1. What are you currently reading? Bury the Lead by David Rosenfelt. A serial killer is preying on women around Passaic. The killer has chosen to "communicate" through a crime reporter, giving messages exclusively to one specific journalist. This is a double-edged sword. The struggling newspaper the reporter works for has enjoyed a sudden spike in sales, but the paper has legal exposure. So Andy Carpenter to protect is hired to protect the paper's interest, and he finds himself embroiled in the case.
Andy is a defense attorney and a newly-minted millionaire. He's also a smart ass, a dog lover and a rabid sports fan, which means I kind of have a crush on him. I am enjoying this book, as I did the other two in the series.
2. What did you just finish reading? First Ladies: The Ever-Changing Role from Martha Washington to Melania Trump by Betty Boyd Caroli. Every First Lady (and a few White House hostesses) gets a thumbnail sketch. The book is 500 pages long, which makes it author Betty Boyd Caroli's challenge to represent each woman fairly while still holding the reader's interest. I appreciate how difficult that must be. However I have gripes with how the First Ladies I'm most familiar with -- Mary Lincoln and Jacqueline Kennedy -- were handled. Without the context of the tragedies they faced (both buried a child while living in the White House), their behavior could be judged in too harsh a light.
Still, Ms. Caroli is a good storyteller and this book is entertaining. I learned a great deal. Ida McKinley turned out to be more interesting than I ever knew, and I wish someone would give Pat Nixon the objective, comprehensive biography she deserves.
3. What will you read next? I don't know.
