Monday Malarkey

Recent arrivals:


None, hence the photo of a cat. I chose one that I thought made Isabel look sad ('cause no books), but she is not and was not. She was being a cuddle bunny, hanging out near me while I slowly woke up. I hope Monday Malarkey's arrivals section doesn't become too boring but I'm currently in anti-buying mode and that may be here for good, this time. When you're faced with your mortality, you start to look at possessions in a different way. I do have at least a couple pre-orders coming, though, and while I'm accepting fewer books for review, they'll trickle in on occasion.


Books finished since last Malarkey:

• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
• The Lion and the Lyceum by Alex Beene and Taylor Wiedemann
• The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James

I didn't end up sending on my copy of American Dirt because my friend got a copy and she's such a fast reader that we finished it around the same time. We had a great discussion. I'm hoping to post a summarized version of it with my review, along with some links to various articles about the book. The Lion and The Lyceum is a children's book that my younger son bought to send to his brother. It's an alphabet and story book centered on words and places familiar to Ole Miss grads. If you don't know Oxford, Mississippi, it's of no interest. I don't even plan on reviewing it because the potential audience is too limited. The Sun Down Motel is as great as everyone says and I'm looking forward to reviewing it, next week. 

Currently reading:

• Crosstalk by Connie Willis
• Freedom is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis
• The World of Sanditon by Sara Sheridan

I've read 3 of the 4 books I'm touring in February (one per week is my current upper limit) so I picked up Crosstalk to squeeze in one off my shelves. It's about a woman who gets surgery to help her connect with her boyfriend and instead becomes telepathic. It's a little bit sci-fi, a little romantic comedy, and the only other book I know of by Willis that comes close to it is Bellwether, which I loved. It's a fun book, so far. I'm about halfway through it. Freedom is a Constant Struggle is one I bought last year and didn't get around to reading during Black History Month, so I'm excited that I happened across my copy at the right time. It's a fascinating combination of interviews and speeches by Davis regarding the intersection of American racism and oppression in other countries. She's for the abolishment of prisons because the entire judicial system in the US is biased against people of color but I haven't grasped what exactly she recommends doing with violent offenders.

And, I'm still reading The World of Sanditon slowly but plan to finish that in the next couple of days because I'd like to write about it with my post about Sanditon, the unfinished Austen novel completed by Kate Riordan to accompany the mini series. If you briefly saw (or managed to read) the review, last Thursday, it's because I decided to go ahead and pre-set the date for posting, although I wasn't entirely finished with the post, and I messed up the date. Oopsy. It will be up this coming Thursday.


Posts since last Malarkey:

• Almost Just Friends (Wildstone #4) by Jill Shalvis (book review)
• What Red Was by Rosie Price (book review)
• Fiona Friday - Catnipping (cat photo collage) 

Apart from that Thursday screw-up, which left me without a post on Thursday, I thought it was a decent blogging week.


In other news:

I had some fantastic health news, last week. It's been like this: bad news with a good side, good news, bad news but good in a way, bad news, bad news, great news. Cancer is a rollercoaster of highs and lows, for sure. The great news is that something that looked bad turned out to be harmless, for now, although it will have to be watched closely. That means I get a reprieve from the constant doctor visits and tests, for at least a few weeks, and to celebrate we took a drive toward New Orleans, yesterday. There was a restaurant we planned to go to but we didn't make it because I still am an insomniac and it was a bit too far for a day trip. But, the place we decided to stop was great and we were both happy to get out and have a reason to celebrate on a spectacularly golden, sunny day. In fact, we decided to just call everything a celebration, this weekend, which meant celebratory reading while doing celebratory laundry, followed by a celebratory wienie roast over some slightly wet twigs burning in our little back porch fire pit. Sometimes, you just have to make your own joy in whatever way works best.

Addendum:

Totally forgot to mention that I'm still working on narrowing down my top reads from 2019 and it may still be a week or two but I will post them, eventually. I want children's books to be in the mix and I shelved those I kept (I donate quite a few of the children's books I review) instead of putting them in the favorites pile, so that's set me back a bit.

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Fiona Friday - Catnipping

I didn't take any photos of the kitties, this week (shocked face) so I had to go back in the files to find something. This is from Christmas, just after the kitties opened their KitNipBox. The "winter hat" stuffed with catnip is a favorite of both kitties, probably because it's easy to pull out of the box with their teeth. Some of the other toys are quite thick.

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

What Red Was by Rosie Price

Trigger Warning: Rape

Time flatlined; she knew then what red was. She was on Zara's bed, she saw the ribbon in [his] collar. But this red was not a colour, a warning sign or provocation, the bull's rag; no, red was the filter through which she apprehended everything; it collapsed the time between her present and that moment that refused to remain in her past, so that her whole being, from the dilation of her pupils to the rhythm of her breath and the ice in her chest, recalibrated to respond to the sign of the world through it. And she saw then that if she had been so wrong about what a colour could be, then there was little about the world that she had understood correctly. 

~fr. p. 111 of Advance Reader Copy, What Red Was -- some changes may have been made to the final print version, which was released in August of 2019

What Red Was by Rosie Price is a story of a friendship, trauma, and family dynamics as well as the aftermath of the trauma. Kate and Max become lifelong friends. But, when Kate becomes the victim of a violent crime while visiting Max's family, the trauma invades every corner of her life and becomes a part of who she is. Will she ever feel whole again?

I loved the way What Red Was began. Kate is a person with an average background and a mother she wants to escape while Max is very wrapped up in family and he comes from a fabulously wealthy background but is very casual about it. They meet when Max is locked out of his room in what I presume is a co-ed dorm, Max knocking on the door to ask for help in nothing but a towel.

Kate has just moved to university and she's lonely; Max is vivacious and cheerful. She loans him some of her clothing to run across campus for a duplicate key and when he returns with her clothing, they talk. The friendship is comfortable but never romantic. Eventually, Kate finds out that Max has casually left out the information that his mother is a very famous filmmaker, but when Kate meets the family she finds they're relaxed and nonjudgmental; it's clear where he got his personality. If Max likes Kate, she's part of the family, too. Max's family does have a complication involving his grandmother, which is kind of a secondary storyline but important.

I'm not quite sure where I got What Red Was, but I think a publicist contacted me (as opposed to it being a book that I "won" via Shelf Awareness). It fell to the back burner when I was forced to take time off — and I was already behind, so I missed reading and reviewing by the August, 2019 release — but I'm glad I was able to finally get to it. My thanks to Hogarth and whoever sent the copy my way.

Recommended - While I didn't feel like What Red Was was wrapped up in a very satisfying way, I found the story so compelling that it was almost impossible to put down. I think the author did a particularly great job of showing how deep trauma runs, how difficult it can be to get help or even speak about what's happened, how the way people react (both to experiencing trauma and being told about it by someone who has experienced it and needs help) is not consistent in any way, and how family dynamics can be confusing, wonderful, or awful.

My biggest problem with the book (besides the ending) was the way Max became heavily involved in drugs and alcohol, mostly because he started hanging out with the wrong guy. But, at the same time it appeared that he was ignoring how Kate was falling apart, I had to wonder (and I think this was implied, if not overtly stated) whether Max was, in fact, so close to Kate that he picked up on her trauma and turned away because he couldn't face the obvious fact that someone he deeply cared for was in trouble. I have seen this happen so while I hated that part of the storyline, I also thought it rang true in its own way.



 ©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Almost Just Friends by Jill Shalvis (Wildstone #4)

It's been years since I've read a Jill Shalvis book. Anyone out there remember Harlequin Duets? They were paperback books that contained two romantic comedies and I loved them. I'm almost certain that's where I discovered Jill Shalvis's writing.

In Almost Just Friends, Piper raised her siblings, works in EMS, and is fixing up the Victorian lake house and nearby cabins they own in preparation for selling. Her plan is to split the proceeds, go back to school to become a physician's assistant, and help her sister pay for college and her brother get a nice place of his own.

Then, all of a sudden, things change. During a massive storm, Piper goes to check on her diabetic neighbor and meets his handsome son, Camden. Piper is a little stunned to find herself attracted to Cam. Then, both her brother and sister, Gavin and Winnie, return home to stay. But, everyone has a secret and nobody wants to let Piper know what's going on. So, while her younger siblings are trying to work out what's next for them and the handsome neighbor is keeping at least one of their secrets, Piper begins to realize that maybe she has some work to do on communicating with her family, especially when it turns out they don't want to sell out the property at all.

I had some issues with Almost Just Friends, the main one being Camden's job. I couldn't make heads or tails of his combination of jobs. He's in the Coast Guard but he also gets called away on active duty for something-or-other. Or, maybe he gets called out on Coast Guard missions that are dangerous? It just confused me. I would have been happier if Camden had just had a normal job in the Coast Guard instead of the two conflicting things. I kept puzzling over how on earth the things he did worked together and whether they even made sense. At some point, I decided to try not to think too hard about what Camden even did for a living.

What I liked best about the story was the relationship between Piper and Camden, which quickly became one of comfort friends with benefits. They genuinely felt comfortable together and I felt like their relationship worked. I also liked the way the siblings fought. Sometimes, it was a little uncomfortably familiar, but I thought their arguments felt pretty realistic, if ridiculous.

Recommended but not a favorite - I really enjoyed Almost Just Friends, don't get me wrong, but there were little niggling things about it that bothered me – Camden's job, the timing of Winnie's issues, the pointless secrets being kept. And, at some point, it felt like the author tried to turn Piper's trauma into something similar for Camden. In other words, I felt like the story was uneven. But, I liked the romance and wanted the couple to get together. So, while Almost Just Friends is not my favorite book by Jill Shalvis, I still enjoyed it enough that I'd read more by her.

I received my copy of Almost Just Friends from HarperCollins for review. Thank you! Almost Just Friends is the 4th book in the Wildstone series but I have not read any of the other books and it stood alone just fine. So, if you're interested in the storyline, don't worry about the fact that it's a series book.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Monday Malarkey

Recent arrivals (top to bottom):

• Strange Planet by Nathan W. Pyle and 
• Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston - both purchased with gift card
• Rediscover Jesus by Matthew Kelly - unsolicited with note from author
• Promised by Leah Garriott - Sent by Shadow Mountain for Austenprose tour
• The Oatmeal: Why My Cat Is More Impressive Than Your Baby by Matthew Inman - Sent by Friend 
• The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James - from Berkley for tour

OK, first things first. Strange Planet and Red, White and Royal Blue, the books purchased with a gift card, and the book from a friend, Why My Cat Is More Impressive Than Your Baby, all came from Alyce of At Home With Books (no longer an active blog but still listed in my sidebar because I choose to maintain a thread of hope that one day she'll return). She sent me the book and gift card because she knew I needed an upper and then recommended Red, White, etc. because it made her laugh. Thanks, Alyce! I cannot even begin to tell you how much the two I've read have already cheered me.

I don't know anything at all about either the author of Rediscover Jesus or the publishing company. I'll give it a go and see if it works for me but I don't know if I'll read it in its entirety. Promised is one I almost passed up but then I kept coming back to the description and thought it sounded so fun that I gave in. And, The Sun Down Motel is everywhere! The buzz, the reviews, the gushy love it has gotten are the kind of things that tend to put me off but I loved the last book I read by St. James and I'm looking forward to it. I'll probably read that very soon. My tour date is the 19th of this month, so you won't get to read my thoughts till then.


Books finished since last Malarkey:

• The Oatmeal: Why My Cat Is More Impressive Than Your Baby by Matthew Inman 
• Dragonshadow (Heartstone #2) by Elle Katharine White
• Strange Planet by Nathan W. Pyle

I really have never paid attention to "The Oatmeal", so I wasn't sure what to expect but while Why My Cat Is More Impressive Than Your Baby can be massively gross, there were plenty of cartoons that brought a smile to my face and a few that made me laugh out loud. Just what I needed. Strange Planet's artist is a fellow I've been following on just about every platform you can think of since I saw the cartoon with the little alien holding out a cat and saying, "The creature is vibrating," or something of that nature. I'd already happened across Pyle on Twitter and followed him, but for some reason (um . . . catlover, maybe?) that was the cartoon that made me a fan. I've been wanting to get his book for a while but had decided I'm done buying books. So, Strange Planet made it into my cart with ninja speed and efficiency when Alyce sent that card.

And, Dragonshadow was just as fun as the first Heartstone book, maybe better. In the first book, there are dances and other social interaction that mimic Pride and Prejudice, while Dragonshadow focuses on the adventure and mystery of what's killing people and other creatures and whether or not it's a bad idea for Aliza to tag along with her Rider husband on a job that involves flying over dangerous country on a dragon. I'm hoping to read the third book within the next two weeks.


Currently reading:

• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
• The World of Sanditon by Sara Sheridan

I know I said I wasn't going to make American Dirt a priority, but things changed. A friend whose father was Mexican is the person whose thoughts I'm most interested in and the library queue for the book is long. So, I offered her mine and decided to read it as soon as possible so I can send it on. I wasn't sure whether or not I'd review it but actually . . . I have things to say and I don't think my perspective is necessarily harmful so much as lacking in the ability to view it in the same way as an #ownvoices reviewer (someone who really knows the subject, the language, the place, the correct social structure/interaction, etc.). I can only review it from the perspective of an average reader. And, there are things to say.


Posts since last Malarkey:

• Listen to the Wind and The Spirit of Fire by Susanne Dunlap (book reviews)
• Books Read in 2019 (a list of everything I read with links to reviews or brief comments) 
• Under the Jaguar Sun by Italo Calvino, Virus on Orbis 1: The Softwire by P. J. Haarsma, and If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura (mini book reviews)
• Fiona Friday - Up? Maybe? (cat photos)

Busy week for posting.


In other news:


We watched a couple episodes of 800 Words, a couple of All Creatures Great and Small but I don't recall watching any movies at all. I just haven't felt like watching TV much, lately. If I do, it's all comfort programming – mostly older movies I've seen before. Wait, I did watch one old romantic comedy!

I think it was from about the year 2000? It doesn't feel 20 years old and yet . . . at the same time, it does. For those who haven't seen it, Return to Me is about a young woman who receives a heart transplant from a car accident victim, then falls in love with the heart donor's widower. It made me sob a couple times, but mostly happy tears.

It's February and I haven't mentioned favorite books from 2019, although I sort of planned ahead for that. I just noticed one of my favorites is not in the favorites pile. In 2019, I set aside my favorite books after finishing them but didn't start doing so till at least a couple months had gone by, as I recall. It won't be complete and it might be a little weird and indecisive because . . .  well, you know how some books you adore end up not sticking with you and some you didn't do the opposite? I may have to go over that favorites list to decide if I really have 10 favorites or I'm just such a mess that I should skip it. Opinions are welcome. I mean, I know everyone else photographed their piles in December. I just can't talk myself into writing up an end-of-month/year list or photographing favorites till the month or year is absolutely over -- as in, I'll literally wait till midnight to see if I finish One Last Book. Should I bother trying to pick my Top 10 from 2019? Too late?


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Fiona Friday - Up? Maybe?

Fiona's only 10 years old but she's been struggling to jump up onto the bed, lately, so I cleared off a set of wooden steps I've been using for nothing more than piling books and set them by the bed. Sometimes, she can't make up her mind whether to get up on the bed or not, but she's definitely enjoying her steps. If she decides not to go ahead and get on the bed, she'll climb on the top step and ponder . . . or stare at her sister.

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Mini reviews - Under the Jaguar Sun by Italo Calvino, Virus on Orbis 1: The Softwire by P. J. Haarsma, and If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura

I'm going to keep writing mini reviews where appropriate, although I'm closing in on catching up on reviews, finally! It's only taken me nearly a month. That's what you get for taking time off, I guess.

Under the Jaguar Sun by Italo Calvino was my first finished book in 2020. A slim read, it contains three short stories, each based on one of the senses. It was meant to contain stories about all of the senses, plus a frame, but not completed before the author died. Under the Jaguar Sun is my first completed Calvino. Oddly, I was loving If on a Winter's Night a Traveler when I was in the midst of it, a couple years back (and I get what he means by a "frame" from that). I'm guessing I had some ARC commitments that got in the way, at the time.

The first of the stories is about the sense of taste and it's a story in which a couple travels around Mexico, trying new dishes, seeing new sights. At some point, the wife begins to wonder aloud what happened to the hearts of those who were sacrificed. The implication is that she knows and is both appalled and intrigued.

Calvino strikes me as a real writer's writer. Such deft use of language! Because there are only three stories about the senses, the book is far from complete. It's still well worth the read, though.

Recommended - Sometimes lovely, occasionally revolting, often humorous, always skillful. Under the Jaguar Sun made me want to read more Calvino.

I downloaded Virus on Orbis 1: The Softwire for free and then heard Nathan Fillion recommended the series and downloaded a couple more. That was ages ago and what finally got me to read an actual e-book (an e-book!!! — if you read my blog regularly, you know I have a problem with them) was a middle-of-the-night wake-up and not wanting to disturb the spouse or get out of bed to go to the reading chair. It was a cold morning.

JT has a special talent. He can talk to the computer on the ship that's taking children to Orbis 1, a settlement on rings near a black hole. The adults are gone, killed by a problem with the pods that were intended to keep them from aging while the ship traveled to its destination, and the computer has raised and trained the children. Only JT can speak to Mother (the computer) without using a keypad.

When the children arrive at Orbis 1, they're distributed amongst the creatures (much like in the Star Wars café, there's quite a variety of aliens) to be used as labor. JT and his sister end up together, but JT is quickly identified as a "softwire" who can talk to and even enter a computer using only his mind. With problems frequently plaguing the Orbis 1 computer system, JT is blamed. But, JT knows there's something inside the computer. And, he must solve the problem quickly because his life is in danger as long as he's being blamed.

Neither recommended or not recommended - I might have abandoned this book (a middle reader, I presume) if not for Fillion's recommendation and the fact that I really wanted to know how JT would solve the problem with the computer. There's just a bit too much world building, if that makes sense. It's so far out there that I felt a little exhausted by it. But, the final third to half of the book is full of pulse-pounding action and that was enough to make me think, "Hmm, I will definitely read on." I probably won't get around to the second in the series until another dark, cold night in which I don't want to turn the light on, but I will definitely read on.

If Cats Disappeared from the World was my choice for #JanuaryinJapan (or is it #JapaninJanuary?) and, of course, the word "cat" in the title gave it first priority. The Japanese do love their cats, as do I.

The plot of If Cats Disappeared from the World felt a little familiar to me. A Japanese man with a cat finds out he's dying. What will happen? But, in this case, when the protagonist finds out that he's dying, he makes a deal with the devil. Each day, he can choose to have something removed from the world. Once the item is taken away, he gets a single day more of life. But, is there a line in the sand? If so, what is the hero unwilling to let the world do without?

Recommended but not a favorite - I thought the storyline was a little simplistic and predictable, a little schmaltzy, but I enjoyed it anyway. I think I might have liked it a little bit better if the hero had been rounded out a little better and if he'd had to consider a variety of items to possibly remove and choose from them. Instead, as I recall, he chooses the first thing that disappears from the world but then the devil makes the choice, after that. And, each of those choices becomes more difficult as they have some meaning to the hero.

Of these three books, none were favorites but I'd have to choose Under the Jaguar Sun as the best written and the one book whose author I most want to read again.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Books Read in 2019

2019 Reads (click on links to read reviews; some may be just a few sentences within a post)

January

1. Ten Kisses to Scandal - Vivienne Lorret
2. Friday Black (short stories) - Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
3. Tomorrow is Waiting - Kiley Frank and Aaron Meshon
4. Vivian Maier: The Color Work - Colin Westerbeck, Vivian Maier (contributor)
5. Splinterlands - John Feffer
6. Fighting Fascism: How to Struggle and How to Win by Clara Zetkin, ed. by M. Taber and J. Riddell
7. Soon: What Science, Philosophy, Religion, and History Teach Us about the Surprising Power of Procrastination - Andrew Santella
8. 13 Things Mentally Strong Women Don't Do - Amy Morin
9. The Gown - Jennifer Robson
10. Time is the Longest Distance - Janet Clare
11. Freefall - Jessica Barry
12. Howard's End - E. M. Forster
13. Kivalina: A Climate Change Story - Christine Shearer
14. Thunder Pug - Kim Norman and Keika Yamaguchi
15. A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks - Alice Faye Duncan and Xia Gordon
16. Mirabel's Missing Valentines - Janet Lawler and Olivia Chin Mueller
17. Fire and Forget - Ed. by Roy Scranton and Matt Gallagher
18. Old Baggage - Lissa Evans
19. Alpine Ballad - Vasil Bykau, translated by Mikalai Khilo

February

20. Franny and Zooey - J. D. Salinger
21. The Book of Strange New Things - Michel Faber
22. Hedy Lamarr's Double Life - Laurie Wallmark and Katy Wu
23. Late in the Day - Tessa Hadley
24. The Girls at 17 Swann Street - Yara Zgheib
25. The Feed - Nick Clark Windo
26. As Summers Die - Winston Groom
27. Devil's Daughter - Lisa Kleypas
28. The Threat - Andrew McCabe
29. Learning to See - Elise Hooper

March

30. Lady Derring Takes a Lover - Julie Anne Long
31. Beast Rider - Tony Johnston and Maria Elena Fontenot de Rhoads
32. Operation Frog Effect by Sarah Scheerger and Gina Perry
33. A Dangerous Collaboration - Deanna Raybourn
34. The Last Year of the War - Susan Meissner
35. The Manic Pixie Dream Boy Improvement Project - Lenore Applehans
36. When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree - Jamie L. B. Deenihan
37. A Little Chicken - Tammi Sauer
38. Just Read - Lori Degman and Victoria Tentler-Krylov
39. Some Days - Karen Kaufman-Orloff and Ziyue Chen
40. Holy Squawkamole! - Susan Wood and Laura Gonzalez
41. The Binding - Bridget Collins
42. Growing Season - Maryann Cocca-Leffler
43. What Happened - Hillary Rodham Clinton
44. The Awakening - Kate Chopin

April

45. My Coney Island Baby - Billy O'Callaghan
46. The Girl He Used to Know - Tracey Garvis Graves
47. Flubby is Not a Good Pet - J. E. Morris
48. Flubby Will Not Play with That - J. E. Morris
49. Anything But a Duke - Christy Carlyle
50. Molly Mischief: My Perfect Pet - Adam Hargreaves
51. Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat #1 - J. Marciano, E. Chenoweth, and R. Mommaerts
52. Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat #2: Enemies - J. Marciano, E. Chenoweth, and R. Mommaerts
53. Forbidden Area - Pat Frank
54. The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters - Balli Kaur Jaswal
55. No Flying in the House - Betty Brock
56. Far Flung - Cassandra Kircher
57. On Democracy - E. B. White

May

58. Summer of a Thousand Pies - Margaret Dilloway
59. The Free Speech Century - Bollinger and Stone
60. There's Only One You - Kathryn Heling, Deborah Hembrook, and Rosie Butcher
61. Koala is Not a Bear - Kristin L. Gray and Rachel McAlister
62. Slinky Malinki's Cat Tales - Lynley Dodd
63. Pinky Got Out! - Michael Portis and Lori Richmond
64. The Size of the Truth - Andrew Smith
65. Butterflies on the First Day of School - Annie Silvestro and Dream Chen
66. If You Had Your Birthday Party on the Moon - Joyce Lapin and Simona Ceccarelli
67. Wunderland - Jennifer Cody Epstein
68. Shred Girls #1: Lindsay's Joyride - Molly Hurford
69. Rules for Visiting - Jessica Francis Kane
70. Oi Frog! - Kes Gray and Jim Field
71. If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home - Tim O'Brien

June

72. Finding Orion - John David Anderson
73. Cat Poems - various authors
74. Things You Save in a Fire - Katherine Center
75. Good Omens - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
76. Map of the Heart - Susan Wiggs
77. Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune - Roselle Lim
78. Say No to the Duke - Eloisa James
79. Bad Order - B. B. Ullman
80. How Not to Die Alone - Richard Roper
81. Extreme Ownership - Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

July

82. The Unspeakable Mind - Shaili Jain, M.D.
83. The Haunting of Henry Davis - Kathryn Siebel
84. Strange Weather in Tokyo - Hiromi Kawakami
85. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill - Abbi Waxman
86. The Confusion of Languages - Siobhan Fallon
87. The Tattooist of Auschwitz - Heather Morris
88. Searching for Sylvie Lee - Jean Kwok
89. Never Have I Ever - Joshilyn Jackson
90. Layover - David Bell
91. Meet Me in Monaco - Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

August

92. Storm Blown - Nick Courage
93. Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour, an Introduction - J. D. Salinger
94. Rosie Colored Glasses - Brianna Wolfson
95. The Mueller Report: The Washington Post edition
      Quotes: Part 1
      Part 2: Quotes and Commentary 
      Part 3: Mostly Quotes
      Part 4: Final Quotes, Commentary, and Wrap-Up 
96. Normal People - Sally Rooney
97. Harry's Trees - Jon Cohen
98. The Passengers - John Marrs
99. The Rogue to Ruin - Vivienne Lorret
100. In Pain - Travis Rieder
101. The Beekeeper of Aleppo - Christy Lefteri

September

102. Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus - Dusti Bowling
103. Heart-Shaped Box - Joe Hill
104. Invisible as Air - Zoe Fishman
105. The Rent Collector - Camron Wright
106. Collage and Construction - Harvey Weiss
107. After the Flood - Kassandra Montag
108. No Judgments - Meg Cabot
109. The Nanny - Gilly Macmillan
110. When the Marquess Was Mine - Caroline Linden
111. The House on Tradd Street - Karen White

October

112. Cilka's Journey - Heather Morris
113. The End of Something Wonderful - Stephanie Lucianovic and George Ermos
114. Moldilocks and the Three Scares - Lynne Marie and David Rodriguez Lorenzo
115. The Many Colors of Harpreet Singh - Supriya Kelkar and Alea Marley with Simran Jeet Singh
116. Summary of the Mueller Report - Thomas E. Patterson
****I Guess I'll Write It Down (journal) by Beth Evans
117. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest - Charles de Lint and Charles Vess
118. Earth to Charlie - Justin Olson
119. Where the Angels Lived - Margaret McMullan
120. 25 Days 'Til Christmas - Poppy Alexander
121. The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street - Karen White

November

122. Dead Voices - Katherine Arden
123. Vox - Christina Dalcher
124. Small Spaces - Katherine Arden
125. Creatures - Crissy Van Meter
126. The Lost Man - Jane Harper
127. The Same Sky - Amanda Eyre Ward
128. The Last Light Breaking - Nick Jans
129. Island of Sweet Pies and Soldiers - Sara Ackerman
130. Here and Now and Then - Mike Chen
131. Angel in a Devil's Arms - Julie Anne Long
132. In Another Time - Jillian Cantor

December

133. Listen to the Wind - Susanne Dunlap
134. The Round House - Louise Erdrich
135. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford
136. Her Other Secret - Helenkay Dimon
137. Christmas Camp - Karen Schaler
138. The Spirit of Fire - Susanne Dunlap
139. They Were Sisters - Dorothy Whipple
140. Heartstone - Elle Katharine White

©2019 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Listen to the Wind and The Spirit of Fire by Susanne Dunlap

I've opted to combine these two books into a single review because they're the first and second in a series and this will be my last review of books read in 2019. Woot-woot!

Listen to the Wind is Book I in The Orphans of Tolosa, a historical fiction series that takes place in the 13th century in an area that's in flux, part of it being taken over by the French, part Spanish, part I don't know what. Where one's allegiance falls can mean life or death at any time.

Azelaïs and Azemar are orphans who look out for each other during the dangerous Inquisition that's taking place during this time period. There's a small but powerful group that considers themselves the only real Christians and everyone else is a heretic. Anyone can pretty much be branded a heretic at any time. When the two children and the other orphans with them must split up to avoid capture, Azelaïs and Azemar vow to meet in a nearby town. Years pass and they don't make it to the town because they're too busy surviving and learning, but neither forgets.

I don't want to give too much away, but Azelaïs (the female of the two) ends up with a nearly-blind monk, working as his eyes and pretending to be a boy. The monk teaches her about herbs, among other things, until something happens and she must run. Then, an entirely new life begins and eventually she is forced to do something to protect the woman who has taken her in from a life she doesn't want to lead.

Azemar is male and he goes on a very different path, at first learning about the workings of a winery from the field and then from a different angle. And, soooo much happens. No matter where they go or what they do, there is danger at every turn. Listen to the Wind was a 5-star read for me and I loved it so much that I got online to look for the follow-up book, immediately. At the time, it hadn't been released and I posted a mournful comment on Facebook. Susanne Dunlap replied that the second book, The Spirit of Fire, was due to be released in a week, so I pre-ordered it and got to it as soon as I could.

The Spirit of Fire, the second in The Orphans of Tolosa series, is every bit as fabulous as the first book about Azelaïs and Azemar.

Because the ending of the first book folds right into the beginning of the second, I feel like saying almost anything at all would spoil the story but it's adventurous, educational, heartbreaking, and hopeful. I felt utterly transported, so the horror of what happened at Montsegur (this being the focal point of the book, based on actual events in the 13th century) is painfully vivid. But the lovely ending is doubly satisfying after what the two main characters survive and witness.

Both highly recommended - Listen to the Wind is an action-packed, plot-driven tale of how two children survive and grow, find help, learn important skills, and fight danger while trying to figure out how to reunite in the dangerous Middle Ages. The Spirit of Fire takes the hero and heroine on a journey together . . . but then they're separated and . . . well, anyway, I did say I don't want to say too much. Suffice it to say that these two books are so incredible that I can hardly stand the thought that anyone might miss out on them. If you're a fan of well-researched, informative, adventurous historical fiction, these two books are absolutely not to be missed.

The third in The Orphans of Tolosa series is going to be a prequel. When I first heard that, I thought, "Oh, bummer, I'd like to see what happens to Azelaïs and Azemar. And, then I sat back, pondered, and came to the conclusion that The Spirit of Fire was actually a perfect ending for them and a prequel will nicely fill in the blanks about how the two orphans came to be abandoned and became friends.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Monday Malarkey

Apologies for the terrible picture. I don't feel like taking another, so it is what it is. I tried to brighten it up a bit.

Recent arrivals (top to bottom):

• The Puzzler's War by Eyal Kless - from HarperVoyager for review (unsolicited)
• The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey - from Putnam for review
• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins - purchased; pre-ordered in 2019
• The Antidote for Everything by Kimmery Martin - from Berkley for review
• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid - purchased

I mentioned the fact that I pre-ordered American Dirt because of the controversy. It's an uncomfortable irony that the book arrived literally on the day that numerous posts were made about the book's problems and a recommended-instead reading pile image passed around. Will I still read it? I plan to, yes. I already paid for it, after all, but when I get to it I'll watch for the harmful stereotypes described in various articles about the book. And, if I have the time, I'll read the two books that I have from that recommended list, first. I'm not in any hurry to read American Dirt, now. When I bought the book, it sounded like exactly what I was looking for but I would have avoided it if I'd seen what the author had to say.


Books finished since last Malarkey:

• If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura

And, I had one DNF, this week: A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler. I got to page 137 (a little more than halfway, I think). I've heard a ton of positive buzz about this book and I know people who have already enjoyed it, so I recommend getting other opinions if you're thinking about reading it. It has a 4.05 rating at Goodreads, so you can see that my opinion differs from the average.  

Had I finished A Good Neighborhood, I was leaning toward about a 3. It's not a bad book, in my opinion, and there's a strength to the author's writing. But, I thought the characters felt a bit one-dimensional and unreal. And, I didn't like the point of view. The story is narrated by a generic set of neighbors. "We thought she was kind but a little eccentric," is an example of the writing style. The author will start a chapter that way and then smoothly alter the way the sentences are written, so that it doesn't feel like you're listening to the neighbors, anymore. Then, the next chapter or a section within a chapter will revert to the generic "we", again. At any rate, I didn't like the type of narration at all. But, it was mostly feeling like the characters were too carefully crafted, to the point of almost being caricatures, and the fact that I just wasn't enjoying the read that made me finally decide to abandon it. 

Currently reading:

• The World of Sanditon by Sara Sheridan 
• Dragonshadow (Heartstone #2) by Elle Katharine White

I read a little of The World of Sanditon, this week, but not a great deal. I figure it doesn't hurt to stretch this one out and enjoy it while I'm watching the series. It's loaded with beautiful photographs and info about the time period. There are fewer photos from the actual series than from Regency England but they're gorgeous. My only problem with the book, so far, is that the photos are not labeled. I really dislike unlabeled photographs. Tell me what I'm looking at! Even if it's obvious that I'm seeing a cricket scene, I want to know the names of the actors and their roles (left to right, if you please). Otherwise, I am absolutely loving it. 

Is anyone else watching Sanditon? I'm curious what others think. I've only seen one comment (and it was by someone I didn't know, on Facebook, so I chose not to respond). The other viewer thought it was a bit "too modern". I've noticed the modern music, of course, but I actually like the shift to males who are enterprising, rather than just gentlemen with huge estates. 

I just began reading Dragonshadow yesterday. I abandoned A Good Neighborhood on Saturday night and didn't start anything else that evening, but I knew Dragonshadow would be next. And, I am loving it. I've only read about 40 pages but it's everything I hoped for in a sequel, so far. 

Posts since last Malarkey:

• Heartstone (Heartstone #1) by Elle Katharine White  (book review)
• Fiona Friday - Hello, Izzy (cat photo) 

Not a big reading week, again. I think I may have to face the fact that this is not going to be a great reading year, at least for a few months. We shall see. I'll keep trying my best. I haven't heard from any of the publicists who contacted me about children's books, in the past, and I desperately miss reading and reviewing children's books, but I'm not planning to reach out to them, at this point. Maybe I'll pull some of the old favorites I kept for when grandchildren visit out and reread them, just for fun. 

In other news:

I did a lot of restless channel-flipping, this week, and the only thing I managed to actually watch was The Royal. Unfortunately, I was in a terribly blue mood on the day I watched two episodes of the program. Two of the characters were cruelly killed off together and they were characters I really liked. Actually, they did great casting on that show so I pretty much like all of the main cast members, although they often brought in one who was awful and then softened. That's when they killed them off or shipped them away, after they'd been suitably tortured. Anyway, wrong day to watch two people get trapped and blown up. So, I haven't talked myself into returning to that.

I decided to move on to comfort programming — movies I've already seen and know I love, or mini series. I started watching Brideshead Revisited (the 80s version with Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews, who I heard left acting after marrying an heiress). I'm not sure if I'll continue. I was enjoying it, and it's fun reminiscing because I've been to Oxford, England and seen some of the sites where they filmed. But, the episodes are looooong and I'm fidgety. I also started watching but didn't finish The Great Escape, one of my all-time favorite movies. I will definitely finish that but older movies were longer so I stopped watching that for the exact same reason. I was getting fidgety and wanted to get up. I haven't seen The Great Escape in so many years that I've read the book in between viewings and know that it's quite different. The movie definitely took an interesting story that is fairly dull and technical and made it entertaining.

Hit me up with any and all recommendations for funny TV or movies. I need to keep it upbeat, right now.



©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Fiona Friday - Hello, Izzy

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Heartstone by Elle Katharine White

In Heartstone by Elle Katharine White, the first in a fantasy series, Aliza Bentaine and her family live in Merybourne Manor on the island of Arle. The area has been plagued by invading gryphons and Aliza herself has lost a sister to them. When the people of the manor hire a band of Riders to hunt down the gryphon horde, Aliza is both relieved and intrigued.

But, when the Riders arrive, Aliza's first encounter is not a positive one. She meets Alastair Daired, a dragonrider with a bad attitude. He's arrogant, handsome, and haunted. And, none too fond of her hobgoblin friends. Yet, they're thrown together in unexpected ways and gradually their opinions of each other change. What will happen when Aliza finds out Alastair may be the reason her beloved sister is heartbroken?

I don't want to go into too much detail because it's far too fun reading the unfolding story, but Heartstone is basically Pride and Prejudice with dragons. And, yet . . . there are times it's all about the social interaction but because it's also a fantasy with fierce battles between monsters and humans (there are some creatures that are friendly with humans, but most seem to prefer eating them or fighting with them), Heartstone is far than just P & P with dragons thrown in. It's a lively blend of action, adventure, and quieter scenes.

While I was reading Heartstone, I discovered that the author has posted lots of material about the creatures of her world online. That was incredibly helpful. I'm not a gamer or a big fantasy reader, so while reading about things like wyverns and beoryns, at first I had no idea whether they were something the author created or creatures that exist in other fantasy worlds. In the process of looking up things I was unfamiliar with, I discovered that some of the creatures are borrowed from the gaming world, some more common. So, gamers and fantasy lovers will likely already be familiar with most of the non-humans in the book. And, if you're neither, you can easily look them up online.

Recommended - I particularly loved two things about Heartstone: the fun of recognizing elements of Pride and Prejudice then seeing how the author put her own fantasy spin on them, making the story very much her own, and the adventurous side of the book. The farther you get into it, the more thrilling it becomes. For a person who generally has trouble reading fantasy, Heartstone was a pleasant surprise. I hope to read the 2nd book very soon.

Side note: Kiddo (younger son) has been intrigued by the sound of this series from Day 1, when the 3rd book arrived in the mail, and is anxious for me to finish the series so that he and his wife can read them. I always love it when he reads something I read because we enjoy talking books, so I'm also anxious to finish the series and pass it on to him. I can't wait to discuss the books with my son.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Monday Malarkey

Recent arrivals (top to bottom - click on image to enlarge):

• The Book of Sleep by Nicole Moshfegh, PsyD
• To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
• Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
• A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen

All of these were purchases. The Book of Sleep is the third and last book I bought during a bout of insomnia. Fingers crossed it will offer some sage advice. To All the Boys I've Loved Before was bought on a whim at Sam's. I've seen a lot of people gushing about Jenny Han's books, so the idea of buying or checking out one of her books has been lingering in the back of my head and I was happy to find one at a reasonable price. Swann's Way is a book I've wanted to buy for eons but it was author Alex George's endorsement of this particular translation that convinced me to go for it. And, A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen is a book I pre-ordered within 24 hours of closing his previous book, Here and Now and Then. 

Books finished since last Malarkey:

• Virus on Orbis 1: The Softwire by P. J. Haarsma
• A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen
• Almost Just Friends by Jill Shalvis

Virus on Orbis 1: The Softwire is an e-book! I read an e-book! Regular readers of my blog will know that I'm not a fan of reading electronically. I opened it up during a night that I couldn't sleep. It was 2:30 in the morning and I didn't want to turn the light on, so I looked for something easy to read in my Kindle app (I still do not own a Kindle and never have — the app is on my iPad). I think it's middle grade but I'm not certain. Reading the e-book didn't disturb my husband but I eventually got sick of reading in bed and went to the living room. I don't think I ever did manage to get to sleep, that night. I started reading A Beginning at the End practically the moment it showed up. And, Almost Just Friends is a book I'm scheduled to tour in February. Trying to get a jump on things, here.


Currently reading:

• The World of Sanditon by Sara Sheridan 

I'm not going to continue putting my workbook on insomnia in the current reads because I don't always think to pick it up and it will likely take me more than a month to read (in spite of the fact that it's a 1-month program). But, it will show up in my finished books when I'm done. I just finished Almost Just Friends, this morning, so I haven't chosen my next read, yet, but I'll start a fiction title, tonight. 

Posts since last Malarkey:

• Mini reviews - In Another Time by Jillian Cantor, The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich, and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (book reviews)
• Mini reviews - They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple, Christmas Camp by Karen Schaler, and Her Other Secret by Helenkay Dimon (book reviews)
• Fiona Friday - Squeesh (cat photo) 

In other news:

Last week was a super busy week. I'm a homebody but I had errands and appointments and lunch with a friend, so I was out of the house more than normal. Hopefully, this week will be a tiny bit calmer.

In TV news, the regular series shows have returned, so I watched NCIS and about half of Chicago Fire. During Chicago Fire, I got a call from one of my sons. He's more important than TV so I missed the second half. I also missed Doctor Who, yesterday, but it will be available for streaming so that's no big deal. I did manage to tune in for Sanditon. Having read the book is both good and bad. I know exactly what's going to happen but it is definitely fascinating seeing it acted out, getting a glimpse of how well a terrific actor can show what she's thinking via expression and movement. It's very well cast, in my humble opinion. We didn't watch any movies. I really wasn't in the mood for TV, most of the week, although I was excited to get back to watching NCIS and I thought it was an especially intriguing episode.

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Fiona Friday - Squeeesh

Comfy there, Fi?

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Mini reviews - They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple, Christmas Camp by Karen Schaler, and Her Other Secret by Helenkay Dimon

They Were Sisters is my first read by Dorothy Whipple, although I have several of her books because they come so highly recommended.

Just as it sounds, They Were Sisters is the story of three sisters, how their lives are shaped by the choices they make (particularly the choice of a spouse), and how the eldest is always the stabilizing force.

I don't know what I expected from a book by Dorothy Whipple but I confess I was a little surprised to find that the book was a bit of a soap opera and yet, in spite of the ups and downs of the characters, there was also something immensely soothing about the fact that Lucy's steadiness, her husband's sense of humor and the fact that they're so perfect for each other, and their idyllic cottage on a larger estate serves as a wonderful anchor for not only the characters but the story itself.

I also found it quite interesting that the males in the family are barely even mentioned. It's a story about women and the men in their immediate circle but Whipple isn't diverted by the larger family unit so much as they are satellites that orbit the women; the women are always at the forefront. In fact, you get the impression that travel was such a hardship at the time it was written that you could say goodbye to a brother who went off to seek his fortune and never see him again, at all, so why mention them once they're out of the picture?

Highly recommended - A fascinating story of the lives of three sisters, how their choices in marriage and childbearing affect their lives in both the short and long term, and the sister who is always there for the other two women and their offspring, whenever they need her. Loved it!

Christmas Camp by Karen Schaler is the story of a woman who has zipped up the proverbial ladder at an advertising agency and now, still young, has got a shot at becoming a partner in the Boston firm. But, she has competition and the one thing her boss has noted that she lacks is Christmas spirit. In order to secure the important account that will clinch her partnership, Haley needs that Christmas spirit. Otherwise, her boss says, it's very unlikely that whatever ad campaign she comes up with will succeed with the company she's targeting.

The fellow she's competing with has buckets of Christmas spirit and Haley tries, but she's just too bent on business. Christmas doesn't even interest her. The boss is firm. She needs to develop some Christmas spirit and he's going to make sure of it by sending her to Christmas Camp, where she'll do normal, Christmasy things and learn about the real joy of the season. Haley is horrified but she wants that partnership, so off she goes. What she finds is a lovely house run by a widower and his handsome son Jeff, who also happens to live in Boston and who is trying to convince his father to sell the house and move near him.

Haley and Jeff get off to a rocky start but there's clearly a spark between Haley and Jeff and they have a good bit in common. Will Haley be able to stick out the entire week of camp or will she get ants in her pants and hustle back to Boston? Will she discover the joy of Christmas? And, if she does, will she come up with the perfect advertising campaign and win the job she desires?

Recommended when you're looking for a fun, romantic, seasonal read - Christmas Camp reads like a Hallmark movie and-- what do you know? --it actually is one. In fact, the movie apparently came first and then Schaler, a screenwriter, was hired to write the book. I was disappointed that I couldn't find the movie for streaming. I liked the book and I'm pretty sure I remember getting a little teary at one point. I'll keep my eye out for the movie and hope I get lucky, next Christmas season.

Her Other Secret by Helenkay Dimon was an unsolicited gift from Avon Books and it sounded intriguing, so I gave it a shot when nothing else was appealing to me. Tessa and Hansen live on Whitaker Island, an island off the coast of Washington (the state) where people go to get a fresh start or just hide out for a time. Tessa has fled a scandal; Hansen won't talk about why he's there.

Tessa and Hansen are on the beach when a mysterious stranger emerges from the water and walks into the woods . . . fully clothed. Tessa suspects something fishy is going on. And, when the man turns up dead and Hansen admits he knows him, Hansen becomes a suspect. What happened to drive Hansen to the island? Why was someone Hansen knows nearby? Who murdered the stranger? And, why can't Hansen and Tessa stay away from each other?

Well, huh, not sure what to say about his one. It didn't work for me but I don't even remember why, so I'm hesitant to give it even a verbal rating. I do remember that I found it overly wordy and confusing. In fact, I was very surprised to find that the author has so many books under her belt. Beyond that, I'm not sure what I disliked about it. I've got the follow-up book (again, sent unsolicited) and I'll give it a shot but I'm not going to stick it out if it doesn't work. However, I think the author deserves a second chance.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Mini Reviews - In Another Time by Jillian Cantor, The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich, and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

More minis! And, all of these were excellent, all from my own shelves. Although Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is an ARC, I didn't receive it from the publisher.


I just wandered around my house, looking for In Another Time in all the usual places for books I've read but not yet reviewed, and then it came to me . . . oh, I put it on the favorites pile. I loved In Another Time that much.

Hanna is Jewish; Max is not. When they fall in love in 1930s Germany, Max is worried about the growing anti-Jewish sentiment and Hitler's rising power. He wants to marry and leave the country. But, Hanna's musical education is too important to her and she's not concerned about Hitler. She thinks the Nazi party's rise is a passing phase.

In 1946, Hanna finds herself alone with no memory of the past 10 years of her life. Though she doesn't seem to know about it, the reader knows that there was a time portal in Max's bookshop. Did Max send Hanna into the portal and save her from the Nazis? If so, how did she lose her memory and what happened to Max? Why isn't he there with her?

Highly recommended - An utterly captivating and unique WWII story with a sci-fi twist. I went into the reading of In Another Time blind and was pleasantly surprised by the time travel aspect. I love a good time travel book. You don't know the truth of what happened till the end. Cantor kept me guessing all the way through the book.

The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich is a book that I bought and read at the request of a friend who wanted to hear my thoughts. I love it when that happens (a valid excuse to acquire a book I wanted to read, anyway). It's a book that was once offered to me for review but I presume I wasn't aware of how fabulous Louise Erdrich is, at the time.

When a woman is brutally raped and beaten, she is so traumatized and depressed that she can't talk about the rape and retreats to her bed. The police investigate but don't seem to be getting anywhere and her teenage son, Joe, is unwilling to accept the lack of progress.

Determined to solve the crime himself, Joe begins to investigate between biking around with his friends and working at his uncle's store.

Highly recommended - The crime is truly shocking but even more appalling is the fact that the raped woman is the wife of a judge and even he can't make sure that when a suspect is found he remains behind bars. Joe, meanwhile, is a fascinating character because he is so beautifully drawn. The story is told from his point of view and besides being very angry and confused about the crime and lack of progress by police, he's a typical teenage boy who is not a little obsessed with women and food, which took me back to the days when I had teenage boys of my own sticking their heads in the fridge all day long. I was very impressed by the authenticity of Joe's point of view.

My copy of The Roundhouse was published by Corsair, a British publisher. In the US, the publisher is HarperCollins and the cover is quite different.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is one of those WWII books that I have wanted to read for years. Why didn't I get to it, before now? I have no idea.

The story of Henry Lee, a Chinese American, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet goes back and forth between 1986 and the 1940s. In 1986, Henry finds out the Panama Hotel at the corner of Seattle's former Japantown has a basement full of luggage left there by Japanese-American citizens who were rounded up and sent to internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

In the 1940s, Henry and Keiko Okabe, a Japanese American, are outsiders at an elementary school and lovers of jazz who become fast friends. When people begin to panic after Pearl Harbor, worried that Japanese Americans will side with the Japanese, Henry's father forces him to wear a button saying he's Chinese to prevent trouble with authorities. His father dislikes Japanese people and insists that Henry stay away from Japantown. But, Henry values his friendship with Keiko and wants to help her in any way he can.

Back in 1986, Henry gets permission to search through the luggage to see if he can find a prized possession that he gave to Keiko. Henry is widowed and was happily married but he has never forgotten Keiko. Will the discovery of the luggage lead Henry to finally seek out Keiko? What drove them apart, years ago?

Highly recommended - A lovely and, yes, bittersweet story about friendship, music, racism, and the power of memories. So lovely. I didn't realize Jamie Ford is such a romantic. I expected something a little different, less sweetly touching. I'm glad I finally got around to reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and I will definitely read more by Jamie Ford.

©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.