@jollymama, I just put it on my library hold list. I’m #23.
And based on @Marilyn’s comments after reading further into The Garden of Small Beginnings, I also checked that out.
Reading the books that didn’t make the cut…it’s a dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it.
I just started it and am really enjoying it!
I already had a friend recommend this one to me. She’s planning to suggest in our IRL book club. I’m waiting to see if it gets chosen there. If not, looks like I’m on my own.
Good voting turnout and the winner is decidedly The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg. I’ll start a new thread.
Thanks, everyone! Love being with you, as always!
Lucky me, I was able to grab the ebook yesterday!
What is everyone reading in the interim?
I’m late to the party with Sally Rooney’s Normal People. Just finished it, but didn’t really care for it.
I’ve already jumped into The Garden of Small Beginnings. As @Marilyn noted, it’s not dark at all — more of a rom-com. Should be a nice break from ghosts.
A Town Called Solace- Mary Lawson ( discovered her many years ago when Ann Tyler recommended this Canadian author) …….
Just finished I, Robot by Isaac Azimov. It’s over 70 years old!, but still relevant. Another of my book groups will be discussing it shortly.
Also finished a non-fiction book called Aftermath: Life in the Fallout of the Third Reich, 1945-1955. Not for the faint of heart – it was a slog, but it illuminated post-WWII Germany very well.
As a palate cleanser, I’m in the middle of Killers of a Certain Age, by Deanna Raybourn, which was suggested in the “Best Books” thread.
*The Golden Spoon - Jessa Maxwell.
“Fans of The Great British Baking Show, rejoice! This cozy whodunit is for you.” - NPR
An Amazon Best Book of March 2023: “A delicious mash-up of locked-room murder mystery and The Great British Bake-Off, The Golden Spoon is a tasty thriller full of surprises.”
Not exactly a cozy mystery as it starts with a gruesome death (prologue). Who? I don’t know. However, it backtracks quickly to the six contestants and the contest. So far, the group has competed in breads and pies. Evil is afoot as sabotage lurks, i.e. a sugar container filled with salt and there goes a contestant (eliminated, not murdered). At this point, no one has clicked to the fact that mishaps are intentional.
Confession: I neither bake nor watch baking shows but the reviews are stellar. Time will tell how much I like it.
*The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog - Adam Gidwitz, Hatem Aly (Illustrator) I don’t know how I ended up with this one. I do know it’s a Newbery Honor Book.
On my bedside table:
*Cleopatra’s Dagger - Carole Lawrence. Historical mystery.
*Station Eternity - Mur Lafferty. Sci-fi/murder mystery
*The Bone Seeker - M.J. McGrath. Mystery. Third in the Edie Kiglatuk series. Want a different setting? Edie (half Inuit) lives within the Arctic Circle.
Three mysteries but one takes place in 1800s NYC, one on an alien space station, and one (contemporary) in the Arctic Circle. I’m looking forward to all three.
I recently finished “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store,” “James” and “The Bird Hotel” for my “Books on the Beach” group. I liked them all; perhaps my favorite was “The Bird Hotel.”
This year I’ve been trying to weave in more nonfiction books. Last night I finished on that had been on my library list for a long time. (I think I added it a long time ago, after a church discussion about racial injustice. May have also seen the movie.) Serious book, with some quite shocking stories of wrongly accused “criminals” etc and progress made by EJI (Equal Justice Initiative). Highly recommended read.
I’ve read this. Mesmerizing.
I just finished Leigh Bardugo’s Ninth House. She is a popular YA writer, but this is the first book I’ve read of hers. I read it for a library reading challenge. This month is “dark fantasy”. It has the amusing premise that the Yale secret societies do black magic using it for things like predicting the stock market. More violent than I really care for, but since it only wrapped up one of two major plot arcs, I’m going to read the sequel. (Sadly I uploaded it to my Kindle from the library, but I can’t find my Kindle anywhere. I may have left it in Vermont.)
I also recently read another fantasy novella by my favorite author Lois McMaster Bujold. It’s in a long running series who shares his body with a snarky (but mostly good) demon. As ever she explores other ideas along with the story. (What makes family? Can you change the trajectory of your life?
Next month my library’s challeng is “cozy mystery”. Any favorites?
@mathmom: I read and like Bardugo’s Ninth House but have waited to pick up Hell Bent. It’s second in the Alex Stern trilogy, so I wanted to read it closer to the final book’s publication date. Since I’ve seen no sign of its publication date, I plan to read Hell Bent soon before I forget Ninth House.
You mentioned spending time in Spain recently. Look into Bardugo’s The Familiar which takes place in 16th century Madrid. I haven’t read it but its reviews are great.
My library does the same monthly challenge plus suggests titles. I’m looking at Glory Be by Danielle Arceneaux and/or A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Searles for a cozy mystery.
Our library suggests titles too, but I haven’t looked at them yet. I’m not really big on mysteries cozy or otherwise. So the series I’ve read that are mysteries are strictly because I like the detective.
I hadn’t looked to see if it was going to be a trilogy or just a duology. Rats! Though I don’t think Bardugo is going to pull a Patrick Rothfuss or JRR Martin and just not come out with the last book.
Waving goodbye till next time. Thanks to all who added to the discussion and a particular thanks to @Mary13 who makes it work and work well. 
@Colorado_mom, my daughter stopped by the house last night and said she was sorting through stuff at home and found that she had two copies of a book and here was the duplicate if I wanted it … and it was Just Mercy. Serendipity! 
Wow - that is Serendipity.
For others who are curious about Just Mercy but not wanting to read the whole book… here’s an article that includes the “chocolate milkshake” prisoner story that resonated with me a few years ago when I watched a video by author Bryan Stevenson (founder of Equal Justice Initiative)
I really enjoyed The Garden of Small Beginnings - there were some bittersweet parts but overall very enjoyable. So I looked for more Abbi Waxman books and found Christa Comes Out of Her Shell which I loved - laughed throughout it. Then I read I Was Told it Would Get Easier which was also amusing - the fun part was that it involved a mother and daughter on a college tour so very appropriate for CC! I have holds on more of her books. So far Christa was my favorite. If you’re looking for upbeat and entertaining, Abbi Waxman meets the objective.
