Stevie Szabad, Author

The rough summer is over, my executor duties aren’t done, but they’re under control, my father laid to final rest in his Manitoba hometown cemetery with my mother. At 67, I’m an orphan! Time for me? We’ll see. Life goes on. The weather is holding, summer-like but better, crisper. Curling started. My husband is itching to travel again. Not yet, but soon enough. What else to do while the Blue Jays make the playoffs? Read, of course. Here’s what I read in September:

• “Kingdom of the Blind” by yes, another one by her, Louise Penny. I’m kind of hooked on her Inspector Gamache Quebec investigative series. Each can be stand-alone, and you don’t even have to read them in order (I don’t). But each feels fresh, if somewhat predictable (I mean, you know he doesn’t die because, well, you read a book that follows and he’s still there, duh) I love that the weather is always part of the cast with its own character adding to the story ambiance. When in the mood for dependable writing, interesting plot weaving, rich characterization, grabbing a Louise Penny won’t disappoint.

Next up, a paper copy book (I mostly have been on my Kobo all summer) taken from a pile donated to my mother-in-law. Her 98-year-old eyes can’t handle the regular print. And no, she also can’t handle the tech of the Kobo, so don’t ask.

• Nina George, “The Little Paris Bookshop”. Quirky. I loved the map at the beginning of the book (which only works well in paper books, by the way). A little pretentious, characters too introspective, but surprisingly, lots of action and a shocking revelation that drives the story. The main character lives on a boat in France and delivers excellent transformation on his quest for redemption. Obstacles to overcome along the way, kind of like a video game for intellectuals? Hard to describe. Not something I’d read every day, but good for a change. Big themes: wasted life, death, guilt. I liked the ending as it could have been a miss without the right touch.

I want historical fiction. Somebody’s inspiring life to take me away from my own for awhile. C.W. Gortner is one of the best researchers I’ve found, and such a prolific writer that I get to pick what period to read. I settle on :

• “The Romanov Empress” about the Danish princess Dagmar of Denmark renamed Maria Feodorovna. Better known generally as the mother of Tsar Nicolas II, who, as most of us know, met his end with his family in a hail of bullets in the Russian revolution in 1918. I was fascinated. Maria outlived that event, but what a life she had. And Gortner can write, not needing much fiction to fill out such rich historical events. I am so happy to have found this author. I must pace myself and not give in to reading all of them, one after another!

The weather is still good, but for how long? October, I need a break. But not from reading😉

And if you haven’t tried Michele Sabad’s Books, please take a look.