Duck's Cottage Newsletter

Between the Lines
Reading Recommendations from the Cottage shelves

Two new books for Spring have proven quite popular in my house. I first mentioned The Templar Legacy by Steve Berry last month after Chris read it and gave it a big thumbs up. Since then, it has garnered great reviews and hit the bestseller list. This thriller revolves around the legendary Knights Templar, it's tragic history and the ongoing, present day search for its 'lost' treasure, the Great Devise. Its an intriguing page-turner that has passed through the hands of many Cottage customers- all of whom pronounced it 'a great read!'
I can't wait for the May 30 release of Love in the Present Tense, by Catherine Ryan Hyde. This novel tells the story of Pearl, a young struggling mother, and her son, Leonard- a tender, bespectacled boy with a beautiful definition of 'forever love'. They are befriended by Mitch, a young neighbor, who becomes Leonard's temporary caretaker after Pearl disappears. This is a hopeful book that explores the love Mitch, Pearl and others have for a child and the effect that Leonard has on their entire lives. Get out your summer reading list and put this one at the top!
The Duck's Cottage Reading Group just read The Other Boleyn Girl and everyone LOVED it... it only took me 5 days to get through it's 661 pages! I'm looking forward to reading more by Philippa Gregory including her latest, The Constant Princess. The current Reading Group selection is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, currently on the Booksense bestseller list. Koren Zailckas' Smashed:Story of a Drunken Girlhood was a compelling memoir that I quickly devoured and will be having both my daughter and son read when they hit their teenage years. A few others that have crossed my nightstand this month include Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking which I highly recommend and found to be a heartwrenching study of grief , and Night by Nobel Prize Winner Elie Wiesel which should be required reading for every member of the planet. Fred found The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson to be 'very topical, fast moving and a good read'; Allen read Chasing Daylight by Eugene O'Kelly and reports it enlightening and helpful in dealing with the recent loss of our friend and Duck's Cottage regular, Mike Goodwin. As usual, I could keep going- check out My Other Body (Ann Pai), The Friendship Test (Elizabeth Noble) and The Debutante Divorcee by Vogue contributor Plum Sykes which I thought was a good pre-summer chic lit fix. Speaking of summer, we're getting to work on an Official Duck's Cottage Summer Reading List for the next issue! In the meantime-

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