Back on the Book Haul saddle again!

Well, I did take a brief break from book buying (granted, emphasis on the brief part to be sure) but now am happy to say that my summer time fun is fully underway in this regard.

My first big purchase was from Book of the Month Club; having skipped June, I made up for lost time by selecting one of their major new releases, The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

This novel chronicles the growing friendship between future First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune, who became known as the First Lady of the civil rights movement.

Despite their overt differences, both women had much in common, particularly a drive to improve the basic conditions of women via access to education as well as offer those impoverished by the Great Depression a chance to get back on their feet.

Through a mutual understanding of what needed to be done to achieve as many of their goals as possible, Mrs. Roosevelt said Mrs. Bethune decided to join forces to not only support FDR in his bid for the White House but to change the viewpoint of one political party to a more favorable approach to the issues facing Black Americans. Not an easy task to be sure yet having each other’s back at certain times was a good start.

I started reading this book on the Fourth of July (I kid you not!) and so far, it’s a well paced and engaging read. Both authors write together in excellent harmony with much depth of character and feeling. Much like the iconic women of this story, this literary partnership is one for the books indeed:

Added to that was a debut novel, Did You Hear About Kitty Karr by Crystal Smith Paul and the latest from Fiona Davis, The Spectacular.

Set in 1956 NYC, Marion Brooks decides to upend the course of her dreary expected life by becoming a Radio City Rockette. 

While the job costs her a breakup with her fiancé and her own family, Marion is thrilled to be living her dream of professional dancing. Caught up in the backstage life of her contemporaries, plus a new chance at romance, she starts to feel that her life has truly begun.

However, an attack at Radio City Music Hall by the unknown “Big Apple Bomber” shakes Marion’s new found confidence to the core. Can her dreams continue or is this her last dance?

Even though I do have a couple of other Fiona Davis books to get to, it’s hard to resist picking up a brand new one. Davis has a wonderful knack for placing well thought out characters at prime real estate locations in New York, making their lives an integral component of what makes this setting so special there. A good mix of history with heart:

Next up is my Simon Books Buddy selection, courtesy of Simon & Schuster.

They sent me the paperback edition of Marianne Wiggins’ Properties of Thirst, a novel that takes place in the early stages of WWII on a California ranch run by the Rhodes family.

As patriarch Rocky battles for water rights with the city of Los Angeles, his daughter Sunny pursues her love of cooking while a newcomer named Schiff is pursuing her heart. Schiff is sent by the government to set up an internment camp for Japanese Americans, a task that he quickly loses the taste for. Can this mutual loathing of official policy bring Schiff imo the family fold or will this connection not bring any of them a lasting peace?

This does sound like what some call a thumping good read but I may save it for autumn. Something about this epic saga energy of this book is going me all the fall feelings;

Finally, my last stop was my local library, where I returned four books (finished two of them at least) and borrowed a pair of mystery related reads.

One of them was the newest entry in Ellery Adams’ The Secret,Book & Scone Society series entitled Paper Cuts and the other is Rogue Justice , the follow up to Stacey Abrams’ Supreme Court thriller While Justice Sleeps.

Avery Keene is still working at the highest court in the land but it’s the demise of a judge at the FISA(Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) that leads her to another case to be solved. 

Before his death, law clerk Preston Davies tells Avery that his former boss was being blackmailed with a deepfake video into making rulings that drove her to end her own life. Witnessing Preston’s murder, Avery is determined to find out what the ultimate point of this secretive plot is that has already cost two lives and perhaps more to come.

I did enjoy While Justice Sleeps (also a library loan) and this looks to be more of the same, which is a welcome sight to be sure. As timely as this book is, having a fictional force of nature take on the upper echelon bad guys is definitely my idea of a good time:

That should be enough for now, I hope. With the weather getting wilder and warmer by the day, sitting under the AC with a stack of good books at hand sounds like the perfect vacation spot to me.

I’m also looking forward to the third season of Only Murders in the Building (recently added Hulu to my TV lineup and caught up with this fantastic show!) this August, especially with Meryl Streep being a guest star! Yes, Paul Rudd is here as well but Meryl is must-see, no question about it, a true summer treat indeed: