Recent reads

It's not often I manage to read two good books one after another, but I got lucky with my recent purchases at the Shabby Chic market on Sunday.
  "The whole day through" is a contemporary novel by Patrick Gale, who I have read before. "Notes from an exhibition" was very good. Gale's writing is very gentle and subtle, sort of bittersweet and understated. "The whole day through" is the story of a rekindled love affair between two people who knew each other as lovers when very young, and meet again in middle age when both are facing challenges in their lives.
  Sarah Dunant's book "Sacred hearts" is very different, set in a convent in Renaissance Ferrara, and is the story of a reluctant novice and the effect she has on the sisters who have to live with her. I hadn't read Dunant before, most of her novels seem to be set in Renaissance Italy. I think I may have passed them by because they seemed to be an example of an author annexing an historic period for marketing purposes, but I did enjoy this.
  I've now started on "Suite Francaise" but haven't really read enough to comment on it yet.
  Talking of sweets francaise, I went to our upmarket shopping mall today to try to buy some clothes suitable for work. Garish, unco-ordinated colours seem to be the thing this season. I cannot, will not, wear lime green or acid yellow, so chose a white blouse and felt very discriminating and stylish. Or just old and frumpy. Then I went to J'aime les macarons, who make the most delicious macaroons, and bought three different flavours ($2.80 each!) and had them at home with coffee. The salted caramel macaroon was so damn good! People who make such things should be running the world.