Smiles for the New Year

By Linda Lovely

For this month's blog, we were challenged to pick the best books we read in 2018. I'm going to go slightly off topic and talk about two of my most recent enjoyable entertainment experiences--one is the book, Scot Free, written by Catriona McPherson; the second is the movie, Green Book.

First, Scot Free. If you've never met author Catriona McPherson or heard her speak, you've missed our on a real treat. She's Scottish and one of the wittiest people I've met. Her unique voice and humor come through with laugh-out-loud results in Scot Free. The story is about Lexy Campbell, a Scottish marriage counselor, who marries a California dentist after a whirlwind courtship. Suddenly plopped down in a very foreign landscape, Lexy's observations about her new environment, her husband, and his friends are a riot. The comedy expands as Lexy finds herself staying at the Last Ditch Motel and becoming friends with its zany inhabitants. The plot is fun with Lexy wanting to help an elderly client who is a suspect in her husband's death. But it's the voice in this book and the wry observations of American life that will have you pre-ordering the next Last Ditch Mystery.

While allowing us to meet totally different characters from those featured in Scot Free, the movie the Green Book also is as the DVD cover promises "hugely entertaining." Dr. Don Shirley, a brilliant black pianist, elects to embark on a tour of the Deep South with his Don Shirley Trio. It's 1962 and die-hard segregationists are abundant. Shirley hires Tony "Lip" , an Italian bouncer at the Copacabana, as his driver. With wildly different backgrounds and perspectives, Shirley and Tony "Lip" become friends as they learn from each other and their shared experiences.

So start the New Year out with a smile. Read Scot Free and go see Green Book. You'll be glad you did.