Future fall reading in more ways than one

 

With October literally being just a day away and my next readathon about to begin, I can’t help but ponder how the rest of my reading year is going to go.

A few changes are coming yet I do intend to make some serious time for a relaxing read or two. Last weekend, my sister took me to lunch and treated me to a bookstore visit, something that I rarely get to do these days.

While there, I bought a pair of books that I’ve read good things about from BookTube(yes, the book centric portion of YouTube/Instagram). The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore is the first in a series set in the town of Dream Harbor and the business of the title is owned by Jeanie, who inherited it from her aunt.

While she’s thrilled to restart her life in such a friendly place, not everyone in town is pleased to have a newcomer in their midst. Logan, a local farmer is bound and determined to stay far away from the cafe as possible, dreading the rampant stream of gossip that is part and parcel of the clientele.

However, Jeanie and her sunny disposition are hard to resist and it seems as if the feeling is mutual. Can Jeanie win over Logan as a friend or perhaps something much more intimate there?

Fiona of Reads and Eats sang this book’s praises and already has the next book, The Cinnamon Bun Bookstore, a delicious title indeed! If you’re looking for a literary Stars Hollow experience, this sounds like a ticket to the ultimate coffeehouse romance ride:

As much as I appreciate coffee, my tastes run more to tea drinking, which lead me to Rebecca Thorne’s Can’t Spell Treason without Tea.

This cozy fantasy is set in a realm where Reyna is a member of the Queensguard and Kianthe is a powerful mage, both of these situations make it very difficult for the two of them to go off and set up the bookshop/tearoom of their dreams.

After a kidnapping incident, however Reyna has had enough of catering to such a selfish regal client and convinced her beloved to run away with her for a quieter life. While they do find the tiny town of Tawney to be ideal, trouble still follows them despite the cold weather and nearby dragons.

This book first came to my attention via Beautifully Bookish Bethany and it sounds like such a treat! It’s also the first in a series that ought to be fun in a Legends of Tomorrow kind of way(I do miss that show!):

Meanwhile, when I went home, I still had a craving for a new author to try so I went online to get Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.

Yes, I am late to the Grishaverse party but am curious to see what the fuss is all about there. 

The story takes place in the port city of Ketterdam, where a thief named Katz is tasked to recruit some of his fellow street associates for a heist that could either make their fortunes or doom them all. I do like the sound of that, a very The Suicide Squad type of tale(the good one with Idris Elba) so I am more than willing to climb aboard this adventure train indeed:

My FrightFall reading will begin after midnight)probably will start with Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone) and my personal Trilogy Time challenge will be coming to an end sooner than expected but I will have more to say about that in an upcoming post.

For now, it’s good to know that while the world around is getting wilder by the minute, there is still comfort to be found within the pages of a good book and among those who enjoy such simple delights as well.

Sorry to end on a sad not but I did want to express my condolences for the loss of Dame Maggie Smith from the world stage this past weekend. Such a lively talent that impacted many generations is a rare treasure to behold and I sincerely hope she knew just how we all appreciated her sharing her artistry, plus a keen knack for razor sharp wit,with us all:

Banned Books Week asks “What are they really afraid of here?”

Banned Books Week is already upon us, although for the last couple years it feels like every week is Banned Books Week.

With the growing intensity of challenges and bans on books ranging in subject from sexual education to American history and various other political agendas, the actions taken towards school and public libraries (even booksellers at some points!) are indicative of a severe panic strongly conservative groups, no strangers to this conflict at all.

Yet, they seem more determined than ever to restrict access to books dealing with race, accurate history and sexual identity. Beyond the political bias and the standard “moral” objections to this material, however, leads me to ask “What is it that they’re so afraid of? “

To me, the answer is empathy.

Empathy , that ability to connect with others and in particular, those whose life experiences you may never share in or truly understand, is terrifying to them. Their ultimate horror movie monster , in the style of Michael Myers, Jason and Freddy.

Just take a look at their number one target; Maia Kobabe’s graphic novel /memoir Gender Queer. 

Along with other stories such as All Boys Aren’t Blue and Flamer, this book has been repeatedly attacked for it’s open and honest discussion about discovering sexual identity, particularly as a young person.

Now, you would think that with all of the concerns about the mental health issues for teenagers of late, that a book like this would be ideal. Not only does the author talk about eir(the preferred pronouns of the writer are e/em/eir) growing up and coming to terms with being asexual and nonbinary but telling family and friends about this as well.

Not only would such a story be of great comfort to others dealing with those issues, it would also answer a few questions for those not in that exact situation who might just want to know what it’s all about. It could clear up a lot of misconceptions and promote positive, mature conversations between more than one social group.

Sadly, what ignorance fears just as much as knowledge is empathy; making an emotional connection is sometimes more than immediate than an intellectual one and possibly even stronger:

Also, novels that highlight more realistic takes on teens such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews are prime targets as well.

In the case of the latter, the offbeat friendship between the main characters, told with crude humor at times, is the type of coming of age story that would actually resonate with teenagers and yes, teens are rude,lewd and not always the best people at times.

That applies to our narrator Greg, who is not meant to be a shining example of maturity, even when it comes to best friend or a chronically ill peer.

It’s good for someone who might feel guilty about not always having the “correct” feelings about certain people and serious situations to realize that they’re not alone in such awkwardness and that you can become a better person over time. Experience can be a good teacher and even if you figured some of this life stuff out much sooner than others, it helps to understand why it takes some folks longer to catch up:

One book on the current top ten banned books list that stuck out to me was Sold by Patricia McCormick.

The novel is told from the point of view of Lakshmi, a young girl from Nepal who is to believe that she is being sent to India to work as a house maid, only to be enslaved at a brothel instead.

With the massive amount of attention paid to human trafficking from multiple platforms, you would think that a book like this from an award winning author meant to enlighten readers about such real world horrors would be praised, not scorned.

What I suspect is the real motivation for objections here, aside from the age appropriate sexual content, is that this book doesn’t feature the “ideal victim” that certain groups have in mind when talking about this subject.

Never mind the fact that such brutal stories are universally appalling regardless of locale; some prefer to put a false face over such ugly truths thar look more pleasing to them. Such a shame as fund raising by young people to help these girls has been inspired by this book:

Empathy, whether it’s for someone from another culture or country, seems to be very frightening to those that fear change in the way that our society works. Granted , change isn’t always pleasant but the main principles of our nation are to make everyone an equal player when it comes to freedom and change is a big necessary part of that.

The freedom to read and think freely is vital to that concept and instead of narrowing the vision of the next generation and the ones to come afterwards, let us embrace a wider world of knowledge and empathy to help bring our fractured democracy back together.

Sure, it won’t always be harmonious but a general agreement to do right by each other would go a long way towards making things better for all concerned. There are such good things to help people truly connect with one another and my favorite one is books. 

Hopefully, by the time Banned Books Week arrives next year, we’ll have turned the page on such an ugly chapter in our mutual history:

 

A mix of thrills and chills this FrightFall season

 While the weather isn’t as cold or leaf blowing as we would like, it is getting closer to spooky season and the signups for Seasons of Reading’s annual readathon known as FrightFall are already under way.

Hosted by Michelle Miller(who also runs Castle Macabre as well ), this month long bookish event only requires you to read one scary book, whether it’s horror, mystery or something along those genre lines.

My TBR for this year’s readathon is more of a mystery /suspense party( enough horror going on in the headlines these days!) but there is one that does have a paranormal vibe to it there…

Sarah Penner’s The Lost Apothecary introduces us to Catherine, an American woman visiting London due to an estrangement from her husband James.

When she comes across a strange glass vial and researches the unusual bear marking on the bottle, Catherine learns about Nella, an eighteenth century woman who supplied  her female customers seeking revenge on the men that wronged them with the deadly means to do so.

Nella was said to have die by her own hand but perhaps not and that mystery might be necessary to unravel as James arrives unexpectedly and winds up being poisoned by similar means. Can the key to Catherine’s future be found in the past or is history truly doomed to repeat?

I ‘ve heard a lot of good word about this book and while it’s not entirely a supernatural story, the energy of a witchy tale certainly seems present, making this a very seasonal read for me:

Next up is more of an offbeat mystery as the title boldly claims; Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson is told from the point of view of Ernst Cunningham who writes how-to books about writing and winds up in a bizarre mystery himself.

Years ago, his brother Michael came to him with the odd request of helping him bury a body along with a bag of money. police's did go to jail for that incident ( mainly due to Ernst turning him into the police) and upon his release three years later, a family homecoming celebration in his honor goes wrong as another dead body is found.

This time, however, Ernst is pretty sure that Michael is innocent  but someone else in his family circle is not. With that in mind, Ernst tries to employ his own rules of writing to solve this case but finding the right solution to this puzzle is not as easy or safe as one might think.

This is the first in a series that I may continue with if this savvy starter is as entertaining as promised. From what I have heard, it’s a cozier Knives Out style of story which I am all for :

Finally, I chose from my Book of the Month Club pile(getting scarily large there!), The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz.

When Alex is given the opportunity to stay at the title locale being hosted by renowned author Rosa Vella, she feels like the luckiest person on earth. With her own literary career at a standstill (along with her personal life), this artistic getaway sounds too perfect to be true.

Unfortunately for Alex, it is-Roza ‘s estate is very isolated from the outside world and her demands upon the attendees include completing a full length novel within four weeks, handing in three thousand words a day for group critique.

Such a grueling process is made more intense by the offer of a million dollar book contract as the “prize” for success. While Alex does her best, the tension between her and the other competing writers is worthy of several thrillers before people begin to go missing….

Books about writers are catnip to most readers and this one sounds particularly enticing, in a “be careful what you wish for” kind of way:

The readathon begins on October 1 and runs through out the entire month of sinister page turning fun. Thanks in advance to Michelle Miller for setting up this trick or treat bookish delight!

While I am not going for a major horror book this time, I may do a reread of Stephen King’s classic Salem’s Lot as a new film version is set to stream on Max by October third. Based on the trailer alone, between this and Agatha All Along, my Halloween entertainment schedule is set for spooky success!:

Ready to fall for a great book haul!

I know that there’s a lot going on right now(plus, it won’t be officially autumn for another week or so) yet since it is September, my best way to greet the fall season is with new books.

With that in mind, my first stop was Book of the Month Club and my main selection was A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang.

Set in historic China, Xishi is known for her incredible beauty so much so that she has taken to wearing a veil in public to deter unwanted attention.

Her famed appearance causes those interested in bringing down the current ruling powers to recruit Xishi as a spy. Before she can be brought to the royal court, Xishi is trained in etiquette by Fanli, who is just as startled by the chemistry between them as she is. Can Xishi follow her duty and her heart or must one pay the ultimate price for the other?

The novel is a blend of historical fiction and fantasy, which sounds great to me and since Liang is making her debut into adult fiction here(most of her work is YA), she’s a new to me writer as well. Add that splash of secret romance and this is a seasonal beverage that I will be happy to slowly sip as chilly weather comes in:

I paired that up with Ellie Palmer’s debut novel, Four Weekends and a Funeral.

When Allison attends the funeral of Sam, the man she broke up with only six weeks ago, she gets way more than she bargained for in terms of bereavement.

It seems that Sam’s family thought they were still a couple and his sister Rachel asks her to not tell them otherwise. Considering the situation, Allison goes along with that and winds up with the task of packing up Sam’s former home with the help of Adam, a friend of Sam’s who she’s never met before.

Despite Adam being less than thrilled to work with her on this, Allison manages to make friends with him and so things go on, perhaps more than just friends. Will the two of them take things to the next level once this sad project is finished or will more than one unspoken truth keep them apart?

Yes, there is a bit of romcom energy to this story as well, giving me some While You Were Sleeping vibes along with a certain movie suggested by the title of this book. I do look forward to the mental movie show that turning to the first page will give me a ticket for:

After that, I headed to my local library and wound up borrowing a couple of spring releases that feel very fall friendly indeed.

The first one to catch my eye was The Passionate Tudor by Alison Weir, the title referring to Mary I, daughter of Henry the Eighth and Catherine of Aragon.

Mary is known as “Bloody Mary “ due to her reign of terror against the Protestants yet this novel shows her humanity, starting with a young girl torn between her parents during an unprecedented divorce, followed by the loss of her beloved mother and her on again, off again status as a royal heir due to Henry’s marriages and even more turmoil after his death.

I’m a good quarter of the way into the book at this point and appreciate Weir’s hearty mix of factual fare with a fictional feast of emotions at play. Mary is not often given a spotlight when it comes to talking about the Tudors but now is certainly the time for a closer look at the impact she made upon the legacy of royal rule that others such as her half sister Elizabeth had to follow:

Then I picked up the latest by Helen Simonson, The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club , set in post WWI England.

Constance is spending the summer in the coastal town of Hazelbourne-by-the-sea, not looking forward to the independent lifestyle she was enjoying during the war, which includes the lack of a suitable job beyond being a ladies companion or a governess.

Fortunately, she runs into Poppy, who runs the title group that provides a taxi service with women drivers. Her new friend has quite the lively personality that helps when flouting the social rules of the day and aids greatly when Constance needs the encouragement to truly control of her own future.

I’ve read Simonson before (The Summer Before the War, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand) and her knack for thoughtful character development blended with subtle storytelling touches is a must read for anyone in search of a modern good old fashioned story:

This is going to be a very busy fall indeed and while it’s important to vote for a better world for all of us, including childless cat women like myself (I prefer to be a cat woman as the uniform is just so purr-fect!) yet enjoying a good book or two is vital for your mental health.

Also, reading does help while you want for your favorite TV shows to return, although my absolute favorite won’t be on until January of next year! Then again, All Creatures Great and Small is certainly worth the wait indeed:

A High Summer of reading magic

 Before I begin to wrap up my progress in the High Summer Readathon held at Seasons of Reading this past August, I must confess something; one of my original book picks was DNF’d (Did Not Finish) and replaced with another.

I did give Swapping Lives by Jane Green a fair chance(got up to 40% of the way into it before stopping) and yes, it was a reread but one that I hadn’t picked up in over a decade. Not only was the pacing slow, the material really didn’t age well and it frankly felt like a chore to get through, which is not what a readathon is all about to me.

So, instead of Swapping Lives, I swapped books and discovered the joys of T. Kingfisher. Book of the Month Club had as an add-on her latest fantasy novel, A Sorceress Comes to Call and it was a truly spell binding experience to say the least.

We start off by meeting Cordelia, whose mother is more than just controlling-she can make her daughter “obedient “by using her magic to completely take over her body for hours or even days at a time.

Cordelia lives in terror of her mother Evangeline for good reason as the latter is ruthlessly brutal when it comes to achieving her own selfish desires. When Evangeline targets a lonely noble man to be her new meal ticket, Cordelia feels compelled to warn him and his sister Hester of the danger coming for them but fears the consequences in more ways than one.

Fortunately, Hester is willing to believe her but finding a way to defeat such a vicious villainess, even with a few allies, far from easy yet so worth the doing! Can they save the day or will this potential family merger end in magical murder?

I have heard so much about Kingfisher’s writing(she writes fantasy, horror and under a pen name, children’s books) and none of that praise was exaggerated at all. This blend of magic, intrigue and heart was one of those books that you had  to make yourself stop reading in order to do other things like eat, sleep, do laundry, etc!

If you’re looking for a smart scary read to put you in the mood for Halloween (or just the upcoming Disney/Marvel series Agatha All Along), this book is the perfect portion to conjure up that state of mind:

I kept to my original reading plans after that and the book I followed up with was a far cozier fantasy tale by Sangu Mandanna.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches introduces you to Mika Moon, a young witch who keeps mostly to herself as the rules for present day  spell casters demands that they live apart from each other (except for a few gatherings to check in) and to practice their powers in secret.

Mika, however, longs for more of a real connection and creates a YouTube channel where her videos of “magic spells “ are meant to be seen as fictional fun. However, she gets a very real request to help train a trio of girls who are hidden from the wider world to control their growing powers.

Despite her initial reluctance, Mika winds up becoming their teacher and starts feeling like part of a family for the first time in her life. However, there is a looming threat that could rip apart this safe haven for all concerned. Can that balance between witchy secrets and regular life be struck without causing a catastrophic end?

Again, another book that I have heard nothing but wonderful things about and it was a sheer delight to turn the pages. Filled with engaging characters, moments of charmingly off beat humor and even a touch of romance, this story was all treat and no trick indeed:

Finally, my last book for this challenge was Beth Kendrick’s The Week Before the Wedding.

Emily is preparing to marry Grant, a nice reliable surgeon who adores her and will be much more of a helpful life partner than her driest husband Ryan.

Emily and Grant head off to the town of Valentine, Vermont to have their special day and if things weren’t hectic enough with the wedding plans and the clashing styles of the two mother-in-laws, Ryan unexpectedly turns up.

Very unexpected as Emily hasn’t seen him in over ten years since their divorce from their brief marriage. Claiming to be scouting for film locations (Ryan is now a successful horror movie maker), he makes friends with just about everyone, even Grant. Emily, has her doubts about his actual intentions and she’s right but is also having a few doubts about who she really wants to be with herself.

This is a nice enough novel with some solid sitcom vibes to put that make for a good light read. Think of it as a made for TV version of The Philadelphia Story (I mean that in a good way!)and it’s the type of sweet summer read that goes well with a cold glass of lemonade on a hot day:

My thanks to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for another great reason to pick up a book during the last warm days of summer there.

I’m already making plans for FrightFall this October but in the meanwhile, just hoping to have a real taste of autumn energy before winter settles in. Might even rewatch some Gilmore Girls to catch that leaf falling feeling, we shall see: