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“Pay Dirt,” by Sara Paretsky (Wiliam Morrow)

This month, several Denver-area histories serve as summer tour guides.
“The Scenic History of Denver Cemeteries: From Cheesman Park to Riverside,” by Phil Goodstein (New Social Publications)

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com.

Several thousand romance readers from across the country descended on the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center two weeks ago for Readers Take Denver, billed as a four-day conference where bibliophiles would have the chance to mingle with their favorite authors, get books signed, and attend panels and other events.

I’ve completed 17 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles in the past 14 weeks. Mostly by myself.
Over that same time, I also cut way back on booze, halved my phone screen time (okay, it’s maybe 30% less), and gone on a dozen hikes. All without losing a single cardboard piece.
I never really saw myself as a puzzler, but it’s become a nice way to put aside the problems of the world and focus on something else for five or 10 minutes, or for a couple of hours. It helps with my sometimes short attention span, and puzzles are extremely satisfying to finish.

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com.

Editor’s note: The opinions of the smart, well-read women in my Denver book club mean a lot, and often determine what the rest of us choose to pile onto our bedside tables. So we asked them, and all Denver Post readers, to share these mini-reviews with you. Have any to offer? Email bellis@denverpost.com.

“The Memory of Lavender and Sage,” by Aimie K. Runyan (Harper Muse)
Tempesta’s father is dead. His will leaves the family fortune to her brother.  But to everyone’s surprise, the will gives Tempesta money that had belonged to her mother, who died years before. Tempesta has no reason to remain in New York.  Her grandmother hates her, her brother is disdainful, and she’s bored with her newspaper job.