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

#BurpSpitFart #NetGalley

This book will be a welcome addition to family bookshelves.  With its cartoon like illustrations, facts and humor it help young children to understand how babies develop.  The book is full of facts and in no way talks down to children.   Older siblings will most likely enjoy this look at babies and how they operate.  It reminds them that all that babies do is not perfect and that they can do things infants cannot.

A quote:

But a new baby can be kind of gross too.  They don’t do much except sleep and cry.  Then they burp and poop in public and don’t even get in any trouble….you’ll be ready to help the baby in your life grow up to be as awesome as you.

The author goes on to explain the reasons babies cry, how their sleep cycle operates and much more. Young children may especially enjoy the sections on burping, hiccuping and “the poop detectives.”

Children then see how babies become co-ordinated enough to mouth everything and even to put things in their noses (that don’t belong there).  They then see babies become more upright and engaging.

Finally, there are sections about how important older brothers and sisters are.  They are helpers and role models.  Following the end of the book, there is a helpful glossary.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this entertaining and informative look at infancy to toddlerhood.  All opinions are my own.

 

This is a child’s counting book that adults are sure to love too! The illustrations are bright, appealing and in the style of ten different artists including Monet, Andy Warhol, Jackson Pollack, Frida Kahlo etc. At the end of the book, there is additional information on each of the artists. The picture book is an appealing addition (pun recognized) to the counting book genre.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. I truly enjoyed this one.

I have just begun reading this book which is gently provocative and inspiring.  The author, ordained within the Episcopal Church, has left the ministry to begin teaching World Religion in a small, largely Christian college.

Written in a highly accessible, almost novelistic tone, Ms. Taylor introduces the reader to her students and their studies.  She encourages the reader to think about the role of religion in our lives.  Although I have not yet finished the book, I have the feeling that I will be savoring it right up to the end.  This is a thoughtful and highly recommended read.

From Goodreads:

The renowned and beloved New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World and Learning to Walk in the Dark recounts her moving discoveries of finding the sacred in unexpected places while teaching the world’s religions to undergraduates in rural Georgia, revealing how God delights in confounding our expectations.

Barbara Brown Taylor continues her spiritual journey begun in Leaving Church of finding out what the world looks like after taking off her clergy collar. In Holy Envy, she contemplates the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the Transcendent, both by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her students’ eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques.

Troubled and inspired by what she learns, Taylor returns to her own tradition for guidance, finding new meaning in old teachings that have too often been used to exclude religious strangers instead of embracing the divine challenges they present. Re-imagining some central stories from the religion she knows best, she takes heart in how often God chooses outsiders to teach insiders how out-of-bounds God really is.

Throughout Holy Envy, Taylor weaves together stories from the classroom with reflections on how her own spiritual journey has been complicated and renewed by connecting with people of other traditions—even those whose truths are quite different from hers.  The one constant in her odyssey is the sense that God is the one calling her to disown her version of God—a change that ultimately enriches her faith in other human beings and in God.

Two by reliable authors of women’s fiction, Jenny Colgan and Maeve Binchy.  Georgia is about Georgia O’Keeffe and looks intriguing.

Years ago, I adored this author’s novel The Shell Seekers.  It has held up  to a rereading as well.  I went on to read many, but not all, of  this author’s books.  Today it looks like they are all e book bargains.  Let me know if you read and enjoy any!

This book for younger children (Pre-K through grade 3 or so) looks to the values that ideally Americans share. With its appealing, multi-cultural illustrations and simple text, this book talks about what Americans aspire to be in terms of character and ways of behaving. It is a story that encourages children to think about what is important and the ways in which this includes valuing both oneself and others. A nice addition for school libraries.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. The views are my own.

#TheSentenceIsDeath #NetGalley

In The sentence is Death, second in the series which began with The Word is Murder, the author inserts himself as a character in his fiction. Tony, aka Anthony Horowitz, is Watson to Daniel Hawthorne’s Sherlock. Like Watson, he theorizes but is not as clever as his mentor. In the novel, the conceit is that Mr. Horowitz is writing a series of books about Inspector Hawthorne’s cases.

In this entry, a divorce attorney is murdered. There are numerous suspects including clients involved in an acrimonious divorce. But…the murder may also be related to a past friendship and a tragedy that occurred while caving. Characters stories are developed sufficiently to give the reader a good sense of them. Suffice it to say that several plot lines are followed, there are a number of viable suspects and eventually the case is solved.

As a fan of some of the author’s TV work, I enjoyed the references to Foyle’s War. There is also information about publishing which lends authenticity. I enjoyed this book and will most likely go back to read the first in the series.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e=galley. All opinions are my own.

Some interesting bargains; three are for mystery readers.  The Cat Who is part of a long standing series in the cozy tradition.  In the Teeth of the Evidence is part of the Lord Peter Wimsely canon and Into the Blue is by literary suspense author Robert Goddard.  Then for the others…Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a classic school story while the James Herriott novels tell about the adventures of a vet in Yorkshire in the 1930s.

Every morning I look forward to reading Patrick McDonnell’s comic strip featuring Mooch and Earl. Generally the mood to be found is sweet, funny and clever.

The Mutts Summer Diaries is the latest compilation to feature these human-like pets. Give this latest volume a try if you enjoy a good natured take on the world around us.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read in return for an unbiased review.

#TheChelseaGirls #NetGalley

F

Fiona Davis sets her novels in iconic New York City locations. She has told stories set at the Barbizon Hotel for Women, The Dakota, Grand Central Station and now at the Chelsea Hotel. In each of her three prior novels, the narrative took place during two eras; in this book, the author follows two characters in the same time period. They are actress Maxine and would be actress and playwright, Hazel.

The novel opens with Hazel joining a USO troop in Italy during WWII. These scenes were so evocative, both in terms of the war and the emotions raised for the performers. This beginning left me feeling very excited about the rest of the book except…for a while, I then found the narrative less engaging. However, round about chapter 18 there was a twist and I again became very involved in the story and the characters’ lives. It is worth sticking with the book in my opinion.

Much of this book centers on the activities of HUAC, the House Un-Amercian Activities Committee. Who is a Communist? Who is being targeted unfairly? Should we be rooting people out and encouraging them to turn on others? What are the consequences to everyone when a government sponsored witch hunt is going on? You will think about these issues as you read and may also find the subject relevant in our current political climate.

In addition to HUAC, the reader spends time at the Chelsea Hotel, the Tonys, on Broadway and more. There are actors, government workers, names dropped of famous and real Chelsea Hotel denizens and more. Most of all, readers will connect with Hazel and Maxine, their friendship and its challenges.

All in all, this was a good read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my e-galley. All opinions are my own.