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

This is a perfect book for questioners and young city planners! In this engaging, short read, with wonderful illustrations, Ms. Hughes tells the story of Jane Jacobs. Jane was an “outside the box” thinker from her earliest childhood when she rebelled by refusing to promise to brush her teeth every day. When Jane moved to New York City as a young woman, she began to think about how people live together and the ways in which cities should work for their residents, not the builders or those who wanted to build highways. Her clashes with Robert Moses and her love of where she lived and what she did shine through.

A quote:

“Throughout her lifetime and beyond, Jane Jacobs urged city planners to make cities better for the people living in them.  She inspired communities to take a stand..She also encouraged everyone living in cities to look around…”  Good advice and a good book!

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher.

Grandad Mandela is a picture book that teaches young, through elementary grade, students about Nelson Mandela, African politics and how Mandela fought (without weapons) for his beliefs. The schema of the book is that Mandela’s great grandchildren ask questions and their grandmother tells the story. Concepts such as apartheid are simply and clearly explained. This book is a good starting point for children who want to learn about Mandela, social justice and what they, themselves, can do to further Mandela’s legacy . Of note is that this book is written by members of the Mandela family.

#GrandadMandela #NetGalley

Readers of this blog know that I recently wrote about Love and Ruin by Paula McLain.  I gave this novel a very positive review and highly recommended it.  See below re: Bookreporter.com and resources for this book.

Bookreporter.com Talks to Paula McLain,
Author of LOVE AND RUIN
Our Latest Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight Title
and a Bookreporter.com Bets On Pick

Our Women’s Fiction Author Spotlight of LOVE AND RUIN wraps up this week with our review and interview. In THE PARIS WIFE (a Bets On title), Paula McLain focused on Ernest Hemingway’s marriage to his first wife, Hadley Richardson. This time, she shifts her attention to Martha Gellhorn, one of the great war correspondents of the 20th century, who became Hemingway’s third wife. Paula is a fabulous writer, and I love hearing her speak about her work, which is one reason I am so glad to bring you an interview with her. If you ever get an opportunity to attend an event with Paula, go! She is both informed and gracious.

Amy Haddock has this to say in her review: “With prose as rich and complex as the historical landscape McLain covers, the past comes alive in her latest novel. LOVE AND RUIN is expertly written with well-timed pacing, wonderful descriptions, and themes that will inspire and stay with you long after the final page has been turned.” As I noted, Amy also had the opportunity to ask Paula some questions about the book and why she decided to write about Hemingway again. You can read the interview here. LOVE AND RUIN also will be a Bets On pick; find out why in next week’s newsletter. Paula has made me want to reread so many Hemingway titles, as well as Gellhorn’s writing; she is brilliant at bringing the women in Hemingway’s life to the forefront for us.

And also this…Paula McLain’s 2011 novel, THE PARIS WIFE, captured the love affair between Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. Seven years later, McLain revisits the literary giant in LOVE AND RUIN, this time focusing on his passionate, stormy marriage to his third wife, Martha Gellhorn, who would become one of the greatest war correspondents of the 20th century. In this interview, conducted by Bookreporter.com’s Amy Haddock, McLain discusses what drew her to Gellhorn’s story and why she felt compelled to write about Hemingway again. She also describes her research process, explains how she was able to maintain a strong sense of place throughout the novel, and even shares the recipe for a Hemingway-esque daiquiri that can be enjoyed while reading the book or discussing it with your book group.

Go to Bookreporter.com for the link.  Also, you might want to subscribe to this excellent newsletter.

This is a charming book.

Have you and your child ever looked up at the night sky to study the constellations? Do you make up stories about them? Can you recall their names? This clever book, illustrated in gold, black and white for the nighttime setting, shows pictures of children dreaming and wishing and then shows the appropriate constellation. For example, “In the sky tonight, Oscar dreams of a starstruck crowd of fans,” is followed by the constellation Taurus for Oscar the matador.

This is a lovely book for a young child. They will love the repetition of theme and the cozy feel of this read aloud.

#StarrySkies #NetGalley

So…classes finish next week and it is time for some serious fun reading.  The books at the top of my mystery pile are pictured below.  I feel pretty sure that they will all be great.  I bought the first book; the others are courtesy of NetGalley.  THANK YOU NetGalley for the wonderful anticipation that comes with thinking about these reads.

These novels are all part of on-going series that are among my very favorites.  Give them a try.  You could be lucky enough to make some fun discoveries with some great reads ahead.

This is the next to last book that we read in the class on Narratives on Adultery in 19th century fiction. Interestingly it is the only one named for a male character.  This novel is a true heart breaker in which there are tragedies too numerous to mention.  Jude, orphaned young, and  living with his aunt in Hardy’s fictional Wessex, has dreams beyond his social class.  Inspired by a teacher, Jude dreams of going to Christminster, a stand in for Oxford.  He dreams of an education and feels that he will find it in this city of learning.  Jude is determined but also led astray by his desires for sex and alcohol.  He marries unwisely, loves a cousin (perhaps also unwisely), and the novel ends in tragedy.  Some of the people in my class talked of having to take breaks when reading Jude.  No spoilers but one tragedy just is of epic proportions.  I kept wanting to intervene with Jude as if he were a real person.  “Stop,” I wanted to say, “consider what you are doing, what you said you wanted and what you are choosing.”  This is one of those novels that I believe forms a part of a good education.  It is a tough one though.  It is Hardy’s indictment of marriage without love and a statement of the boundaries of social class that cannot be transcended.  Has anyone reading the blog read Jude?  Your thoughts?

Carolyn Haines has been writing her Sarah Booth Delaney series for years. I am pretty sure that this is book number 18. The first novel in the series, Them Bones, was original and charming. Part of the charm has to do with the presence of Sarah Booth’s “haint” Jitty.  She is a ghost from plantation days. Don’t let that put you off the book; Jitty is a fun character and somewhat of a truth teller/foil for Sarah Booth. The many residents of Zinnia, MS also come to life in the series. There is Sarah Booth’s partner, Tinkie, along with many love interests for Sarah Booth over the course of the novels. These are character with whom I love to catch up.
The latest book has to do with witch sisters who want to set up a very ecologically conscious school. There is plenty of skulduddgery, attempted murder and mayhem. While this was not my favorite book in the series, it was still a fun read. Readers might want to start from the beginning and watch how the characters’ lives develop.

#CharmedBones #NetGalley

Ruth Rendell aka Barbara Vine writes two kinds of books.  The Ruth Rendell/Inspector Wexford books are in a series and are typical British mysteries/police procedurals.  The Barbara Vine books are generally spooky and darker.  I prefer Inspector Wexford.  The first book in the series is From Doon with Death and there are at least fifteen altogether.  I read these novels a while ago but remember starting with one and just keeping on going.  You can read the series in order or try this one that is on sale today.  If you like traditional British mysteries, you may have already read these.  If not you have a treat in store.

From Publishers Weekly

I blogged this one just last month and today it could be yours for just ninety-nine cents!  Review reprinted below:

This is the first book that I have read by Maria Shriver; I felt that it was worth my time.  This short volume is for dipping into as well as reading straight through, whichever you prefer.  Many topics of daily and spiritual life are written about in entries a few pages long.  Each ends with a short prayer that Ms. Shriver has written.  This is a book that is easy to relate to and offers the reader a pause for reflection in the midst of a busy daily life.

A blurb: “If you are feeling stuck, lost, or you just need a pick-me-up, this is the book for you. Shriver’s wisdom will fill you up.” —Hoda Kotb, coanchor, The Today Show

PLEASE NOTE THAT I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Much has been written about Ernest Hemingway and his wives but no-one writes about them better than Paula McLain, whose new novel is about Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn. I thought that this author’s debut novel, The Paris Wife, was a wonderful book;  it told the story of the young Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley. The author beautifully captured Hadley’s voice. When I started Love and Ruin, I wondered if Ms. McLain would be able to again capture the essence of an historical character…she does!
Martha Gellhorn and Hemingway initially meet in Florida. They become closer when traveling to Spain during the Civil War, a war which is hearbreakingly portrayed in the novel. Hemingway and Gellhorn travel together to Cuba, Florida, Europe during WWII, Utah, etc. with each locale coming alive. World events unfurl in their presence.
This is also the story of a relationship; what is it like to be in the orbit of a truly charismatic person? Is that enough? How does one maintain a sense of identity? Gellhorn, a writer and reporter of merit, struggles as a relationship of equals becomes less so. There is love and yes, ruin, in the coming together and apart of these two historical personages.  The reader is a witness to the joys and struggles of this couple.
I highly recommend Love and Ruin. It is one of the finest historical novels that I have read. Thanks for this one NetGalley!  It was special.

#LoveAndRuin #NetGalley

This is such an appealing book! Children who love their pets, and animals in general, will enjoy the short entries that explain why animals do the things that they do. There are entries about cats, dogs, horses, pigs, ferret…snakes. You get the idea. The illustrations are bright and appealing. This is a book that a child can read alone but that adults will also enjoy. I kept shouting out facts to my husband as I read this and I am about as adult as I ever will be!