Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too!

This novel is certain to be one of the “big” novels of the fall.  Its author Ann Patchett is well known for her thoughtful, literary style and moving story lines  The Dutch House will be welcomed by Patchett’s loyal readers and may well attract some new fans.

The book tells the story of siblings, Maeve and Danny, those around them and the home that resonates with them.  The story moves back and forth in time as characters and their stories take center stage or temporarily recede.

This is a complex and sophisticated novel that makes readers think about relationships (parent/child, stepparent/child, husband/wife, siblings, step-siblings,  those who work for families), finding a way in life, sacrifices and choices.  Readers will not forget The Dutch House and those who lived there.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read in exchange for an honest review.

Four stars ****

What makes for a perfect birthday? Is it perfection that makes it perfect? Young listeners will enjoy finding out the answer to that question as they find out about beaver’s big day.

Beaver wants the perfect birthday cake and he has the perfect recipe for it. His friends want to help and things do not go as Beaver planned. How does he react? What happens? What is most important? Children will know when they finish the story.

This book is for toddlers and preschoolers. It will gently help them to think about what matters. Adults will know the predictable answer but young children may not.

The illustrations that accompany the book are detailed and playful. They definitely enhance the story while adding humor.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read in exchange for an honest review.

This book offers an excellent introduction to the achievements of Ada Lovelace, daughter of a mathematician and a poet. Her early years, the education that she had (when many girls did not), her interest in Math and work with Babbage are all covered in one easy to read package. By the way, the illustrations also add to the book as they reflect Ada’s personality. Get this one for a young reader you know who wants to be a big thinker with big ideas!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read about Ada who worked on what later came to be known as the computer. All opinions are my own.

A couple of thrillers, a women’s fiction, a classic, an entry from a favorite series of mine and one for those who find cats amewsing.

The Guest Book-check my archive for my review.

The Nest

Medium Raw by the late Anthony Bourdain

Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson

Little Beach Street Bakery. Jenny Colgan’s books are nice, easy reads.

300 Days of Sun is romantic suspense.

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This is a fantastic collection of stories, some of which will be known to readers and listeners while others may not. There is, for example, the story of Hansel and Gretel which, or course, I know. That is immediately followed by Grandfather’s Eyes, a tale from Czechoslovakia that was new to me.

The stories are organized into sections. A few examples include Into the Woods, Down by the Water, Enchanted Places, Strangers at the Door and many more. Each story is identified by region of the world and country. No story is very long so these tales make for perfect (slightly) scary bedtime or anytime reads. The illustrations reflect the tone of the book and are quite striking.

This is a wonderful book that I highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for these spooky reads.

4 stars ****

From the Publisher

HANSEL AND GRETEL

Hansel and Gretel lived with their father and stepmother beside a great forest. One night their father, who was a poor woodcutter, told his wife that they had no money left. “I don’t know how we shall feed ourselves,” he sighed. His wife had no love for Hansel and Gretel and saw this as a chance to be rid of them. “We must take the children into the forest tomorrow and leave them there,” she told her husband. “Then we’ll only have two mouths to feed.”

DOWN BY THE WATER

THE STORY OF THE YARA In a little town by a river that flowed through the rainforest, there lived a young man called Alonzo. Alonzo was new to the country but he’d quickly grown to love the rainforest, where parrots swooped through the trees and hummingbirds darted among bright flowers. He’d also grown to love a girl called Julia and they were soon to be married. Every day after work, Alonzo visited Julia and they sat out under the stars talking together. Afterwards, while the night was still warm, Alonzo would go to bathe in a forest pool near the river. One evening, Alonzo told Julia about a mysterious voice he had heard singing when he went for his swim in the pool.	THE BUNYIP One hot day, in the wilderness, a group of young men set out from their camp to find food for their wives and children. Full of high spirits, they challenged each other with spear-throwing and boomerangs along the way. After a while, they came to a valley where there was a large pool in which bulrushes were growing. Bulrush roots were good to eat but the young men didn’t want to spend time wading in the water to collect them so they decided to fish instead.	MORAG AND THE WATER HORSE Every summer, the farmers of the valleys took their cattle to graze on the lush grass that grew on the high hills.However, Donald MacGregor wanted his cattle to have the very best grass which grew lower down the hillside, beside a deep loch. So he built his stone hut on a slip of land between the loch and a little stream that ran alongside it.The other farmers kept away from that place because they were afraid of it. “Haven’t you heard of the terrible Water Horse that lives at the bottom of the loch?” they asked Donald. “It rides up out of the water and changes its form to trick people. Then it carries them away to their doom deep down below!”

THE WATER WITCH

William was a poor cowherd who loved a dairymaid called Bella. One day, he decided to give up work on the farm to seek his fortune. “I shall come home with my pockets full of gold so that we can be married,” he promised Bella. Bella didn’t want William to go but he was determined. When it was time for him to leave, Bella fetched three things that her father had given her before he died. The first was a little bell which could be heard by a friend in time of danger. The second was a knife which had the power to undo any enchantment and the third was a staff which would take its owner wherever they wanted to go. Bella gave William the bell and the knife. “I shall keep the staff,” she said and with a heavy heart she wished him good luck.

Quite a mix here but perhaps there is something that you will enjoy….magical realism, historical mystery, literary fiction,  Woman 99 and a collection of Katherine Neville novels

I recently reviewed The Cold Way Home by Julia Keller, a novel that I loved.  Woman 99 seems to address an issue from that novel-the incarceration in mental institutions of women who were confined against their will.

This cookbook is utterly charming!  It pays tribute to Louisa May Alcott with quotes and background, including a very informative introductory essay.  Food plays an important part in the novel as readers of the book know and as the author of this cookbook knows as well.  There are so many fpasssages about food as the Little Women grow.  There are Amy who  has issues with her limes, Meg who has trouble with her jam, breakfasts given to those in greater need and much more.  Reference to all are made and give the reader the opportunity to enjoy memories of reading Little Women.

The recipes themselves are easy to follow.  They are organized into four chapters:

-Hannah’s Breakfasts

-Gatherings with Family and Friends

-March Family Dinners and Suppers and

-Sweet Treats, Desserts and Drinks

A few of the featured recipes include:

Buckwheat Pancakes, A better Omelet for Marmee and Milk Toast in the breakfast section.

Roast Beef Picnic Sandwiches, Jo’s Much Improved Corned Beef and Spice Trade DEviled Eggs in the Gatherings section and of course more as you move through the additional chapters.  The recipes are clearly delineated and look easy enough for those who are not kitchen stars.

The illustrations throughout are delightful. They definitely enhance the text.  There are also some photos, including one of the Orchards, the Alcott home.

I thoroughly enjoyed this cookbook both for the recipes and for the joy of browsing through the book itself.  Last year, I read Little Women for the second time.  It was more substantive than I had recalled.  Read it while your  food is cooking and while you wait for the newest version of the movie to be released this December.  Enjoy!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars *****

#TheLittleWomenCookbook #NetGalley

From the Publisher

Experience the exciting and heartwarming world of the March sisters and Little Women right in your own kitchen

Chapter 1 Hannah’s Breakfasts Rise and shine—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy–style—with these gratifying, true-to-the-era recipes, including cornmeal or buckwheat griddle cakes, a Jo-proof omelet for Marmee, Christmas Day muffins (Amy’s favorite), and an apple-studded sweet oatmeal porridge. Chances are that if you try your hand at making Hannah’s legendary turnovers, the buttery-rich, flaky pastries will become as sought after at your house as they are at the Marches’.	Chapter 2 Gatherings with Family and Friends When the Marches and the Laurences have company over, each family may bring different kinds of meals to the table, but no matter what their means, they always show their guests a good time. You can, too, with these Little Women–style ways to bring your favorite people together over picnics, dinner gatherings, and even a Sunday roast.	Chapter 3 March Family Dinners and Suppers “I was truly grateful that I not only possessed the will but the power to cook wholesome food for my little girls,” Marmee tells her daughters in the pages of Little Women. Here, then, are the very types of simple everyday recipes that Marmee, Hannah, and the newly married Meg would lovingly put on the table to gratify and nourish their families.	Chapter 4 Sweet Treats, Desserts, and Drinks Amy insists on giving her friends the best French chocolate, while Mr. Bhaer treats the March family to a windfall of fruits and nuts before he leaves for the West. Jo’s specialty is gingerbread, while Meg’s trump card is blanc-mange. And at the end of the book, apple turnovers and cookies turn up all over the orchard. Indeed, the March family and their companions are generous with their sweets. Here’s how to indulge your friends and family with the same irresistible delights.

Vanilla Butter Cookies with Mr. Bhaer’s Chocolate Drops

Demi . . . soon discovered that Dodo like to play with “the bear-man” better than she did him, but though hurt, he concealed his anguish, for he hadn’t the heart to insult a rival who kept a mine of chocolate drops in his waistcoat pocket.

Whenever Mr. Bhaer visits the March family, he brings Meg’s children, Demi and Dodo, chocolate drops, a popular sweet at the time. You can still find these old-fashioned candies in the candy aisle of the supermarket. They resemble large M&Ms, without the candy coating. Here, they top butter cookies, another popular treat from those times. Anyone who loves chocolate and butter cookies (who doesn’t?) will adore these treats as much as Dodo adored Mr. Bhaer and his chocolate drops.

Makes 4 dozen cookies

• 1½ sticks unsalted butter, allowed to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes to soften
• ¾ cup (150 g) sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1¾ cups (220 g) all-purpose flour
• 4 dozen chocolate drops or stars (from an 8-ounce [226 g] bag)

I admired both Sonia Purnell and Clementine Churchill even before I was (fortunately) approved by NetGalley for this book on Clementine Churchill . I learned so much from the biography written by Ms. Purnell. This book reiterates many important elements of this fascinating woman’s biography, from her troubled childhood throughout two World Wars and her life beyond. What makes this book different and special, at least to me, are the photographs. They are fascinating both in terms of Clementine and Winston’s lives and as illustrations of the lives of people who lived throughout the 1900s. The text and photos are perfect complements to one another and add to the depth of experience for the reader.

I am savoring this book as I read it. I highly recommend it and give it five stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this magnificent book.

#ClementineChurchill #NetGalley

Forthcoming I will have a review of Lady Clementine, a fictional account of Clementine’s life.  I seem to be reading lots on her but have no Clemmie fatigue.

The earlier biography by Ms. Purnell

Editorial Reviews

Some thoughts on today’s choices.  See covers below.

Me on Anna Karenina

Today we spent three hours talking about Anna Karenina in my class on Adultery in Nineteenth Century Fiction. Three hours was not nearly enough and yet the class has to move on to Jude the Obscure. I could talk about this book for several more classes.

I learned more about Tolstoy. As many of you may know, he was a Count and very well educated. He became religious in later life. Tolstoy despised the society of St. Petersburg. He had something like thirteen children with his wife and many other children through his liaisons. It took him many years to complete this novel and Tolstoy was most like the character Levin.

This is a novel of such incredible scope. There are of course the relationships-the marriages and the liaisons. Dolly and Stefan, Anna and Karenin, Anna and Vronsky, Levin and Kitty, Dolly and Kitty’s parents, who have one of only two happy marriages in the book. (The other happier relationship is a peasant couple.) There are themes of city versus country, accepting or not accepting the boundaries of marriage, doing what is expected/not expected of one in society, motherhood, aristocrats as compared to laborers, religion and, I am sure many more.

I have loved reading this novel. The scenes are beautifully rendered whether it is Anna and Vronsky’s first meeting, a ball, a wedding, hunting in the country, etc. The characters have depth and generally, like real human beings, have complex emotions and are not always consistent.

It is a big commitment to read AK. It has taken me the better part of a month. It has been time incredibly well spent. I remember that, as a child, for the longest time I thought the word Classic translated to boring. That changed when I read Little Women. If you think that classics are not for you, think again. This is a wonderful novel. I liked it much more than Madame Bovary which I previously blogged. Pick it up and see what you

From Booklist 

The Wicked Girls