What Are You Reading? Diane Newton

My name is Diane Newton and I have lived in Little Rock with my wife, Andrea, and our 3 Yorkshire Terriers, Hanna, Charlie, and Eliza, since 2014. I have an adult son, Mason, who lives and works in Fayetteville. I am a project manager at a prominent local bank, which keeps me pretty busy, but I love to read in my spare time, even if it is just before bed. I have an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite and read pretty exclusively on that if I am not listening to an Audible book while driving. (Although since the pandemic, I haven’t had need to drive anywhere!)

What are you reading at the moment or what is next on your list?

The One by John Marrs is my current read. It was recommended by my friend and the concept is so intriguing that I immediately borrowed it!

I have been making my way through the Country Club Murders series by Julie Mulhern this summer. They are light, fun, and easy summer reads. I am eyeing Mulhern’s other series, Poppy Fields Adventures, as possibly next on the to-read list.

I am always on the lookout for excellent suspense/thriller books in the mood of B.A. Paris. I make room for those as I discover them.

What book or other media do you keep coming back to again and again?

I have read very few books over and over but the list includes The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King. It is his most underrated book in my opinion, and is fantasy based. It is the first thriller book I ever read and I remember staying up to the wee hours of the morning trying to finish it. It is captivating and thrilling. I have read it 3 times over the years.

I love the Harry Potter series. I first learned of these books on a long road trip where we listened to The Sorcerer’s Stone (on cassette!). I was enchanted and have reread the entire series many times. The Prisoner of Azkaban (book 3) is my favorite. The twists and turns in that book and the details that were baked into the first 2 books that didn’t come to light until the 3rd book made me realize what a prolific writer J. K. Rowling is!

I am a big fan of the In Death series by J. D. Robb (Nora Roberts) and am set up to receive each new novel on release. Several of those I have read multiple times.

I guess you could say that I love a series. My favorite reads usually have multiple books with an ongoing storyline. The exception is thrillers. A good thriller is hard to come by and impossible to put down!

What role has reading played in your life?

Reading has always been a core activity of mine for as long as I can remember! As a child in the north, my friend and I would walk to the local bookshop to buy a Nancy Drew each. We would read, then swap books before heading back to the bookstore!

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