#43, Two Across, by Jeff Bartsch

Vera Baxter and Stanley Owen tie as champions of the National Spelling Bee in 1960, and their lives are intertwined ever-after.  This is Jeff Bartsch's first novel, and I love the way he writes. Here he is describing the ultra-rich and socially conscious mother so busy saving children in Africa that she hardly knew her own:  "and by the time she poked her head into their bedrooms, the offspring had escaped through the walls of daily life and into the open fields of their dreams."

Highly recommended.  4 stars.

#42, The Maltese Falcon, by Dashiell Hammett

The movie is entirely faithful to this book.  I found the book, though, to be a little easier to follow.  I kept picturing Humphrey Bogart, Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, and all the rest as I read--Sam Spade is a good old-fashioned hard-boiled detective.  No whining about how hard his life has been, no 12-step programs, no social commentary, just a great story.  Truly a classic.