Live in: The Vibrant Years by Sonali Dev

#TheVibrantYears #NetGalley

This is the first title that Mindy Kaling is publishing. Those who enjoy Ms. Kaling and those who like Sonali Dev’s novels will be happy to give this title a look.

I enjoyed Ms. Dev’s novels that were retellings of Jane Austen stories. I also liked this book but, honestly, just a tiny bit less. It tells the story of three related women who represent three generations. The oldest, Bindu, has received an inheritance that raises some issues from her past. She uses her newfound money to move into a retirement community. How will she fare there when not everyone, at least initially, wants to accept her. Aly, next generation wise, is fighting for her place as a TV reporter. She has been blocked for years. She is Bindu’s daughter in law. Youngest, Cully, Aly’s daughter, has developed an app to help those with anxiety. Now a company wants to charge for this app that Cully believes should be given to people at no cost.

So, here are three women, all of whom are related, all of whom are at turning points, and all of whom may need to stand up for themselves. Find out how they fare in this novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Mindy’s Book Studio for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 01 December 2022

Now out: Why We Meditate by Daniel Goleman and Tsoknyi Rinpoche

Many know of Daniel Goleman for his writings on emotional intelligence. With that credential, he seems to me to be the perfect guide to learning more about and understanding meditation.

Meditation seems in some ways to be a deceptively simple practice but it is actually complex. Daniel Goleman will help readers to understand how this Eastern practice can help us in our world that is, at times, filled with the negative.

There is lots of advice in this book. This is a case where the advice is professional and based upon neuroscience. It will help those who pick it up to let go of some negative influences on their lives.

I think that both those who already practice mindfulness and/or meditation will find much to contemplate in this excellent guide. A few of the chapter titles include What This Book Offers You, Beautiful Monsters, and Calm and Clear. Definitely worth a read.

Note that Goleman’s co-author is a well known teacher of Buddhist meditation. He offers the practice and Goleman the science; a terrific collaboration in a book that is full of things to try.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Why We Meditate is an exciting new book that combines recent research into meditation with fresh, accessible and profound teachings on the actual practice. I consider Tsoknyi Rinpoche one of my beloved teachers and so wholeheartedly endorse any attempt to share his healing and liberating teachings with the world.”  — Pema Chödrön, author of When Things Fall Apart

“Two giants team up for a kind of meditative buddy film— What’s not to like? In this book, you’ll get practical, doable techniques for making two game-changing inner moves: getting out of your head, as well as taming your demons with warmth rather than our habitual resistance, indulgence, and denial. The best part is that all of it is backed up by rigorous science. Highly recommend.” — Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier

The Best Reviewed Books of 2022: Mystery and Crime — CrimeReads

We’ve come to the end of another bountiful literary year, and for all of us review rabbits here at Book Marks, that can mean only one thing: basic math, and lots of it. Yes, using reviews drawn from more than 150 publications, over the next two weeks we’ll be calculating and revealing the most critically-acclaimed…

The Best Reviewed Books of 2022: Mystery and Crime — CrimeReads

Good Night, Body

Finding Calm from Head to Toe

by Britney Winn Lee

#GoodNightBody #NetGalley

I love the cover of this book that promises to help kids get to sleep. Using practices from mindfulness, specifically the body scan, this cheerfully illustrated title helps kids to calm down with a nightly routine. It just might help the adults too!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Children’s for this title.

Pub date: 07 February 2023

It cannot be good to be: Just Murdered

by Katherine Kovacic

First off, I was drawn to this book by its appealing cover. I then discovered that this is a novel based on the TV series Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries. That was an enjoyable spin off of the Phryne Fisher mysteries, written by Kerry Greenwood and also a TV series. So, I was primed to enjoy this title and I did. However, you could know nothing about Phryne of Peregrine and still come away from this read having been entertained.

As the book opens, an Australian Department Store has had a bridal fashion show and one with a fatal result, at that. What happened? Who did it? Trust that the case will be resolved in part thanks to Peregrine.

Who is she? Peregrine is the niece of Phryne Fisher of the Adventuresses fame. She has disappeared leaving her closest, and down on her luck relative, to move into her home, her car and to share some sleuthing talents.

All in all, this is a delightful light read. Hopefully more books will be published in due course.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 31 January 2023

The Seaside Library by Brenda Novak

#TheSeasideLibrary #NetGalley

Before Covid I had never read a book by Ms. Novak. I started with One Perfect Summer and just kept going, also reading Summer on the Island, The Bookstore on the Beach, and When I Found You. All of these were enjoyable women’s fiction titles; each had a good setting storyline and characters. So, of course, I was eager to read this new book by the author.

The story takes place in a seaside community. Three friends grew up there. Ivy stayed and runs the library. Cam stayed; he became a talented architect. Ariana worked in New York in the publishing industry; she comes back to spend time with her grandmother.

The three all know of a tragic event that occurred when they were in high school. A girl went missing. What will be stirred up as events from the past spill into the present?

This book is a bit more of a mystery but retains many elements of the author’s talent for writing women’s fiction. I enjoyed this novel but did think that it had a bit of a slow start.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

Pub date: 11 April 2023