Some e book bargains for 7.31.22
Author: joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviews
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!
Barack Obama’s Summer Reading List 2022 Blackwell’s
Trading since 1879, Blackwell of Oxford is the largest academic and specialist bookseller in the UK. Fast dispatch, carefully packaged, worldwide delivery.
— Read on blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/collection/Obama-Summer-Reading-2022-shortlists/-187934
So much fun!
My new Wordy Traveler gift box! A book, tea, coffee, a folding backpack and more.
These make wonderful gifts.
The Inspiration Coffee and Wisdom Tea for a Hectic Day
by Peter G. Vu
This is a book that offers thoughtful entries over the course of a year. There are wise sayings from many religious traditions included in this book. Two sayings are given for each day, one is suggested for the morning and the other for tea time. The author offers the first for inspiration and the second for some wisdom in a busy day.
Those who want a little something to think about and who enjoy books that offer a year’s worth of wisdom, may want to give this one a try.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub Date 18 Mar 2022
Who is responsible for: The Violin Conspiracy
by Brendan Slocumb
This book is a wonderful debut novel that will be enjoyed by mystery and music aficionados. The author knows his classical music and this adds authenticity to an engaging story.
Ray wants to be a violinist, even if his family lacks enthusiasm for this choice. Ray plays a fiddle that he inherited from a relative; there is more to this instrument than is at first know, but you need to read the book to know what the secret is.
How successful will Ray be? Again, read to find out and to find out the fate of the violin.
Here is a mystery, a thriller, a story with a terrific protagonist, music and a black man navigating the world of classical music. What a combination!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub Date 01 Feb 2022
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Editorial Reviews
Review
A Good Morning America GMA Book Club Pick!
The Seattle Times’s Most Anticipated Books of the Year • Goodreads: Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers • Medium: The Most Exciting Book Releases of the Year • Pop Sugar: 35 Must-Read Thrillers and Mystery Books to Keep You Chasing Clues • The Millions: Most Anticipated Books of the Year • A Publishers Weekly Top Ten Mystery/Thriller • Book Riot: The 15 Best New Mystery Books
“Slocumb imbues his character’s life with so much authenticity in the details, details that anyone who has played a stringed instrument, or played in a professional ensemble, will recognize. . . . Where Slocumb shines … is in the passages where he shows Ray’s grit. . . . [Brendan Slocumb] has plenty of brio to share with readers as well as listeners.”
—NPR
“Such a page-turner . . . a musical bildungsroman cleverly contained within a literary thriller. . . . Slocumb isn’t too different from his protagonist: a natural. He easily conjures the thrill of mastering a tough musical passage and the tinnitus-like torture of everyday racism.”
—The New York Times
“When I opened Brendan Slocumb’s debut novel, The Violin Conspiracy, I was immediately transported to a place I’d never been, surrounded by characters I’d never met. In the crowded world of fiction, that’s no small accomplishment. . . . Slocumb has orchestrated an engaging and suspenseful story about an aspiring musician and his great-great-grandfather’s violin. . . . The Violin Conspiracy is so wonderfully written, especially its descriptions of music, that at times I questioned whether I was reading or listening to a concert. . . . Slocumb is equally adept at suspense, whether he’s conveying the ticktock of the main mystery or the heart-pounding, fist-clenching realities Ray has to face as a young Black man in America. This novel, which will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the very last page, is sure to be a favorite in 2022.”
—The Washington Post
Who is responsible? Desperate Undertaking
A Flavia Albia Novel
by Lindsey Davis
Years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to Lindsey Davis and her Marcus Didius Falco books. I went on to enjoy twenty excellent reads, starting with The Silver Pigs, which was published in 1989. What Ms. Davis did well then and continues to do well now, is create the world of ancient Rome and then people it with characters with whom readers will want to spend time.
Desperate Undertakings is the tenth novel in the Flavia Alba series. Fans of Didius Falco and his spouse already know that Flavia is their daughter. She has many of her parents’ qualities and these help her in figuring out the situations in which she becomes embroiled. Who is killing the Romans? What is the meaning of their dying words? Find out with Flavia. You’ll be glad that you did.
If it turns out the Lindsey Davis is an author for you and this is your first book by her, you have some fantastic reads ahead. Lucky you.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub Date 26 Jul 2022
Some e book deals for 7.29.22
Not my usual post but helpful
Time to play: Super Soccer Activity Book
by MUNDIAL
#SuperSoccerActivityBook #NetGalley
I am a big fan of the old fashioned activity book that requires only pencils and no screens. They are portable and great for travel and car time.,
This title features puzzles about Soccer, rather than general activities. I think that elementary school aged children who like the sport will happily spend time with this title.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group-Wide Eyed Editions
Pub date: 02 August 2022
What is it like to be: The Woman with Two Shadows
A Novel of WWII
by Sarah James
The Woman with Two Shadows offers a fascinating and involving look at the work that was done in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during WWII. Readers will find themselves quite involved with the history, the story and the characters.
Here we have twins who, while the same in many ways, want different things. What happens when one needs to assume the other’s identity?
Lillian strives for a prestigious math prize. The author says that she wants to go to Harvard which is a bit off, so a small criticism here. I think that, at that time, female students went to Radcliffe. Still, that should not spoil the story for readers.
Younger twin Eleanor wants to be an actress but this is not happening so she takes a job in Oak Ridge, TN, only to disappear. Ironically, Lillian who doesn’t want to act, takes on the biggest acting job imaginable when she has to pretend to be Eleanor. What has happened to Eleanor? How will Lillian manage her new life and what will she learn?
I recently read a book called The Physicists’ Daughter. It was different from this title but shares with it the work that led to the development of the bomb in WWII. Each of these novels offers a sense of history, engaging characters, twist and turns, and menace. They can be read as bookends.
Readers will be drawn into the story. Fans of historical fiction, take a look.
Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub Date 26 Jul 2022
Editorial Reviews
Review
“Utterly fascinating and meticulously researched, The Woman with Two Shadows is a riveting tale about a town and its people that officially never existed and the secrecy behind one of the Manhattan Project’s top-secret cities responsible for creating the atom bomb used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. James’s debut is beautifully written and captivating!” ― Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and The Book Woman’s Daughter
“The Woman with Two Shadows is a twisting, atmospheric page-turner. Sarah James’s debut, which is set against a part of America’s World War II history long shrouded in secret, feels fresh and new, filled with complex characters and plenty of intrigue. You won’t be able to put this one down!” ― Julia Kelly, international bestselling author of The Last Dance of the Debutante
“Debut historical novelist James centers this mysterious tale on the true story of the Oak Ridge military site… Her expertly crafted plot, which alternates between Lillian and Eleanor’s backstory and their present, will leave readers wanting more of her expertly researched historical saga.” ― Booklist–This text refers to the paperback edition.
