Books!

I did another load of laundry today (I wasn't able to do all of the laundry on Sunday, so this was a bit of holdover from the weekend - I usually do three loads, and Sunday I only did two). I'm happy to report that no mysterious thongs or other items of clothing materialized this time. Other than that, today was quite uneventful. I went to work, did boring things, then came home. I finished my book today, which was nice. Although, the ending wasn't quite what I had expected. It was a good book, though not spellbinding. It's called The Piano Tuner by Daniel Mason. The library here in Quincy has a service called "What to Read Next" that I signed up for. They have you fill out a little questionnaire about the kinds of things you like to read, and then send you a list of suggestions. This was one of the suggestions. Not a bad one. It's about a piano tuner who is requested to go to Burma during the British occupation during the 19th century in order to tune the grand piano that an officer has at his remote jungle outpost. It's about the journey of the piano tuner, one Edgar Drake, from London to the fictional village of Mae Lwin and what happens when he finally arrives. It's interesting. If you're looking for a good bit of historical fiction, you might want to check it out. I would recommend getting it from the library rather than purchasing it, personally. I'm cheap, though. The list they sent had five or six suggestions, and this is the first one I've read so far. I did read a book by one of the authors on the list, but not the book they recommended. I've put that book (Another Shore by Nancy Bond) on reserve, and hopefully will get it next week. The book by Nancy Bond that I did read is called A String in the Harp. I enjoyed it very much. It is considered a young adult book because it is told from the point of view of a 15 year old girl, but don't let that make you think it's juvenile. It's the story of a family, a father and three children, who have moved from Amherst, Massachusetts to a small seaside town in Wales called Borth. The mother died in a car accident, and the father, a professor, accepted a year-long appointment at the university in Wales, partly to escape all the sad memories associated with their home. Very good book. I recommend it. Another fun one (though not on the library's list) is The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella. I also recently read Can You Keep A Secret? by the same author. They're light and fun and easy to read. Definitely check them out. (Unless you're a guy, in which case you might not like them quite as much.) So, there are some book recommendations for you. Enjoy!