walks in our new neighborhood so I could listen longer. It was fun and engaging. 

I liked the values that were encouraged in this story, as the young woman from Texas was her father's caregiver for 10 years, and modeled unselfishness quite well. The Hollywood screenwriter she falls in love with has to learn how to love, and there were some good ideas along the way. Selfishness, seeking happiness, sacrifice, were all good themes. It was surprisingly wise and deep at times. I have a definite prejudice against romance novels, even though I like a good rom com movie. The author, though, at the end of the story, made a good case for good love stories. That we as humans do better with good models and these stories are all prosocial. Food for thought, that's for sure. I do like more substance and color, though...

The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted by Elizabeth Berg

 This was a fun collection of short stories that were perfect for night time reading. Berg's humor is soft and engaging, and her characters are charming, vulnerable, and a little off-beat. I was hoping it might be appropriate to share with Leslie, but sometimes the humor is dark, and so much of her stories revolve around romantic relationships and/or death, that I decided no, not this one...

Earth's the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg

 This was the third book I checked out from St. George Library downtown when I was on a little Berg binge. I liked this one a lot! It's a prequel to the Arthur Trulove character in another book of her's I read awhile ago. This describes Arthur's growing up years, his great love for Nola, and his rich relationship with his brother, Frank.

I love the simpler time this story is set in. People walk the neighborhoods, they know each other, and families sit down together for meals. It's very sweetly described. I loved the character of Frank, and his kindness and protection of his younger brother Arthur. And Arthur is a classic NERD, not one of the cool kids, and his goodness comes through constantly without embarrassment or apology. What sweet brothers!

This was a nice story to escape to during our great transition from one home in St. George to another. From Red Canyon to the golf course! And there is a lot to think about, a lot to do, and a lot to manage in this transition, which we are right now in the middle of. But we have made it fun (mostly) and this book was a nice reward when night time came. Now I need another one! I've taken a little break so I can also get our taxes done...and I did, so, YAY ME!

The Confession Club by Elizabeth Berg

 The second of my three library Berg books was a fun one. This cute little town of Mason, Missouri has some familiar characters from other books, and some new ones. This Confession Club allows Berg to let the women share a lot of their personal neuroses, fears, and intimate secrets. They are poignant and often funny. It's a clever way to reassure women that we all suffer from common insecurities. What's unique about this club, though, is that these women support each other and are kind. 

I fully expected them to be afraid for their friend who befriends and ultimately falls in love with a homeless transient person. He is a Viet Nam vet who suffers from PTSD... But everyone is supportive of Iris's choice and her actions. I enjoyed the parts where they both (Iris and John) was poetic about the joys of being outside and free. I could really relate to those feelings.

This was a quick, enjoyable, and cozy read. A perfect balm to take me away from the stress of our upcoming house sale and house purchase!

Once Upon a Time, There Was You by Elizabeth Berg

 We have been buying a new home and attempting to sell our current one, here in St. George. It is a stressful business, and I needed to stay focused! So, I went without a book for awhile, because I needed to keep my nose to the grindstone. When there was a little breath of a break, I went to the library. I knew I wanted something lighter and relaxing. I had just finished A Gentleman in Moscow for the third or fourth time, and I loved it so so so much, but it also required my focus to remember all the characters and all the little tempting bread crumbs along the way. Elizabeth Berg seemed the right one to take a break with. I'm so happy I did. I checked out three at once. So luxurious! This is the first of the three.

The story is set in both Minnesota and San Francisco, which are both places I love. So that was fun. Berg has a way of writing that is lighter and delightful; great analogies and great insights into relationships and the way people think and feel. Conversations feel authentic. Nothing is too dangerous or gruesome, despite an abduction in this book. I enjoyed the relationship between the divorced parents and their daughter, and the way they all learned and grew and became more self-aware. I thought it interesting that the mother was the one character who refused to grow...but maybe that is reality. At any rate, it was a great little enjoyable respite from the stress of our house selling and buying!

These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan (Book 3 in the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman trilogy)

 I'm so glad I found this one at the library so I could complete the series. I found it along with book 2, not long before Len and I went to Hawaii. I was half-way done with this one, and was so intrigued that I hauled it along on the trip. It made delightful reading on the planes and for the first couple of days in Kona! It had a very satisfying way of bringing Elizabeth and Darcy together, happily. 

What Aidan did very well, I thought, was show how Darcy's character developed over time. How he understood better his own shortcomings, and how Elizabeth helped him see them. She also had some development and both of them were written about really well, I thought. This was definitely the best of the three novels, and was so good, I wondered if people familiar with the story could just read book 3 and skip the other two? Perhaps...I was thinking this because I wondered if it would be a good one for our Ridegeview Ward book club...But then I had a different idea. The Small and the Mighty became available as an audio book on Libby, and I was so taken with it, that I decided to suggest it to read instead...