Ralphie Rough Road

“Unsheltered” by Barbara Kingsolver (461 pages, fiction)

This was another excellent book by Barbara. I love all of her books especially the underlying themes that weave themselves into the stories. A tale of two different families separated by a century but with one common cause, a house they both lived in, in a Utopian like town. This is based on real life people and was a fascinating read.

“Nine Perfect Strangers”  by Liane Moriarty  (450 pages, fiction)

Loved, loved this book. What a page turner. I was hooked instantly.  The tale of 9 strangers attending a health resort retreat. There are many strange things and lengths the owner goes to in order to “transform” her participants. I really enjoyed the individual stories and how they helped each other along the way.

“Welcome to the Writer’s Life”  by Paulette Perhach (291 pages, non-fiction)

Excellent books for writers (& those of us trying to be). Packed full of words of wisdom and lots of resources for the writing life. Loved her style of writing and her voice. Packed full of valuable advice and funny tidbits along the way. She is a writer I could see sitting down with and having a cocktail. Very much a down to earth individual. Her writing connected with me and my heartfelt desire to write.

“Elevation” by Stephen King (146 pages, fiction)

One of his shorter novels but a wonderful book by the master storyteller.  Despite the novel’s length, the character development was well done.  I enjoyed this great little story about a small town with a prejudice against the new lesbian couple that has moved in.  The main character is dealing with a crisis of his own.  A great story of hope at a time when so much of our country is divided and full of hate.