I enjoy books with strong sense of place. I love to travel, and read while I travel, so many of my memories of good books are also tied to the places where I read them. For me, Julia Glass inspires thoughts of Italy while C.J. Box makes me think of Colorado. Recently I listened to Maeve Binchy’s newest book, Heart and Soul, while traveling in the Ozark Mountains. Heart and Soul is set in both Dublin and Poland and Binchy creates a strong sense of place within the story. Binchy is known for her good character development and weaving characters from previous books into her stories. Heart and Soul is set in a heart clinic and centers on its staff and patients. Many characters from previous books (Tara Road, Whitethorn Woods, Quentins, Scarlet Feather), are also in Heart and Soul (I wish someone would make a map of all the characters from each book so I could keep them straight!). Each character has a story and Binchy alternates between stories, enabling the reader to understand characters not only from their own story, but how they fit into other characters’ stories. It was fun to escape into this book while enjoying the beauty of the Ozarks. ~~Enjoy~~ --Kara

From ICPL Staff Picks Blog