THE GLASS LAKE by Maeve Binchy, 1995

FIC
BIN

Helen married Kit's father, a pharmacist in a small Irish village, but is actually in love with another man. Helen's desire for another love causes her to be moody and often to go out walking beside the lake. One night Helen disappears. That night Kit discovers a letter from her mother attached to her father's pillow. Kit tells no one about the letter and burns it, unopened.

That night changes everything forever. The stage is set for a wonderfully told story of the hidden bond between a mother and daughter that not even death or deception can destroy.

ANGELS, by Marian Keyes, 2002.

FIC

KEYES,M.

Maggie Walsh is the good girl of her barely functional Irish family. Always one to walk on the safe side, having achieved the expected marriage and the manageable mortgage, Maggie is flabbergasted to find that her dull but beloved husband has been having an affair. Grieving and feeling a failure, Maggie leaves for Los Angeles where her best friend Emily is a struggling screenwriter.

The predictable satire of LA is on-target and funny. The book's strength is the unassuming person of Maggie. It's hard not to root for a character like her-charming, smart, self-deprecating-especially since she finds it hard to root for herself. Like Bridget Jones, but less slapstick, and a tad more serious.

THE DIM SUM OF ALL THINGS by Kim Wong Keltner, 2004

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KELTNER

Lindsey Owyang lives precariously between the world of her Chinese grandmother and the world of a young modern San Franciscan. She endures disastrous dates with grandsons of her grandmother's friends while looking for the perfect boyfriend. She is often drawn to "white" men, but feels guilty about it. Her family feels she is wasting her education working at the Vegan Warrior magazine, but Lindsey is clever and resourceful, often using outlandish tactics to keep the office on target. When her grandmother's health requires live-in assistance, Lindsey is recruited. She loves her grandmother but is sometimes embarrassed by her adherence to Chinese customs. A trip to China awakens in Lindsey an appreciation for her heritage. This novel of being Eastern in a Western world is both endearing and hilarious.

THE PERSIAN PICKLE CLUB by Sandra Dallas

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DALLAS, S.

"Persian pickle," another name for paisley, refers to fabric shared by the members of a quilting club in Depression-ear Harleyville, Kansas. One member, Queenie Bean, lonely after her best friend moves away, hopes to become best friends with city girl Rita, brought home by her new husband, in hopes of publishing a hot story. Rita's investigation leads, however, to a surprising revelation.

An enjoyable exploration of period character. Not just for quilters!

LUCIA, LUCIA by Adriana Trigiana

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TRIGIANI

Lucia Sartori is an elderly woman living in an old apartment building in New York City. One day she decides to tell her young neighbor, Kit, the story of her life. In the early 50's Lucia was a beautiful 25-year old whose father was a successful grocer in Greenwich Village. Lucia was a seamstress working at B. Altman's; she was engaged, happy, content. Soon, however she perceived inevitable conflicts between marriage and career and hesitated to proceed with the wedding. Her situation was further complicated when she met handsome and charming John Talbot. It appeared that Talbot would give her a life of uptown luxury, something she could never hope to achieve as a career girl. There was something mysterious about John, though, and all was not as it seemed. It seemed everything in Lucia's personal and professional was shifting when a crisis occurred that jeopardized both her career and her family.

ANYONE BUT YOU by Jennifer Cruisie, 1996

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CRUSIE

What the forty-year-old and divorced Nina Askew wants is an energetic young dog to cheer her up. She cannot stop herself, however, from rescuing the sad-eyed, flop-eared, dumpy and apparently depressed hound scheduled for execution. Soon named Fred, the dog promptly introduces Nina to the handsome but much younger emergency room doctor in the apartment under hers. Nina i convinced she is too old for Alex, though her friends and her hormones tell her otherwise.

Its refusal to take itself seriously and the endearing Fred make this light-hearted romance a treat.

SUSANNAH'S GARDEN by Debbie Macomber

FIC

MACOMBER

The school year is over, and fifty-year old Susannah is leaving her husband and college-age daughter for an extended visit with her elderly mother. The visit happens none too soon, for Susannah realizes her mother can no longer live alone. Susannah has been brooding of late about the young love her father drove away. She wants to track Jake down, and when she discover secrets among her father's papers, she is more determined than ever. The arrival of Susannah's daughter, unhappy after a break-up, complicates matters, particularly when said daughter falls for the local bad boy. Then there is Susannah's best girlhood friend, long divorced and finally interested in a man-but an unavailable one. The affairs of the heart of these four women come together in a most surprising way, giving the book a satisfying ending.