My Reading Frenzy

What I've Read - What I am Reading - March 22, 2021

I read quite a few short books this week, but also finished one I have been reading for two weeks and another it took over a week to listen to. More and more I appreciate the intensity offered by middled grade books that cater to an audience that wants a good story in a small package. I think it may be more difficult to write children's books that cannot draw out descriptions and plot lines without losing their audience.

 

Read:

• A Court of Silver Flames (purchased hardback) by Sarah Maas - I finished this one at the end of the week. I am glad to have read it, but I probably don't need to read any more Maas books. I thought I wouldn't read anything else by here after opting not to read The Assassin's Blade or others in the Throne of Glass series, but I liked the A Court of Thorns and Roses series better and am happy to have seen what I think is the end of the story. As much as this installment was one of my favorites, I will not continue even if Maas does. 
• Sunny (elibrary book) by Jason Reynolds - This was definitely my favorite of the four novels, both because of the dairy format, but also because I could see myself in Sunny's introspective nature.
• Lu by Jason Reynolds - I really liked Lucas's story because his family dynamic was different from the others. 
• The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane (purchased) by Julia Nobel - boarding school in England, American girl sent by a too busy parent, missing other parent, secret society - Check, check, check. I enjoyed the heck out of this book.
• Yes, Chef (library eaudiobook) by Marcus Samuelsson - I don't know if it is a phase or a new life-long attraction, but I want to listen to chef memoir after chef memoir with no breaks. Though I am on a "not by choice" break because of what came in next from my library holds. But I'll be back to my food memoirs soon. I wasn't loving this one at first, but as Samuelsson progressed in his career I found the story more interesting. His early days in Ethiopia combined with being raised and first cooking with his Swedish grandmother set him up for a unique cooking profile. I'd like to eat at Red Rooster, his NYC restaurant.

 

Reading:

• The Secret of White Stone Gate (purchased) by Julia Nobel - I wanted to read this second installment right after finishing the first, so I purchased it to be ready. It has many of the positives of the first book, but has not drawn me in as much. I feel like the characters are going around again in the same mystery without making much progress toward a resolution, especially considering there will not be a third installment.

 

 

Listening:

• Truth & Beauty: A Friendship (eaudio library book) by Ann Patchett - I discovered this book while listening to Patchett's book of essays This is the Story of a Happy Marriage. This one is the story of Patchett's friendship with poet Lucy Grealy.

 

 

Up Next:

Some familiar titles here, with a new one at the top.

• You Should See Me in a Crown (elibrary book) by Leah Johnson - This one is open on my Kindle to start after I finish The Secret of White Stone Gate. It came in from my library holds a few days ago so I need to get reading before it is due back.
• The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden - I am eager to read this second installment.
• Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir - I read and loved Gideon the Ninth and feel ready for the 2nd book.
• Commonwealth by Ann Patchett - I am making my way through all of Patchett's backlist after being bowled over by The Dutch House. I had previously read Bel Canto at the recommendation of a number of readers, for some reason had not read anything else until recently.
• Four Hundred Souls (purchased hardback) edited by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blair - I think this collection of essays exploring 400 years of the history of African America will be a good companion to read alongside Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Dr. Kendi.

 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

 

 

**A note on the picture. I always use an image from the Prints and Photographs collections of the Library of Congress. I like these because they are interesting, and freely available because they are in the public domain. I mainly choose images of people reading. If you click the image in any of my posts you will be able to see the Library's bibliographic record which includes whatever they know about the image including its creator. There are also usually links to other similar items or to the collection the image is a part of.***

What I've Read - What I am Reading - February 22, 2021

I have been remiss in posting anything here at all, but I am back with an overview of what I have been reading during these long, cold weeks. In addition to what I have read, am reading, and am listening to, I have added an "Up Next" section to preview what I have at the top of my TBR pile.

 

Read:

• The Best of Me (audiobook purchased from Audible) by David Sedaris I am thoroughly enjoying this one. I listened for hours the other day while working on a jigsaw puzzle while the snow fell.

 

• A Rogue of One's Own (egalley) by Evie Dunmore - Yep, romance is my go-to when I need a comfort read. The assurance that it will all work out in the end gets me through the frustrations every time. If only real life were so predictable.

 

• Riviera Gold by Laurie R. King - This is the most recent Mary Russell mystery to have been published. It takes place mainly in Monte Carlo and brings us back to Mrs. Hudson's story. I like these mysteries when I take a break from Elizabeth George and Louise Penny. The more recent novels have not lived up to the fascination I found in the earlier books, but I will keep reading unless they take another downturn. (Next book in the series is due out in June.)

 

• Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness - (library eaudiobook) I have loved watching the revival of Queer Eye over the past five seasons. Jonathan is a force of nature with his positivity and vision for each of their heroes. His book was personal in tone, as if we were sitting together having a chat. 

 

• The Bear and the Nightingale (purchased paperback at a DC independent bookstore) by Katherine Arden - This was recommended to me by a bookseller when I asked for something to follow the Daevabad trilogy. I loved its fairy tale and folklore roots as well as the magical and fierce Vasya. I am looking forward to the continuation of her story in The Girl in the Tower. 

 

• Dangerous Alliance (library ebook) by Jennieke Cohen - Eh, I finished it. The ending was satisfying, but predictable. The rest was also predictable and just ok. 

 

• Deception on His Mind (library ebook) by Elizabeth George - I am moving through these quickly because I can't get enough of definitive mystery solving. But I can take a break now and read one Louise Penny before the next Lynley mystery. This will be seamless, in part, because I have the next George installment in print having found it in a neighborhood Little Free Library and am not therefore beholden to when my library hold comes in.

 

• Fashionopolis (audiobook purchased from Audible) by Dana Thomas - This is not my first read about the dangerous waste associated with fast fashion, but this is the first to give equal time to designers and companies who are trying to shift the industry to sustainable practices. This is an important read for anyone interested in the the environmental impact of clothing production. 

 

• The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win (audiobook purchased from Audible) by Maria Konnikova - I am not sure when I last gave a book 5 stars in Goodreads, but this story earned every star. Wow! I found the mix of poker history, strategies, and play with Konnikova's personal progression to winner to be fascinating. She spends time with poker masters, game theorists, and psychologists as she learns about the world of poker, not only for the book, but also for herself. Some of the most interesting revelations are how what she learns about being successfully at the poker table spills into other areas of her life in positive ways. 

 

• All's Faire in Middle School (purchased paperback) by Victoria Jamieson - While this story does not quite live up to Roller Girl, Jamieson captures the challenges Imogene faces in attending middle school after previously being home schooled, while also exploring the respite the Renaissance Faire provides. This was a fun read.

 

• It Had to Be You (egalley) by Georgia Clark - This was a lovely romance. It could have dived right into some romance tropes, but Clark was able to write the love stories of a new widow, recently out queer woman, and music partners in a way that felt fresh even while the outcomes were expectedly happy.

 

 

Reading:

• Ghost (library ebook) by Jason Reynolds - I realized after watching an online chat between Reynold and Dr. Ibrahim X. Kendi that I have missed a few of Reynolds works, so I am jumping into the Track series with Ghost. I have two others on hold at the library. 

 

 

Listening:

• Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton - I am only about 14 minutes into this listen, but settled in easily as Hamilton explores some of the ways food was important to her family as she grew up in New Hope, PA a town I have loved since high school visits during the annual geology trip. 

 

 

Up Next:

• The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden - see "Read" for my thoughts about the first book in the trilogy. 
• Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir - I read and loved Gideon the Ninth and feel ready for the 2nd book.
• Commonwealth by Ann Patchett - I am making my way through all of Patchett's backlist after being bowled over by The Dutch House. I had previously read Bel Canto at the recommendation of a number of readers, for some reason had not read anything else until recently.
• Four Hundred Souls (purchased hardback) edited by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blair - I think this collection of essays exploring 400 years of the history of African America will be a good companion to read alongside Stamped: Racism, Anti-Racism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Dr. Kendi.
• Amari and the Night Brothers (purchased hardback) by B.B. Alston - I admit it, sometimes I buy books for their covers. While the cover is spectacular, as soon as I read that Amari would be dealing with a ticking briefcase from the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, I was in for the premise too. 

 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

 

**A note on the picture. I always use an image from the Prints and Photographs collections of the Library of Congress. I like these because they are interesting, and freely available because they are in the public domain. I mainly choose images of people reading. If you click the image in any of my posts you will be able to see the Library's bibliographic record which includes whatever they know about the image including its creator. There are also usually links to other similar items or to the collection the image is a part of.***

What I've Read - What I am Reading - February 1, 2021

Not currently possible with the fences up, but maybe someday.

I am not sure if January was long or short. It feels fast for it to be February already, but on the other hand, looking back, the holidays feel long ago. In other news, I have secured a part time job as a bookseller. Long ago I worked at the B. Dalton in the Ocean County Mall one summer and then over the holidays. Bookselling has a lot in common with being a librarian, so I am looking forward to the opportunity to engage people in chat about books. 

 

 

 

Read:

• Gideon the Ninth (purchased book) by Tamsyn Muir - I finished. What a book! Now that I have finished, I would definately put it in horror in my own library, mainly so that students would know there are some graphic segments, but for me, it was manageable and I do not usually read horror at all. I was drawn in by the relationships, particularly between Harrow and Gideon. I am looking forward to jumping into the second book. (And trying to be calm about when the 3rd might be available.)
• In the Presence of the Enemy (elibrary book) by Elizabeth George - I flashed through this one, neglecting Gideon in order to find out whodunit. A really satisfying read. I am not sure I can adequately verbalize how important mysteries have been to my mental health during these COVID months. I will be a lifelong George fan because of the way her work has carried me through. 

 

Reading:

• Angel Mage (library ebook) by Garth Nix - I may give it another go, but I think this one may be destined for the DNF list. I just haven't found it engaging enough to go back to. 
• A Rogue of One's Own (egalley) by Evie Dunmore - Yep, romance is my go-to when I need a comfort read. The assurance that it will all work out in the end gets me through the frustrations every time. If only real life were so predictable.

 

Listening:

• The Best of Me (audiobook purchased from Audible) by David Sedaris I am thoroughly enjoying this one. I listened for hours the other day while working on a jigsaw puzzle while the snow fell.

 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

 

 

**A note on the picture. I always use an image from the Prints and Photographs collections of the Library of Congress. I like these because they are interesting, and freely available because they are in the public domain. I mainly choose images of people reading. If you click the image in any of my posts you will be able to see the Library's bibliographic record which includes whatever they know about the image including its creator. There are also usually links to other similar items or to the collection the image is a part of.***

What I've Read - What I am Reading - January 25, 2021

I thoroughly enjoyed Amanda Gorman's inauguration poem and have listened and watched it on repeat. I have written about it for my Library of Congress Teacher's Corner post this month. 

 

Read:

• Just Last Night (egalley) by Mhairi McFarlane - I enjoyed this as much as I have McFarlane's other novels. It was certainly more sad than the others, but still contained a health dose of satisfying romance. 
• Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan - I think my expectations were high, which may explain why I was somewhat disappointed overall. What happened to Cahalan as documented in the book was a medical mystery for weeks at the beginning of her illness. The segment of the book chronicling her downward spiral and the early attempted to diagnose her illness were interesting. After that the story plodded along through her treatments and return to regular life activities. I would be surprised to discover that teens stay engage all the way through.
• This is the Story of a Happy Marriage (eaudio library book)  by Ann Patchett - This is a collection of essays, one of the which is the title essay, written over a decade and published in a variety of magazines. I think Patchett may be as engaged an essayist as she is novelist. BONUS: Patchett does the reading 

 

Reading:

• Gideon the Ninth (purchased book) by Tamsyn Muir - I am close to finishing, but one night, right before bed I read a few chapters and realized when I tried to pick up the next day that I had forgotten important details. This is why I try to avoid reading right before bed or when I am sleepy. I should finish within the next two days. Then will move immediately on to the next installment, Harrow the Ninth, to avoid losing the momentum of the first book. 
• Angel Mage (library ebook) by Garth Nix - I have not read any more of this than I had last week, because life got busy and then the book was due back to the library. I have put it on hold again and am first on the list for when it is available again. 
• In the Presence of the Enemy (elibrary book) by Elizabeth George - I had this once from the library then it was due, so when it popped back up again I moved it to the top of the TBR. I am not sorry to have done so. George mixed things up a bit by delaying the murder until almost half-way through the book, taking us slowly into the story through investigating a kidnapping before a murder occurs. The focus also begins with Simon St. James, rather than Lynley. This is the 8th Lynley mystery, but I have also read the 6 most recent works. I started over at the beginning and have 6 to read after this to catch up. I hope she has something new in the works too, I don't want to run out.  

 

Listening:

• The Best of Me (audiobook purchased from Audible) by David Sedaris I mentioned this one a few weeks ago, but had to skip it in favor of the Patchett book that came in from my library holds list. But after finishing that this one rose to the top. As expected I snort laughed a number of times already. Luckily I was by myself in the car so I didn't get any funny looks from strangers.

 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

 

 

**A note on the picture. I always use an image from the Prints and Photographs collections of the Library of Congress. I like these because they are interesting, and freely available because they are in the public domain. I mainly choose images of people reading. If you click the image in any of my posts you will be able to see the Library's bibliographic record which includes whatever they know about the image including its creator. There are also usually links to other similar items or to the collection the image is a part of.***

2020 Reading Reflections and Favorites

Wanting to write a post about everything I read in 2020 made me grateful for my diligence in logging everything I read on Goodreads. I was able to pull up my 2020 challenge and look at all the books I read this year, including dates and a look at the cover. I have always told my students the phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover" applies in many situations as a metaphor, but not when talking about books. Artists, marketers, and salespeople count on book covers being engaging in order to sell them to us. I am highly visual, and almost never buy a book simply for its cover, but the cover does imprint in my brain and help me remember reading it and at least a bit about it, making a walk down book-memory lane much easier. 

 

 

 

 

Here they are - My 2020 favorite reads:

In roughly in the order I read them.

• Happier at Home (eaudiobook from the library) by Gretchen Rubin - I have found valuable takeaways in all of Rubin's books, but this one hit exactly where I needed it to, when I needed it to. It was particularly prescient because I was isolated at home starting in March, not too long after finishing this listen. I was able to incorporate some of her ideas that in turn helped make staying at home less fraught with anxiety.
• Almost American Girl (purchased book) by Robin Ha - While I read this one as soon as it arrived in our library in February, it was not until August that I had the opportunity to watch an online discussion between Ha and Malaka Gharib, author of the graphic memoir I Was Their American Dream hosted by One More Page Books, an independent bookstore in Arlington, VA.
• City of Girls (egalley) by Elizabeth Gilbert - This is a work of historical fiction that takes place in 1940s New York City in the glamourous-ish theatre world. It reminded me very much of Herman Wouk's Marjorie Morningstar with a young hero who longs to be New York theatre star. This year I also read Gilbert's Big Magic (non-fiction) about living a creative life. It just barely missed being on this list, though here it is I suppose. Ha!
• New Kid and Class Act (purchased books then gifted to my niece) by Jerry Craft - New Kid was the 2020 Newbery winner, the first for a graphic novel. Class Act is an equally thought provoking companion.
• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone (purchased audiobook from Audible) by Lori Gottlieb - Gottlieb chronicles her therapy journey after a sudden break up, while also sharing details of therapy patients she is seeing. And interesting look at therapy from both perspectives.
• The House in the Cerulean Sea (purchased book) by TJ Klune. This might be my favorite read of the year. It is one of the books I specifically sought at the beginning pandemic related isolation. The story of Linus Baker and the magical children he is seeking to help was a perfect mix of humor, heartbreak, and fantasy. I want to read it again to savor all the delights of the family they all become.  
• Buzz Saw: The Improbable Story of How the Washington Nationals Won the World Series (purchased book) by Jesse Dougherty - One of my most missed 2020 activities was baseball. We are and have been Washington Nationals fans, which made 2019 the culmination of 14 years of hopes with our first World Series win. It was tremendously disappointing to be deprived of all the celebrations that should have come at the beginning of the 2020 season. Dougherty's book came to me just when teams were cancelling spring training and the season was put on hold indefinitely. I derived great comfort from reliving the triumphant season through this book. I also had the opportunity to hear Dougherty discuss writing the book in  a live Twitter talk.
• Kingdom of the Blind (purchased book) by Louise Penny - Penny's mysteries get better and more sophisticated with every book. This one was particularly satisfying because it finished out a significant story arc. There are two books after this one, which I have not read. I try to stay a bit behind her publications so I do not run out. I have one with me in FL to read soon.
• A Banquet of Consequences (elibrary book) by Elizabeth George - I have found mysteries a great comfort during the pandemic, perhaps for the way they end with the solving of the crime. I read 8 Lynley mysteries this year, but this was my favorite.
• The Goldfinch (eaudiobook from the library) by Donna Tartt - I loved Tartt's The Secret History, I was less enamored of The Little Friend. The Goldfinch was wonderful. I listened to it because I balked at sitting with such a long book. In retrospect I would have torn through it, probably faster than I was able to listen. I had to pause twice because the audiobook was due back at the library before I could finish. In the end, I was on edge for most of it after the initial disaster, always waiting for the other shoe to drop. It did, in spectacular fashion. I loved it.
• Magic Lessons (egalley) by Alice Hoffman - I saw the movie Practical Magic when it came out in 1998, having no idea it was based on a book, which I just read in 2019. I followed in 2020 with the others in the family of books, but this was my favorite, with its overtones of The Scarlet Letter.
• Untamed (eaudiobook from the library) by Glennon Doyle - This was my favorite non-fiction read/listen of the year. Doyle is amazing. She shares her own story in all her books, but somehow is also able to tap into the ways we all feel weak and not enough in our own situations, but then she offers badass wisdom to build us up. I like this one so much I also purchased this book to re-read and re-visit.
• Daevabad Trilogy (purchased books) by SA Chakraborty - Like I sometimes do, I rejected these books because they were too popular, everyone was reading them, I was going to be different. I am a fool because I LOVED them all. The benefit however of my stubborness is having been able to read all three books in a row without waiting. 
• The Year of Living Danishly (eaudiobook from the library) by Helen Russell - Having never lived outside the United States, I appreciated Russell's thorough exploration of her temporary (or so she thought) country. The book is organized by months, beginning when she arrives in January. She explores, in depth, 12 different facets of life in Denmark from work to motherhood to eating to winter to traditions. This detailed look at moving and living in another country was intriguing.
• The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (purchased book) by Garth Nix - I have raved about this one more than once. It was definitely ending up on this list.
• Return of the Thief (purchased book) by Megan Whalen Turner - While I really liked how Turner wrapped up this six book series, reading it was an important reminder that sometimes it is a good idea to re-read earlier books.
• The Witches are Coming (eaudiobook from the library) by Lindy West - I recently listened to Shit, Actually, West's most recent publication, but this one is so far my favorite of hers. I need regular feminist commentary in my life so I do not get complacent. 
• A Promised Land (purchased audiobook from Audible) by Barack Obama - I was so eager for this one, I pre-ordered the audiobook. I spent much of the book lamenting the loss of dignity and integrity in the White House. (I am looking forward to their return next week.) But I also learned about aspects of law making and running for office I had not known. 

 

What were your 2020 favorite reads?

 

Some 2020 Reading Reflections (based on all my reading, not just my favorites)

1. I need more diversity in authors, particularly in non-fiction. I don't feel I need to diversify in genre as I read:

• fantasy
• science fiction
• literary fiction
• historical fiction
• romance
• mystery
• non-fiction 

In all of the above I read adult as well as YA and some middle grade (mostly realistic). There were also MANY graphic novels and comics in my reading year. These tended to be memoirs, realistic, and fantasy. I will admit I avoid horror, thrillers, crime. They just take the intensity of a mystery up a notch too far for me. 

2. I want to try to tackle more of my TBR this year rather than jumping immediately to new publications. I make no promises about this one. If I decide however that I am most satisfied when I read newer releases, I need to cull my physical shelves of older books I may never get to. They should find a home with someone else.

 

What reflections do you have on your 2020 reading life? What are you looking forward to in 2021?

 

What I've Read - What I am Reading - November 24, 2020

I did some solid reading this week, but liked less of it than I usually do. 

 

 

Read:

I moved quickly through Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King (Library book) the 11^th book (published in 2018) in the Mary Russell series. Mary and Sherlock travel to Venice, Italy to find the missing aunt of a close friend. The story explores the treatment of the mentally ill as well as some women's rights issues. Delightfully, the American composer Cole Porter plays an important role too. While I appreciated the inclusion of music in the story, his appearance represents one of my least favorite elements of historical fiction. I know many writers of historical fiction strive to closely parallel actual events and lives, but they also make changes for dramatic effect or to fit into the plot. This is difficult for me because I want to know the non-modified story. This almost always leads me down a rabbit hole of research. Not necessarily a bad side effect.

 

• During the week I realized listening to the 17 hour and 49 minute The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson (audio elibrary book) at a leisurely pace was not going to work out well because it is a library book. I waited a few months for it to be available therefore a renewal was not going to happen. I stepped up the pace by going to the gym and listening while doing chores around the house. Thus, I finished this morning on the drive to the VA public library to return books and pick up a hold. As always, Larson's research is impeccable and satisfying. I am inspired to read more about Churchill.
• I also picked up volume 14 of Giant Days at the library last week. I was tempted to read it in the car in the parking lot so I could return it immediately, but I am in a constant rotation of picking up and returning books so there was no real reason to rush through it. In the end, I enjoyed it minimally. This is ostensibly the final volume since Esther and Daisy have graduated and moved onto jobs while Susan is finishing medical school. The action involves Esther's two evil co-workers who follow her to a reunion between the three former roommates. It was bland. I don't know if I will read more if the story moves on.

 

Reading:

• Last week I mentioned starting Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch (elibrary book) While I was drawn in by what I read, I have not read any more of it this week. 
• Playing for the Ashes the 6^th installment in the Inspector Lynley series by Elizabeth George (elibrary book) came through from the library of few weeks ago, but I held off because I just finished the 5^th in the series. But again, haunted by the pressures of finishing to return the book on time, I jumped in. I don't regret it so far.  
• I also began the recently published volume 5 of Monstress (independent bookstore purchase) the comic book by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda. Reading comics via trade paperbacks is better for me than reading individual books as they come out each month, but also has the drawback of a significant wait between volumes. I am not sure how much longer this series will continue, but I will need to reread it all at once someday. 

 

Listening:

• During the drive home from the library this morning, I began listening to A Promised Land by President Barack Obama (purchased from Audible). I am only about 40 minutes into it so far, during which he is reviewing early life. He said in the introduction that he felt he needed to set the context for his Presidency. I don't have to worry about rushing through this one since I pre-ordered it in anticipation of its November 17^th release. 

 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

 

 

**A note on the picture. I always use an image from the Prints and Photographs collections of the Library of Congress. I like these because they are interesting, and freely available because they are in the public domain. I mainly choose images of people reading. If you click the image in any of my posts you will be able to see the Library's bibliographic record which includes whatever they know about the image including its creator. There are also usually links to other similar items or to the collection the image is a part of.***

What I've Read - What I am Reading - November 16, 2020

This was a light reading week. I traveled to visit M. in rural MA for a few days. We generally isolated ourselves because while there are small towns in the Berkshires, the weather was dreary and rainy and it was nice to stay warm with wine and take-out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read:

Over the course of the week I finished both the books I had been reading in the last update.

• The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix - As I anticipated, this book should be the beginning of a series, but no announcement to that effect has yet been made. The title is a misnomer because there are both left-handed and right-handed booksellers in London, as well as other magical entities. In a phrase the whole book was "right up my alley." I went ahead and put two of his other stand alone books on hold: Angel Mage and Newt's Emerald.
  • The good news: Nix has an extensive backlist of books to keep me busy until the second (Who do I talk to to make sure this happens?) in the Booksellers series comes out. 
  • The bad news: This means I am adding another author whose works I want to read in their entirety to my TBR list, which knowing how I can put pressure on myself to read, means some stress. 
• Don't You Forget About Me by Mhairi McFarlane - This means I have read all of McFarlane's available work, including a short story, After Hello, which I also read this week. 

Reading:

• On my Kindle, I started Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch (elibrary book -  I am only on page 6, but the world building has begun with a police officer gathering eye-witness information from a ghost about a recent murder. I'll keep reading for sure. Some of the atmosphere and jaunty tone remind me of the Jackaby series by William Ritter. 
• Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King (Library book) - This is the 11^th book (published in 2018) in the Mary Russell series. When I wrote my post about mystery series I have loved, I realized I hadn't read one of these in a while. This is the first of only two I have not read. Since these are both mysteries and historical fiction, I look forward to the jump back in time, and that the mystery is not always a murder. The current story takes place in the early and mid 1920s. While Mary and husband and sleuthing partner Sherlock Holmes have not yet left England, the blurb and helpful map tell me at least some of the story will take place in Venice, Italy. 

 

Listening:

Since The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson (audio elibrary book) is 17 hours and 49 minutes long, I anticipate a few more weeks of updates before I finish. BUT, I did pre-order A Promised Land by President Barack Obama, which will be released tomorrow. I will be torn even though the logical thing to do is finish the Larson first because it is a library book for which I waited quite long time and I will own the Obama book through Audible. 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

 

**A note on the picture. I always use an image from the Prints and Photographs collections of the Library of Congress. I like these because they are interesting, and freely available because they are in the public domain. I mainly choose images of people reading. If you click the image in any of my posts you will be able to see the Library's bibliographic record which includes whatever they know about the image including its creator. There are also usually links to other similar items or to the collection the image is a part of.***

What I've Read - What I am Reading - November 2, 2020

It has been two weeks since posting one of these updates, and I would never have guessed I had read so much. This is why I use Goodreads to keep track of my reading. 

 

Read:

I finished The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. The main character is given the opportunity to explore the books that tell her life story had she made different decisions at various points. It was interesting to think about my own decisions and how life might be different had I chosen differently. I also appreciated the perspective that it is not just the "big" choices that may lead to an alternative outcome, but all the day to day variances that can have a ripple effect.

The next few titles are those I listened to over the two weeks. I did more driving than I have in recent months, but also tackled home projects both here and at M's house that offered opportunities to listen.

•  Meaty by Samantha Irby - I am not sorry to have traveled to Irby's earlier work since I discovered just as much insight as in her more recent work. Hilarious and worth every minute of my time.
• Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle - I debated with myself about listening to this one since I had already listened to the next book, Untamed and therefore know "what happened." But there was so much insight into how she made the decisions she explored in Untamed that I am glad I listened. She also revisits her childhood, teen years, and pre-wedding 20s in ways that also connect to her most recent stories.
• Break Shot by James Taylor - This was an Audible special production that was just an hour and a half of Taylor revisiting his own childhood years up to age 21 interspersed with singing pieces of songs written during that time. I really wanted this to be a full length book.

 

I also read a bunch of graphic novels:

• You Brought Me the Ocean by Alex Sánchez
• If I Go Missing by Brianna Jonnie  - I did not know what this one was all about when I ordered it and then brought it home after it arrived in our library, but I think it is an important story. It is a mix of fiction and non-fiction based on a letter written to the Winnipeg Chief of Police by fourteen-year-old Jonnie as a protest against the way the disappearance of indigenous people is handled.
• We'll Soon Be Home Again by Jessica Bab Bonde, illustrated by Peter Bergting and Kathryn Renta, and translated by Sunshine Barbito - The book is a series of six first person accounts from Holocaust survivors. With the passage of time and the loss of survivors to old age, it is even more important to continue to publish stories about the Holocaust and other genocide so we never forget the dangers of fascism and complacency.
• The Midwinter Witch by Molly Knox Ostertag - I think I may need to read fewer middle grade graphic novels. I read both this and All Together Now by Hope Larson. I will continue to bring these graphic works into my library and send them to my niece as gifts, but I think I am going to rely on reviews and recommendations rather than reading. I am so far removed from the worries and ordeals of this age group that I find myself growing irritated. These are stories that are important for my students and readers because they do speak to their experiences, so I do not want my judgement about the quality of the book to be clouded.
• Dancing at the Pity Party by Tyler Feder - This memoir is Feder's love note to her mother who died from cancer when Feder was only 19. The emotions surrounding her mother's illness and death are tied up with Feder's loving memories in a way that show that her story is so much more than "my mom died when I was young." 

 

I love picture books, but usually read them in bulk each time we receive a shipment at the library, but this was a personal purchase that will be a gift to a dear friend the next time we have a distanced front porch hangout. Julia's House Moves On by Ben Hatke is lovely and a nice continuation of Julia's House of Lost Creatures and Nobody Likes a Goblin. 

 

This fortnight's COVID reading days are rounded out with my two favorites for escaping the reality of this pandemic and election year as well as bolstering my mental health - murder mystery and fantasy: 

For the Sake of Elena is the 5th book in Elizabeth George's Inspector Thomas Lynley series. I was ready for another of her books and found it exciting as usual. I probably need to slow down so I do not run out, but as you will see below, I haven't. 

Over two nights last week, I finished The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty. This has been a long time coming, but not because I did not want to read. I devoured the first two of the series in a few days and moved just as quickly through the first 2/3 of the third, but then I took a break. In part because I was saturated in the story and needed to step back and in part because my brain had wandered to home improvement projects, work, and other distractions that I wanted to get past before savoring the end of the story. I was right to have waited. Chakraborty did not disappoint in bringing Nahri, Ali, Dara, Jamshid, Muntadhir, and Zaynab back together in Daevabad to work toward healing the city and the relationships between their peoples and the other tribes of djinn. Now that I have finished I feel confident in recommending the trilogy to all types of fantasy readers. Based on a bookseller recommendation (Yes, I do ask when I visit bookstores.) my next fantasy read is likely to be The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. 

 

 

Reading:

Missing Joseph by Elizabeth George - Even though I just finished the 5th book, when this one popped up from the library I downloaded it and started reading. I really do not know what it is that I find comforting about reading murder mysteries - maybe it is that the ones I read have a solution. They always find out "whodunit" and there is a satisfaction in that even if justice is not necessarily served or there are more victims before they figure it out. If there is more to my attraction, I don't know what it is. Any ideas?

Drawing the Vote by Tommy Jenkins illustrated by Kati Lacker - I was wary about reading a book about elections just before one of the most stressful elections I have experienced, but this book is well done because it is broken down into chapters that are both chronological and topical. He takes one topic related to voting, such as women's suffrage and explores its full history before moving to another point of view. I especially appreciated his look at the electoral college. I probably will not finish this before tomorrow night when the returns start coming in, but I will finish. This is a great addition to our collection.

 

 

Listening:

I am currently listening to Shit, Actually by Lindy West, which is hilarious. This book is a bit of a departure for West because it is not overtly political like both Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman (which was made into a Netflix series that I binged over the summer) and The Witches are Coming. Instead, in these essays, West revisits movies she liked from the 90s and early 2000s. Her rating system is based on what she considers the most perfect movie: The Fugitive. She rates a wide variety of films from action to comedy to angsty teen flicks. And it is hilarious! You won't be able to think of these movies in the same way ever again. (And don't worry, the essays are not totally devoid of political commentary.)

Today, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson came through from the public library. I have been waiting for this one since I put it on hold in March. Many of my favorite books of historical fiction and time travel take place in this time period so I appreciate a non-fiction perspective as well. 

I have listened to everything I have read by Larson. His books are brimming with splendidly researched information (makes my librarian heart go pitty pat) that I don't think I would have the patience to read myself. I listened to a sample before putting it on hold and think I am going to like being read to by John Lee. The hold came up at a perfect time because I went to the gym today for the first time since March and like the added motivation of a good book to get me there 3-5 times a week. 

 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

How to Incorporate Big Books into Your Reading Life or I Like Big Books

I love to read. I love to read books from many genres, though as you know I am particularly fond of time-travel science fiction and mysteries. (I'll write about fantasy favorites soon.) Despite my love of reading, reading, reading, I do no seek long books. I gravitate toward books that come in under 400 pages for the most part, but sometimes I am tempted by a story that is much longer. Sometimes, as happened in college, I am assigned something longer. Sometimes long books can be daunting even when the story is one I want to read because I think I will enjoy it. I have therefore read a number of LONG novels over my reading life and have some advice for those who may actively avoid big books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Take notes: Depending on how long the reading takes, it is possible for even the most attentive reader to lose track of significant details. Taking notes can take the form of separate notes with page numbers for reference in case you want to return to a plot point, character, or paragraph that seems important. Or you may opt to use sticky flags to mark pages that have been annotated in the book (No gasping necessary, it is ok to write in a book you own.), or on a sticky note. 
2. Break up the reading with shorter works in between: If you decide to read a big book in chunks, with other shorter works peppered in, it may be even more important to take notes to refer back to when picking the big book up again. While this is not my preferred method I have used it when I cannot give a big book the sustained attention it needs. 
3. Choose one long period of time to focus on one big book: If you have travel planned, bring just one long book to read on the entire trip. If your winters are cold and you are indoors and read lots anyway, use this time to focus on just one book. I usually do this in the summer time when we do not have school. I gain both time and increased concentration when I am not distracted by working all day. Pesky job.
4. Read with a friend or book club - If you read a big book with a friend or book club you may be more motivated to continue knowing there are opportunities for discussion as you read. Instead of meeting up or chatting just once about a book, a long book offers opportunities for multiple checks ins, which may be incentive to read regularly and a fun opportunity to socialize.
5. Read a book rather than an ebook - I feel much a greater sense of accomplishment when I see the pages go by than when I see the "15%" at the bottom of the ebook. This is personal to me, but it can also limit when and where I read since a big book is by definition unwieldy and not necessarily convenient for all reading settings.  

 

Some of the big books I have read over the years in no particular order:

• The first four books in the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean M. Auel: I am not sure what about the first book prompted someone to recommend it to me as a young teen, but I read and loved them. This is not a series I will be rereading. I am not sure the investment of time would be worth it.
• Les Misérables by Victor Hugo: After seeing the musical on Broadway, I was bound and determined to read the book. It took me an entire summer. Maybe the summer after my junior year in high school. I do not remember. I loved it and am glad to have read it, even the extensive detail about the sewers of Paris.
• War and Peace AND Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy: I read these for college courses. One was definately in a European literature class and the other was for my junior seminar. I am not sure which was which. I do remember War and Peace was during the fall semester of my junior year (along with a number of other novels) and I was not able to finish before the winter break, but I did finish!  Both are books I took notes while reading to be able to discuss details in class and keep all the Russian names straight.
• Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien: Often the "books" of the Lord of the Rings series are split into three separate books. I did not read them that way. A friend who was appalled I had not read the books at age 29, bought me one big tome. (I had not read them because I was traumatized by Gollum after reading The Hobbit and watching the 1977 cartoon version.)  I had no idea they came any other way. It took me a few months because the beginning of the year in a teacher's life is often more hectic than later. I remember feeling lost after finishing since I had been immersed in Tolkien's world for so long. (This is often referred to as a book hangover.)
• The Baroque Cycle: Quicksilver (2003), The Confusion (2003) and System of the World (2004) by Neal Stephenson. These were a doozy. Theoretically, I would like to read them again one after the other. Realistically, I am not sure I have it in me until retirement.
• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt: This one was a recent listen for me. I had a paperback on my shelf on and off a few times, once from the library, once from a Little Free Library, and once from my father, but in the end I listened to it over many weeks of driving and I enjoyed it immensely this way. 

 

Big books in my future reading life:

Fall by Neal Stephenson

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

I think one of these will probably be in the mix during my winter break this year and the other in the spring or summer of 2021.

 

What big books have you read?

What I've Read - What I am Reading - October 12, 2020

This was a random reading week. At first I had NO time, then we arrived in Florida and I had TIME.   

 

Read:

Between the plane and beach morning, I finished If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane. I appreciated the main characters progression from someone who tied her identity to her male partner to seeing her value as an independent person. 

I started and finished The Geometry of Holding Hands by Alexander McCall Smith on the beach on Tuesday. This is Smith's 13^th Isabel Dalhousie novel. I have read them all. The descriptions of old Edinburgh, Scotland in these books are the main reason I wanted to visit there on our trip to the UK in June 2019. I think I remember this series being touted as mysteries at first, but the mysteries were generally of a domestic nature as in people trying to find lost relatives or Isabel getting involved in solving someone else's problems. The content of the stories has not changed, but I don't see them in the mystery genre any longer. 

Next I started and then finished Beach Read by Emily Henry. I thought this was going to be a lighter read than it turned out to be, but it was also more of a romance than I was expecting. I am not sure who commissions the design of book covers, but this one was misleading. I am not mad about it, but I don't feel like the cover did credit to the important work the two main characters did as they wrote books unlike those they had written previously. (I don't think the title is quite right either. I might have called it The Writing Bet or Two Authors: Two Lives, or something with more gravitas.) I embraced the meta nature of a novel about two novelists trying to approach new genres and topics that turned out to be personally therapeutic. This book spoke to the ways that writing about challenges in our lives can help us to confront them in realistic and healthy ways. 

Reading:

Now that I am home for a good long time, probably until Christmas time, I will finish The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty. I also started Megan Whalen Turner's 6th book in The Thief series, Return of the Thief, a book, among others, which I have been looking forward to seeing published. 

 

Listening:

In the past week I have not listened to much at all. During the time I did spend driving, I continued The Year of Living Danishly by Helen Russell.

When I finish this, I will move to Meaty by Samantha Irby. This is one of her earlier titles, but I loved both We are Never Meeting in Real Life and Wow, No Thank You to the point that I cried tears of laughter, so I think it will be an excellent investment of time. 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

What I've Read - What I am Reading - September 28, 2020

This week has been less about reading and more about minimizing and organizing in the new place, but I have managed to get in evening reading time just about every day.  

 

Read:

On Wednesday I went out to the Fairfax Public Library where I have a card because I work in Virginia. I picked up two more volumes of Giant Days: Volumes 12 and 13 by John Allison, Lissa Treiman, Max Sarin, Whitney Cogar, and Jim Campbell. This series is fun. The university students are now on the edge of graduation and wondering what will be next for them and how their friendships will fare when they go their separate ways. Every character is delightfully quirky and endearing. Volume 14 is coming in October and includes graduation plus a post-grad adventure. 

I finished, A Suitable Vengeance by Elizabeth George and placed the next one, For the Sake of Elena, on hold at the library. It should be a few weeks before it is available. While I like George's Lynley mysteries, I found this one less satisfying that the others because of one plot hole. Hole might not be quite the right word. There was an element of the mystery that occurred to me long before it did to them, which in itself isn't a problem, but was totally unrealistic given the obvious nature of the clue they should have looked at more closely sooner than they did. 

 

Reading:

I am continuing to read The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty. There are so many political and strategic twists I can only read this when I am wide awake. 

I have The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver who wrote One Day in December (Yes, another London romance with December in the title, which I thought was cleverly done) and If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane from the library to start reading after I post this. 

 

Listening:

I have 45 more minutes left in Eat a Peach by chef David Chang. I have appreciated the detail he provides into how he made decisions about opening and closing restaurants, making changes based on reviews, and the role his mental health issues played in his interactions and decisions. If you enjoy his shows Ugly Delicious and Breakfast, Lunch, & Dinner then you will certainly want to read this since it has a similar mix of food, personal stories, and social commentary. 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

What I've Read - What I am Reading - September 14, 2020

A week and three quarters after the move, the apartment looks like a home and just about everything has found a place or been given away or donated, which does include some books. This means I was able to spend more time reading than I did last week. 

On Saturday I made a trip to Politics & Prose on Connecticut Ave. to pick up the latest Louise Penny mystery All The Devils are Here that was part of our ticket to the Zoom conversation between she and Hillary Clinton. 

 

 

 

 

Read:

Last week I began reading Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore, which I finished this week. I enjoyed it and thought it was sassy, smart, and swoony. I liked both Annabelle and her love interest Montgomery. Each was layered and flawed as well as believably attracted to each other based on backstory and events in the novel. I appreciated the strong friendships between the women working for women's suffrage in the Victorian age in England. This was a slice of history I knew little about which prompted me to do some research to discover how the movement in England compared to that here in the United States the centenary of which is this year. I intend to read the next in the "A League of Extraordinary Women" series A Rogue of One's Own.

Over the week I also started and finished The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I read Daisy Jones & the Six in November, which prompted me to seek another novel by Reid. The story of Evelyn Hugo is framed around her seven marriages, but the larger frame is that Evelyn commissions a talented but struggling writer, Monique Grant to interview her then write her biography after she passes away. The layers of both women's stories drew me into all the twists and turns of their lives.

I picked up two books in addition to the Louise Penny when I visited the bookstore. The first was the graphic novel, Wonder Woman Tempest Tossed, by Laurie Halse Anderson, illustrated by Leila Del Duca. It came with a signed book plate which was a surprise. I read it on Saturday evening. I want to read it again, but I think my 10 year old niece will like it too. 

I also bought Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King, which was also unexpectedly signed. I have read many of her works, each of which I have found surprising and mind-sparking. This one will go near the top of my TBR. 

 

Reading:

I am continuing to read The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty because I want to savor this last book in the trilogy. Since it is a library ebook due this week, I started The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai. I will finish it early in the week. 

 

Listening:

I finished The King of Crows by Libba Bray, just in time for the digital audiobook to go back to the library today. The series ended satisfyingly. I am thinking of grabbing the book from my library so I can reread the last few chapters. One of the reasons Bray is one of my favorite YA authors is because she writes a variety of genres. I think my first Bray read was the Gemma Doyle trilogy, which I have read AND listened to and still ranks as my favorite of her work. 

In the car today I started Dreams from My Father, written and read by Barack Obama. 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

What I've Read - What I'm Reading - September 7, 2020

Life has been hectic recently. First was my birthday, then I moved. Moving was far more stressful than getting another year better. But amid the chaos I had the idea for a recurring post on Mondays. A "what I have read"and "what I am reading and listening to" post. I read quickly but depending on the books, some weeks I read an amazing amount and others I just make progress. This was a "make progress" kind of week. 

 

 

Read:

I finished Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George early in the week. As I have written, I love this series of mysteries, but have read the 5 most recent and then went into her earlier novels to catch up with the backstory I was missing. During the week, I was also had the opportunity to participate in a book event with Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton discussing Penny's most recent publication, All the Devils are Here. (The recording of this even does not seem to be available yet, but I will update the post with a link when it is.)

 

Reading:

On the 29th I went ahead and treated myself to a birthday book, The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty. 
I devoured the first two in the series The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper. I love when I can read a trilogy or series without waiting for publication since I sometimes forget important details if there is too much time between books. This trilogy has been a reader's delight because the world building and characterization are a fantasy lovers dream. In addition to enjoying these as a reader, I have appreciated them for their artistry as I craft my own novel. 

Since I want to savor The Empire of Gold, I also started Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore. I appreciate how she is able to weave current issues into a historical romance. The story is swoony and political without being heavy-handed. I have Dunmore's next novel, A Rogue of One's Own in the queue on my Kindle from Net Galley to bring into my reading over the next few weeks. 

 

Listening:

I finished Lindy West's The Witches are Coming just in the nick of time before it was due back at the library. My politics align with hers so I spent time while I was packing shouting "hell, yeah" and "YES!" while I was listening.

Just as I finished, The King of Crows by Libba Bray popped into my library so i jumped in as I unpacked. This is the 4th and final book in the Diviners series, which I have enjoyed all the way through. This one is 21 hours of audio so i need to buckle down and listed regularly as I go about my day in order to finish before the audio is due back to the library on the 14th. 

 

What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?

 

How I started reading mysteries, or much love to the somewhat controversial Nancy Drew

In my previous post, I introduced the queens of my favorite sub-genre of science fiction - time travel. 

This time, I'd like to explore my second most read genre: mystery.

My love of mysteries began with the gift of a box of Nancy Drew books that had belonged to my mom. I am not entirely sure how they came to be mine, but I believe that during a trip to Michigan one summer or at Christmas, I was presented with this box that contained a wealth of reading material, not just Nancy Drew. 

As I recall, I started reading immediately. And by immediately, I mean I read the entire 13 hours home in the car. This was when I could read in the car without becoming nauseated. Since then I have switched to audiobooks or sleeping to get me through long car rides. 

I re-read all the Nancy Drew books and would also check others out of the library or ask someone to buy new ones for me. First published in 1930, Nancy Drew's stories were still being written in the 1980s and beyond. In 2018, Smithsonian Magazine  explored the beginnings and history of these popular tales that were not ever written by anyone named Carolyn Keene.

 

 

My favorites were: 

• The Clue of the Broken Locket (1934)
• The Secret of the Wooden Lady (1950) 
• The Scarlet Slipper Mystery (1954)

but while looking through a list on line, many of the titles struck a chord. I don't think there were any I did not like, just some I liked a bit better and re-read more often. 

My first school librarian job was in a middle school. A group of students asked to start a Nancy Drew book club. I agreed to read the first choice along with the club members - this was a mistake. Whichever book we read was not well written or anywhere near as exciting or engaging as it had been when I was a tween. This is not a surprise, since many books written for young people do not transfer well to adult readers. While not a part of the mystery we read, the original version of at least one Nancy Drew story contained overt racism and others contained characters who were negative stereotypes. If schools still have these versions, many of which have been revised to remove these elements I think parents, teachers, or librarians should find a way to engage readers with conversations about the problematic elements. The end of the story is that the students loved the book and had an intense conversation during lunchtime book club, then promptly lost interest and moved on to a Rick Riordan book club. 

When I was ready to move on from Nancy Drew, my father gave me a copy of Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie, this means my first Christie detective was Hercule Poirot, not a bad place to start. I really enjoyed moving to "adult" mysteries and Christie was a good choice since her stories are low gore and horror and high intrigue.

Now, my favorite mysteries are those in series that feature a crime solver I can get to know. The two queens of mystery writing for me are Louise Penny and Elizabeth George. Penny's books often take place in the town Three Pines in Québec. Her sleuth is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of Sûreté du Québec. I am drawn to these novels because every character, including all the towns people and Gamache's family and co-workers are complex characters who each take a central role in one or more books and a smaller role in others.

Elizabeth George's books feature Inspector Thomas Lynley of New Scotland Yard. The stories themselves take place both in London and around the UK. Lynley's partner Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers features prominently while other characters come in and out regularly. 

Even after having read 14 by Penny and 6 by George I have not yet felt them to be repetitive or possible to figure out until the characters do or only just before. Both series work best if read in order, because the events build from book to book. I started to read the Lynley series because I was going to run out of Penny books, so now I have one more Penny to read before her next is released in September. 

Honorable Mentions go to:

• Tana French - these take place in Ireland and feature various members of the Dublin Murder Squad. My favorite has been The Secret Place. 
• Charles Finch - in these, British gentleman Charles Lennox, a member of Parliament, moves around Victorian London solving murders. There are 13 books in the series currently. I have read the first five and particularly liked A Burial at Sea which takes place on a ship making it a little like And Then There Were None since everyone is trapped with a murderer. 
• Alan Bradley - Flavia de Luce is the 11-year-old sleuth with an expertise in chemistry. The 10 novels, all of which I have read, take place in Bishop's Lacey, a small town somewhere in rural England. My favorite so far is As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust in which Flavia is sent to the same boarding school in Canada her mother once attended. 
• Laurie R. King - Of all the honorable mentions, I may be fondest of these because they feature the husband and wife team of Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell with a focus on Mary. The books sometimes take place in parts of England but there is also some exciting case-based travel. I have read 14 of the 16 in the series. My favorites are The Language of Bees and The God of the Hive which work together more closely than the rest in the series. 
• Jaqueline Winspear - The Maisie Dobbs series begins just after the end of World War I during which Maisie served as a field nurse. She is now back in London solving murders and other crimes as a private investigator. There are 15 books in the series; I am caught up and looking forward to 16. A favorite is A Dangerous Place which takes place primarily in Gibraltar in 1937. 

 

Who are your favorite mystery authors and sleuths?

Tana French - The Secret Place - WOW

I have loved mysteries since my mother brought a box of her Nancy Drew books down from the attic for me. (For those of you who are thinking about re-reading these books as an adult - DO NOT DO IT, let Nancy rest as a heroine in your memory.) I do not like mysteries that are gory, or supernatural (Exhibit #1: Pride and Presience by Carrie Bebris. I am NOT interested in a mystery that promotes itself as a solvable mystery, but then, the perpetrator is a GHOST...ridiculous, and I do not feel at all guilty about having just spoiled the ending...better to be warned than pissed off like I was.)

Moving along, I decided to start my relationship with books by Tana French with her most recent, The Secret Place. I was drawn to it for a number of reasons: 1. My father speaks highly of In the Woods. 2. The very first mystery I read post-Nancy Drew was Cat Among the Pigeons, by Agatha Christie, (also recommended by my father) which takes place at an all-girls school. 3. Having been a teenage girl, and taught them for many years, I know how they can be. This book has them characterized perfectly. Not as sure about the teenage boys, but suspect they are pretty accurate as well.

Now, I am hooked. The story is fascinating. The police procedural bits are informative. The girl/boy social bits are eerily foreshadow-ish since the crime is almost a cold case, which means it is never a question that murder has been done. And the writing is beautiful. This is a not a mystery to tear through to get to the denouement, it is instead a story to savor, working out the clues with Stephen Moran and Antoinette Conway, living in the flashbacks that interweave with one day at St. Kilda's following a trail that went cold 9 months before. The slow build toward the revelation of the killer is immersive.

I will now work backward and read all of French's books, then wait with baited breath for the next release. I am going to start with Faithful Place, an earlier book with Holly Mackey and Stephen Moran who both feature in The Secret Place.

Veronica Mars in all her glory.

I came to Veronica Mars fandom a bit late in the game. I have watched all three seasons of the TV show and the movie in 2014. Just yesterday I finished the book. My only regret is not spreading out her fabulousness....now I have to wait for another movie (wouldn't that be awesome) or the next book, which is due out in October. 

Veronica Mars, show, movie, and book, are great, not because they have well-wrought plots, but because of Veronica and the rest of the engaging characters.  The book was comforting in that not a word of dialogue felt out of character for anyone...I could picture each of them speaking and behaving just as the book described. This is perhaps the benefit of the show and movie coming before the book. The writer's job just meant staying true to the characters' roots, it doesn't hurt I suppose that Rob Thomas has been at the helm of all three projects. This does not mean Veronica, Wallace, Logan, Mac etc. are not free to grow and change, but that they develop naturally as a result of maturity and experience rather than at the whim of the plot. The only glaring flaw in the book, for me as a reader, was the lack of any references to Duncan.  Surely after 9 years he would have found some way to let them all know he is ok. 

I was also disappointed in Veronica's treatment of Piz in the movie.  If they were a couple through college and law school, he certainly deserved a more dignified and compassionate end to the relationship that what Veronica dished out.  She has never been characterized as heartless toward the good guy, in fact quite the opposite, one of her flaws as an investigator is her heart and passion for the job getting in the way of her good sense sometimes.

I am glad to have taken the advice of the Internets and started watching the show, but now where am I going to get a good dose of sassy blonde and witty banter while I wait until October?  Suggestions accepted in the comments!

Holly Black is AWESOME and so is the National Book Festival

So, it has been a woefully long time since I posted a review, or anything at all for that matter, but the good news is I have been reading and have something to talk about.  I reviewed Doll Bones by Holly Black in my previous post.  Since then I have also read The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and bought her graphic novel series The Good Neighbors: Kin, Kith, and Kind.  I am pretty excited to read them.  I picked up a couple of other graphic novels when I went to Politics and Prose to see Rainbow Rowell last Wednesday - more about that in another post. 

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a vampire book...I know, I know haven't we all had enough vampire books, but this one is different I promise.  First of all, the heroine is not a ridiculous, swoony girl who can't bear to be without her vampire (I think we all know to whom I am alluding here.)  Tana is remarkably strong-willed in the face of some pretty harrowing stuff.  There is no way around it, this book is not afraid to talk about what vampires do, which is suck the blood out of people and sometimes kill them. 

Tana wakes up after a party to find that only she, a friend who has been bitten, and a vampire have survived a huge and horrific vampire attack.  It is only through guts and some probably unwise behavior that Tana gets the survivors away.  Not knowing their fate, she heads for the nearest coldtown where Aidan (the bitten friend), and Gavriel (the vampire) probably need to be and where she herself may need to be if she has been infected by a slight encounter.  I really do not want to give much away, but this is certainly a vampire novel to redeem YA vampire novels and to realign with the greats of vampire fiction: Dracula and Interview with the Vampire.  I for one would not mind more of Tana and Gavriel.  (My insider info. tells me Holly Black is not done with this world.)  WHAT INSIDER INFO. YOU SAY???

Well, in my previous post I revealed that I would be introducing Holly Black at the National Book Festival. 

This is Holly Black speaking to the crowd after my introduction.  She was funny, and gracious to all those who asked questions and came up to her afterwards for pictures and to ask questions.  She even signed my book before going on.  Now you might be saying that I could have just snuck up by the side of the stage and snapped this shot.....but

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one is indisputable...this is me WITH Holly Black after her talk.  After this I wandered around the Book Festival in a bit of a daze until I got my act together to go see Patrick Ness give his talk.  His was actually in an interview format with a Washington Post reporter, but he did take questions afterwards.

 

 

 

He is super adorable, and has a husband....I did not know this.  My crush is however unabated.  His newest book More Than This is one at the top of my TBR pile.  I loved A Monster Calls and have been looking forward to reading others for a while now.   I was walking by the fiction tent when I happened across Brad Meltzer and stopped, became entranced by his stories about the Archives, Washington DC, and being invited to the White  House.  As you can see I was quite far away, but had a perfect line right to him.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that I had to head to the Library of Congress for my presentation that went quite well despite the windyness.  My final author of the day was Paulo Bacigalupi author of Ship Breaker and The Drowned Cities.  In the Q & A he specifically address the idea of sequels which he does not like to do.  But he also said, he does not think he is done with the world he created in those two novels.  The book he spoke about was Zombie Baseball Beatdown, which I bought on the off chance I got to introduce him, but I doubt I will read it now because does not sound like my thing.  I think I'll send it to my favorite nephew who may really enjoy it.                  

I truly appreciated the opportunity to hear all these wonderful authors.  But all that pales in comparison with the experience I had today. I began by being present for the "Book that Changed Me" awards for which I had been a judge in the final round.  The three kids who were the top winners almost brought me to tears with their sweet and wonderful readings.  The essays were not really sad, but to know that these kids were so deeply affected by books is why librarians, teachers, and parents work so hard to get kids to read.  Part of the ceremony was also the "Letters about Literature" national winner who happens to live in DC.  She wrote to Laura Ingalls Wilder and connected her works to the life of her father who had grown up in Eritrea and then back to her own life during which she has not had to struggle to find food, water, or education.  That one made me cry because is was a sweet homage to her father and Little House on the Prairie. 

 

 

I then worked our booth through the afternoon talking to many librarians and teachers from around the nation who are eager to use or already use primary sources with their students.  Near the end of the day, Dr. James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress stopped by, and this happened.   What a day and what a weekend!

Books in DC

On one hand, my grand schemes to read a lot while living in DC have worked out, on the other, they haven't.  Maybe I should explain.  I have discovered that there is a lot of really awesome stuff to do in DC that does not involve books, though there is a bunch of book related stuff as well.  In my just over a week here, I have spent a great deal of time doing stuff and exploring the city and not necessarily reading books all the time.  But that is not to say that I have not done any reading or bookish type adventuring.

1.  I have been carrying a book with me everywhere so that on the Metro or if I just happen to see a lovely bench during my travels I am prepared for some reading.  This has also helped to justify my purchase over the years of various purses that really are bigger that what I usually prefer to carry.  Now a requirement is that a book fit in along with all my other exploring gear.

2.  On Wednesday I fulfilled a dream by going to the DC famous independent bookstore Politics and Prose.  The author was Joe Yonan a food writer for The Washington Post, the book is Eat Your Vegetables: Bold Recipes for the Single Cook.  I have made one recipe so far and have grand plans for a few more in the not too distant future. 

3.  I have read four books since I have been here, which is pretty good given how much time I have spent jaunting about when reading is not appropriate, like say while viewing the exhibits at the Corchoran Gallery of Art. 

     A.  Among the Janeites by Deborah Yaffe.  I always thought I was a fan of Jane Austen, but this book convinced me that at best I am just a liker...sort of.  It did make me want to re-read all her work and seek out a few of the more highly regarded film versions of her works.  I have always liked Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet and did find the version with Dan Stevens because I liked him in Downton Abbey.  There is also a Mansfield Park with Billie Piper of Dr. Who fame I have queued up.  This morning I also watched the first installment of a BBC version of Emma from 2009.  To continue, the book was a really interesting look into the world of people who truly love Austen's work and know it far better than I.

    B.  Superstar Babes by Narinder Dhami.  This one is a cute book in a series about three young teen sisters in London who get themselves into various scrapes.  This is the author who wrote Bend it Like Beckham, which I have not read (I saw the movie though.).  The other books, Bindi Babes, Bollywood Babes, and Bhangra Babes are equally charming stories appropriate for a middle school audience.  

    C.  Next was Doll Bones by Holly Black.  This was creepy, but not as creepy as I was expecting.  I acquired this book right after it was released, because after White Cat, Red Glove, and Black Heart, I have been wanting to read more of her work.  AND I just found out at the end of last week, that I am going to get to introduce Black when she comes to the National Book Festival in a few weeks.  (Yes, this is super-exciting and I am nervous and thrilled and a bit afraid I might act a fool in front of her.) She is coming to talk about The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, which I have pre-ordered to read in time for the intro.  I really felt that if I were going to introduce  her properly I better have read a few more titles.

   D.  Today I read Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters, who passed away August 8th.  She is the author of the Amelia Peabody series of mysteries as well, but I liked this one better than I did those.  I like mysteries a lot, but really enjoy ones I can finish quickly so I am not tempted to flip to the last page to end the suspense. The heroine, Vicky Bliss is an art historian, which means creepy castles, and lost artwork.  Just my type of mystery. 

4.  Today I visited Capitol Hill Books, a used bookstore near the Eastern Market.  The last time I was there it was impossible to look for anything because of all the people.  The shelves and their close proximity to each other makes browsing an adventure already so it was much more pleasant with only a few other patrons.  I picked up a few Terry Pratchett Disc World novels.  I have been planning for a while to jump into these and was chivvied along this path recently by Charlotte of Charlotte's Library who recently devoured these and whose opinions I regard highly.  

5.  Next up in non-fiction is a biography of Margaret Fuller by Megan Marshall who also wrote  The Peabody Sisters, a book that totally blew up everything I thought I knew about Transcendentalism.  I recently listened to Marmee and Louisa by Eve LaPlante about Louisa May Alcott and her mother in which Fuller was discussed so it seemed time when I ran across this biography to find out more about her. 

Making progress

So, I finished The Ogre Downstairs and A Study in Sherlock.  This one is a collection of short stories written by various mystery writers that all connect to Sherlock Holmes in some way.  I enjoyed the stories, but generally do not like to read short stories.  As a genre I love short stories, I loved teaching them.  Some of the best short story writers, Hawthorne, Hemingway, Chopin featured in my teaching for years, but for my own personal reading, I prefer something more sustained.

Next I moved to Trains and Lovers by Alexander McCall Smith.  I have not yet read anything by him that I did not like and some of them I have loved.  This one was a charming story of four people in a railway car from Edinburgh to London.  They share stories with each other that are intimate, yet not necessarily revealing of everything.  It is a lovely meditation on love, but also the ways that humans can connect if we just allow ourselves to trust in humanity and compassion. 

 

Just now I finished Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher.  I had only read one book by Chris Crutcher when I heard him speak at the VA librarian conference in 2011.  Afterwards I aquired a number of his books, but this is the first I have read.  Now I am hooked.  He has worked for years as a child protection specialist which makes me sad.  It makes me think that the stories he tells about what some kids go through are probably truer than I would like to know about, but his stories are real and told in clear, strong language so that we as readers know he is not sensationalizing or trying to embellish.  I have placed a few more of his books into my boxes to take to DC.  I do not want too much time to pass before I read another of his books.

 

Up next: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.   

YA at its Finest

I recently read three really excellent YA titles:  A Tangle of Knots by Lisa Graff (which is admittedly a bit closer to middle grade than YA.), Enchanted by Alethea Kontis and Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zach Stentz.  I really enjoyed them all for different reasons.

A Tangle of Knots involves people coming together because of old and new attachments.  The story is really beautifully done as we meet individuals who turn out to have connections to others in the story.  They all cross each others paths and either become permanent parts of each others lives or help to foster other long term relationships after a chance encounter.  It is really well done, lining everyone up and untangling by the end.  It illustrates how closely related we all really are in this big family of humanity. 

Enchanted has some similar tangles in it.  Sunday is the 7th daughter of a 7th daughter making her particularly interesting in a family of unique people.  This story is a brilliant mash-up of many fairy tales including "Sleeping Beauty," "Cinderella," "Jack and the Beanstalk," and others.  A tiny piece of each figures into the bigger story of Sunday and her immediate and extended family.  It is beautifully written  and ends with the possibility for a sequel that I personally would love to read. 

The main character in Colin Fischer loves a good mystery.  He likes the ordered thinking required to figure something out.  He takes notes on what he observes around him in a notebook.  He often ends a note with the word "Investigate."  Much of what Colin does is influenced by his Aspberger's Syndrome.  Unfortunately, this also causes problems for him as he begins high school on his own.  The story moves quickly and really only captures the first few weeks of Colin's time in high school but seems to accurately portray someone with Asperger's.  I would be interested to hear from a student like Colin to see how well done his characterization is.  

Thank you Sean Pidgeon...

for writing the best King Arthur book  I have read in a long time, Finding Camlann.  And I have read MANY King Arthur books.  My two favorites are T.H.  White's The Once and Future King and Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon (but not its many sequels which are pale imitations of the original.)  Finding Camlann is not an Arthur novel in the same vein as my favorites since Arthur is not a character.  The story takes place in modern times featuring scholars who are interested in the historical Arthur, mainly the question of whether or not there is a historical Arthur or if he is in fact the product of bards who created him from various bardic traditional stories with a smattering of historical warriors.  This story centers on the search in Wales for various Arthurian battlegrounds and burial places. 

Of course while these scholars are searching for a lost hero, they are dealing with their own failures and triumphs as human beings.  Some of the story deals with Welsh nationalism and English rule.  I learned some very interesting things.  I already know some about English and Irish clashes, but was not aware of similar problems in Wales. 

The search in the novel for original sources of information about a possible historical Arthur are intertwined with the story about Siôn Cent a poet who recorded stories of Owain Glyn Dŵr a historical Welsh warrior.  Modern Welsh warriors who fought to keep England from flooding Welsh towns to provide a reservoir of water for England brings in Hugh Mortimer, Julia Llewellyn Mortimer, and her father Dai Llewellyn.  Donald Gladstone is an archaeologist interested in Wales in general with an interest in Arthur that seems to intrigue all Romantics who cling to the ideas of nationalism and chivalry and a golden age of knights and ladies battling evil.  What I enjoyed most is that Pidgeon has refrained from turing the modern characters into metaphors for the Arthurian stories.  This is a novel for anyone who is fascinated by the way storytelling has always held power and how legend and history are deeply intertwined in ways that make the past both more realistic and more nebulous than we will ever be able to know. 

This makes me feel better about Maureen Johnson's latest

In her blog, Maureen Johnson reveals just enough to explain why The Madness Underneath feels so unfinished. 

Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl

is either a genius or insane.  I know, I know there is a fine line.  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn is quite simply brilliant.  If you have read it, you know why I cannot say much about the plot without ruining it all.  If you have not read it, I say...Nick and Amy are a generally happy couple with their share of problems like loss of jobs, ill parents, and a dwindling bank account.  None of this however seems important when Amy disappears the morning of their 5th anniversary.  Clearly based on the evidence and the stereotype, Nick is the prime suspect in the disappearance that may in fact be murder.  But this story is so full of twists and turns the reader cannot possibly keep up without long pauses to think about it all. 

Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach

Life Among Giants is one of the books I had on lists to read, then took it off, then put it back.  Finally I put it on my hold list at the library.  I knew it was time to read an adult book and take a break from YA.  I need to do this from time to time to engage my brain a bit more and get away from the angst.  Though to be fair, adult fiction has its fair share of angst. 

Life Among Giants reminds me of some of the John Irving I have read.  Those of you who have read my reviews before will know that generally I love Irving's work.  This similarity is therefore positive to my mind.  I do not mean to say that Roorbach is an imitator.  There were just some atmospheric and tonal things that made me think of Irving.  The plot was not similar to any of Irving's work. 

In Life Among Giants, Lizard, or David tells his own story.  His story really begins with the murder of his parents when he is 17, just about 18.  He tells his life before this incidentally, sharing only relevant memories.  Afterwards he covers his life in detail, but even 20 years later much of what he is is related to the loss of his parents.  In a minor way, the book is a mystery with David and his sister Kate trying to discover exactly who murdered their parents and why.  At times through the years, Kate is obsessed with the crime.  She spends time in a mental institution trying to deal with her intense paranoiac beliefs about what happened.  David on the other hand lives a quiet life as a football player for the Miami Dolphins then as a restaurateur.  Always in the background of the siblings' story, are Sylphide, a ballerina who lives in the mansion that backs up to David and Kate's modest family home and Dabney, the ballerina's rock start husband who died not long before David and Kate's parents.  How all of these people and events are tied together if at all is the central conflict of the story. 

Just as much of YA literature deals with the central character's place in the world, this adult story revolves around adults having to confront who they have become and how on earth they ended up this way. 

Libba Bray,

Maureen Johnson, and maybe Holly Black and Robin Wasserman are in cahoots.  I have recently read The Name of the Star by Johnson and The Diviners by Bray.  The former is about a creey killer from the past, the latter is about a creepy killer from the past.  I have not yet read The Book of Blood and Shadow by Wasserman, but the dust jacket blurb leads me to believe it might....be....about a CREEPY KILLER FROM THE PAST. (This one needs to go closer to the top of my TBR pile.)

This type of writing is a bit of a departure for Johnson whose previous novels include the Suite Scarlet series as well as 13 Little Blue Envelopes and its sequel, The Last Little Blue Envelope, none of which contain anything more creepy than a guy the heroine does not like at first. Now all of a sudden there is a sequel with equally creepy goings-on?

Bray is not new to stories of the supernatural as evidenced by her fabulous A Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy, but horror was not really a part of those books. 

Holly Black has more experience with the weird as in Black Heart, White Cat, and Red Glove, but these seem to be more fantasy than horror.  (Full discloser: I have not read any of them.)  

Robin Wasserman has some experience with sci-fi dystopia, but seems to have only delved into horror recently. 

So, my question is, were the four of them sitting around one night with a couple of bottles of wine brainstorming ways to challenge themselves and write something different?  I picture them writing down a bunch of ideas and putting them all  in a hat.  What came out was, "write a novel with..... A CREEPY KILLER FROM THE PAST." 

Since this blog has a limited audience I doubt if any of these writers will ever see my theory to confirm or deny, but I am convinced that something is going on here!

So to wrap it up, I really liked In the Name of the Star, though it did creep me out.  I fully intend to read its sequel The Madness Underneath despite what it may do to my ability to read at night with just a reading lamp.  The Diviners was really good as well.  Its setting in Jazz Age, Prohibition Era New York City is well researched and wonderful.  I am looking forward to the next in this series as well.  Luckily I have the Waserman and the Holly Black books to tide me over while I am waiting.