The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

The Big Door Prize – M.O. Walsh – 3***
My F2F book club chose this book for discussion; I knew nothing going into it and expected a charming, quirky character-driven ensemble of small-town Southern America. I got some of that, certainly, but so much more. There are some pretty heavy issues here, including unrealized dreams, peer pressure, drug abuse, and grief. There are scenes that are introspective and give the reader some insight into what these characters are thinking. Other scenes are light-hearted and break the tension. And there are very dramatic scenes that made me afraid to look, and more afraid to look away.
LINK to my full review

Finished: - 2.5*, - 5*, - 3*, - 4*

Reading:
Family History 101: A Beginner's Guide to Finding Your Ancestors - Library
Buried Magic - Kindle
This Lie Will Kill You - Library
Fiddler on the Roof - Library

To start:
Kitchen - ebook

Stay Where You Are, Then Leave – John Boyne – 3.5***
The Great War (WWI) began on Alfie Summerfield’s 5th birthday, with the result that few people attended his birthday party. That was okay … more cake for Alfie! This is a book suitable for middle-school children, but deals with some serious issues, including poverty among the families of fighting men, conscientious objectors and “shell shock” (now called PTSD). Alfie is a marvelous character. He’s curious, intelligent, a hard worker, resourceful and tenacious.
LINK to my full review

Finished: - 3*

Reading:
Family History 101: A Beginner's Guide to Finding Your Ancestors - Library
Buried Magic - Kindle
This Lie Will Kill You - Library
Kitchen - Ebook
Masquerade - Library
The Labrador Pact - Audiobook

This House Is Haunted – John Boyne – 3***
It is 1867 and Eliza Caine, whose father has just died and left her virtually penniless, responds to an advertisement for a governess position at Gaudlin Hall in Norfolk, England. In this work, Boyne focuses his considerable talent on writing a classic gothic ghost story, with a writing style that is reminiscent of Dickens and Bronte. Eliza is a great heroine. The big climax is a bit overdramatic, though typical of the genre. But the ending is downright chilling.
LINK to my full review

The Exiles – Christina Baker Kline – 3***
Historical fiction that looks at the issues of “transport” wherein women convicted of crimes were sent to Australia territories to “work off” their sentences. Kline also deals with the issues surrounding colonialist’s treatment of the indigenous population, with the story of Mathinna, the orphaned daughter of an Aboriginal chief, who is taken in by the new governor of Van Diemen’s Land (now known as Tasmania). The treatment these women endured was brutal and dehumanizing, but Kline’s characters band together to support one another and triumph.
LINK to my full review

Finished: - 4*, - 4*, - 4*, - 3*, - 4*, - 4*

Reading:
Buried Magic - Kindle
This Lie Will Kill You - Library
Kitchen - Ebook
The Labrador Pact - Audiobook
I am a Japanese Writer - Library
Rock Paper Scissors - Library
Deadly Inheritance - Library

An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good – Helene Tursten – 3***
This was a book group selection so I was expecting a fun romp of a story, and was surprised by the murder. The book is actually a series of short stories, all featuring 88-year-old Maud and her interactions with various neighbors in her apartment building. It’s a fast read with an interesting premise.
LINK to my full review

Finished: - 4*, - 3*

Reading:
This Lie Will Kill You - Library
Kitchen - Ebook
The Labrador Pact - Audiobook
Rock Paper Scissors - Library
Deadly Inheritance - Library

The World According to Bertie – Alexander McCall Smith – 3***
Book four in the 44 Scotland Street series continues the varied stories of the current (or former) residents of the apartment complex. What I love about the ensemble series is that each book gives us just a glimpse into their lives. We pick up where the last book left off, and end with many issues still unresolved. It’s the same way we encounter casual friends, catching up when we see them, but not knowing how things will turn out once we depart. And yet, happy to see them again and catch up once more.
LINK to my full review

Finished The Gates of Sleep and starting The Gates of Sleep

Finished: - 3.5*, - 4*

Reading:
This Lie Will Kill You - Library
Kitchen - Ebook
The Labrador Pact - Audiobook
The Cat Who Smelled a Rat - Library
Bluebird, Bluebird - Library
To Shield the Queen - Library

The Reading List – Sara Nisha Adams – 3.5***
A troubled teen with a summer job in the library and an aging widower who still feels lost without his wife forge an unlikely alliance based on a reading list found tucked into a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird . This is a very good debut for Adams. The characters are complex and have a variety of issues. On the surface one wouldn’t expect them to have anything in common or to be able to relate to one another at all. But Adams brings them together, first by happenstance, and slowly by shared experiences and their individuals needs for human connection.
LINK to my full review

Great Or Nothing – Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, Jessica Spotswood – 3***
This re-imagined Little Women set during World War II began when Jessica Spotswood posted a story idea she found daunting on Twitter. Her fellow authors joined with her to flesh out this story where Jo is queer and working in a factory, Amy has run away to join the Red Cross in London. With four authors, the four sisters had more equal roles than in the original work, which really focused on Jo. And, while the time frame is World War II, this is NOT a soldier’s story, but of how the women left behind dealt with their fears, and rose to the challenge of supporting those fighting overseas.
LINK to my full review

Finished: - 3*, - 3*, - 4*

Reading:
Kitchen - Ebook
The Labrador Pact - Audiobook
Bluebird, Bluebird - Library
Murphy's Law - Library
An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew - Kindle
H Is for Hawk - Library

Beautiful On the Outside – Adam Rippon – 3.5***
Memoir of Olympic medalist and self-proclaimed America’s Sweetheart Adam Rippon. Gosh this was fun! Rippon details his life growing up as the oldest of six children, and the sacrifices his mother made to help him achieve his dream of making it to the Olympics. From his childhood in Scranton, Pennsylvania to the independent Adam being too poor to eat anything but the free apples at his gym, he covers it all with grace and humor, while sharing the life lessons he learned. Rippon is more than just a pretty face (and the world’s BEST spinner), he’s also a thoughtful and assertive spokesperson for LGBTQ rights. I’ve always loved his skating, but now I love HIM even more!
LINK to my full review

Finished: - 3*, - 3*

Will finish today or tomorrow (due at library)
Bluebird, Bluebird - Library
Murphy's Law - Library

Reading:
An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew - Kindle
H Is for Hawk - Library
Aunt Bessie Believes - Audiobook
The Note - Ebook

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle – Matt Cain – 3***
A 64-year-old postman about to retire decides to make one more effort at finding his lost love. This was just delightful. My heart went out to Albert and I loved watching him bloom as he slowly made efforts to truly connect with the people on his route, and to begin searching for his lost love. Once Albert comes out of himself a bit he learns that many other people have struggles and face heartaches of their own. He learns much about compassion and friendship, and learns to open up and live rather than just exist. He certainly deserves his HEA!
LINK to my full review

Finished:
- 4*, - 4*

Reading:
An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew - Kindle
H Is for Hawk - Library
Aunt Bessie Believes - Audiobook
The Note - Ebook

The Serpent on the Crown by Elizabeth Peters

Starting: The Witch's Heart

Hey there ! My name is Nina Lovely Lehman . I am currently finishing up “ It’s Always The Husband “ by Michele Campbell.

I am reading Eye Spy

Strangers On a Train – Patricia Highsmith – 4****
Two men meet on a train, and one is an alcoholic psychopath who proposes a plan for two perfect murders that will solve all their problems. It’s a wild ride. The suspense comes from one man’s clever and persistent pursuit of the other, not just as an accomplice to murder, but as a best friend. He behaves like a love-sick boy, and his careless actions are bringing an equally determined detective closer and closer to the truth. Will they truly get away with it? If not, who will get blamed? Who will crack first?
LINK to my full review

Last Night At the Telegraph Club – Malinda Jo – 4****
I really liked this YA work of historical fiction that focuses on the Chinese-American experience during the McCarthy Red-Scare period. Lily is a typical teen of the era, but somewhat naïve. When she stumbles on a book depicting a lesbian relationship she is puzzled, intrigued and excited. Coming out in this time period was not easy and fraught with danger. Though Lily starts out naïve and unsure, she shows herself to be principled, compassionate, and willing to stand up for herself. I really appreciated the author’s note at the end which detailed the history of the era.
LINK to my full review

Book Concierge wrote: "

Strangers On a Train
– Patricia Highsmith – 4****
Two men meet on a train, and one is an alcoholic psychopath who proposes a plan for two perfect murders..."

Boy, did we have different reactions to this book! It was a 2.5* rounded up to 3* for me. I could barely get through it due to the predictable plot and not liking any of the main characters!

Reading:
An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew - Kindle
H Is for Hawk - Library
Aunt Bessie Believes - Audiobook
The Note - Ebook
The Witch's Heart - Library
The Cat Who Saved Books - Library

Unusual for me, but I have found it hard to read due to grief over the death of my dog on Tuesday.

I finished Moon Called and going back to Eye Spy

I finished Eye Spy and I am starting Dead in the Family

Finished: - 4*

Starting: Horse - library

The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket – John Boyne – 3***
Eleanor and Alistair Brocket are perfectly normal, and that is what they want. But their youngest child, Barnaby, is decidedly and obviously “different.” This is a fable and a children’s adventure story full of improbable and exciting adventures but teaching a lesson about acceptance and compassion and courage. The entire story is a lesson on tolerance.
LINK to my full review

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed – Helene Tursten – 3***
Book two in a very short series featuring nearly-90-year-old Maud and the people who irritate and annoy her and deserve what they get. This picks up where the first book left off, and the plot alternates between her current trip to South Africa and memories of past encounters, where she got even with those who crossed her. Maud’s an astute observer and prides herself on being a quick thinker. And, of course, who pays any attention to a little old lady?
LINK to my full review

Finished: - 4*, - 4*, - 4*, - 4*

Reading:
An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew - Kindle
Horse - Library
Sweep of the Heart - Ebook
The Sun Is Also a Star - Library
Aunt Bessie Assumes - Audiobook

Finished The Collector's Daughter by Gill Paul. Very interesting for those interested in Egypt and King Tut. Not a lot of archaeology but more of the personal life of Evelyn Herbert Beauchamp the daughter of Lord Carnarvon. Great read.

:
One L – Scott Turow – 3.5***
Subtitle: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School. Turow wrote this memoir just after his first year of law school, and it was published before he had graduated. I was very interested in the psychology of his experience. Turow and his fellow , all high-achievers when they arrived, were thrown into a competitive atmosphere where they felt pitted against one another, with the result that many of them began to seriously doubt themselves and became suspicious of their colleagues. The stress – both external and self-imposed – was palpable.
LINK to my full review

Finished "Dead In The Family" and starting "Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris

On Gold Mountain –Lisa See – 4****
Subtitle: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of a Chinese-American Family. This is See’s “biography” of her family, starting with her great-great-grandfather, Fong Dun Shung, who immigrated to America (“The Gold Mountain”) in 1861 as an herbalist / healer working for the railroad. In chronicling her family’s story she also explores the history of immigration policy / discrimination in the U.S., particularly in regards to those of Pan-Asian origin. Very interesting and readable.
LINK to my full review

Fox & I – Catherine Raven – 4****
Subtitle: An Uncommon Friendship. Alone in the world, and self-isolating in a cabin on a remote piece of land in Montana, Raven “befriended” a fox. I loved this memoir of finding friendship in an unexpected way, and of the healing power of connecting to nature and to another being.
LINK to my full review

I started reading I, Alex Cross

Small Wonder – Barbara Kingsolver – 3.5***
This is a series of essays Kingsolver wrote in the year following the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center. Kingsolver can come across as preachy, but she also writes elegant passages about the restorative power of connecting with nature. There’s plenty of horrible in the world still, but reading this book of essays reminds me of those things will can help relieve the terror, fear, anguish, and find joy and hope again. I read this as a book, and it’s due back at the library now, but I think this is a collection that would be good to have handy to read a chapter or two every once in a while
LINK to my full review

The Opposite of Everyone – Joshilyn Jackson – 3.5***
I really like Jackson’s books. I love her quirky Southern characters, with their colorful sayings and folk wisdom. I frequently want to shake some sense into them, and more often want to sit down with them over a few glasses of wine and just get to know them better. However improbable the many coincidences, I bought this story hook-line-and-sinker. There is more than one broken character here, but they learn to rely on one another and take steps toward healing.
LINK to my full review

This thread has reached its limit, so a shiny new thread has been started for you over here