Weekly (ha!!) Video Round Up #52 | The Wrap Ups

It’s been a while. But since I’m trying to get on track with blog posts, I thought it was time to catch up on what’s been taking up most of my screen time: my BookTube!! Here are the reading wrap ups you might have missed since we last checked in.

February 2022 Reading Wrap Up | February 2022 | 12 Book Reviews | Horror, nonfiction, modern classic

March Vlog Style Reading Wrap Up | March 2022 | March Mystery Madness| 10 books, 5 mysteries!

Q1 Readathon Check In | Jan, Feb, Mar Readathons | March Mystery Madness, TBR Tackle, BookTube Spin

New Orleans Mourning

One of my goals in 2022 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

The first in the Skip Langdon series by Julie Smith, New Orleans Mourning, indroduces the lead character.

Skip Langdon might be from a wealthy esteemed white family in New Orleans high society, but she’s worked hard to distence herself from that past and set her self apart. At first rebellious without direction, joining the NOLA PD changed all that. She started at the bottom and is making her own way and her own name. True, she’s still only a beat cop but she’s ready to prove she can solve a high profile murder that happens on her rounds. But it’s going to mean going back to the roots she’s been trying hard to leave behind.

I read the third in this series and I was excited to see how Skip got her start. I picked the books up initially by they were set in New Orleans and I’m always looking to be transported there. These books are some of the baest for that, in my opinion. More than any other books I’ve read, they feel like New Orleans. The descriptions and vibe, makes me happy and nostalgic for a town I love. They are an older series, this book was written in 1990, so there are some outdated notions, ideas and language. And things like interracial marriages, white washing, or colorism, might stull shock Skip. But the lead character feels like she could be a real denizen of Nola, too. Especially bc the city has a history of pioneering (mostly black) women, especially in the police force. Another way in which these books feel a little ahead of their time, or at least not behind it, is the take on queer characters. So there’s an interesting mix here of a little outdated and a little progressive. I don’t know if Julie Smith intended these themes to be prevalent or picked up on. I’m not sure if colorism, queerness, interacial marriage, and womanly bodies, female friendship, found families, and the general relationships between the various groups depicted were intended to start conversations here but they definitely could. On the other hand, these books can be read as fun, 90s, cop mysteries. I like that the series can do both and I intend to keep reading to find out what happens to Skip along the way!! I recommend the Skip Langdon series to those who like strong females leads, especially if you enjoy a bigger bodied heroine, readers who want to read books set in New Orleans, and people who like cop dramas and cop mysteries.

What is your favorite city for a book to be set in?

This book can be seen in my July Wrap Up.

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The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

One of my goals in 2022 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

I never imagined that The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid could have lived up to the hype, but it totally did!!

The famous, infamous, sought after Evelyn Hugo, star of screen and stage, fashion icon, volatile starlet idol, has been out of the spot light for many years. She rarely does appearances, she barely ever does interviews. So when Monique, an unheard of and often overlooked small time reported is given the task to interview her, Monique is surprised, delighted, and confused. What could be the real reason she was requested by the illustrious actress?

Man, ever since joining booktube I’d been hearing about this book and how much everyone looooves it. This isn’t the book that put Taylor Jenkins Reid on the booktube map, but it is the book that cemented her there as a goddess of the community. I’d seen other works of hers in little free libraries but never picked them up. I figured she could not possibly live up to the hype. Why I ended up grabbing this one, I’m not sure. When I read it, I was definitely surprised. I really really enjoyed it!! It made me tear up! It was complex, sweet, cold, interesting and well written. In this book, I feel that Reid has a way of grounding the reader in her reality and making them believe in the characters and be alive in her world. She spins enough reality, a splash of envy, treads of wish and wanting , and a dash of magic and wonder into a web that her reader easily falls into. Don’t misunderstand me, this book is a contemporary, not magical realism. The “magic” here comes from our own love of glamour, romance and misfortunes. This is a classic Hollywood tale with all the sequins and dazzle, hiding the pain and dishevelmant behind the scenes. It feels like a real story about a real actress. There’s a little bit of a mystery in this book, a very nice love story, some tragedy, and a lot of husbands. Unlike many of the contemporary books I read in 2021, this one didn’t feel too modern. It wasn’t trying to hard to have snappy dialog or “hip” characters. It felt how actual people might talk or interact or react. It was well balanced. It was fast paced and compellled the reader. Although it has multiple perspectives, both were interesting and I wasn’t rushing to get back to the one I preferred. The two voices were distinct. I would highly recommend this book to people who want to try a booktube darling, those wondering what all the hype about modern contemporary books is, readers who like fast paced and well balanced stories, readers who like Hollywood based stories or those who like a little romance in a book.

Have you read this book? Did it live up to the hype for you?

This book can be seen in my July Wrap Up.

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Death at High Tide

One of my goals in 2022 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

My husband spotted this one and I was glad to get a cozy mystery based in the Jersey Shore area where we live. Death at High Tide is the 2rd book in the Jersey Shore Mystery Series by Beth Sherman.

Anne Hartaway has lived in Oceanside Heights her whole life. It’s convenient that her latest ghost writing job is currently in her town! Anne is not thrilled to be writing a celebrity memoir/self help book, but she is happy that she can do so from her ocean facing front porch. The actress she’s writing for is a total divva, super difficult, but Anne wouldn’t wish her dead! Unfortunately, that’s what happens and Anne decides she must find out what happened.

Anne stays on in her small town partly out of honor and duty, but I’m sure getting to solve mysteries is part of the reason she stays! Although she’s an easy going, mild mannered ghost writer, she sure does attract murders and trouble! I like that these cozy mysteries are fun and straightforward arcitypes of their genre with a jersey shore twist. I love that they are set in a fictional version of Ocean Grove NJ, where I have long visited and where I now live next door, in neighboring Asbury Park. Since these books are written and take place in the 90s, it’s fun to see some of the iconic landmarks and areas mentioned. And to see who things have changed over the years. It’s also interesting to see the area thru a cozy mystery lense, how things are described when they need to fit in with a cozy mystery plot. I really love to read books about places I know, visit often, or love. It’s fun to really understand where the books are set or how the events could have come to pass. The history of Ocean Grove and Asbury Park are very rich, so it’s surprising in many ways that there aren’t more books set here. This is a very silly but fun mystery series, pretty unbelievable but very readable. I would recommend this book to those who want to try writing cozy mysteries, this is a book that makes you feel like anyone can. I would also recommend this to people who like mysteries set near the ocean, readers who live in the area, and those who like summer mysteries.

What is you favorite geographical location for a book to be set?

This book can be seen in my July Wrap Up.

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Convenience Store Woman

One of my goals in 2022 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

Another brilliant and unexpected LFL find, I really really enjoyed Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata!

Keiko works in a convenience store, she has for the last 18 years. She’s good at her job, she does it well and she enjoys the benefits she receives: doing a good job, providing a service, good customer interaction, training fellow employees, making the store presentable. She is happy in her routine. But outside pressures, from her family and friends, are threatening her routine and pleasant existence. Why doesn’t she want a better job, a husband, a change?

I really connected with this book. I love to work in the service industry and find the jobs I do rewarding, fulfilling and important. I love to have a happy customer and a clean store. It is a valid and chosen career. I loved that the main character in CSW felt the same and it was heartbreaking to see her confused and unsettled by “well meaning” friends and family. Although this book doesn’t outright say that she is neurodivergent, it’s pretty clear that she is. I think we are not straight out told by this book is completely from her perspective and since she hasn’t been diagnosed in that manner and since she knows no other way to be, it doesn’t occur to her that people might see her state of being as being afflicted. I really enjoyed that, bc that’s true! We say nuerodivergant, but if that is the way a person’s brain works, that’s the way it works. Just because it is not statistically “normal”, doesn’t mean there is something wrong with that person. It was an interesting look and commentary on that fact. And on the idea that social norms don’t work for everyone. Not everyone needs a significant other to a “real” job to be happy and whole. It was interesting to see this contrasted with a rigid socially structured culture like in Japan. This is a story of someone who knows them selves well and fights to keep their identity. I would highly recommend this for people looking for stories about outisiders or characters who strike their own path, readers interested in stories where nuerodivergence plays a role, and anyone who has even been told a job they enjoy doesn’t matter.

Have you read this story? What were the major themes that you picked up on?

This book can be seen in my July 2021 Wrap Up.

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The Water Cure

One of my goals in 2022 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

I put The Water Cure by Sophie Mackintosh in my video about 20 Books I Heard About in 2020 and Want to Read in 2021, and was so happy to find it in a Little Free Library a few months later!!

Three sisters live on an island with only their mother and father for company. They are put through rigorous tests and exercises, taught to be always vigilant against the outside world and especially the dangerous and afflicted males of the world. When three men wash up on the shore, their world is turned upside down.

Phew, this was an unsettling one. In tone, structure, and subject matter, this book was unconventional, strange and often off putting. We are kept in the dark about many things and at the same time shown seems in graphic detail. The book is told in multiple perspectives including a conbined perspective or conciousness which takes some getting used to. I don’t usually like multi perspectives, but this really warmed for me, in part by the reader is kept off kilter in many aspects, but also bc the perspectives do not alternate each chapter. Sections are devoted to all parties, often several chapters at a time, or for whole sections. There is a lot of grief and violence, unease and manipulation in this book, but I still felt for each main character in their own way. There are some anticipatory elements to this book, which usually I really dislike, but bc the entire book made me feel off kilter, these were just another aspect of the overall discomfort of this book. All that being said, I really liked this one, and look forward to reading more of Mackentosh’s work. This could have felt like a Young Adult Novel, by all the main characters are in their teens or early twenties, but luckily, it did not go that route. It is a novel for adult readers and there are many adults themes and trigger warnings. If you do not want to read about child abuse, spousal abuse, cheating, grooming, infant death, or bodily harm or horror, this might not be the book for you. I would recommend this book to those who like plague books, dystopian stories, isolated woman tales and readers who like weird books.

Sophie Mackentoch has a new book out this year, Blue Ticket, I look forwarding to reading that when I find it. If you like a book, will you move tight to the next of the authors work, or do you file the info away?

This book can be seen in my July Wrap Up.

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84, Charing Cross Road

One of my goals in 2022 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

A contender for my favorite nonfiction, and possibly book of 2021, 84 Charing Cross Road is not at all what I expected. More of a memoir told in letters, and Helene Hanff’s love letter to book lovers.

*this book did end up being my favorite of the year!! See that video here.

Finding the used books surrounding her upper west side apartment lacking, Helene Hanff turns to writing to a renowned book seller she has heard about at 84 Charing Cross Road, London, England. A play write, screen writer, and scholar, her book taste are extensive and specific. She finds a match to her love of books and a friend with the attendants on the other end of her letters.

This collection of letters, spanning more than 30 years, become more than just requests for specific used books, and Helene becomes a friend and patron of the workers at 84 Charing Cross Road. Her unorthodox manner and style, practically unheard of at the time, endears not only the main book seller, but many of the other employees, some writing to her in secret. Through many letters, the reader learns her personality, as they must have on the recieveing end of her requests. As we learn more about her life, and generosity, so too do we learn about the individuals and family, friends and neighbors of the Charing Cross road book shop. Helene goes out of her way to care for her new friends, sending care packages and letters to spouses. Although the letters can be sporacdic, partly bc Helene was not terribly organized, and partly be she originally didn’t intend to keep them, one comes to love both sides of this unusual exchange and becomes invested in the lives and well being of all these seemingly disparate people. I particularly love the ideas and implications of community, family and shared love for people who may never meet. The times when letters go unanswered or months or year pass with no letter at all seem intolerable and deeply sad. But then a letter or a book will arrive and we are once again among friends. Some of the original authors of letters disappear, and we have no way of contacting them or finding out their further stories and it is heartbreaking. The relationships built in the slim volume will stick with me for a long time, and I have thought about this book so often since first reading it. I would highly recommend this book to all readers, partly bc it is a love letter to readers and books, partly bc it’s a delightful and easy read for fiction and nonfiction lovers, and partly bc it is a heartwarming and heartbreaking story of caring for our fellow human. I would entreat all to read this book.

I also read the sequel and continuation of this nonfiction story (much later in 2021) . It’s rare we get a sequel to a true life story, but with Helene we are that lucky!

This book can be seen in my July Wrap Up.

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Children of Men

One of my goals in 2022 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

The last of three books I read for a PD James reading Vlog, Children of Men is her only Sci Fi. I was lucky enough to find this library discard copy in a little free library near my work.

It’s been 30 years since it was discovered that no new children were being born. Theo has settled into the end of his life, he teaches adults in college, he loves his flat, he only sometimes regrets his lost loves. He is comfortable and not looking for excitement before death. He is not expecting to get thrown into conspiracy, and possibly change the course of the human race.

This books starts on Jan 1 2021, and I almost wish I had started reading it then, too. But I’m happy that it was a coincidence that I did end up reading it sometime in 2021. It’s also about a global phenomenon that effects all humans, so reading it in 2021 was timely in that way, as well. As I mentioned this is PD James’ only sci fi. Written in the 90s, It was made into a well received movie in the 2000s. I really liked the idea of how each nation, focusing on England, would deal with a global health crisis. This book is quite English centric, perhaps satirically stating that England would handle this issue far better than other nations. But behind the national inovations, comforts and conceits there are dark forces at work, to keep the peace at least from a outside perspective. Under the stoic sheen of a well organized country and world dying naturally, PD James does a great job at keeping an undercurrent of uncomfortableness and unease. I don’t love tense anticipation in stories, but this was more of a proclaimed foreboding. This is a story about the salvation of the human race, but also of one man and the idea that self possessed determination can change the course of a life. One can decide to live, or resign themselves to death. This book tackles that in an interesting way, depicting a resistance to action with a long interlude in the middle of the story. This book and story have certainly earned a place in sci fi history and it’s easy to see why this is a modern classic of the genre. I would highly recommend this to PD James fans, bc it is so different than her well known mysteries. But there are glimmers of her more more traditional work. For instance the flat of our main character is pretty much identical to a flat described in The Private Patient, the last of the Adam Dalgliesh novels and written nearly 30 years later. I would also recommend this book to sci fi lovers, those interested in the classics of the genre, people who like end of the world stories, or readers who want to read about global pandemics and their geopolitical repercussions.

Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? What is your favorite classic sci fi story?

This book can be seen in my July Wrap Up.

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Call Me By Your Name

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

I was looking around for another book featuring queer writers or characters for Pride month and settled on Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. I had heard of the book and the movie, but never seen the latter.

Elio is used to his father’s university students joining them for their summers in Italy. The students help his father with his work, study and work on their own writing, lounge by the pool and visit the village. Elio doesn’t often interact with them. But the year Oliver is on exchange, Elio takes notice. An at first timid and distant relationship soon blossoms into something new and strange. This coming of age and coming out story is to told in the sweeping and majestic thoughts, feelings and emotions of a teenage boy.

I had heard of the movie with Timothy Chalemet and Arrmie Hammer, heard that this was a queer love story of two young men in Italy over a summer. I had also heard that there was some controversy over the age gap and potential grooming/exploitation. I was interested to learn that Aciman was an Egyptian author, the first I have read from, I believe. And I was excited to read this divisive queer book. I found it on audio, read by Hammer. He had recently fallen under another shadow in the media, being accused of potential abuse and cannibalistic tendencies. But I really enjoyed his performance and voice acting. I might still be torn on the age difference in this book, as it is a little too far and the young portion a little too young to be entirely comfortable. And I was quite shocked with the graphic sexual descriptions and content in this book. It was much steamier than I had anticipated. It was the kind of audio book one wants to make sure others don’t hear snippets of ideally or out of context, unexpectedly. All that being said, I really enjoyed the book, the love story and it’s, to many readers, unsatisfying ending. There has recently been a sequel written, but personally I would not like to read it and have this story extended. I quite liked the ending and feel satisfied with the story as so and would not want to learn something I may not like. This book reminded me a lot in subject and in tone to a movie from the 90s I equally like, Stealing Beauty. It gave me the same longing, vacation, wishing for love, vibes that that movie does. The infinite possibilities of summer, the wistfulness for summer love. I would recommend this book for those interested in reading something in that vain, those who want to read more m/m romances, readers who like queer books, but in all those categories, only those who can handle explicit sex scenes in books.

What is your favorite queer centered book?

This book can be seen in my July Wrap Up.

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Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

My friend Noah was getting rid of some books before they moved and I spotted Carrie Brownstein’s memoir, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl.

Carrie Brownstein is one of the forerunners and creators of the post punk girl band Sleater Kinney. She is an actress and comedian also well known for Portlandia. In Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl she shares moments of her childhood, creating her dream band, her thoughts on growing up queer and her struggles with anxiety and mental health.

I was never a huge fan of Sleater Kinney, but I was indrotuced to them by an ex who was. Much like my favorite post punk band, Sleater Kinney contained an introverted but luminescent member who people of a certain ilk were drawn to. In Sleater Kinney that was Carrie Brownstien. Lovely, queer, quiet but Carrie wrote my favorite song from the group. She titled this memoir after that song. I was very interested in learning more about her relationshio to the band, growing up in Olympia Washington, and growing up queer. And while this memoir does relate many of those things, as well as her relationship with her mother who suffered from a severe eating disorder, her father coming out as gay later in life, and her struggle with mental health and anxiety, this book is mostly about her time and experiences with Sleater Kinney. This memoir is weirdly impersonnal, holding the reader at arm’s length at all times. How Brownstien felt about many of the elements in her life is told in a clinical or separated way, and one never feels like you know the whole story, even from her perspective. She is holding back from connecting with the audience and with telling her truth. I enjoyed this book, but it left me not much more educated about it’s subject than I was before reading it. I would recommend this book to readers who like band memoirs, especially those who like to hear about each album of a band and how they were conceived, or fans of the band Sleater Kinney. I would not suggest this book for those who like in depth memoirs, or fans of Portlandia.

What is your favorite book about a band? Or what is your favorite memoir?

This book can be seen in my June Wrap Up.

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The Nickel Boys

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

For most of 2021, I thought The Nickel Boys would be my favorite read of the year. I read so many amazing books but it still made my top ten.

Elwood Curtis’ life is changed forever when he is sent to The Nickel Academy, a reform school for boys in 1960s Florida.

* editor’s note: This book is reviewed out of order. Usually I post books in order that I read them. This is one of my favorite books of the year, but I struggled to review it and so it is later in my reviews and out of order.

Based on true places and events, this was a beautiful and heartbreaking book. It was a short novel but definitely is well defined and well paced. It was also a brutal tale of racism, prejudice and hope in the heart of the civil rights movement. Made more sad and poignant bc we know many of these true stories exist, this fictional account really emotionally involved the reader. I loved that the story unfolded in a way that kept me guessing, and broke my heart but was also ultimately uplifting. I cried at the end of this book, for the characters but also that we live in a world where reform school existed and still exist. I read this only weeks before hearing of the bodies uncovered in Canadian reform schools where indigenous children were imprisoned, tortured and killed. And to know that those injustices still run rampant, it’s defintatly a tough read. I would highly recommend this book tho, if you, as a reader, can handle the difficult subject matter. The writing is compelling and characters endearing. I think this is a good book for those who know some of this true history and are looking to hear fictional stories of that time, or those who want to learn more but aren’t ready to start with the more graphic true accounts. I would recommend The Nickel Boys to readers who like historical fiction set during the civil rights movement, or people who like southern American tales.

This book is featured in my March Wrap Up.

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Death Comes to Pemberley

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

Death at Pemberley is PD James’ homage to and continuation of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin.

After the events of Pride and Prejudice, Elisabeth and Mr Darcy are once again thrown into drama but in a stuffy British way. .

I’ve never read P&P, having done so might have increased my enjoyment of this book. But maybe not. I read this book as part of my project (“project”) to read all of PD James’ work. We ALL know I love her mysteries, but she has a few other types of books as well. I read this along side with one of her mysteries and her only Sci Fi. What I really did enjoy about Death Comes to Pemberley was that is was obvious that this book was an exercised for James to write in the style of another author. Although I haven’t read from the author she is emulating, I feel like this was a really successful take on it. The writing in this felt very “classic”! I liked that this book was a big departure from the kind of writing I’m used to reading from PD James. I liked that I was able to live vicariously through this book as far as reading a book (P&P) that I will never actually read. Or don’t even plan or intend to read. There was a lot about Pride and Prejudice in this book so I feel like I don’t really need to read that one now. Although this is billed as a mystery, there isn’t much mystery here. But I feel like that was an intentional choice as that is how a P&P mystery would be. More stuffy as well as easy to solve is how I would assume Jane Austin would have written this “sequel”. I certainly didn’t dislike this book, I thought it was fine. I would recommend this book for fans of Pride and Prejudice, people who enjoy retellings of classic novels, readers who like to read continuations of classics written by modern authors, and of course PD James lovers, like me!

What modern retelling or continuation is your favorite?

This book can be seen in my June Wrap Up.

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The Book of Tea

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

I had heard of The Book of Tea somewhere and wanted to read it for the 1900-1950 Readathon. It was written by Okakura Kakuzo in 1906.

The Book of Tea is part instructional manual, part philosophy, part history, all about tea.

I’m not sure where I first heard of this, or what I was expecting from this book. I didn’t realize that it was going to be basically a eastern philosophy text. It explains and explores Teasim. How that philosophy fits in with other eastern views, how it is or may be responsible for movements in art, structure and life. Kakuzo also pokes a lot of fun or is openly critical about how the western world views tea and what they do with it. He often makes the comparison between the good that has come from the eastern obsession with tea and how it evokes opposite effects in the west. I really liked that this was very simple and easy to read. Although it got a little snarky in places, I think this is not a bad place to start with East Asian philosophy. I would recommend this book to those interested in Eastern studies, Japanese history, students interested in non western history and studies, those who love Japanese culture, and of course people who really enjoy tea!

What philosophy books have you read? Which area of philosophy do you most enjoy learning about?

This book can be seen in my June Wrap Up.

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Passing

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

Passing by Nella Larsen is enjoying a renewed interest as there have been a few other books about colorism lately. I picked this one up from an used online bookshop bc I was dying to read it.

Irene and Clare grew up together in a small town but as teenagers, their lives took a very different turn. Now, so many years later, they have reunited, but has anything really changed?

I have been really excited to learn about and read more from the Harlem Renaissance movement of the 19teens and twenties. I read this for the 1900 - 1950 Readathon and you can see more thoughts about it in this video. I had been hearing about Passing for months and it sounded like something I would like. Short, modern classic, set in NYC. Other than that and theme of passing as white, I really had no idea what to expect. I loved this book and it is in contention to be one of my most favorite of the year. Although I don’t usually vibe with books about female friendship, I found the complex feeling and emotions of the relationship between these woman really fascinating. There is a lot about the theme of doing what is right and what is best and what that means to different people and at different times. Told in 3 parts, this book’s writing style reflects the various parts atmosphere, culminating in a unexpected ending. This book deals with intense racism and has very triggering language and events. Although it is hard to read in some parts, I loved this book and can see myself reading this one fairly regularly. I would highly recommend this book to those interested in this time period of art and writing and growth, those who like books set in NYC, stories about female friendship or animosity, and readers interested in themes of colorism and racism.

Have you read this book or any of Nella Larsen’s other works?

This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.

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The Private Patient

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

The Private Patient is the last in PD James’ Adam Dalgliesh detective series.

A well known investigative journalist, some might say a gossip, checks herself in to have a procedure that will change her life and career. It doesn’t hurt that the remote hospital might have some secrets to spill. Unfortuneately she never has the chance to spill those secrets, and Adam Dalgiesh must find out why.

As I say above, this is the last of the Adam Dalgiesh series, and for that reason I put it off for a while. I have been reading my way thru the series over the last few years, but not in order. Although this is the last book James wrote in the series, I have not read all those that lead up to it, so I have more to read! I was wondering if it would be obvious that this was his last appearance and would round out or wrap up the series. This book didn’t really do that and so I think James didn’t know that this would be her last go with Dalgiesh. There is some reference to what our main character wil do after his time as an inspector detective. He does ruminate on how the job he does so well has become a burden for him in many ways. He looks forward to his time getting married and living with his new bride. The mystery he must solve is like many in the other book, but the twist for the reader is that we get a little more insight into the victims thoughts before the murder than usual. Over all, this was one in a long string of great, fun, murder mysteries written by one of the queens of crime. I would recommend this book mostly to readers who already like PD James, have been reading this series, or who want to start this series. Although this is the last in the series, you can really start anywhere.

Do you love coming to the end of a series, or dread it?

This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.

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World War One British Poets

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

I found World War One British Poets by various poets compiled by Candace Ward in a little free library.

This slim Dover edition contains several poems from 16 different poets. The poems range from pro war and anti war to family of those at war. This is an interesting view on the first world war, seen through the eyes of artists.

I remember that just before I picked this up I had a conversation with someone (probably my husband) about a poem (no clue who it was by) written about a war (I can’t remember which). It was an interesting conversation. And I was thinking about it when I saw World War One British Poets in a little free library. I thought, well, that is interesting! What DO poets think about during war time? This collection, I think, tries to show several perspectives. There are those who are pro war, those who are anti war, those who were in the thick of it, and those who were on the periphery. Some of the poets are famous, some not. Some are known only for 1 or 2 war poems, some are known for all their other work. Reading this was definitely interesting and I’m glad I read it. I read this for the 1900 - 1950 Readathon and it fit in perfectly. You can watch that video here. Although, I was glad to have read this, it was quite hard to get through. It is violent, dated, and obviously, all about war which is a hard subject. I’m also not really a poetry person. I find it hard to read and usually not engaging. I really struggled to get through this book. I love that Dover has such a huge range of books that are accessible to many readers. I would recommend this book to those who are interested in seeing the first world war through poetry, those interested in this history, people who love poetry, or fans of some of the more famous authors represented here.

Do you read poetry? Do you enjoy it?

This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.

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Out of Africa

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

I’ve tried to read the memior/nonfiction Out Of Africa by Karen Blixon (aka Isak Denisen) before, but coudn’t quite get into it. This time I loved it!

This memoir of the years that Karen Blixon spent in Kenya followers her from her arrival in the country and the challenges she faced.

I have watched the movie of Out Of Africa many times and really enjoy it. I think Karen Blixon’s life story is fascinating, so I am surprised that I have tried and failed to read this book previously. I’m really glad I stuck with it this time, bc this book moved me and will end up on my best of the year list. This memoir is told in several parts and with several different styles. There are longer passages or parts that explain how Karen come to be in Africa, what the culture around her plantation was like, and who the major players in her life were. There is a section of vignettes, where she describes and explains some of the events and episodes that fostered her love of her new home in short bursts. The final part chronicles her leaving her home and farm and the grief and responsibilities she faces. The writing is descriptive, evocative and compelling so that one is drawn in to and can understand her love with the African landscape and lifestyle. This is a beautiful look at her life, but it is also heartbreaking and bleak in many ways. I would highly recommend this book to those who have seen the movie and want to know more, those who are interested in historical accounts of people living outside their comfort zones, readers who enjoy stories about pioneering women.

What is a memoir you have recently enjoyed?

This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.

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Death is Now My Neighbor

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

The penultimate in the Inspector Morse series, Death is Now My Neighbor by Colin Dexter might have some foreshadowing for Morse’s last book.

Morse’s latest case might all hinge on the house numbers in a cul du sac.

Death is Now My Neighbor is the 12th in the Morse series and it doesn’t give away the fact that it is the second to last in the series too easily. I wonder if it was known, and if the final book will be clear, that the next book will be the last in the series? I really liked this installment bc it shows a closeness between Morse and Lewis that has been growing over the entire series in more of a stark light than earlier books. I also liked that the mystery in this book hinged on a small detail that only someone who thinks outside the box could see. That’s often how Morse solves his crimes, or at least knows that he can solve the crime. He often spots a small detail or oddity that no one else pays mind to, but not in a super obvious way that some mystery series do. Since Morse can be wrong (a lot), the reader is often not sure which small aside will become important. I would recommend this book to those who are reading all the Morse mysteries, those who like books about male relationships, and I would recommend this series to all those who want to read classic detective series.

What is a series that you have completed, or are on the last book of the series?

This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.

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The Loved One

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

The Loved One is the first Evelyn Waugh book I have read and I can’t wait to read more! I found this at my lacal book shop, and picked it up solely for the cover.

A satirical look at life, death and movie making in this semi dystopian look at near future California through the eyes of a British Poet, The Loved One is a must read black comedy and a modern classic.

I really had no idea what to expect when I picked up The Loved One at The Asbury Park Book Cooperative. I just knew that I kept hearing about Evelyn Waugh but had no idea what kind of writer he was. It’s also true that I loved the cover enough to not need to know anything more about the book. I read this book quickly after picking it up, and you can see a lot of my thoughts in a video that I did for the 1900-1950 readathon. I loved this book. It was dry, witty, satirical, and dark. It’s follows a British poet who originally came to LA to work for the movie studios. He quickly becomes disillusioned with the studio attutudes and mentalities, especially after his mentor commits suicide. But Dennis Barlow, the poet, finds more pleasure and inspiration from his lowly job at a pet mortuary. He aspires for his career to move into as opulent and sacred grounds as the premier person mortuary, Whispering Glades. When he gets to actually visit the Glades, he falls in love with the grounds, and one of the lovely cosmeticians. I would highly recommend those who read modern classics, readers who like light dystopian, satires, and books about death.

Have you read any Evelyn Waugh? Who is a modern classic writer you have never read but want to?

This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.

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Confess, Fletch

One of my goals in 2021 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.

Confess, Fletch is the second in in the Fletch series by Gregory Macdonald.

Fletch returns to the states, engaged to a baroness and enlisted to find his betrothed’s father’s missing paintings. He is quickly wrapped up in a second mystery and funs afowl of Inspector Flynn. Flynn suspects there’s more to Fletch than meets the eye, but Flynn has secrets of his own.

This book takes place a few years after the events of the original Fletch book, which confused me quite a bit. There is a book that details the time between the first two books, but it was written later. I have chosen to read these books in published order rather than chronological. There are a few instances in this series where that might confuse me, I think. There are other places in the order where McDonald wrote prequels or books that fit in between books he had written previously. Once I got into the flow of the story, I really enjoyed this installment, even though it’s very different in tone to the first book. I like that Fletch was smart in this book, but also lucked into a lot of things. I loved the introduction of Flynn and definitely want to get the books that follow him, as this book acts as a sort of backdoor pilot. Overall, I found this to be a satisfying mystery, following several threads and mysteries as seems to be common in Fletch books. I will certainly be continuing with this fun and sassy 70s style series. I would recommend this book to those who read the first in the series, those who want to get into the series but don’t want to start with the first book (as I think this works fine as a standalone), and those who like swinging 70s style books.

Who is your favorite irreverent lead in a series?

This book can be seen in my May Wrap Up.

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*editor’s note: I’ll be posting some blogs that have photos already, while I deal with the photo issues I’m encountering. This might mean that some books and other articles might come out of order.