And We”re Back!

It’s been a long time. I have been out on medical leave, but the positive thing about that is I had some extra time to read. I have a few books to recommend.
First, the new Margaret Maron book is a gem. Buzzard’s Table is the latest outing in the Deborah Knott series and it is well worth your time if you are a fan of Maron, as I am. Nearly all the Knott books are set in North Carolina in places we all know, and the latest continues the trend of weaving a character from her earlier series, Sigrid Harald, into the Knott plotlines. This one seems so obvious from the get-go, but you quickly learn you are not as smart as you think you are. Maron keeps you guessing throughout, and I have to say that I had a stronger feeling of disquiet and foreboding while reading this book than with most of hers. She’s a master; don’t miss it.
Speaking of masters, I started reading the Robert Caro four-volume series on Lyndon Johnson. Meticulously researched, sparklingly written—what’s not to like. I will say that these might work better on an e-reader because they are heavy—and I mean physically heavy! I read the first of the four, The Path to Power, written in 1982, which deals with Johnson’s boyhood up into his first term as a member of the House of Representatives. I have started the second, Means of Ascent, and will read them all. [A fifth volume is planned.  Caro is in his seventies; he says it will take three or four years to write.] It’s fascinating to see the political arguments we have in our nation today are some of the same that were being debated in the 1930s. This is a series for the ages.
Finally, I read a book that stretched my tastes a bit. It’s Doors Open by Ian Rankin. This is a crime novel set in Scotland that my daughter gave to me to read during my recuperation. It captivated me from the earliest chapters; Rankin knows how to tell a story.
So there it is—three strong recommendations for these long winter nights.