Looking ahead . . .

I thought I would add a quick note to let you know what is coming up next on The Reader's Almanac.

I am currently reading Chasing Darkness by Robert Crais.

I recently fell into a pattern of jumping from the last page of a book immediately into the next novel without taking the time to write the review. This is easy to do when you are reading several books in a series and I am guilty of reading six consecutive Michael Connelly tales featuring Harry Bosch, followed by a five-part series on Pattersons' Alex Cross , and most recently getting hooked on Lee Childs' Jack Reacher character. I have my work cut out for me, but here we go.

Coming up I will review about 26 books, including:

Blood Work by Michael Connelly
Deep Lie by Stuart Woods
Guilty as Sin by Tami Hoag
The Overlook by Michael Connelly
Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson
Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly
You've Been Warned by James Patterson
Rogue Warrior by Richard Marcinko
Wish You Well by David Baldacci
The Narrows by Michael Connelly
Shadow of Power by Steve Martini
Nothing to Lose by Lee Child
Killing Floor by Lee Child
Lost Light by Michael Connelly
City of Bones by Michael Connelly
Four Blind Mice by James Patterson
Absolute Power by David Baldacci
One Shot by Lee Child
The Closers by Michael Connelly
Plague Ship by Clive Cussler
Pirate Lattitudes by Michael Crichton
True Blue by David Baldacci
The Hot Zone (nonfiction) by Richard Preston
One Shot by Lee Child

There are others in my locker at work and my briefcase that I have finished that I will post later, but you get the idea . . . I have a lot of catching up to do.

Thanks to all my friends who have provided me some fabulous new books and new authors to discover. I donate nearly all the books I read to anyone who expresses the desire to take the time to read them.

In the meantime, I would love to hear from you with suggested reading, or general comments on the blog. The traffic is getting better, but the input is still sluggish - come on, don't be shy. And don't forget to look for my reviews on Amazon.com.

Wish You Well by David Baldacci

Synopsis

Wish You Well is the story of Louisa Mae Cardinal, a precocious twelve-year-old girl living in the hectic New York City of 1940 with her acclaimed but sadly underpaid writer father, her compassionate mother, and her timid younger brother, Oz. For Lou, her family's financial struggles are invisible to her. Instead, she is a daughter who idolizes her father and is in love with the art of storytelling.

Then, in a single, terrifying moment, Lou's life is changed forever, and she and Oz are on a train rolling away from New York and down into the mountains of Virginia. There, Lou's mother will begin a long, slow struggle between life and death. And there, Lou and Oz will be raised by their remarkable great-grandmother, Louisa, Lou's namesake.

Suddenly a girl finds herself coming of age in a landscape that could not be more foreign to her. On her great-grandmother's farm, on the land her father loved and wrote about, Lou finds her first true friend; learns lessons in loyalty, tragedy, and redemption; and experiences adventures tragic, comic, and audacious. When a dark, destructive force encroaches on their new home, Lou and her brother are caught up in another struggle - a struggle for justice and survival that will be played out in a crowded Virginia courtroom.

My Two Cents Worth

I was skeptical of one of my favorite authors switching genres because, let's face it - change is difficult. Especially when you are a huge fan of his usual political - action - intrigue fare.

Once again, however, Mr. Baldacci does not disappoint. Wish You Well is a perfect change of pace, proving that a truly talented storyteller could satisfy a reader simply by reciting his breakfast menu.

This is not just a different genre - it is a radical departure from his Oliver Stone series and Last Man Standing novels. Wish You Well is a personal and emotional account that takes the author back to his birthplace of his ancestors and involves some beloved members of his family in a tale of the hardships and day-to-day struggles that come with living off the bounty of the land.

This is a tale of good vs. evil, hope vs. despair, and tragedy vs. triumph. It is also a work of fiction, but the characters are so vivid and the plot so plausible, it is easy to become intimately involved. This is a Laura Ingalls Wilder meets Mark Twain, top-shelf read.

I highly recommend Wish You Well to the legions of Baldacci fans that care to sneak a peak into the character and soul of this prolific and now multi-faceted storyteller.