Thursday, September 11, 2014

BTT (#44) ~ my recommendations

Deb at Booking Through Thursday asks today's question:
"If a friend asks you to recommend a really good book — good writing, good characters, good story — but with no other qualifications, what would you recommend?"
Actually, I'll name two.  I read this first one a few days ago and give it a 10 of 10.  The other is also a 10/10, that I read in August.

The Story Hour ~ by Thrity Umrigar, 2014, fiction (USA and India), 10/10
It struck me as a bit strange that an experienced psychologist's professional detachment disintegrated when she began to work with a young Indian woman who tried to kill herself.   Lakshmi was cut off from her family in India, desperately lonely, and trapped in a loveless marriage to a domineering man.  Moved by her plight, Maggie decided the despondent woman needed a friend, not a shrink.  Their conflicting expectations took the story to places I never expected.  Oh, yes, the book definitely held my attention as these two women made surprising choices that, actually, made sense within the context of their very different worlds.
Goodnight June ~ by Sarah Jio, 2014, fiction (Seattle, Washington), 10/10
I finished this novel in a couple of days and rated it a 10 out of 10 because I couldn't put it down.  If you want to read more about it, I shared the book's first lines, here.  I highly recommend it, especially if you enjoyed the beloved children's book Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown.  The author imagines a bookstore owner who was "Brownie's" friend and the inspiration for her moon book.

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