Remainders of the Day: A Bookshop Diary by Shaun Bythell

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

When the local distillery closed, the small Scottish town of Wigtown found itself without a major industry to employ its residents and so Wigtown reinvented itself as a book town.  It was a move that proved successful enough to have Wigtown designated as “The National Book Town of Scotland,” complete with a book festival.  There are over a dozen bookstores, not to mention other book-themed or book related stores.

One of these is The Bookshop, the largest second-hand bookstore in Scotland.  Owned by Shaun Blythell, the shop boasts over 100,000 books.  While that might sound like a dream come true to most readers, the reality can be very different: leaks in the roof, wonky internet connections, obnoxious customers, and unreliable shop assistants. I know this because Mr. Blythell has written three books with his diary entries about the shop.

This is the sort of book that some people would pick up, scan a page, and put down.  My view is that they would be missing an absolute treat.  Blythell doesn’t suffer fools gladly but he doesn’t exempt himself. He also has quite the way with words and a deep love of books and literature.  He almost had me coveting a book of maps and I don’t know beans about maps.  He’s also very funny, in a cantankerous sort of way.  For example, a former employee asked for a reference.  Blythell noted that she “was idle, obstreperous and treated the shop as her own empire.  She was in many ways the perfect employee.”

Or when unexpected (okay, they WERE expected, he just forgot) guests stop by for lunch, all he has is stale bread (he did scrape the mould off first while they weren’t looking) and some pate. He noted they probably expected better but that the best they could realistically expect “from their culinary experience above The Bookshop is that they’ve dodged a case of listeria.”

He also buys books, often going to people’s homes to evaluate the volumes. Sometimes there are wonderful gems, but just as often most of the offerings are popular fiction with little value.  I enjoyed reading about the things he looks for in a book, how the book trade has waxed and waned, and how the advent of the internet has changed book buying for both buyers, and sellers. I also have a very different view of Amazon and certain other online used book outlets.

I’ve taking my time with this book, reading a few entries each night to make it last.  I’ve already read the two previous books (Diary of a Bookseller and Confessions of a Bookseller) and so far there isn’t a fourth.  I’m making do by following The Bookshop online but may just have to start re-reading at night.

Remainders of the Day is the third in the series but you needn’t have read the others to enjoy it.

Nevermore: The Art of Power, Endurance, Last Day the Dogbushes Bloomed

 

Nevermore 4-22-25

Reported by Rita

 

The Art of Power by Nancy Pelosi

The first woman to ascend to the most powerful legislative role in our nation, passing laws that save lives and livelihoods, tells the story of her transformation from housewife to House Speaker, becoming a prophetic voice on the major moral issues of the day who's not afraid of a good fight.

I found it to be very informative and interesting.     -  KM     5 stars

 

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

Describes how polar explorer Ernest Shackleton's ship became immobilized in ice for ten months on his 1914 expedition to Antarctica, resulting in an 850-mile journey back to civilization with only a skeleton crew remaining.

Incredibly tedious, but fascinating and enjoyable.    - CD     4 stars

 

The Last Day the Dogbushes Bloomed by Lee Smith

Recounts the last summer of innocence for nine-year-old Susan, who witnesses the disintegration of her parents' marriage, and learns of people's cruelty from the visiting nephew of a neighbor.

Lee Smith is an extraordinary writer, and this book is absolutely amazing!    - MD    5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

Kills Well With Others by Deanna Raybourn

The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri

The Shadow Girls by Henning Mankell

Wreck of the Whale Ship Essex: The Extraordinary and Distressing Memoir That Inspired Herman Melville's Moby-Dick by Owen Chase

The Thread That Runs So True by Jesse Stuart

Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis

1984 by George Orwell

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

The Faculty Lounge by Jennifer Mathieu

Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu

The Girl on Legare Street by Karen White

The Third Girl by Nell Goddin

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabella Wilkerson

Ernie's War by Ernie Pyle

 

New Books

 

Kate & Frida by Kim Fay

The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue

Penitence by Kristin Koval

Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah

Lonely Planet’s Guide to Death, Grief, and Rebirth by Anita Isalska

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

As a child, I picked up a joke book which had an anecdote about a man visiting a cemetery.  As he put flowers on a grave, he noticed another man putting a food offering on a grave.  The first man laughed loudly and said, “So, when do you think your friend is going to come out and eat that food?” The second man replied, “When your friend comes out to smell the flowers.” 

This was my introduction to the fact that mourning customs can vary widely and there is no one right way to pay respects to the dead.  Growing up, Memorial Day was a day when one went to the various graveyards and put flowers on all the family graves:  failure to do so was a disgrace that brought shame on the family.  Later I was surprised to discover that Memorial Day was actually meant to honor only those who had died in service and our insistence on decorating all the graves was an aberration.

That’s why when I saw the book with the vivid pink cover and flower bedecked skull, I had to take a closer look. I was also attracted by the “Lonely Planet” part of the title, wondering why an imprint known for its travel books would take on such a topic.  The book’s subtitle, “How Global Grieving Customs Can Help Us Live (and Die) Well” offered a pretty good clue, as did the table of contents.  The book is divided up into four main categories: Celebrating, Commemorating, Mourning, and Offering.  Under each heading is an article on a particular culture’s observance, such as Irish Wake, New Orleans jazz funeral, fantasy coffins of Ghana, Lakota soul keepers, and so forth. 

Each article is a respectful look at how a culture handles death.  While not in depth, there are beautiful color photographs and notes about various aspects of funerary rites, rituals, beliefs, and customs.  The Irish wake reminded me in some respects of the Appalachian custom of sitting up with the dead, which I had heard stories about from older family members. Music plays a big role in many cultures, as does food.  Certain plants may be associated with death, such as calla lilies in Western cultures or eucalyptus bark in Aboriginal rites. 

The photographs are wonderful and I was fascinated by the ways that people observe death, grief, and loss. In Ghanaian culture there are coffins that look like lions or a fishing boat or a cell phone or a mermaid, created to reflect the personality or desires of the deceased.  These are one of a kind art objects, and some of the makers have become well-known artists such as Paa Joe.

Attention is paid to the views about death held by different religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism.  Ancient Egyptian culture is also addressed and symbols such as the phoenix and the Grim Reaper.

Along the way, there are sidebars with gentle, helpful notes about the grieving process, poems, songs, and commentary. There is also a section on preparing for death: end of life doulas, Swedish death cleaning, or making funeral arrangements, including some thoughtful ideas about alternatives—body donation, green burials, etc.

There is an index, but unfortunately it is a bit limited. For example, there was no entry for “grave goods,” those items either buried with a person or left at a graveside, though there were some references in with the individual cultures.  A friend who documents cemeteries sometimes mentions the items she’s seen left on gravestones, anything from charms to rocks to photos to children’s toys. I once saw a can of beer and a pack of chewing gum—both unopened, so obviously left in memory.

The reviews I saw remarked on how ultimately uplifting the book is, and I certainly found that to be true.  There is no one way to grieve, no right way to memorialize the dead.  I’ve always enjoyed reading books about other cultures and traditions, and this is a truly fascinating look at what is, after all, a fact of life.

Travel Guides

 Summer is a traditional time for vacation and travel.  We’ve already had several people in for books to help them plan their trips, so I thought it was time for a post on travel books.

If you had asked me a decade ago, I would have said sadly that travel guides were on their way out.  Fewer and fewer were being published as people apparently took their searches online.  When I tried that before a trip a couple of years ago, the results were frustrating, to say the least.  Every site seemed trying to sell me something: tours, tickets, hotel rooms, etc.

My suspicion is that a lot of people had the same experience because guidebooks are definitely making a comeback!  We have been getting in a number of new books on various places, both inside the U.S. and international destinations.  When possible we get more than one because each publisher has a slightly different focus.  To compare, I picked books on Italy and checked out what each had to say on Pompeii.

Fodor's is one of the best known names in travel guides for good reason.  Fodor's Essential Italy  had a bit on how to get to Pompeii (and nearby Herculaneum), a brief history, and information what to see. Small color photos give an idea of what there, and a map gives a good idea of what is where.  They suggest packing snacks as food can be expensive but note luggage is not allowed. They also give a few warnings about content:  Pompeii had more than a few brothels and their explicit murals are still there.  Suggested time spent is four or five hours, and tips on getting a guide are included.

DK made its name years ago for doing informational books with fabulous photographs.  In many ways, they set the standard.  When they moved into guide books, they brought that aesthetic with them.  The DK Italy book only had two pages on Pompeii but gives some background information, where to book tickets, and of course some very good color photographs of what can be seen.  None of the photos come from the brothels, by the way, but the text does mention them and the murals.

Lonely Planet is a guidebook I used to avoid.  Oh, the information was very good and they tended to do some books on lesser-known destinations but the very small print and lack of illustrations made it a chore to read.  That has changed; while the print is still small, it’s more readable, offset with text boxes with tips and bits of information.  It had four pages on Pompeii, two of which gave an illustrated timeline of what would have happened on the day the volcano erupted.  There are fewer travel tips and more information on what is being seen.

Rick Steves is the go-to guide for many.  He specializes in European travel and his guides are top notch when it comes to the mechanics of travel.  His book on Italy lists all the different ways to get to Pompeii, which takes up several pages and includes going by car. There are detailed instructions on getting tickets and hiring guides, even listing specific companies and individuals with contact information. He lists where the restrooms are, places to eat, how long to plan to stay, and, oh, yes, that there are some risqué murals which you may want to avoid if traveling with children.  Steves is opinionated, which is not necessarily a bad thing though I have to say on one trip we skipped something he panned and I still regret that I didn’t disregard that advice.  I might have been disappointed but since I’m not a seasoned traveler as Steves, I might have enjoyed it.  Steves’ books are much like his TV spots and podcasts: he gives fascinating background, personal observations, and detailed descriptions of parts of the site, putting places in context. It’s arranged as a walking tour. There is a small map which shows a tour route.  At least in this edition (2022; 2025 edition is due out next month), there are few photos and, except for some in front of the book, all are small and black and white.

Which guidebook is right for you really depends on what you want from a guidebook. All have their strong points.  I really like to consult two or three to get a well-rounded picture of what to see and how to see it.  Happy travels!

Nevermore: Elegance of the Hedgehog, Kills Well with Others, Android's Dream

 

Nevermore 4-15-25

Reported by Rita

 

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

Rene is the concierge of a Parisian apartment building. She is passionate about culture and the arts. Several floors up, 12-year-old Paloma Josse is determined to avoid the pampered and vacuous future laid out for her. But unknown to them both, the sudden death of one of their privileged neighbors will dramatically alter their lives forever.

It's a beautiful story of friendship. Translated from French, the language can be difficult at times. It has a fantastic surprise ending.    - DC     4 stars

 

Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn

When a mole in the elite assassin organization the Museum leaks names to an Eastern European gangster who's murdering agents, assassins Billie, Helen, Mary Alice and Natalie--senior in status and age--must root out the organization's mole and hunt down their new nemesis.

I found this fun and interesting. A very enjoyable easy read.      -  NH     4 stars

 

The Android's Dream by John Scalzi

To avoid an interstellar incident, ex-cop and hacker Harry Creek, aided by Brian Javna, a childhood friend turned AI, searches for a rare type of sheep to be used in an alien race's coronation ceremony, following a trail that leads to pet store owner Robin Baker, whose genes contain traces of the sheep DNA.

This book is very plot-driven. Full of interesting concepts, twists, and turns.     -  RR     5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

The Widow's Husband's Secret Lie: A Satirical Short Story by Freida McFadden

Want to Know a Secret? by Freida McFadden

Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-eyed Stranger: New and Selected Stories by Lee Smith

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Fear of Fly Fishing by Jack Ohman

The 30,000 Mile Cat: Travels Across America by Ginnie L. Hansen

Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends by Peter Schweizer

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

Harris and Me by Gary Paulson

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Living in the Light: Yoga for Self-Realization by Deepak Chopra

Fall from Grace by Larry Collins

To Die For by David Baldacci

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion by Julie Satow

Small Talk: 10 ADHD Lies and How to Stop Believing Them by Richard Pink, Roxanne Pink

Morbidly Yours: Love in Galway, Book 1 by  Ivy Fairbanks

 

New Books

 

The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri

The Jackal's Mistress by Chris Bohjalian

The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe by Carl Zimmer

Back After This by Linda Holmes

The Eagle and Hart by Helen Castor

Dick Tracy by Segura, Moreci, Borges, Osman, Englert, Campbell

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

I grew up reading the comic strips in the local paper.  I read them all, from Peanuts to Far Side to Little Orphan Annie, so of course I also read Dick Tracy.  Tracy was created by Chester Gould and made its first appearance in the papers in 1931.  By the time I came along, Tracy had his iconic two-way wrist radio (which appeared in 1946, so talk about being ahead of its time!), a wife named Tess, and a son called Junior who met and married a girl from the moon.  She was named Moon Maid and their daughter was Honey Moon.

I am not making this up.

Dick Tracy was one of those strips that was both serious and over the top at the same time.  Tracy was a strong-jawed, rather grim figure who was out to deliver justice.  His adversaries were often mob figures with names like Pruneface and Flattop.  Characters often met violent ends, and there was corruption in high places, both government and corporate.

When I saw the Dick Tracy graphic novel come in, I was immediately intrigued. It was both immediately recognizable and noticeably different:  Tracy wore his trademark yellow fedora and coat and was appropriately square-jawed, but in a more realistic style.  I found the graphic novel did reflect the tone of the original in a lot of ways, but it was also set firmly in the late 1940s. The opening scenes have a reporter meeting with a nervous councilman who wants to unburden himself, but the two are rapidly murdered along with everyone else who had the misfortune to be at a local café.  The councilman’s daughter, one Tess Trueheart, joins forces with Tracy to find out who was behind the hit.  An old war buddy of Tracy’s also shows up, trying to figure out what happened to his brother, a WW II veteran who had been struggling with civilian life before his disappearance. And he’s not the only vet to go missing:  there’s something very wrong going on in the city.

Being used to the flatter newspaper style, it did take a few pages to get used to the artwork in this graphic novel.  It’s dynamic and more realistic, not to mention more colorful. The old daily strips were black and white, with the only color being on Sunday.  The graphic novel uses the expanded color palette to good advantage, giving a moody, noir feel to some scenes. The plot is well supported by the strong tension that runs through the art and dialog; there’s a lot of action to keep a reader turning pages. It seemed a bit more violent than the strip, but on reflection it’s probably just the color and larger page size.

In short, I was impressed with this effort which remained true to the original while—in my opinion—making Dick Tracy more interesting to a modern audience. For me, it was a trip down memory lane. I was very surprised at how many of the names I remembered, including some who didn’t appear in this incarnation.  (B.O. Plenty, for example—Gould really liked descriptive names.) It’s apparently coming out in comic book form on a regular basis; this is listed as volume 1 in the series, containing issues 1-5 of the comics.  Volume 2 is due out in the summer of 2025 and I’ll be on the lookout for it. In the meantime, I now want to find a copy of the Dick Tracy movie with Warren Beatty and watch it. 

How to Buy a Planet by D.A. Holdsworth

 

Reviewed by Kristin

 

“The Earth has been sold. What could possibly go wrong?”

Have you checked out some of the gems in Tennessee READS that might not make it into print form in our library? Here is one such first-in-series treasure that I enjoyed immensely.

Toby is just a guy who needs a new place to live. In London, near the present day, Toby answers an ad for a flat-share. While trying to find this potential roommate “Dave” at a pub, all the screens in the world begin to broadcast an alert: “IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM DOWNING STREET AT 12 PM GMT, 1 PM BST – MAKE SURE YOU ARE NEAR A TELEVISION OR WIRELESS – DO NOT BE ALARMED…”

Of course, the world is alarmed.

The world countries have become so ridiculously in debt to each other that no one is sure what currency holds what value or who will ever collect on the debts. If only there was someone who could bail us out like a governmental entity bailing out a bank…

Enter the Za-Nakarians. With their cute little planet-buying representative sloshing about in his wheelie bin, they are here to help humanity with our money woes and find a nice hospitable vacation spot for themselves. In the meantime, Toby is thrown together with his potential roommates (Dave quickly known as “Paranoid Dave”) and becomes intensely invested in trying to save the earth from the side effects of becoming a pleasure planet for aliens.

Published in 2020 with references to the pandemic and a world in chaos, this was a very entertaining romp through what could come from making deals with extraterrestrial beings, or from our own climate-negligent human actions. This was D.A. Holdsworth’s debut novel, but he next published a prequel entitled The Zoo of Intelligent Animals which gives a little history of some of the other characters in How to Buy a Planet.

Nevermore: Crime and Punishment, Everything is Tuberculosis, King of the North

 

Nevermore Book Club readers enjoy a wide variety of books, old and new, fiction and non-fiction. Here are some of the books recommended from a recent meeting:

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a classic of Russian literature for good reason.  The protagonist, Raskolnikov, is mired in poverty as is his family.  He sees others suffering as well, and who are forced to pawn their possessions to survive.  Roskolnikov convinces himself that by murdering the pawnbroker and stealing her money, he can save his family and perform great acts of public service; that such a deed would not be a true crime because it would serve the greater good. Afterwards, however, he struggles with his conscience even as he tries to help others. Our reviewer thought it was a magnificent book and feels everyone should read it.

Everything is Tuberculosis is by John Green, best known as the Young Adult author of such best-sellers as The Fault in Our Stars.  Green began researching TB after meeting young patient Henry Reider in Sierra Leone who had contracted a drug-resistant form of the disease.  Green gives a history of TB, which once ravaged all of Europe and had a lasting impact on the culture of the time, while he chronicles the efforts to save Henry’s life.  Our reader found the book fascinating, informative, and recommends it to everyone.

King of the North:  Martin Luther King’s Life of Struggle Outside the South by Jeanne Theoharis examines the often overlooked time King spent in the Northeast, starting when he was a student in Boston.  While King’s work to combat racism in the South is well documented, the same work in the North has been minimized.  Our reader was impressed with the attention played to Coretta Scott, later King, who was also a student in Boston at the time. Although she hasn’t quite finished with the book, she recommends it highly.

Conclave by Robert Harris is a fictional account of the election of a new pope.  Cardinal Lomeli is charged with managing the Conclave while facing his own crisis of faith.  He becomes aware of a rumor that one of the cardinals actually had been dismissed from his duties just hours before the Pope’s death, something the cardinal emphatically denies. It falls to Lomeli to try to uncover the truth.  The book was the basis for the Oscar nominated movie of the same name, and the reviewer said the film was an excellent adaptation.

Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Glory Broussard is a devout, Church-going woman of a certain age in Layfayette, Louisiana but don’t let that lull you into thinking she’s a pushover.  Glory is sharp-eyed, sharp-tongued, and the neighborhood bookie.  She can also make grown men cry, as Gus the new barista at the coffee shop can attest.  But Miss Glory has problems of her own: for one thing, someone has reported her house as being unfit for human habitation just because she has a few things piled up—well, okay, a lot of things, but some of these thrift store finds are just too good to throw away.  Also, her daughter Delphine may be a big-time lawyer in New York and married to a rich boy, but Glory has a feeling that things may not be going so well in that marriage.  But the worst thing is that Glory’s best friend, a nun named Amity Gay, has been found dead.  The police believe it was suicide, but Glory doesn’t believe that for an instant. Amity might have had her faults, but suicide is out of the question.

Glory just has to prove it.

This debut mystery was on a lot of “Best of” lists at the end of the year, and I think it deserved to be.  Glory is a vivid character, stubborn, opinionated, and not afraid to speak her mind.  The Louisiana setting is used to great advantage; one can almost feel the heat and humidity seeping out of the pages.  While many called this a cozy mystery, for me it’s grittier than most cozies, with some obviously dangerous characters.  There are references to violence (dog-fighting, for example) and characters share more than a chaste kiss on the cheek.  The sharp-edged humor carries the day for me, and Miss Glory is not one to pull her punches when she speaks her mind.  The second book in the series, Glory Daze,  has come out already and I’m definitely going to be reading it.

And while one should not always judge a book by its cover, I really like the covers on both books.  They just looked so inviting!

Conclave by Robert Harris

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

The Pope is dead.

It falls to Cardinal Lomeli, as Dean of the College of Cardinals, to manage the Conclave, the gathering of Cardinals from all over the world, who will select the next leader of the Catholic Church.  Lomeli is grieving, both from the loss of the Holy Father and the loss of a man who was his friend. Their last meeting had been a difficult one; Lomeli was questioning his own abilities to carry out his duties, but the Pope had refused his request to resign, much to Lomeli’s dismay.  There’s no time to ponder the question as the cardinals gather and factions soon form.  Lomeli is committed to being fair and not allowing his personal views to influence how he manages the Conclave, but sometimes that is a difficult matter indeed. This is especially true after he hears that the late Pope may have dismissed a cardinal in the hours just before his death, a cardinal who is one of the leading candidates to be the new Pope.  With all the cardinals sequestered and access to the outside world limited, Cardinal Lomeli is faced not only with the question of how to investigate but whether he should even try for fear of jeopardizing the voting unfairly.

To confuse things even more, a new cardinal appears, one that appeared on no one’s list because he was appointed in secret.

I came to the book after watching the movie.  The movie is a visual treat: I was mesmerized by some of the images.  There were amazing performances from the cast, which included Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini.  The Oscar nominations were well deserved.

Since the movie did win for “Best Adapted Screenplay,” I was curious to see just how closely it followed the book and the answer is very closely indeed, with much of the dialog coming directly from the book. There were, of course, a few changes such as Cardinal Lomeli in the book becoming Cardinal Lawrence in the film but the changes were mostly very minor.  Reading the book did clarify a few things for me and gave me a deeper understanding of what I was shown.

It’s been called a political thriller, which means it relies on characters’ ambitions and motivations rather than car chases.  Since my preferred reading material is character driven rather than action oriented, this suited me just fine.  Thriller fans might find both book and movie to be too slow for their tastes. Every book (or movie!) is not for every reader.

The book allows us greater insight into Lomeli’s character, but the film does an excellent job of conveying some of his struggles visually:  his weariness, his frustration, and his faith. There’s a good map showing where the important scenes take place, from the Sistine Chapel to the Casa Santa Marta where the cardinals are housed during the Conclave. With the recent passing Pope Francis, both book and movie gave me some idea of the process and a mental image of how the real Conclave will unfold.

The library owns copies of both book and movie.

Nevermore: Girls Who Stepped Out of Line, Art of Danish Living, In Your Face

 

Reported by Rita

 

The Girls Who Stepped Out of Line by Mari K. Eder

This book takes you inside the lives and experiences of 15 unknown women heroes from the Greatest Generation, the women who served, fought, struggled, and made things happen during WWII―in and out of uniform―for theirs is a legacy destined to embolden generations of women to come.

I didn't think it was very well-written or engaging.    - NH   2 stars

 

The Art of Danish Living: How to Find Happiness In and Out of Work by Meik Wiking

A guide on getting more out of work and living like the world's happiest people: the Danish.

Underwhelming - the presentation is pretty, but it doesn't offer much new information.    - HM    4 stars

 

 

In Your Face: A Cartoonist at Work by Doug Marlette

The creator of the nationally syndicated "Kudzu" comic strip offers a revealing glimpse inside the world of a cartoonist. He describes the creative process, discusses the art of cartooning, and provides anecdotes about his own career.

It's one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. It's full of great pictures and cartoons.   - VC   5 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

The Wings of the Dove by Henry James

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle by Chris Hedges

A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism by Jeffrey D. Sachs

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry

So Human an Animal: How We Are Shaped by Surroundings and Events by René Dubos

The Vanishing Kind (Alex Carter, #4) by Alice Henderson

After Rome: A Novel of Celtic Britain by Morgan Llywelyn

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

Grave Expectations by Alice Bell

How to Buy a Planet by D.A. Holdsworth

James by Percival Everett

 

New Books

 

One Good Thing by Georgia Hunter

Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Sarah Sundin

Kills Well with Others by Deanna Raybourn

When the Earth Was Green: Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance by Riley Black

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Laughter is the Best Medicine: 101 Feel Good Stories by Amy Newmark

Grimm Curiosities by Sharon Lynn Fisher

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Lizzy Grimm is struggling to keep her late father’s antique shop, Grimm Curiosities, open which is proving somewhat difficult in 1850s York, England. Not only are women shopkeepers a rarity, but Lizzy’s mother has been struck with a strange affliction that leaves her unable to speak and limits other responses. This means Lizzy is a young woman alone, unchaperoned. Any whiff of scandal could close the shop for good, leaving both Lizzy and her mother without home or resources.

Then two very different gentlemen take an interest in the shop. The first is Mr. Carlisle, who actually wants to speak with Lizzy’s mother. It turns out that Mr. Carlisle’s beloved sister has been struck with a similar affliction after the death of their mother.  Intrigued, Lizzy dares to hope they may join forces to see if there is some cure, even if Mr. Carlisle’s social standing is a bit of a barrier.  After all, shop girls who consort with the sons of barons will be the subject of gossip at the very least.

The second caller is one Mr. Stokes, who shows up eager to buy books in an old series about the supernatural. While willing to pay handsomely for any volumes, there’s something about him that makes Lizzy uneasy—and unwilling to admit that she has the whole set.  She sells him the one volume he found on the shelf, trying to buy time to decide about the others: it was a set that was precious to her father and even though she needs the money, she is loath to sell.

It soon becomes apparent that there is indeed something otherworldly about, but can Lizzy follow the clues and solve the puzzle? And does she dare trust either of these men to help her?

This is a delightful tale filled with period details and garnished with some folklore and supernatural elements.  At its heart it’s a romance, but with enough other elements to satisfy non-romance readers.  I certainly enjoyed it.  I felt the ending was a bit rushed after the rather leisurely start, but it certainly had its surprising moments.  I wished for a bit more folklore as well, but the strong sense of time and place did help.  I will be looking for other books by this author.

New Books for May, 2025

 

Allende, Isabel  My Name Is Emilia del Valle

Armstrong, Kelley  Death at a Highland Wedding (Rip Through Time)

Backman, Fredrik  My Friends

Barclay, Linwood  Whistle

Bartz, Andrea  The Last Ferry Out

Byler, Linda  Tough Choices:  An Amish Romance

Connelly, Michael  Nightshade (Detective Stilwell)

Connolly, John  The Children of Eve (Charlie Parker)

Cummins, Jeanine  Speak to Me of Home

Dailey, Janet  Mistletoe and Rodeo

Deaver, Jeffery  South of Nowhere (Colter Shaw)

Doiron, Paul  Skin and Bones: And Other Mike Bowditch Short Stories

Dugoni, Robert  A Dead Draw

Feehan, Christine  Thunder Game (Ghostwalker)

Finlay, Alex  Parents Weekend

Flowers, Ashley  The Missing Half

Fortune, Carley  One Golden Summer

Fuller, Kathleen  The Marriage Pact

Gabhart, Ann H.  The Pursuit of Elena Bradford

Golden, Christopher  The Night Birds

Haines, Carolyn  Doggone Bones (Sarah Booth Delaney)

Harvey, Kristy Woodson  Beach House Rules

Hazelwood, Ali Problematic Summer Romance

Hiaasen, Carl  Fever Beach

Horowitz, Anthony  Marble Hall Murders (Susan Ryeland)

Jenner, Natalie  Austen at Sea

Jensen, Danielle L.  A Curse Carved in Bone (Unfated)

Johnson, Craig  Return to Sender (Longmire)

Kelly, Martha Hall The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club

Koontz, Dean  Going Home in the Dark

McFadden, Freida  The Tenant

Monroe, Mary Alice  Where the Rivers Merge

North, Alex  The Man Made of Smoke

Pavone, Chris  The Doorman

Peterson, Tracie  An Unexpected Grace (Jewels of Kalispell)

Pinborough, Sarah  We Live Here Now

Roberts, Nora  Hidden Nature

Sampson, Freya  The Busybody Book Club

Solomon, Rachel Lynn  What Happens in Amsterdam

Weir, Alison  The Cardinal: A Novel of Love and Power

Wilson, Kevin  Run for the Hills

Woodward, M.P.  Tom Clancy Line of Demarcation (Jack Ryan, Jr.)

 

Nonfiction

Aikman, Becky  Spitfires:  The American Women Who Flew in the Face of Danger During World War II

Attenborough, David  Ocean:  Earth’s Last Wilderness

Chernow, Ron  Mark Twain

Doyle, Glennon  We Can Do Hard Things:  Answers to Life’s 20 Questions

Grammer, Kelsey  Karen:  A Brother Remembers

Patterson, James  The #1 Dad Book:  Be the Best Dad You Can Be in 1 Hour