There is a review of this one on my blog.

About Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. Non-fiction.

www.nytimes.com/2022/02/24/books/march-new-books.html

This is the Canon

Decolonize Your Bookshelf in 50 Books

by Joan Anim-Addo, Deirdre Osborne, Kadija George Sesay

This title is a fantastic resource for those who want to expand their reading horizons. The three women who put this book together write on fifty books that are well worth reading. I want to list all fifty excellent choices here but will just list a few. Then readers can experience their own joy of discovery with this resource. So, there are Things Fall Apart by Chinua, Achebe; Wide Saragasso Sea by Jean Rhys; If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin; The Color Purple by Alice Walker; and Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid. All of these books were known to me but others, including The Emperor’s Baby by Bernandine Evaristo, an How to Read the Air by Dina Wengestu were not.

Each entry describes a book in depth. There is then a section, The Novel, that gives some context. Next is autobiographical information on the author and finally, my favorite section entitled If You Like This Try…

I definitely recommend this one! I agree with the introduction that notes that fiction can help us to enter worlds that are not a part of one’s own experience of daily life. This title will lead readers to hours of exploration and many new treasures to pick up. It will be an especially excellent resource for those who are seeking books by authors who are not white and who represent many points of view.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

A Whole Brunch of Recipes to Make at Home

by Cathy Barrow

#Bagelbook #NetGalley

For many, the photo on the cover of this book represents the perfect Sunday breakfast. Please note, there are many equally appealing photos inside.

The author organizes the table of contents to look like a menu. It is a nice piece of whimsy. Find recipes for bagels, schmears, fish, and sandwiches. It is just one example of the appealing design of this title.

The writer of this book is very personable. A number of family stories are shared and set the tone. There are also some fun sections including one on the history of the bagel.

One of the many things that I like about this book was its willingness to acknowledge that not everyone is a whiz in the kitchen. So, says the author, buy bagels if that is your choice and try some of the other recipes. The reader feels freed to use the book in the ways that work best.

Another section that I liked was the trouble shooting one. For example, answering questions like “why is my bagel flat?”

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This title will be published on 15 Mar 2022.

#TheLondonHouse #NetGalley

I have read and enjoyed a number of this author’s earlier novels. In my opinion, Ms. Reay’s first foray into historical fiction has been most successful. I recommend this dual time line story, even knowing that there are many such novels that take look at WWII, just as this one does.

Caroline, the Caroline of the present, is trying to be a good daughter. She has left law school so that she can be available to her father who has a serious illness. She finds satisfaction in her work for a pharmaceutical company whose products will, she feels, help others.

Caroline has a bit of a tough back story. She has a rather successful brother but lost a sister in a tragedy. This ripples into Caroline’s feelings about her family and theirs about her. Further, Caroline’s mom has been living in England and they have unresolved issues.

When Caroline hears from Mat, a college friend, she is thrown into a family mystery. Was Caroline’s aunt, also name Caroline, a traitor or not? What happened in her relationship with her identical twin (and present day Caroline’s grandmother) Margaret that led them to grow apart? Follow along as Mat and Caro learn more while in London.

The story is told through narrative but also through letters and diary entries. Readers enjoy a contemporaneous view of the events that shape Caro and Margo’s world. Early in the novel, Margo worries about the war while Caro, who is enjoying life in Paris, seems less worried by the behavior of Hitler. Margo spends time at the family country estate; after being ill she retreats and loses some of her gusto; will this change? Carol works for Elsa Schiaparelli. I enjoyed learning more about this fashion house and its unique designs, influenced in part by Dali. What will Caro do when she returns (at least temporarily) to England?

No spoilers, so readers will need to pick up the novel to find out what happened to Caro and Margo. They will see how these events played out in the lives of Caroline’s parents and in Caroline’s own world as well.

This is historical fiction done well. I recommend The London House.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

#MaddieandMabel #NetGalley

This is a chapter book for the very new chapter book reader. I found it to be adorable. The illustrations are very engaging and fun to look at. The stories are linked and give young readers a chance to know the characters. Each chapter tells a short story about older sister, Maddie, and kid sister Mabel. Anyone who has been an older or younger sibling will relate to their position in the story. Having had an older sister, I could identify with Mabel. Do these sisters always get along? Of course not but…are they important to one another, yes!

I recommend this title for children who are embarking on their lifetime of reading. They will enjoy it.

This title will be released on 22 Mar 2022.

Woods is the author of the Sweet Magnolias series, currently on Netflix.

From one of the author’s earlier series.

These titles are all under $10 and are recent releases.

My review: Jodi Picoult has a magical talent for writing novels that address social issues and concerns while, at the same time, offering readers an involving story with plot, character and a bit of education.
This time the background (and foreground) issue is the Covid epidemic. For some readers, it might still feel too close and they might want to skip reading this title. I would argue against that. In addition to re-experiencing some of the trauma, I was also reminded of how far life has come (at least for those who have been vaccinated). This, of corse, does not mitigate the deep losses that so many experienced in the real world.
The protagonist of this novel is Diana. When the story opens, she is working for Sotheby’s and is in a relationship with a surgical resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Diana is working with a client who seems to be based upon Yoko Ono. Due to Diana’s work, readers are treated to some interesting art and music history. I enjoyably learned a lot about Toulouse Lautrec.
Diana and Finn are planning a trip to the Galapagos Islands. Finn cannot/chooses not to go because of the emerging pandemic and his need to be at work. He encourages Diana to go on the trip and she does. Finn’s emails to Diana offer all of the horror of Covid, especially the early impotence that medical professionals felt in the wake of this tsunami of an epidemic.
Diana makes it to the Galapagos but is stranded there because travel is cut off. She manages to get settled, leading her to meet with a troubled adolescent, her father and her grandmother. They open Diana up to a new world. It is most likely no coincidence that our main character is living where theories of evolution were formed as she may be adapting and changing too.
The Galapagos are beautifully described and form a contrast to life in New York. Which place is right for Diana? Which relationship? What plot twists will Ms. Picoult bring to this, her latest novel? Read the book to find out. I highly recommend it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This one is in my TBR stack.

Not my kind of book, is it yours?