This was a real page-turner! A murder investigation leads to a convent and the heartbreaking history of the Magdalene Laundries. I think fans of Louise Penny‘s Inspector Gamache will find a lot to like in DI Tom Reynolds. Definitely interested in continuing with the series. #NunLit

I enjoyed this comprehensive biography. Rachel Carson lived an interesting and inspiring life. Good choice for Women‘s History Month.

Looking forward to our #NaturaLitsy discussion!

Really fascinating. The story of a 1987 cold case investigation and how genetic genealogy played a role in solving this case and others. He also examines the continuing debate surrounding this issue.

O‘Toole time! I‘ve been reading a chapter or two of this brilliant book each day this month. Only midway, but likely to be among my top reads of the year.

Cheers! Wishing you all a wonderful weekend 🍻

Friday #bookmail! A few more from the #WomensPrize longlist. I much prefer this UK edition of Demon. So pretty and bonus, has cool endpapers and a ribbon bookmark. I need to get reading!!!

β€œMaeve Murray was just eighteen years old when she first met Andy Strawbridge but she knew he was a fucker the minute she laid eyes on him.”

#FirstLineFridays

Really good. Complex and tragic. Stellar writing. I did not like Cushla with Michael at all. Decades older and married? No and no. Thankfully, this story is so much more than that. Deserving, I think, of its place on the #WomensPrize longlist.

πŸ’šPRK! Glad I finally got around to reading this one (I bought it right when it came out, months ago). Some of the pieces in this collection (all originally published in The New Yorker) grabbed me more than others, but all are examples of outstanding journalism. The Amy Bishop story, A Loaded Gun, was the stand-out for me.

An interesting look at village life, particularly at the challenges facing women, in the immediate aftermath of WWII. The long-awaited peace brought difficult adjustments for many. I appreciated how Beauchamp highlighted several different personalities and situations.

Anyone else find the switch from first-person POV with Helen to third-person for the others to be an unusual choice? I think it ultimately works given how she bookends the story.

The first part of my #WomensPrize order has arrived. So excited for all of these!

β€œGroup commander! What a lot of nonsense you women got up to during the war. I can‘t think how the army got along at all with a pack of women dressing themselves up as soldiers, strutting about giving orders and poking their noses into a lot of matters that didn‘t concern them”

Laura‘s father is a real piece of work. This part had me fuming 😑

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

β€œThe mountain was full of miniature eyes.”

#FirstLineFridays

It‘s the 50th anniversary of this cult classic. So glad I finally got around to reading it. A fascinating, disturbing and often heartbreaking mix of newspaper accounts and striking photographs from small-town WI 1890-1910. Look forward to watching the 1999 documentary soon!

β€œIt was the one where she walked around in her skin and her bones for the rest of her life but her body was never recovered. You know the one.”

This was one compelling and satisfying read. A slow- burn mystery that thoughtfully examines so muchβ€”true crime, misogyny, systematic racism, privilege, memory, the stories we tell ourselves. Another great Makkai! I‘ve read and enjoyed all of her books, all quite different from each other. #BOTM

A wonderful and moving close to the Harold Fry trilogy. Audiobook is perfectly narrated by Penelope Wilton. She is also starring as Maureen in the upcoming film!

Just read a good article by Rachel Joyce on these books yesterday (LitHub). I‘ll include a link to that and the film trailer in the comments for those interested.

I‘ve read several of Alexievich‘s books (all except Zinky Boys, I think) and am such an admirer of her work. Her oral history style is so powerful. This one is looking at life following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The subject matter is difficult (as with all of her books), but worth it for the incredible insight it provides into the Russian psyche.

β€œDownstairs in the lounge, by the third pillar from the left, there sits an old lady with a sweet, placid spinsterish face, and a mind that has plumbed the depths of human iniquity and taken it as all in the day‘s work. Her name‘s Miss Marple…and where crime is concerned she‘s the goods, Conway.” πŸ˜†

πŸ’™Miss Marple! Enjoyed this second installment enormously. Delightful (though the crime revealed is quite dark) and just a pleasure to read.

This was great. Completely fascinating true story of Tetris, the world‘s most popular video game. If you like graphic novels, definitely recommend.

Can‘t wait for the Apple TV+ movie starring Taron Egerton (out March 31)!

I knew that Queen Elizabeth II served in the ATS during WWII, but not much else. Love this recruiting poster. There‘s some interesting history and photos on the National Army Museum site. Also enjoyed this BBC Radio 4 Seriously… episode where a few of the women still alive β€œtell their extraordinary stories of the Auxiliary Territorial Service and how it changed their lives.” Links to both in comments.

#FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

The universe has been telling me I finally need to read this book and watch this documentary. Earlier this week, I came across the NYT article about the book 50 years on (my library still has the 1973 edition). And then, I turn to the first page of Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy yesterday and there it is, Black River Falls, WI.
#LibraryHaul

β€œI, Helen Townsend, am going to have tea with Laura Watson.”

So excited to get started! Love this cover. #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub
#FirstLineFridays

Okay, #ToB23 wrap-up time! Looks like I‘m team Goose & Rabbit this year.
5⭐️ LOVED Pictured
4⭐️ REALLY LIKED The Passenger, TomorrowX3, The Violin Conspiracy, Sea of Tranquility
3.5⭐️ Dinosaurs, My Volcano
3⭐️ LIKED Nightcrawling, Mercury Pictures Presents
2.5⭐️ Olga Dies Dreaming, Mouth to Mouth
2⭐️ IT WAS OKAY An Island, Seven Moons
BAILED Manhunt, Notes, 2 AM
IN PROGRESS Babel (enjoying, but will probably end up in the liked category)

Well, that was a wild ride! Supremely weird, frenetic, polyphonic, impactfulβ€”I enjoyed this more than I was expecting to. I especially liked the storylines with Angel and Old Otherwise. Hope this wins the #ToB23 play-in match.

Jesus, Jessica! What did I just read? I feel like I‘ve awoken from a strange and very sad dream.

I completely understand where McCarthy‘s critics are coming from, but his writing really works for me. I finished The Passenger this morning and immediately felt the need to dive into Stella Maris. I was hoping for some clarity, but ended up with even more questions (which I kind of dig). I think my admiration for this pair may grow upon reflection.

β€œWhere he walked the tideline at dusk the last red reaches of the sun flared slowly out along the sky to the west and the tidepools stood like spills of blood. He stopped to look back at his bare footprints. Filling with water one by one. The reefs seemed to move slowly in the last hours and the late colors of the sun drained away and then the sudden darkness fell like a foundry shutting down for the night.”

Filled my box this month. Very excited for all of these! I‘ve been eagerly anticipating Makkai‘s newest so hoping to get started on that this weekend. #BOTM

Whew, Marra did a ton of research for this book and it really shows. Hollywood during WWIIβ€”the politics, the propagandaβ€”wasn‘t something I knew much about. I liked how the dialogue was often sharp and witty, much like the films of the era. I also appreciated how the questions he is asking are equally relevant today. How can the stories we tell be used for good? How might they be manipulated to harmful ends?

#ToB23 #BOTM

β€œAt the intersection of Hollywood and Highland no one went by their real name. There were the marquee stars and matinee idols, the tubby comedians in tight suits, the actresses in bumper bangs and evening gowns, the jubilantly costumed, haphazardly sober, the unrecognizably transformed…The tragic immortals: Jean Harlow, Peg Entwistle, Carole Lombard, Rudolph Valentino. All the beautiful ghosts are out. They line the street. They welcome you home.”

I already loved tea, but now have a whole new level of appreciation. Lovell‘s passion is infectious! I started this back in December and it turned out to be ideal for dipping in and out of during the cold winter months. Very cozy and comforting. I‘d recommend this not only to my fellow tea lovers, but to anyone who enjoys travel &/or food writing.

β€œTogether we huddled around warm cups of rescue and comfort…It made me think of the wagons bringing tea to bombed-out cities in the Second World War. If I ever have fortunes to blow, I‘d like to take tea to refugee camps. I‘d like to have a tea disaster-recovery unit, with special planes and equipment so we could be there, on the scene, giving out tea. Proper tea to make the heart glad, so that all is not lost when all seems lost.”

Lovely idea.

I‘ve never been fond of this cover (I prefer the UK edition), but upon finishing I have to admit that it is quite apt. It captures both St. Teresa of Avila‘s Transverberation of the Heart and the way this book made me feel, piercing my readerly heart.

What a debut! Messy and unsettling, but also touching and brilliant. And so singular. I‘d never think to put all these elements together, sounds a bit crazy, but it just works. Loved it.
#ToB23

New BookPage! Tagged novel (out March 14) sounds good as does the bookseller memoir featured on the cover, Once Upon a Tome. Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult by Michelle Dowd was another memoir that caught my eye.

β€œit was a cruel shame a girl couldn‘t β€˜ave a bit of fun without a nasty corpse comin‘ in through the window to get β€˜er into difficulties.” Poor Gladys πŸ˜‚

My first Sayers and for the most part I enjoyed it. Very dialogue-heavy! The courtroom scene was my favoriteβ€”the serious Coroner opening windows, the testimony quoted above, the commentary from the Dowager Duchessβ€”funny stuff. I also really liked Wimsey and Bunter as a dynamic duo.

β€œOn a hot night in Apartment C4, Blandine Watkins exits her body.”

#FirstLineFridays

20% in and calling it quits. Not for me. #ToB23

#ToB23 double bail. I‘ve read enough of these to know I‘m headed for so-so reviews at most so back to the library they go!

#bookmail to brighten my Monday! My library holds weren‘t shaping up to come through anytime soon so treated myself to a little #ToB23 order. Planning to start The Rabbit Hutch and The Passenger ASAP. I have high hopes for both!

Wonderful! And quite haunting. This book has so many elements I am drawn toβ€”questions of identity and belonging, ghosts, time travel, boarding school, WWI, the 1918 flu pandemic.

Another great NYRB pick. Wish I‘d known about this one as a 10-12 year old! Better late than never. I still enjoyed it thoroughly as an adult.

Late to the party with this one, but happy to report that I really enjoyed it. I can see why it is beloved by so many. Absorbing story with a ton of heart. A very nice way to spend a Saturday! #BOTM #ToB23

New bookmarks! I was reminded that we‘ll have a new Catherine Lacey soon (tagged, out March 21). I thought her previous novel, Pew, was very good so looking forward to it.

Well, I seem to be in the minority here (so far anyhow), but this was disappointing. She‘s trying to tell an important story, but something about this did not work for me. I didn‘t really get on with the writing and the characters did not feel real. What should have been moving and powerful, given the subject matter, just left me cold. It is a quick and somewhat propulsive read though and I cared enough to finish. #BOTM

Gripping story about a shocking, violent and somewhat perplexing act of environmental protest in British Columbia. Great read!

#NaturaLitsyBingo2023 #Trees

Some fun mail today. Such a lovely cover on this new issue! Tagged mystery/thriller caught my eye in the New and Upcoming section (out May 2). Two women, one a librarian with an interest in genealogy and the other a veteran detective, pair up to investigate a decades-old murder. I like the sound of that!

A short and interesting read. I‘ve never given much thought to seahorses so was happy to learn about these fascinating creatures. I found the first two chapters more engaging than the rest, but still enjoyed overall. #NaturaLitsy

I knew nothing of the Love Canal environmental disaster prior to reading this. An infuriating and heartbreaking tale featuring some incredibly strong and inspiring women. When they voiced their well-founded concerns for the health of their families and community, it was dismissed as β€œuseless housewife data.” The site was deemed safe in 2004, but residents living beside it report unusual health problems. Scary.

Link to 2018 PBS news segment below.

So good! I was hooked from the very first sentence and loved Rendell‘s writing. Will definitely be trying more of her work.

Thanks to @Cathythoughts for putting this stellar crime novel on my radar!

Margery Kempe was such a fascinating figure. Her autobiography, The Book of Margery Kempe, was lost to the world for five centuries! In 1934 it was found, entirely by accident, in a country house cupboard.

I added several books to my TBR while reading this novel and its fantastic historical afterward. Sharratt knows her stuff and I was immersed in the turbulent medieval times in which Kempe lived. Really enjoyed.
#NunLit

β€œHer book was called The Mirror of Simple Souls…There was not a single unorthodox word to be found in those pages. Yet she was considered dangerous. How dare a mere woman look to the authority of God within her heart rather than in those flawed men who would be her superiors?”

So fascinated by the beguines and French mystic Marguerite Porete. Love the idea of these medieval women forming their own communities. More info below. #NunLit

β€œEunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write.”

What provoked a modern-day St. Valentine‘s Day massacre? I can‘t wait to find out!
#FirstLineFridays

A little Margery this morning before the work day begins. Crazy to me that by the time she was 40 (a bit younger than myself), she had given birth 14 times! Can‘t even imagine. And then she dictates what is likely the first autobiography in the English language. I‘m only five chapters in, but enjoying it so far. You do not want to be considered a lollard in medieval England! Related In Our Time episode and Electric Lit article below.
#NunLit