Month: May 2022

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Alex Woolf

As noted in an earlier review, I very much enjoy this series of Sherlock Holmes titles for young readers. Each is a short chapter book with cartoonish illustrations. The stories are well and simply told while keeping that sense of wonder about the ways in Holmes is able to find clues and draw conclusions.

This time the story is a simple, illustrated retelling of The Blue Carbuncle. Readers are drawn in immediately as they find out what can be learned from a gentleman’s hat and a Christmas goose. Children will then learn what a carbuncle is, its connection to the goose and how it was stolen from a Countess. They will watch as the great detective observes and solves the case. Is the suspected thief really guilty or did something else happen? Holmes is sure to find out.

This book will be enjoyed by those who like mysteries and who already know or want to meet one of fiction’s most famous characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Arcturus for this book. All opinions are my own.

Pub Date 07 Jan 2022

Readers may know Patricia Highsmith for her novels The Talented Mr. Ripley or Strangers on a Train. This work, The Price of Salt, was made into a movie called Carol. It starred Cate Blanchett.

I would never have read this book had I not been taking a course on Women in Literature this semester. It took me quite a while to engage with this one but, once that happened, I very much wanted to know what would happen to protagonist, Therese. It is a tribute to reading for a class as I came to appreciate this book based on class discussion and a closer look at themes and motifs.

Highsmith published The Price of Salt in 1952 using a pseudonym. According to my professor it was the first road novel having been published before Kerouac. It also reportedly influenced Nabokov in writing Lolita.

I put up two covers to give a sense of how the novel was marketed. It was about a lesbian relationship, hence the more salacious looking cover of the two.

Therese is a young woman who is adrift. She was placed in an orphanage by her mother and rarely had contact with her following this. Therese has a boyfriend, wants to be a set designer and takes a temporary job in a department store.

One day, Therese waits on Carol who is buying accessories for her daughter’s doll. Carol is an unhappily married suburbanite. What happens to these two when they experience an attraction that was not one that could easily be publicly acknowledged at the time?

The early chapters of this book felt deeply oppressive to me. I found some of the characters kind of creepy. Therese for her part feels as untethered as the kite that she and boyfriend Richard fly. Things slowly change for Therese who grows into herself over the course of the story.

Read this thinking about locations (closed and contained like the department store, the city, suburbs, the way west). Also think about gifts, dresses, loss, relationships and more.

This is a book that is best read with a chance to discuss it. Those interested in a very early novel about lesbian relationships and those who are Highsmith fans may want to read this. If you do, I am so eager to know your thoughts on the novel.

See review on my site.

by Sarah Baxter

Attention arm chair travelers and adventurers: I am pretty sure that you might like to give this beautiful book a look. Both the illustrations and the text are enticing. I adored the paintings that encouraged me to dream.

Some of the many destinations include Ennerdale, England; st. Kilda, Scotland; Carmargue, France; Wadden Sea, The Netherlands; Coa Valley, Portugal; Er Chigaga, Morocco; Wilpena Pound, Australia and many others. Each has interest for the reader.

The book begins with an introduction that acknowledges people’s need for the breadth, scale and drama of the wild. For one thing, the wilds offer perspective and a source of wonder. The author also notes that each of the places selected has a human story to tell. Dive in and learn more about them.

Many thanks to Quarto publishing and NetGalley for this title that I highly recommend. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 03 May 2022

by Gregory, Lena

This book is a quick read at just over 200 pages. It may be enjoyed by those who like cozy mysteries with a likeable heroine and a lack of gore.

Gia Morelli has moved to Florida from New York. It is quite a change. Gia becomes involved in helping her friend, a realtor, to find the perfect wedding dress. However all does not go well. Savannah has disappeared and her client is dead. What happened? Why? Whodunit? Read this one to find out.

Note: This title is part of a series but may be read on its own.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington books for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 27 April 2021

by Anita Bijsterbosch

This is a simple and very delightfully effective book for a toddler and their adult. It is about the summer fun of some animal friends. The illustrations are bright and appealing. Cleverly, the author engages children in the book’s actions. For example, she suggests that the child blow to help put a kite in the sky. Then, on the next page, the kite is in the air. I think that young ones will enjoy the bit of magic in this and the following pages.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Clavis publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 31 May 2022

This week’s The Short List: