Unlike last week, when I was in the car for over five hours, on the way to Romney, West Virginia, I’ll be around today to talk about books.
That was a family trip with my Mom and sisters. We went to Romney on Thursday, taking two cars because of the directions we were taking. We met up at the hotel, and Friday was our train trip on the Potomac Eagle Railroad. I love trains. It was a gorgeous day for a train trip with the windows wide open. There’s beautiful scenery, and we heard about some of the history. As much as we all love history, I loved the scenery with the eagles, deer, cattle in the Potomac River, Great blue herons. And, pinochle games every night! Wonderful trip.
Thank you to Kevin Tipple for filling in with a couple reviews while I was gone.
I hope you all had a good week, and good weather.
This week, I’m halfway through a book I think Kaye Barley will appreciate. It’s called The Heirloomist: 100 Treasures and the Stories They Tell by Shana Novak. There are stories to make you smile about the items that are special to people, and a few that will make you cry. I never heard of a “Magic Doodle”, but it seems somewhat like an Etch-a-Sketch. Tiana Santore tells the story of that toy and her father, a fireman. Martha Palmer has a story about a boarding pass. Wendy Kantor tells of a necklace she brought to her mother-in-law, a Holocaust survivor, and her pride in her family. “The Nazis didn’t win.”
It’s a quick book, one you can pick up and put down. And, it’s already published. I picked up my copy at the local public library. It will make you think about your own heirlooms, the treasures that are special to you.
What about you this week? What are you doing? What are you reading?
The Troubling Death of Maddy Benson by Terry Shames.
I loved that book, Kevin. I was ready for a Samuel Craddock, and this one is so timely!
I am enjoying it, though I have not read the last couple of days. Got Covid boosted and got rocked.
Any vaccine rocks me because of my health issues. Scott and I both did the Novavax version Tuesday afternoon and the side effects for each of us were far fewer than any Covid shot before. Scott is already pretty much back to normal. I am still somewhat messed up, but nothing like normal.
My normal is a week to two weeks, post shot, in bed with severe fatigue, nausea, chills, fevers of 101, severe headaches, and all that jazz. THIS TIME– no chills, no fever, a little bit of nausea Tuesday, and some fatigue and a mild headache. I’d read that it had fewer side effects and did just as well, so that is why we went with it after talking about it.
By the way, we did it at our local Kroger pharmacy where we also got a $20 coupon as they are pushing vaccinations. Apparently, no matter what it is, folks are not getting vaccinated. We were getting boosted anyway, so this was a help to pay for groceries.
For what this is all worth. My docs have stressed to me since this crap started, that for me with my issues, the thing would be fatal in all likelihood. I never stopped masking and have been getting the shots since they first became available. This one has been the easiest of all of them.
Like you, Kevin, I’ve been getting the vaccine since the beginning. I think the reason is they’re not making it easy to get in some areas, and charging enormous amounts if you don’t have insurance.
I’m glad you and Scott are taking care of yourselves.
I would love to go on a train trip one day Lesa. Yours sounds perfect.
An uneventful week here. Tea with friends, walks by the river, and finding ‘treasures’ we may or may not have needed at Costco. Although I must say the red grapes and French butter cookies we found there were definitely worth the trip.
I do worry about our younger daughter though – I may have mentioned before that last November the townhouse unit next to her and her husband’s had a fire, which caused a heap of damage to hers as well. All possessions – furniture, food, clothes all waterlogged, smoke-damaged and unsalvageable. The ceiling was hanging down. They had to move out, the place found for them is not in their neighbourhood so they’re not near friends or familiar surroundings. They had to buy clothes and everything needed for daily life. Anyway, they’ve been out for ten months already, and the reconstruction is down to the studs and nowhere near finished. And because it was open to the elements, mice have moved in. At the same time her husband had just been accepted into police training, and has to study and all of that in their temporary home. And … their beloved rescue dog has been found to have a heart condition, and now a suspicious lump as well. So much stress for them; she says she’s fine but she sounds tired and worn out. So I worry.
Two books this week:
ACT LIKE A LADY, THINK LIKE A LORD by Celeste Connally (first book of a series)
I quite enjoyed this regency-era/mystery/romance. It was at once light and fun but at the same time told a story around a serious issue, and did a great job of showing how frighteningly easy it would have been to make people believe certain things about women.
Lady Petra’s beloved fiancé dies in an accident shortly before they are to be married. She declares she will never marry now, which earns her the disapproval of society in the early 1800s.
She is shocked to hear of the death of a friend, and after discovering unusual circumstances surrounding it she decides to do a bit of sleuthing. This inevitably puts her in grave danger and had me madly turning the pages in suspense.
The book started slowly, and not much happened beyond being introduced to the various characters (so many lords and ladies of this and that to try to keep straight), but by the second half of the story I couldn’t put it down.
The characters are great – even the loathsome ones make for good reading. Lady Petra herself is intelligent, plucky, an early feminist (but happy to accept help from any quarter if necessary), has a good heart, and is not afraid to speak her mind and to do the right thing.
AMAZING GRACE ADAMS by Fran Littlewood
Can’t really say much about the storyline without giving away too much; it’s better to let everything come to you as you read it. I will say that both the cover and the blurb led me to think the book would be a light, fun read but it was anything but that.
Did I like the book? Yes. And no.
Yes, because the author is good at showing the internal turmoil of the characters, and at making you feel you’re living the story right alongside them. And also because (although the book goes back and forth in time) the sections that are about the day Grace tries to get to her daughter Lotte’s 16th birthday party are worth the price of the book.
No, because it was heart wrenchingly sad and depressing, difficult to read at times because of that, dealt with weighty issues (grief, sexual predators, dissolution of a marriage, parenting) and just an unhappy life I guess – and how difficult it is to make the right choices all the time, and the difficulty of trying to hold it all together when everything seems to be falling apart around you.
A feel-good read this was not.
Lindy, I had the same reaction to Amazing Grace Adams. And I got to meet Celeste Connally at last year’s Bouchercon in San Diego. We had a lovely conversation, and I’m happy to report that I enjoyed All’s Fair in Love and Treachery even more than Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord.
It was perfect, Lindy. Good weather, and just the right length at 3 hours. We’re going on one at the end of October that will be about the same length.
I’m sorry to hear about the mess your daughter has to deal with . Actually, the summary of your second book seemed to summarize her lot at the present time. “The difficulty of trying to hold it all together when everything seems to be falling apart around you.” I’m sorry.
I’m currently 2/3 of the way through CRIME AND PARCHMENT by Daphne Silver, the first in her Rare Book Cozy Mysteries. It’s also her first novel and won Best First at last year’s Agatha Awards. I’m enjoying this one. It slowed down a bit from the beginning, which introduced a lot of stuff, but I think it’s about to pick back up as we race toward the climax. Either way, I’m looking forward to book two, which is slated to come out later this year.
A rare book mystery series sounds interesting Mark. I’ll need to see if I can find that one. Thanks
Hmm. MM is right, Mark. A rare book cozy mystery? Sounds interesting.
Good morning. That train ride sounds like fun. We finally closed on my mom’s house so that’s one less thing I have to deal with.
I read an ARC of Gathering Mist by Margaret Mizushima, the latest in her Mattie and Robo K-9 series. In this one Mattie and Robo travel to the Olympic Peninsula to help search for a celebrity’s missing 9 year old son. I had a hard time putting it down.
I liked Gathering Mist, Sandy, more than some of the other recent ones in the series. I was done with the previous storyline of bad people looking for Mattie.
Hi Lesa and everyone,
I’m writing this on Wednesday evening again, as we are away to the Isle of Islay (one of the islands of the Inner Hebrides) first thing tomorrow morning. We drive across Scotland to Kennacraig, a small hamlet and ferry port on the remote Kintyre peninsula, then we have a two hour boat trip to the island. As usual we are going primarily for the annual jazz festival, but as my husband has now retired, we are taking our time and having a few extra days to enjoy the beaches and, of course, the many distilleries.
We’ve been having some wonderful weather over the past few days – sunny and warm with blue skies and hardly any breeze. Yesterday’s high was 68F, which is what we might expect (but didn’t get) in July and August. September is often a better month in NE Scotland.
This week I finally finished reading A CORNISH SECRET by Emma Burnstall. As I said last week, I should have given up on this book ages ago. Poorly written, silly plot and unengaging characters – I really don’t know how it was published, although I’ve now realised that it was the fourth book in a series, and people who’ve read the earlier books say they were much better. I did get the feeling that the author had had to churn this one out to satisfy some sort of book deal. There was so much superfluous verbiage – Burnstall couldn’t even mention the time of day without adding ‘about’ or ‘around’ – ‘she left at about half past eleven’, ‘the house was fairly near the beach.’ And while it was fine to describe someone as ‘X’s husband’ or ‘the publican’ or even ‘her lover’ once, repeating this every single time that person cropped up was just lazy, and so annoying! Plus the endless descriptions of people’s every item of clothing…well, I’m sure you get the idea.
Anyway IT’S DONE!
I also finished, and very much enjoyed, Colleen McCullough’s THE LADIES OF MISSALONGHI. I spoke about this last week, so I won’t go into detail now, just to say that I really didn’t see the final twist coming – yet it didn’t feel in the least jarring, it just completed a perfect little story. What a great character timid little Missy turned out to be! And I loved the way in which McCullough didn’t make Missy’s mother and aunt into ogres; although they seemed strict at first, they were only doing their best to look after someone they saw as vulnerable. When Missy took life into her own hands, they were delighted for her.
So today I’ve been packing and as usual I had the stressful task of deciding which books to take to Islay. Of course I won’t get most of them read, but that doesn’t stop me deliberating for hours about my choices. In the end I’ve decided on;
POETIC JUSTICE by Amanda Cross (which I must have read years ago, but which will fit the #52bookclubchallenge prompt of ‘an academic thriller’) – it’s one of Cross’s earlier Kate Fansler novels, before her writing sadly declined.
LIES OF SILENCE by Brian Moore. I’ve never read anything by this author, but I know Cathy of @746Books thinks very highly of him, and she runs the Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy, so she knows a thing or two about Irish literature. This book is set in ‘The Troubles’ and focuses on the moral dilemma of an apolitical man dragged into the conflict against his wishes. (I’m reading this as I need a ‘Booker-nominated novel’, again for the #52bookclubchallenge.)
NEWS FROM THRUSH GREEN by Miss Read. I’ve dipped into the Miss Read books over many years, but I’ve not read this one. I’m reading it for Simon and Kaggsy’s #1970Club, which will take place in October. I enjoy Miss Read (Dora Saint)’s stories about the villagers of Thrush Green and Fairacre; they’re sometimes written off as twee, but they do in fact cover some important issues, especially those affecting small rural communities.
MISS SEETON CRACKS THE CASE by Hamilton Crane. I’ve read other books in this series, which was originally written by HERON CARVIC, then, after his death, continued first by Peter Martin writing as Hampton Charles, then Sarah J Mason writing as Hamilton Crane. Miss Seeton is a retired art teacher,
‘Armed with only her sketch pad and umbrella, she is every inch an eccentric English spinster and at every turn the most loveable and unlikely master of detection.’
I’m reading this one for Nora’s #spinstersinSeptember (The Ladies of Missalonghi also qualifies.)
Next week I’ll let you know how little I actually achieved…
I’m at last making some headway in setting up my own website, which I plan to use primarily for reviews and news from Aberdeenshire. If Wix is an easy platform, goodness only knows what a difficult one is. David has been looking at it with me, so I’m hoping he can take on the technical side and I can just do the writing.
Last week we continued our visits to NORTH EAST OPEN STUDIOS. On Thursday we had a great day driving up to the north coast via the studios and homes of painters, textile artists, ceramicists and even a guy who makes the frames for the windows of vintage trains. He was a woodturner who took us through the whole process (he also makes ornaments and children’s puzzles) – very interesting.
When we finally got to Banff we visited my friend Drew, who is a silversmith and has recently taken over the running of The Smiddy, a jewellery workshop and studio belonging to Vanilla Ink, a much larger organisation in Glasgow. The Smiddy runs jewellery making classes but is also open access, so anyone needing workspace can book time there. It was so lovely to catch up with Drew, whom I’ve now known for some years and who has made rings for me in the past. I had assumed that The Smiddy was an old blacksmith’s shop, but Drew told us that in the 17th century Banff used to be the silversmithing centre of northern Scotland, with over 20 silversmiths working around the town – so the building was originally used for this purpose.
Drew’s about to take over the chairing of NEOS, so in no time at all I had been co-opted onto his committee…hopefully it’ll be fun as well as hard work! NEOS covers 300 studios, all of whom open for at least some days during one week every September. It publishes a handbook with details of every participant – what they do, where they are, when they are open, etc – and also co-ordinates the entire week. I think it’s a very worthwhile organisation – anyone can take part, there is no selection process, so it’s very democratic. Of course this means that the standard of work varies enormously, but everyone is so enthusiastic, and no matter what the arts and crafts are like, it’s fascinating to chat with the makers and here their stories. Some have been doing this for years and it’s their full time job, others have only started after retiring or being made redundant, and some are fitting it in around many other commitments.
On our travels we discovered The Buzzard Café, which is in the countryside outside Inverurie. It’s part of a project offering training in horticulture and catering to adults with special needs. The café was just lovely – great scones! – and we’ll certainly go again. Then in Banff we had a cup of tea at the Spotted Bag Café, which is upstairs in a discount store – so we didn’t have high hopes – but it turned out to be excellent, with more delicious cakes and a fabulous view over the sea. It was very windy so the waves were crashing onto the shore – lovely to look at when you are cosy inside. Banff, like all of the settlements along the north coast, is very old fashioned – I think this often means that the cafes are good, people still expect a proper cup of tea and a solid piece of cake up there, not some ‘artisan-made’ overpriced morsel!
My friend Nancy is away on a sailing holiday in Greece this week, so we haven’t had any outings, but yesterday the weather was so fabulous that David and I walked at the Dunecht estate (which has recently been used to film part of the new Frankenstein movie.) It was absolutely beautiful up on the hill; we saw no one apart from a couple of tractor drivers bringing in the hay, and the panoramic views from the top were spectacular.
Today I’ve been mostly trying to pack and sort out our groceries, as we take most of our food with us (there are only two small co-ops on the island – it is nothing like the tourist hot-spot of Skye.) I returned a book to the library and found that they have at last started their ‘jigsaw puzzle library’ – I have been saving my puzzles for this for over a year, so we were happy to deliver 20 of them to the librarian. It’s such a good idea, as puzzles are very expensive, and many people in the village love doing them over the long winter months, when it can be dark here by 3pm.
I hope everybody has a great week. I haven’t had time to proof read this post. so apologies in advance for the no doubt many typos.
Rosemary, that sounds like a great trip. I wish we had seen more of northern Scotland in the years we were visiting there, but we mostly spent our time in Edinburgh (and some in Glasgow, looking for books). But then, neither of us is very good on the water, so maybe not.
Lots of British TV shows here. Just got the fifth series of THE BAY yesterday, plus RIDLEY, and we are enjoying the very intense TRIGGER POINT.
Rosemary, If you had typos I never saw them, and spelling errors usually jump out at me.
I think it’s funny that you were “co-opted” onto the committee for NEOS. It sounds like a wonderful project, and something you’ll enjoy despite probably numerous small problems.
Miss Read. I loved so many of the Miss Read books. They were delightful with serious topics at the same time. I loved those books.
Enjoy your trip to Islay. (I probably would never open a book.)
I’m currently reading a Court of Thorns and Roses. It’s a series thatI’ve always wanted to start and I’m glad thatI am! It’s good timing too – my fiancee and I are going on a backpack trip this weekend and the paperback is light enough to go in my pack.
Your comment about taking books backpacking reminds me of the years my husband and I were able to backpack. I would always take a paperback and would tear the pages out that I had read to use to start the campfire the next evening. And that way my pack was much lighter hiking back out. Enjoy it while you can!
Such a nice story, Diane. I agree. Enjoy it while you can, Melissa! And, enjoy your backpack trip!
Sounds like a fun trip. I’ve never been to West Virginia (I must admit there are quite a few states I haven’t set foot in), but I agree with you on trains. When we were kids going to summer camp upstate, we took the Erie Lackawanna’s “Phoebe Snow” from the terminal in Hoboken to Binghamton (it ran to Buffalo). In 1974, we got Eurailpasses and traveled from Rome up to Scandinavia and back to Paris. And I already mentioned the Grand Canyon Railway we took with my sister and her family nearly 20 years ago now.
Tuesday was Jackie’s birthday, and by coincidence we went to the city to see Jeff Lynne’s ELO in concert on their final tour. Good show. We stayed over at a local Marriott on one of her mini-vacations and ate ast Hill Country Barbecue. Yum.
The weather has been mostly great lately, warm and sunny, dry (we could use a little rain) with low humidity.
To books, then. Jackie is reading another of her paranormal romance favorites, Cynthia Eden’s SLOW BURN. It’s about a Phoenix (get it, burn?). She is about done with it, and she has Kate Quinn’s THE BRIAR CLUB up next.
Since I finished the two short story collections I was reading, I’m currently reading The Stark House Anthology, It’s a 25th Anniversary celebration of the authors they’ve published, most noirish writers from the 1950s, like Lionel White, Harry Whittington, Bruno Fischer, Jean Potts, Helen Nielsen.
I took a break from Cara Hunter’s Adam Fawley series and read her standalone, Murder in the Family, and raced through the 450+ pages in a couple of days. Director Guy Howard’s stepfather, Luke Ryder, was murdered 20 years ago, and the case was never solved. Now, Howard and his producer have assembled a team of “experts” to try and actually solve the crime. There are two retired cops (one from The Met, the other NYPD), a psychologist, a private eye, etc. It is an 8 part television series and each chapter is written in screenplay-like form and ends with a cliffhanger. She’s done a good job and, like the series, this is worth reading.
I’ve read Sloane Crosley’s three amusing collections of essays over the years, including I WAS TOLD THERE WOULD BE CAKE, and enjoyed them. Her memoir got strong reviews. Grief Is For People starts in June of 2019, when a burglar climbed up the fire escape and stole all the jewelry from her Greenwich Village apartment. She was still trying to come to terms with that loss when, exactly a month later, her closest friend and former boss (as a publicist at Vintage Books), Russell Perrault, hangs himself in the barn at his Connecticut home. This really throws her into a tailspin, as she deals with the stages of grief. Then, about three-quarters of the way through, we suddenly have the pandemic, which puts a whole different spin on things.
I really enjoyed Bruce Borgos’s first mystery about Sheriff Porter Beck in the High Country of Nevada near the Utah border, so was looking forward to the sequel, Shades of Mercy. I’m over halfway through it but I think I will wait until next week for my review. Good book, though, and definitely worth reading.
Up next is the fourth Adam Fawley book by Cara Hunter, and of course I have several other library books on hand.
Aren’t trains wonderful, Jeff? Of course, I’d taken Amtrak multiple times to Chicago, but I really preferred this old train for just a three hour trip. Sounds like Gilligan’s Island, doesn’t it?
I can’t wait to see what Jackie thinks of The Briar Club. Wish her a belated happy birthday for me. It’s never to late to accept good wishes!
I have to say Grief is for People sounds depressing. I’d rather read a good police procedural. Cara Hunter’s standalone sounds fascinating, though.
Happy Thursday all! I failed to complete a book this week, but am hoping to have two read by next Thursday. I am happy to hear about your fun train ride and pinochle! Great memories! It has been awhile since I’ve been lucky enough to be on a train, but this weekend I did enjoy a bike ride on a paved path that was converted from train tracks. It has been on my bucket list to ride this path and I finally did it. It did not disappoint. Beautiful countryside and crossings at roads that seem to beckon to be explored someday. I hope to continue with my bike riding while the sun is still shining in Northern Michigan. Those cloudy winter days are just around the corner!
You are so right, Mary. I’m not looking forward to the cloudy winter days. It’s not even the heat that I love. I love the sunshine, and miss it.
I’m not a bike rider, but my sister who is would love that train tracks trek!
Yes, what a difference a week makes. The winds that threatened to move the fire into much of Reno didn’t. The fire was soon contained with no lives lost. The weather turned cool, with a touch of snow at higher elevations. And I’m slowly working through my stack of library books.
A SWARM OF BUTTERFLIES by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett is the sixth in the Dr. Nell Ward mystery series. It’s the summer Fete at the family’s Finchmere Estate featuring rewilding work and community artisans. But someone is obsessed with Nell’s partner, and it could be anyone attending. Wonderful combination of crime and nature.
I was mesmerized by William Kent Krueger’s latest, SPIRIT CROSSING, number 20 in the Cork O’Connor series (and I still miss Sandie’s enthusiastic reviews).
The story contains multiple plot lines as well as familiar characters. It highlights the Bureau of Indian Affairs – Missing & Murdered Indigenous Peoples Unit with a new character, Agent Danette Shirley.
I’ve read 80% of this series and really enjoy the settings & the characters even though the subject matter can be harsh at times. At least one more book is under contract.
And thanks to Lindy for mentioning the charming historical fiction by Helen Simonson, THE HAZELBOURNE LADIES MOTORCYCLE AND FLYING CLUB. With warmth and humor (and a Sopwith Camel), the story explores the lives of women in the years following WW1 as the freedoms they gained during the war are revoked.
MM, Thank you so much for filling us in about the Reno fires. We hear a little on the news, and then, when it’s no longer of interest to them, we never hear the results.
My current book and my next book are from the library. Like you, I need to make my way through a stack.
I finally got some Home Health Care visits after a number of mishaps delayed them for 2 weeks after I got home, and I almost don’t need them anymore anyway. But I guess that’s good news. I’m hoping to finally schedule one last follow-up appointment to my accident and learn how much longer I’ll have to wear this infernal cervical collar. But my son learned how to take the collar on and off so I can take a shower, and that has been glorious. I can’t help thinking about Howard’s relationship with his demanding mother in The Big Bang Theory and hoping Nick can forget some of our current experiences soon! I only finished two books this week, but I’m looking forward to reviewing TJ Klune’s sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea which I’m enjoying right now.
I know I can rely on Debbie Johnson for comfort reads that brighten my day. And A VERY IRISH CHRISTMAS has the added benefit of successfully invoking the festive, heart-warming holiday spirit. Even after three years , New Yorker Cassie O’Hara hasn’t stopped grieving the way her last romance ended. Her fiancé waited until their wedding day to tell her he couldn’t go through with it , , , while both were standing at the altar. To make things worse, her event planning career seems to be spiraling backwards. Cassie knows she’s in a rut but can’t seem to break out of it until her beloved Nanna Nora leaves her a small inheritance. Cassie has always enjoyed her spirited grandmother’s tales of her early life in Cork, Ireland so she vows to spend a month by herself, soaking up the atmosphere of the British Isles in the winter. Little does she know that the quaint cottage she rented shouldn’t really have been up for rental at all. Fortunately, the mishap results in good luck for Cassie, as she becomes acquainted with a cast of local characters that are mostly of Irish descent and that include two interesting but very different men. This is one of those books that truly lives up to the word “Christmas” in its title, while simultaneously telling a charming and immersive story. I loved spending time in this convivial and mostly friendly English atmosphere as well as Cassie’s ultimate foray into Ireland itself. (October)
Daryl Wood Gerber introduces her new Literary Dining Mystery series with MURDER 0N THE PAGE, set in the Asheville NC area. Allie Catt (what were her parents thinking?) gave up her dream of becoming an English teacher to launch a career as a caterer and event planner, but she never lost her love of classic literature. So when her aunt, a Jane Austen fan, meets an unexpected demise, Alley can’t think of a better way to memorialize her than with a Pride and Prejudice-themed event, complete with costumes and period-appropriate refreshments. She also can’t help joining in the investigation into her aunt’s death led by the attractive local detective, Zach. There are quite a few characters introduced, as frequently occurs in the first book in a series. but I wish the author had taken more time to flesh out the primary characters–including Allie and her best friend (and prime suspect) Tegan–to make them more engaging. We know that Allie has lost a fiancé and that her parents were never role models, and we are told Tegan’s husband has been cheating, but for me it isn’t enough to make them relatable. A burgeoning romance between Allie and Zach is not convincing–yet. However, I am a loyal fan of the author’s other series–most recently her Fairy Garden series –so I will give the next book in the new series a try. (October)
As usual, Margie, you talked me into adding another book to my “to read” list! A Very Irish Christmas sounds fabulous! So glad to hear that you are making progress!
Margie, Even with all of your problems, you still have your sense of humor. As soon as you mentioned Howard’s mother, I knew what you meant. I’m sure Nick won’t hold it against you.
It’s so good to have you writing here on Thursdays. We missed you.
And, A Very Irish Christmas sounds wonderful. I think it’s on my NetGalley TRB pile.
So glad that you are having so much fun in your retirement, Lesa! I have started a historical fiction book from Amazon Vine, they have cut down offering books so much! It is the Wildes: A Novel in Five Acts by Lois Bayard. I wasn’t so sure that I would like it at first but it is very witty. Learned they spent money like crazy. It was gone at the end, but I am still where they are spending.
Their son, has a white rabbit which he calls Blackie because of his black eyes.
Thank you, Carol. I appreciate the time with my family more than I might have in the past.
Oh, good. Glad to hear Wildes is witty. He’s going to be here locally speaking, but I’m not planning to go.
Lesa – You know me too well – this book does indeed shout my name. Thank you!
❤
The minute I started this one, Kaye, I thought of you!
I just finished “Crook Manifesto,” the second in Colson Whitehead’s planned trilogy about Harlem furniture store owner and part-time fencer Ray Carney. In addition to writing a riveting novel, Whitehead brilliantly recreates the New York City of the early 1970s, which was not exactly a pleasant place to be.
My best friend loves Colson Whitehead’s writing, Andrew, but I think she bogged down with that one.
Your trip sounds fun, Lesa. They have a few train trips in Lebanon, Ohio but we have not done any yet.
Two books for me this week. I enjoyed THE UNCHARTED FLIGHT OF OLIVIA WEST by Sara Ackerman. It told the fictionalized story of the Dole Air Race in 1927 sponsored by Dole pineapple where pilots flew 2,400 miles from San Francisco to Hawaii. While Olivia herself was a fictional navigator, there was a woman who flew as a passenger. The present-day storyline was about Wren, a down and out artist who inherits a parcel of land on the Big Island that has clues about a little-known piece of aviation history. I ended up going down the rabbit hole of learning about the real Dole Air Race.
My second book was THE LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE by Kirsty Greenwood about Delphie who dies and find herself in Evermore. She gets a chance to reclaim her life if she can reconnect with her soulmate in 10 days. I thought this was fun and different.
Have a good week and Happy Reading!
You haven’t been there, Sharon, long enough to do everything! So much to do in the Cincinnati area.
Don’t you love a good rabbit hole? I know I do.
I finally picked up The Women of the Copper Country by Mary Doria Russell. What a fabulous read! Based upon the life of a real woman, the book is set in Calumet, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula. This was where a tremendous amount of the world’s copper was mined and shipped from in the early 1900’s. As you can imagine, working and living conditions for the miners and their families was brutal. The book follows Annie, who helped create the women’s branch of the union in order to encourage the men to unionize and strike for better wages and safety measures. A wonderful read. We went hiking in Calumet a couple of years ago and you can still see the beautiful buildings and the obvious wealth of the area reflected in the town.
I needed something lighter to read after that, so picked up Death Wears a Mask by Ashley Weaver. This is the second mystery in a series set in 1920’s England. I enjoyed this one as well.
My grandson turns one today, so we will be going over for dinner and cupcakes. A good ending to the week!
Jennifer, Don’t you love to read a novel set in an area where you’ve been? I like it that you’ve been to Calumet and saw the remains of the buildings.
We did that one-year-old birthday party last Saturday. My great-nephew had a blueberry pie. He didn’t smash anything, just picked out the blueberries one by one.
I did not comment last week because Glen and I both had COVID. It started around Sept 9th, Glen tested positive first so he is mostly OK now. I am feeling better but very very tired, no motivation to do anything. Except for reading. Glen reminded me that it is Thursday, so here is a brief update.
I am now reading WINTER WORK by Dan Fesperman, the last book in an espionage trilogy. Glen is reading SUSPENSE by Parnell Hall, the 13th book in the Stanley Hastings series. That is one of Glen’s favorite fiction series.
How miserable for you both. Doesn’t sound like you had the ‘slight cold’ symptoms they’re saying is the norm now. I hope you feel right as rain very soon.
Thanks, Lindy. We both had symptoms that went well beyond a slight cold, and we were pretty miserable for at least six days. The tired feeling was worse for me in the later days. It is a relief to be moving toward normal.
Oh, Tracy. How lousy for both of you. Since I’m tired all the time, I wouldn’t recognize that symptom, only others. I hope you’re feeling better soon.
Tell Glen thank you! I’m glad he reminded you so we could at least find out how you’re doing. I’m glad you can still read.
Lesa, it was the first time we got Covid, so I guess we were lucky. On the other hand we have no idea how we got it. We are almost always at home and don’t go to crowded places or events.
Things are cooling down, with September halfway through.
Went to the movies. I watched Killer’s Game, starring Dave Batista. I’m a guy, what can I say? It’s basically a mash up of True Lies and a sequel to The Hitman’s Bodyguard, directed by a low rent Guy Ritchie. A hitman thinks he’s dying from a terrible neurological disease after finding the love of his life. To prevent his body’s deterioration, he puts a contract out on himself. Then he finds out he was misdiagnosed. Oops! Terry Crews does an excellent Samuel L. Jackson impression. Batista lost 100 pounds since he made this film, so the next one may be something very different.
This week I read:
Resisting Manipulation by Michel Rodet; I was hoping for a self help book, to recharge my skeptic batteries, but all this book does is lionize Sweden. Guess he never read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books.
Night Terror by Russ Titlon; Weaponized baboons escape into an Arkansas national park, where some mooks are trying to take a kayaking trip. Talk about bad timing!
Dog Eat Dog by David Rosenfelt; Andy Carpenter defends a guy who got into a fight over the mistreatment of a dog, only to be arrested for a murder in Maine for helping the dog. The conspiracy isn’t much, to be honest with you, but the form of the book is still there.
Shadow of Doubt by Brad Thor; Thor continues his pivot toward Russia as the Big Bad. Scot Harvath’s Norwegian fiance is in charge of a Russian defector. Somehow the Russians know where he is, and try to take him back. Based on a true historical incident, this is still pretty exciting. I hope Thor is coming back to form.
Between a Flock and a Hard Place by Donna Andrews; Someone is having their home remodelled by a reality show, and someone else lets a flock of feral turkeys loose in the area. The usual obnoxious jerk is killed off, and the book starts to kick in. I thought the author was crazy saying Butterballs turkeys taste better than the ones out in the wild. I don’t think she’s ever conducted a taste test.
I never even heard of Killer’s Game, Glen, so certainly wouldn’t criticize anyone for going to it.
You made me laugh with Between a Flock and a Hard Place. I doubt if she did conduct a taste test. (grin)
Hi Lesa,
Glad you had a great trip. Had a rough Monday due to heavy winds and rain in NC because of PTC#8 (what a name). Stayed at a co-worker’s house Monday night as I live 2 counties away from where I work. Weather better since Tuesday afternoon. I am currently listen to the audio of The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave, In print, I am reading Across the Blue by Carrie Turansky (for work book club at library) and on kindle, I am reading Cherry Pie or Die by CeeCee James ( I’m reading for a cozy mystery You Tube book club).
You’re right, Katherine. PTC#8? Who came up with that? I’m glad you’re safe now.
I like the title Cherry Pie or Die.