Getting the gift of bookish giveways

As any reader who finds themselves online knows, a good giveaway is only a click away. Much like the public lottery, you have to be in it to win it but the lack of return on your time investment can make one reluctant to keep those entries going.

However, when you do win, the joys can be bountiful indeed. At the moment, I just started reading the newest Paula McLain novel,Love and Ruin, thanks to being one of the ten lucky folks at First Look Book Club that won a copy the other week.

This book is a companion of sorts to McLain's surprise success,The Paris Wife, by looking at another wife of acclaimed author Ernest Hemingway. The focus here is on Martha Gellhorn, a journalist and writer in her own right who met Hemingway while he was still married to his second wife,Pauline.

Martha was determined not to get involved with him but they ran into each other while covering the Spanish Civil War and their shared literary passion turned into something more. Despite her deep feelings for Ernest, Martha did her best to remain an independent person, even to the point of making her own choices about the future of their relationship.

I've always found Gellhorn to be the most intriguing of the Hemingway wives,due to her writing prowess and strength of spirit,which makes me thrilled to have a novel devoted to her to enjoy. The Paris Wife inspired me to do a whole year of reading Hemingway, so let's see what this book will bring out in me:

Meanwhile, I have back-to-back Early Reviewer books on my TBR, courtesy of Library Thing and their monthly drawings.

First up is You Think It, I'll Say It, a collection of short stories by novelist Curtis Sittenfeld. Her set of ten tales touch on contemporary topics such as the last major political election but the emotions that her characters deal with are timeless struggles.

For example, the leading lady of "The World has Many Butterflies" discovers that her partner in mockery of their social set is not on the same page as her while "The Prairie Wife" considers revealing a secret that could damage the career of a former love from her teen years. A storm of resentment builds up to a head in "Volunteers are Shining Stars" as a woman who helps out at a local shelter grows to hate the newest volunteer for her upbeat ways.

I'm familiar with Sittenfeld's work and do like her brisk tone and insightful nature towards her characters, so checking out her short stories should be fun. Reese Witherspoon chose this book as her May reading selection, which is another good sign. I really don't do the whole celebrity book club deal but Witherspoon does have really great instincts when it comes to picking a fine read there:

The other book is by an author whom I've never read before but have heard good things about. The Secret of the Irish Castle by Santa Montefiore is actually the third in a trilogy called the Deverill Chronicles and takes place in Dublin of 1939.

The plot follows three women, all of which are connected to the Deverill family, some in unexpected ways. Martha arrives from America to find her biological mother and winds up falling for the dashing JP Deverill, who happens to know all too well about her mother.

The current mistress of Castle Deverill, Birdie, aka Countess di Marcantonio, is determined to make this home and new social position a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, those efforts are undermined by the wandering eye of her husband Cesare. Meanwhile,  Kitty Deverill appears content with her husband and children yet the reappearance of a former lover (who is in love with someone else) puts that familial bliss strongly to the test.

Granted, this being the third book in a series make it a bit daunting but I suspect that not reading the earlier titles won't be a problem(the original UK title of this one is The Last Secret of the Deverills, changed to appeal to a new audience,one would suppose). At any rate, this does sound like my cup of storytelling tea and taking a sip of this most recent brew ought to be fine indeed:

While you can't always rely on book giveaways to build up your TBR, they are great for providing those extra bookish bonuses to your reading list. At the very least, a book won this way does help you to save a little money from your book buying budget and allow you to dine on something more substantial than what's on sale at the supermarket. Page turning requires properly fed energy,after all!:

Packing up a beach bag of Sci Fi Summer reads

For most people, the real start to summer will be the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend but for me, a new tradition is issuing in that time of year.

The third annual Sci-Fi Summer readathon, hosted by Seasons of Reading, gives us two weeks to dive into a more fanciful state of mind with a genre that's given much attention at the movies and elsewhere this season.

From June 1 to June 14, seeing how many science fiction and/or fantasy novels you can finish is a good way to jump start your overall summer reading plans. I have three books set aside for this challenge, with two of them more in the fantasy lane and the other much closer to sci-fi land than the author claims(more on that in a moment). Three may sound small yet there's a lot of creative ground to cover with my selections and I want to do this at a reasonable pace:

CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE: This debut YA novel by Tomi Adeyemi is already gathering heaps of praise and a growing fan base from the first entry in her Legacy of Orisha trilogy(book two is due in 2019).

Our leading lady is Zelie, a young woman born with white hair that signals her inherent magical powers. Those abilities have not been activated due to a massive wipe-out of magic and it's users by Orisha's King Saran, a deadly crusade that killed Zelie's mother.

With the help of a runaway princess, Zelie goes on a quest to reclaim magic for her people, using a trio of ancient artifacts that need to be brought together in time for an upcoming solstice in order to work. This story does sound amazingly engaging and it would be nice to have a brand new fandom to join as well:

 NEVERWORLD WAKE: Marisha Pessl is best known for her off the beaten track and then some novels for adults such as Night Film but this new turn into YA country sounds like it would fit in well with her regular fare.

Our story begins with Beatrice, who joins in with her former boarding school buddies for a road trip to a concert. The group get into an accident and find themselves stranded in a remote locale that doesn't allow them to go back to their lives.

A mysterious Keeper informs them that they are meant to remain in this otherworldly realm until a decision is made about who should be permitted to return home. This might be seen as a bit of horror mixed in with fantasy,I suppose, yet this Happy Death Day/Groundhog's Day combo does give the characters plenty of time for self reflection and change which tips the scales more over to fantasy, I think.

THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD: This is the second book in Margaret Atwood's Maddam trilogy that she swears up and down is not science fiction. While I respect the author's intentions, I do think that the lady doth protest a bit much on this one.

She sets this tale in a not too distant future, where corporations and runaway technology have brought the world to a near complete halt. Three people, two of which belonged to a cult called The Gardeners, managed to find each other and seek refuge from what threats remain in this strange new environment.

Atwood insists that she's not writing science fiction here(not wanting to disappoint anyone expecting the typical genre fare) yet she does touch upon plenty of themes that echo strongly throughout sci-fi, such as over reliance upon technology, the misuse of religion and playing havoc with genetic discoveries.

I was amazed by how relevant Oryx and Crake was to our present day concerns and pretty sure that this second outing will be just as surprisingly thought provoking as well:

There is still plenty of time to sign up and you can follow along at Facebook and Twitter(#SciFiJune). If I get some of this reading done sooner than expected, I might add an extra title or two on. Picking up a good book is the best way to beat the heat and science fiction is a good reminder to us all that truth really can get stranger than fiction, especially these days:

A tidy little TBR for your summer movie season

We're getting pretty close to summer time reading and movie watching,which can only be made better by combining those two pleasant pastimes in a most delightful way.

So let us take a look at a few of the film adaptations due out over the impending dog days and with most of this list being set for late July/August release, there's plenty of time to catch up on these engaging reads.

First up is The Bookshop, based on Penelope Fitzgerald's cult classic novel. Emily Mortimer stars as Florence Green, an English widow who decides to open up the title establishment in a small Suffolk town in 1959.

Her shop struggles for awhile, with only the reclusive Mr. Brundish(Bill Nighy) as her best customer. However, with the release of a controversial new book, Florence gets more business and attention than she ever expected, along with the wrath of local matron Mrs. Gamart(Patricia Clarkson). I fondly remember reading this book years ago,with it's bittersweet book lover charms and this film promises to be a page turning treat on screen as well:

Next, Glenn Close plays The Wife,based on the 2003 novel by Meg Wolitzer. She is Joan Castleman, married to renowned author Joe Castleman(Jonathan Pryce) who has just won the Nobel Prize.

During their trip to claim the prize, Joan gets some time to reflect upon her relationship with Joe, who she first met while in college and he was already married to someone else. That affair changed the course of her life and now she's wondering if the things that she had to give up for him were worth it.

Oscar buzz is building for Close to get a Best Actress nomination from this film and while summer movies do get lost in the movie awards rush, she may very well make this role that memorable. Should be a very timely movie to watch regardless:

If you're in the mood for some YA sci-fi storytelling, the first book in Alexandra Bracken's The Darkest Minds series will be hitting the big screen this summer.

Our heroine is Ruby(Amandla Stenberg), one of the few American teens who has survived a brutal plague that wiped out a good portion of her generation. However, she and the others who lived have developed super powers,which causes the government to lock them away in internment camps.

Trying to restrain these kids is not as easy as that, with Ruby and several of her fellow prisoners breaking out to start up a rebellion. I have not heard of this particular book series before but the trailer does look promising and while this genre is not as strong as it once was at the movies, this might be fun to check out:

The book based movie that I'm really looking forward to this season is Crazy Rich Asians, the first of Kevin Kwan's trilogy of novels that follows the adventures of several families brought together by an unexpected romance.

When American born Chinese Rachel Chu(Constance Wu) gets the chance to meet the relatives of her serious boyfriend Nick Young(Henry Golding) at a wedding in Singapore, she is surprised to learn that his family is insanely wealthy and that Nick is the heir apparent to their expansive empire.

Rachel cares more about connecting with his family, especially her potential mother-in-law Eleanor(Michelle Yeoh), than Nick's financial expectations. However, plenty of obstacles are thrown in her path by Eleanor and others, hoping to steer Nick into the social lane that has set up for him. Before long, both Nick and Rachel have to decide whether or not to hold onto their love or at least put up a good fight for it.

These books are wonderful romantic comedies with a good dollop of soap opera drama rounding them out and I hope that this movie does well enough to get us those two sequels already written and then some:

Finding good books and movies is tricky at any time of the year but summer can be the worst. Yet, when those entertaining adaptations come your way, simply rejoice in the pop culture glow of discovery. The only downside is debating those inevitable book-to-screen changes but that's much better than arguing over which big movie let you down the most:

Is Avengers:Infinity War the ultimate in supervillian stories?

Marvel is certainly having a good year and then some as their big crossover film Avengers:Infinity War is raking in huge box office numbers and plenty of fan love,despite the mixed emotions regarding the ending.

While those conflicts will be more or less settled when the next Avengers movie arrives in 2019, one major element of this chapter of the MCU that everyone agrees upon is the character arch of Thanos,the Big Bad here, is incredibly strong. Many have said that he's practically the leading man,given the depths to which he went to achieve his goal of balancing the universe by wiping out half the population and the personal price that was paid.

Without spoiling anything for those who haven't seen AIF yet, I do think that casting Josh Brolin as Thanos was a key element in providing some of that extra nuance to the character. True, Thanos was mostly CGI but Brolin's facial expressions were used onscreen and his vocal inflections gave a solid grounding to lines that could have been easily turned to cinematic cheddar by a lesser performer.

The overall writing for this crisscrossing storyline was tricky to say the least but they did pull it off and brought audiences to tears at the risk of turning them off,which I applaud them for. The fact that a villain like Thanos wasn't presented as another one note monster to be destroyed speaks volumes about the respect given to the source material and fans alike:

Marvel is certainly doing right by their villains lately as Thanos is the second most talked about fictional bad guy of the year.

Eric Killmonger from Black Panther made his presence known from his first scene and as the film went on, the motivations for his vendetta against Wakanda and the royal family became clear and at times, sympathetic as well.

It was a plus that Black Panther's origins were already showcased in Captain America: Civil War,allowing for Killmonger to have his story fully fleshed out and this has become a star making role for Michael B. Jordan and rightly so. I find it interestingly ironic that both Chris Evans(Captain America) and Jordan each played Johnny Storm in the most recent Fantastic Four movies and yet became better known actors when cast in different MCU films.

Killmonger has been proclaimed as the one to break "the Marvel curse" of boring bad guys and it does certainly seem to be so. A hero is only as good and as compelling as their villain after all:

However, are these superhero films the only time that the villain has been seen as the lead? Not in my opinion and I go as far back as Batman Returns in 1992.

Like Black Panther and Avengers, highlighting the bad guys was made easier by this being an origin story sequel and in the case of Batman Returns, the main villains were portrayed by big name stars, Michelle Pfeiffer and Danny DeVito.

The pre-credit opening of the film started off with The Penguin being abandoned by his wealthy parents as a child, leading into the prominent plot lines revolving around his desire for revenge on the upper class of society that rejected him. Granted, Penguin got slightly sidetracked by reluctant ally Max Shreck(who also played a key role in creating Catwoman) into playing politics but got back around to wanting to wipe out the innocent in time for the big finale.

 Meanwhile, Catwoman came to life upon being shoved out of a window, being reborn from mousy secretary/personal assistant to sardonically sassy feline queen of the night.

 Her target for payback may have gone from Shreck to Batman at certain moments but like her temporary aquatic partner in crime, swung back to that true enemy for the end game.

Granted, there was a lot of camp mixed into these performances(especially Penguin) but neither one of them came off as completely cartoony. Also, they did leave a lasting impression on these roles. Apart from the TV series Gotham, there has not been a live action version of Penguin in any of the major Batman films since '92 and when it comes to Catwoman, Pfeiffer is still the standard bearer for that character on film and television.

In addition to that, DC hasn't really been successful in teaming up Batman villains since then, with the exception of the Joker and Two Face in The Dark Knight(you could argue that it's more like the Joker creates Two Face in that movie than an actual team-up). That is a shame since Batman's Rogues' Gallery has numerous foes to mix and match for future films and as we saw in Batman Returns, the right pair of wrong doers can be fiendish fun to watch:

Several years later, we were introduced to Mr. Glass in the comic book inspired but not based on film Unbreakable.  His true name was Elijah Price, a man born with a rare condition that made his bones excessively brittle.

As the owner of a high end comic book story, it only seemed fitting that he would be the one to discover the super heroic abilities of train crash survivor David Dunn. Along the way, we learned more about Price's personal struggles and his mentoring of Dunn, both of which made him a strong and sympathetic character.

Unfortunately by the end of the story, we learned his true motivation for finding someone like David and were just as heartbroken as his new found friend was. Having Samuel L. Jackson as Mr. Glass and Bruce Willis as Dunn,two actors who have great chemistry together, really brought the emotional pain to the forefront for that crucial last scene.

We will get a chance to see these character reunite,thanks to a brief cameo in last year's Split from David Dunn, and I for one am eager to see how Mr. Glass does in a movie that could showcase his true potential for out and out villainy:

So, are we going to have more nuanced villains in comic book films from here on out? I certainly hope so, as long as such characters are well balanced with equally compelling heroes. Moving the scale over too far for either side is not good for anyone.

This particular genre has had more than it's fair share of ups and downs yet it does manage to bounce back by finding a fresh new angle to approach the familiar framework from. So far, we're on the right track with Thanos and Killmonger and with any luck, our next villain of the story will be just as game changing for both hero and audience alike:

Catching up with Jeremy Poldark on my Series-ous Reading 2 tour

In doing another year of Series-ous Reading, I have to remind myself that it's the journey not the destination that needs to be focused on.

While my ultimate goal is to finish Stephen King's Dark Tower books, I'm also catching up with the Poldark series by Winston Graham and hit a bit of a rough patch.

For the most part, my reading of Jeremy Poldark took longer than expected which peeves me quite much due to it being a short book. What with taking part in a readathon, keeping up with my library TBR and other distractions, I just managed to finish it up the other day.

I really shouldn't complain(goodness knows there are worse things to fuss about) but I did expect to be further along with my challenge by now. It does help that I am a fan of the latest PBS adaptation(which is how I got into these books in the first place) and gained a solid familiarity with the plot lines in this third entry of the series.

The bare bones of the plot have Ross on trial for assault,Demelza wondering if she should let him know about her pregnancy(due to their shared yet separate sorrow over the death of their first child Julia) and the sneaky behind the scenes scheming of George Warleggan. Instead of recapping the entire book, my write-up today will look at the three female characters that caught most of my attention this time around:

DEMELZA: She really goes through the emotional wringer in this book; between worrying about Ross going to jail(or worse), having another child so soon after Julia's passing and dealing with the decreasing family finances, Demelza has so much on her plate that it's close to spilling over the edge.

Yet, she manages to not let herself sink into total despair and is a woman of action. Using her considerable charms and nerves of steel, Demelza tries to do what she can for Ross during his trial by attempting to speak with the judge(something that she's criticized for by some but calls out their upper class hypocrisy when it comes to influence).

 Eventually when she does tell Ross about the upcoming baby, it's due to concern over him getting involved with local smugglers(for which he complains about her taking his prior comments about not wanting children too seriously-hey, buddy, some of that is your own fault!). As to their money woes, it's her idea to sell what they can, including the brooch that Ross gave her along with a fancy dress that she figures will be useless for farm work.

Honestly, she is way too good for Ross despite what most of his social peers think. Granted, many of the men are too busy leering at her to consider her as more than a pretty face but the double whammy on Demelza is class as well as gender.

 Both she and the hated George Warleggan come from humble beginnings yet he is granted much more respect for his intelligence and advancement in society than she ever would be in those days(which is sadly still relevant today):

CAROLINE: This self satisfied heiress makes her debut in this book, arriving to stay with her Uncle Ray while possibly considering marriage with an up and coming peer. However, upon meeting Dr. Dwight Enys, Caroline only has eyes and a list of commands for him.

I really don't like Caroline on the show(not the fault of the actress) and feel the same way about her in print form as well. Her flippant attitude towards others and those "let them eat cake" notions about the poor,along with the expectation that her wishes will be instantly obeyed truly annoy me.

She reminds me so much of Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park, another character I don't like either. While both ladies do have tendencies to do better by others(mainly to attract positive attention from their intended love interests), their overall entitlement is like nails on a chalk board for me. To be fair, Caroline has a better redemption arch than Mary but I can not warm to her at all:

VERITY: She's one of my favorites in this series and for good reason. In this book alone, Verity gives Demelza serious emotional support during Ross' trial, attempts to reconnect with her foolish brother Francis and deals with meeting her husband's two grown  children while he's at sea.

She has such a generous spirit and firm loyalty to those she loves, which almost made it impossible for her to marry Captain Blamey, that she is barely appreciated for it. Fortunately, her husband does know what a fine soul she is and eventually, so does Francis but not without some help from Ross. Any time Verity is around, my heart soars and I suspect that I'm not the only one:

Well, I do look forward to reading the next book in the Poldark saga(Warleggan) soon but for now, I must travel The Waste Lands with King and company. I've made a good start there and should be able to keep a brisk pace as my Series-ous Reading moves along.

What I truly need to do is balance out my To Be Read piles, which is easier said than done. So many good books and only so much time as they say.....:

Getting some Evil Under the Sun and a deadly cup of coffee to finish up my Spring Into Horror

Another round of Spring Into Horror is officially over and while I didn't get to read all of the books on that particular TBR pile, my progress was pretty good there.

For one, I finished three Agatha Christie novels, the last of them being Evil Under the Sun. This Hercule Poirot tale has the good detective staying at a remote seaside resort, where the only other notable guest is Arlena Marshall, a former actress.

Arlena is quite the determined flirt, even with her husband and stepdaughter by her side, and to all appearances is carrying on an affair with Patrick Redfern, a young newlywed whose frail looking wife Christine is managing not to give into jealousy.

However, when Arlena is found strangled to death on a deserted beach, Patrick seems to have a solid alibi due to being the person who discovered her body along with a neutral witness. While there are plenty of suspects to choose from, everyone seems determined to exclude any of the women at the resort despite the majority of them despising the victim more so than the men:

Eventually, that male-female balance in attitude towards Arlena lends itself to the identity of the killer,which is both obvious and surprising at the same time.

This is a much lighter Poirot story compared to the other two that I read recently and I have to say that my expectations were raised up rather high for it, mostly because the 1982 film adaptation starring Peter Ustinov is one that I'm very fond of.

Naturally, there are some changes from the book(with the main details of the mystery remaining intact) yet the film condenses certain characters and rewrites others to fit more into the show business connections of Arlena's past.

Don't get me wrong, the book itself has enough of it's own charms to recommend it. It's just that I did wish at times that the some of the delightful cattiness that the movie has had come from the source material. Perhaps I should check out the BBC Poirot series version as well(and yes, that one has changes,too). Nonetheless, Evil Under the Sun is fine beach reading,which is what Christie probably intended it to be all along:

On the other hand, I got quickly well acquainted with the coffeehouse world of Clare Cosi in Dead to the Last Drop as it was my first time reading any of Cleo Coyle's cozily caffeinated mystery series.

Here, Clare travels from New York to Washington D.C. in order to check out the new Village Blend restaurant/jazz club setting up shop. Turns out she has plenty to deal, including an arrogant chef, the shy daughter of the current (fictional)POTUS joining the local jazz band and a mysterious death of a customer with government ties.

In addition to all of that, her police detective boyfriend Mike Quinn is working nearby with a government task force and having serious suspicions about his boss, a lady who is also trying to seduce him to her side to boot. Clare is not cool with that yet keeps her natural fury on the down low,even when Mike gets a little jealous of her ex-husband stopping by for a major event at the Village Blend:

However, most of that fuss is put on the back burner when Mike arrives unexpectedly one night at the cafe to hit the road with Clare. His hurry is due to the president's daughter missing and presumed to be kidnapped, with Clare seen as a major suspect in the case.

Granted, this does sound a little over the top but Coyle grounds the multiple story lines with solid characters whose emotional connection you instantly feel.  It's a sure sign of strong writing when the fifteenth book in a series makes you as welcome as a coffeehouse regular and want to order a another cup of this delightful mystery brew:

Despite not tackling every book on my list, I am happy with the progress that I made. I finished five books(should be six as soon as I completed the last of A is for Alibi) and made a slight dent in The Terror,which is an amazingly great TV series that I've kept up with much better.

My thanks to Michelle Miller and company for making this literary spring celebration a fabulously fun time and looking forward to Sci-Fi Summer in June. In the meanwhile, I've gotten a taste for Joanne Fluke's pastry themed mysteries and it helps to have a few sweets on hand while solving cookie crimes with Hannah Swenson, I've found:

Setting up some early summer reading with these May/June reads

It may seem too soon to talk about summer reading, especially since the weather outside has been extremely frightful well beyond the winter season limits.

However, summer does get fast forwarded a lot these days, from movies to TV to fashion, so planning ahead for your big beach reading TBR is not such a bad idea.

Now you don't have to get too ahead of yourself here-just take a quick look at these upcoming titles for May and June, in order to start your literary mixing and matching:

WOMEN OF AND AHEAD OF THEIR TIME:

 LOVE AND RUIN: Paula McLain's The Paris Wife gave readers a fresh look at Ernest Hemingway's first wife Hadley and she returns to that story telling well to check out Martha Gellhorn, the third Hemingway bride, who was the only one of them to leave him on her own accord.

Martha was quite an independent spirit already when she met Ernest in a Key West bar in 1936. As a wartime journalist, she encountered him during coverage of the Spanish Civil War and their intellectually adventurous natures clashed but ultimately clicked together romantically.

However, each of them possessed an equally strong will that made it hard to find any sort of compromise in marriage, particularly on Hemingway's side. Nonetheless, Martha did what she could to keep their love on course yet refused to surrender her true self.

 I've always found Gellhorn to be truly unique beyond her spot on the Hemingway wife scale and McLain has proven in the past that she's more than capable of making such real life ladies live on the fictional page(May):

WELL, THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY: Comedian and social media commentator Franchesca Ramsey has been making many of us laugh and think with her YouTube videos(including hosting MTV's Decoded) and appearances on NPR,CNN and Comedy Central for a good long while now.

With her upcoming memoir, Ramsey not only chronicles her journey from blogger to internet sensation, she also discusses the ways in which we communicate in this high tech age and yet still manage not to really listen to one another on important issues.

A mix of sharp wit and heartfelt humor,Ramsey gives us insights on our ever confusing modern times with sincere enthusiasm for everyone to work together for the better. I first saw her work on the canceled-much-too-soon The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and hope that this book urges others to watch how she hashes things out(May): 

THOUGHT PROVOKING THRILLERS:

THE PERFECT MOTHER: Aimee Molloy's debut novel goes inside a group of upper class mothers who wind up sharing more than baby care tips among each other.

The May Mothers of Brooklyn delight in bonds of new motherhood together yet it is Britt who encourages her sisters in babyland, Colette ,Francie and Winnie to take a night off during one hot summer to enjoy a grown-ups only romp.

Winnie is reluctant to go but gives in when Britt provides her with a babysitter for her son Midas. Their good time comes quickly to an end,however, when the sitter calls Britt to let her know that Midas was taken from his crib while she slept.

The citywide search for Winnie's son has her friends doing all they can to help find him but along the way, a handful of secrets and lies become exposed and considered for usefulness towards their mutual goal. This book has already been sold to the movies and should make for a stunning new read this season indeed(May):

THE WORD IS MURDER: Author Anthony Horowitz gets a bit meta in his new mystery novel as he becomes one of the characters in this modern day twist on Sherlock Holmes.

Holmes in this case being Daniel Hawthorne, a disgraced former DI who is asked to investigate the unusual murder of socialite Diana Cowper. Seems that the lady in question made her own funeral arrangements several hours before she was discovered strangled to death.

Hawthorne sets up a partnership with Horowitz, planning a true crime book about the case as the end result. Things get stranger than fiction as they go along, with a gruesome event from Diana's past bringing along some seriously deadly baggage and offering up a number of suspects who couldn't have possibly done it.

Last year, Horowitz's Magpie Murders gave readers a clever spin on Agatha Christie and I suspect with this book, the ultimate reveal is going to be more than elementary to any of the Watsons out there(June):

A BOOKMARK OF FAMILY LOVE:

 THE BOOKSHOP OF YESTERDAYS: In this debut novel by Amy Meyerson, we meet Miranda, who finds herself inheriting the book store owned by her favorite uncle, Billy. She hasn't seen him in years, due to a fight between him and her mother that was never resolved.

Miranda does feel honored to be given Prospero Books, a store that she has fond memories of, yet wants to know more about Uncle Billy and why he fell out of touch. With only a mysterious book and letter to guide her, Miranda sets off on a strange scavenger hunt(much like the ones Billy used to plan for her) to learn the truth.

This story does sound like charming book bait for devoted readers and judging by a couple of names placed within this narrative, Shakespeare is bound to pop up but that won't be the only bookish clue that will keep the pages turning, I'm sure(June).

I hope this list will be a good starting off point for your future reading plans as summertime draws ever nearer. Also, it's important to take on new books that are not connected to a series as we all know just how long that wait for the next one could get colder than the winds of winter:

The Great American Read has a few popcorn page turners on their literary menu

Last week, the upcoming PBS series,The Great American Read, released it's list of a hundred books for it's viewers to consider voting for as their favorite novel with the winner to be announced this fall.

Already, this show is taking a few unexpected twists and turns-for one, the nominees have authors from other countries(the title suggesting that the premise is more about Americans reading than American authors) and some of the selections are quite pop culture friendly.

Yes, there are plenty of classics, from Great Expectations to The Great Gatsby, as well as book club picks such as The Lovely Bones, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and The Help. However, we also have a good number of genres on deck, from YA(The Hunger Games) to science fiction(Dune), horror(Swan Song) and mystery, to name a handful.

A good many of these books have also been made into movies, making them even more familiar with the general public. Let me highlight a few of them here for your bookish pleasure:

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE: If you are going to represent the mystery/thriller genre, it would be a crime to leave the grand dame of that arena out of contention.

Choosing this particular one was smart, as it is a standalone story not featuring any of her famous sleuths(and unlike certain sports teams, sensible enough to change it's culturally insensitive original title). 

The basic set-up has ten strangers brought together to a remote location for some dubious mutually beneficial purpose. One by one, they are eliminated by an unknown person, forced to turn to one another in order to survive. Yet, can they trust anyone around them at all?

Several film versions have been made for both the big screen and the small. I do like this trailer for an early 1970s adaptation, as it looks very old school B-movie in the best sense of the term:

THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR: Now, this one does take me back to those younger reading days of mine. The first in Jean Auel's Earth's Children series introduces us to Ayla, an orphaned young girl in prehistoric times who is raised by a tribe of folk that find her blond hair and blue eyes odd and off putting.

Over time, Ayla manages to find a place with her adopted people but the intended new leader of the clan is determined to drive her out and willing to go to any means to do so.

 Granted, these were books aimed at adults yet a lot of young people read them voraciously(myself included) and in a strange way, Ayla was a forerunner of some of the strong female heroines that we see today, such as Katniss Everdeen and Divergent's Tris Prior.

The one attempt at turning this book into a movie had Darryl Hannah in the lead role and while she did her best, that 1986 film was a major flop. Perhaps the time has come for perhaps a made for cable miniseries to revive this story for a new generation:

FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC: We are seriously into guilty pleasure territory with this infamous modern day Gothic thriller. This is the one that started it all, giving us the scary sad saga of the Dollanganger children, two sets of twins forced to live in their twisted grandmother's attic.

There are too many dark soap opera plot points to cover, so I'll just name a few: poisoned powdered donuts, punishment hair cuts, a mother pretending her four kids don't exist in order to get an inheritance and sibling love that goes way too far.

Love it or hate it, you have to admit that V.C. Andrews did have a flair for strange story telling there. The Lifetime channel did remake FITA(along with original movies of a couple of the book's sequels) but the 1987 Hollywood take on this tale is the one worth checking out, if you ask me:

  THE STAND:  As I stated before with Agatha Christie, it would be wrong not to have Stephen King represented in the horror category and a good majority of his devoted readers do consider this book to be his best work.

Whether in it's originally published form or the later restored cuts version, King's epic chronicle of the world as we know ending with a new one about to arise is an amazing journey to behold.

 From the porch of Mother Abigail in Nebraska to the Las Vegas kingdom that the sinister Randall Flagg sets up for his vicious pack of followers, characters on either side of this apocalyptic chessboard are not merely all good or all bad. Rather, they're people trying to figure out who they really are in the face of the ultimate adversity with some falling far and fast while others are surprised to be where they have landed.

I would like to see a new adaptation of this book, as the 1994 made for network TV miniseries was rather a mixed bag indeed. You could easily turn this into a Game of Thrones type of show(GOT is also on this list,btw) or a grand cable miniseries, the options are wide open there:

The Great American Read will debut on May 22, with a two hour special, and I am so pumped up for this literary conversation. While I was quite interested in this before the list was revealed, seeing this vast and varied selection has increased my excitement tenfold.

Already, there have been some eyebrow raising over some of the titles, with comments such as "How can that book(50 Shades of Grey, Twilight,The Da Vinci Code,etc) be considered great?!" I'm not immune to some of that speculation myself(Left Behind, for one) but I've come to realize that perhaps this show is not simply about promoting the "proper" books for people to read.

Instead, this is an opportunity to show that people read for all kinds of reasons and to not only reach out to diehard readers but to the casual ones as well. We should acknowledge that a book can be read for both art and entertainment and if you're most fortunate, a bit of both.  Granted, not every book on this list will fill those needs for everyone but freedom of choice is what our country values most highly and that should be reflected in our reading.

So, let us be truly open minded and open up to some old and new reads together with this promising PBS series.  Free people do read freely and perhaps the road towards a more united country can start with a few good book recommendations:

Taking fictional flight with a trio of female fantasy writers

Fantasy fiction, whether it's for adults or teens, has been on the quiet side for a while in terms of big league attention. Yet, new books are now on the literary horizon with three female authors blazing new trails for us to follow.

Tomi Adeyemi's debut YA novel, Children of Blood and Bone, is the first of a trilogy set in the kingdom of Orisha where magic has been outlawed and all practitioners of those mystical arts targeted for death.

Zelie is seventeen and marked by her white hair as a diviner(a person whose magical talents have not surfaced). Upon rescuing Princess Amari, she joins the quest to bring magic back into their world with the use of an ancient scroll, which could work best during the upcoming solstice.

Zelie's older brother Tzain joins them as they try to stay a step ahead of Amari's own male sibling Inan, who has been sent by their father King Saran, to stop her before a final item is found that would make all the difference in accomplishing their magical mission.

Adeyemi's book has become an instant hit, praised for the depth of it's characters, the strong world building with West African culture at it's narrative core and strong female leads as well as breathing new life into the genre. Film rights were sold in advance of publication,which means we have a wonderful new series to read along and watch for at the movies in the future.

She's being called the new J.K Rowling but my guess is that Tomi Adeyemi is not following in anyone else's footsteps here. Rather, she's breaking fresh new ground that will allow others to join her as a more diverse path of entertainment unfolds before us all:

Meanwhile, Madeline Miller has followed up her successful debut novel, The Song of Achilles. with Circe, putting the legendary sorceress center square in the storytelling spotlight.

From her awkward childhood among the glamorous yet greedy gods to her exile on a certain isle that becomes a port of call for many sea travelers, Circe struggles to find her own identity and place in the world.

 Eventually learning to wield magic that allows her power over false friends and enemies alike, Circe becomes more than just the wicked enchantress that her encounter with Odysseus made her out to be. She turns out to be quite the force to be reckoned with and then some.

Word of mouth for both Song of Achilles and Circe has been unanimous in reader joy for the gorgeous flow of the writing and how Miller makes these classical characters of Greek mythology come to vivid life on the page. I haven't read her works yet but I suspect that I will soon be able to join the chorus of bookish praise being sung in her honor:

Also, offbeat author Marisha Pessl tries her hand at the Young Adult genre with her upcoming summer novel, Neverworld Wake.

A group of college friends,who met in private school, take a road trip that leads them far from any mortal destination.  Our narrator is Beatrice, who has just finished her freshman year and while happy to be going to a concert with her old school pals, still shares their guilt over the unexpected death of a mutual friend.

When a near miss on the road takes them to the title location, the mysterious Keeper lets all assembled know that they will remain in their time loop limbo until a decision is made about who will be returned to the land of the living. Beatrice does her best to offer reasonable arguments to everyone on that score but the choice becomes harder and harder to make.

I'm familiar with Pessl's adult themed work, such as Night Film, and her mix of philosophy and surrealism with conventional sounding plots is intriguing to behold. How this will translate to a teen audience, I can not say but I would describe this story as a cross between Donna Tartt's The Secret History and the hit horror movie, Happy Death Day, if that helps:

There's much more out there but I think that these three ladies are definitely major ones to watch for. Like most genres, fantasy has seen it's share of ups and downs on the pop culture playing field yet it does always manage to rise back up just when we need it the most.

One of the best ways to look at reality is to check out what our fantasy realms have to offer and while not every new book has that take on things, you may find that there is plenty of crucial commentary beneath the seemingly shiny surface:

Springing Into Horror with Agatha Christie,the sisters Bronte and Kinsey Millhone

While spring itself is taking it's own sweet time in getting here, my Spring Into Horror readathon is fortunately in full bookish bloom. As of this morning, I've finished three books, started a new one and a good deal of the way into two more.

To start with, my first completed read was Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile, which is already planned to be remade into a new Kenneth Branaugh film(following up his take on Murder on the Orient Express).

This is a Hercule Poirot story, where he is on vacation in Egypt and the messy outcome of a love triangle boils over into murder almost before his eyes. When wealthy heiress and newlywed Linnet Ridgeway is found shot dead in the head in her cruiser cabin, the first suspect to come to mind already has a seemingly solid alibi.

Linnet and her new husband Simon Doyle have been stalked on their honeymoon by Jacqueline" Jackie" de Bellefort,  a former friend who had been engaged to Simon and introduced him to Linnet, even asking her to get him a job on her estate.

However, Linnet saw an opportunity to marry a man who wasn't as wealthy as she was(who would have no choice but to let her be in charge)and stole him away from her gal pal.

Poirot is asked to assist early on with Jackie by both husband and wife, the former wishing that his ex-love would just "be sensible" about the whole thing. Granted, some of this behavior is not what it appears to be yet a good deal of discussion is given to the notion of how a woman should act under such circumstances and that she "ought to take it like a man."

I suspect that Christie was snarking on the hypocrisy of that attitude,given that most men of that time period(or nowadays) wouldn't be so accepting of a similar situation that did not end in their favor.

While this is mainly laying the groundwork for the murder that takes place later on, I found this to be an interesting bit of character detail offered up for the reader's consumption:

Anyhow, at the time of Linnet's murder, both Jackie and Simon were incapacitated due to an incident onboard the ship's bar that had her shooting Simon in the leg.

That doesn't completely rule them out as suspects yet Poirot does show some sympathy for Jackie's plight. Their conversations,both before and after the death of Linnet, have Poirot cautioning the distraught young woman not to let things go too far, more for her sake than anything else.

You do get the sense that M.Poirot is genuinely concerned for her well being, not merely because she isn't acting "feminine", rather that his years of experience tell him that Jackie is heading down a path of self destruction and the best he can do is offer her fair warning. That touch of humanity does make Poirot quite relatable indeed:

All in all, the book is a satisfying read, especially with all of the engaging side characters provided as other suspects such as the mother and son who may be connected to a gang of jewel thieves and the beleaguered daughter of a romance writer.

Just recently, I watched the 1978 movie adaptation of DOTN(with Peter Ustinov as his always excellent Poirot), which is a lot of fun despite the omission of a few minor characters(the mother and son) and rewriting of a couple of small plot points.

The main mystery is still intact and there is plenty of fun to be had with such feisty supporting players as Bette Davis and Maggie Smith(as a bitchy widow and her equally bitchy nurse companion) and in particular, Angela Lansbury as Salome Otterbourne, an over the top and down on her luck authoress with too fond of a taste for strong drink. The new version of DOTN is going to have a fine time casting someone just as charmingly scene stealing for that role:

I also finished Bloodstains with Bronte, the second book in Katherine Bolger Hyde's Crimes with the Classics series.

When former literature professor Emily Cavanaugh learns of a real murder at the murder mystery party she's hosting for charity, her thoughts immediately turn to the works of the Bronte sisters.

The prime suspect is her young housekeeper Katie, who found the body and has a very Heathcliff type of would be protector pursuing her. To make matters worse, Emily's insistence that Katie is innocent causes a riff between her and Luke Richards, town sheriff and renewed love interest.

The story is nicely done(although I figured out who the killer was way ahead of the characters) and I did like that Emily's conflict with Luke was partly resolved by the influence of a Jane Eyre reread. I prefer Jane Eyre to Wuthering Heights(and so does Emily, which gives her bonus points in my book) so seeing that particular novel play a key role there was grand for me:

At the moment, I'm partway between The Terror(which is going to take much longer to read but well worth it) and A is for Alibi, the first of the late great Sue Grafton's Alphabet Mysteries.

Kinsey Millhone, her leading lady, is one savvy detective and definitely no one's fool. Her brisk take on the case of Nikki Fife, who went to prison for the murder of Lawrence, her vicious lawyer husband, has a strong no nonsense air about it.

 She knows how to talk to people and slowly yet surely gather her evidence, giving you the feeling that her job is more of a calling than anything else.

Even when she's doing a side case to check some possible insurance fraud, Kinsey has a real love for this work that shines through her professional persona. At this point, I know that I will finish this book and maybe read a couple more of this series, as the writing is surefire solid. Grafton never wanted her books to be adapted for film or TV( a wish which her family will honor) but if they were, Frances McDormand would be my choice to play Kinsey.

Granted, her cop in Fargo was more of a sweetheart than Kinsey but McDormand possesses that same sense of self confidence and surety that both of these fictional crime solvers have to possess in abundance. They certainly would be a great tag team for questioning folks, that's for sure:

I hope that everyone else taking part in the Spring Into Horror readathon is doing just as well or even better. Reading like this does relieve some of the tension out there these days, plus it adds a good jolt to your day.

This morning, I finished another Agatha Christie(The Body in the Library, a Miss Marple tale) and took up Cleo Coyle's new Coffeehouse Mystery title, Dead to the Last Drop. I don't know, it feels like the time to have coffee,coffee,coffee!:

The delights of de-stressing with culinary TV

As we all know these days, life can be extra stressful(especially if you can't avoid watching the news) and the seemingly everlasting winter weather isn't doing much to help mellow things out.

Fortunately, signs of spring are close at hand and if you're in need of simply relaxing TV, food shows are still a safe harbor to anchor your viewing vessel to.

A surprise big hit at the moment is Netflix's Nailed It!, a off the cuff and then some baking competition series. Hosted by comedienne Nicole Bayer with famed chocolate artist Jacques Torres as head judge, a trio of amateur bakers are tasked with recreating some elaborate treats, ranging from cake pop duos to full-on cakes that
feature sharks,princesses and even a certain presidential figure.

To say that these edible arrangements are not always done well is an understatement. However, the tone of the whole show is good natured humor and even some of the judges don't take themselves too seriously.

 I saw on one episode a guest judge help herself to some booze and a cooking pan she liked right out of the pantry and another episode had the extra judge leave in the middle of the taping to pick up his kids from school! Not sure if he made it back for the rest of the show(I need to finish watching that one) but considering just how much of a mess was being made of the final round cakes, perhaps he was trying to make a respectable getaway there.

Nailed It is only six episodes but it has been renewed for a second season, which should give any potential contenders a chance to brush up on their baking skills(or practice their creative explanations for the judges):

If you prefer some prime time bad cooking, Food Network will oblige with Worst Cooks in America:Celebrity Edition. Starting this upcoming Sunday, Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence have a bumbling bevy of celebs to teach a few basic culinary skills to and all in the name of charity(the winner's prize, that is, to their favorite one).

The kitchen contenders this time out include actors Bronson Pinchot and The Office's Oscar Nunez, plus comedienne Maria Bamford, LaToya Jackson and Daisy Duke herself, Catherine Bach. I adore Worst Cooks, both the regular and the celebrity seasons, since you do get to learn a few things along with the "recruits" and have a good laugh to boot during their boot camp training:

For quality baking skills, we do have the current season of Spring Baking Championship on Food Network as well.

Hosted by Cooking Channel's Ali Khan, the pack of pastry chefs competing for the big win have been challenged with mirror ball cakes, tiny sized treats and creating an edible picnic basket filled with goodies(that one was tough for many, I can tell you!).

Another joy in watching this show for me are the judges, particularly when Nancy Fuller and Lorraine Pascal needle each other(putting Duff Goldman in the middle as a playful referee). That American Idol panel vibe they put out here is the sweet icing on the competition cake indeed:

Speaking of Cooking Channel, they have a new season of their flavorful factoid series, Food:Fact or Fiction?, airing on the weekend.

Hosted by Michael McKean, the whimsical way in which food history is displayed is truly entertaining. Did you know that popcorn was at one time considered to not be suitable for movie theaters or that the original treats handed out for Halloween were called soul cakes?

Even foods that you've never eaten turn out to interesting to know more about. For example, I have not had either a Caeser's salad(which has nothing to do with Julius,btw) or a Cobb salad yet seeing how they were invented by sheer instant inspiration and then different restaurants fighting over the right to say they first made it makes me want to taste them at least once:

While food TV can't fill all of your escapist needs, that tasty corner of the pop culture world does offer you a certain amount of comfort. What's more inviting than a warm kitchen with delicious smells wafting from the oven and good friends to share them with?

Well, it's true that you do have to leave that comfort zone sometime but hopefully, when you do go back, there might be a sweet slice of cake waiting for you. Maybe even a beautifully prepared piece that will inspire your artistic appetite as well:

Library Haul madness adds more spring to my readathon steps

Last month, I thought that taking four books out of the library was a large haul for me. Well, I now have five titles on loan(one of which is left over from last time and has been renewed) and this borrowing madness may continue to grow, I fear.

Fortunately, a couple of the books fit right into my Spring Into Horror readathon as much welcome late entries. One of them is Bloodstains with Bronte, the second in Katherine Bolger Hyde's Crime with the Classics series.

We rejoin our leading lady Emily Cavanaugh as she is the middle of turning the grand house she inherited from her great aunt into a writers' retreat. While hosting a murder mystery fundraiser for a local clinic, Emily is shocked to discover that one of the actors involved has been stabbed to death and the bloody knife has been found in the hand of her young housekeeper Katie.

Katie's possible motive for the murder could be connected to a pair of young men who happen to be on the renovation crew, one of whom is determined to be her Heathcliff in a Wuthering Heights type of romance. Emily is determined to clear Katie's name with or without the help of her now boyfriend and local sheriff Luke Edwards, who is also hoping that Katie is innocent as well.

I did enjoy the debut book in this series(Arsenic with Austen, which I also first found at the library) and seeing that this literary mystery train is still rolling on, I'm more than happy to climb aboard. Wuthering Heights is not my favorite Bronte novel but revisiting it via this light and lively mystery tale makes me have a bit of a kinder view towards that sad story:

Meanwhile, my non mystery library loans include Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue(which is an amazing read so far) and Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin, set in present day Rwanda.

Angel and her husband Pious have moved to the capitol city of Kigali to better raise their five grandchildren,orphaned by a sudden car crash. To keep their family finances afloat, she has taken up cake making, a business that connects her to many people, such as Ken, who loves to throw parties and his driver Bosco on the lookout for love.

She encounters a good number of folks needing more than just the right dessert as a few of them are in need of some friendly advice as well. Angel is pleased to share what worldly knowledge she has, despite nursing a private pain in her own heart. This does sound like an emotionally engaging read with sweetness that extends beyond the tasty cakes our heroine makes and I'm eager to sample a slice of life story such as this.

Talking about foodie mysteries the other week got me to checking out Cleo Coyle's latest Coffeehouse Mystery book,Dead to the Last Drop. This would be my first Cleo Coyle read but I feel that I'll be able to click with this well brewed crew quite easily.

New York coffee house manager Clare Cosi decides to check in on the DC branch of her Village Blend shop and winds up making friends with First Daughter Abigail Parker. Turns out Abby likes to play jazz piano and that lands the both of them a chance to spend time together.

However, when Abby is kidnapped, Clare instantly becomes a suspect in more than one crime and she might need the help of her NYPD beau Mike Quinn in order to clear up this mess. Well, Washington is certainly the place for highly caffeinated hi-jinks and Clare could have it worse; Paris Geller could be on her team and she's not the one to make political folks feel at ease there:

Five extra books are really not a lot in the grand scheme of things,reading wise, yet having another TBR to handle can be tricky. Then again, the more, the merrier, right? It's hard to resist the bookish bounty on those library shelves and as it turns out, this is National Library Week! What better way to appreciate this literary privilege than having a solid stack of loans by your reading side?

So, Happy National Library Week and if you can get on over to your local branch, do check out as much as you can. Libraries are an important part of our country's freedom to think and fun places to be to boot: