Archives - Weekly Update

I enjoy reading true crime, and I, like many, have been riveted to the coverage of the murders of the four college students in Idaho. I had started THE IDAHO FOUR: An American Tragedy by James Patterson and Vicky Ward last Friday. I read all day on Saturday and finished it at about 1am on Sunday. While I had read a lot about the case, seeing all of the details in one place was enlightening.

Like many of you, I love author events. They give me an opportunity to hear more about a book, as well as the author. Tuesday night’s event with Lisa Scottoline in Doylestown, PA was a perfect mix of Lisa sharing her inspiration for the writing of her first psychological thriller, THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA, and telling stories from her life that were like staccato beats to explain how they brought her to the place to write this book. The night was laced with humor, much of it in Lisa’s self-deprecating style. My friend Annmarie Puleio joined me for this special evening, and above you can see photos of us with Lisa.

It was great to have a four-day weekend with nothing on the agenda except time for reading.

I started by finishing Lisa Scottoline's THE UNRAVELING OF JULIA, which is a page-turner and will be a Bookreporter.com Bets On pick. Julia, the protagonist, heads to the Italian countryside to learn more about a piece of property that has been left to her. Lisa’s descriptions of the landscape, food and culture of Italy will have you feeling like you are doing armchair travel. To enhance the experience even more, Lisa has a fabulous video series on her website where she shares the locations and flavors of Italy. She also is profiled in the “By the Book” section of the New York Times this week. You can read that piece here. Our review is scheduled to run next week, and I am hoping to see Lisa in Doylestown, PA on Tuesday night.