MAY READING

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott – Kelly O’connor McNees – This is a “what if?” story. McNees imagines what might have happened to Louisa May Alcott during the summer she was twenty-two. Did she fall in love? Might she have married instead of going on to write “little Women” and other books? It is an interesting imagining, and I really enjoyed reading more about the Alcott family and the times in which they lived. If I were rating books, this would probably get an 8/10. I did like it.

A Soft Place to Land – Susan Rebecca White – Kathryn Stockett, the author of The Help, said “Book Clubs: This is your next pick. I loved this book.” So did I. When I began it I was afraid it was going to be too fluffy, but it has depth and brings quite a bit of history of our time into play. The two sisters in the story handle their lives quite differently, but stay close in spite of their differences.

As Always, Julia – Food, Friendship & the Making of a Masterpiece – Edited by Joan Reardon. What a fascinating book! Not only interesting letters written between two friends, but politics, gossip about people of note, government postings in various foreign lands and above all publishing, and the problems encountered in getting a book in someone’s hands. I read As Always, Julia as if the letters were arriving at intervals. I kept it by my spot on the sofa where I picked it up during the days over a period of four months and a bit. Julia Child and Avis Devoto didn’t even meet for several years after they started corresponding, but became close friends and confidants as the years went by. I wish I had been able to read this when I was younger and still enjoying cooking!

The More Deceived – David Roberts – “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I wasn’t sure I was going to like this mystery because the cover seemed dated. “A murder mystery featuring Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne” – It is a very good mystery with spies and much history and historical figures from just before WWII. Lord Corinth is somewhat like Lord Peter Wimsey, but not pretending to be dim. The Spanish Civil War has a large part of the story, including the bombing of Guernica. Quite a good book.

The Tapestry of Love – Rosy Thornton – My daughter gave me this novel for my birthday this month, and I had read reviews of it in several blogs, so I dove into it right away. It is so good. This is the story of a woman leaving England to live in France in the mountains of Cevennes in her new home Les Finels – the haylofts. She meets and makes friends with her few neighbors, and starts up her business – making soft fabric covers for pillows, curtains and her real joy, needlepoint from designs in her mind’s eye. (What a talent – to be able to visualize a design and then execute it in silk thread!) Her son and her sister come to visit her, but she spends most of her time alone – and liking it. This is a very satisfying novel.

The Spice Box – Lou Jane Temple – “A historical mystery – with authentic recipes of nineteenth-century New Your City.” The time is during the Civil War. Bridget Heany, an Irish immigrant of twenty, is starting a new job as assistant cook in a very wealthy home owned by Mr. Gold. On her first day of work she discovers a body in the pantry. She and Mr. Gold set off to discover who the murderer was – and also look for Bridget’s sister who has been missing for several years. This is a simple story in many ways, but I enjoyed it – and the recipes in the back of the book might get a try-out someday.

Voices – Arnaldur Indridason – Erlendur is back with Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli to solve the next Icelandic mystery. This time it concerns the murder of “Santa Claus” – the doorman in a busy hotel in Reykjavik, who had been a boy wonder with his astounding voice - during the days leading to Christmas. Erlendur stays at the hotel, holed up in a small cold room, while the three work to discover more about the victim, and who wanted him dead. Erlendur meets a woman who gets him to talk about his solitude and why he can’t forget his brother who was lost in a blizzard. These are very low-key books, but very involving and interesting.

A Rare Interest in Corpses – Ann Granger – My friend, Kate, has introduced me to Ann Granger’s mysteries. It looks as if she found another winner. The story centers on Elizabeth Martin who has come to London as a companion to her god-father’s widow. Within hours of arriving she discovers her predecessor had eloped, but now things look as if she was actually kidnapped. Elizabeth and Inspector Ross work together to discover the person involved in the disappearance of the former companion to Aunt Parry. This is an old-fashioned “cozy” sort of mystery. Not too gory and not very suspenseful, but very readable.

This was a good month for reading. I only had one book I started and didn’t finish. The rest were all quite good. This week I decided that my bookshelves were too crowded, and I was buying duplicates because books were stacked two deep – so we bought another bookshelf for the bedroom. There are five in the room now! There are seven in the study, and one in the loft and one in the second bedroom. I hope I can read all the books some day – and even re-read a few that are favorites.

APRIL READING

APRIL BOOKS

Haunted Ground – Erin Hart – Finished 04/09/2011 – Pages 326 – The second book of Hart’s I’ve read, and the first in her series. This also tells of the finding of a bog person in Ireland and the archeology involved in discovering why the body was buried and who she was. There is the other story of a missing wife and child and the suspicion falling on her husband. Nora Gavin and Cormac Maguire are the investigators as they were in the Lake of Sorrows. These are interesting stories in that they give a lot of information about delving into the past of Ireland.

The Draining Lake – Arnaldur Indridason – Finished 04/12/2011 – Pages 312 – Another winner from Indridason. I really like his main character, Erlendur, who is such a laid back detective. He has an agenda – missing persons – as a result of losing his brother in a blizzard. A skeleton has been found in a lake bed, and the book sets about discovering the identity of the body. The Cold War and spies are a part of the story. I hope to read more of these Icelandic tales.

The Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follett – Finished 04/22/2011 – Pages 974 – Hefty good book about the building/erecting of a cathedral in Kingsbridge in the 12^th Century. The major players: Tom Builder, who designed the cathedral and built most of it; Ellen, his fey wife; Aliena, the daughter of an earl; Jack, Ellen’s son – also  a builder of the cathedral; Tom, Tom Builder’s son; Martha, Tom Builder’s daughter; Prior Philip who saved the cathedral, Ellen, Aliena and many others. The bad guys – mainly William, pretender to the earldom, and various prelates. Even Thomas Beckett appears late in the story. A “sweeping” tale of the people of different classes at different stages in their lives. Something of a bodice-ripper, but very enjoyable!

Hanna’s Daughters – Marianne Fredriksson – Finished 04/27/2011 – Pages 345 – Quite good story about three women – grandmother, mother and daughter – as they tell of their lives in Sweden. They all bear sadness, and are striving for love.  The stories unfold through a hundred years of living – from very humble and harsh beginnings up to the present with a much easier life led by the granddaughter and her daughters. 

I've started another book, but doubt I'll finish it before the end of the month. "The Pillars" was really several books, so I read more than the four titles would tell you! 

March Books

Again this month I didn't read as many books as usual. Maybe the lack of sunshine is getting to me! Here are the books I did read with a very brief review:

Live Bait - P.J. Tracy- This was a re-read for me, but as I didn't remember most of the story it was still fun. This is the third Tracy book I've read, and they are all good, amusing? mysteries. This one has elderly victims being killed for what seems to be no reason. Gino and Magozzi banter their way to solving the puzzle. The Monkeywrench group don't figure as prominently as they have in the other books.


A Dubious Legacy - Mary Wesley - An odd story about two couples who take over a country estate during the days after WWII. The characters are interesting, the humor strange and the outcome somewhat surprising. This is not your usual "weekend in the country" British novel. The women in the story are all very different, and don't always behave themselves.

Astrid and Veronika - Linda Olsson - A lovely little book about friendship. Two women - one old and one young - share their stories with each other over the period of some months, becoming very close in the process. The story is set in Sweden in a small village, and Olsson has described the country-side in beautiful detail. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Heaven is High - Kate Wilhelm - Another of Wilhelm's good tales with Barbara Holloway uncovering a plot to deport an illegal alien. Binnie is married to an American, but she escaped from a pimp in Haiti and is now living in the US. By heritage Binnie is Belizian, and Barbara spend a good bit of the book in Belize trying to uncover the reason Binnie may be deported. The parts about Belize were of interest to me because of my sister and brother-in-law's times spent in Belize helping the people of a village there.

Arms and the Women - Reginald Hill - Ellie Pascoe has two stories going. One she is writing, and one she inhabits. Both are fun. Is Ellie a target, or just in the way? Will her first novel get published and her Comfort Blanket be just that, or will it too find its way to the publishers? Lots of action.

An Incomplete Revenge -  Jacqueline Winspear - Maisie Dobbs rides again! (And wouldn't I just love to have her little car!) Gypsies, fires and mischievous actions all occurring during hop-picking season in 1931. The writing seemed a bit stilted at first, but as I read on it became more natural. Maisie uses skills that are  unusual, but she solves the mystery in the end.

Raven Black - Ann Cleeves - New-to-me author. A good mystery set in the Shetland Islands. Two deaths eight years apart seem linked to an old man. Jimmy Perez is the detective who finally solves the case. The setting is mid-winter, and I felt cold the whole time I read it! There is a twist at the end that caught me by surprise. I'll be looking for more of her books.

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky - Heidi W. Durrow - The book won the Bellwether Prize for Fiction, and is a pretty good first novel. It draws heavily on Durorow's own life, and tells the story of the daughter of an American soldier stationed in Germany who marries a Danish girl. The daughter struggles with the discovery that she is neither 'black' nor 'white', and also with the aftermath of a terrible tragedy. I found the writing a bit disjointed, but the plot was interesting.

And that was it. I have also been editing my husband's memoirs, and finished re-writing them today, so that did take up a bit of my reading time!

The Little House in the Woods

This is the home we built in 1997. We have lived here longer than any other place. Both of us have moved so often that it was wonderful to be able to stay put for a change. This picture was taken several years ago, and the trees on the left are much taller now. We've actually stayed in one place long enough to watch trees grow higher than we are! 


This summer there will be a gathering of our family again, and the house will be filled with happy talk and laughter. I wish that all the children and grandchildren could be here, but it isn't always possible, so we will be happy to have those who are able to be here. We can't put everyone up - only three bedrooms and a loft - but there are lots of places nearby where the overflow will stay - and we'll have meals here. I hope the weather will cooperate this year and we can grill frequently! This will be a celebration of Bill's 80th birthday although the actual date was last month.


Sometimes it seems as if this peripatetic society doesn't have the "home" for children to go back to, and our children were adults before this became home to us. But I hope it has now become their "home" as well.

Books Read in February

This was not such a good month for reading as I was away part of the time and not well again. I did manage to finish six, however, but spent almost a week trying to find the seventh to read. Just couldn't get into any of five books I started.

So here are the six I did read:
The Black Cat - Martha Grimes - G - A good Inspector Jury tale about the murders of three women who were escorts, three black cats and Mungo and Joey - two dogs. As usual in the Jury stories there are some humorous parts of the story, and the dogs and cats add to the humor.

 Mr. Rosenblum Dreams in English - Natasha Solomons - G - A first novel by Solomons that Lesley gave me. She has given a much better review of it than I can, but I'll give my impressions. The story concerns a Jewish refugee and his wife who have escaped from Hitler's Germany to England. He very much wants to become a real Englishman, and tries to be as British as possible. This includes the building of a golf course on a hill in Dorset because he isn't allowed into any other course. There is some humor in the story, but it has an underlying sadness too.

The Red Door - Charles Todd - G - Rutledge and Hamish set out to solve a mystery about the disappearance of a soldier after WWI. A case of double identity? Hamish is still there in Rutledge's mind, but not as obnoxious as he usually is. I like reading the books of the Todds - but wish Hamish would go away!

 Before the Frost - Henning Mankel - G - I have avoided this book for the better part of a year. Had found the Mankel books rather depressing and quite dark, but finally picked this one up. It is good - as the others have been. Kurt Wallander's daughter is following her father and becoming a police constable. She gets caught up in the disappearance of her friend Anna, and tries a bit of sleuthing before she actually begins work at the same station where her father works.

The Water's Lovely - Ruth Rendell - G - Another of Rendell's psychological mysteries. Not a thriller, but a good study of some strange characters. Unfortunately, there were few of the characters I could sympathize or empathize with - or even begin to like. Human beings are flawed and Ruth Rendell shows all their flaws and then some!

The Postmistress - Sarah Blake - VG - Such a good book, and probably why I found it hard to get into another. The story of Frankie Bard, a woman reporter in England during WWII, and the story of  the people of Franklin - on the tip of Cape Cod - who wait for their war to begin. So nice to have characters you can relate to, or at least understand and like! Not an easy book to read because of the subject matter, but one that will stay with me for a long while.

So - that was it for the month. For the most part it was easy reading, and mostly mysteries. Pure entertainment. I've finished the first book for March, and started on another. I'm also reading the letters written by Julia Child and her friend Avis DeVoto - but I'm reading the book as if the letters are arriving in the mail and the letters are long, so I only read three or four at a time. It's not my bed-reading book.

So Many Books...........

I think I will list "books read" each month with a tiny review. I'm not the writer my daughter is, so won't try to give more than a brief outline of the story - as I write it when I've finished each book. So here goes.


 Necessary as Blood - Deborah Crombie - The most recent of Crombie's books, and a good one. Kincaid and Gemma are back again - There is a missing mother, a murdered father and a sweet little girl. Gemma is very taken with the little girl - and Gemma and Kincaid are about to be married - maybe.


A Lonely Death - Charles Todd - This is the first Todd book I've read in a long time. I began to tire of Rutledge and "Hamish" after the first six books, but this was a fast read, and interesting. Someone is killing the young men in a village by garroting, and it looks as if it has something to do with their service in WWI.


Fearful Symmetry - Morag Joss - The second of her books I've read, and to me not as good as the first. This one was funny in places, but the "mystery" took a long time to develop. Sara Selkirk - the heroine of the first book - is a cellist. This story concerns a "community opera" written by an unknown composer, a composer who will remain unknown, and an unruly bunch of performers. Sara and Andrew, who is probably the least involved Detective Inspector I ever read about, are the star-crossed lovers.


A Change in Altitude - Anita Shreve - A couple living in Kenya climb Mt. Kenya. There is a tragic accident that leads to problems with the young couple. A depressing story, not helped by my reading it while down with pneumonia!


Bury Your Dead - Louise Penny - How I do love reading these books! Having lived in Quebec and recognizing some of the locations makes the stories even more interesting to me. This one weaves three threads of mystery - a terrorist plot, finding the burial place of Champlain and discovering a killer.


The Season of Second Chances - Diane Meier - A debut novel about a woman professor who decides to change her life by changing jobs - from teaching at Columbia University to teaching at Amhurst - buys a Victorian house that is a definite fixer-upper - becomes involved with various men and finds her life quite changed. A fun, quick read.


Whistling in the Dark - Lesley Kagen - Another first novel about two little girls in a very dysfunctional family in 1959. Something of a mystery, but more about growing up and discovering life. Not a comfortable read.


Up at the Villa - W. Somerset Maugham - A real change of pace. One of Maugham's well-known short novels about an English woman - a young widow - living in Florence who is trying to decide whether she should accept a proposal from a much older man. She gets into some rather terrible difficulties, and finds she needs the help of a somewhat disreputable younger man. A quick read that was recently made into a movie starring Sean Penn.


Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel - Oh my. This is a great book. Winner of the Man Booker Prize for 2009. Excellent historical novel concerning the reign of Henry VIII during the time Anne Boleyn becomes Queen. Told from the view of Thomas Cromwell. I enjoyed this long book!


The Tiger in the Smoke - Margery Allingham - Written in 1952 this Campion mystery is still intriguing, and not too dated. Campion is older in this story, not as "posh", and not the central character as he is in Allingham's earlier books. 


Silence of the Grave - Arnaldur Indridason - The second of Indridason's Icelandic mysteries I've read. Similar to the Swedish Mankel stories, but this one at least is much less violent and more character-driven. This story concerns Erlandur's daughter, a skeleton discovered in the foundation of a new house and a long-ago mysterious disappearance.


The Fugitive Wife - Peter C. Brown - Good story set in 1900 during the gold rush to Nome, Alaska. A woman fleeing her husband finds adventure, new friends and herself. The hardships of the era are detailed and interesting. The gold fever that hit in the mid-1880's and on up into the 1900's was rather amazing. Some of the characters in this story were actual people enhancing the tale.


The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver - Wow! I'm cheating a bit because this is February 1st and I just finished this wonderful book. I bought Kingsolver's latest novel back in the fall, but kept pushing it aside as I didn't enjoy her last two books very much. This one is terrific. I'm not going to tell anything about it because I think it needs to be discovered by each reader without a review or even telling a bit about what it is about. Just know that it is one of the best I've read in years.

Books

The year is almost over, and this is the first time I've kept track of all the books I've read this year. I don't know if this is my usual amount, but it does seem as if it's quite a few - 


My top favorites in the order they were read:
When Will There be Good News - Kate Atkinson
Sarah's Key - Tatiana de Rosnay
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand - Helen Simonson
South of Broad - Pat Conroy


The following books I marked VG for very good:
The Brutal Telling - Louise Penny
Booked to Die - John Dunning
Caught in the Light - Robert Goddard
The Bookwoman's Last Fling - John Dunning
Sight Unseen - Robert Goddard
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - Jamie Ford
The Eleventh Man - Ivan Doig
The Princes of Ireland - Edward Rutherfurd
Loving Frank - Nancy Horan
Work Song - Ivan Doig
Jumping the Queue - Mary Wesley
The Summer Guest - Justin Cronin
Faithful Place - Tana French
That Old Cape Magic - Richard Russo
In Pale Battalions - Robert Goddard
This Body of Death - Elizabeth George
Never Change - Elizabeth Berg
The Swan Thieves - Elizabeth Kostova
Bad Boy - Peter Robinson
Home Safe - Elizabeth Berg
Coventry - Helen Humphreys
Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese
Lake of Sorrows - Erin Hart
Plots and Errors - Jill McGown
The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag - Alan Bradley
Day After Night - Anita Diamant
When She Flew - Jennie Shortridge


These books were good reads, but not terrific:
Coastliners - Joanne Harris
One Handful of Earth - Ellie Gunn
Garden Spells - Sarah Addison Allen
Not in the Flesh - Ruth Rendell
Suspicious Origin - Patricia MacDonald
Headcase - Peter Helton
The Wood Beyond - Reginald Hill
Fete Fatale - Robert Barnard
Abide With Me - Elizabeth Strout
Who Guards a Prince - Reginald Hill
Heart and Soul - Maeve binchey
The Grave Tattoo - Val McDermid
Rose - Martin Cruz Smith 
The Sign of the Book - John Dunning
The Lost Mother - Mary McGarry Morris
Vanish - Tess Gerritsen
The Broken Shore - Peter Temple
Shanghai Girls - Lisa See
The Far Country - Nevil Shute
Down River - John Hart
Maisie Dobbs - Jacqueline Winspear
Tug of War - Barbara Cleverly
Tooth and Nail - Ian Rankin
Grasshopper - Barbara Vine
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
Messenger of Truth - Jacqueline Winspear
Long Time Coming - Robert Goddard
The Breaker - Minnette Walters
Holy Terror - Josephine Bolton
The Shadows in the Street - Susan Hill
Sacrifice - S.J. Bolton
The Rest of Her Life - Laura Moriarty
Jar City - Arnaldur Indridason
The Water Clock - Jim Kelly
Good Harbor - Anita Diamant
The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff
Scared to Live - Stephen Booth
Cold Case - Kate Wilhelm
Among the Mad - Jacqueline Winspear
The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters
The Dead of Winter - Rennie Airth
The Complaints - Ian Rankin
The Art of Racing in the Rain- Garth Stein
On the Night Plain - J. Robert Lennon
Black and Blue - Ian Rankin


I had problems with very few books - and only have one that I didn't finish. 
Lights Out Tonight - Mary Jane Clark  (this I gave an ok to - not a G for good)
Wish You Were Here - Stewart O'Nan ( D for dull)
Crooked Little Heart - Anne Lamott - (G? - not sure if it rated a G)
Found Wanting - Robert Goddard - the title says it all
The Year of the Flood - Margaret Atwood - I'm just not a fan of hers and skimmed a lot


And the one I did not finish:
Five Quarters of an Orange - Joanne Harris - I read half of the book; decided I just didn't like the main character enough to continue reading. 


So there you have it. I believe that is 84. I'll have time to read one more before the end of the year!