Dear Great Book Guru, How I love this week after Christmas- everyone is still in the holiday spirit, but with none of the stress that precedes the big day- a perfect time to catch up on some good reading! I am an excited new Kindle owner so just give me a title and I'll be reading in moments…. E-Reader Enthusiast


Dear Enthusiast, A few years ago I read a beautiful novel by Elizabeth Strout: OLIVE KITTERIDGE and I have thought about it many, many times since. Set in a coastal town in Maine, the book captures the joys and sorrows of life in a small community- so of course, (as so many things do) it reminded me of Sea Cliff. While billed as a novel, it is really a collection of thirteen short stories with an enormous number of characters- I stopped counting at eighty-five- and Olive appears in each story, sometimes as the focal point, other times making only the most shadowy of appearances, and frequently playing a rather minor role. When we come to the end, however, we realize we have read the story of Olive's life. Depending on the situation, she is cruel, demanding, and insensitive, but she can also be loving, compassionate, and insightful. Olive is like all of us- very complicated. Highly recommended…
Happy New Year to all of you, especially to Justin DiPietro and Jenna Fendt who became engaged over the holidays and are planning an August wedding!