Songs of the Humpback Whale

Very foggy here in Maine this morning. My husband has gone fishing so it's a good day to curl up with a good book.


This is the last Jodi Picoult novel I had left to read except for her latest. This is also her first one, I believe. I started it about a year and a half ago but just couldn't seem to get interested in it. So, I thought I'd try it again. This time I was ready and enjoyed it.

The novel is told in 5 different voices. The main character is Jane Jones. She's a speech therapist, married to Oliver Jones who is a research scientist and an expert in the songs of humpback whales. After a fight, she leaves him with her teenage daughter and heads across the country to visit her brother in Massachusetts. He works at an apple orchard for a man named Sam.

Jane, Oliver, and Sam tell their stories in a straightforward manner but Rebecca, the teenager, tells her story backwards, which takes a little getting used to, and Jane's brother, Joley, tells his story in letter form. I'm glad I stuck with it, though!

It's Sunday, Again

I'm sitting on the couch this Sunday morning watching the oak and pine trees flutter in the sunny breeze.

It's been a busy week taking care of upgrades around our campsite so I haven't read as much as I'd like. Usually, I get through quite a few pages when I get in bed at night but this week, I've been falling asleep almost right away.

So, I'm still working on and enjoying Songs of the Humpback Whale by Jodi Picoult. I've got less than 100 pags left so should finish up soon.

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone, and I hope you find time for some reading!

Bel Canto

It's a beautiful, sunny afternoon here on the coast of Maine. My husband went fishing so I took advantage of the peace and quiet to read on our screened porch


I've looked at this book so many times at the bookstore. I'd pick it up and read all the awards it's won then I'd read the premise and lose interest. It just didn't appeal to me.

A couple weeks ago I joined the local library for the summer and the friendly librarian recommended it so I figured, what the heck, it won't cost me anything to try it.

I loved it! It is so well written! Her descriptions are just beautiful and the strange situation seems ordinary. Basically, a group of terrorists invade the home of the vice-president of a South American country where a birthday celebration is being held for a Japanese investor. At that party is Roxanne Coss, an opera singer hired because she's the investor's favorite singer. See what I mean? It doesn't sound that great, does it? But, what happens over the months that they are held hostage and the relationships that develop make for an amazing story.

And the ending! I'm still trying to work that out!

So, if you're like me and have been putting this book off, put it on the top of your TBR pile!

Sunday Salon

Happy Fourth of July to those in America!

We had a delicious lobster feed last night. Lots of company this weekend so not much reading is getting done. I'm still working on Bel Canto and really liking it. I can't believe it took me so long to get to it.