I was fascinated by this book which invites one to think about reading more (some) non fiction. Janzer notes that when she was an English major, the scholastic focus was mainly of varied forms of fiction. She notes, however, that non fiction offers much to readers and encourages exploring.
This book is organized as a field guide, taking cues from other types of field guides with which readers may be familiar. This leads to chapters that are interactive. For example, the first section invites assessing one’s reading patterns. Following through on the prompts will help readers to discover the books with which they would most like to spend time.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Cuesta Park Consulting for this title. All opinions are my own.
To many, Marcus Aurelius is perhaps the best known of the Stoics. His words of wisdom have a remarkable enduring quality and continue to provide food for thought in the present day.
Here is a nice edition of the Meditations. It would make a nice gift for someone who wants to spend a few moments each day in deep thought.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Taylor Swift fans, rejoice! Here is a fun way to spend time with the iconic singer.
This coloring and activity book includes some photos of Swift. There are also puzzles including mazes, matching games, a lyric quiz and more. In addition, there are many pictures to color. These are organized by topic as, for example, Lover Era.
So, get out your pencils and enjoy. This book is a real treat for Swifties.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
The Hollywood spy is the tenth entry in Ms. MacNeal’s Maggie Hope historical mystery series. I have read all of the novels, starting with Mr. Churchill’s Secretary which was published in 2012. Maggie has had many adventures, relationships and heartaches over the course of the stories as she experiences WWII.
As is obvious from the tile, The Hollywood Spy takes place in California. There are cameo appearances by so many who lived there in the book; to name just a few there are Walt Disney, Howard Hughes, Lena Horne, Linus Pauling and many others.
Many locations also are brought to life. There are famous hotels, Disney Studios, Cal Tech, nightclubs, speakeasies and more. Each described location feels very authentic.
Maggie travels to California to help a very close friend (and former love), John Sterling, investigate the death of Gloria Hutton. As readers would expect, there are a number of suspects, everyone from the husband she is divorcing to those with whom she worked
Several other murders follow. Are these deaths connected to Gloria’s? If yes, how and why?
While everything just described is done very well and would be enough to lead me to encourage readers to buy this novel, that is not all that was outstanding. What I feel that the author did brilliantly was to describe the times. Note: they were ugly in many ways and bear a resemblance to some current times in America. (Think of the slogan America First, for one.)
The KKK features prominently in the story. The discrimination against Blacks and Hispanics is graphically portrayed. If readers are not aware of this part of the country’s history, it is something that they need to know about. There is surely much to be proud of in the U.S. but also injustices and they are seen here.
In my opinion, The Hollywood Spy may well be the author’s best book to date. I highly recommend it.
The author has included an extensive list of resources at the end of the novel. It will be most helpful for readers who want to further explore the period in which the story is set.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Chloe has a lot on her plate. She has taken on the responsibility for her younger siblings and has therefore disrupted her career plans. Rather than being a full blown librarian, she works in a library doing a variety of more menial tasks.
One day, Chloe is asked to clean out the books that are to be discarded by the library. She makes a few finds while there. One is a trove of Harlequin romances that her friend wants for her grandmother (Chloe agrees to sneak them out). The other find is a former banned book that may be worth enough to make a difference for Chloe. She takes it.
Chloe later finds that this book has writing in the margins. Much as in The Book Swap, the messages have significance. Someone offers to buy the book; why does he especially want it?
How will lives change? Will characters grow? Find out in this story that takes place in more than one time frame.
I always am drawn to books about books so I was eager to read this one.
Many thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for this title. All opinions are my own.
Young girls who are interested in gymnastics may very much enjoy this title. It has a number of motivational quotes and coloring pages, along with some games & puzzles.
Here are encouraging quotes by Olympic stars including Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee and others. Activities include word search puzzles, a crossword, mazes, and a word scramble. All of these are gymnastics themed.
This book offers both fun and encouragement to young (armchair or not) gymnasts. So, have a child get out their colored pencils and get to work. Note that the number of puzzles is six as some kids might be hoping for more.
Many thanks to NetGalley and FOWGID Publishing for this title. All opinions arae my own.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 