Victoria's Secrets

Reading My Way Through My Vacation
One of my greatest pleasures while away is reading books. Being in the news business, I'm reading several newspapers a day, so vacations are real getaway in that regard too.
First was Charmed Lovers by celebrated book editor Michael Korda. He wrote about his famous and talented father and uncles, Alex, Vincent and Zoli - all three legends in the movie industry. Alex married Merle Obeson and discovered Vivian Leigh. The brothers directed and designed over 200 movies, many of them classics today.
The wonderful, well-written fascinating book is the tale of the birth of the movie industry and &#8220talkies” in Europe and the states.
Michael, their nephew, shared a few ideas that helped make his uncle enormously successful.
1. He spent one hour every day thinking about his business.
2. He believed in himself and he could persuade others to believe in him.
3. He could laugh at himself and was a warm, giving human being.
4. He had a dream and believed it enough to make others believe in it too.
The next book was Alibi by Joseph Kanon. He's the author whose best selling book, The Good German, just opened as a movie starring George Clooney.
This page-turning, can't-put-down, mystery novel kept me entranced, especially because it is set in Venice, a romantic, magical city I visited last year.
The twists and turns kept my heart pounding and kept my rapt attention. A great getaway book.
I had gotten as a gift and finally got to read Jackson Heights Chronicles by Queens resident Orlando Tobon. The author was actually the &#8220guide” for the young screenwriter who shot an award-winning and powerful film, &#8220Maria Full of Grace.” It's a story about the &#8220mules” who carry drugs in their bodies from Colombia to the United States. They dreamed of making enough money to live in America or help their loved ones back home. A dramatic not-to-be-missed film that Tobon actually appeared in playing himself!
Each chapter shares the lives that touched Tobon and that he touched. This is a compelling book set in our own backyard.
Another book I read was Pack the Moon by Mary Anne Kelly from Rockville Centre. This touching and charming novel is filled with true-to-life characters. Her new circle of friends partake on a whim to drive a string of caravans to India, taking photographs and filming along the way for a documentary that will eventually pay for the trip.
My last book was Mary, Queen of France by Jean Plaidy, a pre-eminent prolific author of historical fiction.
What better way to learn about that time in history and about the story of Princess Mary Tudor. She's a celebrated beauty and born rebel who would defy the most powerful king in Europe, her older brother Henry VIII.
Share with me your favorite books.