RIP Susan Sizemore, Elatsoe Book Review, Rodham Comes to TV, Savage Legion by Matt Wallace, The Beast is An Animal by Peternelle Van Arsdale, and What You Wish For by Katherine Center

Both myself and my husband were huge fans of the TV series Forever Knight.

Obituary Note: Susan Sizemore

Susan Sizemore, author of many romance and science fiction titles, died on Monday, July 20. She was 69. In 1991, when she turned 40, Sizemore won the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award, presented to a previously unpublished author. Three days later, she sold her debut novel, a time-travel romance called Wings of the Storm. Later, she was asked to write a tie-in novel based on the TV series Forever Knight, which resulted in Forever Knight: A Stirring of Dust, which was the first time she wrote about vampires. She then began her vampire romance series Laws of the Blood and the Primes series, for which she was best known.

 

I really want to read this book, it sounds fascinating. I find myself, during this interminable COVID quarantine, reading a lot of YA fiction because it tends to be upbeat and the authors aren't disposed to wasting prose on trying to sound literary and pretentious. They just get right to the characters and the story arc. I love that, as I don't have patience for fluff and nonsense.

YA Book Review: Elatsoe

Darcie Little Badger's YA debut, Elatsoe, is a supernatural murder mystery that takes place in a United States that has Fairy Ring Transportation Centers, endless fields of scarecrows with human eyes, ghost mammoths and a rich history of Lipan Apache ghost whisperers. Creative and meticulously plotted, Elatsoe begins with the protagonist and readers knowing whodunnit--it's the why that is the question.

When Elatsoe's ghost dog, Kirby, throws a fit, she knows something is very wrong. The last time Kirby acted like this, Ellie's grandfather was having a heart attack. Scared something has happened to her parents, Ellie races into town to find them at the movie theater. When they emerge unscathed, she breathes a sigh of relief--until both parents discover several missed calls from her mother's brother. Ellie's cousin, Trevor, was in a fatal car accident.

That night Ellie, whose "family secret" is the knowledge of how to bring back the dead, dreams of Trevor. "A person's last breath carrie[s] them to the underworld. Perhaps, with that breath, they could speak a last message." Trevor does exactly that: "A man named Abe Allerton murdered me," he tells Ellie. "Don't let Abe hurt my family," he pleads. Ellie's mother and father believe that Ellie is as powerful as her Six-Great-Grandmother who traveled Lipan Apache territory saving her people from undead evils, dangerous creatures and deadly settlers.

Knowing the strength of his daughter's gift, Ellie's father agrees to help her investigate. With the assistance of her parents and her good friend and Lord Oberon descendant, Jay, Ellie takes a trip across Texas to find Abe Allerton and bring him to justice.

Little Badger excellently balances humor and horror in this inventive YA mystery/alternate history/fantasy. Ellie is a very likable protagonist who reads like an authentic teen: she is witty but not unrealistically so; she is powerful but not always aware of the devastation she could accidentally cause, and her asexuality is simply part of who she is rather than a plot point. Additionally, her Lipan heritage and ethnicity is not just twined with the story, it is the story: her gift comes from Six-Great-Grandmother; she's vocal about the contemporary racism toward and mistreatment of Indigenous people; she is always prepared to deal with what her brown skin might mean in any situation; and she has a pretty ingenious way of dispelling vampires. Each chapter begins with the graceful, almost ethereal black-and-white illustrations of And the Ocean Was Our Sky http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44946349 artist Rovina Cai, adding to the evanescent vibe of the book, a Lipan Apache Sookie Stackhouse for the teen set. One hopes Ellie--and the wonderfully developed world in which she lives--will appear in many more books to come. --Siacircn Gaetano

 This is a book that I've also been longing to read, though it has had some mixed reviews. Now it's coming to streaming service Hulu, so I may just wait for that.

TV: Rodham

Hulu has optioned the rights to Curtis Sittenfeld's book Rodham http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45069151, Variety reported, adding that "the series is described as telling the story of an ambitious young woman, developing her extraordinary mind in the latter part of the 20th century, moving from idealism to cynicism and all the way back again." Sarah Treem will write the project and exec produce with Warren Littlefield (via the Littlefield Company) and Sittenfeld. Fox 21 Television Studios is producing. Treem was previously the co-creator and showrunner on Showtime's The Affair. Her other credits include In Treatment, House of Cards and How to Make It in America.

Savage Legion by Matt Wallace is the first book in a gory but well written series by the author of the Sin Du Jour fantasy novella series, which I read and LOVED. Savage Legion was recommended to me by Kevin Hearne, author of the wonderfully funny Iron Druid series of fantasy novels, in his quarterly email newsletter. But really, all it took was for me to see the name "Matt Wallace" and I was IN. Though I don't like political science fiction/fantasy, and I usually hate horror genre fiction, Savage Legion was one of those books that rose above genre labels and provided such a beautifully told tale that it was irresistible. I read it on a Kindle (which was my only choice, as it's not out in physical paper form yet) and though it took me most of the day, due to recharging issues, I still HAD to read it straight through, it was that engrossing. Here's the blurb: An epic fantasy by Hugo Award–winning author Matt Wallace about a utopian city with a dark secret…and the underdogs who will expose it, or die trying.

They call them Savages. Brutal. Efficient. Expendable.

The empire relies on them. The Savages are the greatest weapon they ever developed. Culled from the streets of their cities, they take the ones no one will miss and throw them, by the thousands, at the empire’s enemies. If they live, they fight again. If they die, there are always more to take their place.
Evie is not a Savage. She’s a warrior with a mission: to find the man she once loved, the man who holds the key to exposing the secret of the Savage Legion and ending the mass conscription of the empire’s poor and wretched.

But to find him, she must become one of them, to be marked in her blood, to fight in their wars, and to find her purpose. Evie will die a Savage if she has to, but not before showing the world who she really is and what the Savage Legion can really do.

The prose was diamond brilliant, and the plot of this novel set off at a gallop and never stopped running until the final page. I loved Evie and I adored the non binary/transgender security guard who watched out over the wife of the guy that Evie's trying to save (he turns out to be something of a disappointment, once she actually saves him, and I found it hard to believe two women could be so in love with this douchebag that they'd lay down their lives for him, but love never made sense). I also found it interesting that the characters make note of how the communist system of government is no less vulnerable to corruption and power-hungry egomaniacs than capitalism or any other form of governance. Though I'm not a fan of ebooks, I still loved this wild ride of a novel, and I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone who likes more fluff-filled epic fantasies like Game of Thrones. This is the lean and mean version, and it makes a lot more sense, trust me.

The Beast is An Animal by Peternelle Van Arsdale is a fairy-tale/folk tale rewrite, and I could swear that I've read it before, but I can't seem to find it here on my book blog, so I went ahead and reread it anyway. Here's the blurb: A girl with a secret talent must save her village from the encroaching darkness in this “achingly poetic” (Kirkus Reviews) and deeply satisfying tale.

Alys was seven the first time she saw the soul eaters.
These soul eaters are twin sisters who were abandoned by their father and slowly grew into something not quite human. And they feed off of human souls. When her village was attacked, Alys was spared and sent to live in a neighboring village. There the devout people created a strict world where fear of the soul eaters—and of the Beast they believe guides them—rule village life. But the Beast is not what they think he is. And neither is Alys.

Inside, Alys feels connected to the soul eaters, and maybe even to the Beast itself. As she grows from a child to a teenager, she longs for the freedom of the forest. And she has a gift she can tell no one, for fear they will call her a witch. When disaster strikes, Alys finds herself on a journey to heal herself and her world. A journey that will take her through the darkest parts of the forest, where danger threatens her from the outside—and from within her own heart and soul.

I don't think it is too much of a spoiler to say that the moral of this story is, as it is with many fairy tales, that love conquers all. What is sad is that, meanwhile, prejudice and racism make so many lives miserable and cause too many deaths, so that its hard to find true love for those who are different. The prose of this novel is, as Kirkus Reviews says, poetic and unflinching. The plot moves along at a measured pace. I enjoyed the book for its gothic overtones, but its not something that I normally would have returned to, because the world it takes place in is so grim. I'd give it a B, and recommend it to those who like reworked folk or fairy tales.

What You Wish For by Katherine Center is a contemporary fiction novel that, at first blush, appears to be right up my alley, with a feisty and funny librarian protagonist, Samantha (Sam) Casey. Unfortunately, the book takes over 100 pages to really get going, so you're almost halfway through it before you see the point of the work. Sam, who recognizes Duncan (the new principal at her school) as her former crush from another state, doesn't seem to have the courage to jog his memory or even ask why he doesn't appear to remember her at all for 100 pages, during which readers are subjected to weak and wimpy whining by Sam, as she agonizes over every detail of their shared past. BOOORRRRING. The fact that Duncan is now a complete douchebag doesn't seem to really hit Sam until many pages later. Duncan has, indeed, remembered her, but he also has no balls and can't seem to tell her. Lots of psychology of trauma ensues, and lots of rescues of each other mentally and physically happen on repeat. Here's the blurb: 

Samantha Casey is a school librarian who loves her job, the kids, and her school family with passion and joy for living.
But she wasn’t always that way.
Duncan Carpenter is the new school principal who lives by rules and regulations, guided by the knowledge that bad things can happen.
But he wasn’t always that way.

And Sam knows it. Because she knew him before―at another school, in a different life. Back then, she loved him―but she was invisible. To him. To everyone. Even to herself. She escaped to a new school, a new job, a new chance at living. But when Duncan, of all people, gets hired as the new principal there, it feels like the best thing that could possibly happen to the school―and the worst thing that could possibly happen to Sam. Until the opposite turns out to be true. The lovable Duncan she’d known is now a suit-and-tie wearing, rule-enforcing tough guy so hell-bent on protecting the school that he’s willing to destroy it.

As the school community spirals into chaos, and danger from all corners looms large, Sam and Duncan must find their way to who they really are, what it means to be brave, and how to take a chance on love―which is the riskiest move of all.

With Katherine Center’s sparkling dialogue, unforgettable characters, heart, hope, and humanity, What You Wish For is the author at her most compelling best.

I desperately wanted to love this novel as much as I loved "The Things You Save in a Fire" which I read a couple of months ago. Alas, I have to disagree with the blurb in that this wasn't nearly as compelling a book as "Fire" was, and it was basically a romance novel gussied up to look like contemporary literature. the prose was clean and the plot only stalled twice, but I just couldn't get past how stupid the female and male protagonists were, and their whole "love and therapy conquer all" theme seemed ridiculous after awhile. Sam's dick of a father, who abandoned his family because his daughter had epilepsy wasn't worth the title of father, and Sam's weak and worthless mother let her daughter feel that she was the cause of the end of her parents marriage, and that her disability made her ugly and worthless and unlovable, which was criminal behavior, in my book. No child is perfect, whether or not they have an overt disability or are different on the inside. Parents who expect children to be perfect really need therapy themselves, because they're nuts, and soulless to boot. Every childs unique imperfections should be celebrated, because that is what makes them who they are, and no disability makes you unlovable. There was a lot of shameful abusive behavior toward children and adults in this book, and I felt that love and therapy wasn't enough to remedy the situation. So I'd give this novel a B-, and recommend it to anyone who is looking for a rather frustrating contemporary romance.

Mrs Everything Comes to TV, Bookshop Lisbon Letter, The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne, Faith Taking Flight by Julie Murphy, Peace Talks by Jim Butcher, and The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar

Hello to all my fellow quarantined book lovers. Congratulations on making it this far into the year of hell, 2020. I still have hope that things will turn out okay by the end of the year, and that we'll have a vaccine by Christmas or soon after New Years. Meanwhile, keep your masks on and your hands clean, and stay 6 ft apart! 

I read this book, and the Big Summer book that followed it, and while I enjoyed them, I am really looking forward to seeing how they translate to the small screen.

TV: Mrs. Everything

Sister Pictures has optioned Jennifer Weiner's bestselling novel Mrs. Everything http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44946334 and will adapt the book for TV, Deadline reported. Weiner, Carla Hacken for Paper Pictures, and Kate Fenske for Sister will be executive producers on the series, which is set during the 1950s in Detroit, where Jo and Bethie Kaufman "are sisters who, as their lives unfold against the backdrop of Vietnam, the civil rights movement, and women's liberation, find themselves struggling to honor their unique truths versus pleasing the world."

I read about this letter in the Shelf Awareness email newsletter today, and I found it so moving that people all over the world are supporting bookstores and others love of literature.

Bookshop Lisbon Letter: In an unusual, moving letter that will accompany galleys of My Brilliant Life by Ae-ran Kim, translated by Chi-Young Kim (Forge, January 26, 2021), the author wrote:

My Korean publisher informed me who I would be addressing with this letter.

I agonized over what to write, thinking of recipients far away, and I decided to share with you, the booksellers of America, something written by a neighborhood bookstore owner in Korea.

Titled "Three Months of COVID-19 and the Transformation of a Bookstore Owner's Thoughts," this essay was printed in issue 512 of a Korean publishing magazine, Planning Meeting. The essay is written by Jeong Hyun-joo, the owner of Bookshop Lisbon, which had been in steady business for five years, confessing that the store was in the red for the first time. She writes about worries, difficulties, and fears of the coronavirus era. At this bookstore, they launched a program sending new books to monthly subscribers. And one day she receives a message from a subscriber:

"I live in the quarantined city of Daegu. I saw how excited my friend was to receive a book from your bookstore yesterday. I was only getting food delivered and worrying about how to get masks, and at first I was amazed that you could get books delivered during this time. Later, I found myself thrilled. Thanks to you, I saw my friend in good spirits for the first time in a while. Thank you."

Jeong started wondering what else a bookstore could do during the coronavirus era. She couldn't afford to send new books but she decided she could send used books and samples to Daegu, and put out a call on social media for people to sign up for free books; the store would pay the delivery fees. She only expected about twenty people to sign up, but soon she was getting pings every minute, so she posted another message, asking if her followers would donate books that she would send. I'm sharing a part of her essay with her permission, to best convey that time:

Not long after I posted, money came into my account. My family sent some cash to cover some delivery fees. With that amount I could send books to eighty people. Soon there were payments of 30,000 won and 50,000 won. When I looked at the names I realized that they were members of our bookshop reading room--the regulars who gather in the evening to read together. They had sent money into the account where they had been sending monthly membership fees, without saying a word about it to me. When I reached out, I was told: "I have family in Daegu, too. I want to help out." "I hear there are people asking for children's books. Please use my donation to deliver books to kids."

I cried a little reading the messages. It became clear in that moment why I hadn't been able to let go of the bookstore even during these difficult times. For me, the bookstore and the people who came to the bookstore, were my social and emotional safety net. Through their actions, my customers were telling me that the world isn't all bad, that there are quite a lot of good people out there, that I can keep believing in the goodwill of people.I sent a thousand books to Daegu, to 160 people.

As I am not young, I know that goodwill doesn't always come back to you as goodwill. But something like a fairytale happened at my bookstore, all because there are people who love books.

I understand that an author is to introduce her book through this letter. But I thought it would be better to use this opportunity to relay this small, luminous anecdote to American booksellers. Of course, a miracle lasts a mere minute and beauty exists for a split second, but these moments come together to forge a life and to create memories. I learned this from people much better than me, and through so many books from around the world. I send my deepest gratitude to all of you guarding our collective "social and emotional safety net," both in the past and into the present day.

The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne is a YA science fiction/romance novel that was a really fast read, due to the zingy dialog-fueled prose. Here's the blurb: Engagement season is in the air. Eighteen-year-old Princess Leonie “Leo” Kolburg, heir to a faded European spaceship, has only one thing on her mind: which lucky bachelor can save her family from financial ruin?

But when Leo’s childhood friend and first love, Elliot, returns as the captain of a successful whiskey ship, everything changes. Elliot was the one who got away, the boy Leo’s family deemed to be unsuitable for marriage. Now he’s the biggest catch of the season and he seems determined to make Leo’s life miserable. But old habits die hard, and as Leo navigates the glittering balls of the Valg Season, she finds herself falling for her first love in a game of love, lies, and past regrets.

Fans of Katharine McGee and Kiera Cass will be dazzled by this world of lost love and royal intrigue. 

The plot was part star-crossed beauty and the beast romance and part "Bachelor" reality show in space. Though she seemed to fall prey to the trope of female protagonist who is too stupid and naive to live too often, I did like Leo and her impatience with all the superficial royal caste system that forces young women to marry for money or power, instead of love. Her sister Carina seemed to pick up even more of the "bimbo blonde royal teen" trope, while all of the other women/girls were smart and cynical and therefore mean and/or evil. Thankfully there was a secondary storyline with a gay character who was out and proud, which alleviated some of my disgust with all the cliches. I'd give this peppy page turner a B+, and recommend it as a summer read to anyone who likes YA romances. 

Faith Taking Flight by Julie Murphy is a YA superhero novel that seems to be based on a graphic novel/comic book, about a fat & fabulous teenager who discovers the reality behind the truism of  "never meet your heroes/heroines." Here's the blurb:

From Julie Murphy, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dumplin’, comes the first in a two-book origin story of Faith, a groundbreaking, plus-sized superhero from the Valiant Entertainment comics.
Faith Herbert is a pretty regular teen. When she’s not hanging out with her two best friends, Matt and Ches, she’s volunteering at the local animal shelter or obsessing over the long-running teen drama The Grove.
So far, her senior year has been spent trying to sort out her feelings for her maybe-crush Johnny and making plans to stay close to Grandma Lou after graduation. Of course, there’s also that small matter of recently discovering she can fly….
When the fictional world of The Grove crashes into Faith’s reality as the show relocates to her town, she can’t believe it when TV heroine Dakota Ash takes a romantic interest in her.
But her fandom-fueled daydreams aren’t enough to distract Faith from the fact that first animals, then people, have begun to vanish from the town. Only Faith seems able to connect the dots to a new designer drug infiltrating her high school.
But when her investigation puts the people she loves in danger, she will have to confront her hidden past and use her newfound gifts—risking everything to save her friends and beloved town.

Obviously I loved the fact that the protagonist is a plus-sized teen who is comfortable in her own skin and learning to love her ability to fly and float in the sky. What I found difficult to believe was that she wasn't bullied and harassed mercilessly by her classmates in high school. I also found it unusual that she had both a guy and a gal vying for her affections. Perhaps things have changed since I was in high school, back in the late 70s, but most guys and gals wouldn't be caught dead dating a fat girl at my high school...they'd be ridiculed for months, if not years. But, as I said, maybe things have changed for the better since then. Still, I loved Faith's pluck and optimism, if not her willful blindness to the evil of her favorite TV show star. The prose was fluffy and fun, and the plot flew as fast as Faith, so I'd give this fantastic novelized superhero comic an A, and recommend it to anyone who longs to see larger women represented in the world of superheroes.

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher is the 16th book in the Dresden Files series of fantasy fiction that takes place in Chicago. One thing that seems obvious about this book is that it was part of a much larger tome that was split in half by the publisher, with book 17 coming out in September. So as a reader you have to accept that there will be a terrible cliffhanger at the end as a set up for book 17, right from the start. That said, I've read all of the Dresden Files, and I'd bet that Butcher is winding down on the series by now, probably ending it by book 20 or before. Here's the blurb: Harry Dresden is back and ready for action, in the new entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files.

When the Supernatural nations of the world meet up to negotiate an end to ongoing hostilities, Harry Dresden, Chicago's only professional wizard, joins the White Council's security team to make sure the talks stay civil. But can he succeed, when dark political manipulations threaten the very existence of Chicago—and all he holds dear? 

I've met Jim Butcher, who, back in the 90s, had a TV show based on the Dresden Files going as well as his books, and yet with all that success he was still a nasty jerk to his fans, myself included. That bad experience aside, I love Harry Dresden, and his Foo dog mouse and the entire cast of characters surrounding him. That, and the kick-ass prose, along with plots that scream along at 100 MPH, always keep me coming back for more, though I am loathe to put more money in Butcher's pockets. Still, there was a bit more than a whisper of fan service to this book, with a lot of rehash of old experiences and traumas from previous books. The whole "Harry's greatest hits" revisited felt like padding and pandering, and while I can't say it was the most horrible thing I've ever seen in a novel, I was still surprised that Butcher (and his editors) would allow that kind of fluff to pad out his work. He should know better, and know that his fans expect better. However, once the novel got up a head of steam, I was riveted to the page and I enjoyed the roller coaster ride that is a day at the office to Harry Dresden. I'd give this novel a B, and recommend it to anyone who is a die hard Dresden Files fan, with the warning that you'll have to step around some cow pies to get to the good stuff in this one.

The Flight Girls by Noelle Salazar is the August book for my library book group. It's a fictionalized account of the formation and missions and lives of the women pilots who made up the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during WWII, who trained male pilots and ferried airplanes back and forth to various bases during the war, at great personal risk. Here's the blurb: Shining a light on a little-known piece of history The Flight Girls is a sweeping portrayal of women’s fearlessness, love, and the power of friendship to make us soar.

1941. Audrey Coltrane has always wanted to fly. It’s why she implored her father to teach her at the little airfield back home in Texas. It’s why she signed up to train military pilots in Hawaii when the war in Europe began. And it’s why she insists she is not interested in any dream-derailing romantic involvements, even with the disarming Lieutenant James Hart, who fast becomes a friend as treasured as the women she flies with. Then one fateful day, she gets caught in the air over Pearl Harbor just as the bombs begin to fall, and suddenly, nowhere feels safe.

To make everything she’s lost count for something, Audrey joins the Women Airforce Service Pilots program. The bonds she forms with her fellow pilots reignite a spark of hope in the face war, and—when James goes missing in action—give Audrey the strength to cross the front lines and fight not only for her country, but for the love she holds so dear.
“Captivated me from the first page and never let go...a powerful tale of courage and sacrifice by the Women Airforce Service Pilots during WWII. A spectacular first novel.”—Sara Ackerman

As you might have gleaned, I am a huge fan of historical romance fiction, with a strong female protagonist, and this book certainly fits the bill. I worked on the WWII floor of the Personal Courage Wing of the Museum of Flight in Seattle, and I learned all about the museum's WASP and WAVE displays then, as well as about the nearly 20 million women who worked in factories and businesses across America (Rosie the Riveter was their icon) to keep the economy going during the war years, when the men were overseas fighting for freedom. These were brave women who dared to wear pants and jumpsuits, to get their hands dirty and work without safety regulations to help the war effort. I greatly admire them all, and this story, though it contained fictional characters, was just wonderful and poignant. My mother was only 4 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, so she was a child during the war, living on a farm in Iowa, yet she remembers her mother, my grandmother, having to deal with rationed sugar and flour, and my grandfather getting extra gas rations so that he could run his tractors into the fields for harvest. 

I found the prose elegant and evocative, and the plot flew as fast as the Spitfire's Audrey flew across America. Though I had to read the book on my computer's digital reading ap, I still enjoyed every paragraph. I'd give this lovely story an A, and recommend it to anyone who wonders about the lives of WASPs during WWII.

Quote of the Day, Apple Inks Sendak Foundation Deal, Island Books Reopens, It All Comes Back to You by Beth Duke, The Vine Witch by Luanne G Smith, Star Trek Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack and Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey

Hey book lovers! Welcome back to my blog. I've been reading up a storm, now that most shows on TV are in hiatus for the summer, or longer, because of production shut downs due to the COVID 19 pandemic. So I have lots to review today. Let's get started. 

This quote is longer than normal, and carries with it some good ideas for supporting your local bookstore, if you have one.

Quotation of the Day

'Bookshops Are Part of the Soul of Our City'

"There's nothing quite like an independent bookshop.... In this digital, screen-obsessed world we live in, books matter and bookshops matter too. In all corners of our city, there are wonderful bookshops giving you the chance to get lost in literature. Shops that may look small from the outside, but inside are a treasure trove for our imaginations. Shops that offer us what online stores don't--a conversation with a real person, a sense of community and belonging.

"Over the last four months these gems on our high street have had to temporarily close their doors due to the pandemic. They've played their part in fighting the spread of the virus at a time when we've needed them the most. Independent bookshops have been hit hard, but--now they're slowly reopening--it's time for us to make sure they survive.

"So what can you do? Support the bookshops on our Pay it Forward http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44884268 platform and get behind our #LondonIsOpen http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44884269 campaign, venture out onto your high street with your mask, grab a coffee and buy a book from your local independent bookshop. Bookshops are part of the soul of our city and their future is in our hands, so let's get out and support them."-Justine Simons, OBE London's deputy mayor for culture and the creative industries and chair of the World Cities Culture Forum (via Harpers Bazaar)

 This should be great, as I've always loved Sendak's childrens books (I used to read Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen to my son when he was little) and I think they would adapt well to the screen, even if it's a computer screen.

Apple Inks Overall Deal with Maurice Sendak Foundation

Apple has entered into a multi-year agreement http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44884320 with the Maurice Sendak Foundation to reimagine new children's series and specials based on Sendak's books and illustrations, which will premiere all over the world exclusively on Apple TV+.

Apple will work with writer, director and longtime Sendak collaborator Arthur Yorinks through his Night Kitchen Studios to develop each project inspired by Maurice Sendak's stories and pictures.

"We are delighted to be collaborating with Apple to bring the work of Maurice Sendak to screens around the world," said foundation president Lynn Caponera. "Though most know him through his iconic books, Sendak's legacy also resides in theater, film and TV, and this partnership with Apple will further the awareness of his unique genius."

 As you know if you have been reading this blog for any length of time, I'm a big fan of Island Books, as it was my go-to bookstore during the 8 years that I was on staff at the late, lamented Mercer Island Reporter newspaper. While I can't risk going there in person, I have ordered books from them online and had them shipped to my house. I miss Roger Page and his crew of great booksellers, and though I've not met the new owner, I can tell that she's kept the tradition of Island Books as an oasis of joy for readers, alive.

On Mercer Island, Wash., Island Books http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44885801 has reopened for browsing, albeit with scaled-back hours due to lower traffic and demand.

Store owner Laurie Raisys and her team are following Washington State's Phase 2 guidelines. All employees are wearing masks, and all customers must wear masks, with disposable masks available for those who don't have their own. Hand sanitizer is available in store, employees wash their hands frequently and there are spaces marked near the counter to illustrate social distancing. Generally speaking, Raisys reported, her community is mostly on board with things like wearing face masks, and their requirements have met with very little resistance.

When protests began in late May following the murder of George Floyd, the local police department warned the store about the possibility of violent protests. As a precaution, Raisys and her team removed some sentimental, historical and irreplaceable items from the store, but thankfully violence never materialized. In response to the protests, which Raisys said she and her team "completely support," they posted about them on social media and created in-store displays featuring related books.

It All Comes Back To You by Beth Duke is a book that I normally wouldn't have read, as it's self published, and by a newer author. Still, the cover was lovely and the story sounded right up my alley. Here's the blurb:  

It's 1947. 

War's over, cherry-print dresses, parking above the city lights, swing dancing. Beautiful, seventeen-year-old Violet lives in a perfect world.

Everybody loves her.

In 2012, she's still beautiful, charming, and surrounded by admirers.

Veronica "Ronni" Johnson, licensed practical nurse and aspiring writer, meets the captivating Violet in the assisted living facility where Violet requires no assistance, just lots of male attention. When she dies, she leaves Ronni a very generous bequest―only if Ronni completes a book about her life within one year. As she's drawn into the world of young Violet, Ronni is mesmerized by life in a simpler time. It's an irresistible journey filled with revelations, some of them about men Ronni knew as octogenarians at Fairfield Springs.

Struggling, insecure, flailing at the keyboard, Ronni juggles her patients, a new boyfriend, and a Samsonite factory of emotional baggage as she tries to craft a manuscript before her deadline.

But then the secrets start to emerge, some of them in person.

And they don't stop.

Everything changes.

Alternating chapters between Homecoming Queen Violet in 1947 and can't-quite-find-her-crown Ronni in the present, IT ALL COMES BACK TO YOU is book club fiction at its hilarious, warm, sad, outrageous, uplifting, and stunning best. In the tradition of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and Olive Kitteridge, Duke delivers an unforgettable elderly character to treasure and a young heroine to steal your heart.

While Ronni, the young protagonist, didn't really steal my heart, Violet's story was engaging enough to keep me turning pages through the labyrinthine plot. Duke's prose is as awkward as a teenager at her first dance, and often stalls or derails the plot, but due to the charming influence of Violet's story (set in the 50s, so it reminded me of my mothers life) it gets back on track and readers are able to continue with the storyline. There are too many cliches and tropes in this book (the innocent and naive teenage girl who gets pregnant and gives up the illegitimate child for adoption, the handsome teenage boy who turns out to be a jerk, the rigid and terrible parents of the teenagers, etc) for it to be successful, however, I can't give it a failing grade because it did keep my attention, even through the cheesy ending. I'd give it a C, and recommend it to those who grew up in the 50s and are looking for a feel-good story of redemption.

The Vine Witch by Luanne G Smith is an interesting magical romantic tale of French witches and curses and love that conquers all. Here's the blurb:

A young witch emerges from a curse to find her world upended in this gripping fantasy set in turn-of-the-century France.
For centuries, the vineyards at Château Renard have depended on the talent of their vine witches, whose spells help create the world-renowned wine of the Chanceaux Valley. Then the skill of divining harvests fell into ruin when sorcière Elena Boureanu was blindsided by a curse. Now, after breaking the spell that confined her to the shallows of a marshland and weakened her magic, Elena is struggling to return to her former life. And the vineyard she was destined to inherit is now in the possession of a handsome stranger.
Vigneron Jean-Paul Martel naively favors science over superstition, and he certainly doesn’t endorse the locals’ belief in witches. But Elena knows a hex when she sees one, and the vineyard is covered in them. To stay on and help the vines recover, she’ll have to hide her true identity, along with her plans for revenge against whoever stole seven winters of her life. And she won’t rest until she can defy the evil powers that are still a threat to herself, Jean-Paul, and the ancient vine-witch legacy in the rolling hills of the Chanceaux Valley.

This book reminded me of the stories of MJ Rose and Alice Hoffman, full of female characters who fight against oppression and the cruelty of men who fear their magical talents. It's a slight novel, only 257 pages, but they glow with elegant prose and a saucy, sparkling wine of a plot that will keep readers turning pages into the wee hours. I loved Elena and Jean-Pauls romance and the descriptions of spells and curses and ancient ways to delete them or cast them was fascinating. All in all, this delightful novel deserves a B+ and a recommendation to anyone who loves French wine and witches. 

Star Trek Picard: The Last Best Hope by Una McCormack is the prequel to the awesome CBS All Access online TV series. Hence, it tells the story of what lead up to Jean Luc Picard's run around the Federation to find the cause of the Mars attack that shattered his mission to help Romulan refugees leave their home planets before their sun went nova. Here's the blurb: “Fifteen years ago…you led us out of the darkness. You commanded the greatest rescue armada in history. Then...the unimaginable. What did that cost you? Your faith. Your faith in us. Your faith in yourself. Tell us, why did you leave Starfleet, Admiral?”

Every end has a beginning…and this electrifying novel details the events leading into the new Star Trek TV series, introducing you to brand-new characters featured in the life of Jean-Luc Picard—widely considered to be one of the most popular and recognizable characters in all of science fiction.

I didn't think this book was going to be as fun of a read as it was. The prose was beautiful and clean, the plot swift and sure, and I delighted in learning more of the background of the characters central to Star Trek Picard, the TV show. I felt that I learned a lot about Raffi, for example, and what lead her to become an alcoholic, and I also learned about the politically evil forces and people who worked to thwart Picard's mission for their own selfish ends. Several others who read this book have pointed out that there is a lot of swearing in it, but that didn't bother me, as it came naturally to whomever was speaking the lines, and to be honest, the main characters were in deep "merde" for most of the book, so it made sense that they'd swear about circumstances beyond their control. I'd give this excellent book an A, and recommend it to anyone watching Star Trek Picard on CBS All Access. This will give you rich background that will make the show all that much more enjoyable.

Not Like The Movies by Kerry Winfrey is a delightful YA novel that was just the thing to get me out of a reading slump. Chloe and Nick's story is full of laughter and sizzlign sexual tension, as well as missteps and meet-cute moments galore. I enjoyed the frothy prose and the easy-breezy plot. Here's the blurb: What happens when your life is a rom-com . . . but you don’t even believe in true love?

Chloe Sanderson is an optimist, and not because her life is easy. As the sole caregiver for her father, who has early-onset Alzheimer’s, she’s pretty much responsible for everything. She has no time—or interest—in getting swept up in some dazzling romance. Not like her best friend, Annie, who literally wrote a rom-com that’s about to premiere in theaters across America . . . and happens to be inspired by Chloe and her cute but no-nonsense boss, Nick Velez.
As the buzz for the movie grows, Chloe reads one too many listicles about why Nick is the perfect man, and now she can’t see him as anything but Reason #4: The scruffy-bearded hunk who’s always there when you need him. But unlike the romance Annie has written for them, Chloe isn’t so sure her own story will end in a happily-ever-after.

I found the so-called best friend Annie to be a complete jerk (and a lazy writer) because she claimed that she HAD to use Chloe's life as the basis of her movie and other scripts, when, if she's even remotely talented, she should be able to come up with something original that doesn't infringe on her friend's life. It is only after a lot of pain has come into Chloe's life that Annie finally admits that she's been intrusive and has abused their friendship. I would have given Annie a pink slip and tossed her out of my life long before she started to tell me what I can and can't say in public because it isn't "good" for publicity for her movie. Fortunately, everything turns out okay, and I found the HEA to be not too sweet and not boring at all. I'd give this book a B+ and recommend it to anyone who wants a fun and fluffy beach read that will leave you smiling.

Robert Gray Essay, Image of the Day, A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer, House Lessons by Erica Bauermeister, and the Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley

Welcome to Covid 19 Summer of Isolation! I can hardly believe that it's July already, and that soon we'll be looking at fall leaves and trying to think of ways to have safe and socially distant Halloween parties for kids.  This is an interesting article from Shelf Awareness (based in Seattle) by founder Robert Gray that discusses the "new normal" of social distancing in bookstores, those lucky enough to have reopened this summer.

Robert Gray: Measuring Customer Service by the Foot

What's the difference between three feet and six feet? If you answered 25 years... well, you wouldn't, but I might. "Space" has long been a critical word in the bookselling world--sales floor space, shelf space, community space, cozy space. We think about space often, though we were not always compelled to measure it for every personal encounter. Until now, that is, as we normalize the Covid-19 era of six-foot spacing.

In the mid-1990s, one of our most loyal bookstore customers was a corporate consultant for the hotel, cruise ship and restaurant industry. He routinely flew all over the planet to hold seminars for, primarily, frontline and middle management staff. A great believer in the importance of "the last three feet," he focused on that critical moment when a member of the company's staff personally, physically, psychologically and emotionally transfers "product"--a meal, a room key, an entertainment recommendation--across the unfathomable gap between the corporation and an individual consumer/guest.

For decades three feet has been my preferred retail metric, but over the past few months the prevailing measurement has suddenly doubled to six feet. Thanks, Covid-19.

This week I've been thinking even more about retail footage and social/physical distancing for a couple of reasons. The first prompt came from learning that Amazon has launched a creepy personnel tracking system http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44669892 that "applies artificial intelligence and machine learning to the camera footage in our buildings to help site leaders identify high traffic areas and implement additional measures to improve social distancing."

Called Distance Assistant http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44669893, the system uses augmented reality "to create a magic-mirror-like tool that helps associates see their physical distancing from others. Working backwards from a concept of immediate visual feedback, and inspired by existing examples like radar speed check signs, our 'Distance Assistant' provides employees with live feedback on social distancing via a 50 inch monitor, a camera, and a local computing device. The standalone unit uses machine learning models to differentiate people from their surroundings. Combined with depth sensors, it creates an accurate distance measurement between associates." Privacy activists have... raised concerns.

At Third Place Books, Seattle In addition, I've been monitoring the gradual but steady move toward reopening of independent bookstores as lockdown restrictions are lifted haphazardly state by state, nation by nation. Masks, appointment shopping, limits on number of customers allowed inside, plexiglass POS shields, hand sanitizer stations everywhere and so many other precautions have effectively put the "last three feet" ceremony on hold for the future, foreseeable or otherwise.

In fact, the traditional handselling ritual is hard to re-imagine right now. Masked up, you sanitize your hands, take a book off a shelf or display, offer it toward a physically distanced patron while spinning your brief tale about what makes this an irresistible read, then place the book on an antiseptic surface nearby. The masked customer, hands also freshly sanitized, picks up the book, studies the jacket, makes a quicker-than-usual decision, then either returns it to the neutral space or rushes off toward a cashier.

I'm certain bookstores are already figuring out how to bring magic to physically-distanced handselling because that's what great booksellers do. After all, for the past three months, they've found a way to make online ordering, curbside pickup and local deliveries exciting and personal.

The Seattle Times reported not long ago that bookseller Tegan Tigani http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44669894

of the Queen Anne Book Company http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44669895 had been working from home since March 25: "During a typical shift at the bookstore, Tigani would talk books with customers all day long. Pivoting to online retailing was not in her life plan, but she's spent most of April and May processing online orders and taking phone calls from the many die-hard QABC customers who are sticking with their neighborhood shop."

Tigani said: "I try to always add a little personality," citing as an example a personal note she had written to a regular customer who was sending books to her children back east. "Even though we are doing this in a way that is no-touch, we still have a way to touch."

Another couple of interesting articles on bookstores that have bookstore cats who roam the aisles and help their local booksellers with projects large and small!

Image of the Day: Sir Terry Scratchett Says 'Mask Up!

Nowhere Bookshop http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44813137 in San Antonio, Tex., the new independent founded by author Jenny Lawson, was hoping to open before the shutdown but is still closed to the public, and is offering curbside pick-up. When the store does manage to open up, there's a friendly cat, Sir Terry Scratchett, ready to remind all visitors to mask up.

 BTW, I really want a copy of this book...my mom, who is a huge cat person, would love it!

Image of the Day: Raven Book Store's The Sound and the Purry

From Danny Caine at Raven Book Store http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44854673, Lawrence, Kan.:

"We recently discovered that this winter, Raven bookseller Lily Bay had been opening a word document every time Dashiell, one of our cats, fell asleep on the keyboard. The result was 50+ pages of, shall we say, 'experimental' text. With Lily and Dashiell's permission, we've decided to publish the document as a limited-edition zine called The Sound and the Purry: A Novel by Dashiell the Bookstore Cat http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44854674. All proceeds will go to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Lawrence Humane Society, where Dashiell and his fellow Raven cat Ngaio originated." The novel will be released tomorrow, July 7, and the store is holding a live q&a with Dashiell on Crowdcast  http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz44854675 at 2 p.m. Central.

 A Heart so Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer is the sequel to last year's wonderful A Curse so Dark and Lonely, which was a retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. In this book, though, things progress rapidly for the cast of characters, particularly Grey and Lia Mara, whose stories alternate each chapter. Here's the blurb: In the sequel to New York Times bestselling A Curse So Dark and Lonely, Brigid Kemmerer returns to the world of Emberfall in a lush fantasy where friends become foes and love blooms in the darkest of places.

Find the heir, win the crown.
The curse is finally broken, but Prince Rhen of Emberfall faces darker troubles still. Rumors circulate that he is not the true heir and that forbidden magic has been unleashed in Emberfall. Although Rhen has Harper by his side, his guardsman Grey is missing, leaving more questions than answers.

Win the crown, save the kingdom.
Grey may be the heir, but he doesn't want anyone to know his secret. On the run since he destroyed Lilith, he has no desire to challenge Rhen--until Karis Luran once again threatens to take Emberfall by force. Her own daughter Lia Mara sees the flaws in her mother's violent plan, but can she convince Grey to stand against Rhen, even for the good of Emberfall? The heart-pounding, compulsively readable saga continues as loyalties are tested and new love blooms in a kingdom on the brink of war.

The author's prose is beautifully rendered here, clean and strong, while the plot runs at a gallop and still manages to engage readers into turning pages long past their bedtime. I loved it, and give it a well deserved A, with a recommendation to anyone who has read the first book in the series. No sophomore slump here!

House Lessons by Erica Bauermeister is the fifth book of hers that I've read, though it is her first non fiction title that I've picked up. I've interviewed EB twice for two different publications (I'm a retired journalist) and she's very like her prose: elegant, graceful and wise. There's no plot, per se, it's just the story of how the Bauermeisters (Erica and her family) bought a wreak of a home in Port Townsend and renovated it over the course of a couple of years, while also renovating their connections as a family in the busy tech-obsessed world of today. Here's the blurb: From New York Times bestselling author Erica Bauermeister comes a memoir about the power of home—and the transformative act of restoring one house in particular.

“I think anyone who saves an old house has to be a caretaker at heart, a believer in underdogs, someone whose imagination is inspired by limitations, not endless options.”
In this mesmerizing memoir-in-essays, Erica Bauermeister renovates a trash-filled house in eccentric Port Townsend, Washington, and in the process takes readers on a journey to discover the ways our spaces subliminally affect us. A personal, accessible, and literary exploration of the psychology of architecture, as well as a loving tribute to the connections we forge with the homes we care for and live in, this book is designed for anyone who’s ever fallen head over heels for a house. It is also a story of a marriage, of family, and of the kind of roots that settle deep into your heart. Discover what happens when a house has its own lessons to teach in this moving and insightful memoir that ultimately shows us how to make our own homes (and lives) better.  

This is one of those great books that makes you think and feel and fall in love with life. As someone who finds it soothing to look through real estate listings every night, and dream of owning a large and beautiful home with built in bookshelves and bathrooms and cozy corners to sit and read, this book spoke to me about the power of place, and our need as humans to have a safe home to come to at the end of the work day, where we can abide with family and friends. My only wish that wasn't fulfilled by this brilliant work was for more before and after photos or drawings of their Port Townsend home. Another well deserved A, with a recommendation to anyone who enjoys real estate, architecture and the philosophy of home and hearth. 

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley is a delightful novel that takes place in England (and a bit on a beach in Thailand) and is reminiscent of Elizabeth Berg's Arthur Truluv series. Here's the blurb: The story of a solitary green notebook that brings together six strangers and leads to unexpected friendship, and even love

Julian Jessop, an eccentric, lonely artist and septuagenarian believes that most people aren't really honest with each other. But what if they were? And so he writes--in a plain, green journal--the truth about his own life and leaves it in his local café. It's run by the incredibly tidy and efficient Monica, who furtively adds her own entry and leaves the book in the wine bar across the street. Before long, the others who find the green notebook add the truths about their own deepest selves--and soon find each other In Real Life at Monica's Café.

The Authenticity Project's cast of characters--including Hazard, the charming addict who makes a vow to get sober; Alice, the fabulous mommy Instagrammer whose real life is a lot less perfect than it looks online; and their other new friends--is by turns quirky and funny, heartbreakingly sad and painfully true-to-life. It's a story about being brave and putting your real self forward--and finding out that it's not as scary as it seems. In fact, it looks a lot like happiness.
The Authenticity Project is just the tonic for our times that readers are clamoring for--and one they will take to their hearts and read with unabashed pleasure.

The problem with some of the main characters is that they aren't authentic, or truthful with the notebook or themselves, which leads to a lot of chaos and heartbreak. Julian, for example, lies to himself and in the notebook by saying his wife is dead, when in reality, she left him because he was a two-timing, egotistical jerk who didn't appreciate her or treat her as anything but a maid. Hazard, meanwhile, is not a "charming" addict (I don't think I've met anyone yet who was addicted to alcohol or drugs who could be described as charming...violent, thieving, cruel and ugly, yes, but charming? No) at all, but is an immature and cruel asshat who doesn't deserve Monica or any woman at all, after all the women (and others) he's abused. If you're sensing a theme here, that most all of the men in this book are shite, you're right. Somehow, though, the reader is supposed to see them as lovable rogues, which makes no sense to me. Even the protagonist, Monica, seems codependent here, and her OCD makes her seem less, not more sympathetic. Anyway, the prose was decent, and the plot moved along briskly, earning this book a B, with the recommendation that if you're a feminist, you might want to give this one a pass. If you are not too picky about men and their foibles, no matter their age or proclivities, then you might want to pick up a copy and enjoy.