Reading instead of quilting

Well I have been reading instead of finishing up some quilts. I have 6 of them sitting in the house ready for quilting. I might have to rename the blog, Tops by Joanne. I finished The Union Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini. This is a story of the Civil War in the US and the impact the war has on families from the Elm Creek Valley. Since I do not have a wealth of Civil War background I cannot say how accurate the information was in the story but it seemed very realistic to me. Today I finished A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley. He is a Canadian author and his lead character Flavia De Luce is a charming and precocious 11 year old. She loves chemistry and fancies herself as a bit of a sleuth. The time period for the stories (this is the third in a series) is early 50's in England. I love Flavia and am now waiting for the next book to come out. Another book I finished recently was The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton. Another Canadian author, this was his first book. The lead character in this novel is a smart, female, Chinese, forensic accountant. I have my name in for the next book in this series which is expect out in July. I am hoping to get back in the sewing groove soon. Joanne