Reading in the Garden

 Favorite Books I Read in 2022 It was difficult to narrow down, but here are some of my favorites books I read this year!    Humorous Fiction:   The Guncle by Steven Rowley Humorous Non-Fiction:    The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell Other Non-Fiction : In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park Heartwarming : Love & Saffron by Kim Fay and The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin Historical Fiction : I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys WWII Historical Fiction:    Cradles of the Reich by Jennifer Coburn, Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn, and The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict to be released January 17 2023 WWII Non-Fiction : One Hundred Saturdays by Michael Frank, The Boys Who Challenged Hitler by Phillip Hoose, By Chance Alone  by Max Eisen, and The Diary Keepers by Nina Siegal to be released January 25, 2023 Classics :   Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck, Passing by Nella Larsen, and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich M...

 Bookselling Bliss What a joy this book was!  I loved being invited into Shaun Bythell’s daily life as a bookseller in Scotland. His dry humor and deadpan observations had me smiling and even laughing out loud page after page.  A couple of people I work with at the Well-Read Moose bookstore in Coeur d'Alene read it before I did and highly recommended it.  They were so right!  Good choice. Here are a couple quotes to entice you:  ·      “As I was leaving [the barber shop], I met Mr. Deacon coming in for whatever treatment he has applied to his comb-over.” Pg 155 ·      Anna talked Shaun into going to Glasgow to see the Disney film   Into the Woods.   “This is my idea of hell: I dislike musicals and I’m no fan of Disney, so the combination of the two will unquestionably result in a film that is the cinematic equivalent of a week in the waterboarding wing of Guantánamo Bay.”  Pg 285 ·   ...

  From a Whalebone Theater to the European Theater This book swept me away from page one.  The writing is electric; the visual descriptions are a treat!  A story of three siblings growing up in an unconventional family, follows their bond as children who put on theatre productions, to adulthood facing the turbulent times of WWII.     While I loved the writing, loved the characters, and loved the story, I did have reservations about the length of the book. For me, books of this heft are usually reserved only for classics (and even  Moby-Dick  at 477 pages didn’t match the weight of Quinn’s 545 pages.) A character list would also have been helpful.    In the end, though, it did win me over. Cristabel, Flossie, and Digby have found a way into my heart. It’s a good book to cozy up with during the cold winter months.    Here are a few of my favorite lines from the book:   “Annabel was bracing: she was the wind that sm...

  A Life of Propaganda and Blind Loyalty Wow! Wow! Wow! Each page of this book exposes one new shocking revelation after another of life in North Korea. And a whole new nightmare begins when mother and daughter escape to China.     Yeonmi draws an alarming image of life in North Korea where people are told that the supreme leaders are immortal and can read minds. It’s a country where critical thinking is forbidden, electricity is rare, people are taught to inform on one another, (sounds like Texas) and food is scarce. Starvation is an excruciating daily struggle. I cannot even fathom the extreme hunger of Yeonmi and everyone else in North Korea during the famine that started during the1990s.    It’s tough to imagine such relentless horrors. A truly captivating, astonishing read!   “I wasn’t dreaming of freedom when I escaped North Korea. I didn’t even know what it meant to be free.  All I knew was that if my family stayed behind, we would pro...

 Free Art!!! We've heard a lot about Little Free Libraries, but I recently came across a Little Free Art Gallery.  And just like with the books, you can take a piece of art or leave one!  What a wonderful idea!   I've walked by it a couple times now, always tempted to take something.  Apparently there are a lot of talented people out there. But today, I actually took a bird sketch someone drew on the back of a food receipt.  It just makes me smile, so I took it home and framed it.  This Little Free Art Gallery is located at The Old School Building at Garden and 6th Street in Coeur d'Alene. Check it out! :)  Annette

  The Murder of Roger Ackroyd The Murder of Roger Ackroyd  is considered to be one of Agatha Christie’s most famous books. Doctor James Sheppard narrates the story of how he received a call from Roger Ackroyd’s butler saying that poor Roger had been murdered.  Naturally, Dr. Sheppard hightails it right over, only to find out that Parker never called him, and Roger has locked himself in his study.  They both break down the door and find Roger Ackroyd, indeed, has been stabbed to death. So who called Dr. Sheppard if it wasn’t the butler?  And most importantly, why did someone knock off the kind, wealthy widower, Mr. Ackroyd?  Mysteries, twists, and suspects keep piling up. But luckily, Hercule Poirot happens to be staying next door to Dr. Sheppard and is all too ready to unravel this mess. With the help of his “little grey cells,” Poirot’s brain is able to sort out the astonishing truth—a big twist that I did not see coming!   ...

 A Bee-autiful Book! An uplifting, feel-good book buzzing with hope! In the small apple orchard region of Hood River, Oregon, three people in need come together: a beekeeper with a tragic loss; an 18-year-old wheelchair-bound boy trapped in a terrible home life; and a well-meaning but bumbling, nervous 24-year-old with a checkered past. All lost in their own way, they find strength in each other with the help of bees.   I was thrilled to be able to meet the author at an event at the Well-Read Moose bookstore in Coeur d'Alene, ID!  What fun it was to drink blueberry/honey fizzes, and listen to how Eileen came up with the story of Jake, the wheelchair-bound boy with a 16 1/2” mohawk; and how she herself is a beekeeper like Alice and a kite-boarder like Harry in the book.     This book is a treasure not to be missed! Eileen Garvin with my sister Since I finished this book right before my husband and I went on our Oregon Coast vacation, we made a quick sto...

Antarctic Adventures A fascinating account of a modern-day explorer who idolized Shackleton and trekked to the South Pole twice before attempting a  solo  land-crossing of the Antarctic continent! Stunning with awe-inspiring photos.   Henry Worsley, related to Captain Frank Worsley, on Shackleton’s ill-fated  Endurance   Expedition , was obsessed with Antarctica. Together with a great nephew of Shackleton, and a great grandson of the second in command on Shackleton’s  Nimrod Expedition,  the three men set out to trek across Antarctica in 2008-09 to reach the South Pole.  They faced the dreaded Beardsmore Galcier, whiteouts that made one man motion sick, and a two-day storm after which they had to hack themselves out of walls of ice. The arduous journey would have been enough for most men, but Henry Worsley wasn’t done yet. He came back to the unforgiving, brutal continent, two more incredible times, the last one braving the challenge on his o...