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

This was the first book that I read by Jojo Moyes who, of course, went on to write Me Before You, Me After You and Still Me.  I enjoyed this novel with its dual narratives taking place in 1960 and 2003.  The 1960 story centers on a lost love letter, its author and its intended recipient.  In 2003, the protagonist is working out her own love story.

Kirkus Reviews calls the novel, “a prize-winning, cross-generational love story of missed connections and delayed gratification [that] hits a seam of pure romantic gold. . . . A cliffhanger-strewn tale of heartache in two strikingly different eras [and] a tour de force.”

Praise from Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and Love and Ruin:

“Crafting a love story that feels not just compelling but true is a very difficult thing indeed—and yet, with The Last Letter from Your Lover, Jojo Moyes has done it twice. I found myself utterly transfixed by both sets of lovers in this marvelous novel. Moyes is a tremendously gifted storyteller, and I’m all admiration.”
—Paula McLain

This is a very touching and moving book for children and their adults that is basedon a true story.  I rate it highly!  The illustrations are warmly appealing and add resonance to the story.  Lois Szymanski tells the reader about Surfer Dude, one of the Chincoteague ponies.  Those who know Chincoteague may have read books like Misty of Chincoteague.  For those who don’t know, Chincoteague is a special place where wild ponies live.  In this book, the reader watches Surfer Dude from the time he is named as a pony until he dies twenty-three years later.  The depiction of his death is quite beautiful and is well incorporated in the story.  The reader comes to care deeply for Surfer Dude and his family.  There are several resources in the book; one about the wildlife on the island while the other is about the ponies and names and talks about many of them.  I give this book a five star ***** rating, something that I do only rarely.  Read it!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher.

I found this biography to be insightful and easy to read (for a long non-fiction work).  The life and incredible times of the Adams family are well depicted.  One fascinating thing in reading this book is remembering that Adams, Jefferson, Franklin & Co. did not know how the Revolution would end. I take comfort in knowing that in these uncertain times.

From Publishers Weekly

A pub date repost

A great book for children (and their adults) who would like to understand more about planets, solar systems, galaxies, comets, asteroids and black holes, to name just some of the topics covered in this introduction to astronomy. With colorful, amusing, pithy and relevant illustrations, this book teaches a lot in a fun way. A few things that I learned…the sun makes up 99 per cent of the solar system’s mass; Venus is intensely hot and Earth is like baby bear’s porridge (see the book to find out why). Learn more about astronauts and what the International Space Station is like. An easy to look at book that young readers will be able to use as a solid reference.

This is a pub day re-post.

Are you planning a summer vacation? Are you staying in the U.S.? If you are, think about visiting a National Park. This book will make you appreciate the rich natural heritage of our country.

Did you know that the National Park Service began under Ulysses S Grant? That is just one interesting fact that came from this book for children and their families. Divided by geographical regions and parks within each area, this wonderful book highlights when each park was founded, where it is located and what can be seen there. The illustrations are so appealing that the reader definitely enjoys exploring in this book. Highly recommended for travelers both real and armchair.

A re-post but I will say again that I loved both this and The Lido.

Dear Mrs. Bird is an engaging and warm first novel. Readers who enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society are almost certain to rate this book highly. Mrs. Bird is an out of touch editor at a woman’s magazine during WW II who is responsible for the agony column. Sadly, she deems most letters “unsuitable” for answering. Enter Emmy; young, naive, and trying to cope with bombs and disasters in London. She begins to answer letters as Mrs. Bird and you need to read the book to learn what happens. This novel at first seemed like it would be light but it has substance. Themes of love, friendship and how to relate to others all have their place. I highly recommend Dear Mrs. Bird! I would like to write her a fan letter. Thanks for this read NetGalley.

I was so in love with reading our last book for class, Mrs. Dalloway, that I have found it difficult to move on to TEWWG.  I will just say that Mrs. D has rocketed to the top of my favorite novels list, along with Ann Patchett’s Bel Canto.  In this class I read Mrs. Dalloway for the second time and I think that it is a book that needs more than one read.  I loved being in the minds and thoughts of everyone in the novel, despite some of the stories, like that of Septimus, being tragic.  I think that Virginia Woolf had an incredible capacity for nuance and exploring her character’s daily thoughts and lives.

Their Eyes is a very different book.  If Mrs. D is often internal in its focus, Their Eyes is about characters but also community.  Janie is a young African American girl who has been raised by her grandmother, a woman who recalls slavery.  Her wish is to keep Janie safe and to protect her, so Janie, a dreamer, is soon married.  Over the course of the novel, her relationships with the men in her life are explored as is her lack of agency with her first two husbands.  The community that her second husband Joe wills into being comes to vivid life.

Much of the novel is in a dialect which adds to the sense of place, a small town in Florida, and takes a bit of adjustment for the reader at first.  Zora Neal Hurston was deliberate in this choice.

Below is one writer’s assessment of the novel.  If you have read this book, I would love to know what you thought of it.

“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.” —Zadie Smith

This is an honest introduction to the stories of forty Greek gods and goddesses.  All the gory details including husbands and wives who are brothers and sisters (or fathers and daughters) and brief accounts of the violent acts that the gods committed are there but all is simply told.  Each god or goddess has a couple of pages in the book, complete with illustrations, interesting facts, genealogy, symbols and accomplishments, etc.  This reads more like a beginning reference book than a story-like retelling of the myths.  It is a good reference for those who want to learn about the early Greeks’ stories and world views.

#GreekGodsAndHeroes #NetGalley

Everyone at the Anne of Green Gables brunch was given a copy of this beautiful Sourcebooks edition of the book.  I am so looking forward to rereading this favorite book for the third time.  The brunch was fabulous.  At our table we shared hushpuppies with maple butter and a saucy (like Anne) cauliflower dish.  Then one of us had a sandwich with a tomato biscuit, tofu, lettuce and   tomato; one had a fishless fishcake and one had egg salad.  There was chocolate cake for dessert and drinks included raspberry cordial and blueberry lemonade.  Readers of the book will recall that the cordial did not agree with Diana!  All of the food was inspired by Canada and the book.  The Colleen Dewhurst, Megan Fallows Anne of Green Gables series played on screens in the background.  It was a completely enjoyable experience.  Put this on your calendar for next July 1 if you will be in New York.  The restaurant is called Dirt Candy.

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