Turn the Page Tuesday Great Summer Reads

The beauty of August is that I get a chance to read as I have the month off work. In between friends and family visits,that is!
I re-read GILEAD by Marilynne Robinson as I had frustratedly previously picked it up and put it down repeatedly. It was the 2005 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.It turned out to be a really beautiful story. A Dad, a church minister, the Reverend John Ames, writing to his son. I now want to get the second book - HOME - to read.
My second book, I picked up in a charity shop and quickly realised perhaps why its' previous owner had put it in the charity shop. I abandoned reading it and have it in a growing pile of items to take to the charity shop myself!

Book number 3,by Francine Rivers looks at the life of 5 women: Tamar,Ruth,Rahab,Bethsheba and Mary in the Bible. Beautifully written called UNVEILED. Sensitively and powerfully written and contains stories of hope and love and courageous women.

Know your strengths by Marcus Buckingham includes your own magic password for you to do an online test - it is not about your personality but rather your strengths - there are over 30 and it comes up with your top 5. The ethos of the book is about us as individuals harnessing and developing our strengths, rather than as often is the case to work on improving our weaknesses. The online test is run by Gallup. I did it a couple of years ago but it was interesting to see my results and read the book again.

My holiday find was pure delight.I walked into an amazing craft shop,stuffed full of quilting fabrics and funky knickknacks to browse over. It was the words LAYER CAKE that drew me in. Imagine! Me with my love of cake and discovering a connection between cake and quilting! I made a quilt when I was 17 - just the patchwork bit, so the quilting bit is my new challenge. Layer Cake, Jelly Roll and Quilt Charms by Pam and Nicky Lintott is both beautiful and inspiring.It seems as if quilting has become a little easier these days. The hexagonal quilt I hand made with paper pattern magazine cutouts is apparently a thing of the past. I have had fun looking through this and now am the proud owner of a now seemingly huge pile of fabrics to begin my winter project - a quilt.

I am loving reading The Ivy Chronicles by Karen Quinn - funny,lighthearted novel as a newly become single Mum re-builds her life in NYC and sets up her new business as a kindergarten admissions advisor. Similar to a Marian Keyes novel perhaps. A fun read and - a brilliant bargain charity shop find.
Turn the Page Tuesday is the place to check for more fabulous reads and people to meet.
What have you read lately?