Weekly Mews: Hello, February! (A Look At What I Have Been Reading & This Month's TBR List Poll!)

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.

I am linking up Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.  

January was one of those months that was achingly slow for some but flew by for me. I cannot believe it is already February. Since I last shared my weekly mews, my life has been mostly about work (it has been terribly busy and there were some difficult days--come-home-and-hug-my-daughter tight type days). 

My mom, Mouse, husband, and I visited The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture and took in the beautiful artwork there. We also went to see a local kids' theater group put on their elite performance of Disney's Descendants, which was very well done. Mouse had taken their junior class this past summer/fall and performed in a less formal version of the musical last October.  She enjoyed seeing some of the older kids who helped in her class perform on stage. Mouse also got to attend a pirate dinner theater with her Girl Scout troop. It was part of their council's annual cookie season rally. Her troop was one of a few in our district to win the #Blingyourride contest. The girls went all out decorating the outside of the truck they used to pick up all the Girl Scout cookies last weekend, kicking off the official start of the cookie season.

February will be a busy month for us. Work, of course. My in-laws are in town this weekend for a late holiday gift exchange since they weren't able to make it for Christmas in December.  And next weekend cookie booths open--so you can guess where we'll be just about every weekend after that. At least until cookie season ends.

Earlier this week, I finished reading Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer. It is officially on my list of books to reference back to. I am close to finishing Clara Coulson's Speaker of the Lost, an urban fantasy novel about two FBI agents working on  a special supernatural task force to solve a murder. 

Next up, I will be reading Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun (#3) by Elle Cosimano, I loved the first two books and keep hearing great things about the third in the series. After that, well, I could use your help!

My TBR List is hosted by the awesome Michelle  at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books 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). 

Help me choose my next TBR List read! Initially I was thinking romance, but I am more in the mood for a cozy historical mystery. All of these qualify in most of my reading challenges this year. Which of these three books do you think I should read next? Have you read any of them? 

The Secret of Bow Lane (Kat Holloway Mysteries #6) Jennifer Ashley

A stranger who appears on Kat's doorstep turns out to be one Charlotte Bristow, legal wife of Joe Bristow, the man Kat once believed herself married to—who she thought died at sea twelve years ago. Kat is jolted by Charlotte’s claims that not only was Joe murdered, but he had amassed a small fortune before he died. Charlotte makes the cook an offer she cannot refuse—if Kat can discover the identity of Joe's murderer, Charlotte will give her a share of the fortune Joe left behind.

With the help of Daniel McAdam, her attractive and charismatic confidante, Kat plunges into her own past to investigate. When it becomes apparent that the case of Joe’s death goes far deeper than simple, opportunistic theft, Kat and Daniel's relationship is put to the test, and Kat herself comes under scrutiny as her connection to Joe is uncovered. She must race to catch the real killer before she loses her job and possibly her life. [Goodreads Summary]

The Deep End (The Country Club Murders #1) by Julie Mulhern

Swimming into the lifeless body of her husband’s mistress tends to ruin a woman’s day, but becoming a murder suspect can ruin her whole life.

It’s 1974 and Ellison Russell’s life revolves around her daughter and her art. She’s long since stopped caring about her cheating husband, Henry, and the women with whom he entertains himself. That is, until she becomes a suspect in Madeline Harper’s death. The murder forces Ellison to confront her husband’s proclivities and his crimes—kinky sex, petty cruelties and blackmail.

As the body count approaches par on the seventh hole, Ellison knows she has to catch a killer. But with an interfering mother, an adoring father, a teenage daughter, and a cadre of well-meaning friends demanding her attention, can Ellison find the killer before he finds her. [Goodreads Summary]

A Perilous Undertaking (Veronica Speedwell #2) by Deanna Raybourn

London, 1887. At the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women, Victorian adventuress Veronica Speedwell meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task--saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Ramsforth, accused of the brutal murder of his mistress, Artemisia, will face the hangman's noose in a week's time if the real killer is not found.

But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems, and unmasking her true identity is only the first of many secrets Veronica must uncover. Together with her natural-historian colleague, Stoker, Veronica races against time to find the true murderer. From a Bohemian artists' colony to a royal palace to a subterranean grotto with a decadent history, the investigation proves to be a very perilous undertaking indeed.... [Goodreads Summary]

Thank you for voting!

February brings to rain,

thaws the frozen lake again.

~ excerpt from "The Months" by Sara Coleridge

I have fallen a little behind in my nightly poetry reading and need to play catch up. I did, however, recently read a poetry collection I thought I would share about today.

Poetry is often about feelings for me. Find me. keep me. by Renaada Williams (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2022; 128 pgs) truly is raw and emotional. Through her poetry, she invites readers to share some of her most intimate thoughts and experiences. The poet delves deeply into themes such as sexuality, racial identity, overcoming trauma, and mental health challenges in a very genuine way. 

There is one poem about self-care which I especially liked. Self-care comes in all forms, including waiting to start tomorrow.  I think my favorite section though was "two americas". There is one section where Renaada Williams writes:

Black be pure. Black be joy. Black be scared. Black be laughter. Black be struggle. Black be happiness. Black be journey. Black be lonely. Black be gold. Black is painful. Black is beautiful. 

She goes on like this, naming different characteristics, ending with "Black be resilient" repeated over and over again, capturing the beauty and empowerment in her words. It is especially meaningful given the two Americas she is writing about in this section as she calls out racism. As a white person, my experiences may not be the same, but I could feel her passion and the truth in her words.

I highlighted quite a bit in this collection--too much to share here--but here are some of my favorite excerpts: 

blood splattered

painted on every branch of our family tree

thunderstorms

thicker than

saws to set me free [excerpt from "two americas", find her. keep her.]

and 

i am 

a gift

a token

they welcomed me my laughter

my entertainment my pain

my movement

but ask me

to leave my roots at the door.  [excerpt from "two americas", find her. keep her.]

and also

I got better at hiding the scars

a hopeless dove without her wings don't believe

anything or anyone

making you feel unworthy even if it's yourself! [excerpt from "records of self-discovery", find her. keep her.]

Heart-wrenching, thought-provoking and inspirational are all words I would use to describe this collection.

Let's talk about Guts by Raina Telgemeier (Scholastic, 2019; 144 pgs). My daughter swears I plucked Guts off her shelf on my own, but I feel certain she told me she wanted me to read it. It doesn't really matter whose memory is the most accurate. Mouse and I  have enjoyed every graphic novel by Raina Telgemeier we've read. Mouse wasn't always so into reading, and I have Raina and her book Smile to thank for igniting that spark in her. After reading it the first time, she immediately started reading it again. Then would go on to read it multiple times after that as well. I went out and found every graphic novel like Smile I could find, wanting to see her love for reading continue and grow. She loves graphic novels and manga, and also has come to love and enjoy reading other types of books. She once told me the bigger the book the better--"because the story lasts longer." 

I'm venturing into Mouse's Corner with all this Mouse talk, aren't I? Back to Guts. Guts is the third book in the author's Smile series (the second being Sisters). The series is actually a graphic memoir, based on the author's real life. In this particular installment, Raina is struggling with school issues, worries about food and friendships, and oncoming puberty. Things many of us can relate to. I could see my daughter in the pages of the book, which makes sense given they are of a similar age (I think Raina is slightly younger in this memoir).

Guts also touches on mental health concerns, anxiety in particular. Something just about everyone deals with at some point in their life to one degree or another. Raina has suffered with anxiety most of her life. This book was a good opportunity for me to talk with my daughter about our personal struggles with anxiety, and how well we could relate to Raina. I appreciated the way the author normalized getting help for anxiety, including seeing a therapist. Something that I wish more books for children would do. Little Raina is such a sweetheart and I wanted to give her a hug more than once. I have great admiration for the author and am grateful she is sharing her story with young readers (and us older ones too). 

Mouse recently read Ravenfall by Kalyn Josephson, the first in a series, about a 13 year old girl with the the power of foreseeing death. It is not the most useful of skills. Or so she thinks up until she meets a boy who is in town looking for his missing brother and the monster that killed their parents. All I can get out of Mouse so far about the book is that "it was very good." I could hear her complaining to her grandmother as they walked up the path to our front door the other afternoon about how she has to wait until October for the second book to come up. I know what that's like all too well . . . 

Mouse is now reading The Keeper by Guadalupe García McCall. It is the story of two siblings, James and Ava, who recently moved with their family from Texas to Oregon. They are both learning to adjust to their new home when James begins finding mysterious letters signed by someone calling themselves The Keeper. The grown-ups think this is just another of the kids' pranks, but Ava and James know otherwise. They believe it's tied to stories of other children who had gone missing in the past and decide to investigate for themselves, afraid they might be the next victims. 

 

My favorite local independent bookstore is having to move after their lease was not extended. They were given a month's notice, which was then extended to two months after public outcry. That is still not a lot of time to find a new location and pack up and move--not to mention the expense of it all. The property management company says it wants to move in a new direction, but there has been speculation that it has something to do with the store's focus on LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC authors and literature, and their hosting drag queen story hours. Whatever the reason, it is sad news for the community. The owner and her staff are confident that they will find a new and better home, and, in the meantime, will continue their many book clubs, author events, and maintain their online store.  

I imagine my family and I will be visiting there again this month and next to show our support. On our last visit, this is what we added to our shelves: 

New to My Shelves

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

This Is Not a Personal Statement by Tracy Badua

New to Mouse's Shelves

Out of My Heart (Out of My Mind #2) by Sharon M. Draper

Magus of the Library, Vol. 1 by Mitsu Izumi, translated by Stephen Kohler

Ouran High School Host Club, Vol. 2 by Bisco Hatori

Cursed Princess Club, Vol. 1 by LambCat

Recent E-Book Purchases

Night Angels by Weina Dai Randel

The Chemistry of Love by Sariah Wilson

What new books made it onto your shelf recently? 

I am continuing to make my way through Grey's Anatomy and have even gotten my husband and daughter interested on occasion. I am up to season 12. Wanting something a little different but not willing to leave Shondaland just yet, I started rewatching the first season of How To Get Away With Murder. I forgot how well written that show is. I am only about three episodes in right now.

My daughter expressed an interest in watching The X-Files the other day and so my husband popped in the first DVD. We have watched the first two episodes so far. My husband remembers the show like yesterday. Me, not so much. I think I remember later episodes more so.

We also recently saw the first episode of Poker Face, which is about a woman who has an uncanny ability to know when people are lying. She uses her skills to solve crimes while on the run from people who want her dead. 

As a family, we have started rewatching our old Harry Potter DVDs at my daughter's request and are up to the fourth film. This is one of those instances where one struggles with liking the art but not the artist. We do not agree or support the author of the books in her beliefs, but we have long loved the magic of the Harry Potter series.

What have you watched recently?

This Past Week In Reading Mews

• Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Covers of 2022 (of books I read)
• Can't Wait to Read Wednesday: The Love Scribe / The Writing Retreat / When the Moon Turns Blue / Wolf Hall
• Where Is Your Bookmark: A Peek into Speaker of the Lost, Rereading & My Childhood Favorites

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have up to and what you are reading!

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© 2023, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Weekly Mews: More Rain and Good Books

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.

It has been raining nonstop most of the day. We enjoyed a couple of sunny days this past week, and I even opened the windows for a couple hours the day before yesterday (I ended up wrapped in a blanket, so maybe that wasn't the best idea).

Our plans to put together my new desk last weekend fell through. At least it was for a good reason. Mouse was hoping to help with the construction, but she got a last minute invite to go with a friend to see the musical Mean Girls at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. That's not something you pass up if you can help it, and so off she went. Her dad and I had a nice quiet day at home; we're only partially jealous we couldn't go too. I promised we would hold off on putting the desk together until this weekend so that she could help. It's been a slow process, involving rearranging furniture around, but what we did not get done today will definitely get done tomorrow. I am in the office this next week and so won't be able to try it out for work just yet. 

Helping to put away the holiday decorations

What have you been up to this weekend?

This past week I finished two books. I finished my first read of the year, A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab. I loved it! I am ready to jump into the second book, A Gathering of Shadows, but it seems to have disappeared. Mouse scampered off with it, wanting to read it before I do. Unfortunately, it's still in her TBR stack, and so it may be awhile before I see it again. I also recently finished Amy Lea's Exes & O's, which was a delightful slow burn romance. 

That leaves me reading my more long term books--not because they are long (they aren't) but because they are not my primary reads. Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer. It may sound dry, but it is anything but. I may not have the best track record with audiobooks, but I figured Jenny Lawson would be good company while I do my physical therapy exercises every day. At least that was the plan. It has not quite worked out that way, but hopefully I can fit Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things in more often than not during those sessions. 

My TBR List is hosted by the awesome Michelle  at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books 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). 

Many thanks to everyone who voted in this month's TBR List Poll. Enlisting your help in choosing my next read is one of my favorite monthly events. January's contenders all had a bookish theme but a very different feel. While I plan to read all three, I will only be reading one this month. I held off peeking to see which one was winning all week even though I was tempted. Let's find out which one came out on top!

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan received 9 votes, coming in third place (it's also the book my daughter voted for).  Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence got 11 votes. And the winner is The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams, coming in with 12 votes! It was a close race. I look forward to starting The Reading List soon!

What have you been reading lately?

I fell a little behind in my nightly poetry reading, but I was able to catch up without too much trouble. Of this past week's poems in A Nature Poem for Every Night of the Year, a couple in particular stood out for me.

I loved "The Lake" by John Foster in its simplicity and description of a lake at various stages during different kinds of weather.

On a winter's day

The lake

Hides itself

Under a frozen blanket

And refuses to budge

Until it is warm enough

To come out again. [excerpt from "The Lake"]

I cannot help but read more into those words, how sometimes I wish I could do just that, hide and not budge until I feel comfortable enough to venture out again--whether because of the literal cold or in a metaphoric way.

The other poem that spoke to me was Oscar Wilde's poem, "Impressions I: Les Silhouettes"--the imagery is beautiful and I like the way it sounds when read out loud. 

   The sea is flecked with bars of grey

   The dull dead wind is out of tune,

   And like a withered leaf the moon

Is blown across the stormy bay. 

[excerpt from "Impressions I: Les Silhouettes"]

 

I was looking through my poetry books to see if one called to me and I have landed on Find Her. Keep Her. by Renaada Williams to read next. 

Renaada Williams beckons readers into her deepest thoughts and most intimate experiences as a queer black woman living in America with her latest collection of poetry. Much like her first book, Williams presents themes like sexuality and acceptance through her stunningly arranged words, but this time she dives much deeper. find her. keep her. delivers an amplitude of emotion and rawness; reading her poetry feels as if you’ve stumbled upon her secret journal and are reading words that were never meant to be found. [Goodreads Summary]

I mentioned it last weekend, but this week I really do plan to read the graphic memoir Guts by Reina Telgemeier. My daughter and I have enjoyed many of Telgemeier's books, and this is one she highly recommends I read. 

Raina wakes up one night with a terrible upset stomach. Her mom has one, too, so it's probably just a bug. Raina eventually returns to school, where she's dealing with the usual highs and lows: friends, not-friends, and classmates who think the school year is just one long gross-out session. It soon becomes clear that Raina's tummy trouble isn't going away... and it coincides with her worries about food, school, and changing friendships. What's going on?

Raina Telgemeier once again brings us a thoughtful, charming, and funny true story about growing up and gathering the courage to face—and conquer—her fears. [Goodreads Summary]

Mouse is currently reading book 8.5 in Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities series, Unlocked. It is less of an actual novel and more of a companion book. She's enjoying reading the character studies, recipes, the registry files (her favorite is Keefe's registry file because he let Dex hack into it and change some of the information around), looking at the illustrations and maps, and working her way up to a novel portion at the end.  

She just finished reading Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 3 (manga) by Sakae Esuno, Ruria, Mikuki, and Bokuto Uno. Mouse described it as being a little gorier than the first two volumes, but she thought it was good. 

This Past Week In Reading Mews

• Weekly Mews: A Rainy Start to January
• Top Ten Tuesday: My Top Ten Books Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2023
• Can't Wait to Read Wednesday: Finlay Donovan Jumps the Gun / A Courage Undimmed / The Terror
• Where Is Your Bookmark: A peek into Exes and O's & A Couple (more) Upcoming Releases I Can't Wait to Read

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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© 2023, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Weekly Mews: A Rainy Start to January

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.

I am linking up Stacking the Shelves hosted by Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.  

Rain! I am loving all this rain. There's a little reprieve this weekend, but another storm is on it's way. All this rain will not get rid of the drought, but it will help. My uncle up in Northern California posted photos on Facebook of the damage in his part of the state. As much as I like the rain, I do not like the destruction it is causing or the lives the flooding has taken. I feel for all of you who are dealing with inclement weather and hope you are staying safe and warm. 

The first week of the new year was fairly uneventful. Mouse started back to school last Monday (it made the local news even--ours was evidently the only district in the area to send kids back to school on a national holiday--there were quite a few disgruntled parents). Work picked up towards the end of the week. I have a feeling it will be back to being crazy busy this coming week. 

I finally have a new desk! I still don't have my own desk in the office (I desk share with other supervisors), but at least when I am working from home, I will have a desk that will hopefully not require me to use a TV tray on the side. Mouse, Anjin and I plan to dedicate time tomorrow to putting the desk together and getting it in place. 

At the moment, my house is filled with the sound of giggles and chatter. Mouse has a couple of friends over to play. We took them out for lunch earlier and put them to work helping carry boxes of book donations to the local library. We couldn't fit all the boxes in the car this trip and so will have to make another trip next weekend. 

I am experimenting with my weekend post format, trying to decide what content I want to include and where. In my dream blogging world, I would have full monthly features for Poetry Corner, Mouse's Corner, and On the Spinner Rack, but, truth be told, that isn't my reality right now. Family, work, and other commitments and interests all get a share of my time. I know many, if not all of you, can relate. Besides, I am not sure I want to review all the manga and graphic novels (On the Spinner Rack) or poetry (Poetry Corner) I read.  If I decide a full review is in order, I will do a separate post. My darling husband, Anjin, created the headers for me. He is way more tech savvy than I am! 

I lean more toward being a monogamous reader, but sometimes I take on more than one book at a time. What I am not: a fast or prolific reader--at least not compared to many of you. My confidence though was given a boost recently when I came across this on Google (because random information that pops up on my phone when I'm doing a search about which big books would make good year long reads is so noteworthy): 

The average number of books read is much less than 33, at least in the U.S. The number 33 is based on the average speed a person reads per Lenstore's online reading quiz (Lenstore is a British contact lens company with which I have no affiliation). It isn't based on how many books a person actually reads, but literally how much you can read. According to last year's Gallup Poll, American adult readers are averaging about 12.6 books (in all formats: print, e-books, and audio books) a year. Evidently the number of non-readers hasn't changed much over the years, but the amount of books readers read has gone down. Ultimately though, it is not about how much we read, but how much we get out of it what we are hoping to. 

Anyway, I went off on a tangent, didn't I? Back to being a monogamous reader. Or not, as the case may be at the moment. 

What I am reading: 

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab (Fantasy)

Exes & O's by Amy Lea (Romance)

Dreyer's English by Benjamin Dreyer (Nonfiction)

My TBR List is hosted by the awesome Michelle  at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books 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). 

I could use your help deciding which book to read next! Which of these three books do you think I should read next? Have you read any of them? If so, what did you think? 

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams (2021)

An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb.

Widower Mukesh lives a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing after losing his beloved wife. He shops every Wednesday, goes to Temple, and worries about his granddaughter, Priya, who hides in her room reading while he spends his evenings watching nature documentaries.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager working at the local library for the summer when she discovers a crumpled-up piece of paper in the back of To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a list of novels that she’s never heard of before. Intrigued, and a little bored with her slow job at the checkout desk, she impulsively decides to read every book on the list, one after the other. As each story gives up its magic, the books transport Aleisha from the painful realities she’s facing at home.

When Mukesh arrives at the library, desperate to forge a connection with his bookworm granddaughter, Aleisha passes along the reading list… hoping that it will be a lifeline for him too. Slowly, the shared books create a connection between two lonely souls, as fiction helps them escape their grief and everyday troubles and find joy again. [Goodreads Summary]

Dear Fahrenheit 451: Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks by Annie Spence (2017)

A Gen-X librarian's snarky, laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving collection of love letters and break-up notes to the books in her life.

Librarians spend their lives weeding--not weeds but books! Books that have reached the end of their shelf life, both literally and figuratively. They remove the books that patrons no longer check out. And they put back the books they treasure. Annie Spence, who has a decade of experience as a Midwestern librarian, does this not only at her Michigan library but also at home, for her neighbors, at cocktail parties—everywhere. In Dear Fahrenheit 451, she addresses those books directly. We read her love letters to The Goldfinch and Matilda, as well as her snarky break-ups with Fifty Shades of Grey and Dear John. Her notes to The Virgin Suicides and The Time Traveler’s Wife feel like classics, sure to strike a powerful chord with readers. Through the lens of the books in her life, Annie comments on everything from women’s psychology to gay culture to health to poverty to childhood aspirations. Hilarious, compassionate, and wise, Dear Fahrenheit 451 is the consummate book-lover's birthday present, stocking stuffer, holiday gift, and all-purpose humor book. [Goodreads Summary]

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan (2017)

When a bookshop patron commits suicide, his favorite store clerk must unravel the puzzle he left behind. Lydia Smith lives her life hiding in plain sight. A clerk at the Bright Ideas bookstore, she keeps a meticulously crafted existence among her beloved books, eccentric colleagues, and the BookFrogs.....the lost and lonely regulars who spend every day marauding the store’s overwhelmed shelves.

But when Joey Molina, a young, beguiling BookFrog, kills himself in the bookstore’s upper room, Lydia’s life comes unglued. Always Joey’s favorite bookseller, Lydia has been bequeathed his meager worldly possessions. Trinkets and books; the detritus of a lonely, uncared for man. But when Lydia flips through his books she finds them defaced in ways both disturbing and inexplicable. They reveal the psyche of a young man on the verge of an emotional reckoning. And they seem to contain a hidden message. What did Joey know? And what does it have to do with Lydia?

As Lydia untangles the mystery of Joey’s suicide, she unearths a long buried memory from her own violent childhood. Details from that one bloody night begin to circle back. Her distant father returns to the fold, along with an obsessive local cop, and the Hammerman, a murderer who came into Lydia’s life long ago and, as she soon discovers, never completely left. [Goodreads Summary]

Thank you for voting!

Iliana of Bookgirl's Nightstand mentioned having read A Nature Poem for Every Night of the Year edited by Jane McMorland Hunter this past year, and I liked the idea enough to get my own copy. It is one of those books that I can read through every year if I want to. The book is described as a "calming collection of nature poems to help you relax and unwind at the end of every day."

I almost think Sara Coleridge's poem, "The Months", which is the January 2nd poem, would have been a good one to start off the collection given it is sort of an ode to all the months:

January brings the snow,

Make our feet and fingers glow.

But ultimately, I agree with the editor's choice to begin with "Tapestry Trees" by William Morris. It sets the perfect tone for the start of the year: 

Oak.

I am the Roof-tree and the Keel;

I bridge the seas for woe and weal.

I like to read poetry out loud and this one reads well with its rhyming couplets, each of which opens with a different type of tree and touches on the different seasons within some of the descriptions. Perhaps my favorite from the Morris's poem:

Pear-tree.

High o're the mead-flowers' hidden feet

I bear aloft my burden sweet.

So far I have enjoyed all the poems. I read about the four seasons of life in "Sonnet: The Human Seasons" by John Keets, which is a moving poem. There is also John Greenleaf's Whittier's "A Dream of Summer" which I imagine many of you in colder climates would appreciate right about now. Shakespeare makes an appearance with "Sonnet 60".  I may not be a fan of his plays, but I do enjoy his poetry.

I will leave you with an excerpt from Friday's poem, "Not so Far as the Forest" by Edna St. Vincent Millay:

The sun sets in a cloud 

And is not seen.  

Beauty, that spoke aloud, 

Addresses now only the remembering ear. 

The heart begins here 

To feed on what has been.

I am in between graphic novels and manga at the moment. Next up on my TBR are Guts by Reina Telgemeiger (which my daughter handed me last month and told me I needed to read) and Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 10 by Kamome Shirahama (my daughter's already read it because she called first dibs). Will I get to them this coming week? I am not sure, but I will try. 

For Christmas this year, I accidentally got Mouse the second and third light novel versions of My Happy Marriage, thinking I was getting the manga versions. Anjin recommended I get the first light novel for her because sometimes the telling of a story doesn't line up exactly between the two book types. And so she ended up with the first three light novel versions (and I've pre-ordered the 2nd volume of the manga version which comes out next week). Mouse recently finished the first volume of of the light novel, My Happy Marriage by Akumi Agitogi, illustrated by Tsukiho Tsukioka. Mouse said it was more detailed than the manga version, just as exciting, and she liked them both about the same. 

Mouse is currently reading the 8th book in Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities series, Legacy. She described the series as "dramatic and intense". I told her I was thinking of giving the series a try and she warned me it is filled with drama, which I might not like. Anjin's response was, "Have you seen the types of books your mom reads?" I think there is some fear on her part that I won't like her favorite series if I do read it. 

Mouse recently found a gift card from her birthday last year she didn't realize she had. She went crazy spending it on manga she wasn't able to find at our local bookstores. She's anxiously awaiting that package to arrive next week. 

New to my shelves:

Bad Girls Drink Blood (Blood Fae Druid #1) by S.L. Choi (because of Carole)

A Nature Poem for Every Night of the Year edited by Jane McMorland Hunter (because of Iliana)

What new books made it onto your shelf recently? 

I have been watching lots of Grey's Anatomy. I just finished season 8. It's a good show to have on in the background as I blog and respond to comments. I have long passed the season where I stopped watching the show when it initially aired, although I know parts of what happens in later seasons thanks to various news and gossip sources. Avoiding the spoilers was not possible. As a family, we watched the last episode of the first season of Spy x Family. I like the anime, but I much prefer it in its original manga form. 

What have you watched recently?

This Past Week In Reading Mews

• A Year in Review: 2022 (And Looking Ahead)
• Top Ten Tuesday: My Top Ten Books Favorite Books of 2022
• Can't Wait to Read Wednesday: The Game is a Footnote / Independence / Dreyer's English

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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