I don’t know if anyone else has had this problem since COVID raised its ugly head, but I have to admit that I have had trouble reading since about March. It seems to finally be getting better, but the trouble has seemed to be an issue of focus. The written word has been difficult for me to follow and this is devastating as reading has always been my way of dealing with anxiety. Normally I can get through five books in a week but lately it has taken a month to read one. I have compensated by using audible books to keep my mind occupied, but it isn’t the same. September marked the break from this difficulty, and I have finally been able to sit quietly and absorb the written word once more. What has arisen out of this is a greater appreciation for the ability to read and absorb information….I find myself gorging like a starving person desperate for food and the only frustration is that I still have other work to do and I can’t spend all my time between the covers of a good book.
Here is a selection of books that I have discovered both through audible as well as my latest print reading material and I hope they will inspire you to read more as we move into the Holiday season that is well on the way! Next issue will be my Christmas list issue so get ready for lots of ideas for Christmas gifts!
First up is a wonderful book by local author, Liza Taylor Nash. Etiquette for Runaways is the perfect solution if you are looking for something that touches on the familiar. It is filled with loads of familiar local spots and touches on the famous bootlegging that occurred in the area during the 1920s. May Marshall has to run to escape the legal noose her father’s moonshine business has slipped over her neck and finds herself in New York, assuming a new name and a new story of her life. Carefully she crafts her new persona and uses her sewing skills to become part of New York’s Jazz Age Theatre scene. Along with the opportunities come the temptations of the big city and addiction slips into May’s life as she crosses the ocean to the glorious glow of Paris. Will May fall through the rabbit hole and end up losing her family and former life or will she find a way to pull herself back to the home she loves. This is a great gift to send to your friends who want to experience a little bit of Keswick through a fictional narrative.
The next two books have similar titles but are very different in their subject matter. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames is a family saga focusing on the life of one woman who is either blessed or cursed, depending on your perspective. Stella has dementia but her sister Tina begins to tell the curious tale of her sister and how she came to the USA and how she survived. Death weaves itself throughout the tale like a character unto itself as Stella fights for independence in a world that conspires to keep her tied up in responsibilities and stereotypes. This is a fight that pits Stella’s love of her family and her struggle to survive despite the constrictive expectations that are constantly foisted upon her.
The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turtin is a very different sort of mystery. At first, I was a bit unsure what was going on. The male narrator seemed to be a bit confused, not knowing who he was, but after a while I realized this story played with time and the narrator was jumping from different people inside the story. Each time he wakes up as a different person he has the opportunity to discover who is going to murder Evelyn Hardcastle. The ominous figure of a masked individual serves as his guide and explains to him the rules of this very macabre game. He must solve the murder if he is ever going to escape this day and this estate. It is a race to the end to solve the mystery before someone else does. I loved this very original storyline and I did not figure it out until the very end. It is very clever and well written. This is the only storyline this month with a male protagonist.
If you enjoy fact rather than fiction, then I think you will enjoy the next two books.
In The Reporter Who Knew Too Much, author Mark Shaw takes a look at the life and mysterious death of investigative reporter Dorothy Kilgaller. A force to be reckoned with, this amazing petite woman was the star of What’s My Line and a media icon, whose radio program kept her American audience riveted during the 50s and 60s. It is a wonderful and exciting read that will make you start thinking about conspiracy theories in a whole new way. Dorothy had been investigation the death of JFK and she claimed to be getting close to an explosive reveal. But then she dies mysteriously and all of her notes, including an inclusive interview with Jack Ruby, goes missing. Once you start reading all of the facts that Shaw uncovers, you too will start to wonder about what really happened!
Jason Fagone also explores the life of a strong and determined woman in The Woman Who Smashed Codes. This is the true story of the American cryptography pioneer, Elizabeth Friedman. Never heard of her? Well that should come as no surprise, as J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI took credit for all of her work and he did everything he could to wipe out her contributions to history. It was only when her notes and letters were discovered that it was revealed how much she did to win World War II. She triumphed over 3 Enigma machines and personally decoded over 4000 Nazi messages during her time working with the US Coast Guard Intelligence Division. She and her husband met while working at an eccentric textile tycoons enclave called Riverbank Laboratories. At the time cryptography was a relatively new field and she and her future husband, William Friedman became experts in their field. This is such an amazing look into the life of a woman whose legacy is embedded in our lives today through coded cell phones and WIFI. It certainly didn’t make me like Hoover any better than I did before.
The next few books take place over seas.
Anatomy of a Scandal by Sara Vaughan takes place in England, where Sophie finds herself defending her husband James when he is accused of a terrible crime. Sophie’s perfect life begins to crumble as she starts questioning things from James’ past. Kate is the lawyer hired to prosecute the case and she is positive that James is guilty. Why is she so sure of his guilt? These character’s backgrounds begin to come to the forefront, as the past comes back to haunt them all. It is a very good thriller that might remind you of The Girl on the Train and it will keep you guessing as page by page you are handed clues like a drip feed.
At The Water’s Edge begins in Philadelphia in 1944, but moves swiftly to the UK when Madeline Hyde and her husband, Ellis, run away to Scotland after a New Year’s Eve party proves disastrous to their reputations. Ellis’ father has cut them off financially, so the feckless husband and wife, along with their friend, Hank, take off across the pond, in an effort to regain their legacy by proving the existence of the Lock Ness monster, a feat Ellis’ father had very publicly failed at years earlier. Maddie is left on her own in a village that doesn’t really welcome strangers but slowly she befriends the villagers and falls in love with the area. Her relationship with the villagers changes her as she realizes how much of a struggle survival is for so many people. Her life has been charmed and her privilege had blinded her to other’s needs. She begins to see that her values are a bit skewed. Slowly she begins to see the real monsters just beneath the surface of her world.
And finally, I suggest The Women in Black by Madeline St. John, which was written in 1993 and takes place in 1950’s Australia. I just love this little book. As I read it, I realized it is also a movie I had watched on Prime Video, but as is often the case, the book is better than the movie which is called The Ladies in Black. Goodes Department Store in Sydney, Australia provides beautiful clothing for the discerning woman and the ladies who work there are the main characters of this sweet book. There is thirty-year-old Patty who is married to the quiet, stern Frank. Then there is Fay, who can never meet the right guy but keeps looking for love, and Magda, who is the glamourous Slovenian overseeing the high-end gowns department. All of the women working in the clothing department are required to wear black, thus the name of the book. Each of them has thoughts about their workmates but none of them are true friends who feel loyalty to each other. They are wrapped up in their own dramas and struggle each day to keep from letting their problems overwhelm them. When a naïve young girl named Lisa comes on board as part time help before she is to head off to University, these women suddenly find a common bond and the story develops into a wonderful tale of transformation. Their lives begin to intertwine and what blooms is a beautiful friendship between ladies who find their strength through each other.
I hope these lovely little books will give you lots of escapism during the next few months and get you ready for the Holidays.