'the art of racing in the rain' by garth steiner

a lovely story from the position of a dog. looking back on his life with his owner. the hobbies they share, the expanding of their family, with lots of laughter and lots of tears.

a wonderful book filled with so many emotions. i would say 'a must read'. too bad it finished, i could have continued reading the tales of enzo the dog's life. it is so incredible how the writer in every single phrase gives you the feeling that enzo is speaking. and is this the way the mind of a dog works?!

'pilcrow' by adam mars-jones

time passes by slowly when you are bedridden. a little boy having a rheumatic fever, later rightly diagnosed with still's disease. life seen largely seen from a horiziontal position. john's life from childhood until adolescence.

a strange book, not an easy read. good the first half, but in the second half it becomes a bit of a drag. no new input, continuing with the same things happening in the story. in the last few chapters the story picks up again and gets interesting. i had to put away the book a couple of times, let it rest for a week or so. it was nice to read it because it was so different.

'just a family affair' by veronica henry

best friends. in love or not? a groom ready to get married or will he never show up in church? the father of the groom having complications of a old affair. keeping the family business or going busted? easy going family members taking care of unpleasant issues. patchwork families.

a great book, with lots going on. a book about love and whatever comes after that when you have a family. about regular life and things that happen. and the end.... it's different than you might expect.

'secrets' by freya north

tess has to escape london with her infant daughter because she is in debt. she has people knocking at the door the whole time and cannot live like that anymore. she stumbles across an insert in a newspaper 'wanted: a house-sitter' in a place far away from the big city, in a small town on the north sea. she takes the job and does loads more than just housesitting. ofcourse the man of the house is a bit older, a nice person who lets her do whatever she wants in doing up the house a bit.............

this is the first time that i have finished reading a book by freya north, she is not my style. this story is one of the usual lovestories. in the beginning they are having difficulties, but all ends well. lots of words, small story. a waste of time?!

- not part of my library -

'vince & joy' by lisa jewell

vince gets talking about 'big love' with his friends at a party. and there starts the story of vince and joy, who met when they where teenagers. it seemed to be the start of something very intense, but their ways separate almost straight away. during their life time their paths cross a couple of times, strange coincidences happening. but timing is always off for them to be together.

a lovely romance. it's not the usual book of a girl meeting a boy and at first they cannot stand each other and in the end they fall into each other's arms. it is totally something else. you cannot see clearly where the story is going. the ending could be very different than what you are expecting. good for a bookclub to discuss.

(not part of my library)

'twenty chickens for a saddle' by robyn scott

an autobiografie of a childhood and adolescence spent in botswana. the great impact on this girl's life being homeschooled by an adventurous mother and having a father who, as a doctor, tries to do something about aids. living out in the bush encountering animals and the 'weird' ways of the botswana people. leaving botswana in adulthood with great memories.

a very nice book with insights of a different culture and way of living. leaves me wanting to visit the place.

'the memory keeper's daughter' by kim edwards

a doctor has to deliver his own twins during a winter storm in the hospital where he works. one of the babies is handicapped, and he decides it's best for his family to not keep the baby. the infant is supposed to go to an orphanage.......... the doctor's wife is troubled because of the loss of the child. her husband told her the baby died at birth. the family life is wrecked.

a great book. i would like to call it 'real' literature. a story with depth. lots of psychological angles. situations to think about and reflect. a very good read for a bookclub. i thought especially the end was great. love between siblings can be very strong and overcome everything.