Went through the latest three books pretty quickly, partially because it’s the perfect time to sit on my porch and read when I have free evenings, but also because I really enjoyed two of these and mostly liked the third. I like the feeling when I get on a roll with good books. Now at 18 for the year.

The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder: The title sells the book, but the story totally backs it up. I could not put down this absolute gem of a book, which will hit the screen as a movie on Amazon later this year (with Kristen Bell and Allison Janney). Maybe it’s because my family was generally normal, but I love a novel about a dysfunctional family. This one brings so much chaos, I could not tell who to root for and who to hate (well, a couple of people are easy to hate, but those are side characters). And I loved that feeling. I highly recommend this one.

Flying Solo by Linda Holmes: I have listened to the author on her NPR podcast for years and loved her debut novel. When I saw an autographed copy of this available at a Delaware bookstore while on vacation, I had to grab it. I not only have a momento now, but a fantastic book. The story of Laurie’s return to her hometown (a plot device I am a sucker for) to clean out her late great aunt’s house brings her past and present together with the twist of a small mystery. That made the characters so much richer and thankfully carried all the way through. I also loved how the characters in her first novel exist in this universe, setting up a wonderful Holmesian world in Maine for years to come. Another strong recommendation.

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín: While visiting Brooklyn recently, I saw this book in a store and remembered that I had purchased it on Kindle years ago. So I pulled it up and went through it pretty quickly. I like this book, but not as much as the other two. The writing is very direct and leaves you wondering why the main character makes the decisions she makes. She seems easily controlled from all sides, but I never got a sense of why she made decisions when she had competing priorities. But the Irishness and sense of history made it a worthwhile read.