Tom Lake by Ann Patchett review — a tender family tale
Let’s celebrate: The Friendsgiving Cookbook (by Taylor Vance)
#TheFriendsgivingCookbook #NetGalley
Friendsgiving has become a thing. It is when you leave the family squabbles behind and celebrate a holiday with friends. This book will help with that! There are 50 recipes for entertaining.
The book is divided into sections on appetizers, potluck mains, vegetarain sides and desserts. The author notes that you can make it all the way from drinks to desserts with recipes that are do-able.
This title is charmingly illustrated. There are also many photos. The very first entry for crostini, so easy that ANYONE could do it. There are also little sections called A Little Extra…But in a Good Way; these are helpful.
Just a few of the recipes are those for Angelic Deviled Eggs, Chicken and Waffles, Roasty Toasty Brussels, Pumpkin Cake Poppin, and Thank You So Match Sponge Cake.
This is a nice cookbook. It is well worth a look.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 05 September 2023
Some e book bargains for 7.17.23
FREE
I ENJOYED THIS.
SHE HAS A NEW BOOK OUT NOW THAT I READ AND REVIEWED.
FIRST BOOK…MIDSOMER ANYONE?
From The Sunday Times
The best crime books of 2023
Now out: Mindfulness in Gardening
FOUR STARS ****
I have a tendency, at times, to buzz around and need to stop to breathe. That is what I hoped would happen when reading this title and, yes, it did.
The author shares some of the insights that can be gained from the gardening profession and how this work connects with mindfulness. Redwood acknowledges the influence of the well known Thich Nhat Hanh who has had a deep influence on those practicing mindfulness. There are quotes from Hanh in the text.
The book is organized by seasons, beginning with spring. Readers first spend time with the snowdrop and then learn about a mindfulness activity that can be done while pruning. The book goes on to offer gardening tips and ways to practice mindfulness in this setting.
I am not lucky enough to have a garden but I visit a botanical garden regularly. I will try to take some of these practices and insights with me when I next walk there. After reading this book, I also know that I would like to visit Chalice Well Gardens near Glastonbury Tor, a peace garden, where the author is employed.
This book offers a chance to step back, breathe and contemplate. It is part of what i think will be an excellent series.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
It would have helped to be a member of: The Air Raid Book Club (by Annie Lyons)
#TheAirRaidBookClub #NetGalley
I truly enjoyed Annie Lyons’s novel about Eudora Honeysett and gave it five stars. I, was then, of course, quite eager to read The Air Raid Book Club. It did not disappoint.
This is an historical novel that will appeal to those who have read Dear Mrs. Bird, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Last Bookshop in London, and other similar titles. It is warm in the same way with characters about whom writers will care. Plus, there are books, lots of books. At the end of the novel titles are listed should readers wish to explore further.
Gertie was married to Harry. Together the two opened and loved a bookshop. Sadly, Harry died from the very thing that kept him from serving in the military. Gertie has subsequently lost her zest for life. When she is asked by one of Harry’s friends to take in a Jewish child as WWII looms, she hesitates before making her decision. What happens as a result of this choice, the importance of books, and more make this title a most satisfying read, even with some sadness in the events of the story. As an extra bonus, get to know Mr. Hemingway…no, not that one! He is Gertie’s lovely dog.
Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this title. All opinions are my own.
Pub date: 11 July 2023
From the Publisher
My review of Eudora…
So many of the reviews that I saw for this novel were quite praiseworthy so I read it with very high hopes and expectations. It did not disappoint. This is a novel that engages the reader through its characters and its story lines. I think that readers who enjoyed novels like The Little Paris Bookshop or The Lido will want to read this one…as will many others. Miss Honeysett is a prim woman who is 85 years old. She believes that the time has come to take control of the end of her life. This leads her to contact a Dignitas like clinic and submit an application. Will her request be granted? Will Eudora want it to be? Readers learn that Eudora faced a number of tragedies and disappointments over the course of her her life. Most chapters in the novel include a flashback to a key moment for Eudora. No spoilers so I do not want to write more. In the present, Eudora meets the irrepressible Rose. The two have a relationship that evolves over the course of the book as Rose awaits becoming a big sister. Another important character is Stanley. His friendship with Eudora and Rose is impacted by some memory issues. What will happen to each of them? At times acerbic, at times touching this is a novel that I most definitely recommend. Give it a try. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.
Some e book bargains for 7.16.23
I REVIEWED THIS.
I REVIEWED THIS.
I REVIEWED THIS. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. ADJACENT TITLE TO THE WONDERFUL BECOMING MRS. LEWIS.
PART OF A GOOD SERIES
ONE OF MY FAVORITE TITLES BY THE AUTHOR.
PART OF A FUN SERIES. I REVIEWED THE AUDIO BOOK VERSION.
FOR FANS OF GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
REVIEWED BY ME. A GOOD SERIES.
CLASSIC AND DELIGHTFUL
REVIEWED BY ME.
Book Review: ‘Good Girls,’ by Hadley Freeman – The New York Times
In “Good Girls,” Hadley Freeman chronicles her long battle with anorexia, and its larger implications.
— Read on www.nytimes.com/2023/04/20/books/review/good-girls-anorexia-hadley-freeman.html
Newly Published, From Nuclear Close Calls to Hollywood’s Greatest Love Affair – The New York Times
A selection of recently published books.
— Read on www.nytimes.com/2023/07/14/books/review/new-this-week.html
With thanks to SYKM-awards news
2023 DAGGER AWARDS PRESENTED
The Dagger Awards, awarded by The Crime Writer’s Association to celebrate the best in crime and thriller writing, were presented on July 6, 2023 in London. Our congratulations to the winners (listed first in each category) and to all of the nominees.
| Diamond Dagger * | Walter Mosley |
| Gold Dagger | |
|---|---|
| * | The Kingdoms of Savannah by George Dawes Green [review] |
| ° | The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan |
| ° | A Killing in November by Simon Mason |
| ° | The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola |
| ° | The Winter Guest by W.C. Ryan |
| ° | The Silent Brother by Simon Van der Velde |
| Ian Fleming Steel Dagger | |
|---|---|
| * | Seventeen by John Brownlow |
| ° | Take Your Breath Away by Linwood Barclay |
| ° | The Botanist by M.W. Craven |
| ° | The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith |
| ° | Alias Emma by Ava Glass [review] |
| ° | May God Forgive by Alan Parks |
| New Blood Dagger | |
|---|---|
| * | Dirt Town by Hayley Scrivener [review] |
| ° | A Good Day to Die by Amen Alonge |
| ° | The Local by Joey Hartstone |
| ° | London in Black by Jack Lutz |
| ° | No Country for Girls by Emma Styles |
| ° | Outback by Patricia Wolf |
| Historical Dagger | |
|---|---|
| * | The Darkest Sin by D.V. Bishop |
| ° | The Clockwork Girl by Anna Mazzola |
| ° | The Homes by J.B. Mylet |
| ° | The Bangalore Detectives Club by Harini Nagendra [review] |
| ° | Blue Water by Leonora Nattrass |
| ° | Hear No Evil by Sarah Smith |
| Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger | |
|---|---|
| * | Even the Darkest Night by Javier Cercas |
| ° | Good Reasons to Die by Morgan Audic |
| ° | The Red Notebook by Michel Bussi |
| ° | Bad Kids by Zijin Chen |
| ° | The Bleeding by Johana Gustawsson |
| ° | The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier [review] |
| Short Story | |
| * | “Cast a Long Shadow” by Hazell Ward Cast a Long Shadow |
| ° | “The Disappearance” by Leigh Bardugo Marple: Twelve New Mysteries |
| ° | “The Tears of Venus” by Victoria Dowd and Delilah Dowd Unlocked; The D20 Authors |
| ° | “The Beautiful Game” by Sanjida Kay The Perfect Crime |
| ° | “Paradise Lost” by Abir Mukherjee The Perfect Crime |
| ° | “Runaway Blues” by C.J. Tudor A Sliver of Darkness: Stories |
| Non-Fiction Dagger | |
|---|---|
| * | Unlawful Killings: Life, Love and Murder: Trials at the Old Bailey by Wendy Joseph |
| ° | The Poisonous Solicitor: The True Story of a 1920s Murder Mystery by Stephen Bates |
| ° | The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators by Martin Edwards |
| ° | Tremors in the Blood: Murder, Obsession and the Birth of the Lie Detector by Amit Katwala |
| ° | To Hunt a Killer: How I Brought Melanie Road’s Murderer to Justice by Julie Mackay & Robert Murphy |
| ° | About A Son: A Murder and A Father’s Search for Truth by David Whiteh |
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 