I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.
This week, I finally finished reading Small Island by Andrea Levy. I was a little disappointed that no confetti fell from above when I read the last line. I also was able to fit in Sweep With Me (Innkeeper Chronicles #4.5) by Ilona Andrews.
I currently am reading The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley for my upcoming Mystery book club meeting and Nikki Payne's Pride and Protest.
What are you reading right now?
My TBR List is hosted by Michelle at Because Reading. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books from my TBR pile I am considering reading and let you vote for my next read during that month. My review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise).
Thank you to everyone who voted in this month's TBR List Poll! The winning book stayed in the lead all week, although it was a close contest.
The two books that did not win were tied most of the week, but Murder at the Wham Bam Club (Psychics & Soul Food Mystery #1) by Carolyn Marie Wilkins came in second with six (6) votes in the end, with Zomromcom (Supernatural Entanglements #1) by Olivia Dade receiving four (4) votes. Winning with seven (7) votes is The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia! I enjoyed Mexican Gothic by Moreno-Garcia and look forward to reading The Bewitching this month.
Thank you for voting!
(Random House Audio, 1997; 3hr, 51m)
Source: Library
Am I the only parent who, upon hearing my daughter is reading a book for a class that I haven't read yet, picks up said book to read too? I have not done this every time (I still haven't gotten around to reading Holes) but I did reread The Outsiders last year because she was reading it in class. And this quarter, I decide to read Tuesdays with Morrie since she was reading it for school, especially since my library had a copy of the audiobook I could borrow.
Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it.Mitch Albom had not seen his college professor Morrie Schwartz for almost twenty years, but when he saw an interview of him on television in which Morrie talked about his Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) diagnosis, Mitch decided to reach out to Morrie. The two began meeting regularly on Tuesdays, Mitch armed with his recorder to capture every word of Morrie's lessons on how to live. Morrie knew he was going to die but was not done teaching. His words, in part thanks to Mitch's memoir, would go on to inspire and offer comfort to generations of people, young and old.
The memoir, Tuesdays With Morrie, is sad in that it documents the final months of Morrie's life through Mitch's eyes (Lou Gehrig's Disease is cruel). But it is also an inspiring story. Morrie had so much life and was so positive up until the end, even as he struggled to eat and could no longer care for himself. Mitch shares a little bit about his own experience, seeing his mentor deteriorate before him, but does not linger on those aspects long.
In the afterward of the 25th anniversary edition of the book, Mitch Albom explains that he wrote the book to help pay for Morrie's medical costs. The book ends with audio clips from conversations Mitch had with Morrie. It was very moving, hearing Morrie share some of his lessons in his own words.
My daughter's class is still working their way through this short memoir, and so she has not voiced an opinion on her reading experience yet. I look forward to hearing what she takes away from it when she is finished with it.
"Be compassionate," Morrie whispered. "And take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much better a place."
He took a breath, then added his mantra: "Love each other or die." [excerpt from Tuesday with Morrie]
(Berkley, 2025; 311 pgs)
Source: Thank you to the publisher for sending me a e-copy via NetGalley for an honest review
I settled right into Jennifer Ashley's 8th book of the Below Stairs mystery series and it felt like coming home. This is by far one of my favorite historical mystery series. I am very attached to the characters and enjoy every moment spent with them, and this time was no different.
Valiant cook and amateur sleuth Kat Holloway must uncover the secrets of Victorian London’s most elite noblemen to save the man she loves.It is not like Daniel McAdam to be so open with Kat about his upcoming mission, but with the stakes so high, Daniel hopes Kat will realize just how dangerous the situation is and stay far away. This is supposed to be his last mission for his boss, whose relationship with Daniel is contentious at best. Daniel should know better than assume warning away Kat will have any effect. But then again, he probably does know she will not be able to help herself. Kat enlists the help of an old friend to keep an eye on Daniel in a way she cannot. In the meantime, Kat has her own job as head cook to worry about, not to mention those blackmail letters that several of her friends and colleagues have been receiving. With a blackmailer to catch, a threat against the Crown to thwart, and now a murderer to catch (because there indeed was a murder), Kat and Daniel have their work cut out for them.
I especially enjoy seeing Kat put her connections to good use in getting into places and finding the answers she seeks. She's resourceful and well-respected among many across different classes. She doesn't see herself as better than those whose situation is not as good as her own. She knows all too well what it is like to be down on one's luck. In A Silence in Belgrave Square, we're reminded of some of those strong loyal friends Kat has made, whether it's them putting their trust in her, doing her a favor, or looking out for her.
Kat and Daniel's relationship through the series has been a slow burn romance, which I have enjoyed seeing unfold. The ever mysterious Daniel clearly adores Kat and will do anything for her. Even Grace, Kat's daughter has come to enjoy Daniel's visits when the three of them are able to be together. We have watched Grace grow over the course of the novels. She's growing into quite the young lady.
A Silence in Belgrave Square is full of moments that made me sigh in delight and gasp in concern as trouble came. This book felt like a turning point in the series, and I am eager to see the direction the author will take her characters in future books.
(NYLA, 2020; 146 pgs)
Source: Own TBR
I feel like I am spoiling myself, reading books in two of my favorite series back to back. The Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews is my favorite of this husband and wife writing team's books. In my dream life, I would be an Innkeeper to a sentient and magical house like Gertrude Hunt too.
It is Dina Demille who is, in fact, Innkeeper of Gertrude Hunt, a bed and breakfast in Red Deer Texas, along with her wolf shapeshifter boyfriend, Sean Evans. Gertrude Hunt is one of several special inns that serve as safe havens and portals between worlds. Treaty Stay is a special holiday for Innkeepers, one that celebrates the ancient treaty that united the Inns and set the rules for the Inns in an effort to protect them, their intergalactic guests, and those on Earth, most of whom are unaware of the planets and worlds beyond their knowledge. This time of year, on Treaty Stay, Innkeepers are unable to turn away guests, and so it is with open, however reluctant, arms Dina and Sean welcome their latest guests, and, of course, everything goes array. Or, at least some things do. Seeing Dina in her element is one of my favorite parts of the series. She has to put out several fires, get creative in helping her guests find solutions to their problems, including her own chef Orro, who loses faith in himself when he cannot make a fast food hamburger taste as bad as the real thing. Then there is the human determined to get into Gertrude Hunt to confront one of Dina's more distinguished guests--the lengths his hired help go through and the trouble they face was quite entertaining! Dina has her own worries, concerned that her connection with Gertrude Hunt is not as strong as it once was. Sweep with Me was full of humorous moments (space chickens, anyone?) and several touching ones too. I hated that Sweep with Me was so short. I am never ready to leave Dina's world.
(Picador, 2004; 441 pgs)
Source: Own TBR
Although I was not able to read Small Island with my Historical Fiction book club in June, I decided I still wanted to read it on my own. Now I wish I could go back in time and attend the meeting because there is so much to discuss!
Hortense Joseph arrives in London from Jamaica in 1948 with her life in her suitcase, her heart broken, her resolve intact. Her husband, Gilbert Joseph, returns from the war expecting to be received as a hero, but finds his status as a black man in Britain to be second class. His white landlady, Queenie, raised as a farmer's daughter, befriends Gilbert, and later Hortense, with innocence and courage, until the unexpected arrival of her husband, Bernard, who returns from combat with issues of his own to resolve.
Told in these four voices, Small Island is a courageous novel of tender emotion and sparkling wit, of crossings taken and passages lost, of shattering compassion and of reckless optimism in the face of insurmountable barriers---in short, an encapsulation of the immigrant's life.I confess I was not sure I would finish this book at first. The slow pacing combined with a character I did not connect with right away made me doubtful this would be a book I would enjoy, but then it happened and I was invested and found my heart aching for these characters, each with their own struggles, disappointments, and heartaches. The novel takes the reader back and forth in time, before World War II, during the war, and after, jumping back and forth as we get to know each of the four main characters.
Hortense and Gilbert Joseph hope for a better life in England, the "Mother Country," when they emigrate from Jamaica. Hortense has dreams of living in a big house with a real door bell and getting a job as a teacher. Gilbert wants to be a lawyer. The reality of their situation hits them full force when they arrive (separately) in London, trading life on one "small" island for another. Not only do they face the struggle of putting together a life in a new place with doors closed in their face and opportunities limited, but also with the classism and racism of a society that looks down on them because of their situation and color of their skin. Hortense especially has a hard time adjusting, her expectations of a better life dashed and being completely unprepared. While Gilbert may have been my favorite character through most of the novel, Hortense stands out as my favorite now that I have finished it. I did not care for her much at first, I admit, finding her haughty and somewhat dismissive, but the more I got to know her, instead I saw an unfaltering confident and courageous woman.
Queenie and Bernard Bligh, white and privileged, offer their own perspectives of life during a tumultuous time in English history. Queenie is a particularly interesting character, a farmer's daughter, who gladly left that behind to live in the city. She married Bernard more for security and stability than love, I feel. I got the impression she was always wanting more out of her life, never quite satisfied and is often lonely. During the war, she helps families who have been displaced from the bombings in London and later takes in boarders to help with the bills during her husband's long absence during and after the war. Her neighbors are not too keen on the idea that she takes in Black boarders, but Queenie does not care. And then there is her husband. Bernard's experiences in the war have left him with many deep scars. He seemed to be the most stuck and the least likeable of the characters. He clearly has some deep-seated prejudice against non-whites.
Andrea Levy's Small Island is a multi-layered and thoughtful book that is at times subtle and other times more hard hitting. Having the four different perspectives only enhanced this nuanced novel. There was much sadness in this novel given the struggles and hardships the characters faced, but there is also hope, even when things seem impossible.
Andrea Levy's Small Island is a multi-layered and thoughtful book that is at times subtle and other times more hard hitting. Having the four different perspectives only enhanced this nuanced novel. There was much sadness in this novel given the struggles and hardships the characters faced, but there is also hope, even when things seem impossible.
"Listen to me, man, we both just finish fighting a war - a bloody war - for the better world we wan' see. And on the same side - you and me. We both look on other men to see enemy. You and me, fighting for empire, fighting for peace. But still, after all that we suffer together, you wan' tell me I am worthless and you are not. Am I to be the servant and you are the master for all time? No. Stop this man. Stop it now. We can work together, Mr. Bligh. You no see? We must. Or else you just gonna fight me till the end." [excerpt from Small Island]
If you have ready any of these, I would like to know your thoughts! Do any of them sound like books you would like to read?
Following in the footsteps of Deb of Readerbuzz, who shares three good things in her Sunday Salon posts, I thought I would try to do the same. With all the worries and stressors in life, I want to highlight some of the good, even the seemingly small stuff.
This week every year is always a mix of joy and sadness. There's my birthday (yay!), followed by the anniversaries of the deaths of my grandmother and my father. Let's focus on the good stuff:
1. A nice birthday lunch at the Old Spaghetti Factory with my family (my mom, husband and daughter)! We also stopped by the bookstore and mall (Mouse needed new shoes) before heading home.
Gifts from my mom:
Shakespeare playing cards, a reading journal, and bookish-themed socks!
No picture of the bird feeder as we still need to put it together
2. My husband and daughter surprised me with an ice cream birthday cake on my actual birthday. My favorite kind of cake (mint chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate cake)!
What have you been up to this past week?
I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!
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