We had a surprise move in June. We found a wonderful place and decided to go for it, just like most of America, it seems. So we spent a few weeks shuffling things around. I ended up reading bits and pieces of novels, unable to concentrate. Really didn’t finish much, which is on me. July is already better.
Here’s what I liked.
June, 2021
Carter, Geoff, “Filmmakers Get A Kick From Destroying Las Vegas Over and Over Again. We’ve Had Enough,” Las Vegas Weekly, June 10-16, 2021. A fun and heartfelt essay about the various ways that Las Vegas gets destroyed on film. I particularly like his comments about Vegas being a company town, and no outsider sees that. It’s really true. Read this. You’ll have fun with it.
Fairbanks, Amanda M., The Lost Boys of Montauk, Gallery Books, 2021. Those of you who read this list a lot know I love books about ships and the sea and storms and people who get lost. (Hmmm…sounds like something I write.)
Except for a bit of a tease about a “secret” that is sad, but not really surprising, this book is beautifully done. It doesn’t just examine what might have happened to the men on the lost ship, the Wind Blown, but also what did happen to their survivors. Big deaths like this have an oversized impact, and this one really did.
If you like books about the sea and about what happens after something major, you’ll like this one.
Roberts, Nora, Legacy, St. Martins Press, 2021. Thank heavens for Nora. She got me through a very busy month. This isn’t one of her best books, but it is better than most books. Her main character Adrian Rizzo is interesting, and so is her love interest, Raylin, who actually marries—and loves—someone else early in the book.
Intriguing. But not as suspenseful as advertised, not that I cared. The characters were lovely and got me through the move. If you like Nora’s work, you’ll like this one. If you’ve never tried it…well, heck. What’s with you, anyway?
