A readerly afternoon

One of my favorite pastimes is reading, as my friends and family know. I listen to some bookish podcasts, which helps me keep a list of books that sound promising. I have an Amazon wish list that I will never get through, even if I live to be 120 years old!   As well, it's easy to follow others' recommendations on Goodreads. Of course, just talking books with other book-loving friends helps too! A trip to the library to pick up holds is usually a highlight for me.

Today is one of those lazy days. I'm fighting a bit of a cold, so I decided it was okay to pamper myself and spend a few hours in the middle of the day to finish off a book I'd been really enjoying. 

Night of Miracles by Elizabeth Berg is a book about residents coming together finding the true power of community. It's a  follow up to The Story of Arthur Truluv. Both books are heartwarming fiction taking place in the small town of Mason, Missouri.  

Berg has a way of developing realistic characters and situations and although there's a sweetness to these two particular books, there's also pain and sorrow. Her books are always full of beauty and hope in the middle of ordinary days and trying life circumstances. She understands the complexities of life. She writes about all ages and stages of living, and in these two books, the older characters are portrayed so well. 

I've read several Elizabeth Berg novels over the years, and have enjoyed the majority of them. She writes women's fiction really well. The first book I ever read of hers (quite a number of years ago) was about a marriage that was falling apart. I had just finished reading a similar book by a Christian author, and Berg's book rang much more honest and believable to me. 

It's a joy to find fiction books that I lose myself in. It doesn't always happen.