Wednesday, June 18, 2025

Nevermore: Night Watch, Ornithography, Conclave

Reported by Rita


Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips

In 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.

Excellent! Beautifully written with well-formed characters. A real page-turner.     -KN      5 stars


Ornithography: An Illustrated Guide to Bird Lore & Symbolism by Jessica Roux

In Jessica Roux’s Ornithography, each of 100 entries focuses on one bird species, featuring a full-page color illustration in her detailed, darkly romantic style, and the lore behind each bird.

This is an easy read with gorgeous illustrations. I found the mythology of birds very interesting.     - KM      4 stars

 

Conclave by Robert Harris

The Pope is dead. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, one hundred and eighteen cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world’s most secretive election. They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals. Over the next seventy-two hours, one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth.

This was a quick, easy read with a surprise ending. It gave great insight into the Catholic church.     - GP      5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

 

River of No Return: Tennessee Ernie Ford and the Woman He Loved by Jeffrey Buckner Ford

Stars in Their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863 by Shelby Foote

Life in the Coal Camps of Wise County by Brian D. McKnight

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

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

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg

The Gates of Evangeline by Hester Young

The Seamstress by Allison Pittman

 

New Books

 

Raising Demons by Shirley Jackson

Change the Recipe by Jose Andres

The Eights by Joanna Miller

Waiting for the Long Night Moon by Amanda Peters

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