By Rosie Moore

Nothing better to do on these cold wintry days? Read a book! I received three books at Christmastime and, to me, that’s the best gift: “See Me” by Nicholas Sparks, “Depraved Heart” by Patricia Cornwall, and “Johnny Carson” by Henry Bushkin, who was his lawyer. I will give a short synopsis of each one.

I have read a lot of Ms. Cornwall’s books and really liked them but this last one was disappointing. I am somewhat familiar with technical terms but this book is full of forensic details and psychological details that are beyond my comprehension. To add insult to injury, there are two plots involved that aren’t resolved at the end of the book. If you want to learn how to build a gun or assassinate a political figure, this book is for you. Not for me!

When my children went to school I was always able to rise early in the morning for them even though I stayed up till 12:30 a.m. to watch Johnny Carson. It was an hour of laughter, fun, and a  camaraderie between the host and his guests. In the seventies and eighties he was the country’s highest-paid entertainer and its most enigmatic.

While  charming and hilarious onstage, he could be sometimes cruel off-stage. This book shows a side of Johnny that not many people saw. The adulteries, Mob ties, and insecurities in his family life are described with clarity in this book. It unveils not only the hidden Carson  but also the raucous, star-studded world he ruled.

I’m pretty certain that most of my readers have seen the movie, “The Notebook” or read the book by Nicholas Sparks. Well, he has done it again. It’s gratifying to read a book with an old-fashioned love story and Mr. Sparks is noted for that. “See Me” is set in modern times and tells the story of two young people and is rich in emotion and fueled with suspense. It reminds us that love is sometimes forged in the crises that threaten to shatter us…..and that those who see us for who we truly are may not always be the ones easiest to recognize.

This is a thrilling novel, but I don’t think it will surpass “The Notebook.” To spend time reading a book is not wasted time!

Thought for the day: The fireside is the tulip bed of a winter day.  Persian proverb

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