I’m pausing my travel posts to tell you about the four books I read on vacation.

Previous Post: Mesa Verda National Park

Previous Post: Durango, Colorado

Due to the nature of the vacation, I brought three different types of books: 1) Library book – don’t want to take to pool, so this was mainly for passenger seat reading 2) Kindle version to read at night, to not keep lights on that bother others and 3) older paperbacks I can take to the pool.

I was able to read a lot in all of these circumstances, especially since we drove around 20 hours each direction. So I’m sharing four book recommendations (two are older books and two are newer releases):

You can click the titles or covers to view and purchase on Amazon.

On my Kindle, thanks to NetGalley who provided me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review, I was reading

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

I have enjoyed Marie Benedict’s books before; she writes about historical women whose influence may have been overlooked during their lives. This book was about J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Green, who helped him procure valuable manuscripts and artwork for his collection which is now the Morgan Library and Museum, a place I’d like to visit in Manhattan. Belle’s influence wasn’t necessarily overlooked – she was actually famous in the art and book world for her knowledge and prowess in procuring rare pieces for the Morgan collection. But Belle had a big secret. Though light-skinned, she was an African-American who posed as a white woman. Though her qualifications and passion for the position made her invaluable to Morgan, she would not have been welcome in the position if her true heritage was known. This book, told from her point of view, gives insight into how difficult it would be to keep such a secret while living an astonishing life as a public figure.

The library book I had with me was from my summer reading list:

The Woman with the Blue Star: A Novel by Pam Jenoff

This is a WWII novel about two young women in Poland who become friends even though one is hiding in a sewer and the other is living with an evil stepmom collaborator. As I think back on this story, it is not totally believable for many reasons but I did enjoy the book. It reads more like a Young Adult novel.

And these are the two older, paperbacks I took on the trip. Both ended up in my Little Free Library. Thank you, fellow book lover! They are nice at the pool in case they get wet. I loved both of these books; they were great vacation reads.

Secret Daughter: A Novel

A poor woman in India gives her daughter up for adoption because her husband feels they can only afford a boy. An Indian-American family adopts her. The book follows both of these families throughout their lifetimes.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter: A Novel

Also based around the theme of a baby given up at birth, this doctor/husband decides to give away his daughter because she had down syndrome. The mom, under sedation, is told that the daughter died. Like the first paperback above, this story follows both lives into the future. In a very cool coincidence, my sister also found this book in a Little Free Library, was reading it the same time as me, and also liked it!

I have one more vacation post to write then I will have to start thinking about fall reading!