Books That Stay With You

During the past two weeks, I've delved into a couple of books that are similar (they're both relationship books, and while both of them have romantic elements, neither would be categorized as a romance in the traditional sense). Both books feature very strong and memorable characters. There is, at times, a sadness about them, but also a real sense of joy. 

The first is Never Change, by Elizabeth Berg. She's a favorite author but one whose books I dole out, because I don't want to finish everything before she has completed her next book. This book had been on my e-reader for awhile and when I began reading it, I realized that I had read it once before in print form (for an author, I'm awful at remembering titles and I had bought it sight unseen, without reading the blurb). But it was just too good not to read it twice, so I did. I think it was even better the second time around. 

It is, as I mentioned, a sad but ultimately uplifting book. Here's the description (from the Amazon listing). 

A self-anointed spinster at fifty-one, Myra Lipinski is reasonably content with her quiet life, her dog, Frank, and her career as a visiting nurse. But everything changes when Chip Reardon, the golden boy she adored in high school, is assigned as her new patient. Choosing to forgo treatment for an incurable illness, Chip has returned to his New England hometown to spend what time he has left. Now, Myra and Chip find themselves engaged in a poignant redefinition of roles, and a complicated dance of memory, ambivalence, and longing.

The other book is The Forever Year by Lou Aronica. So far I've only read one other book by him (Blue, which was very different, but which I also loved), but I know that I'll be reading more.

Fun and funny and touching, and filled with humorous banter, it's a story of a family and of a love (or...two loves), but it's so much more than that. Here's the description (also from Amazon):

Jesse Sienna doesn't believe that love can last. His parents’ marriage was caring but passionless, and his own romantic history tells him that love can burn bright, but that it cannot burn for long. So when his elderly father, Mickey, moves in with him and seems unable to understand Jesse's no-strings-attached relationship with Marina, his current girlfriend, Jesse barely pays attention. It's just another example of how different they are – and more evidence that he and his father will never connect on any meaningful level.

But the truth is, Mickey Sienna knows more about love than most people learn in a lifetime. More than half a century ago, he discovered the endless rewards of investing your heart and soul in someone...and he knows the devastating costs of letting the perfect someone slip by.

When Mickey sees Jesse taking an extraordinary woman for granted, he decides it's time to tell Jesse his story – a story he's never shared with any of his children before. It is a story that will change both of them profoundly.

At once a stirring family drama and a touching romance, THE FOREVER YEAR is filled with richly drawn characters and powerful situations. You will respond personally to the people you meet in this novel, and you will find yourself deeply enmeshed in their stories. And you might find yourself looking at love in a new way.

What's on your reading list this month?

Have a great day!

Myrna