Happy New Year!

Hello to 2018!

My apologies for the radio silence. I don’t really have a single explanation for my year-long absence. Regular blog fatigue was part of it, but a huge issue was the state of the world and its general trumpery. Everything just seemed so terrible, and with that, it was difficult to dig into my usual leaning stack of material. You already know that I gravitate toward books that are sad, sad, sad. But for most of 2017, I was full-up on sad. And every time I tried to lighten things up, by, say, picking up a book about quirky family members getting in each other’s business, the plot would turn quickly to tragedy. I read one recently about a dysfunctional family that gathered in an old estate over the holidays. Should have been safe, right? NO. A major plot point involved Ebola (Please pass the turkey, but wash your hands! Sissy has a bad virus!). 

A gift for the person who has everything: an Ebola neck tie

Meanwhile, we decided to make some changes to our house in 2017, which required moving the family and 14 years of belongings out for seven months. During that time, the internet and its decorative rabbit holes took all of my attention. It appears that between January and March of last year I read exactly one book, but I spent unquantifiable amounts of time selecting door hinges (antique nickel vs. satin nickel???! These are different, and complicatedly so.). And did you know that if you want to paint your walls blue, you have to look at grey? My new novel: Endless Shades of Grey. The plot? A couple that has been married for more than 20 years squabbles over color nuance. 

The good news is that I have rallied, and I am working on feeling hopeful about the world again. I also ended up reading quite a few books, even if I didn't blog about them. So I thought I’d start the year with a recap of my 2017 Top 5 books. Each day this week I will be posting about a book on the list. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with all of you. Here’s to better times ahead!