Some summer reading

I was so into the blog setup yesterday that I forgot to post about what I've been reading. I've mentioned to a few of you about a thriller writer that a friend recommended to me. It's Brian Haig and I've really enjoyed his books over the past 6 months or so. He's written 5 or 6 books and I think I've now read all of them. The main character is an Army lawyer and he takes interesting cases of international intrigue. His first book was Secret Sanction and I've also read The President's Assassin, The Kingmaker, Man in the Middle and one other that I can't remember the name of (and it was actually my favorite). Anyway, if you like spy/murder/intrigue novels, you might want to try him. Also, an interesting backstory is that he's Alexander Haig's son. This is definitely not Chick-Lit so if you have a reading man in your life, he may like these too.

I've also read The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris. This is the followup to the book Chocolat. I didn't read Chocolat, but loved the movie, so I thought I'd try this book. I enjoyed it and there were some interesting themes around trying to live true to your own spirit and how difficult that can be sometimes. Another interesting theme was looking at some of the sacrifices we make for children that can backfire on us. If you enjoyed the movie, you'd probably like this book. My only big complaint was that the character that Johnny Depp played in the movie, Roux, had red hair in the book and it was very distracting since I wanted to keep the Johnny Depp fantasy in mind as I read the book!

I'm now reading Foundation by Isaac Asimov. My husband has tried for years to talk me into reading Asimov's classic sci-fi trilogy and I'm glad that I finally got around to it. Foundation is less science fiction (in my mind) than it is a psychological study on mankind and the idea of fatalism. If any of you have read this I'd be interested in your thoughts. I know we don't typically do sci-fi book in book club, but this one delves into some weighty issues that would make for a great discussion.

Finally, when I need a break from deep thinking in deep space I'm also reading David Sedaris' new book When You Are Engulfed in Flames. Typical Sedaris.

I hope you are all having a good summer! Happy reading!