I have to admit as much of a fan of the Oscars that I am, my cinematic enthusiasm is decidedly less than zero here.
Given all of the real world anxiety both last year and sadly still with us in this new calendar season, the movie scene wasn’t vibing that much with me.
Don’t get wrong; I did see a few good films in theaters and a couple on streaming(one of which I will be highlighting later in this post) . Nonetheless, my Oscar game is a little disconnected this time around yet I still plan to watch the show and hopefully, find some inspiration for what’s to come.
Okay, enough of the negativity-let’s talk about a few Oscar nominees whose films are book based, starting with The Nickel Boys, adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Colson Whitehead. The movie stars Ethan Herisse and Brandon Wilson as two young men sent off to a “reform school “ in Florida during the 1960s.
The movie is up for Best Adapted Screenplay(RaMell Ross co-wrote the script with Joslyn Barnes) and Best Picture yet you don’t hear much about this film, which is a true shame. Granted, it may not be the most cheerful of subjects but that’s never stopped the Academy from promoting such a story before.
Given that it’s based on the work of one of our best living authors today, it certainly deserves better attention than this brief notice to be sure:
Next up is a movie that received quite a bit of attention, Conclave, based on the thriller by Robert Harris.
Ralph Finnes plays Cardinal Lawrence, who is leading the title event to select the next papal appointment, which happens to be a setting off point for some major revelations amongst the clergy.
Finnes has one of the eight nominations for this movie as Best Actor while Isabella Rossellini gets her first Best Supporting Actress nom as a rather secretive nun. Its other categories include Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Score, Best Costume Design and Best Picture yet. It did pretty well at the box office and I expect it to take home a few awards on Oscar night.
Frankly, Conclave seems like a rather old fashioned movie with its well known cast(Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow round out the big names) and conspiracy plot points to me. Then again, I have heard good word of mouth about the film and having read one of Harris’ earlier novels (Fatherland), it might be a sleeper surprise indeed:
To top this off, we have the animated movie The Wild Robot based on the first of three children’s books by Peter Brown.
The title mechanical being is accidentally left in a wilderness, where it uses their skills to adapt within the environment and form bonds with the world land residents (voiced by actors such as Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara and Mark Hamil, with Lupita Nyong’o as Roz, the robot). It is not only nominated for Best Animated Feature, it’s up for Best Original Score and Best Sound as well.
This does seem like a charming film that blends the whole nature vs. technology themes quite nicely there. A sequel is being planned as we speak and it is refreshing to see a movie meant for kids and their adults that is more than just cynical marketing these days:
“Hey, you didn’t talk about Wicked or Dune part two!” Yes, because those bookish connections are rather well known at this point and I wanted to highlight a few other book based films this award season.
One of those movies I watched on Hulu a few weeks ago, Nightbitch
based on the novel by Rachel Yoder that stars Amy Adams as a frustrated stay at home mother who mourns her budding art career and grows more and more annoyed with her husband, who clearly takes her for granted.
Her emotional turmoil leads her to believe that she might be turning into a literal creature of the night with some of her mommy group joining in on the canine carousing. I don’t want to spoil the plot but as a caveat, if you are a cat person (like me), there are a couple of scenes you might not like(you have been warned).
While it’s not up for the Oscars, Nightbitch is a nominee at the upcoming Independent Spirit Awards for Best Lead Performance and Best Editing. I’m not surprised at that since it’s a tad offbeat for the Academy yet I find myself thinking about it weeks later.
Adams gives quite the performance as a woman who feels trapped in a situation that she partially feels responsible for yet her resentments run deep and are very much justified.
Some folks complained that the book took more chances than the film, which I don’t know about yet(just borrowed a copy from the library this week) but something tells me that writer/director Marielle Heller made the choice to not get bogged down in body horror and wanted to focus more on the inner struggles of her lead character instead.
There is some body horror here to be sure but perhaps not as much as the novel’s readers expected (I will know soon enough). However, what strikes me is that despite all of the social changes for women over the years, some things still remain the same as this story shows us. Women having to choose between home and career, conflicting advice on child rearing and feeling guilty about every decision you do or don’t make is still sadly relevant now as it was twenty or thirty years ago.
I think it would make a good double feature with the original Stepford Wives in some regards and it’s a shame that Nightbitch is not a part of the current pop culture conversation right now.
Then again, the movie did get me to seek out the book and hopefully, others will do so as well. Books and movies do go along good together but sometimes, like a favorite yet all too familiar recipe, you need to add a new ingredient or two to shake things up:
It’s been a very rough start to the new year in more ways than one(especially yesterday!) but fortunately there are some good things to look forward to, such as the first readathon upon the Seasons of Reading’s calendar. The whole month of February is known as Winter’s Respite (with our excellent host Michelle Miller holding a 24 hour reading event on one of the Saturdays) and for the most part, there are no set genre requirements.
With that in mind, my TBR here is mostly short and sweet; my first pick being book one of a Nora Roberts trilogy, The Next Always.
This beginning of the Inn Boonesboro series introduces us to the Montgomery brothers, who are restoring the title inn back to its former working glory.
The main story focuses on Beckett, the architect of the family who is also keeping an eye on his lifelong crush,Clare, now a widow raising three young sons while running an independent bookstore.
Can this long time friendship develop into a lasting love or are the two of them just caught in a right place, wrong time situation?
I have heard great word of mouth about these books yet only want to tackle the first one for this event and save the other two for a possible spring/summer read. Besides, this particular book might drive me into a Gilmore Girls binge watch(did you know Hulu now has GG on tap?) with all of this small town country inn charms:
Speaking of Gilmore, my next selection is the second book in Laurie Gilmore’s Dream Harbor series, The Cinnamon Bun Book Store.
When the book shop owner of the tasty sounding title establishment Hazel stumbles across a mystery among her own literary stock, she’s eager to liven things up with a bit of Nancy Drew action.
However, it does help to have a partner in such cases and as it turns out, good buddy and local fisherman Noah is more than happy to do some sleuthing with Hazel. Will this partnership lead to romance as well as a solution to the strange puzzle before them?
I did enjoy the earlier book in this series, The Pumpkin Spice Cafe, and yes, this definitely has Stars Hollow vibes, particularly when Rory was with Jess(as a high school romance, he was a train wreck but the older, maturer Jess of the later seasons is preferable to Logan, in my humble opinion!). Gilmore Girls rant aside, this should quite the relaxing read I need:
Finally, for some cozy fantasy flavor, I added The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields.
Unsure of her path in life, Marigold is willing to take up
the mantle of Honey Witch on the island of Innisfree, despite the curse of never having romantic love that comes with the job.
Even while blossoming under the magical energies of the island’s flora and fauna, Marigold does start growing a bit lonely but with regular visits from local skeptic Lottie, the urge to break the curse becomes more important but just as dangerous to attempt. Yet, isn’t the chance at real love worth it?
I do love the rise of the cozy fantasy genre and this particular tale seems as engaging as any bee charmer out there:
There is still plenty of time to sign up for the Winter’s Respite readathon and I hope you join in for some page turning fun this freezing season. Much thanks to Michelle Miller for getting us all to start a new year of reading off right!
Oh and if you’re looking for some relaxing TV time this winter, I happen to notice that my local PBS station has been airing episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford on the weekends (it’s also available on Tubi).
If you are in the mood for a comfortable old school series with faces both old and new in British drama, this small town delight is definitely a warm cup of tea to savor on these upcoming winter nights:
While there are still plenty of new books upon my TBR, fresh from the holidays, it always helps to start a new year off right with a few new releases of the first month there.
To that end, I selected a trio of Book of the Month Club picks that have a royal flair. Deciding to be bold and try an author new to me, Babylonia by Cortanza Casati was my first choice.
The novel tells the tale of famed queen Semiramis, who rose from rather humble beginnings as the adopted daughter of a brutish shepherd to wife of the local governor which ultimately lead her to the throne of Assyria , the only woman to do so in those times.
Such a climb was not without its price yet Semiramis was willing to pay for that path to power at any cost or was she..?
I paired this title with Casati’s earlier book, Clytemnestra, to get a good back to back read of the writer’s style here. Plus, something tells me that warrior queens are going to very much in demand this year and this is certainly a good way to get a head start on that trend:
To round things out, Fiona Davis’ The Stolen Queen has come along at the right time indeed.
The story is told between two women connected by a missing Egyptian artifact taken during the Met Gala in 1978.
Charlotte, a curator determined to redeem the reputation of legendary Queen Hathorkare, and Annie, a hopeful designer given a golden opportunity by Diana Vreeland, find themselves working together to retrieve this historic piece not only to reclaim it for the museum but to perhaps redeem their own reputations as well.
This pursuit leads them to Egypt, where Charlotte was hoping to never return, due to an incident from the 1930s that haunts her still to this day. Nevertheless, she’s not alone this time but that also means the danger is also double fold.
I do enjoy Davis’ takes on women and history within the New York landscape , plus this action adventure vibe of the plot puts me in mind of those Mummy movies with Rachel Weisz as the smart and savvy leading lady, a popcorn bonus to be sure:
Meanwhile, before New Year’s Eve arrived, I did make my last library haul of the year(I will be making more this year, most definitely!) and while I did pick up Benjamin Stevenson’s Everyone On this Train is a Suspect (which I am reading now), I was able to add something even more thrilling than that.
If you’re unfamiliar with Chuck Tingle, many know him
best from his humorous ebooks chronicling the unusual romantic adventures of dinosaurs, space invaders and popular drinking cups, I kid you not on that last one!
Most recently, he’s been writing horror fiction with the first traditionally published one being Camp Damascus. The title refers to a conversion camp near the small religious town of Neverton where 20 year old Rose is sure that she’s never been. However, the bizarre visions that she has been having lately seem to be connected to that place and might be where she has to find the answers to her questions.
I have heard great word of mouth about this book and very eager to give it a try as humor and horror tend to walk hand in hand on the pop culture road there in rather scary harmony:
Also in the spirit of checking out new to me authors, I picked up my first Jodi Picoult novel.
By Any Other Name introduces us to Emilia Bassano, a vibrant writer during the Elizabethan era who may be the true author of Shakespeare’s best plays.
Her modern day descendant, Melina, is most certain of that and trying to produce a play about her predecessor’s life and times but not without some unsuitable obstacles in her way. How these ladies lived and loved in their day is the true heart of the story, it seems and as good a place as any to check out Picoult.
I do like a modern spin on preconceived notions, plus Picoult tends to have her literary finger on the pop culture pulse when it comes to storytelling and this book sounds quite timely to say the least:
Well, I certainly have plenty on my plate when it comes to books at the moment and given the upcoming events of next week, I will definitely need to send my imagination on a stress free vacation there.
Many folks are calling for taking some TV /social media time off on day and my two cents is if you need to, either the whole day or several hours, do so by all means. It doesn’t mean that you’re avoiding reality in this instance; just that your mental and emotional energy shouldn’t be given to those unworthy of such attentions.
If you’re able to binge watch something positive, I humbly suggest All Creatures Great and Small, the newer PBS version. Season Fuve has already begun and it’s a loving look at times gone by and what they still could be in terms of honoring our better natures. Plus, it’s based on books to boot! Winner, winner , reader’s dinner, if you ask me:
One thing I noticed around the holidays was bookish folk choosing their “ one to finish” during the festive season (or in some cases ten!) and while I don’t usually follow trends, this time out took me along that page turning path.
My Christmas Eve read was the latest comic book history by Tim Hanley, Never A Sidekick , which chronicles the journey of Batgirl as a heroine in her own right.
She originally began as Bette Kane, niece of Batwoman Kate Kane, back in the 1960s. The two female characters were introduced as a way to offset accusations of an “unwholesome “ relationship between Batman and Robin from the censorship crowd.
While Bette was a breath of fresh air, although briefly seen in the comics,it was the live action Batman TV series that really brought Batgirl to pop culture audiences
As played by the lively Yvonne Craig ,by day she was Barbara Gordon, daughter of Gotham’s police commissioner and local librarian; at night she became the Dynamic Duo’s secretive ally with her own theme song!
While her stint on the show was not as long as many of the fans would’ve liked, Craig did reprise the character for a public service announcement that promoted the Equity in Pay Act for women:
While Barbara Gordon managed to maintain her own identity within the comics, even becoming a political activist at one point, another live action appearance came in 1997’s Batman & Robin, a departure from the previous films in more ways than one.
Here, as played by Alicia Silverstone,she was Barbara Wilson, the niece of butler Alfred Pennyworth with her big fight scene being against villainess Poison Ivy(Uma Thurman).
While this wasn’t a well received film, it did give Batgirl a nice revival and if you think about it, the campy nature of this movie does reflect that earlier TV series that launched the character into the pop culture spotlight:
Speaking of the small screen, a newer incarnation of the Barbara Gordon version of the character was depicted in the sadly short lived CW series, Birds of Prey, in 2002.
Upon being assaulted by the Joker in the infamous comic book story The Killing Joke(which even its creators regret ), Barbara was paralyzed but far from out of the crime fighting game.
Developing stealthy computer skills, she became The Oracle, a guide and mentor to various superhero teams including the original Birds of Prey. This phoenix like turn to her character inspired many in the disabled community , who were pleased to be getting some proper representation.
Oracle/Batgirl was portrayed by Dina Meyers on the show and was a solid lead on the series, only putting on the Batgirl suit once to confront a former foe(with the aid of a cybernetic spinal implant for mobility). The series had potential but much like the all too recent dismissal of the lost Batgirl movie, didn’t get the chance it deserved to shine:
Much like his prior books about superhero themed ladies such as Wonder Woman, Lois Lane and Catwoman, Hanley gives us a thoughtful and engaging look into Batgirl in her various versions, including other women who donned the cowl like Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown.
He also talks about the ill fated Batgirl movie, the comic book revival of the character and her animated appearances on the likes of Batman:The Animated Series and Harley Quinn.
His sincere enthusiasm combined with excellent research and compelling writing makes him a go-to for comic book lore and I can’t recommend him highly enough!
I was very happy to have Never A Sidekick as my holiday weekend read but it’s a wonderful book to enjoy all year long. Hopefully, we will get the Batgirl film that does her justice someday but in the meanwhile, Tim Hanley gives her the applause that she truly deserves:
So let us begin with a Happy New Year of Reading to all as I wrap up my last book challenge of 2024, the Yuletide Spirit Readathon hosted by Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading.
I was planning to read one new book and reread two from my personal library but as it turned out, I read two new titles and partly reread one(just didn’t have time to finish before year’s end). Hey, there’s always next time and the pair that I did complete gave me a fine good feeling for the season indeed:
Christmas with the Queen
Co-written by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, this charming historical fiction spans several years from the first official holiday address given by Queen Elizabeth I in 1952 to her first televised address in 1957.
Connected by this annual event are Jack and Olive, old friends who parted no long after the end of WWII; he is now a widower working as one of chefs at Sandringham, where the Royal Family stays during the holidays, she is an ambitious BBC reporter and single mother who gets a golden opportunity to cover the Queen’s Christmas celebrations.
Over the years, Jack and Olive rekindle their friendship and perhaps more yet there is a certain secret that could put a stop to any romantic future before it even starts. Can these yearly meetings lead to a lasting relationship or has that moment gone for good?
Gaynor and Webb tell a lovely story that has you rooting for these characters despite the odds as well as paints a vivid portrait of post-war England for readers to fully enjoy. It’s also great that Queen Elizabeth occasionally enters the narrative without overwhelming the main plot and leaves her gently human touch upon the proceedings:
The other new book was one of my Book of the Month Club selections(yes, I swapped out one Christmas themed mystery for another) and it helped that Ally Carter’s The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year had a Christmas in England setting like I originally wanted this TBR to have.
Cozy mystery writer Maggie Chase is not having a great year so when she gets a surprise invitation to attend a Christmas house party in England with renowned author Eleanor Ashby, aka the Duchess of Death, it’s a sign of better things to come.
However, that pleasure is somewhat dimmed by the presence of Ethan Wyatt, popular spy thriller writer who vexes Maggie both personally and professionally-for one thing, his latest book was chosen over hers for a celebrity book club endorsement and for another, he keeps getting her name wrong!
When the two of them reach Eleanor’s estate and meet the other guests, including another writer and Eleanor’s contentious relatives, things start to become clearly not what they seem.
In fact, the hostess herself goes missing and several other potential fatalities occur that force Maggie and Ethan to reluctantly team up to see if this mystery is a staged event or leading to a truly last Christmas for one and all.
I have to say that this was quite the lively holiday adventure, well wrapped in romantic tension and engaging moments of suspense. Carter certainly has a way with pairing up a smartly bickering couple with fun flair there; it was sort of like Agatha Christie meets Castle and hopefully,we get a sequel in our stocking next year:
My thanks to Michelle Miller for setting up these reading romps and I look forward to the upcoming Winter’s Respite readathon (still working on the TBR for that one!).
In the meanwhile, I am ready for new reads and new pop culture delights, in particular the return of many great TV shows such as Abbott Elementary(doing an amazing crossover with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia!) to warm up the chilly nights ahead of us.
Hopefully, we all can find things like that in common to keep us going through out the rest of this unpredictable year:
They say bad things happen in threes(which can be hard to deny) yet I believe that good things can also happen in the same way as well. Kind of a balancing point for the universe there.
With that in mind, I’m wrapping up my reading year with a set of three positive things that hopefully will set the tone for what’s to come in the new year,book wise:
I like Nora Roberts
One of my reading challenges in 2024 was to read three sets of trilogies (made it to two out of the three) and the first one up was the Born In trilogy by Nora Roberts. I use to be a snob about romance novels and even popular writers like Roberts but fortunately, time has shown me that holding to such rigid limitations was only limiting myself and not in a good or productive way.
So, yes, I enjoyed that trio of heartfelt novels have only myself to blame for not diving into such rich and engaging storytelling beforehand. Roberts has a fine hand for character development and developing the setting of her tales in a way that reflects the emotional themes that they’re dealing with on page. Plus, she’s fun and fierce all at once! (yes, I do know about J.D.Robb but there are sixty books in that series so I might hold off on those yet)
Since then, I have read a standalone (Hideaway) and in the middle of another one (Tribute) with a couple of other titles on my TBR. Most recently, I picked up another trilogy-The Boonesboro Inn-which I have heard great word of mouth about. Looking forward to more Roberts reading-maybe some of her paranormal books?-and glad to say that is truly better late than never to discover a great author:
IBroke Two Author Slumps
“What’s an author slump?”
Well, as a reader, have you ever found a writer that you knew you would always be a lifetime fan of?
“Sure! I have so many…”
However, even among those favorites, have you ever just picked up one of their books one day and found yourself putting it back down, perhaps trying one or two after that to only discover that this just wasn’t clicking with you like it did before?
“Embarrassed shuffling of feet, with slight nod”
That’s what I call An Author Slump and first off, it’s not the fault of the writer or book; like Taylor Swift would say-hi, it’s me,I’m the problem.
Such slumps can be short lived or long term; hard to tell in most cases. For me, I was one of the last to read Daisy Jones and the Six and really loved what Taylor Jenkins Reid did there. Having Malibu Rising as one of my Book of the Month Club selections was awesome but after getting a quarter of the way into it, I put it aside and went on to other things.
I really thought that would be that for me and TJR but on on a library visit earlier this year, I added a copy of Carrie Soto is Back(a last minute decision) and wow, I was back onboard the Taylor reading train! It became one of those stay-up-all-night reads for me and now I am devouring The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (part of my TBR reading down challenge) and planning to give Malibu Rising another shot.
I am happy to have recovered my groove with TJR and unlike that LL Cool J song, I have to call it a comeback in this regard. I’m not even a sports fan but this particular book just had the right dramatic hook to get me back into the game:
An author that I was more connected with, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, I found myself to be slumping with after her great success with Mexican Gothic.
Try as I might, I wasn’t getting too far with her following works but when a horror themed readathon came up, I grabbed a copy of Silver Nitrate(a homage to old school fear flicks) and was delighted to be on the edge of my reading seat here.
That rekindling has me all fired up for her newest book, The Seventh Veil of Salome(ironically enough, Evelyn Hugo is also adding fuel to that literary desire fire) and two of her other novels that I have on hand. So happy to reconnect with a writer that I have enjoyed for years and now plan to appreciate for many more:
I took a book off of Pause
What I mean by “pause”, some would call DNF(Did Not Finish), however when it comes to pause, I do intend to give the book another try and even leave a bookmark in it to restart it at some point.
This year, FX aired a new season of Feud(the first one was about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford making What Ever Happened to Baby Jane and it was a hoot) and this time around , the theme was Truman Capote and his falling out with the high society “swans” of the fifties and sixties.
The show was a mixed bag of campy cattiness and sincere performances at best but I did get one very good thing out of that experience; taking out and diving into my paused edition of Melanie Benjamin’s The Swans of Fifth Avenue, which covered this same story line in a much better way in my opinion.
Granted, this book is fiction but it felt more realistic than the Feud series(which had a nonfiction book as it’s source material) and if this novel had been the basis for an adaptation like this, the result would have been better appreciated by audiences and critics alike.
If they ever make another season of Feud, I truly hope that they find a good novel to use as the sturdy spine of their production; plenty of historical fiction writers do a great deal of research to enhance their story and characters and it does make all the difference. At least it got me to unpause this riveting emotional drama page by page:
With that, I wish you all a new year of reading and hope that this year gave you some bookish joy.
This is my last post for 2024 and LRG will be back in January, probably starting with a recap of the Christmas Spirit readathon, a review of Evelyn Hugo as well as the next Down the Reader’s Road book and more to come.
I know this year has been harrowing to say the least and the one upon to begin perhaps not much better than that. However, I do think that we as readers are a strong minded group that, along with many others, are determined to stick together during whatever form of chaos is headed our way and do what we can for each other.
Despair is quite understandable and ignoring your fears isn’t helpful but reaching out for support is always a positive thing to do. We’re more capable than we’ve been told and more braver than we might believe in times of crisis; history has shown us that.
Whether you are fighting the good fight against censorship or just passing on the good word about a wonderful new book and/or author, reading is the path worth taking towards a better world. Maybe this time, we will save the day or make it easier for those who can to find their way forward:
As some of you may know, I was doing a trilogy themed reading challenge for most of this year but upon completing two out of the three sets of books for that project, I decided to pivot to a more achievable goal of reading down my TBR piles.
Thus named “Down The Reader’s Road”(yes, I enjoyed Agatha All Along very much!), I chose a number of my Book of the Month Club picks to tackle and the first one finished is The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani.
Thus multigenerational story introduces us to Matelda, an older woman living in the coastal village of Viareggio, Italy who is trying to preserve the family history for the next generation, particularly her granddaughter Anina currently engaged to be married.
Upon letting Anina chose a piece of heirloom jewelry as part of her engagement gift, Matelda finds herself sharing the story of her own mother Domenica, a woman well before her time who was determined to pursue a career in medicine and not hold back from doing what she believed to be right .
Her forthright approach got Domenica sent to France as a nurse and then later to Scotland just as WWII is gearing up. While over there, she meets John McVicars, a sea captain who becomes the love of her life and he hers:
This is more than just a love story, however; John comes to a tragic end after his marriage to Domenica due to being recruited to partake in the expulsion of Italian citizens from the United Kingdom as a pushback against Italy going forces with Germany.
These people considered themselves “Britalians”, loyal to their country despite their ancestry yet were punished for simply being who they were due to political reasons (a sentiment that is sadly still prevalent in the US today).
Trigiani chronicles this sad chapter in history as a natural element of the overall story without overwhelming the main narrative. She also skillfully showcases the emotional lives of her characters from one generation to the next in harmonious fashion, turning a tale of personal experiences into an universal meditation about accepting the challenges in life and making the best of the choices given unto you.
Granted, I had just finished rereading Trigiani’s Valentine series of novels before picking this one up, so perhaps I was in the right mindset to read this book at this time. However, even someone unfamiliar with her work would find much treasure to discover within these pages.
Ultimately, this is a book about one generation reaching out to another to appreciate what has been before and respect that knowledge on the road that lies ahead of them, something worth exploring at any time:
So, my next step on this bookish journey is Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and so far, this is one of those “what haven’t I read already?!” titles.
I’ve read TJR before (the latest being Carrie Soto is Back) but not this particular book , which chronicles the life and times of a renowned actress in Hollywood of the fifties and onward with her secrets being told to a potential biographer chosen for mysterious reasons.
It’s a lively and engaging book that I might finish by the year is out but no rush here. As they say, it’s not about the destination, it’s the journey and I intend to take the scenic route indeed:
I ended my No-Buy November on books the day before Thanksgiving as it happened to be the exact same time that Book of the Month Club dropped their December selections online.
That works out well for my holiday shopping as I tend to give most of the box over to a family member to give to me as a Christmas present (trust me, it’s much easier this way).
I do however take one book out early, since it’s usually a seasonal read and therefore, better suited to enjoy before Christmas. This year, though, I chose two holiday flavored fictions and choosing between them is as hard as picking just one cookie off of the holiday dessert platter at your favorite relative’s house party.
A tough choice yet I think that Ally Carter’s The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year should be savored now. Cozy mystery writer Maggie Chase is not looking to the holidays due to this one being fresh off of her husband’s running off with her best friend;quite the lump of coal there to say the least!
Getting the chance to spend Christmas at the English home of renowned author Eleanor Ashley promises to be a true delight, even if one of the other guests is obnoxious thriller writer Ethan Wyatt(who always gets her name wrong!). Yet, when the hostess herself goes missing, at first it seems like an elaborate party game but all too soon ,it becomes clear that this is not meant to be a frivolous activity-rather it’s a dangerous test of the group’s detective skills.
Maggie finds herself teaming up with Ethan, hoping that her worst fears aren’t true, especially since she seems to be finding her new partner in crime solving a bit more entertaining than she’d like. Can this Christmas gathering be saved and will someone find heartbreak or happiness under the mistletoe?
This does sound like festive reading and an English country house mystery during Christmas feels like a warm cup of cocoa for my spirit right about now:
The other holiday themed novel , Most Wonderful by Georgia Clark, seems to be a fine storytelling feast that will sustain me throughout the winter months up ahead.
It’s the tale of the Belvedere siblings who are reuniting at their celebrity mother Babs’ house for the holidays, hoping to take this time away from their emotionally complicated lives to reassess their next steps in life.
Big sister Liz is hoping that her hit TV series is not a one and done for her show runner career (not to mention having a bit of a crush on said show’s leading lady) while younger sister Birdie is a rising stand up comedy star that appears to be burning out faster than expected.
Their brother Rafi seems to have the most ordinary life but when he proposes to his co-worker girlfriend in front of the entire company, the response he gets becomes rather epic.
By taking this break from their current reality, the Belvedere trio hope for just a nice quiet time together but fate and their rambunctious mother have other plans for them…
I have heard this book compared to Schitt’s Creek and that is more than enough to make me want to read this! A funny, heartwarming book about family and finding love is truly something we all need these days indeed:
Fortunately, the book that rounds out this triple decker gift set is a cozy fantasy affair.
Julie Leong’s The Teller of Small Fortunes introduces us to Tao, a traveling fortune teller who can predict things such as when a farmer’s crops will get the rain that’s needed or how to find a lost household item thought missing for good. However, her true talent is greater than that and well kept under wraps for her own safety.
One day, Tao stumbles across the path of a missing girl thought dead yet is still very much alive. The girl’s father, a former mercenary named Mash, insists upon Tao’s help in finding his long lost daughter and since she does want to do the right thing for an innocent person, she agrees. However, more than one risk is assumed but hopefully, Tao can use her abilities to bring about some good in the world instead of increasing the harm others delight in.
I wanted to get this book sooner but I think that saving it for the holidays was a better idea. Such an interesting and enchanting story of finding your true path in life ought to be a good guide for our collective new year:
I will be getting more books for Christmas (and will highlight them here) and other things that will no doubt be just as fun. Speaking of fun, my BOTM box also includes a reading prize(a year long challenge for Book Club members; this year’s a hat) and some cool holiday stickers-you’re never too old for stickers, if you ask me.
And yes, I am giving a book or two to folks as well. Look, we all know that what lies in waiting for next year alone is not going to be pretty to say the least but regardless of that, a good way to recharge our spiritual batteries is to embrace the spirit of the season-Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza ,all celebrations are welcome and good for the soul here.
So, enjoy your holiday treats , whether it’s a holiday romantic movie or cookie baking or a holiday romantic movie about cookie baking (they do exist!). However you indulge, let it be a way to bring you towards future joy as books tend to do for many of us, one page at a time:
Let me start by wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving and may the rest of your holiday season be enjoyable at the very least.
Now, with various end of the year round ups on the way, not to mention the final voting for the Goodreads Choice Awards set to begin tomorrow, putting up my personal Top Five Reads seems to be in order here.
With one exception, most of these books are new releases and for this mystery title, I must credit Booktuber Mara of Books Like Whoa for her enthusiastic recommendation of The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett.
Told in the format of texts, e-mails and transcripts, this novel chronicles the rivalry between two reporters as they look into an infamous cold case regarding a bizarre kidnapping supposedly done by members of a cult that still leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
To tell any more of the plot would definitely spoil the spine tingling tense delight of reading this book and it’s one of those actual staying up all night to finish stories for sure. I’ve read another one of Hallett’s novels since then(The Appeal) and believe you me, this author is quite the talent to behold:
It’s been a very great year for witches in pop culture and my list happens to have a pair of unusual enchantresses worth being spell bound by.
For Jane Austen admirers, Melinda Taub’s The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch take a fiercely fun twist on Pride & Prejudice as the mischievous youngest daughter of the Bennet family has much to tell about her adventures as a budding witch who created a companion sister(yes,Kitty Bennet is an actual cat!) and her relationship with Wickham is truly diabolical in more ways than one.
Taub creates an elaborately creative world within Austen’s very familiar fictional realm that fits in as neatly as a puzzle piece that charmingly expands upon the original storytelling portrait of society and romance perfectly.
Also, by tapping into those off screen yet very active subplots involving Lydia from the source material, we get quite the “what if” version of P&P into the bargain:
As for the other witchy tale, it was my first read of a T. Kingfisher novel and wow, folks were not joking about the amazing quality of her work.
A Sorceress Comes to Call is set in a Regency era England where a young woman named Cordelia is constantly at the not so tender mercies of her mother , Evangeline, who uses her magical powers like a whip to keep those about her in line.
When Evangeline sets her sights on a gullible noble man as her next meal ticket, Cordelia finds an unexpected ally in Hester, who has serious doubts about her brother’s new acquaintance and is willing to believe the unbelievable to prevent her loved ones from being harmed.
This book is simply awesome, with moments of humor, suspense, romance and horror that are the perfect ingredients for a page turning plate of delicious fictional feasting that will leave you wanting seconds and perhaps more. This is one witches road that delivers on the promised tricks and trials with potential glory at the end:
When it comes to literary romcoms, this offbeat novel by Kristy Greenwood, The Love of my Afterlife, adds a dash of otherworldly charm into the mix.
When lonely Delphie dies via accident and lands in the netherworld, her afterlife counselor makes her wait in a laundry room style reception area, giving Delphie a chance to make an instant romantic connection with another arrival, a man who turns out to not be ready for the next world just yet.
Since her counselor happens to be a fan of romantic novels, she gives Delphie ten days back on earth to find this possible soulmate or become a candidate for an afterlife dating service.
Eager to find true love as well as another shot at life, Delphie winds up working with her grumpy neighbor Cooper on this wacky quest. Turns out love wasn’t as far away as she imagined but will this deadline truly be the end?
This story is weirdly fun, with beautifully bittersweet moments and entertaining characters that wish were on a TV series so that you could watch them again and again. Truly a heavenly experience, reading this book was:
The only book on this list that is not a new release (it was published in 2019) is also my solo nonfiction pick here.
However, this graphic novel style of memoir is very well known due to its status as one of the most banned books in America.
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe chronicles the author’s journey as a non binary asexual person and artist (pronouns are e/em/eir) seeking to find eir place in the world. Told with humor and heartbreak at times, this book urges the reader to embrace empathy, something that seems to be severely lacking in our society right now.
I buddy read this book with a relative and we had many a good talk about the themes expressed within, not to mention just enjoying some of the great anecdotes that the author shares and appreciating the excellent art work.
Instead of being banned by the ignorantly fearful, Gender Queer ought to be more widely read by those both part of the LGBTQIA community and those who aren’t but would like to have a better understanding there. Young people, especially, would benefit from this honestly told story that shows just how human we all are:
Also, I do have a few Honorable Mentions to highlight as well:
Sex,Lies and Sensibility by Nikki Payne- a great modern day take on Sense & Sensibility that makes me hope that she does this for all of Jane Austen’s work (please do Mansfield Park!)
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez-she’s having an incredible year with her heartfelt romance reads and while this one does slightly connect to her earlier books, you can enjoy this one sincerely on its own merits.
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen-a rip roaring romantasy that has me eager for the follow up and fingers crossed that it’s a Book of the Month selection so that it matches my copy of this first part!
As we head towards what’s left of this year, it’s going to be hard to look forward to what lies ahead, no question about it. With any luck, we’ll do our best to push back against any negative forces out there and keep our collective spirits up, with the help of a few good books to talk about along the way.
I hope you all have had a great reading year and are planning on finding something to look forward to as the new year approaches, one way or another:
While Thanksgiving is nearly a week away, it doesn’t hurt to make some winter holiday plans right about now and mine involve the Seasons of Reading’s Yuletide Spirit Reading Challenge & Readathon , starting November 25th.
This event is being held at two of Michelle Miller’s websites, Seasons of Reading and Yuletide Spirit with the option of participating in both. I suppose that I’m doing a bit of each as my TBR is all Christmas themed books. One happens to be a brand new release while the other two are rereads yet all three of them are connected by more than just the holiday season…
One of the recent review copies sent to me by Harper Collins is a literary duet between authors Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, Christmas with the Queen begins in England of 1952 as Elizabeth II is reviving the tradition of an annual Christmas Day address to the nation.
This radio broadcast event brings together a pair of old friends: Olive, an ambitious young reporter eager to cover this story and Jack, a new cook in the royal kitchens. Both of them were separated by the past war and happy to see each other again, despite the drastic changes to their lives in this peacetime era.
Over the next five years, Olive and Jack manage to meet up at Christmas for the Queen’s address yet never quite make that ultimate connection of the heart that they are both longing to. However, in 1957, as the Queen is about to make her first televised Christmas Day appearance, something may change for more than just her Majesty this holiday season..
I do enjoy historical fiction, especially when it comes to the Brits , and this timely tale of love and facing change sounds perfect for this season. The novel is due out on November 19 and can be a nice early gift from Father Christmas indeed:
For something a little more modern day, I chose Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory.
When Vivian Forest decides to join her daughter Maddie on her work trip to England, she never expected to find a bit of romance under the mistletoe for herself.
As Maddie prepares to create the perfect bridal outfit for a member of the royal family, Vivian is unprepared for the charms of Malcolm Hudson, Queen’s private secretary. The two of them are quite well suited together as a serving of tea and crumpets yet is this the beginning of a long term relationship or simply a brief affair of the heart?
I fondly recall just how charming this book was when I received it as a Secret Santa gift and getting to revisit this lovely story is a pleasure to experience yet again as a gift to myself:
Finally, for some Jane Austen joy, my choice was Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas by Stephanie Barron, the eleventh entry in her Jane Austen Mystery series.
Jane and her sister Cassandra are planning to spend a rather dull holiday with their brother James and his constantly complaining wife when an invitation to the country estate of some old family friends is a welcome surprise to be sure.
While mingling with the other house guests, Jane makes the equally welcome acquaintance of Raphael West, son of a renowned artist who possesses some of his father’s talents for drawing, not to mention a keen eye for details.
Those skills will come in handy as the sudden arrival of a military messenger swiftly leads to murder and possible espionage. In great need of a proper partner in her investigation, Jane is happy to have Raphael’s assistance but can their mutual holiday be saved as well?
Barron’s Jane Austen Mysteries have come to an end recently (hope to read that last book soon!) but it is good to take them up again just as much as it is to engage with one of Jane’s wonderful works when the mood strikes.
Emma is the only Austen novel that I. An think of that really has a Christmas scene but I do wonder how well Miss Woodhouse would do with such a deadly mystery on her hands there:
The Yuletide Reading Challenge and Readathon both begin on November 25 and end on December 31, giving you plenty of time for some fine holiday reading. Sign ups are available here , along with more details on each event, plus a holiday bingo card!
I have to admit that given the current state of the world these days, I was reluctant to get into the holiday spirit. However, making myself miserable is no fun for anyone and since I have the unexpected blessing of a new Christmas themed book(that doesn’t interfere with my No-Buy November pledge) and seeing a couple of other titles on my shelves that would go great with it, it just feels meant to be, so to speak.
So, thank you to Michelle Miller for keeping our spirits bright enough to read by this year! It just goes to show that no matter how awful the world can be, there’s something this time of year that sparks a little joy here and there. Also, do love an English style Christmas, especially one with a sense of good humor:
My No-Buy November on books officially began on the third of this month as I did pick up a few new reads at the local rummage sale over a week ago.
It’s a biannual event (Fall and Spring) that I really look forward to and given the current state of the world right now, having such a nice moment like this to remember helps to bring me some comfort (more on that later).
Anyway, I spotted two Nora Roberts titles and one of them I’m reading at this point in time; Tribute, which was published in 2008. Our leading lady is Cilla, the granddaughter of acclaimed actress Janet Hardy, who has left show business and gone into house renovations.
She’s bought her late grandmother’s country house and is restoring the place with a few upgrades of her own design. Across the way is Ford, a graphic novelist who finds Cilla to be the perfect inspiration for his next action adventure heroine.
While she has plenty on her plate already, Cilla discovers a set of hidden letters, written to Janet by a secret lover who also happened to be a married man to boot. Curious about this past affair, she decides to look into the matter but there are those that don’t want such a long ago relationship to be revealed. Is Cilla putting herself in danger here or does this secret deserve to be brought to light once and for all?
I have to say that so far, this is a very engaging story with solid characters that fully click well together. Some of my favorite scenes involve dreams where Cilla is speaking with Janet via the elder’s past memories. It’s a concept that plays out believably and should lead to an interesting plot point along the narrative way.
I also learn that this book(among other Roberts novels) was made into a Lifetime Channel movie starring Brittany Murphy! I may have to check that out once I finish the book:
The other Nora Roberts was Three Fates, originally released in 2001 , where a stolen statue brings together a trio of siblings on a mission to reclaim this family heirloom.
Ironically, this inheritance was stolen to begin with as the great grandfather of Gideon, Malachi and Rebecca Sullivan survived the sinking of the 1915 luxury liner The Lusitania with one of the three silver Fate statues in his possession. That experience lead to his reformation, keeping the statue as a reminder of his petty theft past.
Nevertheless, his descendants are not about to let some cutthroat art dealer get away with this robbery and reluctantly team up on an international quest to retrieve their lost legacy, making enemies and allies as they go.
This does sound like fun and I would like to see how Nora handles an action adventure caper like this:
To my surprise, the next book that I added to my purchase pile was a much more recent release from this past spring.
An Inconvenient Wife by Karen E. Olson is subtitled A Modern Tudor Mystery as the story takes an imaginative twist on the six wives of Henry the Eighth.
Kate Parker is the sixth and current wife of wealthy Hank Tudor, whose assistant she was when his marriage to wife number five, flighty actress Kaitlyn Howard, went bad.
Granted, Kate knew enough about Hank’s past and expected to deal with some flack from his prior relationships but when Kaitlyn is found dead in a manner very similar to wife number two, things get even more complicated than anyone expected.
Convinced of his innocence, Kate teams up with wife number one, reclusive Katherine Alvarez and wife no. four, B&B owner Anna Klein, to find out what really happened to Kaitlyn and hopefully stop it from happening again!
As someone who finds the six Tudor wives very fascinating, this fresh fictional spin is a must read indeed:
My last pick yet far from least is a lovely collection of culinary tales from Everyman’s Library.
Stories from the Kitchen is a 2015 anthology that includes excerpts from classic novels by Virginia Woolf and Marcel Proust to short stories from modern writers such as Amy Tan and T.C. Boyle, all themed around food and its emotional impact upon people, places and things.
As a fan of foodie writing, this book feels like a banquet of tasty storytelling worth savoring with the ultimate dinner quest list that has Charles Dickens, M.F.K. Fisher and Nora Ephron ready to be seated:
Sadly, a few days later, the election results came in and I am sure that I’m not the only one to sigh and say “Well, here we go again!”(that being the mildest response to the situation for sure).
As it is now, the future looks pretty bleak and it will be important to not totally give into despair. Not an easy task to be certain but supporting one another as we do our level best to speak up against what’s wrong and to protect our friends, family and neighbors from injustice is what has to be done.
Keeping our spirits up is also going to be a challenge but it is necessary for our collective mental and emotional health. I intend to keep this bookish blog going if only to provide some relief from the deluge of disastrous headlines that are sure to come.
Reading is a vital part of freedom and one that needs to celebrated now more than ever. I hope to see a better world someday and with any luck, that path will be paved with wonderful books . So let us join hands and sing of glory at the end of this particular witches road:
