Some Books

I sometimes go to one of the local libraries that is near some stores and check out the book displays.  (It is set up nicely.) If I see anything of interest, I write the title down and reserve it.  The book then is sent to the library right near me.  I have had mixed success here but two good hits recently.

Ferryman  is a young adult book about a teenage girl killed in a train accident.  She and her  "ferryman" to the "other side" fall in love.  She manages to meet up with him again (accidentally destroying the soul of someone he is ferrying -- she's upset about it some but does risk her soul to save another) and they make it back to mortal existence.  Well written.

The book is being made into a film and there is a sequel.  There is a lot of good imagery regarding the things she passes on her way.  The final destination is not too exciting.  Standard stuff.  I'm not sure if the sequel (which I'm not too interested in) adds much more though apparently their "escaping" will cause some issues.  

I expected she would become a ferryman (person?) herself.  The ending is a bit disappointing.  And, no, they both actually wind up back in normal life.  The whole thing isn't some sort of metaphor or illusion while she struggled unconsciously.  

Seven Days In June also is being filmed reportedly.  It is a romance about two thirty-something black writers who first fell in love as very troubled teenagers.  The book has about twenty-something supportive blurbs in the opening pages and is a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.  

It is well written though the promise of sex scenes is a bit overblown. It took around half the book for one quick (semi-public) sex scene and even after that, there wasn't that much sex.  OTOH, she does write erotic fiction and there is a lot of heat throughout the book.  The characters (we get both of their viewpoints and some bits of others) are well drawn and I appreciate that the woman has a chronic ailment that is shown to seriously affect her day-to-day life (though she lives with it).  

The book also concludes with a well-written extended epilogue.  The reader at first might think the book suggests the two lovers are destined to only have "seven days in June" (fifteen years apart).  But, as the woman has a summer away exploring her family's past, things develop, and we have a sweet ending.  I will check out a different book by the author soon.

The White House In Mourning (by an amateur historian) was a book I found while looking up a book on mourning in American history by the author of The Cabinet.  This book is a rather tedious (if detailed, for those interested in all the minutiae of things like presidential funeral trips) account that has some questionable asides when providing historical background.  

But, it is serviceable regarding its subject and has a lot of good photographs.  I also wonder if "my partner and special friend" is code for talking about his soulmate (or whatever word one uses).