Rollicking Adventure and Quiet Melancholy

    As I reflect on the two books I read this week, they are about women seeking change. They live in different times, Veronica Speedwell in the Victorian Era and May Attaway in the current day, but they both desire more. They want to understand their pasts, engage in their futures, and escape the dull present. The books are dissimilar, one a spirited mystery and the other a contemplative novel, but both portray women courageously exploring life. 

 

    Reading A Curious Beginning (Veronica Speedwell Mystery #1) was like a tour of meet-cute tropes. Veronica Speedwell is a newly orphaned woman in the Victorian era, where women can not be responsible for themselves, but Ms. Speedwell is enlightened and independent. Are we surprised to find this gets her into trouble? We are not. A man close to her is murdered, and she determines to find out why, but her reluctant, annoying, darkly handsome protector, Stoker, is the number one suspect. I found Veronica Speedwell to be an anachronistic character. She would be at home in the 21st century. Raybourn asked herself what readers like and then stirred those together: murder, orphans, circuses, royalty, dogs, and Scotland Yard. The plot of the book is outrageously wild. It is a thrilling, madcap, break-neck plot rocking read. I'm not sure I will continue reading the series, but if I get too many sad, tragic books in a row, this is where I'd go to be cheered up and entertained. 🔎💃🏻🕺🏻

    My daughter mentioned she was reading Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane, so I picked it up. Even though it clearly states it's a novel, I kept thinking it was a memoir. It is written in the first person and has an intimate, shy way of communicating. It is midlife for May, the protagonist, who questions her lack of connection with others. Friends she's made through the years she only sees online. Their lives seem glossy, lush, and complete, while hers is barely peeking above the soil. Kane has done outstanding research about plants and trees using themes of growth and environment impressively. I found this book vulnerable, winning, and warm. 

🌳🌳🌳

This is a picture of the Fortingall Yew, possibly the oldest tree in the world. It plays a crucial role in Rules for Visiting.

Some New Reads and Some Re-Reads

    I am fortunate to have a book club with my sister. We meet on Zoom. because we live several states apart. This year we are reading murder mysteries. We started with The Thursday Murder Club, one of the best books I've read this year. I re-read it for book club and savored how Richard Osman dropped hints and clues about the murders throughout the story. The lovely, quirky characters made me laugh again. Even though they are in their 70s and 80s, they evolve and change like strong characters do. 

I count a book as highly successful if you can re-read it and enjoy it, but better still if you see details you initially missed. Richard Osman for the win! 📚⭐️📚⭐️📚⭐️

                                                     

    I don't know if it was because I had a busy week or because I paused reading Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano for The Thursday Murder Club, but this didn't sparkle for me. I like to finish books, so I finished this one, but despite being humorous and set in exotic Sicily, it didn't grab me. It had good elements: fun characters, puzzling mystery, and hot policemen. It is the first in a series, but I won't be reading the others because life is short, and they are lots of books. 🦁🦁🦁

    Several grandchildren visited this week, and I read The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson many times. I reviewed it earlier here. in-which-i-time-travel.html As part of fun things to do with Nana, we went to Barnes & Noble to get a book. I found this sequel to The Gruffalo, The Gruffalo's Child. I bought it for my home collection. The Gruffalo warns his child about the legendary fearsome mouse living in the deep, dark woods. The child becomes bored and ventures out to see this mouse for himself. What's going to happen? 🐭🐭🐭

Horse--One Book Week with a One Word Title.

 

    Geraldine Brooks is a talented and accomplished writer, and her latest book, Horse, shows her skill at translating her research into a well-told story. She weaves together several storylines that coalesce around a famous racehorse named Lexington. She tackles the thorny issue of writing from the perspective of a black person, even though she is white. I read a review of Horse in the Altlantic by Jordan Kisner addressing that topic. Here is a link: 638449 

  The two main black characters, Jarrett and Theo, don't evolve over the course of the book. My guess, and it's only a guess, is Brooks didn't want to give them any deep flaws to overcome for fear of misrepresenting black men. On the other hand, Horse is a carefully crafted puzzle. She starts with several seemly unrelated pieces and then lays them together to form a coherent, clever picture. I enjoyed it.🏇🏇🏇

Aliens, Tennis, and Hospitality

    Light Years from Home by Mike Chen is sci-fiction that revolves around relationships. The narration pings between brother Jakob, who's been missing for fifteen years, his twin sister, Kass, who believes Jakob flaked out to do his own thing, and Evie, the younger sister, who is convinced he was abducted by aliens. This drives the sisters apart. Then Jakob returns, claiming he needs their help to save the universe. Is it abduction or mental illness? Chen's fresh take on an abduction story is what happens to those left behind? It moved slowly at times, building drama and meeting setbacks, but overall I enjoyed the story. The hurting family has emotional depth and veracity, plus the tension of possible invading aliens. 👽👽

    Taylor Jenkins Reid's latest book, Carrie Soto is Back feels very timely. It is the story of a tennis champion who returns to playing at 37. She wants to defend her record number of grand slams. As I read the book, I thought of Serena Williams retiring from tennis. It's hard not to. Reid does an excellent job writing nail-biting tennis matches. She educates the reader about tennis--though I still don't quite understand about "breaking" your opponent's serve--and then writes breathless accounts of tennis battles. The plot is tight and compelling. Soto is a driven woman isolated from others. She is a figure both admired and loathed. Winning is how she defines her worth. This creates a toxic brew of ambition and animosity within her.  🎾🎾🎾🎾

    There is controversy surrounding this book. Carrie Soto is a Latina character, and Reid is white. Here is a link addressing that: readers-raise-alarms-about-taylor-jenkins-reids-upcoming-book

 

    In her latest book, The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World, Rosaria Butterfield makes a strong argument for generous hospitality. The book imparts the theology of hospitality with many anecdotes from her personal life. She is a hospitality ninja. I felt inferior. As I read on, I gained perspective. She is speaking from several years--perhaps decades--of experience and mentoring in this area. Her views are well articulated and deeply thought out. I found the book both challenging and inspiring. You can do this and get moving! 🥘🍲😋