Galileo’s Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love by Dava Sobel--420 pages

  I thought that, perhaps, reading a historical fiction account of Galileo’s daughter might be a not-too-dull way to trick myself into learning about a world-view-changing 17^th Century scientist.

  I’m smarter now than I when I made the commitment to open to the first page if only because I know how wrong my initial impressions and lack of enthusiasm about this book were. First of all, Galileo considered himself to be a mathematician. Secondly, this book is non-fiction. Thirdly, the title is a ruse; the book is totally a biography of Galileo in which his daughter is but a character.
  Galileo lived in Italy, and I really like Italy and peeking into the religious/political landscape of different time periods. And best of all, I read through the book quickly, with excitement, frustration, anger, and fear based on what my now favorite mathematician was going through . Before reading this book, I had no idea how much Galileo Galilei happened upon, observed, and understood in ways no one else ever had. And I had no idea how difficult it was for him to make sure that the truth he saw didn’t die with him.

  My husband will not have to read this book because I couldn’t keep it to myself. Without his even asking, I gave him thorough and energetic reports of pretty much every chapter. Lucky man!

Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World by Anthony Doerr, 290 pages

Before author Anthony Doerr won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel "All the Light We Cannot See" he won the Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

The prize comes with a stipend, an apartment and a writing studio in Rome for a year.  He learned of the award the day after his wife had twin boys.  These new parents packed up the boys when they were six months old and headed to Rome.

Doerr had a novel ruminating in his brain that he thought he would work on during the year.  That novel eventually became "All the Light We Cannot See" but he didn't do much writing on it during the year he spent in Rome.

I listened to this book, read by the author, and it was such a wonderful peek into this brilliant writer's mind.  He knows his words, this one.   It was also a wonderful look at Rome and Italy and life in general.

Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George 719 pages

Elizabeth George is one of my favorite authors but I almost didn’t read Just One Evil Act because Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers is my least favorite character, I didn’t want to wait 700 pages to find out who the killer was and I had too many other books to read. But it’s Elizabeth George and I have to say I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed one of her books so much. The daughter of Barbara’s friend and neighbor is kidnapped in Italy and Barbara and Inspector Lynley work together and at odds to bring her back. But Barbara is too close to the situation and puts her job, her life and her friendships at risk to save the girl. I loved traipsing around the Italian countryside but I wasn’t too fond of all the Italian since most of it wasn’t translated and I had to guess what was going on. It was easier to just skip over it. When the denouement came with still hundreds of pages left I was at first surprised and then delighted. I really didn’t want it to end.

Inferno by Dan Brown 299 pages

I must confess I did not read all of this book.  I posted it as 299 pages because that is where I gave up.  It actually has 461 pages. Those of you really interested in art history and architecture will love this book.  The author gets a bit wordy on these subjects to the point where I personally, felt as if I  was reading a text book.  I am sure this book will make a great movie and I can just see Tom Hanks in the recurring role of Professor Langdon.  I just gave up and went on to read something else.

Just One Evil Act by Elizabeth George, 736 pages

This is the 18th book in the Inspector Lynley series by Elizabeth George.  I didn't love this one, but I did want to finish it.  The story is long and convoluted and involves action in both England and Italy. One frustrating aspect of the book is that there is quite a bit of Italian dialog.  Sometimes Elizabeth George lets us know what was said and sometimes she doesn't.  Geesh!

For those who have read the series, this book focuses mostly on Scotland Yard Detective Sargeant Barbara Havers, her neighbor Professor Taymullah Azhar and his daughter Hadiyyah.  The book picks up right where "Believing the Lie" (#17) ended.  Barbara pretty much goes wild in this book, first helping Azhar find Hidiyyah and then struggling to protect him when he runs amuck with the law.  I just found it difficult to believe as a reader that Barbara would go so far. 

Inspector Thomas Lynley is here too and it is nice to see him putting his life back together.  (No spoilers here about what happened previously.) 

I also enjoyed a new character, Chief Inspector Salvatore Lo Bianco, who is based in Italy but I hope he gets the opportunity to interact with Lynley and Havers in future books.