Was thrown off a bit because I went on a trip to Germany & then Scotland (first time!). Germany has got me interested in Queen Victoria’s children and Grandchildren, so that is a rabbit hole I will gladly go down. I visited Queen Victoria’s daughter Vicky’s home, now a 5 star hotel & the Summer Palace of her son Kaiser Wilhelm. The Tsarina of Russia was also German & from the nearby town of Darmstadt, although I did not make it there. This prompted my to pick up a paperback at my local library: A Most English Princess (about Vicky) by Clare McHugh. The mansion/castle now Schlosshotel Kronberg was used as Sandringham interiors in the movie Spencer with Kristin Stewart. That place is a story all on it’s own as apparently there was a big jewel heist carried out by American military personal. To this day the Hesse family royal jewels have never been fully restored.

I took the Booker shortlisted The Trees by Percival Everett with me on my flights. Although I read quite a bit, I did not finish & by the time I was home, I had a couple days late fine at library.

I had been so torn about what to take on the trip to read. I hate being without something to read. I almost took Beverly Lowry’s Deer Creek Drive. That is another story I found very interesting, but did not get around to finishing. About a real life 1940’s murder in Mississippi. I believe the author interweaves her own story with that of the crime, as she lived in a nearby town as a child of ten when the crime took place. I definitely want to look into some of her other books as well.

So now for what I did finish in September: Vacationland, Alias Emma & Lucy By The Sea.

When in doubt or in a slump, I highly recommend something set in Maine! I had also picked up Fellowship Point, but could not “get into it.” Vacationland by Meg Mitchell Moore was so good. A nice easy read.

Alias Emma was a real page turner & also an easy read for me. Not my usual genre; Spy Thriller, but it was fun. Author Ava Glass is apparently a pseudonym for Christi Daugherty. I had not read any of these author’s before.

Well, all but Elizabeth Strout. She’s done it again with this latest Lucy Barton installment. I loved this one as much as the others.

Loved the covers on Vacationland, Alias Emma and Lucy By The Sea. All eye catching.

I have a whole slew of books on ready. Good thing because I am suffering with allergies/sinusitis.