Bless Your Heart: A Field Guide to All Things Southern by Landon Bryant

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

First a confession:  I hadn’t heard of Landon Bryant until this book came in. I’m sure I read a review and saw the name, but I didn’t know about the videos or online presence or else I’d probably have snapped this up sooner. 

Landon Bryant is not only one funny guy but he’s a very observant one.  I laughed and nodded almost every point.  Even better, he allowed for a difference of opinion, unlike some of the books which want to be the absolute authority on all things Southern.  I name no names.  Landon (I feel that he would not mind me calling him Landon) is open to different versions of the Southern experience.  Nowhere was that more obvious to me than in his discussion of dinner vs. supper: when do you eat which meal?  Now, many folks today would argue that dinner as in “going out to dinner” is an always an evening meal but my grandparents always referred to the mid-day meal as dinner.  People took their food to work in “dinner buckets,” after all and “Sunday dinner” is usually in the middle of the day.  I for one was just happy that Landon brought this up, as I suspect a lot of people nowadays never heard the mid-day meal as “dinner.”

My grandparents didn’t know what to make of “lunch.”

Anyway, Landon is fine with whichever you want to do with, just as long as the food’s good.

Speaking of food, he also addresses other controversies such as chili—beans or no beans, how to construct a proper pear salad and how to eat it (just ignore that bed of lettuce, nobody eats that), the hierarchy of foods served at a gathering and who is allowed to bring them, and best of all, handy charts to determine if something is a salad or a vegetable or a meat. 

Also I would note that he is of the “no sugar in the cornbread” camp, and I am in full agreement on that.  As one of my coworkers used to say, “If God had meant for there to be sugar in cornbread, He would have called it cake.”

This hasn’t even scratched the surface of all the topics Landon handles.  He can tell you all about emotional states like “bein’ ugly” or “hissy fits” or “come to Jesus” meetings, conditions such as “lollygaggin’” and “I’d have to feel better to die.” He also provides helpful information about nature, from bugs to creepy crawlies to the weather. Holidays, cast iron skillets, the differences in grocery stores or dollar stores, Landon covers it all.

There is just a sweetness behind all of this that I find appealing.  He is not one to judge (after all, he has an aluminum Christmas tree) but he does have opinions, like which eye of the stove (and it is an eye, not a burner) to use.  But I also feel that if I were to disagree about which eye to use, he would not be upset with me.

The only thing it lacks is an index so that I could quickly locate sections to compare, say, “piddlin’” and “lollygaggin’” but there is a pretty good table of contents for that.

And while I find it to be basically very true to my experience, it’s also very, very funny.  I may buy copies to give as Christmas gifts.  I’m sure Landon will approve.

Nevermore: River Town, Growing Old, Hola Papi!

 

Nevermore 6-24-25: River Town, Growing Old, Hola Papi!

Reported by Rita

 

River Town by Peter Hessler

This book chronicles the author's experiences as a Peace Corps English teacher in the small Chinese city of Fuling, during which he witnessed significant events, including the death of Deng Xiaoping, the return of Hong Kong to the mainland, and the construction of the Three Gorges Dam.

A wonderful book full of wisdom. - DC 5 stars

 

Growing Old: Notes On Aging with Something Like Grace by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Part memoir and part life-affirming map all of us may follow to embrace our later years with grace and dignity, this look at the social and historical traditions related to aging explores a wide range of issues connected with growing older.

I found it uplifting, positive, and highly relatable. Excellent! - CD 5 stars

 

Hola Papi!: How to Come Out in a Walmart Parking Lot and Other Life Lessons by John Paul Brammer

The popular LGBTQ columnist and writer presents a memoir through a series of essays that chronicle his life growing up as queer, mixed race kid and offers advice for young people facing the same journey.

It was a quick read; I couldn't put it down. It was witty, funny, and sweet. - HM 5 stars

 

 

Other Books Mentioned:

Change of Habit by Sister Monica Clare

Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes

The Curse of the Wise Woman by Lord Dunsany

The Thunderbird by Ryan Murdoch

The Hidden Life of Dogs by Elizabeth Marshall Thomas

Fall From Grace by Richard North Patterson

If You Want to Make God Laugh by Bianca Marais

The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers

 

 

New Books:

A Botanist's Guide to Rituals and Revenge by Kate Khavari

Validation: The New Psychology of Influence by Caroline Fleck

When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World by Jordan Thomas

Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance

 

Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance

Edited by Jonathan Strahan

Reviewed by Kristin

With stories by Alix E. Harrow, Zen Cho, Seanan McGuire, Sarah Gailey, Jeffrey Ford, Nina Allan, Elizabeth Hand, Lavanya Lakshminarayan, Catherynne M. Valente, Sam J. Miller, Rowan Coleman, Margo Lanagan, Sameem Siddiqui, Theodora Goss, Carrie Vaughn, Ellen Klages

Reviewed by Kristin

For the past couple of years I have been drawn to time travel tales. Even when I don’t realize a book may contain some really funky timeline shenanigans, I still find them, check them out, read them, and usually enjoy them.

When I saw Someone in Time: Tales of Time-Crossed Romance, I had previously read several books by Sarah Gailey and just one by Zen Cho (Black Water Sister). Since I had recently finished the Cho book and loved it, I checked this out through Tennessee READS where both the ebook and audiobook are available. (Thanks, Tennessee READS!)

The stories are varied, with time travel being accomplished by different characters in many different ways. I enjoyed some of the stories much more than others, but didn’t dislike any of them.

One of my favorites was set in a used bookstore, where a gap in the shelves serves as a connection between a young woman in modern times and a young man in 1914, on the verge of World War I.

Another included another young woman sent back in time to recover a missing scientific paper from a female scientist in the mid-1950s, with surprising and deliciously pleasing consequences.

The collection title is a play on words on the 1975 novel Somewhere in Time (aka Bid Time Return) by Richard Matheson, which was also made into a movie in 1980 starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.

The characters are diverse and I found the time travel aspects more weighted than the romance, although both are there. This has definitely opened me up to a few new authors.

The Merlot Murders by Ellen Crosby

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Lucie Montgomery fled to France after a crippling automobile accident, leaving behind her father, her sister and brother, and the family vineyard.  When the call comes that her father has died, Lucie returns to Virginia for the funeral.  She is shocked by the changes in two years:  not only is the family home and business in trouble, but her siblings Eli and Mia seem to have turned into people she doesn’t know any more. Even more shocking, they both seem to want to sell the land that has been in the Montgomery family for generations.  Upset, Lucie refuses to agree to the sale, angering her brother.

There’s more to come. Fitz, Lucie’s godfather, tells her of his suspicions that her father’s death was no accident and promises to support her in her decision not to sell the vineyard. This isn’t an idle gesture:  along with Lucie, Eli, and Mia, Fitz has a vote in what happens to the property.  But when Fitz turns up dead at the winery, Lucie starts asking questions that someone doesn’t want answered.

I picked this up as a Book Bingo category book; I’d heard good things about Crosby’s mysteries but just had not taken the time to read one.  I was very pleasantly surprised by the amount of history and discussion of winemaking that I found in its pages, not to mention a dandy mystery with interesting, well-developed characters.  Lucie herself is a prickly protagonist, stubborn and reluctant to trust anyone—often with good reason.  Her former boyfriend and the cause of her accident is now having an affair with her sister; her brother seems in thrall to his wife, desperately trying to win her approval at every turn. Quinn, the new vintner hired by her father, appears arrogant and dismissive of Lucie, and he has a shady past.

I thoroughly enjoyed the history. Crosby has done her research, and it shows. Thomas Jefferson is often invoked because of his determination to make splendid American wines, but I hadn’t realized how long settlers had tried for good wine in Virginia. There’s also some interesting information about making wine itself, and I found myself thinking about all the local wineries that dot the Southwest Virginia landscape these days.

The only thing I could have wished for was a bit more time spent after the dénouement. I wanted to see the reactions of some of the characters to the revelations but that’s a small quibble.  Besides, it makes me want to go to the next book!

Books in the series are:

1. The Merlot Murders

 2. The Chardonnay Charade

3. The Bordeaux Betrayal

4. The Riesling Retribution

5. The Viognier Vendetta

6. The Sauvignon Secret

7. The Champagne Conspiracy

8. The Vineyard Victims

9. Harvest of Secrets

10. The Angels' Share

11. The French Paradox

12. Bitter Roots

13. Deeds Left Undone (2025)

Nevermore: The River We Remember, Sipsworth, The World According to Garp

 

Nevermore 6-17-25

Reported by Rita

The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger

When the body of a wealthy landowner is found floating in the Alabaster River on Memorial Day in 1958, Sheriff Brody Dern, a highly decorated war hero, struggles to solve this murder that has the town of Jewel, Minnesota, up in arms, while putting to rest the demons from his own past.

This was a great book. I fell in love with the characters and found them really relatable. - HM 4 stars 

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy

Moving back to the English village of her childhood after the loss of her husband and son, reclusive widow Helen Cartwright, whose only wish is to die quickly and without fuss, becomes a creature of habit until a chance encounter with a mouse sets her on an unexpected journey.

I thought this was lovely; a light-hearted and quick read with a twist ending. Wonderful! -AH 5 stars 

The World According to Garp by John Irving

T. S. Garp, a man with high ambitions for an artistic career and with obsessive devotion to his wife and children, and Jenny Fields, his famous feminist mother, find their lives surrounded by an odd assortment of people, including teachers, whores, and radicals.

Easy and entertaining. I couldn't put it down. -PP 5 stars

 

Other Books Mentioned

Something for the Pain by Paul Austin

A Necessary Woman by Helen Van Slyke

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone

Poe: Birth of the Detective Story by Edgar Allan Poe

Sisu by Aura Levitas

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

River Town by Peter Hessler

Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q Sutanto

The Disciple by Stephen Coonts

Living in the Light by Deepak Chopra

Powder Burn by Carl Hiaasen

Trap Line by Carl Hiaasen

A Forger's Life by Adolfo Kaminsky

On Muscle by Bonnie Tsui

 

New Books

The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes

The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner

The River Knows Your Name by Kelly Mustian

Lies on the Serpent’s Tongue by Kate Pearsall

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Growing up in Caball Hollow, West Virginia, Rowan James is used to being shunned. She comes from a long line of James women, all of whom have supernatural gifts of some sort.  Rowan’s gift is that she knows when someone is lying. She can smell the lies, whether a small white lie or a falsehood so dark that it reeks of rot and sulfur.  It’s hard to always know that people around you are lying, and it’s made Rowan grow up to be angry and suspicious. Her temper flares once too often, so her grandmother insists that she needs to go work at the forest fire tower to learn some patience.

It isn’t long before Rowan finds herself involved in more than one mystery.  A young man is found unconscious in the woods, with no clue as to his identity or what he was doing there.  A paranormal group is also hanging around, looking for evidence of the Moth-Winged Man. Not only does Rowan feel there’s something off about the group, but other things are happening around her: non-native creatures like magpies are appearing even as other things go missing—both physical items like necklaces but also people’ memories. Then there are the ginseng poachers, seeking to steal a fortune in the valuable roots from protected land.

Enter Hadrian Fitch, who had worked as a handyman for Rowan’s family before leaving without even a goodbye.  Rowan had a fraught relationship with Hadrian because of her gift: she knew he was lying, but not about what.  Now a battered Hadrian has come to Rowan for help.  She can’t trust him, but he may hold the key to solving the other mysteries—and saving her family.

I loved the first book in the series, Bittersweet in the Hollow, which featured Linden James, the sister who can taste the emotions of those around her.  That book introduced readers to the James family as well as some of the area legends—including that of the Moth-Winged Man. I was definitely intrigued and was anxiously awaiting the second book.

I will admit that Lies on the Serpent’s Tongue seemed to get off to a bit of slow start, but it soon picked up steam; and once Rowan reunited with her family the story flowed better for me. While the plot in the book is self-contained, I would strongly recommend that readers start with the first book to understand some of the characters and relationships.  Pearsall does an excellent job of blending myth, magic, and folklore into a realistic Appalachian setting, and the James women are all interesting characters. While the books focus on the sisters, all of whom are young adults, I’m equally intrigued with their mother and grandmother. I also like the way Pearsall writes, which is descriptive and emotional in a good way.

I’m looking forward to future books.  While nothing has been announced as yet—and I do check fantasticfiction.com on a regular basis—fans suspect that the next book will feature either Juniper or Sorrel.  I will just be happy to be back in the company of this fascinating family. (Note:  while some classify this as a YA book, my feeling is that a good book is a good book, no matter the age of the intended audience.)

The Little Encyclopedia of Enchanted Woodland Creatures: An A-to-Z Guide to Mythical Beings of the Forest by Jason Lancaster

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

I picked this one up because I had rather enjoyed The Little Encyclopedia of Fairies:  An A-to-Z Guide to Fae Magic.  It had brief entries but the worldwide focus was interesting. Enchanted Woodland Creatures has equally brief entries and a worldwide focus but the choices for inclusion seem a bit… odd.  I think it’s the word “enchanted” in the main title. 

You see, there are entries for Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, and even Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox which I don’t really see as being “enchanted.” Folkloric, yes.  Enchanted, no.  The same can be said of several other entries. The subtitle Mythical Beings of the Forest is more accurate, but there's also an entry for a real bird though a bit of folklore connected with it is included. 

That said, there are some interesting entries for both mythological creatures as well as cryptids.  The entries are very brief, and some are accompanied by illustrations by Kate Forrester. I like her style and it’s worth looking through the book for those alone.  Only the cover is in color; the rest are black and white, and some look as they might be woodcuts or else pen and ink.  I thought they were charming.  In fact, I liked them well enough that I searched for the artist online and found she’s done a number of book covers. She is now on my radar as an artist I admire.

The limited information given in the entries was interesting, and I did like the long list of sources at the end.  The entries are well written.  This is a fun browsing book, despite the sometimes perplexing choices.

I did enjoy it, even if I didn’t fit it into a Book Bingo square.