Woman in Real Life

I am a book lover every day of the year, but naturally as we look forward to long and leisurely summer days, I can't help but hope that I'll make my way through a nice long list of books. For now, here's a look at the books that we have on the go in our house at the moment.

Amnesia by Peter Carey

Pop: When he's not reading his history books in preparation for teaching, the man of the house has been reading Amnesia: A novel. By two-time Booker Prize-winning author Peter Carey, the writer of Oscar and Lucinda, this novel is both suspenseful and funny. It is based on a rather scary premise - an internet virus open the gates at thousands of American prisons. People are left to wonder if the hacker, a young Australian woman, created the "Angel Worm" to free victims of Australia's immigration policies or to declare cyber war on the United States.

Struggling journalist Felix Moore is tasked with the job of writing a biography to vindicate the young woman. Funded by a millionaire property developer and encouraged by an old flame - the young woman's actress mother - Felix attempts to save the young woman and redeem his career.

Sweet Jesus by Christine Pountney

Mom: I confess I have had this book lying around for some time. But that doesn't mean it's not good - I just have soooo many books and not so much time to read them. Sweet Jesus, by Canadian writer Christine Pountney, is set on Vancouver Island, in Toronto and in the American Midwest. It centres around three siblings in the week before the 2012 US presidential election. The three reunite and begin a journey that will ultimately transform them.

Connie Foster has discovered that her husband has brought the family to financial ruin. Her sister, Hannah Crowe, a writer, is desperate to have a child but the man she loves doesn't agree. Their adopted brother, Zeus Ortega, is living in Chicago with his boyfriend and working as a therapeutic clown in a children’s hospital. Prompted by a tragic loss, he quits his job and searches for his birth parents in New Mexico. The three siblings head south together, searching for wholeness. I can't wait to finish reading this one to find out where their journey leads them. 

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

She: The little gal is into Nancy Drew right now. We have some vintage Nancy Drew books that I read when I was a child, but she also checks them out of the school library now and then. The Secret of the Old Clock is the first book in the Nancy Drew mystery series. It was first written by Mildred Wirt Benson and published in 1930 under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. There's an interesting account on Wikipedia of how the book was revised by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams in 1959.

The Secret of the Old Clock sees the plucky teenage detective set out to help down-on-their-luck relatives of the recently deceased Josiah Crowley. With his estate on its way to the snobby, unkind Tophams, Nancy learns that the clue to a rightful will may be found in an old clock. Danger, mystery and much excitement follow. I have been reading portions of this along with my girl and it's a lot of fun.

JavaScript for Kids

Him: The soon-to-be teenager doesn't do a whole lot of reading. But he will read a book about Minecraft or some such thing. So I got him JavaScript for Kids: A Playful Introduction to Programming. This book is really cool - it walks kids through programming essentials in small, manageable steps. It shows them how JavaScript makes websites interactive and creates online games.