What are you reading the week of August 13, 2022?

I didn't do much reading this week. I'm between halfway and two thirds of the way through The Invention of Russia by Arkady Ostrovsky. I'm hoping to finish it this weekend. After that, I'm going to take a bit of a break and read The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. I got into a conversation about it at work this week with the president of the company. He said, I'm surprised you haven't read it. You've read everything. :-D

Knocked off Lutzen and am currently reading A Prayer for the Crown-Shy. Horror Stories and Time Travelers Never Die will probably come next.

I'm about 60 pages from the end of the mystery Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia.

Still reading Into the Narrowdark and The Ardent Swarm.

Finished the lovely Lessons in Chemistry. Highly recommended.

The Secret, Book & Scone Society – Ellery Adams
Book on CD read by Cris Dukehart
2.5***

From the book jacket: The first in a new series set within a quirky small-town club where the key to happiness, friendship—or solving a murder—can all be found within the pages of the right book . . . Miracle Springs, North Carolina, is a place of healing. Strangers flock here hoping the natural hot springs, five-star cuisine, and renowned spa can cure their ills. If none of that works, they often find their way to Miracle Books, where, over a fresh-baked “comfort” scone from the Gingerbread House bakery, they exchange their stories with owner Nora Pennington in return for a carefully chosen book. That’s Nora’s special talent—prescribing the perfect novel to ease a person’s deepest pain and lighten their heaviest burden.

My reactions:
I really like Adams’ “Books By the Bay” mystery series and thought I’d give this one a try, though I was skeptical about the “comfort scones” and Nora’s ability to cure someone’s ills by recommending the right book.

Nora and her friends – Hester (who owns the bakery), Estella (owns the beauty salon) and June (who works at the spa pools) – form the society to read and discuss books that will help each of them get over past traumas and move forward with courage and grace. But they are immediately intrigued by the tragic death of a partner in a real estate development, and more so by the sheriff’s quick assessment that it was suicide. So, they decide to investigate.

That decision made little sense to me. They had no vested interest in the development or in this relative stranger to town. Yes, he’d spoken to Nora (who’d given him a book recommendation), and she’d referred him to the bakery so Hester could concoct one of her special comfort scones for him, but that was the extent of their involvement. Of course, once a second murder occurs, and one of their group gets arrested, they have ever reason to continue looking for clues.

By the end of the book we’ve learned each of the women’s terrible secret, and there are a couple of promising romantic relationships. But I just got the feeling that Adams was trying too hard.

Still, I did really love all the book references!

Cris Dukeheart does a good job of narrating the audio book. She has a lot of characters to interpret and she has the vocal range to differentiate them, for the most part. (I had to pay close attention when three or four women were meeting together, to be sure I understood who was speaking.)

OK, I finished Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia. It's a murder mystery with a female protagonist that takes place in New York City, and more specifically Harlem, in the 120s, during the Harlem Renaissance. Sounds great, but unfortunately it fell down for me almost entirely in the writing and execution. On the other hand, there are some positive reviews of the book here on LT, so don't go by my word alone.

Soon I will begin Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe. This was a birthday present from my wife, who really knows my reading tastes. She listened to it as an audio book and was highly impressed and so bought me a paper copy. Not pleasant subject matter, but still I can't wait to get going.

I'm continuing to enjoy a revisit with Gone With The Wind via a hoopla audio.

I just started reading The Caretakers by Amanda Bestor-Siegal for my book club.

The Creation of Eve – Lynn Cullen
4****

Based on the true, but little known, story of the first renowned female artist during the Renaissance period, this is a captivating work of historical fiction. Sofonisba Anguisola (Sofi) studied under Michelangelo, though, as a woman, she was not allowed to draw the naked figure. Still, her reputation garnered her an invitation from King Felipe II of Spain to join his court as a drawing instructor for his young bride, Elisabeth of Valois, the daughter of King Henri II of France and his wife, Catherine de’ Medici.

I knew nothing about this extraordinary woman, and only a little about the court of King Felipe II. I had not realized the extent of his empire or how very powerful he was. I also was unaware of his relationship to the infamous Don Juan.

Cullen crafts a compelling story that includes intrigue, romance, mystery, politics and the frustration felt by a woman shackled by society’s conventions. Sofi is a strong woman: intelligent, observant, loyal, talented, and determined to live her own life. Her role in the novel, however, is mostly as observer to what is going on in the court, especially in regard to Elizabeth and her flirtations with Felipe’s son, Don Carlos, and with Don Juan.

The author’s notes at the end include more information about Sofonisba herself. I want to look up all her paintings now.

Starting this historical fiction OverDrive audio ~

The Tobacco Wives: A Novel
by Adele Myers

I’m very much enjoying Anthony Marra’s latest, Mercury Pictures Presents.

>12 Copperskye: Copperskye I just heard him speak at a local indie bookstore last week. I am looking forward to reading that soon. He was lovely to listen too.

Finished The Ardent Swarm by Yamen Manai. Mostly liked it. Added The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie to my rotation.

I started The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson, it's been a long journey and I'm excited to finish Era 1 of Mistborn.

Unfriended – Rachel Vail
2.5***

With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Gabriele “Truly” Gonzalez is a smart eighth-grader who is liked by most everyone. But when she’s invited to join THE Popular kids’ table, she unthinkingly leaves her best friend behind. And the drama begins.

I found this in the YA section but it’s more middle-school than young adult, in my opinion. Vail gives each of the central kids a voice, changing narrators from chapter to chapter. Some are told as a series of text messages. All are told in first person, and I occasionally lost track of which kid was narrating: Natasha? Brooke? Jack? Clay?

Being a middle-school drama there’s the expected “mean girl” behavior and cyber bullying. But I was surprised by how one of the moms gets involved in this cyber bullying.

I did really like Truly, her mom, and her friend Jack. (I’d love to read a novel centered on him.) But I thought it took far too long to get to a positive message. Just not my cup of tea at all, though I could see why tweens might like it.

>13 momom248: Lucky you! I’d love to hear him sometime.

I finished Invisible Kingdom, a thought provoking memoir about chronic illness and the American medical system. Sometimes it felt a touch repetitious but then that's the nature of chronic illness

>10 BookConcierge: I requested this book from my library. My ancestor was Titian so I am always interested in reading about artists.

Reading The Silver Needle Murder by Laura Childs. Not a page turner but still a good read.

Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell
Audiobook read by the author.
3.5***

Subtitle: The Story of Success.

Gladwell looks at hugely successful people who are “outliers” … far out of the norm. Examples include Bill Gates and The Beatles. He tries to explain how luck, opportunity, and the right birth year or month help these people succeed. Of course, ten thousand hours of practice is also a key element. (Not that I ever wanted to be a hockey star … being a girl from south Texas, I didn’t even see a hockey game until I went to college … but apparently, I was doomed from the start because I was born in December. So, if I HAD been interested, I would probably have been better off practicing the piano more often.)

I was interested in what Gladwell had to say and found the various essays easy to absorb and understand.

Gladwell narrates the audiobook himself. I cannot imagine anyone else doing a better job. However, the audio lacks the graphic depictions (charts, or sample IQ test questions), so I was glad I had a text copy of the book for reference.

>17 Copperskye: Copperskye hopefully he will be at a venue near you.

>21 BookConcierge: ooooo, I'm off to find that one!

On audio I'm listening to Obasan by Joy Kogawa a novel about the internment of the Japanese in Canada. Being a history prof, I've already found a couple of major errors. However, it is clearly stated this is a novel based on the experience of the author. The "errors" were in making comparisons to the US internments, where the author stated as "facts" things that were or were not so.

My current tree (paper) book is The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo which is very good!

In the wings from the library is November Road by Lou Berney, a recommendation from a fellow LT'er.

>21 BookConcierge: Gladwell is one of my favorite non-fiction authors.

The Case of the Missing Books – Ian Sansom
3***

From the book jacket: Israel Armstrong is a passionate soul, lured to Ireland by the promise of an exciting new career. Alas, the job that awaits him is not quite what he had in mind. Still, Israel is not one to dwell on disappointment, as he prepares to drive a mobile library around a small, damp Irish town. After all, the scenery is lovely, the people are charming – but where are the books?

My reactions
This was an enjoyable diversion, full of quirky characters and unlikely scenarios. Israel is as far from a hero as one could imagine – rumpled, decidedly UNambitious, content to do just enough to get along. But he does manage to rise to the occasion, despite more than a few setbacks and missteps.

I’m not sure I’ll bother with reading another in the series, as I like a little more actual mystery in my cozy mysteries. But I did enjoy the references to books!

The new thread is up over here.