Better Than Summer Blockbusters

Amazing!  Four of my favorite authors have recently published or will soon publish new novels.  And here we are in beautiful active Autumn with less time to read.  I don't watch much television, so I treasure the evenings when I can settle down with a good book.  And there is reading aplenty.

Pulitzer Prize winner Louise Erdrich has written The Round House.  The novel is set in North Dakota on a Native American reservation.  It drew me into the story within the first few pages and did not lose my interest throughout.  If you have read any of her other novels, this one will definitely not disappoint (like Shadow Tag disappointed me).  A horrible attack on his mother leads a young boy to discover the truth.  Read it.  I promise you it's a good read.  My other favorites by Erdrich include The Master Butcher's Singing Club and The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse.  I very much enjoyed them as well.

Author JoAnne Harris is probably best known for her novel Chocolat which was made into a successful movie.  Her newest book is Peaches for Father Francis and continues the stories of the same characters. It is the third book about them, the second being The Girl With No Shadow.  I must admit that while I enjoyed both of those books, they are far from my favorites by this author.  My favorite JoAnne Harris book is Five Quarters of the Orange, a book I like so much that I re-read it regularly.

I have only just begun Peaches for Father Francis but it feels like visiting an old friend.  Vianne Rocher returned to Lansquenet which she left four years before.  The village has changed a great deal with a community of Arab immigrants coming to live there.  So far the story involves the interactions and prejudices of both the Islamic immigrants and the villagers.  Central to the story is Father Francis Reynaud, the priest who so resented Vianne when she and her small daughter first opened a chocolate shop during Lent across the street from the church.

The Secret Keeper, Kate Morton's newest novel will be released October 16.  If you have read any of her  previous novels (and I recommend you read them all), you are surely looking forward to this one.  Set in England, the story moves from the time before WWII to the present.  I have read three other novels, The House at Riverton, the Forgotten Garden, and The Distant Hours by Kate Morton and have thoroughly enjoyed all three.  Great writing and interesting character development in all of them.

Most eagerly awaited of all the new books is Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver to be published on November 6.  I know of no other author whose research is so extensive or who writes so wonderfully.  I have loved all of her books but my favorite is The Poisonwood Bible, another book I re-read from time to time.

If I were forced to name a favorite author, it would almost certainly be Barbara Kingsolver.  I am most particularly interested in this upcoming publication because the setting is in the Appalachian Mountains!  And the story involves the effects of global warming, an issue that concerns me a great deal.  I can assure you that Kingsolver has done her research and will not disappoint.  I can't wait for this one and if I haven't finished the others I will gladly put them aside in order to read it.

I have a wide reading interest, so I can always find a good book.  At a given time I have three or so books in progress.  But it is rare that four of my favorite authors publish new books in less than six weeks.  Yeah!!!