We’ve had a lot of these favorite book questions lately, so forgive me, all you other Fluthers that already saw these answers, but because @fastfox528 has not seen them, I’ll re-post my favorites. And I’ve added a couple of more to my list.
The Help by Katharine Stockett. An excellent period piece, described in different voices, about African-American housekeepers/nannies in the south during the 1960’s. It’s a very poignant, and sometimes very funny and sometimes heartbreaking. Many different perspectives are given by the housekeepers, and the employers. Amazing dialogue and strong women characters.
The Persian Pickle Club or Alice’s Tulips by Sandra Dallas. Two different period pieces, the first set in the depression and the second one set during the civil war. Both have the theme of quilting running through them. Both are about groups of women and how they live their day to day lives and survive their difficult situations. But there is lots of great dialogue, and a lot of it is very funny. Each book also has a mystery each with its own twists and turns. Great imagery and dialogue from each of the time periods.
Any books in the Lumby series by Gail Fraser (but it’s best to read them in order) About a 30 something power couple that decides to leave the rat race, back East, to move to a quirky small town in Colorado that they discovered on their honeymoon. They decide to buy a plot of land and restore an old burned out Abbey and turn it into a bed and breakfast. The locals are kind of suspicious of them at first, but they all become devoted friends in a matter of time. The monks, who lived in the Abbey, also become very good friends and tell them about the mysterious past of the Abbey and the couple end up helping the monks to start a small business by using the “fruits of land.” You will love all of the townsfolk and the monks and the couple.
Any books in the Miss Julia series by Ann B. Ross (but read them in order) About a repressed, but dignified older woman who has recently become widowed and found out that her husband was worth millions and had been hiding it from her. She has very different ideas about how to handle money than her dead husband did. He also has another “little secret” that shows up on Miss Julia’s door. Miss Julia, still reeling from all of the secrets, and realizing what a bad guy her husband was, starts to change her mind about all sorts of things, from love to friendship, to religious tolerance, and whilst doing so, she falls in love with a wonderful man, although she keeps him at arms length in the beginning, and finds herself wrapped up in the middle of an unlikely adventure with a young boy. Miss Julia’s maid, Lillian is both the voice of reason, and the spreader of gossip, and Miss Julia’s confidante and partner in crime. Really funny dialogue and great situations that you might not expect from a woman of her stature and age. This is an ensemble cast too. Everybody fits in so perfectly.
Any books in the Hot Flash series by Nancy Thayer (read them in order and don’t be put off by the silly sounding title, it’s about a group of unlikely middle aged women that meet at a friend’s wedding and become instant friends. It’s about their lives together and with their lovers, husbands and children, and there’s always a mystery to be solved by the group or a project to be attacked) You will laugh and cry and root for them all.
And anything at all by Fannie Flagg, but especially Standing in the Rainbow which is simply an extraordinary story about a seemingly ordinary family and all the ordinary people in their small town during the early 1950’s. Mostly you will smile, and about 2 thirds of the way into the book is a part where you will bawl like a baby. But the book has a happy, if extraordinarily happy ending. You will feel so refreshed, but longing for a simpler life. There is a really good sequel to this book, that is a completely different story and is written through the eyes of another character from Standing in the Rainbow book called Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven which was also marvelous. Flagg’s other books that come to mind are Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe and Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man. Anything this woman touches is a priceless gem.
I recently read 2 of my most favorite books of all time by author Rosamunde Pilcher. The first one is called Winter Solstice. It’s about a woman of a certain age that has retired from a very exciting life as an actress in London, and has moved to a small town in England. She befriends the locals and is settling in quite nicely. But then something tragic happens to the spouse and child of one of her dear friends. She ends up accompanying the friend on a trip of a lifetime to another small town in Scotland. Along the way, she meets new and interesting people and the entire scope of her life is changed forever. The second book is called “The Shell Seekers” and it covers the life of a very free spirited, yet very grounded woman, over the course of her life from childhood into her later years as a grandmother. The book goes back and forth in time covering areas of her life in four very different English settings, including right before WWII and during the Blitz of London. The dialogue, the characters and the super vivid descriptions of the landscape and the taste of food are marvelous. You will come to love both of the strong women in both of these books.
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