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Wake by Shelley Burr - A rare mystery that both Dad and I read AND liked. A woman whose twin sister went missing from their bedroom almost 20 years prior is living the hermit life in Australia's outback when a man appears on her property and asks for a chance to solve the mystery of her sister's disappearance. But is he really who he seems to be? I thought this was a very well-paced book with just the right amount of twists and turns. Dad thought there were maybe a few too many characters but he admitted even he was surprised at the end, which almost never happens. Solid A.

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See - Based on the true story of a woman in 15th century China, Tan Yunxian, who manages to balance being a "proper" and respectful wife with treating the ailments of the women in her life and becoming a renowned physician. While I was interested to read about the herbal remedies of the time and impressed that TY not only became a physician at a time when women physicians were frowned up but also was regarded highly enough that books were written about her (and her own book of remedies was published), I'm pretty much done reading See only because ancient China and its mistreatment of women is pretty much ALL she writes about. Still, I'll give this one an A- because it WAS very well-written.

River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer - In 1834, England abolished slavery but in Barbados (and other colonies under British rule), some slaves were expected to remain where they were and continue to work as "indentured servants". This is the story of Rachel, who runs away from the sugar cane plantation she's been working on and travels the Caribbean in search of the five children torn from her and sold into slavery years prior. Honestly, I wanted to like this book more than I did. I *did* like it, and it gave me a lot to think about but...without spoiling too much, I felt events occurred in a bit too tidy a manner and stereotypes ran rampant throughout the book. It lacked nuance for me. Still, I'll give the book, which was pretty beloved on Goodreads and other literary sites, a B+.

Tip of the Iceberg: My 3000-Mile Journey Around Alaska, The Last Great American Frontier by Mark Adams - An unwieldly title but an entertaining work of non-fiction. Adams...well, the title is pretty self-explanatory <g>. Our intrepid author sets out to recreate as much of the 1899 expedition of Edward Harriman and his company of scholars and scientists as they explore the land that would eventually become America's 49th state. At times Adams provides a bit more historical context than I wanted; the book is at its best when the author regales us with tales of the intrepid, and often a bit eccentric, residents who aided him along the journey or just crossed paths with him. The book is vaguely reminiscent of Leave Only Footprints by Conor Knighton, the man who visited all of the National Parks in the course of a year, and it was good enough that I've added Adam's book Turn Right at Machu Picchu to my list of books I'd like to read. A- (the minus only because it was a wee bit too heavy on the history and not heavy enough on the present).

On a related note (related to reading, anyways)...one of my favorite things to do on a temperate day is to retire to the ancient plastic chaise lounge (and cushion) that's under the majestic sugar maple in the front yard and read in the shade for an hour or two. I don't have a lot of time to do so--most of my reading is done on breaks at work or while waiting for lunch or dinner to finish cooking--but when I get to do so, I'm a happy, happy reader 😄