Let's Talk Books Again

I'm really in a panic. Now that I've committed to blogging about books I realize that there's NO way I can keep up with all this reading - and still have a life, that is. After all, reading is supposed to be a most pleasurable way to pass one's spare time, it shouldn't have my gut in an uproar. Still, the older we get, the less time we can devote to light reading when there's oh so much to be learned from great literature and, thanks to Andrea and Don, non-fiction. I wish I was more convinced that there's a heaven. I really need to believe that one day I'll get to all the books I've had to bypass in this life!

Back when I read strictly for fun, and when I was still in my "all things Italian" phase, I picked up a first novel by Anthony Capella. It was a delightful read called The Food of Love. http://www.thefoodoflove.com/. From years of working on our Reading Festival and dealing with authors, big-time and small, I've found that you can get a real sense of a writer by his webpage. Capella's, as you can see, has a great sense of fun and whimsey about it and he doesn't take himself too seriously. When my friend Judy, with whom I share a love of all things foodie, recommended Anthony Capella's new book The Wedding Officer, I was all over it. Where his first book was set in contemporary Rome, this one takes place in post-WW II Naples. British and American forces, sent to make some sense of the chaos, are making themselves at home in Italy and are not immuune to the beauty of the land, the food and, of course, the women. Recently jilted by the girl back home, British Capt. James Gould arrives to work in the field security office as a "wedding officer" whose job it is to prevent foreign officers from falling prey to the seductions of the local women. In the process he runs afoul of the Cosa Nostra, black marketeers, and, you guessed it, a gorgeous Italian firebrand named Livia Pertini. I wish I could finish this book but I really must move on. Instead, I'll recommend it to you readers and you can tell me how it ends. http://www.theweddingofficer.com/