Continuing with Berwyn Library staffer’s favorites books read in 2012 – here’s Betty!
Title: Heading Out to Wonderful
Author: Robert Goolrick
Call #: GOO
In 1948, Charlie Beale found the place and the woman of his dreams. Brownsburg, Virginia was a sleepy little valley town with friendly people. Sylvan Glass was enigmatic, beautiful and married to the wealthiest man in town. Charlie was enthralled by both the town and the woman, a situation leading to great happiness and great sadness, as well. The town is as much a character in this work as the people are. Goolrick paints word pictures that light up in your mind. A book that stays with you.
Title: The Beautiful Mystery
Author: Louise Penny
Call #: MYSTERY PENNY
Louise Penny once again slips us sweetly into murder, this time in a remote monastery famed for its beautiful Gregorian chant. The choirmaster, the man responsible for the music, has been bludgeoned in a walled garden which is only accessible through the abbot’s cell. It seems like an inside job, but which of the monks could do this – or was it one of the monks? This book sheds some light on what usually is an impenetrable place, a monastery. How do the monks spend their days, what draws them to a monastery in the first place, and why do they stay? while Penny’s conclusions are rather fanciful, she does open a door that remains closed to most of us.
Title: Code Name Verity
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Call #: YA WEI
This is a quote from a Booklist review: “If you pick up this book, it will be some time before you put your dog-eared, tear-stained copy back down.” When the story begins, Julia is a unnamed prisoner, formerly a wireless operator for the British, held captive in France by a seemingly sadistic Nazi interrogator. She agrees to tell what she knows while strapped to a chair, recovering from the latest round of gestapo torture. The Nazis want the codes that Julia memorized as a wireless operator before crash-landing in France, and she supplies them, but along the way also tells of her fierce friendship with Maddie, a British pilot whose quiet bravery was every bit as impressive as Julia’s brash fearlessness. The book is carefully researched and historically accurate. I learned more about British fighter planes than I ever thought I’d know. Did you know that one of the British fighter planes was called a Puss Moth? A great read!
Recommended by: Betty
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