Reading ruminations ~ it's Monday

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme from Sheila of Book Journey.  It's all about sharing what we're reading.  Sheila offers a weekly prize, so go to her blog (after you read this post, of course) and join the fun.

Sheila's the reason I'm reading this first book.  When she wrote about Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook (2010), I knew I wanted to read it and put it on hold at my library.  Yes, the book looked interesting, but what really got me was Sheila's imitation of the book's cover:

Who could resist?  Maybe we should vote for "best cover" here! I kinda like Sheila's version because she is holding a copy of the book and put hearts around it.  She is not, however, at the beach -- and a major theme of the book is traveling with girlfriends to exotic places.  If you missed it, read yesterday's short teaser about one of the characters in the book.

Two more books found their way to my house this week:

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay (2007) is from my friend Donna, who handed me the book this week, saying I'll like it.  (We exchange books regularly.)  I know nothing about it beyond what's in the publisher's synopsis and what's in this video.

Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove by Susan Gregg Gilmore was published this week (2010).  I told you already that I attended a book signing by the author.  Donna has already finished reading this one and says it's good.  I reviewed Gilmore's first novel last year:  Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen.

Have you read any of these books?
What are you reading these days?

(Thank you for reading to the end of this post. Now you have my permission to go to Sheila's blog.)