I’m currently reading the final book in my FrightFall readathon(Lone Women was so worth the wait!) and already planning another reading challenge for next month. This one, however, is one set up just for me.
November is a pretty busy month for book folk, with Best of the Year lists and various themed readathons like No-Buy November or Noir November ,for example,and of course National Novel Writing Month to boot!
However, I thought this might be a good time to clear up of my regular TBR piles and since there are a few mystery/thriller titles that I’ve been meaning to get to for awhile now, so I’m taking a literary thrill ride with page turning instead of putting the pedal to the metal there.
My challenge TBRs tend to use the rule of three and the first of that trio is Maisie Dobbs, the first in a well renowned series by Jacqueline Winspear. Our title leading lady has gone from being a housemaid in a Downton Abbey type of situation to a college student, then a WWI nurse and now opening up her own private detective agency in London.
Her first case appears to be just a standard infidelity investigation yet as things go on, Maisie uncovers a scheme to cheat military veterans out of their finances run by a former officer whose need for control risks many lives in more ways than one.
Can she reveal the truth and protect these men from someone claiming to protect them from themselves? I won this book in a giveaway earlier this year and have consistently heard great things about this series so the opportunity to see if these books are something I need to get into is ideal indeed:
Next in the docket is Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby, a tale of revenge and unlikely fellowship.
Ike Randolph and Buddy Lee Jenkins are far being any sort of friends, despite the shared fact that their sons are married to each other.
When their children are murdered via hate crime, Ike and Buddy find themselves compelled to dig back into their former criminal ways and work together to avenge the deaths of their sons once it’s clear that the law is than motivated to do so.
S.A. Cosby’s works are being hailed as modern crime fiction classics and this particular book seems to be a great place to start. This part of the thrill ride is going to be rough but I have no doubt that this journey is worth the taking:
For the third act, Gillian McAllister’s Just Another Missing Person promises to be quite the conclusion to say the least.
When DCI officer Julia Day is called away from a family dinner to look into the disappearance of a young woman named Olivia Johnson, she’s more than ready to tackle this case as per her usual.
What does surprise her is the appearance of a strange man in her car who demands that Julia plant evidence that a man named Matthew James is responsible for Olivia’s vanishing. If not, he’s willing to reveal that Julia misused her authority to cover up a crime for her daughter Genevieve.
While Julia is willing to go along with this for the sake of her child(not to mention using this demand as potential evidence towards finding Olivia), things become more and more complicated as time goes on to the point where she doesn’t know who or what to believe here.
By untangling the truth from the fiction, is Julia able to save Olivia, Genevieve or even her own career from utter ruin?
I read McAllister’s Wrong Place, Wrong Time a few months ago(based on a BookTube recommendation) and that time travel mystery was an amazing read. When I saw this new release as a Book of the Month add-on, my response was “Yes,please!” This sounds like what some fans of British detective shows might call a cracking good read and I have high hopes of that being true:
While I might include a couple of other mystery related books into the mix, these three are my main mission for completing in November. If you’re interested in trying this out for yourself, please feel free to do so-I am not a proficient arranger of readathons but more than willing to offer any inspiration there!
Thrill rides are rather scary outings as well as exciting ones but confining such antics to the pages of a book seems reasonably safe to me. A good release of tension and hopefully truly entertaining, like a well made action cinematic romp or an old school spy movie, only you have to supply the theme song yourself, plus a solid bookmark there:
The getting of books can be a very organized thing, with making lists and perusing reviews to find what is the best to gather up for a fresh new TBR pile on your shelves.
However, some of the real fun is being pleasantly surprised at what you might find during an unexpected moment of browsing in real time.
Last week, I made a sooner than planned trip to my local library (my sister needed to renew her card) which caused me to indulge in one of those up-all-night reading binges the evening before in order to finish a long Stephen King book in order to return it the following day(the book was Fairy Tale and well worth the library hangover there).
That massive reading was nicely rewarded as the first must have read that I spotted in the library was Queen Charlotte , the Bridgerton prequel adaptation by Julia Quinn and Shonda Rhimes.
Having seen that Netflix series earlier this year, not to mention anxiously awaiting Season Three, I was delighted to have a chance to relive that miniseries magic via page turning. I’ve already dove into this book and marveling at the vibrancy of the characters, especially our title royale who brooks no nonsense about what she’s expected to endure for the sake of others:
Then I made the welcome discovery of spying on a shelf in the Mystery section a copy of Julia Seale’s A Most Agreeable Murder.
Set in Regency England, Beatrice Steele is expected as the eldest daughter to make a suitable matrimonial match but she’s much more interested in the true crime newspaper tales that Sir Huxley solves than seeking a husband simply to free up those opportunities for her younger sisters.
When a ball at Stabmont Park leads to the demise of a very eligible bachelor, Beatrice is secretly thrilled to have the chance to actually be the detective of her dreams. Teaming up with another unlikely sleuth, she uses those lessons taught to her as a potential partner in love as the perfect arsenal for finding the killer, a task perhaps more daunting than she dared to imagine.
I have heard good word of mouth about this book, mostly that it’s sort of a Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes with a strong dash of whimsical humor. That certainly sounds like my preferred cup of tea indeed:
I thought that those two would be enough but just as I made one last run at the Fiction section, One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston came into view and joined my stack of library loans that day.
The story takes place in New York where new resident August is starting to settle in nicely with her roommates and travel routines.
Said routine has her making a possible love connection with Jane, who August always runs into on the Q train.
Those run-ins are not totally incidental as Jane is actually a time traveler from the 1970s who is literally trapped on the train. August , having spent a good part of her younger years helping her mom do some amateur detective work, decides that she is the most qualified to help Jane get out of her train bound time loop.
If she succeeds though, will that mean that Jane goes back to her original place in the time line or will she be able to join August in the now current time flow? Most importantly, does Jane want to be with her anywhere and will August have to make a choice that truly reflects true love?
I’m reading McQuiston’s Red , White and Royal Blue at the moment (and it’s such a joy to behold!) and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to dive more into their engaging sweet realm of romance:
So, this was such a good library trip as I picked up a nice set of books that should be satisfying fall reads that I can renew until well after Thanksgiving and my sister has discovered the joy of audiobooks, thanks to a very helpful librarian. All in all, a nice way to spend a rainy day.
Most of the surprises we see these days are not of the good kind(especially the headlines in the news) and while I long for the time where heightened drama can be more easily found on TV shows than real life, having a good book or two on hand is a guaranteed comfort to be sure:
With the holiday season approaching fast, cutting back on extra spending seems like a good idea.
Oddly enough, Book of the Month Club helps me do just that because, as the title says, you can buy only once a month! Skipping a month is an option, of course, but if you really feel the need for something new on your shelves, BOMC definitely scratches that particular itch.
My latest BOMC selections were not current new releases yet one of the authors was rather familiar to me. Adriana Trigiani’s The Good Left Undone begins with elderly matriarch Matetilda Cabrelli Roffo deciding to share the stories of her past with granddaughter Anina.
It’s not just her own past; how Matetilda’s own mother came to leave their beloved village of Viareggio due to her personal convictions to wind up in Scotland where she falls in love with a navy captain on the cusp of WWII is an epic tale in and of itself.
How these stories affect Anina and her outlook on the past, present and future choices in her life are at the heart of this novel. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a Trigiani book but her story telling skills are gorgeous to behold. Also, I have plans for a reading project next year that includes a well known set of her works so this is the perfect opportunity to get reacquainted here:
I paired it up with Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano, which is getting a lot of bookish love these days.
The story introduces us to William, who has married into the Padavano family of four sisters, his wife Julia being the oldest one as well as his college sweetheart, and takes comfort in the strong familial bond from them that he never felt from his own parents.
Despite getting a divorce from Julia years later and falling out of touch with his young daughter Alice, he still crosses paths with Padavano women time and again. Eventually, there comes a point where reconnection is unavoidable and emotionally necessary for all concerned.
One of the main attractions that this book has for me is that the core concept is a modern take on Little Women, one of my all time favorites. This does sound a bit like “what would happen if Jo and Laurie got married “ and that such a relationship didn’t quite work out makes complete sense to me( sorry, shippers but I do believe it was right of Jo to turn him down!).
Anyway, I have heard plenty of good word about this book and willing to give it a try regardless of that literary connection, although it does sweeten the deal for me:
I am sure that most BOMC members get asked this question on occasion-“Do you actually read all of those books?”
My answer is yes, just not as soon as I would like to. With that in mind, I thought a review of one of my most recent BOMC picks would be worth sharing.
Kate Goldbeck’s debut novel You, Again is a lively look at old school romcom energy with an updated twist. When uptight chef Josh first meets livewire comic Arianna (aka Ari), their mutual dislike is immediate as they both happen to be dating the same woman (Ari’s roommate) and have very different approaches to love and romance.
A few years and several more bad interactions later, Josh and Ari run into each other while having the worst time in their lives; Josh’s attempt to put a new spin on his late father’s iconic deli crashes and burns his culinary reputation. Meanwhile, Ari is going through a rough divorce and feeling less than thrilled about her stalemated comedy career.
With such shared misery, the two of them form a friendship that slowly yet surely promises to become more than just funny texts and movie night binges. When that threshold is crossed, the chances of resetting that relationship become a deal breaker but is that what either of them really wants or needs from each other?
Author Kate Goldbeck claims Nora Ephron‘a When Harry Met Sally as her muse for this story and the influence definitely shows yet this is not a cut and paste take on that film at all.
Goldbeck creates her own version of New York based characters and modern situations (some of which I wish were more detailed, especially the ones where Ari’s mischief making comes into play) that dazzle and delight on the page. Her quirky style and steady sense of storytelling makes this book immensely engaging and a writer to watch out for.
Also, You,Again got me to rewatch When Harry Met Sally(I’m more of a You’ve Got Mail fan and yes, I watched that one again to boot!) and yes, it does hold up pretty well there. I don’t know who the present day version of Meg Ryan is but if and when the actor’s strike is settled, I hope that she is cast in the movie adaptation of this love story:
We’re going to need more good books as the world is getting more challenging by the moment and wherever you find them, do cherish them indeed.
With the state of the world as it is right now, taking some time away from the headlines to replenish your spirits is a good idea. Hopefully at some point, we can all work together to make right what has gone wrong and most importantly, act like reasonable adults (a scare commodity these days, sad to say).
So I find a good way to avoid complete despair is to curl up with a pile of great books and perhaps a comforting TV show or two, preferably something British, although the new season I’m most waiting for is not until January.
Perhaps by then, things might be a little bit better and a new package from Book of the Month Club will certainly be a welcome sight to be sure:
Yesterday was the start of Banned Books Week, which takes a look at the battle against censorship in this country (as well as around the world) and sadly, the fight for the right to read freely is all too real these days.
With school boards being invaded by partisan activists (many of whom don’t even live in those communities or have school age kids), the undercutting of school libraries to the point of a severe shortage of librarians that our public education system is being undermined and public libraries for the general public under attack to boot, the state of our reading nation is under serious threat.
Fortunately, there are many ways to combat this rising tide of literary repression and one of those is specially themed book clubs.
For over a year now, journalist Ali Veshi has run a Banned Book Club not only as a podcast but regular segments on his weekend show on MSNBC, featuring profiles on why particular books and subjects are the targets of controversy from those with clearly political agendas and/or prejudicial bias.
He also conducts interviews with writers under fire such as Nikole Hannah-Jones of The 1619 Project, Margaret Atwood for The Handmaid’s Tale and David Levithan, who wrote Two Boys Kissing, one of the far too many books for young members of the LGBTQIA community that are making up a large portion of the list of most challenged books for the past two years:
He also covers classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird , The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (yep, even the Bard is not off limits here!).
One of the modern classics highlighted recently was the 20th anniversary of the graphic novel memoir Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, which showcases the struggles of a young woman growing up in a repressive regime that seems to worse by the minute.
I rewatched the animated movie adaptation of the book this past spring (it was shown at an Alamo Drafthouse Theater) and that real life story is just as compelling today as it was back then; perhaps even more so now:
There are others out there, even Joy Behar of The View has her own Banned Book Club and it’s great to see someone on such a mainstream morning show use that platform for an important subject like this:
What’s most important of all is that we maintain a united front against this wave of deliberate ignorance that is targeting our children and other vulnerable citizens in the name of alleged “decency “ and “parental rights.”
One of the major sticking points of democracy is that no one person or group has the absolute power to decide what is good for us all. That includes education and freedom of thought as well as speech. It’s why we have separation of church and state, a line that too many people are doing their best to erase nowadays.
The freedom to read is a fundamental principle of our democracy and Banned Books Week is a solid stepping stone towards maintaining that spirit of independence for this and future generations. Let’s keep fighting this good fight in the hopes that such dire threats start to become fearful figments of the past that don’t haunt us in the years to come:
