"Stranger, Seducer, Protector" by Joanna Wayne

Jacinth Villare is making a go of reclaiming her family heritage in a crumbling New Orleans mansion willed to her by a grandmother she never met, and filled with secrets darker than her wildest imagination. When a hunky neighbor moves in and seems to be too good to be true, wheels are set in motion towards a shattering climax that reveals family ties truly do bind...even from beyond the grave.

Part of the Harlequin Intrigue series, this was my first foray into the world of the venerable publisher of paperback romance novels. I found it surprisingly engaging. The romance elements were not overdone, and the mystery at the heart of the story was just raw enough to keep me on the edge of my seat, but tame enough to allow me to truly enjoy the ride I was being taken on by skilled author Joanna Wayne. I can't think of a better way to recommend the book than to confess that I can't wait to read more from the series!

"One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Ten years. In a Siberian work camp. Winter temperatures that reach zero during the day. Bad food and worse clothing. If you're lucky you won't freeze to death. Any motivation to keep going in this hell has to come from inside a person's heart and soul. And Ivan Denisovich Shukhov has plenty of both.

A surprisingly uplifting account of life in a prison camp, "One Day in the Life..." is about making the most out of whatever situation comes along. Shukhov was wrongfully convicted, but as he says, "if I signed guilty, I would live...if I claimed innocence and refused they would shoot me." So begins his life in the camp. But even this environment can bring small pleasures, and small victories. An extra bowl of soup at dinner - doing good work during the day - not getting sick - all of these things are small triumphs to be celebrated. To stoke the fires of the human spirit and make it possible to live another day.

"One Day..." is free of the political heaviness of many such works, and that's sort of the point. It doesn't matter WHY Shukhov is in the camp - it's that he's there at all. To fret about the fairness of his plight would be pointless. And so, in his own small ways, he perseveres. And while most of us (thankfully) cannot relate to what he is going through, his perseverance cannot help but speak to something inside each of us.

"True Grit" by Charles Portis

Nothing can get a person interested in reading a book like seeing a good movie adaptation of said book. So it was with me and Charles Portis' modern western classic, "True Grit." For those who have seen the recent Coen Brothers adaptation, or the original with John Wayne, the book has enough "grit" of its own to merit revisiting the story.

At 14, Mattie Ross sets out to avenge the death of her father at the hands of a scoundrel named Tom Chaney. Towards this end, she enlists the service of federal marshal Ruben "Rooster" Cogburn. Accompanied by a Texas ranger with his own interest in Chaney, the duo set out across a wild and lawless wilderness in search of their target. Along the way they will meet dangers that prove the mettle, the grit, in them all.

Rooster is a memorably cantankerous curmudgeon, but the true star of the show is Mattie. Much of the vibrancy and humor of the story is derived from the matter of fact way Mattie deals with people who are inclined to see her as nothing more than a child, and bluff her way through situations that are resolutely over her head. Portis' crackling prose reflects this directness. Mattie's narration and frequent brief asides to give her opinion on the matters of the story are delightful, and reveal a girl wise beyond her years.

This is where the book can excel over the movies - while both adaptations dip liberally from the spring of Portis' words, the novel reveals not just Mattie's words and actions, but her thoughts as well. Inside the mind of Mattie Ross is a great way to spend 300 pages. A classic western with definite cross-over appeal, "True Grit" is a winner!