WooReads Adult Patron Book Reviews: Take a Trip with a Book

Enjoy these reviews submitted by our WooReaders as part of our WooReads: Adult Reading Challenge (Beyond Summer). These reviewed titles will help you take a break from the holidays and journey to another place; from Florence, Italy to Ur, an archaeological site in ancient Mesopotamia, to Mexico. There is a little something for everyone.

Brunelleschi's Dome : How A Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture

By Ross King

This is a good introduction to Florence, Italy, as the Middle Ages transitioned into the Renaissance. It contains interesting facts and history about the city and its society. Find out how Filippo Bruneschelli, a goldsmith, untrained in architecture, designed and built the world's largest brick dome as well as the machinery necessary to construct it. Fast moving and easily readable.

~Mary R.

Labyrinth

By Kate Mosse

Wonderful book. Loved it from beginning to end.

~Miriam V.

The Light Between Oceans

By M. L. Stedman

A terrific story about motherhood and what that means. Great emotional plot and the writing is real. Recommended to all who enjoy a great story.

~Frances N. 

Death In A Desert Land

By Andrew Wilson

Dame Agatha Christie is asked to investigate the death of Gertrude Bell, famous adventurer and "Arabist" in Ur, but when she arrives at the archaeological dig, she finds an entirely different mystery. This was a well plotted and intriguing novel with an exotic setting. You won't want to put it down!

~Mary R.

On The Plain Of Snakes

By Paul Theroux

Another great travel book.

~Janis G.

The Spies Of Shilling Lane : A Novel

By Jennifer Ryan

Mrs Braithwaite is the big fish in her tiny village in England during WWII but nobody seems to appreciate her bossy ways: her husband leaves her for another woman, her daughter packs up and moves to London, and the other women of the village boot her from her role as head of the volunteer commission for the war effort. She decides to drag her daughter Betty home. But in London, in the middle of the Blitz, Betty is missing and no one seems to care. Mrs Braithwaite, angry and foiled at every turn in her village, discovers that here she has just the right temperament to find the truth about Betty's disappearance. Suspenseful, fun and full of twists and turns; Mrs Braithwaite is an unstoppable force.

~Mary R.