Riding Lessons

Riding Lessons is the debut novel by Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants. It is the story of Annemarie Zimmer, a world-class equestrienne who has a terrible accident at 18 years old, resulting in the death of her beloved horse and severe injuries to herself. Her physical wounds heal, but her spirit never does, and 20 years later she finds herself jobless, divorced, at odds with her teenage daughter, and returning home to her family farm to be with her dying father.

This is the story of a long journey of personal healing, hitting rock bottom, and discovering a horse that slowly helps her find her love of life again.

Gruen is a wonderful writer. Here she skillfully portrays broken families and how they can sometimes heal. Anyone interested in horses will love this novel. It is a worthwhile read for everyone else as well.

The Bowl of Light

The Bowl of Light by Hank Wesselman is a beautiful book detailing the friendship between Hank Wesselman, the scientist, and Hale Makua, the Hawaiian Elder. Makua is the carrier of great ancestral wisdom, and the conversations these two men shared over the course of their 8 year friendship are profound and inspiring.

It was a great loss to the Hawaiian community and to the world when this wise elder died in  car crash in 2004. It is wonderful to have at least some of his knowledge preserved here in The Bowl of Light.

Tea Shop Mysteries

Oolong Dead and The Teaberry Strangler are the latest two Tea Shop Mysteries by Laura Childs that I have read.

These books are just for fun; to revisit old friends in Charleston's Indigo Tea Shop, sip a good cup of tea and solve the latest mystery....

Interior Design with Feng Shui

If you are interested in Feng Shui, as I am, then Interior Design with Feng Shui New and Expanded, by Sarah Rossbach is a fascinating book to read.

Rossbach translates Feng Shui teachings from the Master Lin Yun for a western audience. She goes in depth into many Feng Shui cures for home and office; many are practical and some more esoteric.

Although I found it a worthwhile read, it definately left me wanting more.

I Married You for Happiness

I Married You for Happiness by Lily Tuck is a slim, elegant novel tracing memories back and forth over a forty year marriage. Tuck's writing is spare and poetic and drew me in immediately.

It opens with the line "His hand is growing cold; still she holds it." Nina's husband Philip has just died, and she sits with him all night long remebering moments all throughout their long marriage, starting with their meeting in Paris.

Tuck moves back and forth through time and across continents, but never loses the thread of the story. We are drawn so deeply into the characters of Nina, a painter, and Philip, a mathematician. Through all their ups and downs, their marriage, their friendship, their love and their happiness ultimatley endured.

This is a lovely novel that I would recommend.

The Twentieth Wife

The Twentieth Wife, by Indu Sundaresan, is historical fiction about Empress Nur Jahan, born Mehrunnisa, and later becoming the favored wife of Emperor Jahangir during the early seventeenth century, at the height of the Mughal Empire. She is said to have ruled the empire with him. Their love is not as famous as that of the next Emperor, Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife, but it should be. Theirs is a love story spanning many decades and filled with political intrigue.

The story comes alive in Sundaresan's deft hands. I was captivated by Mehrunnisa and fascinated by her story. I learned much about the life within the zenana, the imperial harem, at the time. Women had power inside here, behind the screens and behind the veil, as they did nowhere else in India at this time.

I was disappointed that the story ended when it did-I would have liked to read the next chapter, and I believe there will be a sequel. I look forward to reading it.

Love Finds You in Lahaina Hawaii

Despite the really silly title of this book, Love Finds You in Lahaina Hawaii, by Bodie Thoene, is actually a very interesting novel. It is historical fiction based on the life of Princess Kaiulani, heir to the throne of Hawaii, after Queen Liliokulani, Hawaii's last monarch.

We follow the princess in her early years when she is sent to England to be educated and prepared to be Hawaii's next Queen. There is a twist at the end of the novel that could be fact or all fiction-it is up to you to decide. This novel is both a love story and a tragedy, retelling the events that led to Hawaii's illegal takeover by American businessmen.

There is nothing spectacular about the writing, however, if this subject interests you, it is an easy and worthwhile read.