Thursday Book Talk

"Take all the money from my wallet but tell this story to my children.  They only know pieces of it. It's time for them to know all of it. Tell them I loved them very much, that they were worth the years I spent without seeing my brother. Tell them to walk in the shade. To listen with their eyes, to see with their skin, and to feel with their ears, because life speaks to us all and we just need to know and wait to listen to it, see it, feel it."

I am always on the lookout for a story so beautifully told it takes my breath away. This is how I felt about "The Murmur of Bees", by Sofia Segovia and translated by Simon Bruni. These are the books I find the most difficult to write about. 

Set in an area of northern Mexico, with ground fertile not only for growing sugar cane and maize, but for superstitious tales and rumors of witches roaming in the night. One morning when a beloved elderly Nana is discovered missing, a search party is sent to find her. Nana Reja is found under a bridge holding a mysterious bundle; a second bundle beside her.  When the swaddling is removed, a baby is discovered wrapped in a blanket of bees. In the second bundle a hive is found. Nana Reja is insistent both the baby and the hive be taken back to the hacienda. Some who viewed the strange child with the facial deformity, thought him to be evil. Word spread he had been "kissed by the devil." The old nana believed differently. The wealthy landowners Beatrix and Francisco Morales became his Godparents, named him Simonopio and cared for him as their own son.

With his bees always with him, leading and teaching, Simonopio discovers he can see, hear and feel the future. His extraordinary gifts prove to be beneficial in sensing danger and protecting the Morales family during a time the world is being ravaged by the Spanish flu pandemic and with a revolution brewing. Ultimately he will need to use his gifts to protect himself from the one who he knows as "the coyote." 

"The Murmur of Bees",  Sofia Segovia's first novel to be translated to English, has all the characteristics of a page turner: mystery, tragedy, magical realism and family drama, and yet, it is not a quick read. At almost five hundred pages, this is a book deserving of attention and patience. Like so many of my favorite books, my heart ached when I turned the last page. It was not the ending I had hoped for, yet it was the perfect ending. The last one hundred pages are beautiful; I immediately reread those last chapters just to more fully absorb, appreciate and ponder the beauty of it's conclusion.

Enjoy

and

Happy Reading!

Reading During a Pandemic

 "Many people, myself among them, feel better at the mere sight of a book."

Jane Smiley   

Happy Friday friends!

Is today a good day to talk about books?

 It has been awhile hasn't it?

When the schools closed in mid-March due to the pandemic spreading through our state, I quickly began dreaming of the books I would have the time to read.  I picked up book after book, finding nothing held my attention. These were books I would normally devour. I soon realized my reading was broken. You know reading is my passion; not finding a book to dig into was extremely distressing. I could only clean my house so often, and after bingeing on a few Netflix's series, I longed to escape into a good read. With the bookstore and the library closed I began downloading. Friends my reading was all over the place. 

Let's begin with two books totally out of my wheelhouse, but helped pull me

through my reading drought. 

I'll Be Gone in the Dark

Michelle McNamara

"I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer is a true crime book by Michelle McNamara about the Golden State Killer. The book was released posthumously on February 27, 2018, nearly two years after McNamara's death and two months before an arrest would be made in the case"

True crime is not the genre I normally pick to read. This one, fellow readers, is creepy; I frequently double checked my doors while reading. Not being easily frightened, I believe what really bothered me was I lived, though several years after he became inactive,  in the area in northern California where he frequently selected his victim. I frequently walked the trail he used to stalk and move between homes in the area. I suppose I just knew too much about the area, and I realized no matter the precautions taken, we are still vulnerable.

Sadly, Ms. McNamara died from a drug over-dose before finishing her book, and before the Golden State Killer's identity was discovered. She writes she was becoming so obsessed with this case she lost all interest in other areas of her life. Though this killer had retired,  I cannot help but believe Michelle was his last victim.

Creepy and impossible to put down.

***

Okay, I'm going to continue with the fright fest. 

"In the latest thriller from New York bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father's bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound -- and dangerous-- secrets hidden within its walls? 

I actually listened to this one on audible. I found myself pulling a few more weeds in the garden, and taking a little bit longer to vacuum around the house just to find out what was going to happen next. Though Home Before Dark didn't keep me up at night, it did keep me listening and guessing how it would end. This would be an excellent selection for you Halloween reading.

You know I love pairing books and food; sometimes all you need is a big bowl of popcorn. Toss in a handful of candy corn. Grab a favorite snack and settle in with one of these nail biting novels. Don't  forget to check your windows and doors.

Who knew I could be pulled to the dark side.

 Has your reading changed during quarantine?

I would love to hear about it.

***

Here's what I am digging into this weekend.

And friends, it is a real book that I can hold in my hands.

What fun things are you doing this weekend?

Happy reading friends!

A Book for February

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

I hope you are enjoying your day in the way you most enjoy.

We exchanged our Valentine's this morning before I headed out to school. I spent my morning sugaring-up my children before returning them to their mamas. Valentine's Day is always a fun day in the classroom.

***

I have been wanting to share my favorite read of 2019, and today seems like the perfect day to share this beautiful love story.

"Dearly Beloved, he began. They were the words that started weddings, not baptisms, but the people in the Church were his beloved, so dear that as he spoke, his heart and throat grew tight."

Cara Wall's debut novel is a character-driven story of four individuals, two couples, as they navigate the challenges of life, love and marriage.

Charles always believed he was destined to be a Harvard academic until he attends a seminar on faith and discovers a desire to study theology. He meets and falls in love with independent Lily, a devout atheist with no desire to play the part of a minister's wife.

James, an activist wanting to create social change, falls deeply in love with sweet Nan, the daughter of a southern minister, who will change the course of his life. Though he cannot buy into the full philosophy of faith, he believes the ministry is a way to remedy the ills of the world.

These two couples are thrown together for better or worse when Charles and James are called to co-minister a church in Greenwich Village, in the early sixties. Neither man is the whole package the church leaders desire, however, one has what the other lacks. Nan is happy living in the parsonage and leading the children's choir. Lily wants nothing to do with the church community or Nan.

This was one of those books that stayed with me long after I turned the last page. "The Dearly Beloved" simply took my breath away. Through the slow building of her characters, first as individuals then as couples, Cara Wall writes a meditative first novel exposing the fragility and strength of both love and faith. This is not your typical love story, but it may be the perfect book to read as we finish out the month when we celebrate love.

What is your favorite love story?

Happy Reading!

Summer Reading Revisited

Friends, I am going to be honest with you, I honestly thought Autumn would never get here, and now, I am a bit concerned we may never see cooler temperatures for more than a day or so.   I am one of those who is distressed when seasons and holidays are rushed.   Though Autumn is my favorite season, I refuse to welcome it before summer takes her last bow.  

Now that Autumn is officially here, it is time to look back on this past summer's books.  Early in the season, after listening to a podcast questioning the definition of "literary fiction", I made the decision to mostly read authors new to me, genres I normally do not gravitate to and books I could find at my local library.  It was a great reading summer!

With a To Be Read list several pages long, I always had a book ready to be opened.  I am not an exceptionally fast reader... I read about 20 books over the summer.  I found new authors, a mystery series I fell in love with and now want to read from the beginning to the end (I will never catch-up),  and I discovered books so moving I had difficulty recuperating.

Here is a recap of books I most enjoyed over the summer.

Gods in Alabama, Joshilyn Jackson

What would you do for those you love?

Plot driven, strong character development.

There is a bit of a mystery, and a twist at the end.

The Night Circus, Erin Morganstern

WOW! WOW! WOW!

Atmospheric, strong character development,

beautifully crafted.  I can't believe I kept moving this

book down on my TBR list.

Reading People, Anne Bogel

non-fiction

A simple yet enlightening look at why we do the things we do

and why some folks drive us crazy.  A good reference for deciphering the

many personality test available.   Find someone to read along with you.

Take some of the tests.... loved this one.

The Lost for Words Bookshop, Stephanie Butland

For anyone who loved Elinor Oliphant is Completely Fine, will

enjoy this one.   It begins a little slow...

layers are gradually peeled away, making this a really good read.

Southernmost, Silas House

This one is at the top of my favorites for the year.

It grabbed my attention from page one, and slowly

stole my heart.   A profound statement on just loving.

Into the Water, Paula Hawkins

I enjoy how this book started slow and

gradually, gained speed.   This mystery is not solved until

the very last page.

Where the Crawdad's Sing, Delia Owens

 I loved this book!  Oh my gosh, from page one I felt as if someone

was holding my heart in their fist and squeezing.   Heartbreaking, but so full of hope.

Perennials, Julia Cantrell

The perfect ending to my summer reading.  

Set in one of my favorite towns, Oxford, Mississippi, this is a story of

family bonds, what cements them and what shatters those bonds.  
Perennials is not a fast paced tale... 

do you really want to rush a beautiful sunrise?  
One word description....

Bittersweet. 

Now the series that hooked me?  
Louis Penny's Three Pines Mysteries.

     

I have been hearing about this series for awhile; not wanting to get tied up waiting, I have avoided anything labeled number "whatever" in a series.   I actually began somewhere around #7 and realized I probably should go back to the beginning, #1,  Still Life.  I am still a newbie to "Three Pines", but I am loving them.  As I moved from one to another a nostalgia I can't explain enveloped me...  I not only want to read them.... seriously?  I just want to move to Three Pines and be a character in these books.

  My summer reading was an eye opener and ever so enjoyable.  There are a lot of good, entertaining, well-written books to be picked up and read, not considered literary fiction.  I believe there is a book out there for everyone (let me know if you need help finding it).

So... Autumn is here.  I've finished my first book, bought a pumpkin scented candle and baked pumpkin bread.  Now I just need Mother Nature to kick it into gear and give us some autumn like temperatures. 

Happy Reading friends!

  

Book Talk Wednesday - The Dinner List

"WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR AN HOUR."

That's what Audrey says.  She states it with a little bit of an edge, her words just 

bordering on cursive."

                                                                                                      The Dinner List

There is a section in the Sunday edition of our local newspaper titled High Profile.   The front page is taken up with the picture and biography of someone who has accomplished good things, usually as a philanthropist, a politician or in their career.  Though the article can be a little lengthy at times, there is a small insert on the second page where the guest is ask several questions.   Almost always one of the questions is  "who would you like to invite to dinner?"  Do you know who you would invite?

Sabrina is urged, by her roommate, to put together a list of five people, living or dead, she would invite to a fantasy dinner.  The list is made and put away.  Fast forward ten years.  Sabrina shows up to her 30th birthday celebration to find the table filled with those from her list: a favorite professor, her dad, her boyfriend, her best friend and Audrey Hepburn.  Sabrina is confused, but as the night evolves the reason this dinner is taking place on this night becomes apparent.

The Dinner List is a bittersweet character and dialogue driven story of betrayal, abandonment, redemption and learning to let go.  Once the layers begin to peel away we discover the true reason this group is brought together.  I promise, Audrey does have a role at this dinner party.  Oh, there is a big OMG moment I did not see coming.

   Structuring a chapter, let alone a complete book around food can be a bit risky.  The story can stall and become a bit boring.  Rebecca Serle successfully keeps the story moving by alternating dinner conversation and events of the last ten years.

I received an early copy of The Dinner List from Flatiron Books and Goodreads for an honest review.  When I first began this book, I was a bit concerned, but soon became engrossed.   It may not make my top five list... it is a good read.

Have you made your dinner list?
Please share!

The Dinner List hits the bookstores September 11th.

Happy Reading Friends!

Oh, my list? 

My mother, my seventh

grade English teacher, Laura Bush,

Ann Lamont and my daughter.
(readers and writers)

Book Talk Wednesday-- Southernmost

'The rain had been falling with a pounding meanness without ceasing for two days and then the water rose all at once in the middle of the night, a brutal rush so fast Asher thought at first a dam might have broken somewhere upstream.  The ground had simply become so saturated it could not hold any more water.  All the creeks were conspiring down the ridges until they washed out into the Cumberland.  There was no use in anyone going to bed because they all knew what was going to happen.
They only had to wait.'

I don't usually begin by copying the complete first paragraph, but I can't remember the last time I read a book whose first paragraph so symbolically sets the stage for the story that is about to unfold.

Asher Sharp, a small town Pentecostal preacher, wanting to help two men, after their home is destroyed, finds himself questioning long held beliefs.  He alienates his wife, his congregation and his community.  After serving up a sermon on tolerance,  Asher is fired by the Church hierarchy. 

When the Courts award Asher's wife full custody of Justin, he takes his son and leaves for Key West in hopes of finding and reconciling with the brother he turned against years earlier.  In search of a brother, Asher and Justin discover the importance of just loving.

   

"I've studied on it a lot, Lydia.  You know I don't believe that way anymore.  All my life I've thought I've understood everything in that Bible, but now I know that none of us can know the mind of God. He's too big for that."

Southernmost is a timely and beautifully told story of re-evaluating ones beliefs and the consequences incurred.   Asher discovers, what I believe, "love thy neighbor", truly means.   I promise this is one of those reads that will make you sit and ponder long after you've turned the final page.    Southernmost  touched my heart and conscience in so many ways, and is going to the top of my "best books of year" list   

  If you are looking for a book that will stir up a great book group discussion...
this may be the one. 

*****

Perfect Pairings

May I suggest you pour yourself a nice tall glass of iced tea and head out to the porch.   Heck,  just take the whole pitcher outside, you are not going to want to put this book down. 

Happy Reading Friends, and

Enjoy!

Wednesday Book Talk -- The Lost for Words Bookshop

"A bookshop is not magic, 

but it can heal your heart."

The Lost for Words Bookshop

When I see a book about books, bookshops, libraries or people who read books, it is a safe bet, I will be picking it up, (quoting my grandson) "because it is my favorite".  Perhaps I am drawn to these books because I understand the healing power of books and rooms filled with books.  If I begin to feel the world tumbling down, and that "half-full glass" of mine springs a leak,  I am most at home among books.  I can walk between the stacks of a library or bookshop, touch the bindings, breathe in aroma of paper and glue, and absolutely know, without a doubt, I am in the company of good friends.  There is someone somewhere within all those pages who can talk me off the cliff and ease whatever is worrying me.     

Sometimes... it is just the perfect place to hide.

The Lost for Words Bookshop is more about this refuge and the comfort we bibliophiles find within books and in those rooms filled with books, than books.   

Loveday is hurting.  She is wounded by the events of a childhood ended far too early.   Seeking shelter, she finds employment where she is most comfortable, a bookshop... a used-book bookshop owned by the most charming Archie  (oh, how I fell head over heels for this man).  Loveday is not a people person, and  enjoys the solitude she finds sitting at a hidden counter preparing newly acquired books for shelving, leaving the owner to most often handle the customers.

Three separate deliveries of books mysteriously appear, threatening to bring Loveday's past crashing into the present.    This collision may be what she needs to reconcile with her past and begin healing, but first she must discover if these books are a coincidence, or does someone know about her past and want to do harm.  

This one started a little slow.  It took a chapter or two to engage with Loveday, but I soon became very protective of her character.   There is mystery with a little bit of romance, and a lot of feel good.   The Lost for Words Bookshop is a nicely told tale with equally good character development.  If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (I loved it) or you know the healing power a room full of books can offer, The Lost For Words Bookshop may be your next perfect read!

Have you read this one?  
As always, I would love to hear your thoughts
and what you are reading.


*****

The Perfect Pairing

Archie is by far my favorite character in The Lost for Words Bookshop.  Oh how we all need an Archie in our life.   He would often treat Loveday with a hot chocolate and nibble from the cafe next door.   So to honor Archie, and to pair with The Lost for Words Bookshop I am offering up banana bread this morning.

Enjoy!

I will be sharing the recipe later this week!

Happy Reading Friends!

Wednesday Book Thoughts -- A Night Circus

"The circus arrives without warning.

No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers.  It is simply there, when yesterday it was not."

The Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern

I wish I could tell you how many times I have picked up this book and placed it back on the table or shelf in various bookstores.... my mistake!  

Published in 2011, I may be telling you something you already know, Erin Morganstern's The Night Circus is a treat for the senses.  I found it a bit slow in the beginning, but soon realized I was completely immersed and pleasantly drowning.   It is a fantastical tale of a mysterious circus, and those who are manipulated within it's grounds. 

 Is it slight of hand... smoke and mirrors... or is it truly magic?     

Who is the magician and who is the puppeteer?

This breathtaking fantastical tale has something for everyone.... mystery, manipulation, betrayal, murder and romance.  Beautifully written, with well-developed characters.  

(There are no clowns in this one.)

 "You will be fine", the fortune-teller says. 

"There may be decisions to make, and surprises in store.  Life takes us to unexpected places sometimes.  The future is never set in stone, remember that."

This may be one of my favorite reads this summer!

To compliment you reading enjoyment might I suggest a rich dark red with a sliver 

(or two... you're not going to want to put this one down) of nice chocolate.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this one.

Happy Reading my friends!