Book Nook Cafe discussion

I have read three of the fiction titles suggested. The Shadow of the Wind--Carlos Ruiz Zafón is one i liked and Dan liked enough to read further in the series. The Ten Thousand Doors of January--Alix E. Harrow was a delightful book but rather fantastic. The Uncommon Reader--Alan Bennett was enjoyable but i preferred the mystery series, The Windsor Knot--S.J. Bennett more, even though it wasn't about books.

The Helene Hanff book about her post WWII, transatlantic book hunts by mail & ensuing correspondence, 84, Charing Cross Road, was pure joy, imo. There are a couple more by and about the woman and her friendship with the bookshop workers in the UK, as well. I've read them all.

In the comments section several others were mentioned. I'm astonished Jasper Fforde's series, which begins with The Eyre Affair wasn't listed. Perhaps because they are older (first published in '01) and have a science fiction aspect to them. But they are deliciously funny and even offer some alternative texts to long-famous books, all as part of main character, Thursday Next, literary detective who detects forgeries and such but can actually enter books!

Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast, written by Bill Richardson, was nice and mentioned many titles, some new to me. I believe there is at least one more in the series, also pleasing.

More recently, Anthony Horowitz has created his own niche with mystery novels about books, with Magpie Murders. It's now a PBS series, btw.

Good link share, Alias!

You are so well read, deb, I'm not surprised you've read many on the list. I'm glad you enjoyed reading the list.

There were a number of new-to-me titles, which is always interesting to view.

----- Jackal
by Erin E. Adams

Homecoming: Liz Rocher, a Black woman who grew up in a small, predominantly white Pennsylvania town, returns for her best friend's wedding. When the bride's daughter disappears from the reception, Liz investigates, uncovering a pattern of Black girls going missing.

For fans of: atmospheric crime-horror combos that examine social issues like class and race and don't shy away from violence.

Reviewers say: "masterful and emotionally wrenching" (Publishers Weekly); "chilling and memorable" (Library Journal).



----- Secrets of the Nile
by Tasha Alexander

Death beside the Nile: In 1904, Lady Emily and her family enjoy a lavish cruise up the Nile. Stopping at Luxor, they visit the home of British collector Lord Deely, who's soon dead, poisoned at dinner.

Don't miss: the chapters starring an Ancient Egyptian sculptor, who has her own mystery to solve and whose creations play a role in the modern story.

Read this next: If you like this 16th Lady Emily mystery, try other historical tales set in Egypt, like Elizabeth Peter's modern classic Amelia Peabody novels or Erica Ruth Neubauer's Murder at the Mena House.



----- All That's Left Unsaid
by Tracey Lien

Cabramatta, Australia, 1996: Vietnamese Australian teen Denny Tran, voted most likely to succeed, is beaten to death at a restaurant after his school formal. The white cops don't care, assuming he was into drugs or gangs, and multiple witnesses, including his best friend, say they saw nothing.

What happens: Melbourne journalist Ky Tran, whose parents don't speak English well, returns home to help, dedicating herself to talking to the people who were there and finding her younger brother's killer.

Read this next: For other gripping literary crime novels that also thoughtfully examine social issues, try Laila Lalami's The Other Americans or Angie Kim's Miracle Creek.



----- Blackmail and Bibingka
by Mia P. Manansala

'Tis the season for trouble: When cafe owner Lila Macapagal's prodigal cousin returns to Shady Palms, Illinois, to start a winery with two friends, it isn't long before a murder occurs. To clear her Filipino American family's name, Lila investigates, while also finding time to make treats for the town's big Winter Bash.

Series alert: This 3rd in a fun series once again offers a smart mystery and a tantalizing look at Filipino cooking (recipes are included).

Read this next: For another family-centric culinary mystery series, try Vivien Chien's Noodle Shop mysteries.



------ Lavender House
by Lev AC Rosen

San Francisco, 1952: After being found in a gay bar during a raid, Andy Mills has lost his job as a cop and is thinking of jumping into the bay.

What happens: He's offered PI work investigating the death of matriarch Irene Lamontaine, head of a famous soap empire. Irene's wife thinks it might be murder, but can't call the cops because almost everyone who lives at remote Lavender House is queer, including the servants.

Read this next: For other historical novels featuring LGBTQIA characters, try Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey mysteries, Stephen Spotswood's Pentecost and Parker novels, or Nekesa Afia's Harlem Renaissance mysteries.



------ Steeped to Death
by Gretchen Rue

Introducing: Phoebe Winchester, who's left a bad marriage in Seattle and moved to Raven Creek, Washington, after inheriting her aunt Eudora's Victorian mansion, her book and tea stop, and her cat.

What happens: A bullying realtor tries to buy her out, but Phoebe's determined to stay, even after she finds a dead body at her shop.
She decides to investigate the murder...and to uncover if her aunt really was, as rumor says, a witch.

For fans of: Jennifer Hawkins' Chatty Corgi mysteries, which feature a tea-shop owning amateur sleuth who understands her pet corgi's barks.



📚💜📚If you like: Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch💚📚💚

Michael Connelly fills his atmospheric Harry Bosch novels with cunning plots and complex characters. Vietnam vet Bosch's past often informs his present as he seeks justice for the innocent, either as a LAPD cop or a PI. For those meeting Bosch for the first time, try his excellent debut outing, The Black Echo. If you're waiting on the acclaimed latest in the series, Desert Star, pick up one of the books below.



------The Big Sleep
by Raymond Chandler

What it's about: Elderly General Sternwood is dealing with a blackmailer...again. To sort it out and get his daughter Carmen out of yet another jam, he hires California PI Philip Marlowe.

What happens: Before Marlowe can do much of anything, things get wildly worse in a complex case filled with murders on top of sex, drugs, pornography, and more.

Why Michael Connelly fans might like it: Readers who enjoy Connelly's snappy dialogue will find Raymond Chandler serves that up in spades. Also, this classic 1939 novel, the 1st featuring iconic PI Philip Marlowe, is a favorite of Connelly's.



------Lost Hills
by Lee Goldberg

Introducing: Eve Ronin, a young Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department detective, who's received an unprecedented promotion after a video of her taking down an abusive Hollywood action star went viral.

What happens: With resentful colleagues beside her, Eve navigates a confusing, high-profile case: a blood-filled house with no bodies and three missing occupants, a single mother and her two kids.

Why Michael Connelly fans might like it: Lost Hills, the 1st Eve Ronin police procedural, features an evocative Los Angeles setting, twisty plotting, and tight writing.



-------Land of Shadows
by Rachel Howzell Hall

Introducing: Black Detective Elouise "Lou" Norton of the Los Angeles Police Department, who has a cheating husband and a clueless new work partner.

What happens: After being assigned a suicide that turns out to be murder, Lou investigates increasingly compelling parallels between the killing and the disappearance of her teen sister 25 years earlier.

Why Michael Connelly fans might like it: With realistic cop dialogue and a gritty feel, this 1st in a series of four provides a riveting look at L.A.



-------Charcoal Joe
by Walter Mosley

Los Angeles, 1968: Now part owner of a detective agency, PI Easy Rawlins is thinking about marrying his girlfriend. He also agrees to help a Black Stanford graduate student with criminal connections who's been arrested after finding the bodies of two white men in Malibu.

Series alert: Though Charcoal Joe can be enjoyed on its own, those who want to start with the 1st book can pick up Devil in a Blue Dress (which was made into a 1995 film starring Denzel Washington).

Why Michael Connelly fans might like it: The acclaimed Easy Rawlins mysteries, of which this is the 14th entry, offer an atmospheric look at 1960s Los Angeles, unforgettable characters, and compelling dialogue.

While none of the above call to me, i find the list interesting in that a couple of oldies are included. Chandler! Old. Not quite as old, by far, but Walter Mosley's Charcoal Joe has been out awhile. I like that and the mix with new ones. Thanks for the mysteries, Alias.

Recent Releases

----- Taxi From Another Planet: Conversations with Drivers about Life in the Universe
by Charles Cockell

Contains: accessible, informative essays inspired by astrobiologist Charles Cockell's conversations with taxi drivers on topics ranging from the rights of microbes to life on Mars to the meaning of existence.

Don't miss: "Are We Exhibits in an Alien Zoo?", "Will Space Be Full of Tyrannies or Free Societies?"

Food for thought: "Taxi drivers are linked into the collective mind of our society in the way that very few of us are. They feel the pulse of human thought."



----- Mother Brain: How Neuroscience is Rewriting the Story of Parenthood
by Chelsea Conaboy

The big idea: There's no such thing as a "maternal instinct" -- anyone who becomes a caregiver, whether or not they physically give birth to their child, is subject to dramatic changes in the brain.

Why you might like it: science journalist Chelsea Conaboy reviews the latest research, interviews parents and medical practitioners, and examines the policy implications of myths and misconceptions about parenthood while reflecting on her own experiences as a mother of two.



------ The Ransomware Hunting Team: A Band of Misfits' Improbable Crusade to Save the...
by Renee Dudley and Daniel Golden

What it's about: The "elite, invitation-only society" known as the Ransomware Hunting Team, whose members volunteer their hacking skills to assist victims of cybercrime all over the world.

Why you might like it: This "engrossing underdog story" (Publishers Weekly) by ProPublica tech reporter Renee Dudley and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Daniel Golden (The Price of Admission) examines the growing threat of ransomware by profiling the individuals who fight it.



----- Visual Thinking: The Hidden Gifts of People Who Think in Pictures, Patterns, and...
by Temple Grandin

What it's about: autistic animal science professor Temple Grandin (The Autistic Brain) talks about visual thinkers, their unique perspective, and what they can offer the world.

Is it for you? Readers who have recently traded Twitter for Mastodon may feel unsettled by Grandin's praise of billionaire Elon Musk.

You might also like: Camilla Pang's An Outsider's Guide to Humans: What Science Taught Me About What We Do and Who We Are.



------ The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Under the microscope: the tiny but immensely powerful cell, the basic structural unit of all living organisms.

Read it for: an accessible overview of cell biology, as well as a historical survey of cytology, which has spawned numerous fields of study and made possible many modern medical breakthroughs.

About the author: Oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Emperor of All Maladies.



----- How to Speak Whale: A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication
by Tom Mustill

A near-death experience: In 2015, a breaching humpback whale landed on the kayak of nature documentarian Tom Mustill, who subsequently became interested in human-cetacean encounters.

A quest for answers: To better understand his subject, Mustill dove into our shared history with whales, from the bloody past to the more hopeful present, in which scientists use hydrophones, oscilloscopes, and artificial intelligence to decode whale communication.

Did you know? Biologist Roger Payne's 1970 album Songs of the Humpback Whale, a collection of whale song recordings, galvanized the "Save the Whales" movement and helped end commercial whaling?



----- Fen, Bog, and Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the...
by Annie Proulx

What it is: a history of the world's wetlands that explains what they do, why they're in danger, and what this means for the planet.

Why you might like it: In lyrical prose, author Annie Proulx discusses topics including Europe's Iron Age bog bodies, the 16th-century draining of England's fens, the degradation of Canada's Hudson Bay lowlands, and the promise of Georgia's Okeefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

Reviewers say: a "powerful indictment of human complicity in environmental destruction" (The Guardian).



----- Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus
by David Quammen

What it's about: the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the resulting Covid-19 pandemic, and the scientists working feverishly to understand it and control its spread.

What sets it apart: Science journalist David Quammen (Spillover) draws on interviews with more than 100 scientists as he traces the course of the pandemic and explains why we all should have seen it coming.

Book buzz: Breathless is a National Book Award finalist for nonfiction.

Great list! I have one already in my ebook queue, Fen, Bog and Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis--Annie Proulx. Next i will add The Ransomware Hunting Team: A Band of Misfits' Improbable Crusade to Save the World from Cybercrime--Renee Dudley to my list, as it sounds as though it could be fascinating. A detective story, if you will. Thanks, AR.

Deb, I've enjoyed Annie Proulx books in the past. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on this new one.

I only read her novel The Shipping News, which i liked. As i've developed an interest in fens & bogs in the last few years, i was tickled to see this one, by a US writer. Previous books i've seen have been about British & Irish bogs, which usually mention (almost in passing) the environmental problems with bog peat burning.

madrano wrote: "I only read her novel The Shipping News, which i liked. ."

Did you see the movie, Brokeback Mountain ? That was based on one of her short stories that is in this collection. Close Range: Wyoming Stories

Yes, i saw the film but when i tried the short story, it did nothing for me. I suspect it was a mood thing, as i know i like her writing.

------The Third Person
Grove, Emma
In the winter of 2004, a shy woman named Emma sits in Toby's office. She wants to share this wonderful new book she's reading, but Toby, her therapist, is concerned with other things. Emma is transgender, and has sought out Toby for approval for hormone replacement therapy. Emma has shown up at the therapy sessions as an outgoing, confident young woman named Katina, and a depressed, submissive workaholic named Ed. She has little or no memory of her actions when presenting as these other two people. And then Toby asks about her childhood. As the story unfolds, we discover clues to Emma's troubled past, and how and why these other two people may have come into existence.


-----Heartwarming: How Our Inner Thermostat Made Us Human
IJzerman, Hans Rocha
A compelling investigation into the quest to maintain core body temperature-and how it drives genetic and social evolution, civilization, health, and technology. A cup of tea, coffee, or cocoa is calming and comforting-but why? Recent research suggests that temperature, even that derived from holding a hot beverage, can influence our emotions and behaviors. In Heartwarming, social psychologist Hans IJzerman explores temperature and its role in our daily lives through the long lens of evolution.


----- The Snow Child: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize in Letters: Fiction Finalists) by Eowyn Ivey
In this magical debut, a couple's lives are changed forever by the arrival of a little girl, wild and secretive, on their snowy doorstep.


----A Quiet Life: A Novel by Ethan Joella
Set in a close-knit Pennsylvania suburb in the grip of winter, A Quiet Life follows three people grappling with loss and finding a tender wisdom in their grief.


--- The Woods in Winter by Stella Gibbons
In this funny and poignant story for winter, Ivy Gower, a curmudgeonly middle-aged woman with witchy talents, inherits a rural cottage in Buckinghamshire and takes up residence near the tiny village of Little Warby.


---- The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Folk tales, snow-capped forests, and magic in the depths of winter at the edge of the Russian wilderness…


----A Winter Book: Selected Stories by Tove Jansson
Following the success and blissful reading of The Summer Book, A Winter Book features thirteen winter stories from Tove Jansson’s first book for adults, The Sculptor’s Daughter, plus seven of the beloved Finnish writer’s most cherished later stories.


-------Beartown by Fredrik Backman
That stunning begins the popular cold Winter book Beartown and, if it hasn’t fully drawn you in, I don’t know what will. Beartown is a small, struggling Swedish town obsessed with outdoor ice hockey, and major drama ensues amongst the many community members, whose lives intersect with each other in very consequential ways.


------The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
The Great Alone, and particularly its desolate and cold Alaska setting utterly mesmerized me. On numerous occasions, I found myself googling “Alaska 1970s” to get an even clearer picture of the beautiful state which was itself a main character in this cold Winter book.


-----One by One by Ruth Ware
After eight coworkers from a trendy London tech start-up get snowed in at a luxurious ski resort in the French Alps, an avalanche cuts the group off from the outside world.

It may seem cozy, but as the hours pass without any sign of a possible rescue, the group begins to dwindle, as four characters die “one by one” in this “locked room” mystery book about Winter, in which ulterior motives and dark secrets are slowly revealed as tensions mound.


-----Run by Ann Patchett
It's about the 24 hours after a snowy Boston car accident that forever binds and changes the futures of two families…and exposes their shared pasts.

Set in such a small about of time, it’s a character-driven novel about family, economics, politics, and duty, and it’s one of my favorites of hers, teasing out all of the details about one unique group of people you come to love, and how they react to each other over the course of the most momentous day of their lives.


-----Burial Rites, Hannah Kent
It’s 1829, and a time in Iceland when women aren’t allowed much agency, and all of their security is derived from family. But Agnes has no family. After being charged with the murder of her employer, Agnes is sent to an isolated farm to wait out the winter as she awaits her execution.


-----The Arctic Fury, Greer Macallister
Lady Jane Franklin hires an all-female crew, led by wilderness guide, Virginia Reeve. They are tasked with finding Lady Franklin’s husband and the lost Franklin Expedition. Virginia and the team set out, but they suffer near starvation, frostbite and blizzards, and some of them came packing some secrets.


-----The Children’s Blizzard, Melanie Benjamin
This historical fiction is based upon actual events which happened in the Dakota Territories in 1888.


-----The Ice Palace, Tarjei Vesaas
Translated by Elizabeth Rokkan

In just 176 pages, this book packs a spare but powerful punch. The book is set in a cold, dark Scandanavian winter. The story focuses on Siss and Unn, two eleven-year old girls living in an isolated, rural community. They need only a single evening together to forge an uncommon friendship that will change their lives irreparably. The book is a chilling metaphor on loss.


-----Snow Country, Yasunari Kawabata
Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker

At an isolated mountain hot spring, with snow blanketing every surface, Shimamura, a wealthy dilettante meets Komako, a lowly geisha. She gives herself to him fully and without remorse, despite knowing that their passion cannot last and that the affair can have only one outcome.


------South Pole Station, Ashley Shelby
In this lighter book, artist Cooper is surprised to find herself at an artist-in-residency program on Antarctica. Sure, she filled out the application but she didn’t really expect to get in.

Well, now she a “polie” mixing it up with a misfit band of artists, scientists and maintenance folks. Despite running away to the bottom of the world, none of them have escaped their own issues. When climate denier Frank Pavano shows up to do research, the interpersonal dramas go up a notch.


------Snow Falling on Cedars – David Guterson

In 1954 a fisherman is found dead in the nets of his boat, and a local Japanese-American man is charged with his murder. In the course of his trial, it becomes clear that what is at stake is more than one man’s guilt.


-----Smilla’s Sense of Snow – Peter Hoeg

First published in 1992, Peter Høeg’s Smilla’s Sense of Snow instantly became an international sensation. When caustic Smilla Jaspersen discovers that her neighbor–a neglected six-year-old boy, and possibly her only friend–has died in a tragic accident, a peculiar intuition tells her it was murder. Unpredictable to the last page, Smilla’s Sense of Snow is one of the most beautifully written and original crime stories of our time, a new classic among winter books.


-----In the Midst of Winter – Isabel Allende

Amid the biggest Brooklyn snowstorm in living memory, an unexpected friendship blossoms between three people thrown together by circumstance. Richard Bowmaster, a lonely university professor in his sixties, hits the car driven by Evelyn Ortega, a young, undocumented migrant from Guatemala. But what at first seems an inconvenience takes an unforeseen and darker turn when Evelyn comes to him and his neighbour Lucia Maraz, desperately seeking help. Sweeping from present-day Brooklyn to Guatemala to turbulent 1970s Chile and Brazil, and woven with Isabel Allende’s trademark humanity, passion and storytelling verve, In the Midst of Winter is a mesmerizing and unforgettable tale among winter books.


----Winter in Sokcho – Elisa Shua Dusapin

It s winter in Sokcho, a tourist town on the border between South and North Korea. The cold slows everything down. Bodies are red and raw, the fish turn venomous, beyond the beach guns point out from the North s watchtowers. A young French Korean woman works as a receptionist in a tired guesthouse. One evening, an unexpected guest arrives: a French cartoonist determined to find inspiration in this desolate landscape.

Is it any surprise that i, a woman who relishes Winter, have read so very many of the titles posted above?

The snow child: a novel--Eowyn Ivey is quite the magical novel. While that is not a genre i like, my aunt suggested the book, so i followed. A childless couple, a wild child. It was better than i expected. I could see why it was a Pulitzer finalist.

Burial Rites--Hannah Kent is outstanding. It depicts the harsh weather and people very well. Set in Iceland, the story is about a woman awaiting execution for a crime, meanwhile serving as a laborer in a small community.

The Arctic Fury--Greer Macallister tells the story of a crew of females on an Arctic recovery expedition. It's told from two time points--during and around the time of the trial. It was a mixed bag, as a result, for me but overall i liked it much more than disliked.

Snow Falling on Cedars--David Guterson was a beautifully told story. The title alone tells a reader that the descriptions will be a pleasure to read.

Smilla's Sense of Snow--Peter Høeg is a great mystery and then it went to an arena i did not expect. Set in Denmark, Smilla and the deceased are from Greenland. Learning about that was informative, in itself. Good story.

Winter in Sokcho--Elisa Shua Dusapin. This is a short book with curious characters. I liked it and the characters, despite their differing natures.

The list has an historical fiction, The Children's Blizzard--Melanie Benjamin, which i have not read. I'm sure her novel has a human element readers appreciate. However, i opted for David Laskin's nonfiction accounting, The Children's Blizzard. The blizzard occurred in 1888 in the Dakotas. Lives were lost and his book fleshes out the real families well.

Lotsa good reading in that list!

madrano wrote: The list has an historical fiction, The Children's Blizzard--Melanie Benjamin, which i have not read. I'm sure her novel has a human element readers appreciate. However, i opted for David Laskin's nonfiction accounting, The Children's Blizzard. The blizzard occurred in 1888 in the Dakotas. Lives were lost and his book fleshes out the real families well."

When I was making the list, I recalled Simon's review of The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin. I'm going to use this for my 100 challenge.

Here is Simon's review. Thank you, Simon !
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Deb, I also read [book:Snow Falling on Cedars|77142. I read it so long ago, I no longer recall the story very much. I do remember that I enjoyed it.

Deb, I'm amazed you read so many of the books on the list as I took the titles from random "Winter" book lists I found online. You really do love winter ! ❄⛄❄

I've tried two or three times to get into Snow Falling on Cedars but I haven't been able to do it. I don't know why. I'm open to another try because it sounds so interesting.

Alias Reader wrote: "When I was making the list, I recalled Simon's review of The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin. I'm going to use this for my 100 challenge. ..."

Good selection. Simon wrote well about the story and how the author presented it.

Something about books written about winter calls to me. It's probably about growing up in Texas, eh? I have read quite a number, sometimes just to help me through some summers, frankly.

Kiki wrote: "I've tried two or three times to get into Snow Falling on Cedars but I haven't been able to do it. I don't know why. I'm open to another try because it sounds so interesting."

There was one scene about fishing in the novel that was so vivid i still have the image in my head. I suppose what drew me to it was the adjustments some Japanese Americans had for living in this new area of the world.

I didn't get into another of Guterson's books, btw. This one just sang to me. The edition i read also had a beautiful cover, as i recall.