Picture Perfect Cooking

I post a lot about cooking and gardening, but today I wanted to tell you about an author that I really like.  I think I have read all of her books and enjoyed every one of them.  Her name is Adriana Trigiani.  The first book of hers that I read (and I think it is the first she wrote) is Big Stone Gap.  The name of the book is the name of the small Virginia mountain community in the book.  The main character is Ave Maria Mulligan, “the 35-year-old self-proclaimed spinster” of the town.  Needless to say, she eventually finds love and happiness.  The two sequels are Big Cherry Holler and Milk Glass Moon. 

I have just finished the latest installment of this series, Home To Big Stone Gap.  I think I like these books because I can relate to the “small town” feel of the setting.  It reminds me a lot of the small town in which C & I live, love, and work. 

Ms. Trigiani’s characters are human.  They have flaws and have to make tough choices (not always the right ones) like we do.  Even her characters that are based in New York City, like Valentine Roncalli in her latest book Very Valentine, (yes, I have read that one, too!) feel like real people, not just beautiful, talented, perfect people in some other books. 

So, if you are looking for a good summer read, choose one of Ms. Trigiani’s books whose story stands alone, like Very Valentine or Queen Of the Big Time, but if you have some time to invest, read the Big Stone Gap series.  I hope you like it as well as I do!