December Reading Wrap-Up

 

Welcome to our winter wonderland.  December has had plenty of crazy weather.  We had a snowstorm that brought us over 12 inches of snow.  The following week our temperatures were in the 40's and 50's.  Then we had thunderstorms, tornados and high winds.  We were thankful that through it all we had no damage and our power didn't go out.  There were many in our area that had tress down and were without power on a very cold day.  The month is ending with some very cold weather with highs expected in the single digits.

As far as reading goes, I read 8 books. 

Here's the breakdown:

Nonfiction: 2

Suspense: 1

Classic: 1

Cozy Mystery: 2

Fiction: 2

Nonfiction:

The Road Back to You by Ian Morgan Cron & Suzanne Stabile - this was my introduction to the Enneagram personality type system.  It gave a thorough description of each type and included stories of people in the author's lives who fit the various types.  After reading the book I felt I had a good understanding of the system, but also realize that there is a lot more to learn.  

A Circle of Quiet (Crosswicks Journals #1) by Madeleine L'Engle - Writings taken from the author's journals during the time when her children were young and the family lived full-time an an old New England farmhouse. I really enjoyed this.

Suspense:

Dead Fall (Quantico Files #2) by Nancy Mehl - The FBI's elite Behavioral Analysis Unit is called in to investigate one of the strangest cases they have ever dealt with.  The case involves the death of one of the cofounders of the BAU.  What makes it so strange is that his body was found in a locked room with no signs of forced entry.  When they realize members of the Behavioral Analysis Unit are being targeted, the pressure is on to stop the killer before one of their own becomes a victim.  This was a thrilling, fast-paced story.

Classic:

As You Like It by William Shakespeare - This was a fun read that was easy to follow.

Cozy Mystery:

Murder with Orange Pekoe Tea (Daisy's Tea Garden #7) by Karen Rose Smith - A lawyer who was willing to take cases that many lawyers would not due to moral issues was found murdered.  Daisy begins asking questions to see what she can learn. The mystery was solid and kept me guessing until the end. And it is always fun to catch up with the characters in this series.

A Palette for Murder (Murder, She Wrote #7) by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain - While Jessica is on vacation in the Hamptons, she gets involved in a murder investigation that doesn't at first glance appear to be a murder.  A young model collapses while poses for an art class.  The coroner says she died of heart failure.  Clearly, there is more to this story.  I always enjoy time spent in the company of Jessica Fletcher. 

Fiction:

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman - A bank robbery that goes wrong and turns into a hostage situation.  I had mixed feelings about this one.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - There is a place between life and death called the Midnight Library that allows you to explore what would have happened if you would have made different decisions in your life.  Nora Seed is the character we follow as she explores what could have been as she looks through her book of regrets.  This was just not the right book for me. 

Other things on the blog:

Year End Wrap Up Chat - where I answer some questions about my reading year

My favorite reads of 2021 

That is it for December.  I hope you all have a very Happy New Year!

~ Gretchen

I am linking up with The Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight. 

I'm also linking up with The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb @ Readerbuzz.

Calendar of Crime 2021 Wrap Up

 

The Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge is hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block.  The goal is to read twelve books, one for each month, in the mystery genre that fit the categories provided.  I completed the challenge in November.

1. January - A Fatal Winter by G.M. Malliet - Month related item on cover

2.  February - The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair - Couple/Romance/Love Triangle

3.  March - Muzzled by Eileen Brady  - Money/Inheritance has major role

4.  April - A Royal Affair by Allison Montclair - Title has a word starting with "A"

5.  May - The Mugger by Ed McBain - Title has a word starting with "M"

6.  June - Wed, Read & Dead by V.M. Burns - Month related item on cover - wedding cake

7.  July - Pint of No Return by Dana Mentink - Independence Day

8.  August - A Call for Kelp by Bree Baker - Month related item on cover - beach

9.  September - The Scent of Murder by Kiley Logan - Title has a word starting with "S"

10.  October - The Cider Shop Rules by Julie Anne Lindsey - Month related theme

11.  November - A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver - Family relationships play major role

12.  December - The Diabolical Bones by Bella Ellis - Primary action takes place this month

2021 Year End Wrap Up Chat

 

Prospect House in London

Robin at Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks posted some questions to get us chatting about our 2021 reads.  I thought I would answer them here.  

• What were your reading goals for the year?  How many books did you read? 

My Goodreads goal was 104 books.  I read 104. 

I also participated in a few challenges:

Cruisin Thru the Cozies Challenge

The Literary Life 19 for 2021 Reading Challenge

Calendar of Crime Reading Challenge 

Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge

• Did you explore outside the box, delve into new worlds or take comfort in the old.  Let your fingertips doing the walking, sorting through your TBR stacks, reading whichever book caught your eye or yelled the loudest for your attention. Did you heed the call  of your dusty books calling your name, whispering read me, read me. That's not creepy at all, is it? Only a bookworm would understand and listen.... *grin*  

“We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.”

― Ursula K. LeGuin

 I tend to not do well with a list of books to read, but rather just like to read what I am in the mood for.  I found that to be very true in 2021.  I like to walk through the library and grab what catches my eye... But sometimes, when I get to the library, I seem to have stage fright and can't think of a thing I would like to read.  In order to remedy this, I keep TBR lists in the notes app on my phone.  I view these lists as suggestions for what to read when I can't think of anything to read because if I decide I am going to read everything on these lists, I want to read nothing on these lists.  

• What was your most entertaining read of the year? 

Boo by Rene Gutteridge

• Which stories stuck with you the longest?

“When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls. What is to happen next will take place within the four walls of the story. And this is possible because the story's voice makes everything its own.” ― John Berger, Keeping a Rendezvous

My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

Home by Marilynne Robinson

The London House by Katherine Reay

A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle

• Which characters did you fall in like or love with? 

“I will go to my grave in a state of abject endless fascination that we all have the capacity to become emotionally involved with a personality that doesn't exist.”  ― Berkeley Breathed

Everly Swan, her aunts and Detective Grady from Closely Harbored Secrets by Bree Baker

The Bronte Sisters from The Diabolical Bones by Bella Ellis

• Which stories or characters made you want to dive into their world and live there?

Everly Swan and the Seaside Cafe Mysteries

• Which stories surprised you, made you reflect, laugh out loud, tear up, or irritated the heck out of you?

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman made me laugh out loud.

• Which stories inspired web wonderings and lead you on rabbit trails? 

“I’ve always thought that a good book should be either the entry point inward, to learn about yourself, or a door outward, to open you up to new worlds.” –Taylor Jenkins Reid

A Palette for Murder by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain had me looking up the Hamptons.  

• Which stories would you read again and again? 

“Isn't it odd how much fatter a book gets when you've read it several times?" Mo had said..."As if something were left between the pages every time you read it. Feelings, thoughts, sounds, smells...and then, when you look at the book again many years later, you find yourself there, too, a slightly younger self, slightly different, as if the book had preserved you like a pressed flower...both strange and familiar.”

― Cornelia Funke, Inkspell

I am not much of a re-reader.  

• One book you think everyone should read?

I can't think of one.

• Where in the world and through what time periods did your reading adventures take you? 

Some of the countries I visited:

*Japan

*England

*Greece

*India

*Israel

*Poland

*Afghanistan

*Scotland

*France

*Russia

*Germany

*Mexico

*All over the United States

I didn't keep track of the time periods I visited, but I think I will in 2022.

• Share your stats, new to you author discoveries, favorite quotes, or covers. 

“What I love most about reading: It gives you the ability to reach higher ground. And keep climbing.”–Oprah

A few of my favorite, new to me author's - 

Donna Leon

Madeline Martin

Kylie Logan

Bella Ellis

Allison Montclair

What about you?  How was your reading in 2021?  Did anything stand out to you?

~ Gretchen

 

Book Review: A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L'Engle

A Circle of Quiet (Crosswicks Journals #1). Madeleine L'Engle. Seabury Press (1971). 246 pages. Genre:  Non-fiction, Memoir.

First Line: "We are four generations under one roof this summer, from infant Charlotte to almost-ninety Great-grandmother."

Summary:  These writings are taken from the author's journals about the early days of her marriage when her children were little.  She and her family lived year round at Crosswicks, a big old New England farmhouse. It is about daily life, the author's struggle to fit in time to write, trying to balance the work of a mother and homemaker with attempting to get a book published, and the people who make up the community.  It includes reflections on motherhood, writing, the state of the world, and God. 

My thoughts:  This was my second attempt at reading this book.  The first time I tried to read it, I just wasn't in the right frame of mind and couldn't get into it.  I decided to give it another try and am so glad I did.  It has become one of my favorites reads of 2021.  

In these pages we meet the author, who is best know for her book A Wrinkle in Time.  We also meet her husband, Hugh Franklin, an actor and their children.  Things are not told in a linear fashion like a story would be, rather we get glimpses into their lives combined with reflections on various things.  Sometimes quotidian details are included, other times lofty thoughts.  

Although this was published in the early 1970's, the actual journals were written in the 1960's.  Many of the things she was concerned about are still concerns today and have become even more prevalent.  I found it really interesting to get inside a mind living during the 1960's and to see what her concerns were, what she thought about.  Of course, I always love all the details of daily life, so journals appeal to me.  

There are three more books in the Crosswicks Journals series and I am eager to read them.

Quotes: 

"'But what about the mystery writers? They don't make any response to the problems of the world in their stories.' And I cried, 'Oh, but they do!' and cited some of my favorite writers, Josephine Tey, John Dickson Carr, Dorothy Sayers - I could go on and on - and said, 'Think about them.  Their mysteries may be nothing but exciting stories on the surface, but there's a definite moral response to the world in every single one of the really good ones."

"The more limited our language is, the more limited we are; the more limited the literature we give to our children, the more limited their capacity to respond, and therefore, in their turn to create.  The more our vocabulary is controlled, the less we will be able to think for ourselves.  We do think in words, and the fewer words we know, the more restricted our thoughts. As our vocabulary expands, so does our power to think.  Try to comprehend an abstract idea without words: we may be able to imagine a turkey dinner.  But try something more complicated; try to ask questions, to look for meaning: without words we don't get very far.  If we limit and distort language, we limit and distort personality."

Merry Christmas

 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

My husband and I will be spending time with family.  We will be eating lots of delicious food and opening a gift or two.  We feel very blessed.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and hope that you are enjoying the day whether that means a quiet day at home or time with family.

Blessings,

~ Gretchen

Book Review: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Anxious People. Fredrik Backman. Simon & Schuster (2020). 341 pages. Genre: Fiction, Contemporary.

First Lines: "A bank robbery. A hostage drama. A stairwell full of police officers on their way to storm an apartment. It was easy to get to this point, much easier than you might think.  All it took was one single really bad idea."

Summary:  On the day before New Year's Eve, eight people attend an apartment viewing.  That same morning, a person who has reached a place of desperation, decides to rob a bank.  When that doesn't quite go as expected, the bank robber flees to the first available building which happens to be the apartment building holding the viewing.  Since the apartment holding the viewing is the only one that is easily accessible, the bank robber bursts in waving a pistol.  The situation has gone from being a robbery to a hostage crisis.  

My thoughts: This is the second book by Fredrik Backman that I have read.  His books leave me with mixed feelings.  So I'm going to start by telling you what I liked about this book:

*Backman is a talented writer.

*This is a unique story told in a unique way.

*Humor - there was one point near the beginning of the story when I was laughing so hard, it was a few minutes before I could keep reading.

*Bringing many of the ills of society or difficulties of the modern age to light in a humorous way.

*Quirky characters - Backman excels in seeing the quirkiness in all of us and extracting that into interesting characters. 

*Themes of love, friendship, grief, mistakes, forgiveness, second chances and hope. 

*The story ends on a positive note.

Things that cause me to have mixed feelings:

*The dark tone of the book, especially in the early part.  It gave me a feeling similar to the movie Fargo. Dark and quirky, unsettled.  This did lift as the story went on.

*Many references to suicide and suicidal thoughts.

*The obnoxiousness and choices made by some of the characters - the author does mention several times, "This is a story about a lot of things, but mostly about idiots.".  I had to keep that in mind when I was getting annoyed by some of the characters. 

This is not a story for everyone.  But, if you like quirky characters in a unique setting you might want to give this one a try.

Quotes:

"Because that was a parent's job: to provide shoulders.  Shoulders for your children to sit on when they're little so they can see the world, then stand on when they get older so they can reach the clouds, and sometimes lean against whenever they stumble and feel unsure.  They trust us, which is a crushing  responsibility, because they haven't yet realized that we don't actually know what we're doing."

"The fact that she didn't phrase her questions as 'Is this some kind of joke' but went straight for 'Are you a joke?' perhaps says a lot about the younger generation's lack of respect for older bank robbers."

"She told herself that way why you should always be nice to other people, even idiots, because you never know how heavy their burden is."

"The truth of course is that if people really were as happy as they look on the Internet, they wouldn't spend so much damn time on the Internet, because no one who's having a really good day spends half of it taking pictures of themselves."

Book Review: A Palette for Murder by Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain

A Palette for Murder (Murder, She Wrote #7). Jessica Fletcher & Donald Bain. Signet (1996). 304 pages. Genre:  Cozy Mystery.

First Lines: "'Why does it matter?' 'It matters because good writing always matters,' I said, allowing an involuntary sigh of frustration to escape my lips. "

Summary:  After a difficult struggle with her latest manuscript and the challenge of teaching a class for young aspiring writers, Jessica is ready for a vacation.  Her publisher, Vaughan Buckley, and his wife have invited her to spend time with them in the Hamptons.  Jessica plans to spend the time reading, relaxing, enjoy the views and taking an art class.  The Hamptons is filled with artists and art galleries, so it seems like the perfect place to take an art class.  Jessica is a little embarrassed about her abilities as an artist and doesn't want anyone to notice her, so she dresses in a disguise when she attends the class.  The instruction includes drawing the naked human form of both a male and a female.  Unfortunately, the female model collapses while posing for the class.  She seems to have had a heart attack.  This seems odd to Jessica considering she is a young woman.  Word gets out quickly that the famous mystery writer was attending the class where the model died.  And to top it off, someone stole her drawing of the nude male model and has sold it to the local newspaper. Since she was in the room when the model died, she wants to find out more about her.  Who was she? Why was she modeling?  Where is her family?  As she begins to ask questions, she finds that not many people are willing to answer.  There seems to be more to the story of this model's death.  Did she die of natural causes or is something more sinister going on?

My thoughts:  It is always fun to accompany Jessica on her travels.  This time they take her to the Hamptons, the playground of the rich and famous in the summer months.  I have heard of this area, but know very little about it.  Here is what Google says:

The Hamptons, on eastern Long Island's South Fork, is a string of seaside communities known as a summer destination for affluent New York City residents. It’s marked by long stretches of beach and an interior of farmland, towns and villages with 18th-century shingle buildings and estates hidden behind tall boxwood hedges. East Hampton is home to high-end restaurants, bars and designer boutiques.

It sounds like a beautiful place.  Unfortunately for Jessica, her vacation doesn't end up being a relaxing time.  However, Vaughn and his wife, Olga keep her busy with dinners at many of the restaurants in the area.  One of the things I always appreciate about Jessica is her ability to mingle with people from every walk of life.  She is not overly impressed with fame or fortune, but can carry on an interesting conversation with anyone.  Also, she is not afraid to say no when she needs some time to herself.

The mystery contained an interesting look at the art world, including the difficulty of becoming known in the field, fraud, greed and manipulation.  This was a case where the death seemed straight forward.  The coroner confirmed that the model died of a heart attack.  That should be the end of the story.  However, something just seemed off to Jessica, so she started to ask questions.  She also got in touch with the Chief of Police and worked with him on the case.  And in the end, it was the police who solved the mystery with Jessica not far behind.  

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read and a great addition to the series.