ROUTE: Newport, MI to Windsor, CT: 693 miles
Monday April 6th, I started my day at 9:30am at our terminal where I had spent the previous day which allowed me to attend Easter Sunday Mass. I performed the pre-trip, fueled the truck, went through our truck wash and drove thirty minutes to the consignee of my previous assignment. It was the same as the shipper for this assignment so there were no deadhead miles. After completing the drop-and-hook I went to a diner across the street for a hearty breakfast. The delivery was schedule for the next day at 10:00am. I figured I could make it to I-84 Diner in Fishkill, NY that has great food. I wouldn’t make it for dinner but could have a nice breakfast on Tuesday. However, reality doesn’t always follow the plans and I instead shut it down at a Sheetz in Buckhorn, PA at 10:30pm.
Tuesday April 7th, I started my day at 10:00am completed the pre-trip and drove five hours to the consignee. I arrived at 3:30pm and completed the delivery.
BOOK REVIEW (1): The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin (2021), HISTORICAL FICTION – RATING (*****)
A compassionate historical fiction novel set at the beginning of WWII in London during the early days of the bombings of the city by the Germans.
Grace Bennett arrives in London in 1939 with her BFF Viv from a small countryside town after a fall out with her uncle. They stay at the home of Mrs. Weatherford and her son Colin. Grace lands a job at a small bookstore run by a grumpy old man while Viv goes to work at Harrods, a large shopping store. The city is in terror as war is looming.
Grace knows nothing about books, she barely has had time to read any but soon falls in love with its magical stories that transport her to wonderful lands as a beautiful distraction to the chaos the city is undergoing. The war starts and Colin is drafted. Grace finds an urge to help with the war efforts and volunteers with the ARP’s (Air Raid Precautions) night watches and Viv enrolls in the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service). The story narrates the horrors the Londoners were going through without gory details but enough to get a good sense of the occurrences. It also details the emotional transformation that Grace goes through.
There’s a slew of other characters that add much to the story. Mr. Evans, the bookstore owner. George Anderson, Grace’s love interest, an engineer and pilot for the RAF. The other bookstore owners, Grace’s fellow ARP Warden, Mrs. Weatherford and her son Colin and others.
Entertaining, instructive, heart warming with a nice ending and a strong FMC.
BOOK REVIEW (2): Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce (2019), FICTION – RATING (**)
This book had more drama than a TV Soap Opera! I thought it was going to be a thriller regarding a murder trial but it wasn’t. It’s about the spiraling out of control life of the lawyer who shares many similarities to the woman being accused of brutally stabbing her husband to death. There are some hidden messages about domestic abuse victims but too few or too subtle to save the story.
Madeline “Matty” Smith is accused of stabbing her husband. It seems like an open-and-shut case. Alison, the protagonist, is in charge of her defense. Patrick is helping out. I’m not as familiar with the British legal system as much as the American so not sure who reports to who but clearly Alison is the mastermind of the legal team.
Alison is married with a six-year-old daughter. Her marriage is in trouble. She drinks like a fish and is having a tumultuous sex driven affair. This character is flawed, not only by her behavior but she seems weak when individuals in her role tend to have A-type personalities. There are subplots that don’t add much to the story. The ending is absurd and so abrupt that is more as a cleanup than the natural evolution to the story.
Mildly entertaining but more frustrating than anything else.
