Mount Pleasant, by Don Gillmor

This book's premise intrigued me: an middle aged man shocked to discover that his anticipated inheritance ended up being a few thousand dollars as opposed to the anticipated million plus.  Once again, an unlikable main character, but very timely and relevant.

Summary:
Harry Salter, a middle-aged man born into wealth but living with ballooning debt, is counting on his inheritance to rescue him financially and maybe even save his crumbling marriage, but when his father dies and the will is read, all that's left for him is $4,200. Unable to believe that his father, whose estate should have been worth millions, had died broke, Harry sets out to discover exactly what happened to the money.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce

This is a delightful, and emotional tale set in Britain. The two main characters, Harold and Maureen have to deal with two absent characters, David, their son, and Queenie, a past coworker of Harold's.

As the story develops, more details are revealed, and along with them, the dramatic character development of Harold and Maureen, and their relationship.

It was a wonderful story, rich with the stories of other individuals. It is a celebration of life, and all that it has to hold. If you liked, The 100 year old man... I imagine you'll enjoy this book, as well.

Here is the summary of the book. Recently retired, sweet, emotionally numb Harold Fry is jolted out of his passivity by a letter from Queenie Hennessy, an old friend, who he hasn't heard from in twenty years. She has written to say she is in hospice and wants to say goodbye. Leaving his tense, bitter wife Maureen to her chores, Harold intends a quick walk to the corner mailbox to post his reply but instead, inspired by a chance encounter, he becomes convinced he must deliver his message in person to Queenie--who is 600 miles away.

The Light Between Oceans, by M.L. Stedman

Although it has a lovely cover, I did not enjoy this book.  The premise is that a childless couple find a baby washed ashore along with a dead man, presumably the father.  They decide to bury the dead man, and raise the child as their own.  They make the mental leap that the mother must also be dead.  Of course, the mother is discovered to be alive and the story comes to an inevitable end.  Thankfully, I didn't slog through the chapters and chapters of angst but instead read the last number of pages.  It was suffice to say, it will forever remain as a completely forgettable book.  What does stay with me, is the poignant description of a returning soldier from the Great War.

Summary
A novel set on a remote Australian island, where a childless couple live quietly running a lighthouse, until a boat carrying a baby washes ashore.

A novel set on a remote Australian island, where a childless couple live quietly running a lighthouse, until a boat carrying a baby washes ashore - See more at: http://miltonpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/542857039_the_light_between_oceans#sthash.q9GWBghK.dpuf

Up and Down, by Terry Fallis

He did it again. Terry Fallis wrote another engaging and endearing book.  This time he took on Canadian US relations in the crazy world of the public relations industry. Mix it with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency and you get a winning combination. Was it great literature? No, but it was wonderful to read such a Canadian book.  To date, I think The Best Laid Plans is a stronger work, but I love politics and what could be funnier than Canadian politics.

Summary:

avid Stewart has left his job on Parliament Hill to join the team at a dog-eat-dog international PR firm in Toronto. Within his first few moments on the job he is assigned to a major project with the Canadian Space Agency and NASA to revitalize the public's interest in the CSA and NASA. David suggests the most out-of-this-world idea imaginable: hold a contest where two regular, Joe-Blow civilians accompany a shuttle mission for an orbit around the Ear - See more at: http://miltonpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/541995039_up_and_down#sthash.4KVv1jp2.dpuf

Beach Strip, by John Lawrence

This book confirms that the mystery/ detective genre is not for me.  I heard good things about this book, but I found it a bit of a tough slog.  I wanted to like it because the author is from Burlington, Ontario -- it's always good to support Canadian writers.  I read half of the book, then jumped to the end just in time to read the denouement and an explanation of how everything unraveled.  No big surprises, may I add. 

Here is the publisher's blurb:
I'd rather laugh in bad taste than cry in good taste." That?s how Josie Marshall deals with the death of her detective husband, Gabe, found naked outside their home on the beach with a bullet in his brain. Everyone calls it suicide. Josie knows it isn?t . . . but fears it could be. After all, she had provided Gabe with a motive. The clues are so strong that even Josie begins to believe Gabe shot himself. But when a horrific slaying occurs literally at her feet, she knows Gabe was murdered, and her determination to prove it carries her toward dark corners of the beach strip and exposes the darker sides of its residents. Fending off her fears with humour and outrage, she encounters a drug-crazed drifter, an organized-crime boss with romance on his mind, a woman with a murderous past and a pervert who?s been frequenting her garden shed. When a chance remark leads Josie to the astonishing truth of Gabe?s death, her story takes a shocking turn that no one could have seen coming.

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I'm still processing this book and its themes.  I keep having images of Robert Redford's face -- a flashback from my childhood -- and it bothers me how incongruent his image is based on my impressions from the book. What a cast of characters -- so many unlikeable people.  I know it's a commentary about the "American dream" but the beliefs of the very priviledged were also examined. I may just have to re-read it one more time...  A perfect book for summer vacation.

Indian Horse, by Richard Wagamese

How many superlatives can I give this book!?!  It is the best book I've read in a long time, and should be a required reading for Canadians.  Never has hockey engaged me so much, nor the horrors of residential school been more disturbing.

Here is a review from the Quill and Quire.