Night Ride Home, by Vicki Covington

I have mixed emotions about this book. It was fairly interesting to read, but none of the characters really "grabbed" me. What I liked best about it, I think, is that it was set near Birmingham, Alabama, where I lived for 34 years. I recognized many of the places, and the one trip into the city was particularly interesting for that reason.

Set in a coal mining community in Jefferson County, Alabama west of Birmingham, this is a story of the events before and during a mining disaster.

Keller is about to marry Laura, the daughter of the owners of a service station and general store, against her father's wishes. Her mother manages the store, and her father works occasionally at the nearby steel mill, but mostly just hangs around the store drinking, shooting clay pigeons, "skeets," and getting drunker and angrier by the hour. He threatens his future son-in-law with a shotgun, so they secretly delay the wedding by a day. As it turns out, the new wedding date is December 7, 1941. However, the Pearl Harbor attack and World War II are only mentioned in passing. The young man, Keller, is afraid he will have to go to war.

On Christmas Eve that year, a wall falls at the No. 3 mine, trapping Keller's father and his crew. Men work around the clock, trying to dig them out. Meanwhile, Keller's mother fulfills a singing engagement at the Catholic Church in Birmingham, and the pregnant camp prostitute goes into labor. (The identity of the baby's father is the topic of much gossip and speculation in the community.)

Vicki Covington and her husband Dennis Covington live and work in Birmingham, Alabama. Both are authors and have been newspaper columnists.

A Child Who Reads ...

This image courtesy of www.birthdaywishes.expert

"A child who reads will be an adult who thinks." I am a strong believer in reading to children, teaching them to read, and encouraging them to read. I have always loved to read. My parents read to me at bedtime. I tried to learn to read before I started school, and managed to read and write a few words. Once I started reading books on my own, there was no stopping me!

I read to my children, and enjoyed it as much as they did. Even after they were reading independently, I read books aloud to them that were a little more advanced than their reading levels, and books that they might not have chosen. I have two sons, and we read Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, books they might have passed over, as they featured girls as lead characters.

They are grown now. One of them loves to read as much as I do. The other not so much; he prefers watching TV (as my husband does). He does read to his children, and encourages them to read, so the torch is being passed. With so many other temptations: computers, TV, Leapfrog, etc., I do hope my grandchildren will be readers. There is nothing like reading!

Forgotten Bookmarks, by Michael Popek

This was sent to me by another Bookcrosser as part of a bookray. There had been some discussion about it on a Bookcrossing forum.

This is a compilation of strange things people have left in books to mark their places, from the early 19th century to the present day. It includes a very brief introduction, and lots of photos, all compiled by the author, a used book dealer and blogger.

I have barely started it, and am looking forward to delving further into it. When I am finished, I will send it on to the next Bookcrosser on the list.
It comes with its own collection of bookmarks, generously supplied by the one who started the bookray, and others exchanged along the way. I have added two, and removed two.

Bookish quote

"Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you’ve finished just to stay near it."

Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief

(Bookish quote, seen on Bookcrossing.com)

2 books: Watchers on the Hill, and Dangerous to Know

I finished it a few days ago. Written by Stephanie Grace Whitson, this is a Christian romance book of pioneer, ranching, and U. S. Cavalry days on the American frontier. A widow returns to her father's home to make a new life for herself and her wayward son. Romance beckons.
This book is the second in a series. While it could have stood alone successfully, there were too many annoying references to earlier times. (I have not read the first of the series.) However, it was a pleasant way to pass time.



Another romance, not Christian, written by Barbara Taylor Bradford. I started it yesterday, and am not liking the "spicy" passages. However, I probably will keep reading, just to find out who killed the old man. (Not a spoiler; we learn of his death on the first page.)

August 2 - On second thought, I won't finish it. I'll flip to the back to see how it ends, but I don't think I can swallow any more.