Things I Love
Some bookish and none bookish things I am loving this month.
In honor of month we celebrate love, here are three things I am loving lately:
1. Missing Person Books
I have written about my love of mysteries, but lately it's the missing person stories that I am really enjoying. Missing persons is a subgenre of mysteries, but allows for more angles (red hearings) and plotting opportunities. These books keep me guessing more, seem less formulaic, and I can hold out hope that the person gone missing is found alive (which occasionally happens). In general, I am finding these types of mysteries more engaging.
Here are a few recent reads I liked that center around a missing person.
Exiles by Jane Harper( review in Recent Reads section below)
A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
Last to Vanish by Megan Miranda
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (Adapted Hulu series starring Jennifer Garner begins in April)
All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willigham
2. Awesome Events With My Local Indie Bookstore
I was so excited in 2021 when an independent bookstore, Birchtree Books, opened up about 15 minutes from my home. This is the closest I have ever lived to an actual bookstore in my whole life. Leah and her book buyer, Lauren work hard to pack this darling store with amazing titles. They are also killing it with bookish events. A few weeks ago I attended one of their seasonal “Titles and Tastes.” Basically my perfect Saturday: an afternoon at a nearby winery pairing wines with winter books to cozy up with. Such a great concept and so much fun. Then, in this same awesomely bookish week, I visited Birchtree for a fireside author chat with Ethan Joella. Joella released A Quiet Life this past fall. I reviewed it in my December newsletter (hint: I loved it, you should read it.) Joella discussed his writing process, how he develops characters, and who his inspirations are as a writer. Joella has been writing for decades and only recently had his first book published in 2021. All this to say, I had some wonderful bookish moments recently and hats off to Birch Tree Books for going above and beyond already this year.
3. Cozy Winter Recipes
It has been ages since I included a recipe but I have two to share today. If you are tired of your usual winter soup recipes, try one of these delicious dinners that I guarantee will hit the spot on a cold blustery night.
This rich and creamy sweet potato curry is both healthy and delicious. The recipe gives instructions for both a crockpot and instant pot but I have made it on my stovetop as well. I usually add cooked chicken and serve over brown rice.
I also recently made Alton Brown’s Shepherd Pie for friends and it was so yummy! I used locally sourced lamb but ground beef can be substituted if your not a fan of lamb. I made the filling a day ahead and the mashed potatoes the day of.
Bookish Links and News
If you have not read Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series but would like to start, one of my favorite podcasters wrote this article that includes her recommendations for the most essential titles in this 18 book series.
And speaking of podcasts, A Strong Sense of Place kicked off their fifth season with a wonderful episode about Spain. I am leaning hard into books with immersive settings and this podcast always points me in the right direction.
I came across a great list of places where you can donate books. There are some clever ideas here including sending books to soldiers, assisted living communities, and prisons.
This article stopped me in my tracks. The Vermont State College system is selling off all of its library books and going fully digital. Miller brings up some great points, including how researchers don’t always know what they are searching for and often find things through the process of scouring multiple books. Using electronic books makes browsing much more difficult. In addition, I wrote about the deficiencies of reading on a screen versus paper last year in my May 2022 newsletter. Basically we skim more and read less when reading via screens.
Recent Reads
Valley of Shadows is one of my favorite books of the year. It is a unique western/mystery/horror mashup with some magic thrown in. Ruiz captures the time and place of this novel perfectly - set in a small border town along the Rio Grande in the 1800’s. Our tragic hero is Solitario Cisneros, the former sheriff who just wants to be left alone on his ranch. He is bullied into solving a series of gruesome murders that threaten the survival of the town he loves. The book goes back and forth in time, so we can see how, through an act of nature and his own hubris, his life comes apart. Cisneros is a man in need of redemption, and though he doesn’t know it, this may be his chance. He seeks help from Onawa, a young apache woman with special gifts, as well as from a pair of loyal but not very bright brothers. I love how Ruiz brings together Mexican, Apache and American culture into this story. Also there is a strong supernatural element in this book that Ruiz deftly weaves into the story. The crimes in this book are dark, but I was taken in by the wonderful characters, fascinating setting, and smartly told story. [Published 9/22, 306 pages]
Demon Copperhead, a retelling of David Copperfield set in current day Appalachia, made a lot of “best of” lists for 2022 and I was excited to dive in for my book club. Demon is a child born into poverty to a young mom who struggles with addiction. What follows is how bad choices, bad luck, and an inadequate safety net trap Demon into a life where any type of successful outcome is almost impossible. We follow him through various trials as he is moved around during his childhood. Kingsolver creates a memorable character that is unflinchingly crass yet remains likable throughout the story. Themes of rural poverty, opioid addiction, and the failures of the foster care system are woven through the narrative. This book is brilliantly written, truly. Yet, with all that being said, this was not a book for me. It is very long (almost 600 pages) and I got burned out about half way through. The narrative seemed to go from one depressing situation to another without any kind of arc. (Apparently it does follow David Copperfield closely so maybe Dickens is to blame.) As Copperhead moves to different living situations, he fundamentally stays the same as the people around him continually exploit or disappoint him. For me, it was just too much. But even though this book wasn’t one I loved, I am glad I read it. [Published 10/22, 556 pages]
Exiles is the third of three Arron Faulk novels by Jane Harper. She is one of my favorite mystery authors and I will read every thing she writes. This book is set in the tranquil southern wine country of Australia. Detective Faulk is visiting friends for a baby christening. This is the same weekend, exactly a year, before where Kim Gillespie went missing from the town festival. It is presummed she killed herself but not every thing adds up. There are not many witnesses and she left her baby in a pram under the ferris wheel. Her teen daughter can’t let it go and wants more answers. How come no one saw her leave? Where is her body? Faulk agrees that things don’t add up and he begins to look deeper into the town and the people in Kim’s life. [Published 1/23, 363 pages]
100 Years of Lenni and Margot is a dear story about the friendship between a 17 year old cancer patient, Lenni, and 83 year old Margot, needing heart surgery. They meet at the Glasgow Princess Royal Hospital in an art class and form a deep friendship. They embark on a project painting 100 (their combined age) different moments of their lives. The book is primarily narrated by Lenni, who is lonely and looking for friendship, as her life in the hospital grows smaller and smaller. Margot’s stories expand Lenni’s world. Without spelling it out, it is clear that there is not going to be a happy ending, but there are many tender moments of shared laughter and love, as well as grief. My primary complaint is that to set the book up as it is, Lenni is alone, really alone, in the hospital. And though the author tries to explain why that is, I didn’t really buy that aspect of the plot. That said, this is a sweet book and an excellent debut. I read that it has been optioned for a movie. [Published 6/21, 361 pages]