I love to read, recommend books and open the world of reading to others. I tutor to ensure that the next generation of readers will know the joys of a good book because their reading skills have improved. I am an avid reader, especially of mysteries and fiction. I believe that two of the world's greatest inventions were the public library and eyeglasses!
This title will surely appeal to those who remember their childhood reads with loving nostalgia. The inspiration is still there as a gift.
The quotes are organized into five sections. These include How to Be Good in the World (for example, kindness); How to Be Joyful in the World (for example, indulgence); How to Be Strong in the World (for example, fear); How to Be at Home in the World (for example, nature); and How to Believe in the World (for example, perseverance). Each short quote left me with something to think about. Note that throughout readers find illustrations as well.
Start with the introduction by R.J. Palacio and then the one by the compilers/editors, and next go where your imagination takes you. Readers will, I think, leave feeling better.
This book would make a most delightful gift.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
For fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and How to Stop Time, a charming novel by TikTok sensation Alex Howard that follows a cat through his nine lives in Edinburgh, moving through the ever-changing city and its inhabitants over centuries.
Early morning, 1902. In a gloomy Edinburgh tenement, Eilidh the charlady tips coal into a fire grate and sets it alight. Overhearing, a cat ambles over to curl up against the welcome heat.
This is to be the cat’s last day on earth. But he is going to return… as The Ghost Cat, a spirit-feline destined to live out his ghostly existence according to the medieval proverb of “The Cat with Nine Lives” – For Three He Plays, For Three He Strays, For Three He Stays.
Follow The Ghost Cat as he witnesses the changes of the next two centuries as he purrs, shuffles and sniffs his way through the fashion, politics and technological advances of the modern era alongside the ever-changing inhabitants of an Edinburgh tenement.
As we follow our new spirit-feline friend, this unique story unearths some startling revelations about the mystery of existence and the human condition and provides a feel-good read full of charm for any fan of history, humour and fur-ridden fun.
The author:
Alex Howard is an author, editor and theatre professional from Edinburgh. His TikTok page, Housedoctoralex, has nearly 300,000 followers and his been featured on television and in the national press. A doctoral graduate of English literature, Alex wrote his first book Library Cat (B&W Publishing) while completing his PhD. It won the People’s Book Prize in 2017, and has been translated into French, Korean and Italian. He also writes poetry, which has been published in New Writing Scotland, Gutter and The London Magazine, among others, and his academic book Larkin’s Travelling Spirit was published in 2021 by Palgrave McMillan.
Try it:
FIRST HAUNTING,
APRIL 1909
On the morning of his first haunting, Grimalkin felt supple and alive; more alive, in fact, than he’d ever felt as a sentient breathing Victorian cat.
He had landed in 1909 with a thump. Rather than having to acclimatize his senses to the eerie, misty environment of Cat-sìth’s waterfall, the transition through time felt immediate, as if he had been dropped from a huge height. Suddenly, he was just there…sitting back on a fine oak table in the bay window of 7/7 Marchmont Crescent. With one turn of the head, he could see the whole street: there were the communal gardens opposite, tucked behind filigreed iron railings and sweeping off to the right as the street disappeared into a tree smudged infinity. It was clearly springtime as the trees opposite were bursting with taut little pods of pink blossom. Glimpsed at intervals along the street, the odd horse and carriage loitered while awaiting the emergence of passengers from tenement doors, their oil-painting-like stillness disturbed only when the horses tugged against the reins or stamped on the cobbles with an irritated clop. Above, purple clouds huddled tightly, their edges yellow where the sun tried its best to pierce through. The cobbles were dark with the wetness of a recent shower. Grimalkin knew these showers well, having often bolted in from the garden when they struck, only to stare longingly out of this very window as the Edinburgh sun burst out again, making steam rise off the carriage tops below. It was a familiar and heart-warming scene; one Grimalkin could happily gaze at for hours in Victorian times, particularly if it was mating season and the pigeons were out on the sandstone sill, cooing and clucking tantalizingly close, almost within swiping distance.
Well, nothing has changed! thought Grimalkin suddenly, with a pang of disappointment. That Cat-sìth charlatan has merely returned me to Victoria’s reign! Why, I have been duped! Ah…ah, ah steady on, wait…
He turned his gaze back into the belly of the room. His eyes widened and his back fur prickled upward in shock. Here, everything was different. In place of the somber damask wallpaper of his Victorian youth, the walls had been painted a pure, apple-green. Rather than great mirrors and huge paintings, little artworks studded the walls in clusters. Most of them appeared to feature the same fairy-like woman in billowing white robes. French? Dutch? Grimalkin wasn’t sure. There was a soft hiss emanating from the room…somewhere on the wall? Somewhere above? Grimalkin’s ears twitched furiously. Yes, there! In the center of the ceiling, the chandelier had been removed. In its place there hung a little brass sconce that breathed out an orangey flame behind a smoked-glass lampshade. Above it, the formerly pristine ceiling rose had turned black with tarry soot and Grimalkin could feel the dryness of the gas-heated air rasp at his throat.
They think they’re being clever, he thought, eyeing the ceiling rose. They will struggle to beat a good coal fire for efficiency and comfort!
Fancy bow-fronted armchairs, settees and cabinets squatted about the floor, upon which books and papers were piled up into dubious little towers. On a side table, a looking glass and moustache comb rested beside an open snuff box. Apart from the flicker of the blue flame, everything was perfectly still as if frozen by some kind of spell.
Humph, apologies Cat-sìth… I see there HAS been a change…
How can so much change in just seven years? Was Eilidh still tending the fires? It made Grimalkin feel eerie looking at it all: this room where he drew his final breaths had become a lens into the future. He was suddenly struck with the sense that this whole business of time travel might turn out to be rather more taxing on his brain than he’d initially thought.
But something else was different—Grimalkin himself. As he stood on the table, his paws perfectly centered, he became suddenly aware of a complete absence of pain. The arthritic throb in his back and legs had vanished. His left rear leg and flank, always a focus of curiosity to Marchmont Crescent’s visitors owing to its bright marmalade hue, had lost its oily aged texture and become velveteen again, like a fox cub’s tail. Down at the point where his paw hinged from the base of his leg, the little bald patch that had so long been the recreation ground for a particularly stubborn army of fleas, was now smooth and itch-free.
Could it be that my ghosting role has rid me of the pestilence? If so, praise be!
Grimalkin rewarded the discovery with a wash. Gazing at the windowpane, he was shocked to discover he couldn’t see his reflection. However, as he rose and arched his back with ease, and felt the springiness of his ears as they pinged up each time he sent a damp paw across them, and glimpsed his perfectly pink toe pads, he could tell he had become young again. He couldn’t see his eyes, but were he able to, he would have guessed that they were no longer rheumy and grayish and that his whiskers were sharp and unjagged again. And he would have been right.
My word, I’m veritably juvenile! he thought, stretching up his tail like a broom handle. A potent, virile pride washed across him: he was a looker again, an Adonis of cats…a youthful, muscular mouser whose iron claw had once commanded the envy and respect of all the cats in the neighborhood. He rose to his paws and turned a large vainglorious circle on the table, his ears pricked up into sharp triangles. He leaped onto the back of an armchair, his supernatural paws making no noise whatsoever as they landed on the polished oak. He felt positively ageless, neither kitten nor adult…with all the vim and energy of the former but with the latter’s acuity of mind.
I feel in the most capital of moods! May I be a spirit-puss FOREVER MORE!
Suddenly a noise. From over his shoulder there came the familiar creak of the living room door lock turning. Grimalkin spun around. A short, narrow-shouldered man entered the room in a silver-swirled Jacquard waistcoat. The man strode over to the bay window as if about to pull open the sashes, before turning back and making a sudden stop in the middle of the room, as if he’d been halted by a police constable. He then proceeded to bounce on the balls of his feet, his hands clenching and unclenching, and his eyes darting around the room frantically. At one point, he appeared to look directly in Grimalkin’s direction, though could see nothing of him of course. What caught Grimalkin’s feline attention most of all, however, was the perfect little mustache that crossed the man’s top lip, its ends waxed up into points, like a mouse’s tail. It seemed to jiggle in perfect time with the man’s nervous energy as he bounced up and down on the spot. Stiffly, the man flopped down on the settee, placing one leg over the other with a dandy-like flourish, the fingers on his right hand patting a little ditty on the settee cushion, in an ongoing attempt to calm himself.
The man of the house? mused Grimalkin, for the man moved with the ease of a gentleman who knows he is unobserved in his own space; a rich man; an entitled man who has the wealth and means to live, by and large, as he pleases…
The man closed his eyes and let out a big sigh through lips circled into an O-shape.
There was a jumpiness to the way he moved around, which, along with his scruffy waistcoat, misaligned collar and limp bow tie, made up the sort of human that would put any cat ill at ease. His fingers were continually tap-tap-tapping, and Grimalkin was convinced he was the type who went about their business far too quickly as if there was a fire around every corner, or a bear careening up the stairwell, or a marauding army of Jacobites about to scale the tenement walls. This behavior was at odds with Grimalkin’s, who, like all Victorian cats, knew a thing or two about taking his time and tending to his appearance properly. It was like being around a jack-in-the-box… an awful spring-loaded human who could leap and surprise at any moment and positively ruin a good slumber.
I wish he’d bally-well SLOW DOWN. Such unrestful behavior!
It didn’t help matters that there appeared to be something on the man’s mind. Something important.
A thought occurred to Grimalkin. He cannot see me, but I wonder if he can hear me? With that, he opened his mouth and let out a gentle, but concerted purr-mew.
Prrrrrp? Prrrrrrrrrrrrrr—woaw?
But the man did not respond.
Silence briefly filled the space between cat and man as the gentleman took a pipe from his breast pocket. Drumming his fingers, he plucked a tin from a little adjacent table from which he extracted a healthy amount of stringy tobacco and a box of matches. Striking one of the matches, he guided the flame to the two gas lamps that curled out from the mantelpiece like the necks of swans. Blue-yellow flames leaped out from the sconces as the lit match approached, spurting like fiery dragon breath, and reflecting for a moment on the man’s forehead.
“Heavens Archie, man, pull yourself together!” blurted the gentleman to himself, tossing his tobacco box back on the side table. “You’re a publisher, for God’s sake. He should fear you if anything. Just be civil. J. M. Barrie. Humph! So, he’s started doing well for himself. Well, who hasn’t in this day and age? The whole world’s on the make what with motorcars and electric lights and God knows what else! J. M. Barrie? Why, he’s just like everybody else! And I need not fear him; you hear that Archie, ol’ bean? You need not fear him.” The man fell silent for a moment. Grimalkin scrutinized his brow to see if any secrets of his character lurked there.
“Prrrrrpppppppp…” said Grimalkin, this time a little louder. No, he cannot hear me. For three he stays, for three he strays, for three he plays. I am only meant to observe in this age…with no poltergeist capabilities, and perhaps no power to roam beyond this flat either. This gentleman and I shall have to get better acquainted.
Unseen observation felt exciting to Grimalkin: the thrill of the gaze, unthreatened, with the only prospect of pain being that which is emotional, rather than physical…the chance to witness the unvarnished truth of the ages! He wanted to find out what happened and who this J. M. Barrie character was. Evidently, he was a writer of some sort, though not one Grimalkin had ever heard of during Queen Victoria’s reign. There had been piles of books he’d slept on and, occasionally, perused, back in the 19th century; but they had all been written by a certain Robert Louis Stevenson who was preoccupied with lighthouses, or Elizabeth Gaskell, who was obsessed with wizened old clerks and long descriptions of dirty mills that, frankly, made Grimalkin’s whiskers droop.
With a moody burst of energy, the man procured a walking cane from underneath the settee which he used to jab a wooden button, mounted just to the right of the fireplace. On pushing this, a bell chimed down the hall. There followed a padding of feet. And from those feet alone, Grimalkin could tell who was approaching…the mere dance of that noise into his ears made him slowblink in fondness. Eilidh.
The doorknob turned, and in came Eilidh herself, the same boar-bristle brush in her hand, and the same flushed face, like a little rosy moon, under the same white headdress. Unchanged. She smiled and turned to the master.
Well, we all have heard that cats have nine lives but do we really consider that? The author of this book did! Here is the story of a ghost cat who lives out all of its lives over the course of more than 100 years. This leads to much observation on the cat’s part and a good deal of entertainment for the reader.
This book will appear to those who enjoy cats and their points of view, history, Edinburgh and a quirky read.
Ethel is 73 years old. She can play the senior citizen card when needed but there is so much more to this vibrant woman. Ethel has retired from the FBI but her quick brain, skills, and schemes are as fresh and effective as ever. Get to know her in this enjoyable mystery/caper about murders and shenanigans affecting the Supreme Court.
The author juggles a lot in terms of a complicated scheme in which it takes a little while for readers to figure out what is going on. There are senators, supreme court justices and their clerks, the FBI, Ethel’s relative and friends along with all living in a DC that comes to life here. There is a serious issue underpinning the story that has to do with a Supreme Court’s pending decision on precious metals and mining. The issue feels quite timely.
Those who enjoy cozy thrillers (is there such a thing?) are certain to want to read this one. There is an earlier title in the series as well and I hope that there will be a third to come.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Mary Lennox; does any reader ever forget her? This story of her transformation and growth has stood the test of time. The enchantment of the garden has remained irresistible for generations.
There is no greater treat than introducing a child to the magic of a book. This gorgeous edition of The Secret Garden is perfect for doing exactly that. The illustrations are many, vibrant and enticing.
Remember that there is magic here for adults as well. I definitely want the hard copy of this edition for myself!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for this title. All opinions are my own.
I read and enjoyed this author’s first, The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, so was intrigued by this second novel set in the world of books.
Here is a locked room mystery that fans of that genre will enjoy. However, they may feel differently in going into libraries for a while.
A group of friends hopes that a night in the library will be transformative and it is…just not in the way that they hoped.
This is a suspenseful read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
One thing that I love about Sulari Gentill is that she never seems to rest on her laurels. I very much enjoyed her novels about Rowly Sinclair and his group of friends. These are historical mysteries, set in the 1930s, in a series that began with A Few Right Thinking Men. There are good characters who are good friends and good stories in each of the entries.
Ms. Gentill then began to write some standalone novels and stories set outside of Australia. These include After She Wrote Him, The Woman in the Library, and now, The Mystery Writer. Each has an intriguing and, perhaps quirky, story.
In this new book, Theo (Theodosia) has decided to leave law behind. She wants to be a novelist. When her mentor is killed and her brother becomes a suspect, the scene is set.
A few things to ponder…who was the murderer, where is Theo’s manuscript, and what secret things are happening? Get ready for the unraveling.
It is easy to recommend this one.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
Meet Me in Monaco feels like the perfect title for right now. It is a gentle, romantic story that will allow its readers to escape daily life. Much of the book is set in France with its beautiful towns and countryside. And then, of course, readers also spend time in Monaco itself.
The background for the story is Grace Kelly’s wedding to Prince Rainier but Sophie and Jim are also prominent characters for whom readers want the best. Sophie is a parfumier with a beloved family business that is facing financial ruin. The man she is to marry does not always seem right for her. Jim is a photographer assigned at times to follow Ms. Kelly. Jim is divorced and the woman in his life is daughter, Emily.
Sophie meets Jim when he chases Grace into Sophie’s store. From this beginning, readers will spend time with the three and with the others who surround them, all the while hoping for fairy tale endings.
The book follows a typical narrative structure with the addition of nterspersed news articles. These are fun to read and help readers to feel that they are witnesses to the action.
This novel was written by two authors who worked very well together. It was impossible for me to detect who was writing when.
I highly recommend this novel for those who need a bit of feel good time.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.
I must confess that I did not know nearly as much as I thought I did about the movement that led to the (eventual) right for women to vote in the United States. I was aware of those who started the movement both the U.S. and England but I was familiar with only one of the three women featured in this novel.
The three are Alice Paul, Ida Wells and Maud Malone. Each has her life story told against the vivid backdrop of the politics of the day and their individual histories.
Alice Paul was raised as a Quaker; Ida Wells knew much about slavery, and Maud Malone was an Irish American librarian. What led each of these women to fight so hard for something that many now take for granted? Jennifer Chiaverini helps readers to understand why they worked persistently for what they believed in.
These three are not the only ones who appear in the book. To name just two others, there are Jane Addams and Ava Vanderbilt.
The history that Alice, Ida and Maud lived through comes to life in this novel. I was especially struck by all that Ida Wells endured including the impact of yellow fever on her life, the lynchings of people that she knew and much more.
Around these women are the men, many of whom wanted to thwart votes for women. They included President Wilson. Will the women succeed in organizing a massive march for the day before his inaugural? Read this one to find out.
I found The Women’s March to be among my very favorite books by this author. I learned a lot but did not feel that I was being lectured to.
This historical fiction should be on reading lists for high school students and up. It would make a superb book club selection.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Meet Me in Monaco feels like the perfect title for right now. It is a gentle, romantic story that will allow its readers to escape daily life. Much of the book is set in France with its beautiful towns and countryside. And then, of course, readers also spend time in Monaco itself.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 