Reading in the Garden

  Guilt and Consequences. Oooh this book knocked me off my feet!  I have read a lot of good books, but this one was one of the best I’ve read in a long time!   It’s about guilt, conscience, our role in society and as humans.  It was such a well-crafted slow burn, I had a difficult time putting it down.     In this riveting narrative, we are pulled from one page to the next edging toward a 91-year-old woman’s secret from WWII.  At the same time a drama plays out in current-day London, with both culminating to a jaw-dropping moment.   So good!!    Here are a couple lines to give you a taste of the book.   “I told myself that none of it had been my fault, that I had been just a child, but there was a small part of my brain that asked me, if I was entirely innocent, then why was I living under an assumed name?”   –pg 29   Gretel thought the sparkle had left her eyes—her best feature. “Now they were the colo...

 2022 Book Club Lists Listed below are some of book club lists and other popular lists from 2022.   Jenna Bush Hager’s 2022 Book Club Jan.       The School for Good Mothers  by  Jessamine Chan Feb.       Black Cake  by  Charmaine Wilkerson March   Groundskeeping  by  Lee Cole April      Memphis  by  Tara Stringfellow May       Remarkably Bright Creatures  by  Shelby Van Pelt June      These Impossible Things  by  Salma El-Wardany July       The Measure  by  Nikki Erlick Aug.      Many Daughters of Afong May  by  Jamie Ford Sept.     Solito  by  Javier Zamora Oct.       Whalebone Theatre   by   Joanna Quinn Nov.   ...

 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