This month I’m taking a page from some friends and sharing what I’ve been reading, what I liked and didn’t like about the books, and any musings about them. I guess I’ve hit a few genres this past month.
What I’ve been reading -
The Once
and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow – This book brings together a
wide variety of elements in a single masterful alternate timeline historical
novel. The three Eastwood sisters represent ancient archetypes of mother,
maiden, and crone. Agnes Amaranth is a single mother to be, working in a
sweatshop, who falls in love with a man who has used his own limited witchcraft
to advocate for worker’s rights. Beatrice Belladonna is a librarian who, far
from a spinster yet, finds romance with a female journalist, if she can trust
herself. James Juniper is a young maiden with a deadly secret. The three find each
other again and themselves embroiled in the fight for the woman’s right to vote
and to practice witchcraft, after fleeing their father’s farm. I’ve read
everything else written by this author to date and just love her style and
depth. I highly recommend this book, without reservation.
The
Vanishing Type by Ellery Adams – I love this series for so many
reasons, not the least of which is because I love books in general. As a
librarian, reading a mystery series where the main character is a former
librarian turned bookseller who adores books and recommending them to patrons
in her store, is just my idea of heaven. She mentions so many books that I
recognize, and so many I don’t, that even the non-mystery portion of the story
is fascinating. I also adore how she often finds books to help people with
troubles in their life, something called bibliotherapy. With this story, Adams
builds layer upon layer of mystery into the story. Nora is the owner of Miracle
books, while her friends from the Secret, Book, and Scone Society include
Hester, Estella, and June. They’ve come to trust and rely on each other. They
do so again as Hester’s secret about the baby she gave up for adoption comes
out into the open just as her boyfriend proposes. It’s a bumpy ride but Adams
keeps us on the rails.
The Nobel
Lecture in Literature 1993 by Toni Morrison – This lecture begins with
Morrison relating a folk tale that she has heard in numerous cultures, about
young people challenging an old blind person and that wise person putting them
in their place. But then she extends the tale, asking, what if the wise person
and the young entered a dialog to better understand each other – how much more
could come of it? I had the sense that I would need to read it again and again
to find the meaning within it. The second part was a simple acceptance speech
of the award and thoroughly inspiring to me because it spoke about the writers
of the future. Perfect for any aspiring writers.
Dinner at
the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler – I picked this book up
thinking that the title indicated a comforting read. For some reason, the
description didn’t disabuse me of the notion. I started reading and it was
intriguing, if a bit lackluster. After a while, something reminded me of
another book I’d read and I realized I’d read one other book by this author and
didn’t care for it. I hate to put a book down and kept reading, soon finding
that this book was really about one of the most dysfunctional families I’ve
ever read about. The writing is interesting, it draws you on, your mouth drops
open on a regular basis at the things people do. It’s not my cup of tea but the
book is well written. If you like a slice of life about dysfunctional families,
then this book is for you. I found it . . . unsatisfying.
The
Taming of the Few: Guardians of the PHAE Book 1 by Rowan
Dillon – Though this is a first urban fantasy for this author, it is not her
first book. I admit that she is a member of my writer’s group and I have
enjoyed her historical fantasy stories for years. The characters in this tale
are thoroughly entertaining, from irascible Max with his Vietnam era PTSD and
ability to talk to the wind, to swim coach Anna’s growing ability to convince
the water to do her bidding, as iridescent scales slowly cover her arms. It
seems a shift in the magnetic poles has caused magic to come to the surface in
many people. These latent abilities have stirred fear in some and there is
brewing resentment as factions move toward unrest and armed conflicts. I’m
thoroughly enjoying the tale, though I’m only 30% of the way in.
