Fiction Review: The House on Tradd Street

Looking for a good Halloween read? I thoroughly enjoyed The House on Tradd Street by Karen White, a ghostly mystery that is perfect for the season! My son picked out this novel for me for my birthday, and it is the first of a series--I look forward to reading more.

Melanie is a real estate agent in Charleston, SC, who specializes in the older, historic homes that fill the city. Ironically, though, Melanie herself doesn't really like those kind of historic homes full of character; she herself lives in a bland, new condo. Perhaps one reason that Melanie prefers her modern, character-less home is that she can see ghosts. She's known this about herself since she was a little girl, and it's something she shares with the mother who abandoned her as a child. Melanie does her best to avoid or ignore ghosts, but in a city like Charleston, filled with the history of centuries, they are everywhere. When the elderly Mr. Vanderhorst invites Melanie to his home on Tradd Street, she thinks it is like any other real estate call and that he is interested in selling the historic home. But then he dies suddenly the very next day, and Melanie finds out that he left his beautiful but decrepit home to ... her. She really doesn't want it, but it will be a worth a lot after some repair work, so she follows the edicts of the will and moves in. She has an assortment of friends and new acquaintances to help with the extensive renovation work needed on the house, included Jack Trenholm, an attractive writer of narrative nonfiction best-sellers. His latest obsession is the missing diamonds from the Confederate treasury, which are rumored to be hidden in the Vanderhorst home. That mystery is tangled up with several others, and Melanie and Jack end up trying to get to the bottom of them, though they are in significant danger from both live and spiritual forces.

I finished this book while camping on a gorgeous, crisp fall day next to a campfire, and it was the perfect spooky accompaniment! This was the first Karen White novel I have read, though I know she is popular among some of my book blogger friends. It exceeded my expectations, with in-depth characters I cared about, several twisty historic mysteries all wound together, and of course, appearances of both kind and evil spirits. One ghost resident in the house is trying to help Melanie, while another clearly wants to keep her from solving the mysteries and even harm her. It all adds up to wonderful suspense, paired with witty dialogue and plenty of atmosphere from the Charleston setting. I very much enjoyed my first visit to Tradd Street and look forward to another (there are now seven books in the series).

329 pages, Berkley

Penguin Audio

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here, from the start of the novel, as Melanie gets her first glimpse of the house on Tradd Street, and/or download it from Audible.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

    

 

Or purchase The House on Tradd Street through Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.

Teen/YA Review: Young Man with Camera

When I was pulling stacks of books off my shelves for potential reads for the R.I.P. Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge, I also grabbed a few from my shelf of middle-grade and teen/YA books waiting to be read, many of them having been on that shelf for much too long! Whenever I do this, I usually find a gem I didn't know was hiding there, and that was the case with Young Man with Camera by Emil Sher (and photographs by David Wyman), a novel released in 2015. This wholly unique book blew me away. It is a powerful story of bullying, hope, friendship, and photography.

The narrator of this novel is never named. He refers to himself as T--- and says only a few people actually call him by his name. His explanation provides a glimpse into both his life and the unique way this story is told:

"Only a couple of kids in school call me T---. Most don't bother calling me anything. The ones that do call me things you would never say at a dinner table unless you wanted to be grounded for six years. I don't like to write out my name because I know someone will come along and twist a normal name into something not-normal."

Just that brief passage tells you that he gets bullied ... a lot. Much of the bullying--and his innate shyness and solitude--come from an accident when he was a little boy that left disfiguring burn scars on his neck and face. His primary tormentor is Ryan, a cruel boy who takes pleasure in displaying power over weaker people. Unfortunately, Ryan comes with a whole posse of other boys who follow his lead and do what he says. There are two things that bring joy into T---'s dark life: his best (and only) friend, Sean, and his camera. He sees the world through its lens and loves the way that a photograph can tell a story. A kind librarian at school notices his passion and introduces him to some famous photographs that made a difference in the world and to a book of photographs by Diane Arbus, which T--- pores over with fascination. It is his camera that helps introduce T--- to Lucy, a homeless woman that most people look right past (or through), with whom T--- gets to know and develops a friendship. When Ryan and his crew do something truly horrific and criminal that T--- captures with his camera, he must weigh his conscience with the danger to himself and those he loves.

Wow. This is a short book, sprinkled throughout with real photos, but it packs a lot of power and thoughtfulness into its pages and images. The photographs aren't the only thing that makes this a unique novel. The first-person narration is also original, as T--- has a singular voice and a great way of describing things:

"Lucy started to laugh. This wasn't bow-and-arrow laughter where I'm the target. This wasn't nail-and-hammer laughter where I'm the plank. This wasn't the sour laughter I'd heard before. This laughter was thick gravy you pour over platefuls of grief to disguise the taste."

Just wow, right? This boy has suffered so greatly and has so much insight and thoughtfulness crammed in among his sparse words.

And then there are the photographs. Some of the famous photos are described, but many of T---'s photos are included among the text. Just like he says, they add extra layers to the story and also allow the reader to see what he is seeing. The story itself is quite dark. This is some next-level bullying, and then Ryan's actions actually become criminal. Some of that is hard to read, especially when you've gotten to know T--- and care about him, though there is also a lot of compassion and tenderness in the novel. This is no fairy tale, all wrapped up in a bow at the end with "they lived happily ever after." It's complicated and challenging, just like in real life, but there are glimpses of hope and signs that T--- will ultimately be OK. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time, and after I finished it, I wanted to immediately turn back to page 1 and re-read it.

218 pages, Arthur A. Levine Books

NOTE: I wondered whether to call this a middle-grade or teen/YA novel. The narrator is thirteen years old and in middle school, which would normally mean it's for middle-graders, but it does include quite a bit of horrific violence. So, it's probably fine for some older middle-grade readers but maybe too intense for others. 

In this short video by author Emil Sher, he explains what's behind Young Man with Camera and reads some excerpts:

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Much as I love audiobooks, this is one book that wouldn't work as an audio, since the photos are an integral part of the story.

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

(Note this book is currently backordered on Bookshop, though they have used copies available.)

    
  

The hardcover and Kindle editions are also available through Amazon.

TV Tuesday: Only Murders in the Building

Way back in my Summer TV Preview at the start of July, I mentioned a new show I was really looking forward to, even though it wasn't due to start until the end of summer. Only Murders in the Building has a cast of comedy gold, so I had high expectations ... and they were exceeded! My husband and I both enjoyed this murder mystery-comedy-drama and were disappointed when it ended.

In New York, there's a fancy apartment building called The Arconia, whose residents include celebrities and other successful people (to varying degrees). Typically, its residents keep to themselves, but now someone in their building has died, under suspicious circumstances. At first, police determine that Tim Kono's death was a suicide, but it's not that clear-cut. The building is cleared while the police investigate, and three very different residents end up waiting in the same neighborhood restaurant together. They discover that all three of them are serious fans of a particular true-crime podcast, and they end up discussing the ins and outs of that case in depth. Charles, played by Steve Martin, is a somewhat stiff and pompous guy who used to be an actor. In his best-known role, he played a detective on a cop show for years. He vaguely knows his neighbor, Oliver (played by Martin Short), who works as a director of plays in New York. Before the death in their building and their meeting in the restaurant, neither of them knew Mable, played by Selena Gomez, but the three of them quickly bond over their love of the true crime podcast. When they return to the building and begin to find clues suggesting that Tim's death might not have been suicide, they decide to start their own true-crime podcast, Only Murders in the Building, investigating on their own and reporting to their followers. Detective work, suspense, and hijinks ensue!

A TV concept created by Steve Martin and starring himself and Martin Short? With Selena Gomez as their young, much cooler partner? I'm in! This unique show really has it all. It's a murder mystery with plenty of plot twists, surprises, and suspense. It's also very, very funny, with comedy royalty (and best friends) Steve Martin and Martin Short at the helm, with great chemistry with their co-star Selena. And surprisingly, it is also warm and touching, as the three loners begin to get to know each other, eventually reveal their secrets, and develop a real friendship. Other big stars like Nathan Lane appear in the story, too, much to our delight. We just loved everything about this show and enjoyed every episode. Our only complaint? It was over much too soon! But good news: season two is scheduled for release in 2022. We can't wait to see what happens next.

Only Murders in the Building is a Hulu original, so it is available exclusively on Hulu.

It's Monday 10/25! What Are You Reading?

I missed last Monday's post, so this is a two-week catch-up! It's been a little crazy, but with some fun times, too. Shortly after my last Monday post, my laptop died, out of the blue! I was in the middle of editing a video for my YouTube channel, and suddenly my screen went black.  I took it to Apple, and they replaced the display--for the second time in two years!! And I did not damage my screen in any way; I use my laptop while sitting on my couch or recliner. Apple products are usually pretty good quality, but it seems I got a lemon. I was without my laptop for a week while they replaced the display screen, but I was fortunate that was the extent of it. I did have a 15-year-old MacBook to use (which, by the way, is still in perfect condition with all of its original parts!), but the software on it is so old that it would only run an ancient browser that didn't work with YouTube or Facebook. Luckily, it did work (with some weird issues) with Blogger, so I was still able to keep writing new posts (see below).

My health has been its usual (lately) rollercoaster, with three good days in a row last week (yay!), followed by a really bad "crash" that confined me to the couch for two days and forced me to cancel out on a Friday night Hamilton show in Philadelphia with friends. I was pretty upset, but they were amazing. I am blessed with such kind, caring friends!

Now the good stuff! With my father-in-law settled into Assisted Living, we were able to get away for a two-day camping trip to a local state park, Elk Neck State Park in Maryland. We had our favorite campsite, with great views of the water. It was so calming and peaceful there! We spent two days outdoors, taking short walks (luckily my 3 good days coincided with camping), relaxing by a campfire, and ... reading, of course!

 

I even managed a walk out to Turkey Point to see the lighthouse and gaze out over the Chesapeake Bay. You can see a short compilation of photos and videos of our trip in my video, Fall Camping Getaway and Friday Reads.

Once I got my laptop back, I was also able to finally post my September Reading Wrap-Up, where I talk about each of the books I finished last month--it was a great reading month!

And yesterday, we enjoyed our annual tradition of carving pumpkins! Our older son lives out of state now, so we missed him. But we very much enjoyed having our younger son and his girlfriend here for jack-o-lanterns and a nice fall lunch of chili and cornbread. 

And, of course, there were good books the past two weeks! Here's what we've been reading:

While we were camping, I finished The House on Tradd Street by Karen White for the R.I.P. Challenge. My younger son bought this for me for my birthday. This is especially significant because he is our non-reader, and he went to a bookstore and picked this out for me. I was quite touched by his effort. It's also a perfect fit for October, as it is a mystery with ghosts! As in The Sense of Reckoning, which I loved and just reviewed, the main character can sense spirits. In this case, Melanie Middleton is a real estate agent in Charleston, SC, who sees ghosts all around her. Charleston, with its rich history, is a tough place to live for someone like that! An elderly man Melanie barely knows leaves her his large historic house when he dies and now Melanie can see him and his mother playing in the garden. There are mysteries associated with the house, and Melanie and her friends work to solve them, amid both live and ghostly dangers. I really enjoyed this and would definitely read more of the series!

Next, I read a book for my neighborhood book group (meeting this week), The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict. This is a unique book, a novel based on a real-life event from the life of Agatha Christie. In 1926, she disappeared for eleven days. She eventually showed up safe, but her disappearance was never explained, not even in her own autobiography. The author has created a novel about what might have happened during those mysterious eleven days, with flashbacks to her earlier life. When she disappeared, Agatha had a husband, Archie, a dour WWI veteran with a taste for structure and order. She also had a young daughter. Shortly after her disappearance, the police found her car abandoned in the woods, but there was no sign of her. It's an engrossing what-if mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

I have another book group pick to read for next week, but I wanted to squeeze in one last book for the R.I.P. Challenge, so I chose a short YA novel, Young Man with a Camera, by Emil Sher. This is a completely original premise that I am loving so far. An unnamed young teen, referred to only as T--- in the novel, has a tough life. He was burned as a child and is left with disfiguring scars on his neck and face and is therefore the subject of some terrible bullying. T--- is a kind but shy kid, with one best (and only) friend, Sean. Because the lead bully is a star student and athlete, adults don't believe him when he dares to mention an incident that occurred. T---- sees the world through his camera lens, and the book is filled with real photos, illustrating what he sees and experiences. But when he witnesses a horrifying crime, he has a tough decision to make. Not only are the photos a unique feature, but the first-person writing style is original, too, and I am riveted by this book so far!

I finished listening to another R.I.P. Challenge book on audio, Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty, a new release. I have only read one other novel from this very popular author, Truly Madly Guilty, for Big Book Summer 2020, and I enjoyed it. In this new book, a mother named Joy in her 60's disappears, and her four adult children are trying to figure out what happened. They're not sure whether she just left on her own for a break or whether something more sinister happened to her. The police immediately suspect Joy's husband, Stan, because they can tell he's lying about something. And there is a mysterious stranger who could be involved. As the novel moves forward, the reader gradually gets to know each member of the family better, with parallel narratives following the months leading up to Joy's disappearance and the investigation afterward. I enjoyed this suspenseful family drama.

I was worried about downloading my next audio book without my laptop, but I remembered I had a few audios already on my iPod in the Sora app that I downloaded from SYNC, an annual summer program with free audios. One of them was a great fit for the R.I.P. Challenge: Illegal by Francisco X. Stork, the sequel to Disappeared, which I listened to a few years ago (review at the link). I'll try not to spoil the first book and just stick to the basics here. The events in Disappeared left Emilio and his sister, Sara, Mexican citizens living in Ciudad Juarez, running for their lives from a powerful cartel. At the start of Illegal, Sara is in a U.S. detention center, awaiting her asylum hearing but worried the cartel knows where she is. Emilio makes his way to their estranged father in Chicago, who is living the American dream with his new wife and son. They both want to do the right thing to save a group of strangers, but their lives are at risk. Both books are fast-paced, intricate, gripping thrillers. This was an excellent conclusion to the story.

My husband, Ken, finished reading one of the new books I just bought him for his birthday. I kept hearing rave reviews and enthusiasm for A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson, the first book in an exciting new thriller series. For a nice change of pace, the main character here is a wildlife biologist named Alex Carter who is passionate about saving endangered species. In this novel, she is up in Montana, studying wolverines, when she stumbles onto another kind of predator, a man wandering in the wild. The police soon drop the investigation, and Alex unwittingly finds herself in the position of knowing too much about a vast, illegal operation in the region. Soon, she herself becomes the prey. We both love thrillers in a wilderness setting, so this sounds great! He enjoyed it and wants to read the next book in the series, A Blizzard of Polar Bears, coming out next month!

Now, Ken is reading another birthday gift I gave him, The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winter. I have been hearing great things about this pre-apocalyptic mystery for years. Yes, pre-apocalyptic. In this near-future setting, an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth and can't be stopped; it is due to hit in six months. So what's a homicide cop to do? Unlike many citizens walking off their jobs, Detective Hank Palace feels a responsibility to continue working. Currently, he has a case involving a hanging--in a city wracked with recent suicides--that feels suspicious. Some might say, "Why bother?" but Hank feels a commitment to see his role through. This is the first book in a trilogy. When I ordered it from our local indie bookstore, the store owner said, "Oh, my husband loves this series!" It certainly sounds intriguing to me. Ken is enjoying it so far.

Our son, 27, hasn't been home in a while now, and I'm missing him! He caught me up on his recent reading in a text this morning. He finished reading The King's Blood by Daniel Abraham, book 1 of The Dagger and the Coin series. He really enjoyed first re-reading book 1 and then reading book 2. Now, he says he is reading The Towers of the Sunset by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., book 2 in the Saga of Recluce series. I remember him reading--and loving--book 1 in the series, The Magic of Recluce, some years ago, so I know he likes this series. He says he's enjoying book two so far.

 

Whew, that's it for all of us! I also posted these new blog posts in the last two weeks:

My Summary of Books Read in September - what I read & how I'm doing with my challenges

Fiction Review: Broken Harbor by Tana French - another twisty mystery from her Dublin Murder Squad!

Fiction Review: Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty - a suspenseful family drama

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?

Fiction Review: Apples Never Fall

Despite her huge popularity, including TV adaptations that have been massive hits, Liane Moriarty is a fairly new author for me. I have previously read just one of her novels, Truly Madly Guilty, for the 2020 Big Book Summer Challenge. I loved that novel, with its combination of gripping suspense and richly developed characters, so when I saw she had a new release out, Apples Never Fall, I was eager to give it a try. I listened to the novel on audio for the fall R.I.P. Challenge and found it just as intriguing and suspenseful as the last one I read. This is a unique in-depth story of a family falling apart and the missing mother at the center of it.

At first, when Joy Delaney, a woman in her 60's, goes missing, her four adult children aren't too worried. Sure, they can't get through to her on her cell phone, but she did leave a text message, rather cryptically, saying something about going off-grid. However, as the days, then weeks, tick by, they do become concerned ... and so do the police. As the police begin their investigation, the narrative in the novel moves back and forth from the present, with Joy missing, to the past, in the year before her disappearance. Through these descriptions of the events leading up to Joy's disappearance, including flashbacks to the children's childhoods, the reader gradually gets a picture of the Delaney family. Joy and her husband, Stan, ran a successful tennis school for decades that was an integral part of family life. All four of the kids played--and were quite good--though they each took a different path as adults. Amy has struggled with depression and other mental health issues, as well as debilitating migraines, since she was a child and, even now as the oldest sibling, is just sort of floating through life. Logan is similarly a bit at loose ends. Younger brother, Troy, though, is a huge success as a day trader, living in a luxurious high-rise apartment with a stunning view, though still crushed by his wife's recent departure from his life (which he hasn't shared with his family yet). The youngest sibling, Brooke, has also recently broken up with her long-time boyfriend and not told her family. She's a physical therapist who recently started her own practice. The four adult siblings are each living their own lives, as Joy and Stan struggle with both their empty nest and the absence of their tennis business, now that they are retired. The detectives delve into all of the family members, and especially Stan who seems less than forthcoming with them, but there's the added complication of a mysterious stranger named Savannah who showed up on Joy and Stan's doorstep the year before. What happened to Joy Delaney? Did she decide she needed a break and didn't tell her family? Or was it something more sinister?

As you can probably tell from this description, this is an intricate family drama, as well as a suspenseful mystery. Through both flashbacks and present-day action and conversations, the reader gradually gets to know each of the Delaneys and his or her role in the family dynamics. Of course, there are secrets and lies to be discovered--this is Liane Moriarty, after all! And throughout it all is the thread of the police investigation into Joy's disappearance. What is Stan hiding? What do the kids know? What, if anything, does Savannah have to do with all of this? It's an engrossing and twisty family saga, digging into the details of sibling relationships and long-time marriage, all wrapped up in a mystery. I listened to the novel on audio and thoroughly enjoyed the Australian narrator who brought me into the center of the story and kept me guessing until the very end.

480 pages, Henry Holt and Company

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

 

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

 

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. It was excellent!

 

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

 

 

 

 

 

Review: Broken Harbor

It wouldn't be R.I.P. Challenge season without a Tana French novel! My husband and I both love her Dublin Murder Squad series. I read the first three (though they don't have to be read in order): In the Woods, The Likeness, and Faithful Place in previous years, so earlier this month, I dove into book four, Broken Harbor. All of French's books in this series are beautifully written, twisty mysteries with in-depth characters, and this one was no exception.

Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy was a minor character in Faithful Place, a member of the Dublin Murder Squad of detectives. In Broken Harbor, the spotlight is fully on him, as he is assigned a huge case that is sure to be all over the media: an entire family brutally assaulted in their beautiful home. Husband Patrick Spain and their two small children were murdered and wife Jenny is barely clinging to life in the hospital. Mick has a new partner, rookie Richie, who turns out to be pretty well-suited to the job. To Mick's pleasant surprise, Richie is smart, dedicated, and willing to learn. The two of them begin investigating this grisly case, heading out to the Spain's home. It's a nice looking house and clearly well-cared-for, but it's sitting in a mostly abandoned "luxury" neighborhood well outside of Dublin, by the sea. Many of these high-end neighborhoods popped up during the boom years and then went bankrupt when the economy crashed, leaving families like the Spains stuck out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by half-finished houses. And despite the nice look of their home, it's clear the construction was shoddy and even just a few years old, it's already starting to show. Of course, the husband is always a suspect in a family case like this, but by all accounts, Patrick was a great guy and he and Jenny loved each other deeply. A potential intruder also becomes a suspect, as the two partners follow the clues to try to solve this horrific crime, while Mick deals with personal issues as well.

As with all Tana French novels, this is a super-twisty mystery, with lots of unexpected surprises in store for the reader. At about the halfway point, it seems like the two detectives have the case all sewn up, so you know some unexpected turns in the case must be coming. As always, French makes the detectives central characters, and Mick's complicated family life comes into play and is actually related to the site of the murders. For extra fun, she throws some really weird details into the murder scene this time: holes in the walls, video cameras mounted all over the house, and more. I was kept guessing as to how all of it fit together. I can always count on Tana French for a gripping, suspenseful read that is hard to put down; this was a perfect book for October!

450 pages, Penguin Books

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Purchases from these links provide a small commission to me (pennies per purchase), to help offset the time I spend writing for this blog, at no extra cost to you.

Visit my YouTube Channel for more bookish fun!

Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible. I usually read Tana French in print, but I've heard others say the audios are great!

You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!

Books Read in September

I had an outstanding reading month in September, finishing my own Big Book Summer Challenge and diving into the beginning of the R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) Challenge! Besides my summary below, you can also check out my video September Reading Wrap-Up, where I talk a little about each book: what it's about, what I liked, etc.

Here's what I finished reading last month:

• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (Russia) - classic adult fiction
• Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang (CA) - YA nonfiction graphic "novel"

• A Better Man by Louise Penny (Quebec, Canada) - adult fiction on audio
• The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd (Israel, Egypt) - adult historical fiction

• The Lying Game by Ruth Ware (UK) - adult fiction
• A Corner of White by Jacalyn Moriarty (UK) - middle-grade/teen fiction on audio

 

• The Sense of Reckoning by Matty Dalrymple (ME) - adult fiction

So, I finished seven books in September. Six of them were fiction, with one nonfiction graphic "novel." Most were adult books, though I did read one YA book and one middle-grade/teen novel. I listened to two of my books last month on audio and read the rest in print. I enjoyed every single one of these--all 4's and 5's for me on Goodreads! My favorite is a tie between two very different books: The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd, historical fiction set in Biblical times, and The Sense of Reckoning by Matty Dalrymple, a ghostly mystery/thriller!

Progress in 2021 Reading Challenges:
You can see all of the reading challenges I am participating in and full lists of the books read for each at the challenges link above. I have some fun ones going this year!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2021 - Three of my books came off my own shelves (and the audios had been in my backlog for a while, too, but I only count the ones that take up physical space!). That's a total of 27 so far ... but my goal for 2021 is 48!

2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge - September was Back to School, and Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang fit perfectly, since it takes place in a high school.

Back to the Classics 2021 - I finally read another classic, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, and it was a whopper! I think it should count as two ...

2021 AtoZ Reading Challenge - Most of my spots are already filled (19 of 26), so none of these counted, but the mini challenge was memoir, and Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang is part-memoir.

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2021 - this is a unique one, with 50 quirky categories. My list is getting pretty full now, but I added another 2 categories to my list this month. That brings me up to 31:

1. A book about art or an artist - The Lying Game by Ruth Ware
2. Longest book on your TBR -  Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

2021 Nonfiction Reader Challenge - Just one nonfiction in September, Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang, and I added it to the Hobbies category.

Diversity Reading Challenge 2021 - Three of my books were diverse (25 so far for the year), though I didn't get the mini challenge.

Travel the World in Books Reading Challenge - Lots of international travel in my books last month, with notable stops in Russia, Israel, and Egypt (and lots more in the UK and Canada).

2021 Literary Escapes Challenge - No new states, and I am only at 18 so far for the year.

2021 Big Book Summer Challenge - I added 3 more Big Books in early September, for a total of 12 for summer 2021! Ironically, many of my September books were still Big Books.

R.I.P. Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge - I kicked off this annual fall challenge with four darker, creepy books in a variety of genres.

And finally, Bookish Bingo hosted by Chapter Break - not really a challenge per se, but a fun game that I play each month! Stop by to print out this month's Bingo card and play along. In September , I filled 17 spaces on my bingo card.

Anna Karenina - new-to-you author, woman on the cover

Dragon Hoops - Set in a school

A Better Man - audio book, love triangle

The Book of Longings - book club read, library book, not in a series, historic setting

A Corner of White - weather on the cover, free book, in a series

The Lying Game - enemies/frenemies, shelf love

The Sense of Reckoning - read a physical book, travel/journey

Free Space

 

What was YOUR favorite book read in September?  

It's Monday 10/11! What Are You Reading?

Happy Indigenous People's Day! I like this transition to honoring the original inhabitants of this continent. Goodness knows, they deserve some celebration and recognition after the ravages of history and the effects that continue today. If you would like to celebrate with a book, I recommend the following outstanding books that provide insight into past and present lives of Native Americans:

• The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich - all of Louise's novels focus on Native American life and all are excellent, but this one is particularly great and provides a glimpse into a little-known aspect of history. And it won the Pulitzer! 
• Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver - this author also often writes about present-day Native Americans, and this novel, that I loved on audio, weaves Indigenous culture, traditions, and stories into its modern tale. I also highly recommend The Bean Trees and its sequel, Pigs in Heaven, which feature a Native American girl adopted by a white woman and the challenges that brings. Those two also happen to be among my favorite books of all time!
• The Roanoke Colony: America's First Mystery by Chris Schweizer is an excellent nonfiction graphic "novel" for middle-grade readers that includes details about the first European settlers but is told from the point of view of two Native American teens alive at the time. It's part of the History Comics series.
• An Indigenous People's History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. I had both versions of this book out of the library--the adult one and this YA one--and I preferred the YA version because it included many illuminating graphics, photos, maps, etc. Both provide an eye-opening perspective on history that should be read by every American.
• Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann focuses on yet another horrifying chapter in American history. It reads like a fast-paced mystery/thriller and is fascinating; my book group unanimously loved it. A movie adaptation is currently in post-production. 
• Up Heartbreak Hill - if you're more in the mood for a movie, this documentary about modern Native American teens living on a reservation and striving for a better future for themselves is excellent.

Here at home, we had a nice celebration for my husband's birthday. As I mentioned last Monday, both sons were home on Sunday for an early celebration, and my husband and I enjoyed a quiet celebration on Monday on our own. We ended up eating left-overs from our BBQ dinner for three days!! I always order too much, and my father-in-law and one of my son's girlfriends couldn't make it.

I posted two new videos last week on my YouTube channel:

• My usual Friday Reads update, with plenty of enthusiasm over my current books!
• For the chronic illness side of my channel, A Day in My Life with Chronic Illness. It was recorded on a good day, before my latest relapse started.

And here's what we've all been reading this week!

I finished another book for the R.I.P. Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge, Broken Harbor by Tana French, the fourth book in her Dublin Murder Squad series (though they don't have to be read in order; each is a stand-alone). In this novel, the head detective who is the focus of the story is Mick "Scorcher" Kennedy, who last appeared in Faithful Place. This time, Kennedy's been assigned a big case--and a rough one: an entire family attacked in their home. Husband Pat and their two young children were murdered, and wife Jenny barely escaped the same fate and is in the hospital. It's a grisly scene, especially for the young rookie, Richie, who's been assigned as his new partner. The case is complicated, with several weird, unexplained details. This is a twisty one! As with all Tana French books, it is compelling, gripping, hard to out down, and quite dark. Despite the darkness, I enjoy getting immersed in a good mystery!

Now, I am reading another book from my R.I.P. stack, The House on Tradd Street by Karen White. My younger son bought this for me for my birthday. This is especially significant because he is our non-reader, and he went to a bookstore and picked this out for me! I was quite touched by his effort. It's also a perfect fit for October, as it is a mystery with ghosts! As in The Sense of Reckoning, which I loved and just reviewed, the main character can sense spirits. In this case, Melanie Middleton is a real estate agent in Charleston, SC, who sees ghosts all around her. Charleston, with its rich history, is a tough place to live for someone like that! An elderly man Melanie barely knows leaves her his large historic house when he dies and now Melanie can see him and his mother playing in the garden. Despite her specialty selling historic homes, Melanie doesn't really like them and certainly doesn't want to live in one. It's an interesting set-up, and I'm looking forward to see what happens!

On audio, I am still listening to another R.I.P. Challenge book, Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty, a new release. I have only read one other novel from this very popular author, Truly Madly Guilty, for Big Book Summer 2020, and I enjoyed it. In this new book, a mother named Joy in her 60's disappears, and her four adult children are trying to figure out what happened. They're not sure whether she just left on her own for a break or whether something more sinister happened to her. The police immediately suspect Joy's husband, Stan, because they can tell he's lying about something. And there is  a mysterious stranger who could be involved. As the novel moves forward, the reader gradually gets to know each member of the family better, with parallel narratives following the months leading up to Joy's disappearance and the investigation afterward. I'm enjoying it very much, especially as secrets are beginning to be revealed.

My husband, Ken, has moved onto one of the new books I just bought him for his birthday (of course, there was a stack of books among his gifts!). I kept hearing rave reviews and enthusiasm for A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson, the first book in an exciting new thriller series. For a nice change of pace, the main character here is a wildlife biologist named Alex Carter who is passionate about saving endangered species. In this novel, she is up in Montana, studying wolverines, when she stumbles onto another kind of predator, a man wandering in the wild. The police soon drop the investigation, and Alex unwittingly finds herself in the position of knowing too much about a vast, illegal operation in the region. Soon, she herself becomes the prey. We both love thrillers in a wilderness setting, so this sounds great!

I texted with my son, 27, last night. He says he finished re-reading The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham, book 1 of The Dagger and the Coin series last week. He was happy to find he enjoyed it just as much the second time as he remembered. Now, he has moved onto book 2, The King's Blood, which his girlfriend gave him for his birthday this summer. It's great so far, he says!

 

 

Plenty of blog posts last week:

TV Tuesday: Big Sky - one of our favorite TV thrillers is back for a second season!

Fiction Review: The Lying Game by Ruth Ware - as twisty, suspenseful, and unpredictable as always!

Middle-Grade/Teen Review: A Corner of White by Jacalyn Moriarty - excellent fantasy mystery

Fiction Review: The Sense of Reckoning by Matty Dalrymple - I LOVED this ghostly mystery/thriller!

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?