Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner

I'd read this a long time ago and remembered it as being beautifully written.  I had forgotten all the details of events including the tragic ending.  With this rereading, I was not so impressed but I think it is because I have read so much impressive writing lately.  This story within a story is a quintessential tale of the west.  At the center is Susan Burling Ward, author and artist who leaves her glittering life in the East for an adventure in the West which she hopes is temporary.  Her engineer husband,  Oliver Ward is the one responsible for their treks through many western states and Mexico.  Their life is often hard and often they spend months apart but, for the most part they rise to the occasion.  We learn of their story through Susan's grandson, Lyman Ward.  He is attempting to write his grandmother's biography although he has many challenging physical limitations.  In fact, the letters Lyman refers to for his grandmother's history are real letters from a woman named Mary Hallock Foote. It is history with a little melodrama but powerful descriptions of the early desolate west.  Life is a struggle for all the characters as they search for their angle of repose.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Owens is a biologist and a naturalist who has written multiple memoirs and, although this is her first novel, her love of nature comes through on every page.  The story begins in 1969 with a body discovered in a North Carolina Swamp.  Then the narrative jumps back 17 years to the story of 10 year old Aya. One by one Aya's brothers and sisters and even her mother leave the isolated marshland of North Carolina.  She is left with her father who is often drunk, sometimes violent, frequently absent for long stretches of time - and then gone for good.  This is a story of survival through Aya's wit and the kindness of a few wonderful characters.  Bullied after her attempts to go to school, she hides from the authorities until she is forgotten.  Using her fishing and scavenging skills she not only avoids starvation but records the beauty of the marsh that protects her with detailed naturalist drawings.  Eventually she is befriended by a young boy named Tate who teaches her to read.  Their relationship will change the direction of the life of the "marsh girl" forever.  This is both a gentle and a powerful story particularly for anyone who appreciates the natural world.

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

It is hard to classify this book.  It is at its heart a mystery.  Mrs. Creasy is missing from this small English town.  It is hard to tell if the neighbors want her to be found because they share a secret they fear she will reveal.  But 10 year old Grace and her best friend Tilly are determined to solve her disappearance.  In the process, more question are raised.  Where does God live?  Is there a reason that many of the people on the block want to blame Walter, the eccentric loner at the end of the street?  Is the stain on the drainpipe really the face of Jesus?  Life is both simpler and more complicated through the eyes of these two children which give it a bit of a coming of age vibe.  It turns out there is more than one secret to be discovered.  It turns out humanity may have a very flawed method of identifying the sheep and the goats which makes this a very thoughtful mystery with an "Aha" ending.  If the mystery doesn't hook you, you can always see how many British sweet and British TV shows you are familiar with.

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

I picked this up because the author also writes the British TV series Midsomer Murders and the twists and turns in this book are just like the series with possibly less blood.  When mystery author Alan Conway sends the proof of his latest book, Magpie Murders, to his editor Susan Ryeland, the last chapter is missing - and Alan is dead - an apparent suicide.  But the character in the novel and the real life Alan share many similarities. Ryeland suspects that there are clues to be followed in this final book that will not only allow her to finish the mystery but also satisfy her growing belief that it wasn't suicide at all.  Serious mystery readers will probably recognize many Agatha Christie like characteristics. It made a great airplane read!

Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen

So much of this biography was familiar - life in the 50's is New Jersey was so much like the 50's in West Mifflin.  His description of his early life provided many smiles of recognition.  Not as familiar was the unusual Irish Italian mix of family and neighborhood.  I do have to admit that I did not read every word of every step in his musical journey but I was surprised at how well it was written.  A very pleasant read.

Leonardo Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson

If you want to know everything possible about all the art Da Vinci produced than the 500+ pages are definitely worth it.  Isaacson has borrowed from many earlier biographies to see Da Vinci as more than an artist and he is just as interesting a person as we have come to expect.  My favorite section was on the Vitruvian Man and the authors's own take on the legacy of Da Vinci.  His attitude of Michelangelo is also an interesting read. Such a big person surely deserves such a big book.

The Ghost Writer by Alessandra Torre

Helena Ross is a famous writer of successful romance novels and she is dying.  With just months to live she has one more book she needs to write and it is to be her confession.  Readers of her novels could not have imagined her life of isolation.  When she realizes that she is not well enough to finish the book, she decides to hire a ghost writer.  Surprisingly, her choice is Marka Vantly, her major writing competitor.  But Marka is not who Helena imagines.  There are secrets everywhere that make the book hard to put down.  The clues to the "confession" are slowly released mixed in with back story of a life that is unravelling.  This is easily a one sitting read.