Yet Another Good Book

I have been so enmeshed in watching the Championships at Wimbledon, that I've sloughed off my editing projects, writing my novel, and posting on my blog. For those of you who are not in the know, Wimbledon is THE tennis open tournament played annually at the All England Tennis Courts just outside London, England. It starts a day or so after my birthday and continues on through our July Fourth weekend, with the Ladies and Gentlemen's final matches played on Saturday and Sunday morning, respectively. During the fortnight, as most of my friends and family will attest, I am practically incommunicado.

This year's matches have been particular exciting, especially on the women's side with Serena Williams thankfully out of the running having been taken out by Sabine Lisicki—"the giant killer"—in the fourth round. This will be Sabine's first venture onto Centre Court as a finalist, facing Marion Bartoli, a feisty player who models her jeux extraordinaire on that of her idol, Monica Seles. This is Marion's second time as a finalist, having disappointingly lost to Venus Williams in straight sets in 2007. Venus bowed out of Wimbledon this year. So, maybe, at last, the era of the overwhelmingly overpowering Williams sisters is finally, hopefully, over. And a new era of women's tennis will bring back the style, grace, and finesse with which the game was meant to be played.

I can just imagine the nervous anxiety as well as the anticipatory excitement both Bartoli and Lisicki are feeling right now. On Saturday, one of them will capture and hold aloft the gold platter, the highest honor in tennis, outside of being elected to the Hall of Fame. As many of you know, I play a little tennis myself and, in the past, have won a few tournaments, albeit very minor ones held on community park courts or by local tennis clubs. But still, I feel a certain camaraderie with Bartolli and Lisicki—like being part of a sisterhood of female tennis players.

Very similar to the same feelings that Helen Bryan expresses in her second novel, The Sisterhood. I read this fascinating story about a 16^th Century convent in Spain and a modern-day art historian's links to it three days before this year's first Wimbledon match. And I was mesmerized by it.

While I get back to watching the last two rounds of tennis and the final matches, please switch over to www.authorexposure.com to read my review of Bryan's insightful novel. Perhaps you'll be inspired to enjoy this interesting read.

Ah, tennis and a good book. Now, that's a perfect match!