A Work in Progress

March in Stilmeadow

Have I mentioned (many times I suspect) how delightful Gladys Tabor is and especially this book!  I save the chapters as they are something I look forward to and read very quickly.  She wrote a lot of books and I need to read more of them even as I save this for my monthly "dips".

She seems to touch on a variety of topics, not necessarily nature-related but there is a lot of that, particularly in a month like March when the seasons are changing (and sometimes it feels like it is happening daily  You can see above how she opens the chapter, but I rally liked this.

"This month brings a patchwork of weather.  One day sleet laces down and fresh icicles hang from the old well house at Stillmeadow.  The next day sparkles with sunshine.  The house vibrates as the wind roars down the hills."

Oh, yes.  One day was 70F last week and two days later raining with snow mixed in and a bitter cold wind.   And yes, last week the worm moon made an appearance.

"The Indian name for the March moon was the full worm moon, which doesn't sound poetic but does suggest life stirring again in the earth.  April rains bring the worms up toward the surface and without the worms the soil would not be friable."

So, as she says, bring on the worms!  Interestingly, though, she shares a number of recipes.  She segues into them by mentioning how at this time of year she goes through her pantry to check out her spices and herbs, chucking the ones that have lost their aroma and flavor.  And then comes out the last of the winter veggies and pork chops and chicken.  And she cooks and shares her recipes and they are pretty basic and whoever had this book before me found them to be useful.  See second photo above!  I wondered what all those marks were, and after reading the chapter and looking more closely I see someone found this book more than just entertaining.  Note the paperclip and splatters of mystery juices . . .

I like the idea of other readers having enjoyed a book I am now enjoying, but this is the first time I have had such obvious evidence of it!

Ready for April!

March 29: Reading Notes

It's going to be a wet, cold and dreary weekend so all the better to spend as much time with some good books, and indeed I am close to finishing a few books that I am at the point of no return in.  You know when you get to that moment of the story where you just want to keep reading and don't bug me, please, can't you see I'm busy . . .

As a matter of fact I think I am going to bypass a small social gathering in favor of my books (sometimes social gatherings are more painful than enjoyable when you are an introvert no matter how nice the people attending).

I am 'thisclose' to finishing the third book in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles's War at Home series, The Land of My Dreams, 1916.  It's an upstairs/downstairs story akin to Downtown Abbey and this month's prompt book (getting it in just under the gun as you see).  I really enjoyed the first two books and I see the stories are getting better (more dramatic and engaging) the further in we go.  Of course I have gotten to know the Hunter family and their friends and relations and the servants who work for them.  The war is getting intense and there is tragedy to contend with. 

This installment is something of a game changer for the family as you would expect a war story to be.  I am not sure how many books are projected for this series, but I have 1917 and 1918 on my TBR pile.  I meant this particular book to be a one-off for the moment, but I am sure it is going to be a cliffhanger of an ending so I suspect I am going to want to reach for the next book right away rather than waiting!

I am also just a chapter away from finishing Red Princess by Sofka Zinovieff, which I wrote about yesterday.  I had been spending so much time with the book that she had been in my mind for days--you know how easy it can be to lose yourself in a story-even a true story (and maybe those more so than fictional ones).  

So, a guilty pleasure . . . I don't often read a true romance genre novel, but I saw an ad for Lisa Kleypas in Bookpages and her newest book piqued my curiosity so I will admit that I have been reading Devil's Daughter off and on for a little escapism.  I like a bit of romance in my stories now and then but for some reason I am always a little skeptical of 'romance' novels.  Am I too old for romance?  Am I too jaded?  Real life is just not like that.  Or it has never been so for me apparently.  But every once in a while I am willing to suspend disbelief in the pursuit of entertainment and a happy ending.  And who doesn't like the idea of being swept off your feet by a 'devilishly wicked rake' and a most handsome one, too.  Like I said--fictional escapism. 

I have also been reading Mary Hocking's third Fairley Family novel, Welcome Strangers, which I think I like best of the three (and I hope to write about the trilogy at some point).  And I have finally returned to Anthony Quinn's wonderful novel, Freya.  It was not hard at all to return to and immerse myself back into the book and I had no problem getting the threads of the story straight in my mind once again.  Although not one in a series per se, the characters overlap slightly with a previous book by Quinn and some of them return to a novel that follows.  This is the third book by him I have read and I have enjoyed them all!  (And I have two more on my TBR as a matter of fact).

I will spend most of my reading time trying to finish the three books above (saving the Hocking and Quinn to finish in April), but I will pick up Stillmeadow Calendar--must catch up with March's adventures before the month runs out!  

What will you be reading this weekend?

A Russian Princess, an Actress, NF Forays

Coming up for a little air.  I've been submerged in my reading of late, trying to make this a more productive reading month than the disaster that was February!  (I blame that on the nasty weather).  I am trying to squeeze in two (it would be nice to make it three to double last month's numbers--maybe a slim graphic novel?) more books by the end of this weekend so I have been mostly absent here and online generally. 

Happily I have been enjoying my most recent reading--mostly carryovers from last month or my regular reading projects but I have also returned to a couple of books that I started earlier this year but have been a little neglected through no fault of their own.  I have particularly been trying to make headway in a nonfiction book--a biography as last weekend I bought another true crime nonfiction read that has gotten many good words and notable mentions, and which I will tell you about next week.  (Must continue to focus on what is currently in hand).

I've really drawn out reading Sofka Zinovieff's Red Princess: A Revolutionary Life about the author's grandmother who led quite an adventurous and romantic life.  The book covers so much ground and is so full of interesting detail I am not sure how I will ever write about it, but I want to mention it here now as I have thoroughly enjoyed it even if it has taken me ages to work my way through it.  (Typical of me and nonfiction--I always want to take in all the details so read very slowly).  

The impetus for the book was a diary which her grandmother had given her when she was younger and which sat unread for some time.  A decade later she pulled it out of a drawer and properly began reading and was taken up into this tragic yet very full life and she began a quest to fill in all the details that her grandmother Sofka (yes, they share the same name) left out. 

Sofka, the elder, was born into a privileged and aristocratic Russian family, but the Revolution threw all their lives onto a new trajectory.  Sofka spent time in Europe and England while her mother, a doctor, went off to lead a scholarly and very different life.  It is perhaps not so surprising that Sofka would lead an independent life, too.  To the consternation of many she left behind three children by two different husbands to live her own life--very artistic and bohemian.  In part it was WWII that kept her away from her children and time spent in a French internment camp, but she never quite fit the mold of mother and housewife.  She had lovers, was a Communist, worked with and was good friends with the Oliviers (She knew him well enough to call him Larry).  She traveled and was unapologetically her own woman.  

Sofka Dolgorouky was such a fascinating woman.  She lived through world shattering events and while she suffered many losses when it comes to family and love, but in her way she was ultimately triumphant.  So many considered her scandalous, and a bad mother, she had a secret government file that her granddaughter was able to gain access to.  I can see where she would have been considered quite selfish and not a very good mother, but she was not born into a traditional home and the events of history had some part in shaping her life.  It has felt a little voyeuristic reading about her Sofka's personal life and certainly has been entertaining.  Sofka Zinovieff has several of her own books--a recent novel and a memoir of her own that I want to track down. 

 I like reading about strong, independent women (not apologizing for her lack of motherly inclination of course--I'll leave that open to other interpretation), and for a look at life as lived by one woman in the first half of the twentieth century I can heartily recommend this book.  I have also, inspired by Sofka's life and a desire to read more biography/memoir, picked up and am getting back to Salka Viertel's The Kindness of Stranger's (my NYRB Classic from January!).  I wrote about it earlier--she lived about the same time as Sofka and spent time on the stage and went to Hollywood.  I forgot how much I like reading memoirs, so I will keep chipping at Salka's book and soon will move on to another nonfiction read.  

I've been spending time with some other great books and will be back to tell you about them soon!

March NYRB: Max Havelaar

My March NYRB selection arrived recently, Max Havelaar: or, the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company.  I have started reading, but I am not quite sure what to make of it yet.  I can see it is going to be a challenging read, or maybe I just need to give myself time to get into the story and get a routine and rhythm going with it.  It seems like the sort of book that needs dedicated time spent with it.  Maybe not the sort of book you read while walking on a treadmill in a loud gym!  

The novel is an indictment of Dutch Colonialism written by a former colonial official in the Dutch colony of Java, what is now Indonesia under the pen name "Multatuli" which is Latin for "I have suffered greatly".  It is presented in a hodge podge of styles--plays, poems, lists, letters, and notes.  As serious as the subject, it is also considered "savagely funny" and caused quite a stir when it was published in 1859.

Had it not been my current subscription book, I likely would not pick this one up at this particular moment in time, which does  not bode well for my attempt to read all my NYRBs this year.  (A feat which has never been successfully accomplished I must add).  So, I am going to try for a chapter a day and work my way through it slowly, even if it takes the better part of the year to finish reading!

I will say the introduction, which put it into the historical context of the era it was written was really very interesting and gave me hope that the story would pull me in.  So, I am optimistically going to keep at it!  This is going to be an adventure.  We'll see how long I can endure!  

Have you read it by any chance?  Any suggestions on how to work my way through this text?  Not take it too seriously?  No to let it weigh me down too much?

Normal People by Sally Rooney

I posted this photo on instagram today mentioning that I had finished reading Salley Rooney's Normal People. which has won many awards and is on the Women's Prize for Fiction longlist, and most people were more curious about what I thought of the book rather than offering a suggestion for what I should read next.  So see above photo for the stack of books from which I am now considering my next longlist read.

Sally Rooney's writing has garnered much acclaim and her books have won awards and I do think they are much deserved.  I had been wanting and meaning to get to her work and the longlist gave me the nudge to do so.  So, what did I think of her second novel?  I liked it very much, and I found a lot to appreciate about it, but I liked it with reservations.  I love her writing, I like that pared down, crisp prose and I think she has a lot to say about love and relationships and class and how one must navigate the world today.  The beginning totally drew me in and I liked the ending, but somewhere halfway through the story it sagged for me and I found myself getting impatient with the characters.  It was so angst-ridden and the characters were often so very self-absorbed that I started losing sympathy for them.  And there were moments I cringed when Marianne allowed men and family to mistreat her.

This is a book that has been much talked about, so you likely already know the premise.  The story opens with Connell coming to pick up his mother, who is a cleaning lady, from the home of a classmate.  Connell is smart and attractive and well liked by his peers, but he comes from the wrong side of the tracks so to speak.  His mother is a single mom who had a child out of wedlock and they are not from the wealthier part of Carricklea, which is in the western part of Ireland. 

Marianne is opposite in many ways, though in some of the essentials they are quite similar.  Her family is wealthy and she is also quite bright, at least as much so as Connell.  She is not in the popular group at school, as a matter of fact she is often maligned as being a little too quirky.  She is content to be on her own, but she is very much an outsider.  It's hard to tell at first if she minds as she seems to cultivate this, yet her classmates (as kids can be) are at times very nasty to her.  Later in the story we see that her family is not much better.

The two, however, do seem to share common ground.  They like each other and can talk on a level that is intimate and friendly, but being teenagers, they both know those unwritten rules when it comes to how they deal with popularity and social hierarchies that come along with high school and adolescence.  The pair embark on a relationship that is essentially clandestine.  In private they get on well, but in public they stick to their roles.  Connell is perhaps the one who most pretends yet Marianne lets him.  He knows it’s wrong, they both know, but they leave that part of their lives unspoken.  Connell's mother sees it and finds it reprehensible (yet she is always supportive of him even as she is critical), and Marianne's family is somewhat aghast that she would have a relationship with the son of their cleaning lady.

So fast forward a bit and they both go off to Trinity College in Dublin and things flip.  By now they have broken up, their relationship unsupportable as they are managing it.  They are both unknown in Dublin and on new ground.  Marianne finds her feet and appears to be a success and Connell finds it hard and doesn't quite jive with the rest of the college community. Where Marianne was a loner in their hometown, now Connell doesn't quite fit in.

The story follows them over the course of a few years as they come together and fall apart.  More friends than lovers at Trinity, but at that they are more wary of each other.  I won't say more than that--as you can see there is a lot to mull over in this story and I like how Rooney riffs on the idea of what is "normal".  It's a great book to discuss.

But.  I wonder if I am just not quite the right audience?  This is a story of Millennials.  It's a different world for them than it was for me.  In many ways, that angst is much the same and those feelings of inadequacy and not fitting in are what we all go through and nit only as teenagers but also adults.  I wish there had been more--something else.  There was this constant circling of each other and endless rehashing of the same situation.  Maybe less of the constant navel-gazing, and more growth of the characters.  There were moments I wanted to tell Marianne--please, please just walk away.  Don't let him (and him being all her romantiv partners) do that to you.  She would eventually, but there were some painful moments.  Somewhere past the middle mark I just wanted to be done with the story--if that doesn't sound too awful.  I am happy I read it, and I will read more of her work, but I was not sad to finish the book and drop it back in the library slot. 

So, have you read it?  Did you love it, or maybe less so?  I am curious to know what others think.  Did I miss something important?  I am ready to move on to another book from the list now, however!

Ten Thrillers I'm Looking Forward To

I have a love hate affair with thrillers these days.  There are just so many out there and some sound wonderful and others sound too samey--have publishers (finally) stopped comparing them to Gone Girl (my little test--if the blurb compares the book to it I tend to put it back on the bookstore shelf) yet?  I do understand why books are promoted that way--if you liked this book, you will love this one, too--and that can be a great selling point.  But it just seems a tired selling point these days.  

But thrillers are kind of appealing to me at the moment and the field is full of new ones.  Here are ten that sound especially good to me at the moment.

Stone Mothers by Erin Kelly -- Why have I not yet read Erin Kelly?  She has all the marks of being an author right up my alley!  And a new one to look forward to.  "This first-rate psychological thriller and deft exploration of the delicate dance of marriage and the secrets people keep works on multiple levels, and the passages about the early days of Laura and Kit’s relationship―filled with the gossamer promise of new love―make what's in store for them even more harrowing. A stunning conclusion will take more than a few days to fade from memory." ― Kirkus, Starred Review

The Body Lies by Jo Baker -- "When a young writer accepts a job at a university in the remote English countryside, it's meant to be a fresh start, away from the bustle of London and the scene of a violent assault she is desperate to forget. But despite the distractions of her new life and the demands of single motherhood, her nerves continue to jangle. To make matters worse, a vicious debate about violence against women inflames the tensions and mounting rivalries in her creative-writing class. When a troubled student starts turning in chapters that blur the lines between fiction and reality, the professor recognizes herself as the main character in his book--and he has written her a horrific fate. Will she be able to stop life imitating art before it's too late?"

Theme Music by T. Marie Vandelly -- "For the lucky among us, life is what you make of it, but for Dixie Wheeler, the theme music for her story was chosen by another long ago, on the day her father butchered her mother and brothers and then slashed a knife across his own throat. Only one-year-old Dixie was left alive, infamously known as Baby Blue for the song left playing in the aftermath of the slaughter.  Twenty-five years later, Dixie is still desperate for a connection to the family she can’t remember, so when her childhood home goes up for sale, Dixie sets aside all reason and moves in, re-creating a macabre decor with her family’s salvaged furniture. But as the ghosts of her family seemingly begin to take up residence in the home that was once theirs, Dixie starts to
question her own sanity and wonders if the evil force menacing her is that of her father, or a demon of her own making."

The Invited by Jennifer McMahon -- "A chilling ghost story with a twist: the New York Times bestselling author of The Winter People returns to the woods of Vermont to tell the story of a husband and wife who don't simply move into a haunted house--they build one . . ."

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware -- "When she stumbles across the ad, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—a live-in nannying post, with a staggeringly generous salary. And when Rowan Caine arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious 'smart' home fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.  What she doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and herself in prison awaiting trial for murder."

Queen of Bones by Teresa Dovalpage -- This sounds quite different, and different appeals to me these days!  "Padrino, a former detective on the Cuban police force, has retired and found a new, happy life as a Santería priest. But he is drawn back in for a murder investigation when his goddaughter, Rosita, who works at the local cemetery, recognizes one of the bodies that crosses her embalming table.  Meanwhile, an old flame of Rosita’s, Juan, has returned to Cuba after fleeing by raft twenty years ago. He is with his American wife, Sharon, and has come back to catch up with his old college circle—Victor, his estranged best friend, and unbeknownst to Sharon, his most serious ex-girlfriend, Elsa, with whom he never quite fell out of love."

While You Sleep by Stephanie Merritt -- "A modern-day ghost story set on a remote Scottish island, While You Sleep is a page-turning, chillingly erotic Hitchcockian thriller evoking the dark atmospheric of a house that may be more than it seems . . ."

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell -- "Libby Jones was only six months old when she became an orphan. Now twenty-five, she’s astounded to learn of an inheritance that will change her life. A gorgeous, dilapidated townhouse in one of London’s poshest neighborhoods has been held in a trust for her all these years. Now it’s hers.  As Libby investigates the story of her birth parents and the dark legacy of her new home, Clemency and Lucy are headed her way to uncover, and possibly protect, secrets of their own. What really happened in that rambling Chelsea mansion when they were children? And are they still at risk?"

Flowers Over the Inferno by Iliaria Tuti -- "In a quiet village surrounded by ancient woods and the imposing Italian Alps, a man is found naked with his eyes gouged out. It is the first in a string of gruesome murders.  Superintendent Teresa Battaglia, a detective with a background in criminal profiling, is called to investigate. Battaglia is in her mid-sixties, her rank and expertise hard-won from decades of battling for respect in a male-dominated Italian police force. While she’s not sure she trusts the young city inspector assigned to assist her, she sees right away that this is no ordinary case: buried deep in these mountains is a dark history that may endanger a group of eight-year-old children toward whom the killer seems to gravitate."

The Policewomen's Bureau by Edward Conlon -- Not a thriller per se, but I really want to read this one!  "The Bronx, 1958.  The Policewomen's Bureau isn’t respected within the Department, even when it handles cases the men can’t solve. Marie Carrara is a young police matron who wants to move beyond the grim routine of guarding female prisoners to become one of the few female detectives in the NYPD. Though she is a shy and naive, from a sheltered, immigrant background, Marie dives into the strange and terrifying world of big-city undercover work without hesitation, using her genuine innocence to deceive degenerates and drug dealers into thinking that she’s an easy target. As she begins to create tougher undercover characters, she discovers that they might be able to inspire her in her off-duty life as well. Despite the violence of her job, the sexism she faces daily, and a rocky-at-best marriage waiting for her at home, Marie is determined to make a name for herself within the NYPD and be the role model her young daughter deserves."

So many good things coming.  (And so many good books in progress on my night table at the moment).  Too many books and too little time.  (Sigh).

A Peek Inside: BOMC Box!

I think I mentioned that I joined the Book of the Month Club again a few months ago?  I used to belong many years back, but when I was working in a bookstore, I just didn't need anymore book buying sources.  It is a little different now--they offer four or five titles in a few different genres and you choose one (or not) and a credit you buy each month is collected.  Sometimes I don't see something I want and sometimes there will be two books.  This month I was happy to see Taylor Jenkins Reid's Daisy Jones & the Six, which was on my wishlist (long before Reese chose it for her bookclub by the way).  I have dipped into it (because apparently I have thrown the three book rule out the window for the moment), and I think I will keep going.  It is a collection of interviews -- an oral history of Daisy's life in Hollywood and as a musician and It Girl.  It reads really fast, which is not a bad thing at all!

March 12: Reading Notes

I have two books to tell you about today, if only briefly--two stories worth looking out for and both very enjoyable if for slightly different moods.  It's possible you might not have come across these; I did only haphazardly. 

I think I have the Stella Prize to thank (though by way of a rather circuitous route) for this first book.  I was ordering titles from the longlist for work and I came across a recent release from Black Inc. Books, The Unexpected Education of Emily Dean by Mira Robertson.  I found a copy through Amazon fortunately, though it was a bit of a splurge as Australian books, and this a paperback, are not cheap--if you can even find them here in the US.

The novel is a coming of age story set in rural Victoria, Australia during WWII, though the war is only happening peripherally.  This is a homefront story as seen through the eyes of fourteen-year-old Emily who is sent to her grandparent's property or station (she's not to call it a farm!) while her mother is away (away being hospital but the hints are it is less for an illness than for psychological reasons).  She's meant to be gone only a couple of weeks but fears the weeks may stretch longer and she fights against the possibility, not wanting to be sent off alone.  

This is a wonderfully told story of one young woman's education of the world and how to be an adult and it is not always an easy education.  It is gently told however.  While bad things occur and she must contend with prejudices and some violence, it is not an uncomfortable story to read.  She admires her prickly aunt, her father's sister, and must come to terms with her uncle who returns from the war damaged psychologically and physically having lost a leg, and she interacts with the Italian POW who is working for the family.  It is all a trial of sorts--her aunt has secrets and is rather brash and direct.  Her uncle is angry at the world and despondent over his life.  She crushes on the POW who she fears is a Communist and perhaps in a secret relationship with her aunt (even as she waits for her betrothed to return from the battlefield).  But nothing is really as it appears.  As a young woman who has a certain naivete of how the world works, she sees only part of the truth of each person or situation.  

The Unexpected Education of Emily Dean is a debut novel and I hope more books will be forthcoming from Mira Robertson.  You can watch a short introduction to the novel here by the author.  In the meantime I'm going to work on that Stella longlist (I have a few books on my reading pile from the list) and check out the publisher's other fiction offerings.  Lately I am on the lookout for books by Australian writers of books about the country or novels/mysteries set there. 

I'm also in the middle of a short crime novel--Hubert Monteilhet's Return from the Ashes published in 1963 and translated from the French by Richard Howard.  I really wanted to buy a copy of this to own, but it is out of print and used copies are quite expensive, so interlibrary loan has once again come to the rescue.  Here's the circuitous route this book took to reach me--I recently read a review in the NYRB Magazine about the forthcoming movie, Transit (I read the book a few years ago).  In it, they mentioned a previous movie by the same director, Christian Petzold, called Phoenix, which I saw a few years ago as well.  The movie was based on a novel (which I did not know at the time), so I had to go in search of it.

Monteilhet's very short novel is actually an epistolary novel told through diary entries.  The premise is really interesting and unusual and from what I recall of the movie fairly close in the telling of the story.  A Jewish woman has survived the camps of WWII and has returned home (in the book the setting is Paris, but the movie is set in Germany).  Months have passed from the opening of the camps, and her husband and daughter believe she perished as no one has told them otherwise and so much time has gone by without any word from her.  They assume the worst.  Not only did she have a very healthy bank account, but none of her family survived the war and all their money would be inherited by her had she lived.

Do you see where this is going?  Her husband is happy to receive the monetary benefits of his deceased wife, but she is in a sort of limbo--not having returned and claimed her rightful place yet no death certificate or body confirming her demise.  She only wants to return to her husband when she has regained some if her health and looks but no matter what she does her body and face are irrevocably changed.  When she does contrive a meeting he does not recognize her as his wife, yet she reminds him of her.  And then he lays out a plan to make them both rich.  If she will assume the identity of his dead wife they can reap the rewards of cash.  Twisty eh?  How does a woman impersonate herself!

I am hoping to finish reading the book in the next few days.  Although I know how the movie ended I am curious to see how the story in the novel will play out.  The woman has been presented with the scheme to get the money, and it is likely she will take him up on it.  While she feels like her appearance has changed too much from the war, she finds she loves him more than ever.  When I saw the movie I didn't give the title much thought--but now thinking about the title of the book and what happens to her--a phoenix rises from the ashes renewed--much like the woman in the story--she rises from the ashes of her death--to become a version of herself once again.  I think he wrote other books and perhaps I will see what I can get my hands on when I finish this book.

March 8: Weekend Reading Notes

After last weekend's paltry reading time I am determined to try and squeeze in as much as I can in the next couple of days.  (Famous last words).  I am nearly finished with the second book of the Fairley Family trilogy, Indifferent Heroes, so that is up first.  I've been reading a debut novel by an Australian author also set during WWII, The Unexpected Education of Emily Dean, which has been really enjoyable--a coming of age novel, which I might manage as well.

Mostly today, I just have links to share.  Happy International Women's Day!  A little women-centered bookishness--a list of books written by women and translated by women from Europa Editions.

The Stella Prize shortlist was announced today (Australia's women's writing award), and I have pulled a book from it that my library ordered to start reading, Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko.  Lucashenko is of European and Murri Aboriginal heritage and I see that her writing is peppered with a lot of indigenous language words, which so far I have been able to understand by context.  The novel is doing double duty as my #ownvoices Oceania task on the Read Harder Challenge list, too.  You can hear an interview with the author here.

I love the Stella Prize as their lists always include a diverse number of voices and genres--fiction and nonfiction and not what you might normally expect.  Usually my library tries to get in as many of the titles from the longlist as possible but it can be hard getting everything as Australian books can be pricey and often the only place to get them is directly from Australia--the cost of postage precluding ordering every book sadly.

The Lambda Award finalists have been announced.  It's an extensive list of fiction and nonfiction and covering lots of genres.  And here is a list of 50 Must Read LGBTQ Novels for yet more variety.

Should I bombard you with more new books?  Here are the best new books for March via The Chicago Review of Books.  (Because surely your library holds list isn't long enough yet--like mine!).

And a few thrillers and mysteries that are coming to the big (and in a few cases small) screen.  A few of those are on my own TBR pile at the moment.

I'll be stopping by the library this weekend and I am expecting a few new books in the mail, so I'll have lots to share next week.  Have a sunny weekend everyone!

March Prompt: Upstairs, Downstairs

It's that time again.  Even if it does not feel like March outside (sigh, won't think about the still subzero weather), it is a new month and time for a new prompt.  Since the weather is wonky, why shouldn't my reading be so as well?  I am still reading my February book, but it is thoroughly enjoyable (and surely I must have more reading time soon).

This month's prompt is Upstairs, Downstairs and it has Downtown Abbey-esque books written all over it.  I could be more creative, though I am not sure how I could interpret it and my brain isn't quite functioning that way right now.  Besides historical fiction and interwar-ish stories appeal.  So here is what I have come up with to choose from:

Habits of the House by Fay Weldon -- I don't think I have ever read any of her books before!  "As the writer of the pilot episode of the original Upstairs, Downstairs―Fay Weldon brings a deserved reputation for magnificent storytelling. With wit and sympathy―and no small measure of mischief―Habits of the House plots the interplay of restraint and desire, manners and morals, reason and instinct."

Land of My Dreams by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles -- I have read the first two books in this series, it's about time to pick up another one. "The Land of my Dreams is the third book in the War at Home series by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, author of the much-loved Morland Dynasty novels. Set against the real events of 1916, at home and on the front, this is a richly researched and a wonderfully authentic family drama featuring the Hunter family and their servants."

The Dark Lantern by Gerri Brightwell -- I read this before, but it was so long ago I recall nothing more than I enjoyed it.  "A fascinating portrayal of a vanished England as well as an unconventional mystery, The Dark Lantern exposes the grand “upstairs” of a Victorian home and the darker underbelly of its servants’ quarters. The clash between the classes makes for a suspenseful novel of mistaken identities, intriguing women, and dangerous deceptions."

Conversation Piece by Molly Keane -- I had been reading her novels in the order she wrote them, but sort of fizzled.  It would be a good thing to get back to them!  "When Oliver visits Pullinstown, he is introduced to wild days of hunting and shooting, and to characters like his cousins, with their passion for horses and trickery, and Sir Richard, elderly, but a match for his headstrong offspring."

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh -- I really really really need to get back to read the classics.  "Waugh tells the story of the Marchmain family. Aristocratic, beautiful and charming, the Marchmains are indeed a symbol of England and her decline in this novel of the upper class of the 1920s and the abdication of responsibility in the 1930s."

Girl from the Savoy by Hazel Gaynor -- I have heard good things about her and I suspect this would be an easy entertaining read.  "London, 1923: Welcome to The Savoy hotel, a glittering jewel in London’s social scene, where the lives of the rich, the famous, and the infamous intertwine.  Here, amid the cocktails and the jazz, two women with very different pasts try to forget the devastation of the Great War and forge a new life in a city where those who dare to dream can have it all."

A very respectable pile to choose from.  Just when I think I have decided I look at one of the other books and think, but maybe . . .  Need to make a choice tonight, however.  I am going to try and make this coming weekend a very book filled few days!