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Showing posts with label Melanie Crowder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Melanie Crowder. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 02, 2024
The Bookish Books Reading Challenge: October Book Ideas and Link-Up for Reviews
8:09 PM
Happy October! I'm not sure how exactly it got to be October already, but oookkkayyy. Fall is my favorite season, even if we don't get a traditional one here in the Phoenix area. It's still over 100 degrees outside. Maybe if I crank up the air conditioning, cuddle up with a fuzzy blanket, and read some good Gothic novels I'll be able to convince myself it's REAL Fall. Wish me luck.
How did you do with reading bookish books in September? I ended up reading eight, way more than I thought I would, mostly because I didn't realize a lot of them had bookish elements in them. What a happy surprise! Since there are so many of them, I'll skip the book jacket photos and the plot summaries and just link the titles to my Goodreads review. Why yes, yes, I am feeling a little lazy this evening.
Christmas Crimes at the Mysterious Bookshop by Otto Penzler (editor) - 3 1/2 stars
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton - 3 1/2 stars
An Uninterrupted View of the Sky by Melanie Crowder - 5 stars
Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green - 4 stars
Look in the Mirror by Catherine Steadman - 4 stars
Murder at the Library by Ellen Jacobson - 3 stars
The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose - 4 stars
The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter - 4 stars
This month, I'm mostly going to be working on making progress on my reading challenges and reading books for the Cybils Awards. I don't know how many bookish books I'll actually get to, but here are a couple I have my eye on:
Chaos at the Lazy Bones Bookshop by Emmeline Duncan—This cozy mystery sounds like lots of fun. It's set in a Halloween-themed town in Oregon and stars Bailey Briggs, who manages the local bookstore. Just as the festive Halloween season is kicking off, someone is murdered. The police have damning evidence that points to Bailey as the killer. She'll have to play amateur sleuth in order to clear her name.
Murder on the Page by Daryl Wood Gerber (available October 22, 2024)—Another cozy, this one centers around Allie Catt, a caterer and personal chef who creates feasts inspired by literature. When a woman is murdered at one of her parties, Allie turns to her favorite fictional detectives to guide her own amateur investigation into the crime.
Even though I despise cutesy character names, I still think this one sounds entertaining.
How about you? What bookish books are you planning to read in October?
If you are participating in the 2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge, please use the widget below to link-up your October reviews. If you're not signed up for the challenge yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to join the party.
Tuesday, November 03, 2020
Top Ten Tuesday: Hist-Fic Picks for 2021
8:04 AM
Today's a doozy of a Tuesday. It's Election Day here in the U.S. and, let me tell you, tensions are running very, very high! I've never experienced a crazier, more divisive election—I can't wait for it to be over. People are panicking (Costco was completely out of toilet paper by the time I got there at 11:30 yesterday), desperately worried over what will happen if Trump loses. I'm praying that peace and level-headedness will prevail. If it doesn't, my pantry and freezer are stocked in case we need to hunker down for awhile. I admit I'm concerned about the fate of my beloved nation, especially if my chosen candidate does not triumph, but I have faith that God is the one who's truly in charge. May He bless my beloved nation today and always.
Top Ten Tuesday is always a fun distraction and today it's especially needed! The topic du jour—My Top Ten Non-Bookish Hobbies—is one I did back in January of 2018 and then again in April of this year. I don't have enough hobbies to revisit the subject, so I'm going to do something else with my list today.
If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know I enjoy a good historical novel. I'm especially fascinated with fiction set during World War II, but there are so many more eras out there to explore. I definitely need to branch out. Currently, I'm reading Brother's Keeper by Julie Lee, a middle-grade novel about the Korean War that's based on the author's mother's harrowing escape from North Korea during that conflict. It's a gripping book set in a time and place I know little about. An eye-opening read, it's reminding me not only how important historical fiction is but also how much I love it. So, I decided to take a gander at up-and-coming hist fic titles. Some great-looking historical novels are coming in 2021. I tried to focus on books I haven't highlighted before and those not set during World War II. Here's what I came up with, in no particular order ...
Top Ten Historical Novels Publishing in 2021:
1. Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee (coming May 4)—Titanic books always interest me, so I'm all in for this novel by Lee, who's one of my favorite writers of YA historical fiction. The story revolves around a British-Chinese teen who smuggles herself on Titanic. Her plan is to find her missing brother, then convince the higher-ups at the Ringling Brothers Circus to take them both on as trapeze artists. Of course, nothing goes quite as planned. Sounds good, yes?
2. The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper (coming March 9)—I discovered this Australian author earlier this year and have been anxious to read more by her ever since. Starting in 1906, her newest concerns a young orphan who is taken in by philanthropist siblings. When her female guardian reacts strangely to a gallery exhibit, the girl realizes how little she really knows about the woman. She sets out to discover the enigmatic woman's back story.
3. After Alice Fell by Kim Taylor Blakemore (coming March 1)—In 1865, New Hampshire, a woman is summoned to collect her sister's body from the mental asylum where she has just died from a four-story fall off the institution's roof. The asylum directors claim their patient committed suicide, but her sister suspects something far more sinister: murder.
4. The Moonlight School by Suzanne Woods Fisher (coming February 2)—When Lucy Wilson comes to rural Kentucky in 1911 to work for the education superintendent, she is shocked to discover that most adults in the area's hill country cannot read or write. She vows to change that. Inspired by true events, this one sounds excellent.
5. In Times of Rain and War by Camron Wright (coming April 6)—Okay, so I couldn't resist including one World War II novel. I've enjoyed other books by Wright, so I'm excited about this novel, which is about a soldier who discovers a young German Jewish woman hiding in plain sight in England. A connection grows between them, but can they trust each other with their dark, dangerous secrets?
6. A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus (coming February 2)—Alright, two World War II novels! This middle-grade offering stars three orphaned siblings who are desperate to stay together, despite the fact that suitable guardians are in short supply and none are looking for more mouths to feed. They're evacuated to the country, where they finally find hope in a kind village librarian. Can she keep them safe when the Nazis are already suspicious of her allegiances?
7. The Fabergé Secret by Charles Belfoure (coming January 5)—Set in Russia, 1906, this novel concerns the persecution of Jews and the couple who determines to do something about it, despite the risks.
8. Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh (coming May 4)—I can't find a lot of information about this middle-grade novel, but I know it's set during the Korean War. The cover is very similar to Brother's Keeper, so I'm guessing it tells a parallel story. Before picking up Brother's Keeper, I'd never read a book about the Korean experience during the war—I definitely want to learn more.
9. Mazie by Melanie Crowder (coming February 23)—This YA novel set during the 1950s is about a Nebraska teen who's unexpectedly given the opportunity to pursue her dream of performing on Broadway. Intimidated by the noisy city and the frustration of actually making it in the Big Apple, she has to decide whether to persist with her dream or leave it all behind and return to the life she left behind.
10. Tidewater Bride by Laura Frantz (coming January 5)—Unlike most residents of Virginia colony, Selah Hopewell has no interest in marriage. It's ironic, then, that she's put in charge of a group of tobacco brides who are being shipped in to marry Virginia's many tobacco barons. The last thing Selah is expecting is her own romance ...
There you have it, ten soon-to-be-released historical novels that I'm looking forward to. Do you enjoy hist fic? Which up-and-comers are you excited about? Who's your favorite writer of historical fiction? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor on your blog.
Happy TTT!
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