Happy Thursday, everyone! Are you ready to talk about books after a couple weeks of interesting weather? What are you reading this week?
I could go on and on about Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly. I’ll save much of it for my blog review next week, though. I tore through this, finishing it yesterday morning, so as of writing this, I haven’t started the next book. I do know it will be S.C. Perkins’ latest mystery, Fatal Family Ties. I need something different after the heartbreaking, but life affirming novel by Bly. On the surface, it’s the story of a woman, a professor of Shakespeare from New York City, who has Stage Three cancer, and travels to Elba with her best friend and his lover. (How many books do you know of that are set on Elba other than books about Napoleon?) But, it’s so much more. It’s a story about love and music and poetry, and facing death and the challenge of life. It’s so beautiful that I bought a copy even after I read the library book.
Just a little about Mary Bly. She writes bestselling historical romances as Eloisa James. She’s chair of the English department at Fordham University. Bly is also the daughter of poet Robert Bly and short story writer Carol Bly. There’s more information that actually goes hand-in-hand with this book, but I’ll save that and her book trailer for the review of Lizzie & Dante.
So, that’s what I just finished. What about you? What are you reading this week? I’m looking forward to reading about your books!
Okay. I had to share after reading Rosemary’s post for today. Check out her note about Southwark Cathedral in England, and Hodge the cat. I’m not going to say anymore, other than I looked it up as I said I would Here’s the website – https://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org/visiting/hodge-the-cathedral-cat/welcome-to-hodge-by-the-dean-of-southwark/
And, here are photos of Hodge, taken by Jill Mead from The Guardian. Thank you, Rosemary!
Hello, all! I’m pleased that we are out of the 100+ weather for now and even forecasted for high 80s Thursday and Friday! Let’s hope that continues. Here’s what I’ve been reading.
I recommended that my book club read Bill Bryson’s hilarious memoir about his childhood in Des Moines, Iowa in the 1950s, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID, which I first read when it was published in 2006. It’s full of nostalgia for those who were alive during that decade–new appliances that were proudly shown off to neighbors, doctors who made house calls, TV shows like Sky King, The Lone Ranger, Burns and Allen, flattop hairdos, TV dinners, drive-in restaurants, newly opened Disneyland, hula hoops, game show cheating, and so much more. Also covered are the scarier parts of the fifties/sixties, including the polio epidemic, the Cold War, McCarthyism, and fallout shelters. It was a much different time for both children and adults. There is so much to enjoy in this book if you’re a Baby Boomer like me or if you just want to know what it was like back then. Bryson is a treasure.
UK writer Sarah Morgan has created the perfect summer escape in THE SUMMER SEEKERS. Liza and her husband want Liza’s 80-year-old mother, Kathleen, to move out of her beautiful beachside home into a retirement community for her safety and convenience, but Kathleen won’t hear of it. She’s spent much of her life as a travel writer with her own TV show, and she isn’t willing to give up her independence even though her husband is deceased and her health is faltering a bit. So Kathleen hires a stranger, Martha, to fly to Chicago with her and drive her to the Pacific Coast, taking time to appreciate the Grand Canyon, local diners, and everything in between. Along the way, she rethinks her difficult relationship with her daughter and tries to come to terms with a broken engagement and betrayal that happened years before Liza’s birth. Martha is running away from a disastrous relationship and a family life devoid of any love or support. And Liza suddenly takes time off from her own family and teaching career, which has sapped her of the time and desire to become an artist. I became emotionally invested in all of the characters, which also included an elusive celebrity friend of Kathleen’s, a young executive who hasn’t come to terms with his brother’s death, and a mercurial cat. Highly recommended.
I’m a big fan of Ellie Alexander’s Sloan Krause mysteries, which have an emotional depth that is sometimes lacking in cozy mystery series. Leavenworth, WA has marketed itself as a Bavarian-style destination for tourists, with festivals throughout the year. In THE CURE FOR WHAT ALES YOU, it’s spring and the popular Maifest is approaching, as Sloan and Garrett prepare to sell a lot of craft beers at their boutique brewery, Nitro, and to participate in the festivities. Sloan is also part-owner of the much larger Der Keller brewery, along with her soon-to-be ex-husband, Mac, his brother, and their parents, who became surrogate parents to Sloan when she joined the family after years in the foster system. A love story between Sloan and her business partner Garrett may be brewing, but that’s not the focus of this fifth in the series. In this book Sloan finds out how she landed as a young child in Leavenworth and why her mother abandoned her. Unfortunately, there is a lot of potential danger involved, to Sloan and possibly her 16-year-old son, Alex, as a result of learning these secrets. There is also trouble at the nearby hotel, with guests’ money and belongings going missing, a manager who acts inappropriately to his female staff, and one of the staff who is found murdered. I enjoyed learning about Sloan’s background, following the intriguing plot, and experiencing more of the vividly portrayed town of Leavenworth and the (mostly) lovable characters who populate the town. (October)
Sunny Hostin’s first novel, SUMMER ON THE BLUFFS, is a beach read, set mostly on Martha’s Vineyard. It’s a quick read, although perhaps a bit too long. Ama and Omar Tanner were a prominent couple with a summer home on Oak Bluffs until Omar passed away five years back. Both had high-powered careers that left them multimillionaires. They hosted celebrities at their house over the years, and they welcomed their three goddaughters each summer from the time they were tweens. The girls had been selected for reasons that would become evident late in the book, and the Tanners made sure they had enough money for private schools and connections to start their careers. One summer Ama asks them all to spend the entire summer at her beach house, indicating that at the end of the summer she will give her house to one of them. It is that summer when all three–now women approaching their 30s–learn about their past, as well as secrets their godparents have buried. The book is a pleasant, undemanding read, but I feel the writing style lacks finesse and depth. There is way too much name-dropping as well, not just celebrities and artists but detailed descriptions of the clothes worn by the characters, including brand names. I also found it unbelievable that Ama was able to use her connections to simply convince each of the women’s bosses to give her the summer off. Nitpicking perhaps, but it did strain credulity for me.
Starting slowly and quietly, this poignant book builds momentum as the story progresses, and its conclusion touched my heart. THE READING LIST by Sara Nisha Adams begins, of course, with a reading list that seems to come from nowhere: To Kill a Mockingbird, Rebecca, The Kite Runner, Life of Pi, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, Beloved, and A Suitable Boy. Mukesh, age 80, finds the list accidentally at a library in his London community. His wife of 50 years has passed away a year ago, and Mukesh can’t seem to move on. He has never been much of a reader, but he feels closer to his wife when he reads something she has read. Mukesh has three daughters who touch base with him often but don’t seem to understand what he is going through. A teenage library employee convinces him to read the first book on the list, and it opens Mukesh up to conversations with strangers and to a closer relationship with his young granddaughter. The library employee, Aleisha, lives with her brother and their artist mother, whose debilitating ailment will not allow her to live alone. Aleisha has never been a reader either, but she has to start reading so she can recommend books to library patrons, and she finds a solace she never expected. Aleisha and Mukesh begin a relationship that is beneficial to both. Along the way, several other people find the list, and we learn how it affects their lives as well. I found this book to be an unexpected gem that used a library in trouble, a list of book titles, and the lessons to be learned from books to enrich the lives of almost everyone they touch. The debut author has captured just the right mood to encourage us to read and to reach out to others to improve the world around us. And yes, we do find out who originated the list–the perfect ending! (August)
Thank you for recommending THE BREAK-UP BOOK CLUB, Lesa. This is a fun, quick read about women dealing with all sorts of domestic troubles and ultimately getting together as a book club to help each other triumph and move on. Jazmine was headed for a career as a tennis champion when an accident put an end to her dreams. Instead, she beat all odds to become a high-powered, successful sports agent who is now threatened by a man who aims to poach her clients. Erin, who is temping while Jazmine’s regular assistant is away, is about ready to marry her lifelong love as he breaks into the big-time as a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves and never suspected there might be trouble in paradise. Judith is thinking about divorcing her husband after she accidentally hears what he really thinks about her, when a sudden tragedy changes her life forever. And Sara discovers that her husband’s frequent absences have been more than just business trips–much more. Chapters are narrated alternately by these four women, and other characters are also featured–Sara’s mother-in-law, who has always treated her poorly, the owner of the bookstore sponsoring the book club, and other members of the club. I was rooting for all of these women and was happy with the conclusion of the book.
It’s hard to believe that THE LITTLE BLACK BOOK is Kate Carlisle’s 15th in her reliable Bibliophile Mystery series. Security expert Derek, husband of San Francisco book-restoration maven Brooklyn, receives an unexpected package containing a valuable copy of Rebecca, signed by the author. He and Brooklyn are stumped about who sent it until they are visited by Claire, who briefly worked with Brooklyn on an Antiques Roadshow-like TV show in the past. Claire’s specialty is antique weaponry. She identifies the book as one her long-missing father had promised her and identifies the sender as her aunt, who has also gone missing. The search for Claire’s aunt, as well as a couple of murders and some intrigue involving the laird of a Scottish castle, take Brooklyn, Derek, and Claire to Dharma (the site of the commune where Brooklyn had grown up) and to Scotland itself. I look forward to each entry into this excellent series because of the interesting details about book restoration (and, in this book, about antique weapons), the strong sense of place, and the opportunity to spend time with the complex, convincing couple who are the protagonists.
Margie, I am a big fan of Bill Bryson’s too, but somehow I missed that memoir of the ’50s. I watched SKY KING! (I have always gotten a kick out of the line in Jimmy Buffett’s song “Pencil Thin Mustache” that goes “Writing fan letters to Sky’s niece Penny.”) Will definitely check it out.
Loved the Bill Bryon memoir. I even have a favorite section, when he talks about his lack of cooperation when he was supposed to be curled up under his desk. It makes me laugh. I read it when it first came out, and I still remember that section of the book.
I really like the Sloan Krause mysteries by Alexander. I prefer this series over her bakery one because I got so disgusted with the ongoing relationship with the character’s husband in that one. I actually CAN read a mystery series without the character being stuck in a romantic triangle.
You’re welcome, Margie! Terrific characters in The Break-Up Book Club. And, I liked the resolutions.
Oh, how did by miss this Bryson memoir?? I’ll be looking for it. Thank you, Margie.
I really liked that Bryson book too, it really struck a chord with me, since I grew up in those times. I’ve liked all of his books I’ve read.
My husband has read the Bill Bryson book; he loved it. We’ve both read some of Bryson’s others. He’s so good at gentle, kind humour, and in digging out the endearing absurdities of everyday life.
Last week I was trudging through reading ennui, but Friday, after coffee and some deadheading in the garden, I finally felt like reading. From the (then) three library books waiting on desk, I started Anthony Horowitz’s Moonflower Murders and after 20 pages realized I wanted to re-read his Magpie Murders first. I discovered there was a long wait for it at the library, and more than 30 waiting for the current book, so I thought what the heck, and ordered both books in hardcover and returned the library copy of Moonflower Murders. Am I an irresponsible spendthrift? Perhaps.
So on to The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt. This book features Mick Hardin, a combat veteran with time spent in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. Lesa reviewed the book here, so I’ll just add my I thought that it was just okay. It’s well written with good characters, but I’m not fond of the Kentucky hill country setting with its too obvious “eye for an eye” blood feud storyline, and thought the plot was otherwise a bit thin. I’m not sure if this is a standalone novel or introduces a series.
Now I’m reading The Final Page of Baker Street by Daniel D. Victor, who has written several Holmes pastiches, this being the first. At the 70 page point, I’d call it just better than okay, but the premise is intriguing: the last page boy at 221b Baker St. being a young fellow named Raymond Chandler, who, before returning to the U.S. and writing hard-boiled crime fiction, helps Watson solve a murder.
And… just arrived from the library are The Finders by Jeffrey Burton (1st in his corpse dog series) and A Pitying of Doves by Steve Burrows (2nd in his birder murder series). I’ll get to them soon.
Rick, sometimes I find I just have to buy a book. I usually check the library catalogue first, but there are days when I need to have a little treat.
I’m dead-heading away too. Trying to keep the colour in the garden for as long as I can – I often find that by the end of this month things are starting to flag a bit (the gardener as much as the garden…)
It’s not as if I don’t have tons of books here, but these called out. We had a terrible hot spell here in Portland and with deadheading we’re also removing sunburned foliage. But, flagging… isn’t that the truth!
Rick, I’ve been meaning to read those Horowitz books for a while, but haven’t for one reason or another (too long, too many other things waiting, etc.) . I really should get the first one at least.
Jeff, I’ve read Magpie Murders and three or four other books by him, I like his Holmes pastiches especially. Now that I have them in hand, on the shelf, library books are pouring in and who knows when I’ll get to them!
Also, whatever you think of Midsomer Murders (which he helped create), he has done some quality television, especially FOYLE’S WAR.
The library had a ton of copies of the sequel available as ebooks, but I am on the waitlist for MAGPIE.
Love Midsommer and Foyle’s War both.
Rick, we stopped deadheading our garden because we found that if we let the flowers go to seed we get lots of goldfinches.
We leave Lilac blooms on the shrubs until winter for the same reason. We also have a feeder with Niger seed in it for the Goldfinches, and always have lots, though they like the grasses too.
I heard Chris Offutt last night, Rick, in conversation with Ace Atkins, and it’s the first of a trilogy. Unfortunately, Offutt is from that section of Kentucky, and he said there are few unsolvable crimes there because everyone is related, and half the community knows who did it, and the other half is waiting for the family to take revenge. It’s actually pretty accurate, he said.
Interesting. Thanks, Lesa.
Good morning everyone,
Scotland is bright and sunny so far this week, and I am about to drive off to Drum Castle for a walk with Nancy. Yesterday I took the bus to Cults, a small community between here and Aberdeen. It is very upmarket and I wanted to have a browse in its two charity shops (they are thin on the ground in Aberdeenshire, though I’m not entirely sure why.) I then decided to walk all the way back along the old railway line path. It was glorious, but it was HOT – and to me that made the walk (which is I think about 5 miles) feel a lot longer than it usually does – I must say I was wilting in the evening.
However, I did find some books (because, of course, I need those…):
Georges Simenon: The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien, and The Late Monsieur Gallet
Ian Rankin- Dead Souls, and A Song for the Dark Times
Rebecca Tope – Malice in the Cotswolds
I have no justification for buying that last one, as every time I read Rebecca Tope she annoys me – but it’s just one of those series I am inexplicably drawn back to.
I love Ian Rankin – both as an author and as a very good person. He is incredibly modest, and friendly with no airs and graces. He does a lot for charity too. He’s very popular in Edinburgh (where he lives, though he actually grew up in a poorish part of Fife.)
I think I’ve only ever read one Simenon, but since a few were adapted for TV (with Rowan Atkinson exceptionally, and unexpectedly, good as Maigret) I’ve wanted to try some more.
In the meantime I have finished A Book of Death and Fish!!! Thought I’d never get there, but I’m glad I did, as although there were some awfully long sections about boats, fish, etc, there was a lot more besides, and in the end you did come away with a real knowledge of an island community over time, interwoven with world events over the course of the narrator’s lifetime (20th century). Told my husband that I did get a bit tired of all the stuff about outboard/inboard motors, gears, etc – and now he wants to read it! I’d forgotten that, as an engineer, information like that is nectar to him. He’ll love it.
I also finished Home from the Vinyl Cafe by Stuart Mclean, which was so enjoyable. I’d recommend it to anyone wanting a well written, gentle, humurous set of stories about a ‘normal’ family living their humdrum lives in Toronto. It’s at times hilarious, but also kind, and I recognised so many of the fixes that Dave got himself into as just the sort of thing that happens to me, and probably to all of us. Lovely.
Now I have just started Thunder from the Right by Mary Stewart. It’s set, as are many of her novels, in France, this time the Pyrenees. A young woman has arrived in the area to find her French half-sister. So far we don’t know why. Before she was sent away to finishing school she had been in love with a temperamental musician, but her mother put paid to their affair. Now who should turn up in the hotel restaurant but Stephen. Mary Stewart is so good at creating a sense of place, and drawing you straight into the story. The first paragraphs describe the delicious hotel lunch – that’s enough to catch my attention even before anything else happens.
I’m afraid my son is still not too well, so we are all a bit worried about that. He gets another test today. But we also had some good news, in that my elder daughter’s partner has been offered the job of assistant organist at Southwatk Cathedral (Southwark is an ancient and historic borough on the south side of the Thames in London.) It’s quite a prestigious post and there was strong competition, so he did really well to get it. What’s more, it comes with a rent-free flat. [I think Anna is as excited about that as anything 🙂 ] And Lesa, the Cathedral has its own cat called Hodge, a stray who was rescued by a local animal charity and has very much fallen on his feet, as he’s now been at the cathedral for some years and is much loved by all. He often features on their facebook page.
England is abandoning most covid restrictions next week. Scotland is taking a more cautious approach. Most of us are, I think, heartily glad to be up here and not down there at this juncture, but of course there are some very loud voices clamouring for ‘freedom’, some of them even saying that the whole thing is a fiction made up to ‘control the people’. I don’t think there’s any arguing with such folk. I am just grateful to have been double vaccinated, and my mask will stay firmly on for the time being.
I hope everyone has a good weekend. I am planning to visit a couple of local gardens open for charity; these visits are always fun, and I feel as it’s all outside it’s within my worry boundaries.
Rosemary
Oh, Rosemary! I’m so sorry to hear your son is still not well. Maybe he can get out in some of that sunshine. That always helps me. I can tell you’re worried.
I love that your daughter and her partner seem to have fallen on their feet, just like Hodge! I love that cat story, and now I’m going to have to look up Southwark Cathedral’s webpage and look for Hodge.
I heard Ian Rankin speak once, and he was funny and humble, as you said. It’s so nice to hear good things about authors.
I’m glad you’re through Death and Fish, but it’s funny that you never thought that your husband might like it.
Sending hugs, and hopes that you have a good weekend for your garden visits!
My favorite was seeing Ian Rakin and Val McDermid interview each other at a Bouchercon. They are two of my favorites.
That must have been so great, Jeff!
They are both great speakers, aren’t they? They and a few other Edinburgh-based authors all seem to be great friends, and like Ian, Val is very friendly and informal – and very funny too. They must have been brilliant together!
I hope your son is feeling better soon, back in good health, as you must be to make that five mile walk with a bag of books! Wonderful story of the new assistant organist, and Hodge the cat. That’s a great cat name, isn’t it?
There’s no convincing the Covid naysayers. We do what you do: we’ve had both shots and take our precautions, including masking even when others naysay them.
It’s been a long time since I read Rankin.
Thanks Rick, it would be so good if they could get it sorted.
Yes, I like the name Hodge too – and their previous rescue was apparently called Doorkins Magnificat!
Good morning. It’s still hot and humid with thunder storms here. We’re having a small party this Saturday for my mom’s 94th birthday so she can see a few of my cousins and two of the great grandkids that she hasn’t seen in two years. It’ll be too hot to BBQ so I’m doing cold salads. And she wants to get her hair done on Friday so I don’t think I’ll get much more reading done until after the party.
I was wandering the mystery aisle at the library and found some of the old 87th Precinct books. I’d read all of the earlier ones, up until the early 70s and got away from the series. I read HEAT and FIDDLERS both of which I enjoyed, and KINGS RANSOM which was just OK.
FATAL DIVISIONS by Claire Booth, her fourth Sheriff Hank Worth book. She took Hank off to another town to run an unofficial investigation while Sheila and Sam dealt with a murder in Branson. I didn’t like the format of the book jumping back and forth between the two stand I missed the usual interplay between the characters .
LITTLE BLACK BOOK by Kate Carlisle. I really enjoyed the story although it felt like Brooklyn acted out of character sometimes.
Exactly, Sandy! I thought Brooklyn in Little Black Book wasn’t right. In fact, I suspected she was pregnant since her behavior was so odd at times. Turned out I was wrong, but I don’t know what got into her.
You’re right. Little reading this weekend, but lots of family. Enjoy the family time!
94th birthday! Oh my! I hope you all have a good time. You’re lucky you can browse in your library, mine still is only for holds and pickups. But they say they’ll be truly open, and back to regular hours soon. I haven’t gotten to that Booth yet.
Good morning. It’s great to read how you are all doing, not just what books you’re reading. Things here in Brooklyn are fine for the most part. No complaints about drought here, let me tell you. We normally get about 4 inches of rain in July, but as of the 12th we’re more than double that with 8 1/2″! Oh well, at least my car is clean. Jackie has to have cataract surgery, and the first eye is being done on August 31. It’s really amazing how much faster and easier and, yes, better laser surgery is these days than the things people used to have to go through with eye surgery. She feels she has been reading with one eye, so she really needs to have it. (The reason it is so late is that by coincidence, we have our first two concerts on the earlier available dates.)
Books. Since I’m talking about Jackie, might as well do hers first. She is a HUGE fan of paranormal romance author Christine Feehan. She has read ALL of her series (I think there are 6 or 7 different ones.) So when she heard that she had written a stand alone mystery, there was little doubt she would read it, even though it was a serial killer book. Sadly, MURDER AT SUNRISE LAKE was a disappointment to her. My take on her reaction: “Stay in your lane.” People who don’t read mysteries might enjoy it, but she said there were only two real suspects and she found the solution very obvious. She did discover another stand alone that Feehan wrote 10 years ago, however, and is reading that one now – THE SCARLATTI CURSE
I am still having issues with reading. I read Jim Shepard’s highly praised pandemic novel, PHASE SIX, and while it is certainly well written, let’s just say it was no thriller. Oh well, it was short, at least. A new virus – or something – comes out of thawed ground (good thing there’s no such thing as global warming, right?) in western Greenland, and soon infections are spreading globally. In the original community, people are dying in very high numbers. It sounds like any number of thrillers like CONTAGION, but it is mostly low key, a search for what it is and what to do about it, and frankly, I found it somewhat inert. But maybe that’s just me.
Also finishing up.Shepard’s short story collection, LIKE YOU’D UNDERSTAND, ANYWAY. Great title, uneven book. I guess Shepard and I are not in sync, at least now. I did read SOME FUN, a book of short stories plus one novella (85 pages) by Antonya Nelson, an author I discovered this year and have read a lot of. I liked her previous collection better, but still worth a look. Also reading THE LAST SUPPER & Other Stories by Howard Fast, whose publishing career stretched from 1933 (when he was 18) to 2000! All of these are basically non genre, straight fiction, though some of Shepard’s stories aren’t.
For fans (as I have been for 50 years) of Lawrence Block’s writing, you might want to check out Terry Zobeck’s A TRAWL AMONG THE SHELVES: Lawrence Block Bibliography, 1958-2020. There are over 200 individual titles of books, including most of the soft porn stuff he wrote in the early days, plus hundreds of periodical listings.
Yes, I started, gave up on, and returned another new book to the library as it just wasn’t doing it for me. I won’t name it as it could be me.
My current reading that is giving me the most pleasure is LET”S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess). If you’re easily offended you might want to skip it, but if liek me you have an off-kilter sense of humor, I highly recommend it. I laughed so hard yesterday at her story of her father (the taxidermist) coming home with a “magical” squirrel in a Ritz cracker box that I couldn’t stop choking. What I discovered on her blog (where a lot of this material comes from, as well as her two subsequent books, all of which have been NY Times bestsellers) is that she suffers badly with depression. She shares her life with her readers.
Have a good week, everyone.
One correction. The books she is reading is LAIR OF THE LION. THE SCARLETTI (not SCARLATTI) CURSE is next.
I do like that comment, Jeff, “Stay in your lane.” I haven’t read Jenny Lawson, but I admire that she does share her life and her depression with her readers. It takes courage to do that.
I wish Jackie good luck with her surgery. You’re right. It’s come so far. Cataract surgery used to mean you had to keep your head motionless, etc. My Mom is 85, and she’s had it for both eyes, and she seldom wears her glasses. She just had an eye appointment, and her doctor said her eyes are fantastic.
You’re right. I love to hear what people are reading, but I like to hear how everyone is doing, hear about your lives and families. We feel more like a community.
I hope Jackie’s surgery goes smoothly. I had both eyes done, about two weeks apart, and my vision was so much improved, especially color! Barbara will probably need it in another year or two.
This time, I am starting a strange mix of books, At the Chinese Table by Carolyn Phillips which is a memoir/cookbook. It is a win from GoodReads that came three months after I won it. The author covers the 35 different cuisines of China. She was unable to go to China but went to Taiwan to learn Mandarin, and she ended up with a limited Mandarin but a lot of knowedge about the different cuisines which were all represented in different places in Taiwan, She met her language teacher, fell in love and married him, I am at the beginning of the book.
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The second one is a win from LibraryThing. The book that they picked from me from my short list of what I wanted to read is tiny and new. I had to add a book to Goodreads! I found out the catalog number was incorrect, it was the same as a different one that the author wrote. I have added books before to GoodReads but I had no idea that you could add one without a catalog number! The book
states that the number is pending so I assume that the number will changed later on.
The theme of the book is summed up in the title, I am America: The Progress of Our People, A Story of Black Representation at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.by Anne E. Johnson. It is well illustrated with drawings and photos.
I like the sound of At the Chinese Table, Carolee. Sounds interesting!
This week’s book was not my favorite. I read Verity by Colleen Hoover. She is a very poplar romance novelist and this book is her first psychological thriller. It was recommended to me by a friend who said everyone in her bookclub loved this book. It is very highly rated on Goodreads. There were just too many trigger points for me to enjoy it. I guess I am in the minority on this one.
Anyway, I shook it off and moved on. I am going back to reading People You Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. I accidently returned this book before I was finished. Since this is currently a very popular book, it took several weeks before I was able to get it again. I loved her prior book Beach Read.
The summer is going much too fast! Have a wonderful week!
I agree, Kathleen. Summer goes to fast!
I’m just not a fan of psychological thrillers, but that’s me. I hope you enjoy People You Meet on Vacation!
Several weeks to wait for a book from the library is getting typical here. I’ve been waiting for WINTER COUNTS for 9 weeks, and no sign of it yet!
I’m sorry, Rick. I hate to see that, but I know we have issues here, too.
That’s a pain Rick – I have found the opposite here at my little branch library, all my requests have come in very quickly.
And Lesa, they have a copy of The Bookshop of Second Chances waiting for me to collect; I only requested it last Friday. I love my library!
I’m so glad you love your library, Rosemary!
Nice to hear how everyone is doing. I had a great week off and read a lot of enjoyable books. One that I particularly liked is William Kent Krueger’s This Tender Land – not a mystery-just the mystery of life. Very moving book and I also learned things about the treatment of Native Americans during the 30’s. Since I’ve never really been exposed to Native Americans here in CT other than they own casinos it was quite an eye opener about how they were treated, Children were taken away from their families and put into facilities where they were treated horribly. Stay cool everyone.
Oh, good, Donna! I’m glad you had an enjoyable week off. I could use a week just to read!
And, William Kent Krueger’s stories and his writing are both excellent. That book was an eye opener, wasn’t it?
Cannot wait to read this!
I loved it, Kaye, and, as you can see below, so did Bonnie!
I loved Lizzie & Dante. I’m enjoying some relief after several triple digits days. We don’t have air-conditioning; so, it can be unpleasant. We finally broke down last year and bought a portable unit to set up in the living room. Eventually, we’ll get individuals boxes to put in the walls in some rooms.
Lizzie & Dante was so good, Bonnie, that I went ahead and ordered a copy. I think it’s a reread. Stay cool! Take care of yourselves!
It is hot and humid and yucky at my house.
This week I read FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER by Rachel Beanland. Not the happiest of books but I enjoyed it. I found the author’s notes at the end with the tie-in to her family even more interesting.
Next I read THE ONE YOU’RE WITH by Lauren K. Denton. I usually love her books but this one was a miss for me. I could not connect with the characters. Mac’s illegitimate child shows up in his office and turns his family upside down. The middle of the book bogged down and everything was too perfect. After absolutely loving her previous one, this one was a disappointment.
Happy Reading!
I hate it when a book disappoints after I liked the first one. I had that happen with an author whose book I loved last year. Never read much of this year’s.
Sharon, I really enjoy reading author’s notes.
Stay cool!
Adding Lizzie and Dante to my list. Thanks, Lesa.
What I’ve read –
Out of Anywhere by Andrea Nourse(ARC) – “Having lived as a nomad for most of her life, Shay Lane is desperate to find a place to call home. Yet, she follows in her estranged mother’s wandering footsteps and bounces from town to town, never settling down, because it’s the only way she knows.
That is until her car dies outside Wishing, Missouri, and she finds herself stranded in a small town filled with nosy neighbors and too many questions. Shay is eager to leave as soon as she can but when random gifts start appearing, her curiosity gets the best of her. Shay doesn’t know what to think or who to thank, or what they expect in return.”
The “Why?” At the end of the book was hard to find believable, but I was so invested in What’s story, I was okay with it. Sorta.
The Inheritance by JoAnn Ross (ARC) – I miss family sagas!
“With a dramatic wartime love story woven through, JoAnn Ross’s brilliant new novel is a gorgeous generational saga about the rivalry, history and loyalty that bond sisters together
When conflict photographer Jackson Swann dies, he leaves behind a conflict of his own making when his three daughters, each born to a different mother, discover that they’re now responsible for the family’s Oregon vineyard—and for a family they didn’t ask for.
Dark Night by Paige Shelton (ARC) – “Dark Night is the third book in the gripping, atmospheric Alaska Wild series by beloved cozy author Paige Shelton, in which Beth is met with an unexpected visitor: her mom…
Winter is falling in the remote town of Benedict, Alaska, and with the cold comes an uninvited guest. The dreaded “census man,” seemingly innocuous, is an unwelcome presence to those members of this secretive community who would prefer to keep their business to themselves. Meanwhile, thriller writer Beth Rivers has received her own unexpected visitor: her mother. The last Beth heard, Mill Rivers had gone underground in the lower forty-eight, in search of Beth’s kidnapper, and Beth can’t help but be a little alarmed at her appearance.”
Queenie Malone’s Paradise Hotel by Ruth Hogan – “Tilly was a bright, outgoing little girl who liked playing with ghosts and matches. She loved fizzy drinks, swear words, fish fingers and Catholic churches, but most of all she loved living in Brighton in Queenie Malone’s Magnificent Paradise Hotel with its endearing and loving family of misfits – staff and guests alike.
But Tilly’s childhood was shattered when her mother sent her away from the only home she’d ever loved to boarding school with little explanation and no warning. Now, Tilda has grown into an independent woman still damaged by her mother’s unaccountable cruelty. Wary of people, her only friend is her dog, Eli. But when her mother dies, Tilda goes back to Brighton and with the help of her beloved Queenie sets about unraveling the mystery of her exile from The Paradise Hotel and discovers that her mother was not the woman she thought she knew at all … Mothers and daughters … their story can be complicated … it can also turn out to have a happy ending.”. I loved this book.
The Stranger Behind You by Carol Goodman. – “Journalist Joan Lurie has written a seething article exposing a notorious newspaper tycoon as a sexual predator. But the night it goes live, she is brutally attacked. Traumatized and suffering the effects of a concussion, she moves into a highly secure apartment in Manhattan called the Refuge, which was at one time a Magdalen Laundry. Joan should be safe here, so how can she explain the cryptic incidents that are happening?
Lillian Day is Joan’s new 96-year-old neighbor at the Refuge. In 1941, Lillian witnessed a mysterious murder that sent her into hiding at the Magdalen Laundry, and she hasn’t come out since. As she relates to Joan her harrowing story, Joan sees striking similarities to her own past.
Melissa Osgood, newly widowed and revengeful, has burning questions about her husband’s recent death. When she discovers a suspicious paper trail that he left behind, she realizes how little she knew about her marriage. But it seems Joan Lurie might be the one who has the answers.
As these three lives intersect, each woman must stay one step ahead of those who are desperate to make sure the truth is never uncovered.”
The Magic of Found Objects by Maddie Dawson (ARC) – “Phronsie Linnelle was conceived at Woodstock in a serendipitous liaison between a free-spirited hippie and a farmer’s son and was born with magical wonder flickering in her DNA and rationality knit into her bones. All her life she’s been torn between the two. But now that she’s been betrayed by both love and the mother she once idolized, her rational side is winning.
So when her best friend from childhood proposes that they give up on romance and marry each other, Phronsie agrees. Who better to spend your life with than your best friend? Maybe the connection they already have is love. Maybe there’s no falling to be done. But immediately after they announce their engagement, she encounters someone who makes a very charming and compelling argument for revisiting romance.
While her even-keeled stepmother argues for the safety that comes with her new engagement and her mother relays messages from the universe to hold out for true love, Phronsie must look to her own heart to find the answers that have been there all along.”
Wishing everyone Happy Reading!
Kaye, Your books are so interesting and different. I will get back to Queenie Malone. I hope Paige Shelton’s was good. I just received the ARC, but don’t know when I’ll get to it.
I’ll be interested to see what you think of Lizzie & Dante.
Hugs, my friend!
Kaye, I reread Delderfield’s GOD IS AN ENGLISHMAN a few years ago, and then read the next, and the next… sometimes, family sagas can be just the thing.
Oh yes – that is why I love Elilzabeth Jane Howard’s Cazalet series so much and have re-read it several times. It’s so good to follow interesting characters through their lives, and through world events.
I should be finishing ROCKY ROAD TO RUIN today, the first in the new Ice Cream Shop series by Meri Allen, aka Agatha Award Winner Sherri Randall. I’m enjoying this new book and group of characters. Can’t wait to see where it all leads since the plot is really picking up.
Ice cream seems to be a “hot” topic for mysteries in the last couple years. Glad to hear you’re enjoying it, Mark. Something to help you forget about work!
Rosemary and Lesa, thanks so much for telling us about Hodge the cat, I shared that link with my husband.
Thanks to Margie for mentioning THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID. I grew up in the 50’s and I remember many of those things, including doctors making house calls, which seems amazing now. I will be seeking that book out, especially to read more about the polio epidemic, the Cold War, and things that I remember being a big deal but only in a hazy way.
In the last few days I finished reading A KILLING SPRING, a mystery set in Saskatchewan, Canada, by Gail Bowen. I have some issues with her mysteries, but I keep coming back because I like the setting, and they are certainly not boring. I am still reading USS SURPRISE by Patrick O’Brian and enjoying it a lot. I love the stories so far and I am sure I will be reading all 20 of the books.
I read more stories in COSMIC CORSAIRS, a book of science fiction pirate stories. Rick Robinson, who comments here, sent me that book. I have read about half of the stories in it and loved them all.
My husband read two mysteries lately. The first was ENDGAME by Bill Pronzini, the last book in the Nameless series (a total of 41 books). He had been saving that one ever since it was released, but he finally had to admit that there would be no more books in the series, and went ahead and read it. He is currently reading a book by Parnell Hall in the Stanley Hastings series. It is BLACKMAIL, the 9th in the series. He is loving that one.
Tracy, I just had to share those pictures after Rosemary told us about Hodge. I love the one in which he’s looking around the cathedral.
I also like it that you and Jeff share what your spouse is reading. You never know what title will jump out at someone.
I’ve been really busy, and haven’t had much time to read, but I did finish a couple of books.
Shirtless in Hollywood by Matthias Hues; Hues is a C-list action star, who kept his career going even when the genre was moribund in the late 90’s. He has a whole lot of adventures, and some good and bad times. Even though he’s broke all the time, he lives in a mansion on Bali. That’s Hollywood.
Come Spy With Me by Max Allan Collins; This is the first in the John Sand series, about a spy who James Bond is based upon. Now he works for his wife’s oil company, and occasionally works as a spy for JFK. It’s isn’t bad, but it seems like it takes Collins a first book before he really gets a handle on his characters.
Sometimes, Glen, we all have a life that keeps us busy. Understandable when you don’t get through many books. Shirtless in Hollywood sounds as if it was amusing at times.
Wow, so many good ideas from this week’s discussion. I read The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid a while ago, will have to dig it out again. And I have a list of suggestions for next time I visit the library.
I am reading Oranges and Lemons by Christopher Fowler. I have not read a Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery before, not sure yet what I think about it. But, it certain tangles ideas and references and history together in this plot. Now I also have to get out 1984 and try to reread that.
On my tablet is The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel. That is holding my interest and also tying in with some books I read earlier, fiction and nonfiction.
Nan, I love the Peculiar Crimes Unit books! You’ve started quite late in the series. I’d have recommended going in order starting with Full Dark House or The Water Room.
The title caught my eye when I was checking out the new book shelves. I will have to go back and start at the beginning.
Oh, good! I’m glad we’re contributing to your TBR pile, Nan!
Lesa, I’m so glad you were able to share Hodge’s story! I will tell my daughter. The clergy and staff at Southwark Cathedral do seem to be a good bunch.
They sound like they are, Rosemary. The dean wrote a welcome letter to Hodge!
Morning…… Bit late with this report as Scott and I spent a good chunk of yesterday–about four hours– up at the car dealership in Plano doing necessary maintenance on the car while also trying to stay away from the many unmasked folks. After that, we went to a store we frequent up there and bought a bunch if supplies while trying to stay away from unmasked folks. No wonder our Covid case counts are skyrocketing here again. Vaccinated and still wearing a mask as we understand breakthrough infections can happen and are.
I won’t bore everyone with a list of all the reading and my comments as the reviews are up on my award winning blog. Spoiler free as always.
Anyway, as we were at the dealership way longer than expected yesterday, I got GUILTY Crime Story Magazine issue 1 read and started a PDF of Jordan’s Branch by Howard Owen. The publisher offered a PDF of the new one in the Willie Black series coming out in November earlier this week. I thanked like crazy and explained that I was still working on the Dallas folks to buy the previous book which came out in February. So, a PDF was sent my way for that. Happily started reading that yesterday.
Climate change so far this summer has meant no 100 degree days as the normal massive high that cooks us is way out west. In fact, it is so far out west, it is going to help push another front through early next week and we will get rain and highs in the 80s if we are lucky. Not only is our grass still green, the flood plain along the Trinity River in Downton on the tower cam shots that every local news channel uses every single day is still green. That never happens.
Stay safe.
Never too late for a report as to what & how you’re doing, Kevin. I have to say I’m sorry for everyone in the far west, but I’m sure it’s nice to have the unexpected weather in Texas. We’re the same way. Lots of rain. I’m okay with it, but I have lots of friends with sinus problems who usually don’t suffer in the summer, only in the spring when everything is in the bloom here. They’re having a heck of a time this summer.
And, I agree with you. I wear my mask when I’m out in public. I’ll admit, we don’t wear them in our department at work because everyone has had the vaccine, but we might be reconsidering that.
I’m glad some of the publishers are finding a way to get you copies of the books that haven’t been available at the library. Enjoy!
Happy reading, and continue to stay safe!
Pollen season never stopped here this year. Scott and I are both having massive problems with it.
Ugghh. My best friend, Donna, has not had the break she normally gets in the summer. She went from pollen to sinuses from all the wet weather. Miserable.
Glad for our rain here as it has been coming about every week. Simply unheard off unless we got a storm off the Gulf. But, it means the molds are way up.
Fires down. Mold count up. I think I’d go with the mold. But, since I’ve seen how Donna feels, I’m sorry for both you and Scott.