I've been able to put work aside to read for enjoyment a bit recently. The plane rides to and from Omaha helped. In fact, we swung by Half Price Books on the way to the airport before leaving for Omaha, and I perused the shelves after checking with my sister for a couple of suggestions. They actually didn't have what she really said I should read, but I picked up a couple of books that I knew would do the trick.
The Husband's Secret is one I've been interested in for some time. A wife finds a letter that her husband wrote, to be opened after he died, and that he probably didn't ever really want her to find. As the story unfolds, they are left to deal with the truth in the letter and the decision to go on - or not - as if the letter didn't exist. Of course their decisions are not without consequence. I didn't love this book as much as Moriarty's Big Little Lies, but it was still an engaging page-turner.
I also picked up My Name is Lucy Barton. I knew nothing about the book, other than that I had really enjoyed Olive Kitteridge by the same author. Lucy is in the hospital recovering from surgery when her estranged mother shows up. They bond over stories of people from Lucy's past - another place and time from which she gladly left behind. What I loved about this, like Olive Kitteridge, is that it was just a story. Sad in parts, maddening in others, funny and awkward at times, it was nothing more than the telling of a story. When life is stressful and reading is an escape, this is just the kind of book I need.
"Reading is a basic tool in living the good life."
-Mortimor Adler
