To paraphrase the words of Belle, I have just finished the most magnificent book. I LOVED this book!

Anthony hires Laura as his housekeeper. Laura is divorced and lonely. She needs something different to do. Anthony has been a finder of lost items which he brings home and meticulously records when and where he found them. Upon Anthony's passing, Laura is left his home with instructions to find the owners of the lost things he has found through the years. Can she do it?

These characters are wonderful. I laughed. I cried. I saw things come full circle. There are three stories in these pages. Anthony and Therese's story is the first and, for me, maybe the most tragic. Eunice and Bomber's was, perhaps, the funniest though it also brought me to tears. His sister, Portia, made it both funny and sad. Laura and Freddy, the gardener, was the most recent. Each story has its highs and lows. Each person must determine what is right and best for them. At times I was not sure if the choice was right. But I grew to love these characters.

Another character, Sunshine, Anthony's neighbor girl was a bright spot. She saw with the heart. She was honest, even when people did not want her to be so honest. Her openness was wonderful as she knew stories of the things Anthony found.

Stories came full circle at the end. My heart ached for the endings at times. Other times I was cheered by those endings.

This is not a book to be overlooked or forgotten. It is a wonderful story full of magic and love. It is a keeper!

Mr. Dickens and His Carol: A Novel - Sam...

Charles Dickens is having financial problems. His last book did not sell well. His publishers are threatening to deduct money from his royalties for their loss. They tell him he must write a Christmas story with less than two months before Christmas. He has lost his muse. At home, his wife is having baby number six. She is obsessed with their Christmas party. His children are obsessed with what they want for Christmas. Charles has lost his way and his good cheer for Christmas. He is fighting with everyone. He does not want to write a Christmas story but needs the money. Can he find his muse? Can he find the spirit of Christmas?

I loved this story. I felt like I was in Dickens' London. I love the nods to his other works, words, and characters. The characters of Dickens, his family, his friends, and his rivals were wonderful. I felt like I knew them and loved or hated them. I liked how he had to go back to the beginning to find his story. I enjoyed his interactions with Eleanor who points out what he feels, what he's missing, and what he needs. She is so spot on.

This book resonated with me. I will tell you to keep the tissue handy. You will need it. These people were so real to me. I hated leaving them. This is a keeper. Maybe not one I can read every Christmas season but one that needs a re-read and someone else to discuss it with each reading. There is so much there. So much wisdom, so much delight.

Lena goes to the Ionian coast for vacation. She plans on getting her class work ready for the next semester. While there she meets Nina and Elena, a young mother and her daughter, and takes an interest in them and their extended family. She also reflects on her daughters and her mother and their lives.

This is a character study of Lena. She does not come across well. She is mean and selfish. She should not have had children (her ex-husband either.) I found her hard to like and I wanted to be sympathetic, but I couldn't. She was not nice. I could relate to some of her experiences with her mother. I could not relate to why she kept the doll (there are a couple of dolls in the story.) I did not like her and that is rare for me. I finished it because of book club. Not sure I would have otherwise.

99¢ BOOK OF THE WEEK

ABANDONED DREAMS

‘til Sept. 21st at

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU

Have you ever wondered what dreams you might have fulfilled

if life hadn't got in the way?

What if you had an opportunity to try again?

At twenty-seven years-old, George Fairweather is “the voice of his generation”, a poet whose talent has garnered him accolades from the literary establishment and homage from the disenfranchised “hippie” youth of the late 1960’s.

George is the embodiment of the times with his long hair, rebellious attitude and regular use of mind-expanding psychedelic drugs.

Then the sudden and tragic death of Fallon, his friend, his muse and his lover shatters his world, his sanity and nearly ends his life.

Katherine is the one person who stands between George and destruction. A hanger-on, a groupie, a go-for, she’s a woman George never considered – for anything. Katherine idolizes George and makes it her personal mission to keep him alive, doing whatever it takes, twenty-four seven.

Because of Katherine’s sacrifice and devotion George slowly begins to mend his soul and rebuild a life. But guilt and gratitude make it a much different life then he’d previously led.

Thirty-seven years later, George Fairweather is a husband, father and grandfather and a successful copywriter at an advertising agency. Another death, his wife Katherine’s, is about to change his life again.

Can dreams be resurrected? Can a live abandoned be taken up again?

Will they let him?

Is it worth it?

"Literary and artistic matters including the drive for fame and creativity, as well as cutting citicism, are refreshingly realistic and provide illuminating insights into the minds of writers and artists.”

Judge Number 54, The 26th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards 

★★★★★ "A well told, fascinating and powerful story. Highly recommended."

★★★★★  Lovely premise, well-delivered
 "...offers an unflinching look at how circumstance, both disastrous and mundane, can shove youthful ambitions aside...excellently insidious character development, where every individual springs from the page."

- Mary Keefer, Amazon Verified Purchase

The Seeker of Abandoned Dreams

He is not now, nor has he ever been

the person you think you know.

What you see is a complex compromise

of demons, dreams, desires,

the blunted spear of passion,

the dull edge of intellect,

an over-talked argument, the last guest

at a weary gathering.

Extraneous stuff slips away,

the affairs of friends hold little interest

and the lack of things in common

make conversation the killer

to his preferred silence.

The focus has narrowed, the journey closes,

the lack of purpose becomes

defined.

He’s going out there now

to slough off conventions,

become what wind, sun and rain would have him be

beyond different.

He’s taking with him

something vague and inarticulate,

less than a memory, tinged with warning.

He’ll travel with no expectations

only to be

uncomplicated, uncompromised,

unknown.

WATCH THE VIDEO TRAILER AT

https://animoto.com/play/V5Yvza9cf8kHiiGlTPCHxA

January has been left a house in Michigan by her late father. She goes up to live in it when she is broke and still is working on her current novel--or rather not working on it. Her next door neighbor is Gus Everett, her rival in college. After taking potshots at each other, they decide to have a contest where he writes a rom-com and she writes a literary novel and see which one can sell theirs first. In the course of their writing, truths come out.

I loved this book! I loved January. I could relate to her as she and Gus have their discussions at the end of their days of writing. I understood her thoughts. I also loved Gus. He is similar to January but his thoughts took on a darker tone. Once January can get him to open up, he reveals a lot to January--things she never expected. I did appreciate their openness when their thoughts and explanations came out. It is rare to have that much communication between characters. His explanation when they went to New Eden was wonderful and swoon-worthy.

I loved the other characters--Pete, Maggie, even Sonya. They are quirky (not Sonya). I was glad when Sonya made January listen to her. So much was said and pain was let go eventually. I wish January's mother had been more open with her earlier so her father's death would not have been a shock.

I liked the humor. There were times I was laughing out loud as I pictured these scenes. The dialog was snappy and snarky (reminds me of the dialog in The Maltese Falcon). This is one of the top books I have read this year. It is wonderful watching a curmudgeon fall in love.