Summertime Reading

by Deanna

Reading in the summertime is a favorite pastime during the hot, hazy days of July and August. Not much happening on TV so I turn to the written word for entertainment.  I have read several this summer including one entitled "The Marriage of Opposites" by Alice Hoffman. It is a fictionalized story focused around the mother of Camille Pissarro, the famous impressionist painter during the 1800's. Centered on the island of St. Thomas, Hoffman writes beautiful descriptions of the lushness and colors of the land. The Jacaranda Trees are mentioned throughout the novel as being part of the distinction of the land and its colors.

On my very recent trip to California to visit my son and daughter-in-law I kept noticing the trees with the lovely purple flowers that hung from its branches. My son pointed out that they were Jacaranda Trees. What?? So ofcourse, I had to find one that I could photograph. They were past their prime according to my son but the ones that remained were stunning. If you have ever traveled to South or Central America, to the Caribbean Islands or Bermuda apparently they are very prevalent to the landscapes in those areas. But lucky me, they also grow in Southern California.

Just fyi....several other books that I have read and would recommend for summertime reading are:
The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin
When We Meet Again by Kristin Harmel

And I am into about a 100 pages of Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

Happy Reading!!