Back-to-back books

I haven't done this for a long time, at least not with fiction. Two days, two novels. And still found time to write about 20 blog entries, take a walk on the trail, bring in firewood, and cook. I was just in tune with the fiction universe for some reason.

On Friday I read the first novel from Australian writer, Kate Morton. It's called The House At Riverton, and is set in England, beginning at the turn of the last century. It's the third book I've read of Morton's, and I love the mix of history and family saga, ala The Forsyte Saga and the best of R.F. Delderfield. But instead of a long tale spanning a century, Morton tells the story through the eyes of a 98-year-old woman, a former housemaid of the English country house. For a first book, it's pretty darn good, with fascinating characters and a talent for rich description of surroundings and events. If I'd read this one first, I would definitely have signed on to read the rest of her books (which are even better). Her other books are The Forgotten Garden (my favorite) and The Distant Hours.

On Saturday I read the newest Jack Reacher novel from Lee Child, called The Affair. It's also the oldest in terms of telling the tale of how Reacher became the wandering, problem-solving rescuer he is in all the subsequent books. I have always loved this character, and couldn't put the book down.

On a side note, I just learned that one of the Reacher books will be a movie starring Tom Cruise... what were they thinking? One reason Reacher is the intimidating guy he is, is because he's 6'6" and over 200 pounds. And they pick the smallest actor in Hollywood to play him?

Oh, well... don't let this stop you from reading the books. I recommend starting with The Affair, a prequel that is set 6 months before the first book in the series. Then read the rest in order of publication, starting with The Killing Floor.