Book Report - Lady Darby Series

I just started the fourth book in the Lady Darby historical mystery series, A Study In Death. I'm reading this on my Kindle instead of listening to the audiobook as I did for the first three installments. I miss the charming British accent of the narrator though caught myself trying to sound British in my head as I clicked through the pages. Ha!

This series includes many of the desirable traits I'm clamoring to find in reading material lately. As usual, I've dug my claws into a rather specific genre and don't appear to be giving up anytime soon. Not just historical fiction. Not just historical mystery. Not just historical mysteries set in England anywhere from 1800-1950. Not just British mysteries depicting this time period that are series. They also need to include a thread of romance between main characters that continues from book to book. 

Which brings us back to Lady Darby. We meet Kiera after her miserable marriage to Sir Anthony ends as a result of his death. He was an anatomist who married her for her artistic ability then forced her to draw his dissections. As a result, she's shunned from society (didn't take much to get the cut direct back then!). In the first installment, she's working alongside handsome investigator Lord Sebastian Gage to prove her own innocence in a murder. They continue to dig around darker and darker cases side by side in each subsequent book. 

With the exception of #2, Mortal Arts, I've been in the dark about the culprit until the bitter end. These are well-written and seemingly historically accurate novels that provide a glimpse of life in Edinburgh in the mid 19th century as well as intriguing cases and nice character development of Kiera, Sebastian, and other minor players.

All in all, there are 5 published novels in the series (and a novella) with a sixth due out in early 2018. If you like murder, history, and all things British-y, I highly recommend you dive in!

Good Reads On Goodreads

If you know me, you know I have a memory like a sieve. A sieve with millions of holes. The sieviest sieve that ever sieved. Nothing gets retained in my noggin, and I'm notoriously terrible at recalling movies I've seen or books I've read. We'll be settling down with Netflix and Simon will say "Have you seen X movie?" and I'll say "No, it looks good, let's watch it!" then 5 minutes in, I realize that I have indeed seen the movie and am not interested in a repeat performance. I've gotten chapters into "new" books before realizing that I'd previously finished them. 

All this to say, memory ain't my thing, so I use some tools to assist. For books, it's Goodreads. Goodreads is the ultimate social media platform for readers. For starters, you can track all the books you've read and want to read, enormously helpful for Kelly-the-Sieve. Like other forms of social media, you follow "friends" and receive updates on what they're reading. You can rate books and view reviews, enormously useful when searching for new books. Speaking of, Goodreads scans your shelves and makes recommendations, helpful if you are obsessed with specific genres like some people we know. I recently discovered that you can add private notes to each book on your shelf, a handy way to notate whether books are at the local library, available for purchase, or downloadable as audiobooks. 

As someone who reads A LOT of books (141 in 2016) it is immensely helpful for keeping it all straight and sourcing new titles. Even if you're not quite as bookish, Goodreads is a handy resource for finding your next great read. Check it out!

Sneak Peak - W.S. Merwin's Garden Time

The Wild Geese
W.S. Merwin

It was always for the animals that I grieved most
for the animals I had seen and for those
I had only heard of or dreamed about
or seen in cages or lying beside the road
for those forgotten and those long remembered
for the lost ones that were never found again
among people there were words we all knew
even if we did not say them and although
they were always inadequate when we said them
they were there if we wanted them when the time came
with the animals always there was only
presence as long as it was present and then
only absence suddenly and no word for it
in all the great written wisdom of China
where are the animals when were they lost
where are the ancestors who knew the way
without them all wise words are bits of sand
twitching on the dunes where the forests
once whispered in their echoing ancient tongue
and the animals knew their way among the trees
only in the old poems does their presence survive
the gibbons call from the mountain gorges
the old words all deepen the great absence
the vastness of all that has been lost
it is still there when the poet in exile
looks up long ago hearing the voices
of wild geese far above him flying home

"The Wild Geese" is from Merwin's new book of poems, Garden Time, due out this coming week. According to the summary on Amazon, Merwin wrote this collection while he was slowly losing his eyesight (he's turning 90 at the end of the month). I first read and loved the poem without knowing what he was experiencing but now it seems more powerful. From studying his poems in college, I remember that Merwin often weaves loss of language into his work. That idea that language is inadequate and that ancient tongues are at risk of disappearing with death. Language comes back in this one. The idea that humans have the capacity to communicate with words, we can grieve with language when we lose each other, we exist in words even after we go, but without speech, animals are only present when they exist. He's also alluding to extinction, referring to the "vastness of all that has been lost," whether that is species or trees or language. In the end, "the poet in exile" seems to be Merwin, imprisoned in blindness, hearing the geese fly above.

There is so much wonderfulness in this poem and naturally, I can't begin to adequately dissect it. It has quickly become one of my all-time favorites. There are thematic nods to his other works and the evocation of such loss, in myriad ways, with such beautiful imagery had me at "It was always for the animals that I grieved most."

Book Report - Her Royal Spyness Series

As you may recall, I recently deviated from my modus operandi of the past 6.5 years and abandoned post-apocalyptic literature. I'm not sure why I can't be a normal person and pick up various types of books here and there, but no, I am already deeply ensconced in two new but related genres: historical mystery and historical romance. Don't judge my fascination with tales of British aristocracy...lords and ladies of the mid 1800's through the Downton Abbey era of the early 1900s. Romances, murders, mysteries, you name it, if there are dukes and earls, I'm into it.

I especially like when I find a series. This both limits the amount of time spent searching for more tales of royalty and also creates a nice arc of relationships among the characters, particularly enjoyable if there is a clever little romance threading from book to book.

I'm loving the Royal Spyness series by Rhys Bowen. It's a slightly implausible set of cozy mysteries where the main character Georgiana is 34th in line for the throne and the Queen enlists her to help with various tasks, usually inadvertently resulting in her investigating one murder or another. Her love interest Darcy appears in each book and though it seems to take ages for their relationship to gain traction, it's nice to see that develop from book to book. There are currently 9 books in the series with the next installment due out August 1. All in all, this has proven to be one of my favorite series of late, and I highly recommend it.

Book Report - Flavia De Luce Series

I met the most wonderful little girl a few weeks ago. Her name is Flavia de Luce and she is the precocious eleven-year old star of the series I've been reading. They are written by Alan Bradley and are, of course, mystery novels. Some say they are Young Adult, some say they are Adult and the author says genres are rubbish.

Depending on your personality, you may need to suspend some belief in reality when you read these. Little Flavia buzzes around her 1950's English town on her trusty bicycle, happening across murdered bodies and digging up clues while spending her off hours in her chemistry lab, concocting poisons for her two older sisters. So yeah, not 100% believable but the tone of the books is just so charming and sweet while the mysteries have been engaging and entertaining.

There are seven total with the eighth due out in September. I've sped through the first four and am desperately trying to chill my pace. I've also just seen that the books are becoming a ten-episode TV series! Highly recommend - a delightful combination of sweetness and murder.

The Post Post-Apocalyptic Post

For nearly a FIFTH of my life (don't do the math) I have been mired in post-apocalyptic, dystopian and survival literature. Obsessed with it.  Unable and unwilling to read anything else. I took breaks for the occasional chick lit beach read and went through a mini "phase within the phase" of guillotine-type historical fiction but I always went crawling back to my trusty zombies and nuclear holocausts. Jury is out as to the effect this had on my mental well-being. Or maybe the verdict is in.

The reign of the crumbling society is over, folks. While I still feel the lure of end of days tales, I've recently moved on to mysteries. Historical mysteries. I'm not even sure that's the genre's name, but I've embarked on three series that revolve around female heroines of yesteryear, ahead of their time as they launch into crime-solving detective work. The most recent novel twisted around so oddly at the end that the murder victim's father was also the father of her unborn child (eek) and was struck by lightning before he could be apprehended. Perhaps these are not so dissimilar from outlandish apocalypse scenarios after all. Anyway, who knows how long this will last, but for now, it's a welcome change. Hey, murders and crime must be better than flesh-eating zombies and roving bands of cannibals...right?

Book Report - The Circle

This review needs to be couched by the fact that I didn't actually READ this book. I listened to it. I've never really done this before so have no experience with how my absorption method did or did not affect my appreciation for it. I will say, though, that this is one of my favorite books in a long time.

Now to see if I can explain why. "The Circle" is a Company, a futuristic combo platter of social media as we know it--think Google, Facebook, Twitter all further expanded and housed under the same roof. The company's story, culture and ideas are told through the eyes of twenty-something Mae, their newest employee. Among thousands of other "Circlers," Mae's perspective slowly reveals The Circle's principle values: Privacy is Theft and Secrets Are Lies. The Company's ideas get more and more ridiculous as we go on, yet at the same time more and more believable, both to Mae and to the readers. To us, it's a bit cultish and freaky but you can also understand how Mae gets pulled deeper and deeper into this crazy reality, rapidly losing her footing in any other aspect of life. 

Toward the middle of the book she "goes transparent," wearing a high-end tiny camera that feeds EVERY aspect of what she sees to her millions of "watchers." Nearly all of the world's politicians do this as well, taking their watchers into every meeting, every conversation and every vote. The camera never turns off. Soon,"transparency" is the new normal. Getting a Circle membership is required, getting your child microchipped is required, all voting happens through your Circle membership and all votes are made public. EVERYTHING is public, nothing is ever erased and everything and everyone is perpetually accessible...all in the name of safety and access. After all, privacy is theft and secrets are lies. 

The world itself is intriguing and a little scary. I found myself wary of Facebook and in my typical fashion, allowed myself to be CERTAIN that this is the way the apocalypse would go down. Anyway, in addition to the great world-building, there are some fantastic characters, superb writing and fascinating little subtleties that all wrap up into a really spectacular package.  Highly recommend!

Book Report - The Last Policeman Series

I hadn't necessarily thought of myself as a lover of mysteries but these books might change my tune. Admittedly, The Last Policeman series by Ben Winters didn't suck me in because of their mysteries, but instead because of the world in which those mysteries take place. Pre-apocalyptic, if you will. "Say what," you might ask. "What is PRE apocalyptic?" You learn early on that a sizeable meteror, asteroid, comet-type monstrosity is headed toward Earth, destined to strike on October 3. As you can imagine, the world becomes increasingly desperate and depraved as the date nears. Each book presents a mystery to be solved by Detective Hank Palace, a rookie cop quickly advancing through the ranks...since the ranks are dropping like flies to face "the end" however they see fit.

Against the backdrop of crumbling systems and humanity, these stories are really my cup of tea. It's a nice juxtaposition for those who aren't apocalyptic obsessed too...light on the morbid, depressing details of doom as the plot focuses more on Hank solving the cases. The third book, in particular, is somehow very lovely, with snippets of writing worthy of a dog-ear:

It's not just a person's present that dies when they die...It's the past too, all the memories that belonged to only them, the things they thought and never said. And all those possible futures, all the ways that life might have turned out.

The third was a bit more introspective than the others; we spend a lot of time alone with Hank as he looks for his missing sister in the week before the collision. He recalls different moments of loss in his life as if he's using the asteroid as a way to unpack things he had left stuffed in a corner. While the ending itself was pretty perfect, I really, really didn't want to be finished reading these. I own the entire series if you want to borrow. Is anyone else still reading actual books or has everyone moved on to e-readers? Anyway, read these. They are great. And who knows, now maybe I'll FINALLY shift from dystopian depression to crime novels. Yay?

Ten Books

There has been a post circulating on Facebook where you are asked to list "10 books that have stayed with you in some way." The instructions explain that you shouldn't think too hard about naming the "right" or "great" works, but just the ones that have somehow impacted you. Here's a few that fit the bill.

1) The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi

I rarely re-read or even re-watch things (with the inexplicable, classy exception of The Fugitive with Harrison Ford) but for some reason, I've read this book dozens of times. First as an assignment in sixth grade but then many times thereafter, even just a few years ago when I happened across it on my old bookshelf.

2) The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Not much to say. One of my favorite books of all time. Perfect.

3) Rain in the Trees by W.S. Merwin

This collection of poems was my first introduction to Merwin's work, way back during sophomore year of college. Judging by the multiple doodles along the margins of my copy, I wasn't exactly immersed.  After graduation, though, I turned back to it and fell in love with his work.

4) The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dustbowl by Timothy Egan

If you've scoffed at the idea of reading about history, this book could change your tune. Really fascinating look at the Dust Bowl told in riveting stories of families struggling to survive but also an accounting of how the government basically caused the whole thing...

5) Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

Talk about tales of survival! Shackleton started it all -- that insatiable desire to read gritty tales of survival that somehow morphed into a yen for post-apocalyptic fiction. Thanks Shacky. But yeah, Shackleton was an Arctic explorer who ran into some trouble, stranding himself and his ship amidst the tundra. This guy was tough. Read it.

6) Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble and Coming of Age in the Bronx by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc

It's hard to forget this book. I think it really inspires the understanding that no matter what we do, there are some inescapable cycles of inequity. The stories are haunting.

7) World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

I resisted the zombie thing as long as possible but this book is fantastic. It's a series of post-event testimonials that walk us through the zombie war and subsequent wildness in America. The movie--"meh" but definitely read this. So good.

8) The Awakening by Kate Chopin

I barely remember it now (I can't remember yesterday) but know that I thought about it for a long time after reading it. The pressure of societal norms probably ain't going anywhere and this book, as old as it is, digs into that oppression.

9) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Sigh...love.

10) Under the Banner of Heaven: The Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer

I don't know what to say about this other than it has had a lasting impact. True to the task at hand, this book has really stayed with me, possibly more so than any of the others.

Happy Tidbit Of The Day

Well look at this! A poet who recently published a collection of poems about dogs! Mary Oliver's Dog Songs tops my Christmas list this year. After all, dogs, poems and Christmas are three of my favorite things.

The little blurb on Amazon describes the book as a collection of her "most cherished poems together with new works, offering a portrait of Oliver's relationship to the companions that have accompanied her daily walks, warmed her home, and inspired her work...Throughout, the many dogs of Oliver's life emerge as fellow travelers, but also as guides, spirits capable of opening our eyes to the lessons of the moment and the joys of nature and connection."

Sounds worth a read for many reasons. Might even be a good gift idea for all those other people I know that are (perhaps a bit more healthily) obsessed with their hounds.