Author of the Day: Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy (1939 - 2012) was an Irish author who wrote 16 novels and several collections of short stories. 

Every now and again I want to fall into a Binchy novel and live in it. This mood usually strikes when I am hectic at work or otherwise am feeling a bit overwhelmed. Her novels are dense with details of interesting, but ordinary, people overcoming difficulties. They are satisfying the way cleaning out a messy closet is satisfying.

Below is a list of her novels.  Those I have read are in red; those on my TBR shelf are in blue.

Light a Penny Candle (1982)

The Lilac Bus (1984)

Echoes (1985) (reviewed here)

Firefly Summer (1987)

Silver Wedding (1988)

Circle of Friends (1990)

The Copper Beech (1992)

The Glass Lake (1994)

Evening Class (1996)

Tara Road (1998)

Scarlet Feather (2000)

Quentins (2002)

Nights of Rain and Stars (2004)

Whitethorn Woods (2006) (reviewed here)

Heart and Soul (2008)

Minding Frankie (2010)

A Week in Winter (2012)

NOTES

Last updated on July 11, 2018.

OTHER BINCHY FANS

If you have Binchy-related posts and would like them listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

Review of the Day: 42 States of Grace

Three years after her husband's sudden, accidental death, Maureen Hovenkotter decided to retire from her job as a Senator's aide and go on a spiritual journey, hoping to rediscover her authentic self.   A cradle Catholic with an open and curious mind for the sacred, one might expect Hovenkotter to spend time at a retreat center somewhere. Instead, she sold her house and most of her belongings, bought a large motor home, and set out for a year of "prayerful reflection" and cross-country travel.

From this very premise, it is easy to see why 42 States of Grace: A Woman's Journey is not your typical coming-of-New-Age memoir. Hovenkotter may be unusually adventuresome, but she had to undertake her pilgrimage the way a regular woman would have to – she he didn't get a six-figure book advance to let her eat, pray, and love her way around the globe; she paid her own way and drove a large RV around North America with her golden retriever Charlie.

It is this realistic normalness that makes the book so wonderful. Hovenkotter's self-analysis will strike a chord – and sometimes raise a chuckle – with most women, who will recognize something of themselves in her. She blends her spiritual musings with anecdotes about Charlie, her traveling companions, and the people she meets, and with travelogue describing the Maine coast, South Dakota's Black Hills, Sedona, Florida beaches, and other places she visits. She tries to use whatever comes her way – from bad weather, to impossible-to-negotiate-in-an-RV turns, to difficult boyfriends – as guideposts on her road to personal growth.

Hovenkotter shows by example how it is possible to find God's grace simply by stepping out of your normal routine so you have time and space to encounter God in the present moment, "in just being and waiting." She shares the lesson she learned during her year-long retreat that "life is truly beautiful and abundantly rich in opportunities, forgiveness and do-overs."

A good reminder, that. This is a beautiful book that reminds the reader, over and over, to look for -- or wait for -- God's love in ordinary, daily activities.

Opening Sentence of the Day: Very Bad Men

There's a necklace in my office, a string of glass beads.

-- Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan.

This is the second in a mystery series set, so far, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, featuring crime magazine editor, David Loogan.

I loved the first one, Bad Things Happen (reviewed here) and can't wait to dive into this one.  I've recommended the BTH to about 12 people who were just looking for something good to read.

Teaser Tuesday: 42 States of Grace

I should know as well as anyone; life can be completely changed, for good or not so good, in one breath.  It is in the present moment that we encounter God, in just being and waiting.

-- 42 States of Grace: A Woman's Journey by Maureen Hovenkotter.

This is a beautiful book that reminds me over and over to look for -- or wait for -- God's grace in ordinary, daily activities.A good reminder, that.


Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday and GIVEAWAY

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

A Sea of Books is hosting in July. Please visit Gwendolyn's wonderful blog for great books ideas.

I got one book in the mail last week, from Sasquatch Books, just in time for a quickie summer giveaway (see details below):

Oregon Trail: The Road to Destiny, a graphic novel by Frank Young and David Lasky (published by Sasquatch Books).



PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: Based on extensive research into personal accounts of the Oregon Trail, comic authors David Lasky and Frank Young have created a graphic narrative of one family's epic journey. The main character is an 11-year-old girl whose family is setting course for the west to seek new opportunities and to escape the "overcrowded and filth" of the eastern city where they had been living. Revealed is all of the planning, equipment, and logistics involved in such a trip. The book features a series of two-page spreads detailing a visual inventory of everything the family has with them — the parts of a covered wagon and a personal annotated map of the trail. Readers get a ground-level feel for what it was like to be part of this storied migration west — not a dry recitation of dates and facts, but an immediately memorable living history.

GIVEAWAY

This is a quick givaway.  If you have a blog that features children's or YA books and promise to review this one, please sign up to win.  Leave a comment with your blog link or email address.

Tomorrow morning, I'll randomly choose a winner using random.org.