Finished: Under the Greenwood Tree (Hardy) I picked this book up in a used book store, and having loved some Thomas Hardy books before, decided to read it....besides, the blurb on the back described it as "Hardy's" sunniest work, lol. ok, so here is the whole blurb:

"Two newcomers settle in the village of Mellstock bringing change and disruption to the rural inhabitants. Mr. Maybold, the vicar, is hot and strong on church business, but his plans to incorporate the new-fangled organ cause offence to the old-fashioned ecclesiastical musicians. Fancy Day, the school teacher, and a flower among vegetables, has an equally upsetting effect upon the hearts of the younger men. Hardy drew on his own childhood experiences to paint this affectionate, unsentimental but often comic, portrait of rustic, society touched by progress."

How could I not read it with a blurb like that? And, with an opening page like this:

"To dwellers in a wood almost every species of tree has its voice as well as its feature. At the passing of the breeze the fir-trees sob and moan no less distinctly than they rock; the holly whistles as it battles with itself; the ash hisses amid its quiverings; the beech rustles while its flat boughs rise and fall. And winter, which modifies the note of such trees as shed their leaves, does not destroy its individuality."

So, we soon find walking among those trees twentyish Dick Dewey who is one of the young men who falls for Miss Fancy Day. There's a bit of flirting, and some jealousy when another suitor or two show themselves, and some hurdles to overcome when her father doesn't think Dick is good enough for Fancy...but basically, amidst lots of descriptive prose like above and lots of "rural lingo" and day to day conversations between various characters, Dick and Fancy declare their love and get married. It's not my favorite Hardy book, but was a nice read...and nice to read the flowery prose of the old masters every so often to remind myself why they were the masters. :-)

Finished: Long Road To Mercy (Baldacci) Another good mystery by Baldacci, the author of the Memory Man series. He introduces a new heroine, Atlee Pine, a young FBI agent who is working in a field office in Arizona near the Grand Canyon. Atlee had become an FBI agent after experiencing a horrific event as a six year old...the breaking in of her home and kidnapping of her twin sister, Mercy, while Atlee watched as the kidnapper played Eenie, Meenie, Minie, Moe to decide which girl to take. Mercy was never found and Atlee has now made it her mission to find out what happened to her sister. Of course, she's also got to do her job for the FBI. In this case, a mule that has taken a man down to the floor of the Grand Canyon is found killed, with initials carved into it, and the man is nowhere to be found. When it turns out the man who was supposed to be riding the mule had switched places with another man, and that both men had secretive, possibly government jobs, things get serious fast. Together with her elderly secretary, Ms. Bluhm, Atlee puts the intricate pieces together...especially since attempts have been made on her life now trying to get her to stop her investigation....one attempt by American military and one by a North Korean man. Atlee and Ms. Bluhm figure out that some people high up in the American government, in cahoots with the Russians, created a plan to plant a nuclear bomb in a cave in the Grand Canyon. North Korea has apparently purchased many Russian made nuclear weapons, so if America and Russia can make it look like North Korea somehow sneaked a nuclear weapon into the U.S. with the intent of killing thousands of people, then it would give America the right to retaliate and attack North Korea, killing millions. It's a disturbing and convoluted plan (and a rather out there plot line). Atlee figures out where the missing man (who we find out is an American nuclear bomb inspector who is trying to stop the stupid plan) is hiding in the Grand Canyon. Atlee meets park ranger, and former military man, Sam Keller, and he ends up helping her hike the canyon to find the missing man and get him out....along with the weapon. There is lots of detail about the Grand Canyon and all the hiking trails, which is pretty neat. And, it looks like there is a possible romance brewing between Atlee and Sam. :-) I like the character of Atlee Pine, especially when you can tell that she'll probably get another story and perhaps they will get back to her finding her sister's kidnapper. She's smart and super strong and not afraid of putting her neck on the line. I will mostly likely read the next book! :-)