Great reads for adults and children!
For quite a while, I posted on daily e book bargains. I have now stopped doing that but want to share a few of the places I looked at in making the lists each day.
Bookbub
Early Bird Books
Bookperk
Amazon
Simon & Schuster (email that comes out on Friday or late Thursday night)
Feel free to post your own favorite book bargain sites.
I absolutely adored Ruth Hogan’s novel, The Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes, so I was quite eager to read The Moon, The Stars and Madame Burova.
Around the plot, Ms. Hogan looks at some emotionally resonant issues. These include identity, race, the nature of love, how to treat others and also how to treat one’s self. All is skillfully done and is not too heavy handed.
Madame Burova’s mother, Shunty Mae, was a reader of tarot cards, palms and crystal balls. Her daughter, Imelda (aka Madam B) has taken on her mother’s vardo and profession. She is very good at it and her booth becomes a confessional for many. In the present, Imelda Burova is considering retirement; in the past she led an active life.
Imelda spent time at Larkin’s, a family holiday camp, when she was a young woman. There were many people and acts there. Imelda was close to Jeannie, a talented young singer and to Cillian Burke, a man who was of great importance to her. Readers will find out how Cillian influenced the title of the novel. Also at the camp is Vivienne; she wants Cillian and is used to taking whatever she feels that she needs.
In the present, Billie’s parents have recently died. She finds something out in a note that her father left her. This leads her to connect with Imelda and connect they do! In the present, Imelda offers Billie some answers and all the wonderful aspects of the kind of person she is. Readers will root for both of them.
This book is not a cliffhanger. It is a slow-ish read that I enjoyed and recommend. Not quite as good as Sally but very good nonetheless.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Three stars ***
The subtitle is a key to everything this title is about. So many of us find it almost impossible to do one thing at a time. We race, we multitask, we hope to get things done but somehow are not always successful. Here is another way to look at how we go about spending our time and accomplishing things. The system may resonate and is definitely worth a look.
Learn what timeboxing is and why it can be beneficial. Take a look at the four sections. These include Believe, Plan, Do, Own. There are a number of topics within each of these. For example, in Believe are reasons why to do this, while in Plan there are things like Box Making, and in Do there is a section on Pacing and Racing. The final section has subheadings including Better Sleep and It’s Working. Hopefully it will work for the book’s audience.
Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.
#MindfulnessandNature #NetGalley
This book is geared towards kids who are in about Kindergarten through third grade although that is is no way proscriptive. It 0ffers an easy to understand look at mindfulness and suggests nature related activities that children can do. Just a few of the sections include Seeing the World Anew; Your Mind, Your Senses; Nature’s Colors; and Nature’s Journey.
There are good activities in these apges that will help kids to perhaps slow down, observe and learn to live in the present. In addition, the book’s illustrations are engaging and go well with its theme.
This title could be helpful to most children in my opinion. Buy it for a kid you care about.
Many thanks to Mayo Clinic Press Kids and NetGalley for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 19 March 2024
#TheBookClubHotel #NetGalley
This is the perfect book to sit down with on a fall night. It is nicely written and plotted; the characters are people with whom readers will wish to know. (Too bad, they can’t come for a real visit).
The Maple Sugar Inn just seems like the perfect place to go to relax. The setting is gorgeous, the rooms are beautiful and the inn keeper cares about her guests…even as she has her own struggles.
Inn owner, Hattie is carrying on the dream of her husband which was to run this inn. Readers learn early in the book that he died in a freak accident, leaving Hattie a widow and a very young one at that. Will she want to keep the inn going?
Three friends are going to visit. Their lives are quite different from one another’s but the relationships go back years and are deep. One is a single, su
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.
If interested, I did a blog tour for this one. It is on my site.
New thrillers for March 2024 — a horrific crime in the Lake District
Four stars ****
Readers/listeners, decide which way you would like to access this latest Secret Staircase mystery or, like me, alternate between the two. I often do this so I can continue a story while I go on a walk or do chores.
This is the third book in this modern locked room series that pays tribute to the best classic mysteries and, I think, maybe to Nancy Drew. All of my favorite characters are here again, even those who are missing (Tempest’s mother).
In my opinion, this latest can be enjoyed without having read the earlier books but readers may want to read all three just for the fun and pleasure. There is backstory but enough is told so that someone new to the series can follow along.
Things are looking bad for the Secret Staircase company. There is a lawsuit and then, to make things worse, there is murder. Enjoy the magic, the detecting and the all around fun of this entry in the series. It was a good read.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the book and to Macmillan Audio for the listen. And, of course, thanks to NetGalley for both of these. All opinions are my own.
#TheSchoolOfLifeCollectedEssays #NetGalley
About The School of Life: An introduction from the publisher.
The School of Life is an organization with a mission at its heart: to help foster calm, self-understanding and greater emotional maturity.
For the last 15 years, we have produced landmark essays on important life topics, now gathered together for the first time.
My thoughts:
This title consists of a series of essays on topics that both intrigue and provoke thought and self-reflection in the reader. Some of the subjects covered in this interesting volume are What is Psychotherapy; The Sorrows of Love; How to Reform Capitalism, and more.
Be sure to read the introduction in which the publisher discusses “the point of books.” Read the sections in any order but allow sufficient time to think and reflect.
This title will appeal to those who want to take time to think about some big aspects of life.
Many thanks to NetGalley and The School of Life for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 02 April 2024
For anyone near New York, this exhibit is just delightful!
Learn about Beatrix Potter from her childhood in London through her time in the Lake District.
Highly recommended.
Four stars ****
Emerson, Thoreau, Alcott (Bronson and Louisa May)…Margaret Fuller? Most readers of American fiction and essays know the first few names on this list. They may be less familiar with Margaret Fuller. However, by the time that readers close this book, they will fully appreciate her life with its successes, challenges and tragedy.
Young Margaret was a highly intelligent child, whose father took her education most seriously. When he died, Margaret was left feeling that she needed to support her family. She did that while also being part of the transcendentalist movement and more.
One aspect of the book that I really liked was the way in which icons became human. For example, early in the novel, Margaret visits Emerson and his second wife. Waldo, as Margaret is invited to call him, engages in a flirtation with Margaret. It is in moments like this, that readers get to look at great American figures in a new and less iconic way. Similarly, as the story opens, Thoreau is a young man working for the Emersons, and just beginning his writing career. Bronson Alcott is running a school, while Louisa May is still a child.
Pataki has written a number of works of historical fiction. She has another success on her hands here.
Many thanks toNetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
From the publisher:
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 