Royal Recommendations
So there was a tiny kerfuffle around The Monarchy this past week after Meghan and Harry sat down with Oprah to explain how wonderful it is to be the spare and the spare’s pair in the Royal household. For those of you who want to take a closer look at the British Royals, here are a few places to start.
HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Syle by Elizabeth Holmes. This book has a huge fan base. The author is known for her instagram, where she comments on the Royal’s fashion choices and puts it into context. It really goes much deeper than it sounds. She considers herself “Team Both” and she does some amazing deep dives in her instagram stories. This book would make a great gift for someone who enjoys following the royals.
Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family Published last August, this is the approved version of Harry and Meghan’s Story: it has also been a big seller this past year.
The Royal We is a beloved rom-com tale of an American who studies in Oxford and falls in love with the heir to the throne. Written in 2015, I continually see it recommended. The follow up, The Heir Affair, came out last year. These are fun fictional choices for reading royal.
Diana in her own words by Andrew Morton and Elizabeth: The Queen by Sally Bedall Smith are considered two standout biographies of the most popular members of the Royal Family.
The Crown: The Official Companion - These 2 Volumes take readers through the each episode of the popular show adding historical background and details. It also distinguishes where the show takes liberties with history and where it follows it.
There are really endless choices for deep diving into The Royals.
Hitting a rut….
After a great start this year reading some terrific books, I hit a rough patch recently. I was planning to post more book reviews on instagram, but have found myself finishing books that are good but not great. Nothing to criticize really; they were fine, just not fabulous. Even a couple of my go-to mystery authors let me down…and those are the books I finished. Starting and stopping books can be hard. I was almost half through one book and it just became too depressing. I have written in the past of the importance of not finishing (DNF) a book I don’t like so I can read more things I really enjoy. But even as I preach that tune, it’s hard to do when I am 150 pages in and track my completed books. That said, I laid some aside and am better for it.
Besides reading my other hobby is hand embroidery. This is a relatively new for me and what I really love to do is listen to audiobooks while I stitch. I came across this link for a bunch of bookish things to stitch!
Recent Reads:
Prayer At Night written by Anglican Priest Tish Harrison Warren is an incredibly deep and meaningful look at an Anglican Compline Prayer. She examines our relationship with God during difficult “night” times. I took this book slowly, reading a short chapter each mornig. Here is the prayer:
Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your love's sake. Amen.
A Fall of Marigolds is my second historical fiction (hf) novel by SusanMeissner. It was fine but I really want more history in my hf books. This is set around Fall 2011 and 1911-in New York City; the two historical events are the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 and the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. But other than breifly describing these events, the book didn’t add much to my knowledge and I found the protagonist overwrought much of the time. If you are a fan of hf then you may like this, but I enjoyed As Bright As Heaven more (Spanish Flu- Philadelphia). Note: this is very well reviewed on Amazon and Goodreads, so maybe it was me and not the book.
I was so excited to finally pick Snow up from the library. It hit my radar last fall because it was getting a lot of attention and I will say it is very well written. This is a classic country house mystery with a literary flair. Really, this book should have pressed all my buttons but it dragged a bit and seemed to be trying too hard. In the end, I did not like the characters and found the outcome predictable. One other observation: this centers around a family, but the father is so detatched from the events going on that the story lost credibility. I am puzzled why there was so much buzz around this book. A much better country house mystery in the winter is “I Am Half-Sick of Shadows” by Alan Bradey.
For Middle Grade March, I listened to Okay For Now by Gary Schmidt. What a great book! Doug is a 14 year old boy who moves to a new town before 8th grade. It is 1969, his brother is away in Vietnam, his other brother is a bully and his dad is angry all the time [trigger warning for parental abuse]. It sounds dark but Doug learns through perseverance and compassion to find some good in his town and his life. I love a journey book and this one is framed around the school year, the seasons, and his obsession with Audubon’s Birds of America book on display at the library. This book made me smile and brought me to tears — what more could I ask for. I listened to the audio version and it is terrific.
Congratulations for making it to the end. As a bonus, here are three excellent movies we have watched in the last month:
The Dig (Netflix) is a quiet movie with a fabulous cast (Carey Muligan, Ralph Finnes ). It is loosely based on true events (and a book of the same title). A widow is determined to find what is burried in the ancient mounds on her property and hires a local archeologist to help. It takes place in England just before WW2 and time is precious.
Nomadland (Hulu) featuring the fabulous Frances McDormand — is a narrative take on a nonfiction book of the same title. This is also a quiet movie that follows one woman as she lives on her own terms in her van while staying connected to people. Visually beautiful and left me with a lot to consider.
Soul (Disney) - The new Pixar film that I didn’t know I needed to see. What an absolute delight. We laughed and cried and were basically in awe of the storytelling, music, and beautiful art work. Highly recommend!!
If you have any of the streaming services showing these movies, don’t miss them!