Nevermore: I Could Pee on This; Dracula; Rabbit-Proof Fence

 

Reported by Rita

I Could Pee on This: and Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano is a collection of short poems written from the perspective of cats. Clever, and very relatable to anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes around a cat. Delightful! MS

Dracula by Bram Stoker is the classic tale that many cite as the start of the vampire genre. Although vampires were around long before Dracula, this is the novel that frightened and inspired for generations. Our reader said it is very scary and quite enjoyable. MH

Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington is the remarkable true story of three young girls who cross the harsh Australian desert on foot to return to their home. When black aboriginal children and children of mixed marriages are gathered up by whites in Australia in 1931, three young girls make a harrowing escape by following the over 1,000 miles of rabbit-proof fence back to their home. This YA selection is a quick read about determination and resilience. CD

Also mentioned:

We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work by Jimmy Carter

Nation of Victims by Vivek Ramaswamy

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction by Lynne Olson

Home by Marilynne Robinson

Lila by Marilynne Robinson

The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox

All You Have to Do Is Call by Kerri Maher

 

 

New books:

 

A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand

Six Cats a Slayin’ by Miranda James

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Christmas is just around the corner, and Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat Diesel are looking forward to it. After all, he has two grandchildren this year, and children always make the holidays brighter—even if they are still really too young to enjoy all the festivities.

As with all holidays, there are going to be some surprises, pleasant and otherwise.  One “otherwise” is an invitation to real estate agent Gerry Albritton’s party.  Not only is the woman obnoxious, but her idea of decorating is garish to say the least. It’s especially jarring in a neighborhood that leans toward tasteful and understated displays. A less gaudy surprise is the discovery of a box of five kittens on Charlie’s porch with a pathetic note.  The kind-hearted librarian takes them in, but is determined to discover the owner’s identity.

Of course, there’s also a murder. . . .

This is the tenth in the Cat in the Stacks mystery, set in sleepy Athena, Mississippi. James has created a solid set of supporting characters, including widower Charlie’s two adult children and their families, his housekeeper Azalea, Azalea’s daughter Kanesha who is a police officer, Charlie’s lady love, Helen Louise, his boarder Stewart and most especially Charlie’s co-worker Melba, who is a wealth of information about the town and its inhabitants.  She can be quite tenacious, and this time she is fixated on Albritton.  The woman is familiar somehow and claims to be from Athena but Melba doesn’t know her—which is clearly impossible.

Of course, Diesel and the kittens steal the book with their adorable antics but there’s a nice little mystery or two in the book.  It’s definitely a cozy mystery set in the South, so expect a lot of gossip and descriptions of meals. As with many cozy series, a book set at the holidays is pretty much expected and James ticks off that box quite well.

If you’re looking for a low key seasonal tale with adorable animals and a bit of mystery, this might just be your glass of sweet tea.

Shady Hollow by Juneau Black

Reviewed by Jeanne

Vera Vixen is the star reporter for the Shady Hollow Herald because this quick red fox has quite the nose for news.  Most of the time she covers events of local interest such as the spelling bee, but this time something almost unheard of has happened:  one of the citizens of the Hollow is dead and it looks like murder.  The deceased, Otto Sumpf, was the town curmudgeon with a sharp tongue but would that have been a reason for murder?  With police chief Theodore Meade too busy fishing (and avoiding unpleasantness) to take an active part in the investigation, Deputy Orville Braun dusts off The Big Book of Policing to solve the case.

Enjoyment of this book is highly dependent on your tolerance for whimsy.  The characters are all animals, from Lenore the raven who runs Nevermore Books to Reginald von Beaverpelt, leading citizen and sawmill owner.  The pace is leisurely but I liked the resolution.

I have to say I enjoyed it, but then I like movies like Zootopia or Fantastic Mr. Fox.  I’m not going to spend a lot of time wondering how a moose serves coffee or a snake does a medical examination.  I’m going to go with the flow.  I thought the idea was cute and I enjoyed the characters, enough so that I will be reading the rest of the series. 

Books in the series are:

Shady Hollow

Cold Clay

Mirror Lake

Twilight Falls

Summers End  (2024)

Nevermore: Better Man, Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West

 

Reported by Rita

A Better Man by Louise Penny is #15 in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series. In this novel, Gamache helps a desperate father search for his missing daughter during the chaos of rising floodwaters and intense media scrutiny. Our reader is thoroughly enjoying the series although the last few books have been notably darker. VC

Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West by Katie Hickman tells the true story of women in the Wild West. Their experiences were often more gripping and unimaginable than movies or books portrayed them. Stories of resilience and strength that were at times difficult to read but very fascinating. WJ

Also mentioned:

We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work by Jimmy Carter

Nation of Victims by Vivek Ramaswamy

4000 Weeks by Robert Bosman

Brave Hearted: The Women of the American West by Katie Hickman

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

Seams Unlikely: The Inspiring True Life Story of Nancy Zieman by Nancy Zieman

A Better Man by Louise Penny

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

Run by Ann Patchett

Where the Deer and the Antelope Play by Nick Offerman

 

New books:

 

The Mysterious Bookshop Presents the Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2023 by Amor Towles

All You Have to Do is Call by Kerri Maher

After the Forest by Kell Woods

Dark Ride by Lou Berney

The Home Edit: Stay Organized: The Ultimate Guide to Making Systems Stick by Clea Shearer, Joanna Teplin

Energy Follows Thought: The Stories Behind My Songs by Willie Nelson

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

 

Some people think Willie Nelson is a national treasure. I happen to one of them.  I’ve listened to his songs for decades, marveling at the range of subjects and how he manages to find just the right words to express a mood, explain an emotion, or capture a moment in time.  No wonder his songs have been covered by so many artists in so many different musical genres!

In the opening, Willie explains that he believes song just happen.  The words come first, with phrases just popping into his mind, and then the melody will follow.  It’s a mysterious process and it should remain a mystery.  Sometimes if you try to analyze the creative process, take it apart and see how it works, inspiration just vanishes.  Willie wants to keep the mystery because then the listener is “naturally free to interpret them however you like.” (I tried to refer to him as Mr. Nelson but that just seemed wrong, somehow.)

Most of the commentary has to do with the circumstances around the songs, not interpretation, but that’s fine by me.  The songs are arranged according to mood, so there are headings such as “Twisted and Confused,” “I’m Still Here,” and “Love Has a Mind of Its Own.”  There are 160 songs in all—which sounds like a lot, but is just about a tenth of what Willie has written—and most are them are brief.  The longest one is Tougher Than Leather, the song about an outlaw that became the title of an album.  I took turns just reading through the various categories and then checking the index to see what he’d said about a particular song.

Being one of those oversized coffee-table style books, it’s no surprise that illustrations abound.  There are even photos of some of the handwritten lyrics. My favorite photo is one of Willie and his grandmother sitting on a porch swing—Willie impish and grinning, his grandmother patiently smiling as if to say, “What am I going to do with this boy?”

Red-Headed Stranger fans will find a lot to like in these pages.

 

Birthright series by Gabrielle Zevin

Reviewed by Kristin

Bookblog readers may remember a few months ago I was reading and reviewing Gabrielle Zevin’s books Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry.  More recently I finished Zevin’s Birthright series written for young adults.

Anya Balanchine is a sixteen-year-old Catholic schoolgirl living in our future—2083. In this near-future New York City, times are rough. Chocolate and coffee are illegal, and Anya is heir to the Balanchine crime family known for their chocolate. With her mother and father dead, her grandmother in failing health, and her older brother Leo considered a bit “simple” from an injury when he was a child, Anya must make many of the day-to-day decisions for herself and her siblings.

And oh yes, she apparently has a target on her back placed by a politically ambitious ADA who just happens to be the father of the cute new boy in school.

As with many young adult novels, everything is a little bit larger than life, but very believable once you have accepted the premise of the story. Water, fruits, and vegetables are scarce, and with the illegal aspect of chocolate thrown into the mix, Anya really is living in a post-apocalyptic world. She meets people from other chocolate families around the world, some from counties similar to the United States, and some others where chocolate is still freely available. She makes connections from Japan, Germany, and Mexico. Realistic for a sixteen to twenty-year-old, right? Just suspend your belief already, if you choose to pick up these books.

I really enjoyed the parts where Anya talks about hearing stories from her grandmother and great-grandmother. Back then, (in the early 2000s) they had races to see who could text the fastest. Anya thinks this is ridiculous, because why would anyone want to write messages to each other on a device, when they could just pick up a phone and call? Anya has a “slate” which is some sort of electronic tablet, although it’s usually just old people who use them to communicate.

With mobsters hiding in the shadows and potential love interests everywhere, Anya definitely has plenty to occupy her time in addition to her schoolwork. Despite the dangerous characters everywhere, Zevin does not include a lot of graphic violence. Sure, people are shot or knifed at once in a while, but only the bad guys find their troubles to be terminal. (Usually.)

Titles in the Birthright series: All These Things I’ve Done, Because It Is My Blood, and In the Age of Love and Chocolate.

Nevermore: Starter Villain, Deaf Republic, Covenant of Water

Reported by Rita

Starter Villain by John Scalzi is a sci-fi story about a substitute teacher named Charlie who lives alone with his cat and has dreams of opening a pub. When his long-lost uncle dies, he leaves to Charlie his supervillain business, along with his enemies. Our reader thought the first half of this novel was classic Scalzi but that the second half fell flat. WJ

Deaf Repulic by Ilya Kaminsky is a collection of brief poems that follows the private lives of people at a time of political unrest.  It’s also how a town stands together in protest against the soldiers who kill a young deaf boy in the street. With an abundance of symbolism, it wasn't exactly easy but worth a second read. CD

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese is the story of three generations of a family living on South India's Malabar Coast. Seemingly cursed, at least one family member in each generation dies by drowning. Our reader said parts of the book gave her literal nightmares. CW

Also Mentioned:

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres

 

New Books:

The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips

Ira Hayes: The Akimel O'odham Warrior, World War II, and the Price of Heroism by Tom Holm

Stories I Ain’t Told Nobody Yet by Jo Carson

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

In her preface, Carson says that this collection of poems is based on conversations; at the heart of each is something she heard. She tried to capture the tone and rhythms of the speaker, and the individual voices come through.  While she writes that these all came from East Tennessee, some of the sentiments are universal.

I’d heard a bit about Jo Carson as a local poet and author of note, and knew that she lived in Johnson City, but that was about it.  I finally decided I should make her acquaintance and I am so glad I did.  These poems are absolute gems.  The personalities of the speakers come through, and the cadences just beg to be read aloud.

Some of the poems are poignant, some profound, and some are laugh out loud funny.  And some are several of these at once.

My biggest regret is that I waited so long.  Jo Carson was also a playwright and performer, who also wrote stories along with her poetry.  She passed away in 2011 so I never had the pleasure of hearing her perform, but at least I can enjoy the work she left behind—especially the final poem in the collection, which almost speaks to this very thing.  It begins this way:

I am asking you to come back home

before you lose the chance of seeing me alive.

You already missed your daddy.

You missed your uncle Howard.

You missed Luciel.

I kept them and I buried them.

You showed up for the funerals.

Funerals are the easy part.

 

The rest you should read for yourself.

Nevermore: Valiant Women, Nothing to Envy, Dragon Teeth

 

Reported by Rita

Valiant Women: The Extraordinary American Servicewomen Who Helped Win World War II by Lena Andrews is the story of the important and often untold roles American women played in World War II. From pilots, codebreakers, and chemists to truck drivers, metalsmiths, and pigeon trainers. Our reader was surprised by many of the stories and found it very interesting. WJ

Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick follows the everyday lives of 6 North Koreans over the span of 15 years. They live, love, and raise families in a country where everything around them is scripted and controlled by the government. The struggles of living under a totalitarian regime was very eye-opening. VC

Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton is a historical fiction that has made its rounds through the book club and has been enjoyed yet again. Set in 1876, the plot follows a college student who joins a fossil hunting expedition.  Wild West with dinosaurs for the win! MH

Also Mentioned:

Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernières

Culture: The Story of Us, From Cave Art to K-Pop by Martin Puchner

In the Distance by Hernan Diaz

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

Typhoon by Joseph Conrad

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky

The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family by Annette Gordon-Reed

Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals by Laurie Zaleski

The Last Giants: The Rise and Fall of the African Elephant by Levison Wood

New Books:

Chenneville by Paulette Jiles

New in November!

 Here are just some of the books we have to look forward to this month.  Books by some big name authors will be showing up, and there's a little something for everyone:  mystery, historical fiction, fantasy, thrillers, mysteries, and non-fiction. See something you like?  You can reserve it!

Albom, Mitch  The Little Liar

Baldacci, David  The Edge

Bowen, Rhys  The Proof of the Pudding (Royal Spyness)

Butcher, Jim  The Olympian Affair

Cameron, Marc  Tom Clancy Command and Control

Connelly, Michael  Resurrection Walk

Cornwell, Bernard  Uhtred’s Feast

Cornwell, Patricia Unnatural Death

Cussler, Dirk  Clive Cussler The Corsican Shadow

Deaver, Jeffery The Watchmaker’s Hand (Lincoln Rhyme)

Gerritsen, Tess  The Spy Coast

Gilbert, Victoria  Murder Checks Out

Gray, Shelley Shepard  Her Secret Hope

Greenwood, Kerry  Murder in Williamstown  (Phryne Fisher)

Hamilton, Laurell K. Slay

Hazelwood, Ali  Check & Mate

Kilmeade, Brian Teddy and Booker T.

Kingsbury, Karen  Just Once

Ledwidge, Michael  The Girl in the Vault

Lupica, Mike  Robert B. Parker’s Broken Trust  (Spenser)

Macmillan, Gilly  The Manor House

Margolin, Phillip  Betrayal

Mitchard, Jacquelyn  A Very Inconvenient Scandal

Novak, Brenda  The Talk of Coyote Canyon

Patterson, James  Alex Cross Must Die

Peterson, Tracie  Knowing You

Prose, Nita  The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid)

Roberts, Nora  Inheritance

Steel, Danielle  The Ball at Versailles

Streisand, Barbra My Name is Barbra

Yarros, Rebecca  Iron Flame 

All Hallows by Christopher Golden

 

Reviewed by Christy

            It's 1984, and a neighborhood in Massachusetts is gearing up for Halloween night. There'll be a big party at the Koenigs', a haunted woods attraction down the road, and of course trick or treating. Mixed in with the superheroes and rock stars are a few kids in vintage, ratty costumes and crumbling makeup. They beg the trick-or-treaters to keep them safe from The Cunning Man.

            The meat of the spookiness doesn't even really start until more than half way through the book (although there are glimpses here and there throughout.) The story unfurls very slowly, and honestly, I loved it. The whole story takes place on a single street on a single night, and we get to know the neighbors gradually. This containment worked well and provided a great sense of atmosphere. I love a "simmering secrets" plotline anyway so to have that with a little dash of horror was a perfect recipe for me. It also helps that it's very well done with engaging characters that I cared about.

            I also appreciated that Golden did not hit readers over the head with 1980s references. They're there, sure, but it's natural and sporadic. I suspect the only reason it's even set in the 1980s is to simplify the story: no texts, no Ring cameras, no social media, no easy way to check in with the kids (which also adds another element of dread).

            If you're in the mood to settle into some neighborhood drama (that devolves into Halloween horror and maybe even some tears), I really can't recommend this one enough. I've already added it to my favorites list.

23 Tales: Appalachian Ghost Stories, Legends, and Other Mysteries

Reviewed by Jeanne

Edited by Terry Shaw and Brad Lifford, this fascinating collection of tales from Howling Hills Publishing takes on true accounts of –well, the titles says it best: ghosts, legends, and other mysteries.  While some of the stories have a local setting such as Kingsport or Abingdon, other go farther afield, to the northern Appalachian region in Pennsylvania or south to Georgia.

I really enjoy folklore type tales, remembering the ghost and mysteries stories I heard as a child.  This collection reminds me of those stories a great deal. Some are humorously told, some are serious, some have a sense of wonder, but all have a communal feel to them.  It’s like sitting down with a group of friends and having a conversation about the strangest things that have happened to them.  These aren’t the urban legend horror stories or tales told to be scary. These are told as truth. The tone varies with the teller, but they all have that “this is real, this happened” vibe that I like, and all are very well written. 

In short, these are my kinda tales.

It’s really hard to pick favorites when you enjoy the entire collection. Some of the stories were somewhat familiar: I had a friend who told me of her encounter with the shade of Robert Porterfield at Barter,  while others had echoes of family stories.  I will say that “Singer in the Woods” by Sherry Poff sounded so very much like one of our family stories that I could almost hear the voice in my head.  “Wings of Bees” by Patricia Hope was warm and wonderful, and I re-read it a couple of times.  I’ve read Chrissie Anderson Peters’ stories before, so hers was another lovely visit with her Papaw Little.  “Think You Can Sell a Haunted House?” by Suzy Trotta made me laugh, and also reminded me of someone– well, never mind.  

My only regret is that I didn’t get to hear some of these stories in person when some of the authors were here to do readings earlier this month.  However, I am told that there will be another collection of these stories next year—24 for 2024—and I hope we’ll have a return performance.

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

 

Reviewed by Jeanne

Young solicitor Arthur Kipps is sent by his firm to a rather secluded English village in order to tie up the affairs of the late Mrs. Alice Drablow, a recently deceased elderly client. The villagers don’t seem inclined to discuss Mrs. Drablow, or anything else for that matter, though they do make Arthur welcome. At the funeral service, Arthur catches a glimpse of a woman in black lurking around the churchyard, but his inquiries are brushed aside. Resolutely, he prepares to go to Eel Marsh House, Mrs. Drablow’s residence, which is in a marshy area accessible only at certain times due to the tides. Once there, he will be cut off from the outside world until such a time as the pony cart can cross the causeway to fetch him.

He’s going to wish he had taken a tide chart with him.

The subtitle of the book is “A Ghost Story” and that’s exactly what this is, in the best sense of the phrase. The old fashioned setting, the formal narration, even the nature of the story itself harkens back to those wonderful early ghost tales where the chills and thrills came from the mind and not blood spatter. Hill has perfectly captured the flavor of these Victorian tales. It’s beautifully written; Arthur, the narrator, is looking back at an event which shaped his life and he tells his tale without hyperbole or exaggeration. It has the ring of authenticity.

The book is just so wonderfully atmospheric. I could practically smell the sea air and shivered a bit in the dampness. I can hear the clopping of the horses’ hooves and the rattle of the carriage. While there were definitely warning signs, the book wasn’t over laden with signs and portents. The villagers may not have been over communicative, but there was nary a pitchfork or cackling crone in sight. Arthur enjoys a hearty meal at the inn, a warm fire and a comfortable bed. The skies are blue and largely clear but cold. No air of menace hangs overhead.

The haunted aspects come later.

The ending is abrupt and I was taken aback at first, but it is the perfect ending. He has told his tale; there’s no analyzing or rationalization that this might have been just his imagination. This is what happened and, like the villagers, he has no wish to discuss it further.

There is a theatrical production of the book and at least two movie versions but I don’t think either could ever capture the book, especially not the ending.

Update: This is probably the most read review we’ve ever done, and I attribute that to the power of this book.  All these years later, it remains vivid in my memory.  I did re-read it, and may well read it yet again.  However, I will say that it is a book I have to be in the mood for:  the first time I picked it up, I read a few pages and put it down, convinced that I would never read it.  The pseudo-Victorian writing just didn’t work for me. Yet about a year later when I tried again, I found the writing perfectly suited to the tale. 

As for the movie referred to in the review above, I have seen it and have very mixed feelings about it. Daniel Radcliffe did an excellent job as Arthur and the film was wonderfully atmospheric—it really caught the mood of the book. Unfortunately, the opening scenes immediately convinced me that there was going to be a serious deviation from the book and I guessed correctly how they would end the movie.  It’s still worth watching.  For me, their ending made it a far less memorable tale.

The first part of the review was originally posted in 2011.