Fashion's Novel Trend, The Infinite Machine and Wicked Movies, Backlist Reading, Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco, The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani, and Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics

It's the last day of April, and here I am squeaking in under the wire with my final post of the month. It's been a sad day, too, as today we learned of the death of Naomi Judd, who toured and sang many a country hit with her daughter Wynonna Judd through the 70s, 80s and 90s. I was lucky enough to see them in concert in Florida, when I was living there, with my good friend Debbie, and we had a fine time marveling at their glorious harmonies. RIP Naomi, may you sing with the angels in heaven.

While I'm not much of a fashion hound, I would LOVE to wear clothing with words or phrases or books imprinted on them, as that would be a style that really speaks to me as a bibliophile. I'm not sure that this trend will inspire more people to read, but if even one model decides to pick up a copy of a Steinbeck or Steinem classic, it will have been worth the trendy clothing fad. 

Fashion’s novel trend

In recent years, the worlds of literature and fashion have become more entwined. Dior featured models walking down a runway printed with Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road,” while Valentino tapped authors like Brit Bennett and David Sedaris to contribute to ad campaigns. Books have become “coveted signifiers of taste and self-expression,” Nick Haramis writes in T Magazine, and it’s an open secret in Hollywood that book stylists suggest reading material for celebrities and influencers to carry — and be photographed with — in public.

 

Critics wonder if the books are simply being used as props. But stores like the Strand in New York have long provided services in which they’ll fill shelves for clients, celebrity or otherwise, by color, style or subject.

“It could be art and architecture monographs in shades of peach, blue and green, or all leather-bound books for a room with a goth feel,” said Jenna Hipp, who puts together libraries for corporate clients and celebrities. “Clients will say to us, ‘I want people to think I’m about this. I want people to think I’m about that.’”

 

For authors, if books have become a version of the latest It Bag, it’s good for business. “If you ask any writer, they want to be read, but they also want to keep writing,” said Karah Preiss, who runs Belletrist, an online reading community, with the actress Emma Roberts. “The bottom line for publishers is not, ‘Did your book get read?’ It’s, ‘Did your book sell?’ And famous readers sell books.” — Sanam Yar, a Morning writer

 

I am a big fan of Ridley and Tom Scott, who between them have directed some of my all time favorite movies. Hence I will be keeping an eye out for this movie, which is sure to be interesting and well-directed, if nothing else.

Movies: The Infinite Machine

Scott Free Productions will produce a film adaptation of The Infinite Machine https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscACNkL8I6aphdxh1HQ~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jHX5H3poMLg-gVdw: How an Army of Crypto-hackers Is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum by Camila Russo, Deadline reported.

The film will be written for the screen and directed by Shyam Madiraju, with Ridley Scott, Tom Moran and Vera Meyer of Scott Free producing alongside Alejandro Miranda of Versus Entertainment.

"It's incredibly exciting to have Ridley Scott and the crew at Scott Free produce the movie of The Infinite Machine alongside us," Russo said. "I can't imagine a better team to turn the riveting story about the people behind the most revolutionary technology since the internet into a feature film that will capture the hearts of our generation."

 Though I didn't like the book Wicked, I am a big fan of the score of the Broadway musical, and I am sure the movie version will be just as thrilling.

Movies: Wicked

Universal will release Wicked https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscACPl-QI6apgJ0h2HA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jHXZaspoMLg-gVdw, its film adaptation of the Broadway musical, in two parts, on December 25, 2024 and December 25, 2025. Deadline reported that the strategy was "a bold swing for a musical, which of late have been risky onscreen. However, this one is based on a legacy crowd-pleaser."

Jon M. Chu is directing the movie, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, which was adapted for the screen by the stage production's book writer Winne Holzman and Oscar-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. Deadline noted that "working to Wicked's advantage is that it's a near $3 billion-grossing Broadway musical seen by more than 30 million people worldwide."

 I actually met Greg Iles at a writers conference back in the late 90s, and he has become quite a big deal in the world of publishing. I'm also a fan of the Pillars of the Earth and of Wolf Hall and the Mitford sisters books. I hope that people are intrigued by these forays into backlists, because there are plenty of worthy reads there.

Read and Get Happy: Highlighting Backlist Reading

Literature has always been the answer for me. Whenever things go wrong, I turn to books. It's also where I go when I am especially happy. And of course it's where I go when I need to learn something. Last month two of those things were true. The world had become destabilizing again as we all braced for what looked like might become an actual world war. My grasp of war history is shaky so it seemed like I should turn to books to learn about the lead up to other wars and how people, my people, the book people, faced things.

I started on some war backlist reading, and there are piles of it to be sure. But it wasn't long until I realized that what I was really craving was another kind of historical reading. Character-driven novels where people found love and made art, cooked and gardened, built big things and wrote interesting stories--in general, they lived their lives in spite of the world around them. Sometimes I feel like that is indeed the calling. There have always been wars and there has always been joy right alongside. So this month's backlist brings you some bits of history, joyfully told, which will hopefully calm and cheer.

"The small boys came early to the hanging." What a magnificent first sentence, and it only gets better from there. Do you remember the first time you read The Pillars of the Earth? Sure, it's a novel about the building of a cathedral set in the 12th century. But that doesn't begin to cover it. It's a novel about power and family. It's a story about a monk and a mason. It's a generational saga. Ken Follett is one of the greatest storytellers of all time. The Pillars of the Earth is thrilling and utterly diverting, and there are probably a couple of generations of readers nobody has told. We must hurry up and tell them right now. Happily, after The Pillars of the Earth there are two more in the trilogy to keep new readers coming back.

I am ever glad that Hilary Mantel was born. Wolf Hall is reason enough. In the first of her Thomas Cromwell trilogy, Mantel gives us the notorious Henry VIII, Cromwell, Anne Boleyn and Katherine of Aragon as they navigate the politics of the day tangled up in scandal where potential threats are tucked behind every royal door. History is never boring in Mantel's hands. Instead, it's riveting and the best kind of storytelling that will shore you up for whatever's coming IRL.

Greg Iles is yet another of the multitude of brilliant writers hailing from Mississippi. Natchez Burning is also the first book in a trilogy about the American South. Old romantic secrets amid small town corruption and the racial sins of our ancestors make for a common enough story. But in Iles's deft hands we are transported. It's small-town Mississippi over a sticky hot 1960s summer. It's also a legal puzzle.

The heat and the pace left me thirsty and both panting to finish and longing to make it last. Only a Southerner could have told this story. It isn't preachy or apologetic. It...smolders. Natchez Burning is a reminder that as bleak as things can get, they will seldom stay fixed that way forever. I like that lesson right about now.

Jessica Fellowes is the new kid in the Fellowes family. Her famous uncle gave the world Downton Abbey and now she has given us the Mitford sisters books, starting with The Mitford Murders. These breezy, glitzy novels center on the true-life Mitford sisters who were glamming around London in the 1920s. The first novel was based on a real unsolved crime, and fans of Downton Abbey or Nancy Drew will love it. Think glitzy and witty, and you will just about have it. There is nothing much wrong that one of Fellowes's five Mitford novels won't make better. They make for a chic, clever afternoon anyway. And isn't that exactly what we're craving? --Ellen Stimson

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco (presented by James Patterson) was a two dollar ebook that sounded like it was right up my alley, with a Victorian heroine, a romantic subplot and the pacing of a mystery-thriller. Unfortunately, the author, instead of having her female protagonist become a strong force against patriarchal control and ridiculous societal mores, ends up having Audrey Rose Wadsworth become a sniveling, vomiting, "frozen in fear"  bawling emotional train wreck in most of the important scenes. This makes her seem all the more unrealistic when she appears to be obsessed with "forensic science" and the autopsy of cadavers under the instruction of the local medical examiner, her uncle. Her father, who is a Lord, is a creepy mean opium addict who seems to have little love or care for her, beyond wanting to control her every waking moment and marry her off to some dreary old noble as soon as possible. Her brother, who initially seems to want to help her become educated, also comes across as creepy and controlling, until the easily spotted plot twist at the end. She has no decent or caring female relatives, and her mother is dead. So Audrey Rose's infatuation with the first boy she's able to go out with unchaperoned is no surprise. Here's the blurb:

This #1 New York Times bestseller and deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion.

Seventeen year old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life. Against her stern father's wishes and society's expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine.

When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world. The story's shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget!

SPOILERS ahead! I really felt that it didn't make sense for Audrey to be so weak (vomiting and crying, and nearly fainting) when seeing corpses of women murdered by the Ripper, and then being able to cut open cadavers during autopsy and not have even a whiff of weakness or fear. I also found it hard to believe she'd find out that Jack the Ripper is her brother, and be perfectly fine with letting him go, or trying to "get him help" when there's no real psychiatric help at that time for psychopaths who murder women and eat their organs. But she's all "frozen" and unable to move throughout her confrontation with her evil brother, allowing herself to be tied up and used in his insane Frankenstein scheme. Pathetic. Anyway, the prose was clean and clear, but the plot had some holes and moments that were dead, if you'll excuse the pun. I'd give this book a C+ and only recommend it to those who like petite and wimpy Victorian heroines with insane male relatives.

The Good Left Undone by Adriana Trigiani is her latest book in a series of historical romance literature, based on stories of her ancestors and relatives in Italy (Trigiani grew up in America and now lives in New York). I've read everything the glorious Adriana has written, as has my mother Roma. We love her engrossing stories of Italian immigrants who work hard to make it in America. I even pre-ordered this hardback book, in hopes that I'd get it delivered on the publication date, I was so anxious to delve into another Trigiani story. That's why I was so disappointed that this novel was rife with the Catholic religion, as well as the women who lived their lives around the church and were oppressed by its outdated and misogynistic strictures. I hate it when authors try weaving religion throughout the text, like a lame character or a miasma of brainwashing and fear. The priests in this novel treat some of the main female characters horribly, and the characters allow themselves to be punished in these terrible ways just because the Catholic church had a stranglehold over the lives of people in pre-war and war-torn Italy. Even though there's all this suffering attributed to the priests and the church, the author portrays them as great men who were only trying to help...something I don't agree with at all, though I can honestly say that there are some good nuns and priests out there, after having attended a Catholic college myself for four years. Still Trigiani's prose is impeccable, and her plot manages to keep all the characters moving forward at a somewhat measured pace. So, while I had some major problems with the novel, it was still a strong story of four generations of women growing up in a small Italian town, and I felt some love for this interesting book.

 Here is the blurb:

 From “a master of visual and palpable detail” (The Washington Post), comes a lush, immersive novel about three generations of Tuscan artisans with one remarkable secret. Epic in scope and resplendent with the glorious themes of identity and belonging, The Good Left Undone unfolds in breathtaking turns.
 
Matelda, the Cabrelli family’s matriarch, has always been brusque and opinionated. Now, as she faces the end of her life, she is determined to share a long-held secret with her family about her own mother’s great love story: with her childhood friend, Silvio, and with dashing Scottish sea captain John Lawrie McVicars, the father Matelda never knew.
In the halcyon past, Domenica Cabrelli thrives in the coastal town of Viareggio until her beloved home becomes unsafe when Italy teeters on the brink of World War II. Her journey takes her from the rocky shores of Marseille to the mystical beauty of Scotland to the dangers of wartime Liverpool—where Italian Scots are imprisoned without cause—as Domenica experiences love, loss, and grief while she longs for home. A hundred years later, her daughter, Matelda, and her granddaughter, Anina, face the same big questions about life and their family’s legacy, while Matelda contemplates what is worth fighting for. But Matelda is running out of time, and the two timelines intersect and weave together in unexpected and heartbreaking ways that lead the family to shocking revelations and, ultimately, redemption.   

This is my other big problem with the book, there are too many characters to keep track of, and Trigiani introduces more of them throughout the book. You'd need a family tree or an index of some kind to keep track of who's who, with all the hidden relatives, remarriages and secret marriages from the past.  If the focus would have stayed on Matelda and her mother, that would have made the book that much better, instead of adding the dunderhead granddaughter Anina who doesn't do much until the end, and we really don't get a sense of who she is during the novel at all. I also found it horrific that women were told to stay with their husbands no matter what (even if they were abused or being forced to have too many children, even if it meant their own death!) and men who strayed/had affairs were supposed to be forgiven and allowed to have their wives slave over them for the rest of their lives, even if they were repeat offenders and constantly betraying their marital vows. Women were told they needed to do things to make themselves more attractive to these louts, when they should have tossed them out on their ears and gotten a divorce. Men in this book are always given forgiveness and a clean slate, while women are punished or banished for much lighter offenses and not offered forgiveness or even the benefit of the doubt. This shameless double standard and misogyny turned my stomach, and I found myself not enjoying Matelda's journey, knowing how badly her mother had been treated by the church. I don't buy the whole "That's just the way it was back then" trope, either, especially in a fiction novel. If it's fiction, you can do whatever you want, and strong Italian women don't have to be sheep who just do whatever the priest or their husband says. So, heartbreaking as it is, I can only give this book a B- (and I'm being generous because I adore Adriana) and recommend it to those who don't mind reading about the stranglehold the Catholic Church had over Italy before and during WWII.

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics is a huge tome (in every sense of the word...the book must weigh at least 15 pounds) that chronicles the life of one of Country music's greatest leading ladies. This is the May book for my book group, so I got not only a hardback copy from the library, I got the CD version so I could hear snippets of the many songs that Parton wrote throughout the past 60 plus years of her career. Here's the blurb:

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics is a landmark celebration of the remarkable life and career of a country music and pop culture legend.

As told by Dolly Parton in her own inimitable words, explore the songs that have defined her journey. Illustrated throughout with previously unpublished images from Dolly Parton's personal and business archives.

Mining over 60 years of songwriting, Dolly Parton highlights 175 of her songs and brings readers behind the lyrics.

• Packed with never-before-seen photographs and classic memorabilia
• Explores personal stories, candid insights, and myriad memories behind the songs

Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics reveals the stories and memories that have made Dolly a beloved icon across generations, genders, and social and international boundaries.

Containing rare photos and memorabilia from Parton's archives, this book is a show-stopping must-have for every Dolly Parton fan.

• Learn the history behind classic Parton songs like "Jolene," "9 to 5," "I Will Always Love You," and more.
• The perfect gift for Dolly Parton fans (everyone loves Dolly!) as well as lovers of music history and country

Add it to the shelf with books like Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton, The Beatles Anthology by The Beatles, and Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen.

Though I'm far from a big country music fan, there are some artists (like the Judds, mentioned above) and Dolly Parton who transcend the Country genre because their songs have crossed over into pop music history, and in Dolly's case, film history as well. I was a huge fan of the film she starred in with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda called 9 to 5, and the theme song was so catchy that I had it memorized after the second time I'd heard it. Parton has written thousands of songs that have had success with other singers, including the glorious cover of "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston (RIP) for the movie The Bodyguard, which was also a huge favorite of mine. These behind the scenes photos and textual memories are fascinating enough that even weak people who can't lift the book will want a copy to find out what really happened with Dolly and Porter Wagoner, and to see photos of Dolly's husband, who is so camera shy it's been thought that he wasn't real. I don't generally like long winded memoirs, but I couldn't put down this book, and though I'm also not a fan of the "humble-brag" (ie I came from nothing and built a multi-million dollar empire, aw-shucks), Dolly manages to be real and smart and funny without it becoming smarmy or overly sentimental. She also is courageous enough to never apologize for who she is and how she dresses and presents herself, which is very disarming and charming. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who'd like a peek backstage at the songs and stories of the life of a Country music legend.

The Water Dancer Movie, The Future of Bookselling at Tombolo Books, Book Donation Program in Castle Rock, Wash, Pearls of Wisdom Book Trailer, Time Traveler's Wife on TV, A Heart So Fierce and Broken and A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer, Better off Read by Nora Page and Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

 Good evening, fellow book people! I'm always amazed at how fast the month goes by when I look at it from a new blog post...seems like just yesterday it was blustery March weather and freezing temps. Still, I have one more post after this one to be completed in April, before we move on to the lusty month of May (as they say in the musical Camelot) and start preparing for summertime. This is post 812, BTW, which heartens me as I believe that I will be at one thousand posts within the next two years. 

I enjoyed reading this book with my library book group, who were suprisingly open to the magical realism aspects of the story. I'm excited to see what they'll do with that magical aspect in the upcoming movie.

Movies: The Water Dancer

Nia DaCosta (Candyman) will direct an adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates's 2019 novel The Water Dancer https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51762362 for MGM, Plan B, Harpo Films and Maceo-Lyn, Deadline reported. Coates, who is adapting the book for the screen, founded the production company Maceo-Lyn with his long-time friends and collaborators Kamilah Forbes and Kenyatta Matthews.

The Water Dancer marks the second collaboration between Plan B and Coates, who are also in development on the feature Wrong Answer, based on Rachel Aviv's New Yorker story of the same name, Deadline noted. Coates is adapting it, with Ryan Coogler directing, Michael B. Jordan starring and Plan B producing alongside Proximity Media and New Regency Productions.

Additional Plan B projects set up at MGM, as part of their overall second-look feature film deal with the studio, include Sarah Polley's adaptation of Miriam Toews's novel Women Talking; Cory Finley's adaptation of M.T. Anderson's novel Landscape With Invisible Hand; as well as film adapations of Chandler Baker's The Husbands, with Kristen Wiig attached to star and produce; and Lisa Taddeo's Animal, which she will adapt for the screen.

 I have two long tidbits about Tombolo Books that were gleaned from Shelf Awareness, mainly because it's a bookstore in the town I used to live in St Petersburg, Florida. I used to haunt the bookstores in St Pete, like Haslams and Wilson's Book World, but Tombolo has carved a niche for themselves in that sandy town, and I hope that they continue to thrive there.

The Future of Bookselling: Kelsey Jagneaux, Tombolo Books

Events coordinators have an essential but mighty variable role in the business of selling books. Between mics, projectors and Zoom, they're necessarily tech-savvy, but they're also capable public speakers and charming interlocutors, and detail-oriented enough to keep publishers, publicists, authors and deliveries all moving in a straight line in advance of an event. It's an impressive collection of skills, and I'm grateful for every unflappable and gracious events coordinator I've known.

Last year, I put together a two-store virtual event for Claire Cox and Daniel Lavery to celebrate the publication of Claire's debut novel, Silver Beach. Without the incredible Kelsey Jagneaux, it just couldn't have happened. She's a historian turned indie bookseller and events coordinator at the gorgeous Tombolo Books https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51792317 in St. Petersburg, Fla., where she also co-hosts the store's weekly New Release Tuesday video series with the excellent veteran bookseller Amanda Hurley. She began her bookselling career in May 2020.

What's it like being a bookseller in your city? What have you learned about St. Pete from selling books there?

We are in such a golden moment for indie bookstores in St. Petersburg! Tombolo is lucky to share the stage with a few really stellar indies: Wilson's Book World, Book and Bottle, Cultured Books, Nerd Out Comics and Bess the Book Bus! I would also be remiss if I didn't mention Haslam's Books, which is the largest new and used bookstore in Florida. They closed at the start of the pandemic, and we haven't heard whether or not they're going to reopen yet. It really is a deeply missed St. Pete institution.

Tombolo opened in December 2019, right before the start of the pandemic. It is a testament to the power of indies and to the incredible dedication of our owners that we not only survived, but managed to thrive through it all. I have learned too much to even begin to get it all down here, but I will say one thing: I come from a very small town in south Louisiana where you can't even have a thought without everyone knowing about it. I feel more in tune with St. Petersburg than I ever did in my hometown. I credit that to being an indie bookseller, and even more so to being the events coordinator at an indie bookstore. You meet so many incredible people: authors, readers, journalists, artists. We have hosted everyone from politicians to community activists through our events program. Tombolo has really become this little microcosm of all the wonderful things about St. Petersburg. It's just wonderful to witness from the inside.

What do you do when you're not in the store?

This question is always so funny to me because the honest answer is: read. More specifically, read on the beach. As someone who is not from Florida, the ease of access I have to a beach has not lost its charm at all, even four years later.

What is your favorite fictional depiction of a bookstore in film or on the page?

I'll let readers guess. Here is your clue: "I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her." In fact, I love it so much that my Instagram bio reads "I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to move 'cause he is blocking the cheese plate." And I think my version carries the same depth of emotion as the original, don't you? --Jeff Waxman

 I would love to visit this place, but I don't think I've ever been to Castle Rock (I live in the Western part of the state of Washington). This is a great idea for getting kids reading.

Bookstore Owner Revives Book Donation Program

Jennifer Engkraf, owner of Vaults Books & Brew https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51791073 in Castle Rock, Wash., is working to replace a book donation program that provided free books to local students. According to the Daily News, Engkraf hosted her first book giveaway in November and is planning another for May. Going forward she hopes to run giveaways twice per year for Castle Rock third-graders and will form a 501c3 to collect donations.

Engkraf, who has a background in early childhood education, told the Daily News that she is focusing on third-grade students because they are at a critical stage for literacy, and that after third grade it takes students longer to catch up on their reading skills.

She added that the books she received as a child helped foster her lifelong love of reading, and she wants to provide local students with the same experience. "Some kids go home and don't see books and think reading is just for school. I want to normalize reading."

The Tampa Bay Times used to be the famed St Pete Times, which was a fine paper that I read when I lived there, and I'm glad to see that they're still doing great local business profiles. 

Tombolo Books Owner Alsace Walentine: 'I'm a 100% Optimist About the Future'

A conversation with Alsace Walentine co-owner of Tombolo Books https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51791087, St. Petersburg, Fla., was featured in the Tampa Bay Times, which noted: "At a time when so many businesses have failed, Tombolo has done surprisingly well, hosting authors and legions of avid readers." Among the highlights of the q&a:

How did you come up with the name? We were literally going through the dictionary looking at words for something meaningful. Tombolo is a geographic term for a type of sandbar that connects an island to the mainland A tombolo connects a lone island, and I thought that's what a really good independent bookstore does, it creates connections to this whole world of ideas and stories, a whole world of authors and other readers.

Have customers been drawn to certain types of books during the pandemic?

We sold more of the plague that (first) year. I think it's really interesting how many authors had books coming out at the very beginning of the pandemic. It had been about 100 years since the Spanish flu so I think a lot of authors were just looking at history. Certainly a lot of people want to escape the pandemic so a lot of shoppers are buying things that have nothing to do with it. We always intended to have a strong Florida nonfiction section because there are so many tourists, but it's also important to understand your history.

Tampa's Inkwood Books has closed and Haslam's in St. Petersburg hasn't reopened since the pandemic. Are you worried about the future of independents like Tombolo?

I'm a 100% optimist about the future. I have unwavering faith in people's desire to read physical books and have a place to go and browse a curated selection of physical books.

 This book looks hilarious, so I am going to try and track down a copy.

Book Trailer of the Day: Pearls of Wisdom

Pearls of Wisdom: Advice from a Dead Squirrel Who Knows Everything https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51794059 by ME Pearl and Georgette Spelvin (Apollo Publishers).

 I read this book many moons ago, and I did see the original movie, though I wasn't impressed with the casting or the way the film was directed. Now a new version is coming out on May 15 on a streaming service, which I am excited to see, especially with Steven Moffat as producer.

TV: The Time Traveler's Wife

HBO has released the official trailer for its six-part series The Time Traveler's Wife https://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51794066, based on the novel by Audrey Niffenegger, Deadline reported. Set to premiere May 15, the project stars Rose Leslie, Theo James, Desmin Borges and Natasha Lopez.

"What is thrilling of the interaction of time travel and a love story here, is it makes the most common phenomenon of a completely happy marriage, interesting again," said writer and executive producer Steven Moffat during the show's TCA presentation in February. "Love stories, or love movies, tend to end at the altar. We never do the bit where people are perfectly happy for decades because it seems like a dramatic thing. By scrambling it all up and constantly reminding you that love is inextricably linked to loss, which is a cheery thought, you make this very common phenomenon of a happy marriage, thrilling and full of attention and tragedy."

The Time Traveler's Wife is produced by HBO and Warner Bros. Television with Moffat, Sue Vertue, and Brian Minchin executive producing via their Hartswood Films alongside Joseph E. Iberti and director David Nutter.

 A Heart So Fierce and Broken and A Vow So Bold and Deadly are the last two YA fantasy books in the Cursebreaker series by Brigid Kemmerer, which are follow ups to A Curse So Dark and Lonely which I believe that I read a few years ago. Anyway, as with much YA fantasy there's several romantic subplots, all of which involve strong young female protagonists standing by their broken and angry guys, while trying to de-escalate the wars that they want to fight and rehab them to dilute their toxic masculinity. The first book was a kind of Beauty and the Beast/Snow White retelling (where Snow White was çh of these women have to die in order for our heroes and heroines to finally bring peace to their countries and move on with their love lives. Here's the blurbs:

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.

Kingdoms will clash. Choose your side.
The incredible conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer's Cursebreaker series.

Face your fears, fight the battle.
Emberfall is crumbling fast, torn between those who believe Rhen is the rightful prince and those who are eager to begin a new era under Grey, the true heir. Grey has agreed to wait two months before attacking Emberfall, and in that time, Rhen has turned away from everyone--even Harper, as she desperately tries to help him find a path to peace.

Fight the battle, save the kingdom.
Meanwhile, Lia Mara struggles to rule Syhl Shallow with a gentler hand than her mother. But after enjoying decades of peace once magic was driven out of their lands, some of her subjects are angry Lia Mara has an enchanted prince and a magical scraver by her side. As Grey's deadline draws nearer, Lia Mara questions if she can be the queen her country needs.

As the two kingdoms come closer to conflict, loyalties are tested, love is threatened, and an old enemy resurfaces who could destroy them all, in this stunning conclusion to bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer's Cursebreaker series.

 

What is so great about this series is that the prose is so smooth and lovely that you're more than halfway through the book before you realize that you've been turning pages for the past 5 hours without stopping for food or bathroom breaks. It's unputdownable, and the well crafted plots aid in the intense readability. I actually bought an ebook copy of " A Heart So Fierce..." and was halfway through it before I realized I'd read it before in regular paperback version (and I blogged about it! How could I forget?! I must be getting old!). But I decided to re-read it anyway, as I'd forgotten a lot about the characters and their situation in the year since I read it. So "A Vow So Bold" was familiar territory by the time I downloaded it onto my Kindle, and I delved into the final tale with relish. My one minor complaint isn't just with Kemmerer's series, it's with all fantasy romances (or contemporary romances, or paranormal romances, etc) that any time a woman gets pregnant, the author always uses vomiting as the sure sign that a bun is in the oven, so to speak. My problem with that is that not all women get nauseated and barfy during their first trimester. My mother had no nausea with any of her three children, nor did a friend of mine who had a baby over a year ago. I had nausea for about a month, but it was easily assuaged by a saltine cracker in the morning and a bit of ginger ale if I was really feeling it later in the day. I also, (and I've said this before in other reviews of romances) really do not understand why so many authors have their female (and in this case, male) characters BLUSH anytime anything even remotely romantic or sensual or sexual happens during the chapter. The women also giggle frequently, even though here they're supposed to be fierce warriors. I've not giggled since I was in elementary school (and even then it was rare) and I can't imagine a grown woman doing so with any frequency, especially if she is trying to be a dignified leader. Please, writers, get rid of these tired, lazy and infantilizing tropes! There are many other ways to tell if a woman is pregnant, and few women past the age of 6 need to blush and giggle like children. That said, I did enjoy this series tremendously, and I'd give these final two books an A and a B+, and recommend them to anyone who enjoyed the first book in the series.

Better Off Read by Nora Page was a cheap cozy bookmobile mystery that I thought might be a quick and easy read, and I was curious about the 70 something heroine, who is a fiesty librarian who is not ready for retirement anytime soon. Here's the blurb:

When her best hope of saving her storm-damaged library is found murdered, senior librarian Cleo Watkins hits the road in her bookmobile in search of justice

Septuagenarian librarian Cleo Watkins won’t be shushed when an upstart young mayor threatens to permanently shelve her tiny town’s storm-damaged library. She takes to her bookmobile, Words on Wheels, to collect allies and rally library support throughout Catalpa Springs, Georgia.

However, Cleo soon rolls into trouble. A major benefactor known for his eccentric DIY projects requests all available books on getting away with murder. He’s no Georgia peach, and Cleo wonders if she should worry about his plans. She knows she should when she discovers him bludgeoned and evidence points to her best friend, Mary-Rose Garland.

Sure of Mary-Rose’s innocence, Cleo applies her librarian’s sleuthing skills to the case, assisted by friends, family, and the dapper antiquarian bookseller everyone keeps calling her boyfriend. Evidence stacks up, but a killer is overdue to strike again. With lives and her library on the line, Cleo must shift into high gear to close the book on murder in Better Off Read, the charming Bookmobile series debut by Nora Page.

Cleo and her friends all come off as meddling old biddies who need to slow down on the gossip and snooping. The truly mean and cruel people do end up getting their comeuppance, which is great, but the whole book felt a bit too "paint by numbers," as if someone just gave the author a standard "cozy mystery outline" and then had them fill in the blanks with a smart but grumpy librarian (who of course is single and has a cat, a sure stereotype for librarians), some of her crazy friends and their young but foolish grandchildren, facing off with the town's greedy mayor (politicians are always evil) and working to save the beloved town library and bookmobile from ruin of one type or another. The prose was commonplace and the plot easily solved, but I'd still give this mystery a B- and a glass of real Southern Sweet Tea.

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman is supposedly an adult contemporary romance, but like the authors previous works, it reads exactly like a YA romance. It's also a Mary Sue book that posits what many young women dream of, as an ordinary young Jewish journalist gets the chance to turbo charge her career by interviewing the most recent hot young guy movie star, and watch as her crush turns to love when she "gets to know him" through a series of improbable cheesy situations, one of which leads readers of the article to assume that she had sex with the movie star since she stayed in his home overnight. So dreamy, right? Yeah, but not even remotely realistic. I was a journalist for over 35 years, and I interviewed more than a few celebrities, and while they're usually nice people (they have to be very patient and put their best foot forward in order to get a good article promoting their work), they're not going to let some ordinary fangirl journalist into their private life just because she's charmingly awkward and gives off a few "manic pixie dream girl" vibes. Chani (the journalist with the unprofessional crush and a crap ton of insecurities) isn't even a good writer, certainly not good enough to get high profile work that affords her to make a decent living. Here's the blurb:

A restless young journalist with big dreams interviews a Hollywood heartthrob—and reunites with him ten years later to discover exactly how he feels about her in this sexy and engrossing novel
Then. Twenty-something writer Chani Horowitz is stuck. While her former MFA classmates are nabbing high-profile book deals, all she does is churn out puff pieces. Then she’s hired to write a profile of movie star Gabe Parker: her number one celebrity crush and the latest James Bond. All Chani wants to do is keep her cool and nail the piece. But what comes next proves to be life changing in ways she never saw coming, as the interview turns into a whirlwind weekend that has the tabloids buzzing—and Chani getting closer to Gabe than she had planned. 
 
Now. Ten years later, after a brutal divorce and a healthy dose of therapy, Chani is back in Los Angeles as a successful writer with the career of her dreams. Except that no matter what new essay collection or online editorial she’s promoting, someone always asks about The Profile. It always comes back to Gabe. So when his PR team requests that they reunite for a second interview, she wants to say no. She wants to pretend that she’s forgotten about the time they spent together. But the truth is that Chani wants to know if those seventy-two hours were as memorable to Gabe as they were to her. And so . . . she says yes.

Alternating between their first meeting and their reunion a decade later, this deliciously irresistible novel will have you hanging on until the last word.

Insert huge eye roll here at the ridiculous enthusiasm of the preceding blurb. This is by no means an irresistible novel. The plot is so predictable and the prose so bland that I could have written this book in my sleep. Even the ending is nauseatingly easy to foretell, in that of course Gabe falls in love with and marries Chani, because he wants someone "real" ya'all...not like all those gorgeous fake women in Hollywood who drove him to drink! LOLOLOL! So guys in the movie industry can be real and down to earth and still be perfect looking and sexy, but women who are gorgeous can't be? Misogyny, much?! Beautiful movie star women are all destined to be fake, greedy, stupid b*tches, whom no real man could ever live with for long, because they're so high maintenance and expensive....like they don't have their own money to spend, so they're going to go after your bank account just on principle?! Really?  Also the assumption that none of them are smart is just a bridge too far...there are plenty of smart and gorgeous actresses out there who have college degrees, their own bank accounts and full lives. All of the stars that I met were real people, and some were nice (some were not), but not one of them would have slept with me, nor would I have wanted them to, as it's unprofessional as heck, at the very least. There are rules about this kind of thing, or at least there were back when I was a journalist. For shame, Ms Sussman, for making my profession sound like a joke. I would give this book a big raspberry and a C, and I can't think of anyone I would recommend it to, unless it was a colleague so they could laugh at its completely absurd premise.

 

 

SUV Crashes into Rakestraw Books, Aslan's Square Bookstore Coming to Iowa, Fortnum & Mason's Shortlists, Remedial Rocket Science by Susannah Nix, the Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi, A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S Olson and Well Played by Jen DeLuca

Hello book lovers, and welcome to the second week of April, which has been wild and crazy here at our house. Turns out with spring comes animals trying to make nests to birth and raise their young, and a few days ago we discovered that something has been gnawing holes (for nesting) into the side of our home in the middle of the back deck. So now we've got to find an exterminator or someone who can trap whatever beasts there be, and get them away from our house before it becomes infested, shudder. The weather has also been crazy, with temps in the 80s one day and the 40s the next. There have been days that started out like summer, but by the afternoon, it was hailing or cold rain was coming down in buckets! Despite, or perhaps because of this, I've been reading up a storm. So lets get into it, shall we?!

I saw a car crash into a business once when we lived in the Phinney Ridge area of Seattle. It was horrifying, but apparently an older person pressed the wrong pedal and instead of braking they surged forward into a store. I feel terrible for these folks at the bookstore who now have to replace the glass and books.

SUV Crashes into Rakestraw Books 

"File under 'Unexpected Events,' " Rakestraw Books https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51699006>, Danville, Calif., posted on Facebook last Wednesday, noting that "yesterday afternoon someone drove an SUV through the front window of the bookshop Luckily no one was hurt though a lot of books were badly damaged. Susan, Anastasia, Amy, and Mark (Susan's husband) got the mess cleaned up (there were glass shards all the ways at the back of the shop); boarded up the left hand side of the shop front; and filed a police report. We will be open for business as usual today at 9:30 AM. Come say hi (and maybe buy a book!)."

 This is marvelous news for Dyersville (which is near Dubuque, Iowa, where I went to college), especially in light of the horrible commercialization of the Field of Dreams, which has been turned into a tacky tourist trap by greedy out of state interests.

Bookselling News

Aslan's Square Bookstore & Coffee Shop Coming to Dyersville, Iowa

Jacey Stanbro plans to open Aslan's Square https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51700112, a bookstore, coffee shop and gift shop, at 224 Second Ave. NE in Dyersville, Iowa

Noting that construction in the building began recently, with a summer opening planned, the Telegraph Herald reported that Stanbro "wanted to open a business that had a community-focused atmosphere in which customers can meet new people. She said the business will have the capacity to seat about 50 at a time."

"This is my first (business) venture," Stanbro said. "It's a dream come true to do it.... We're doing more cozy vibes. It will be a place to go where people can work, but there will also be a kids zone. It'll be more aimed at families.... I wanted people to have a place they can go where they can have their hands on a book and escape reality."

In addition to books of all genres, including a used book section, Aslan's Square will offer coffee, tea and baked goods. Stanbro said she will announce the coffee vendor at a later time, as well as the local baker that will make the treats.

Aslan's Square will feature events, including painting nights and author readings. She added that she will partner with Fuse, a restaurant and bar in the same building, on wine-and-cheese nights as well: "I'm most excited to mingle with the community and see the growth in Dyersville."

 This reminds me of Mrs Pomphrey from "All Creatures Great and Small" who used to send a hamper of fancy foods to "Uncle Herriot" whenever he treated her chubby, spoiled Pomeranian Tricky Woo.

Awards: Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Shortlists

Shortlists have been released in 14 categories, including six dedicated to books, for the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards. The winners, who are voted for by the public, will be announced at a reception at Fortnum & Mason, the Royal Exchange, on May 12. Check out the complete list of book finalists here https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51730286.

Feast Your Eyes on Food: An Encyclopedia of More Than 1000 Delicious Things to Eat by chef Laura Gladwin, illustrated by Zoe Barker, is the first children's book to be shortlisted (in the Food Book category) for the awards, the Bookseller reported.

 

Remedial Rocket Science by Susannah Nix was a cheap ebook that I wasn't really expecting much from, but that delighted me with a fun and fast-paced story nonetheless. The subtitle is "An opposites attract, second chance romance" and they should have added "with a lot of good humor and chemistry added to make it a great beach read." I found the prose to be clean and simple and the plot faster than an Indy 500 race car. Here's the blurb:  

Opposites attract when a nerdy computer whiz meets billionaire playboy.

The last thing Melody expects when she accepts a dream job offer is to run into her college one-night stand again. Not only does the hunky blast from her past work at the same aerospace company where she's just started in the IT department, he's the CEO's son.

Jeremy's got a girlfriend and a reputation as a bad boy, so Melody resolves to keep her distance and focus on building a new life for herself in Los Angeles. But despite her good intentions, she can't seem to stay away from the heavenly-smelling paragon of hotness.

As the two begin to forge an unlikely friendship, Melody's attraction to Jeremy grows deeper than she's ready to admit. Can the woman who always plays it safe take a risk on the man who's all wrong for her in all the right ways?

This slow-burn romance is the first in a series of standalone rom-coms featuring heroines who work in STEM fields.

Melody and Jeremy have outrageous chemistry, and though you'd expect them to start bumping boots right away, they actually take their time to come to terms with their attraction and expectations of one another. I'd give this book a B+ and recommend it to anyone who is looking for a light and fun ebook to distract them.

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi was an irresistible book that I had to have because not only do I adore nearly everything Scalzi has written, this particular book is about something near and dear to my husband Jim's heart, Godzilla and other Japanese monsters depicted in movies from the 50s to more recent incarnations with special FX. Hubs prefers the classic monsters who were either Japanese actors in a rubber suit smashing through scale models of Tokyo, or stop motion animation using small scale clay or plastic models of monsters on tiny sets constructed of balsa wood and paper or cardboard. He insisted that we spend many a date night when we were just coming to know each other, watching Godzilla in the original Japanese with subtitles while hubby would deconstruct the action-packed battle scenes between monsters for me and explain that the monsters were metaphors for the nuclear bombing of the Japanese at the end of WWII. Fortunately, Scalzi goes beyond all that background to place the story in the 21st century, with all it's climate change problems, pandemics and economic stratification of society. Here's the blurb:  The Kaiju Preservation Society is John Scalzi's first standalone adventure since the conclusion of his New York Times bestselling Interdependency trilogy.

When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.

What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here on Earth. Not our Earth, at least. In an alternate dimension, massive dinosaur-like creatures named Kaiju roam a warm, human-free world. They're the universe's largest and most dangerous panda and they're in trouble.

It's not just the Kaiju Preservation Society who have found their way to the alternate world. Others have, too. And their carelessness could cause millions back on our Earth to die.

Jamie Gray is our "everyman" character in this novel, so we see the story unfold through his deadpan sense of humor, which is a welcome tempering of the rapid fire plot. Scalzi's prose is, as usual, nearly perfect, with plenty of dialog and expansive scenes written with such a deft hand that you can almost feel the humidity curl your hair. I could NOT put this book down, and I read it all in one day, and loved every minute of it, even though I was holding my breath and fearing for Jamie's life half the time (yes, I am aware that he's a fictional character, but I was engrossed and engaged, ya'all...so sue me!) I've recommended this book in glowing terms to both my husband and son, and both say that they plan to read it soon. I'd give this book an A+, and recommend it to anyone who likes some snark and surprises with their science fiction. You cannot fail to be entertained by this novel. Plus a hearty THANK YOU to the brilliance that is John Scalzi at the height of his powers. 

A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olson us a beautiful, albeit Gothic YA rebooted fairy tale romance with mystery added in for flavor. The book is packaged beautifully, and the elegant prose within moves along the darkly lush plot to a gripping conclusion. Here's the blurb: From the author of Sing Me Forgotten comes a lush new fantasy novel with an art-based magic system, romance, and murder…
 
Myra has a gift many would kidnap, blackmail, and worse to control: she’s a portrait artist whose paintings alter people’s bodies. Guarding that secret is the only way to keep her younger sister safe now that their parents are gone. But one frigid night, the governor’s wife discovers the truth and threatens to expose Myra if she does not complete a special portrait that would resurrect the governor's dead son.
 
Once she arrives at the legendary stone mansion, however, it becomes clear the boy’s death was no accident. A killer stalks these halls--one disturbingly obsessed with portrait magic. Desperate to get out of the manor as quickly as possible, Myra turns to the governor’s older son for help completing the painting before the secret she spent her life concealing makes her the killer’s next victim.   

There should be a warning attached to this book that if blood and gore and corpses bother you, don't read this book, because there are more than a few scenes of death and decomposition in there, but due to the murder mystery at the heart of the plot, it doesn't seem like your average horror or teenage slasher movie at all. I was genuinely shocked by the twists in the final 1/4th of the book, and the ending left me gasping. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that it all came together seamlessly and it was well worth the shock. Myra does seem to be a bit too wimpy at times, but she forges ahead, despite her fears for her sister's life, and by the end, she's got some hard-won backbone. Her sister, who seems a bit bratty, is suffering from what we'd call Crohn's disease these days. Since this takes place back in a time when there wasn't really much that doctors could do for such a diagnosis, I appreciated the fact that Myra was willing to sacrifice her life and health to save her sister from the ravages of this horrible gastric disease that I share (to a lesser extent) with Lucy (the sister). I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who likes Gothic or steampunk mysteries that involve art and romance.

Well Played by Jen DeLuca is a YA theatrical romance set in modern day renaissance fairs. Because I once also toiled as a maiden at a Ren Fest, I was attracted to this novel and it's full bodied heroine. Here's the blurb:

A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy featuring kilted musicians, Renaissance Faire tavern wenches, and an unlikely love story.
 
Stacey is jolted when her friends Simon and Emily get engaged. She knew she was putting her life on hold when she stayed in Willow Creek to care for her sick mother, but it's been years now, and even though Stacey loves spending her summers pouring drinks and flirting with patrons at the local Renaissance Faire, she wants more out of life. Stacey vows to have her life figured out by the time her friends get hitched at Faire next summer. Maybe she'll even find The One.
 
When Stacey imagined "The One," it never occurred to her that her summertime Faire fling, Dex MacLean, might fit the bill. While Dex is easy on the eyes onstage with his band The Dueling Kilts, Stacey has never felt an emotional connection with him. So when she receives a tender email from the typically monosyllabic hunk, she's not sure what to make of it.
 
Faire returns to Willow Creek, and Stacey comes face-to-face with the man with whom she’s exchanged hundreds of online messages over the past nine months. To Stacey's shock, it isn't Dex—she's been falling in love with a man she barely knows.

De Luca's prose is airy, light and playful, and her plot is like a choreographed dance, where you can see all the steps coming up but are helpless to not follow them anyway. I liked Stacey and her sense of duty to her family, her ailing mom in particular, and I also liked her gratitude for having the small town upbringing that she reveled in, while also fostering a strong desire to start living her own life out in the world, far away from the small town sameness that she's been stuck in for far too long. What I didn't like about Stacey was that she seemed too gullible, (and also too shallow in her taste in men) and she never bothered to ask her mother if she was feeling well enough to allow her daughter to be set free to live her life away from home. Also, her parents seemed like extremely weak people, almost too pathetic to be realistic, who couldn't navigate illness or caregiving on their own at all, but instead basically forced their daughter into a slavish role that they never bothered to tell her wasn't necessary anymore. This made them seem not only weak but very selfish and cruel, and I was surprised that the author didn't have them apologize to their child for chaining her to their sides until she was coming up on 30 and had sacrificed her dreams of career and college for them after high school. For that reason I'd give this book a B-, and recommend it to anyone else who likes Ren Fests and falling in love with someone whom you'd never noticed before.  

 

The Radical Cat in Reno, Angie Thomas is IBD Ambassador, Been there, Done That Review, Open Books: A Poetry Emporium Opens in Pioneer Square, Patricia MacLachlan Obit, Crudrat by Gail Carriger, Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T.L. Huchu and The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton

Welcome to April and it's showers of Spring reading! I've got three books to review and a ton of bookish tidbits for you all today, so lets get this show on the road!

What a great idea, to combine cat adoption with book buying! I wish I lived closer to Nevada, so I could visit this enticing bookstore with the wonderful name.

The Radical Cat Comes to Reno, Nev.

The Radical Cat https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51605176, a combination feminist bookstore, community space and cat adoption center, has opened in Reno, Nev., This Is Reno reported https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51605177.

Co-founders Melissa Hafey, Rosie Zuckerman, Ilya Arbatman and Mike Hafey work with the SPCA of Northern Nevada to "host transitioning cats who are available for adoption." The store's event plans include author readings, homework help and workshops with local artists, educators and business owners, as well as "cat-assisted therapy" sessions. The store's mission, continued Zuckerman, is to "nurture a revolution in Reno/Sparks by promoting positive mental health, radical inclusion, a love of great books and meaningful connection."

Radical Cat began as a pop-up called Pussycat NV, and after three "wildly successful pop-up events" the co-founders decided to turn it into a permanent establishment. They were able to raise more than $9,000 with the help of the Reno community, which they put toward building out the space, buying furniture and bringing in inventory.

While the store is currently open, the team has yet to establish regular hours. They plan to be open most days of the week and are looking to host a grand opening celebration in late April or early May.

 Who doesn't love Indie bookstore day? What a great gig to be the ambassador to a day celebrating our cherished non-chain/Amazon book shops. They are, indeed, the heart of the book industry.

Angie Thomas Named IBD Ambassador

Angie Thomas https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51632179, author of The Hate U Give and On the Come Up, will be the ambassador for this year's Independent Bookstore Day https://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51632180 celebration, scheduled for Saturday, April 30.

"Indie bookstores are the heart of our industry, and we must continue to support them in the same way that they support and champion books," Thomas said. "With the immense impact that indie stores have had on my career, I couldn't be more honored to be the ambassador for this year's Independent Bookstore Day."

IBD has grown every year since its founding in 2013, with 872 bookstores https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51632181 slated to participate this year, and it will be the first in-person IBD celebration since the start of the pandemic. The week leading up to IBD will be a Spirit Week, featuring themed days and encouraging customers and staff to dress up as their favorite bookstore characters.

 This looks like an intriguing book that I will have to look into borrowing or purchasing.I'm always fond of books that go over the history of an given subject, and it sounds like this book does just that.

Book Review: Been There, Done That: A Rousing History of Sex

Sex is one of those eternally beguiling subjects. Even once the mystery of where babies come from is dispelled, there is that persistent, even nagging sense that one might be doing it wrong. For Popular Science executive editor Rachel Feltman, that insecurity festered for years under the wet blanket of a Sunday school education that further foisted shame upon pretty much all carnal acts. So, it would be fair to suggest that the wildly entertaining Been There, Done That: A Rousing History of Sex is as much an act of reclamation and redemption as it is an eye-opening stroll through a rather colorful evolutionary history of sexual activity.

"I'm writing this because I hope you can learn quickly what it took me far too long to learn: that today's mainstream definition of sex is deeply flawed and that this has the ability to cause us harm," Feltman writes in her introductory chapter, "Everything Weird Is Normal--Everything Normal Is Weird." Without wasting any time, she then discusses duck penises; homosexuality in the wild, wild west; "a blob with 720 sexes that displayed both fungal and animal characteristics"; and the "really stupid" yet commonly accepted calendar for clocking weeks of pregnancy.

It would seem that Feltman has left no stone unturned when it comes to facets of gender, intercourse, masturbation, sexually transmitted infections, birth control, performance anxiety, pornography, kinks, etc.

And through the sheer volume of examples she wields with no shortage of quips, asides and witticisms, there does seem to be ample evidence to suggest that, yes, somewhere, someone has indeed been there and done that. "That weird thing you like? It's fine. I promise," she assures readers. "Like, really. It's probably not even that weird. Like, not to offend you? I'm sure you're a unique snowflake and all, a real rebel without a cause, but, like, trust me, people have been weirder." Right down to the ancient Egyptian use of crocodile dung as a barrier method, or the 19th-century cottage industry of goat testicle grafts for virility--Feltman makes a fairly airtight case!

After such a kaleidoscopic ride, Been There, Done That resolves without being especially titillating, nor didactic. It shines, instead, as an irreverent invitation to be enchanted by one's body, rather than ashamed; to be present in desire, rather than dislocated from it; to cast off the veil of insecurity and embrace one's whole self. --Dave Wheeler, associate editor, Shelf Awareness

Open Books was one of my favorites of the many bookstores I visited when my husband and I moved to Seattle in 1991. That the clerk was welcoming and as much of a fan of reciting poems as I was, was just icing on the cake. I wish this wonderful specialty bookstore nothing but great success in their new location.

 Open Books: A Poetry Emporium Reopening Soon in Seattle's Pioneer Square

Open Books: A Poem Emporium https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51662993 will reopen this month  in a new space in the historic Good Arts Building in Pioneer Square in Seattle, Wash., Crosscut reported.

The new location--a block from the Pioneer Square light rail station and a short walk from the waterfront (and from Shelf Awareness's office)--is about 350 square feet smaller than Open Books' previous home in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood, where the store resided for 25 years. Despite the smaller size, it has a wider, more open layout, and owner Billie Swift and her team have put in a space called the Parlor, which features a cozy reading chair, a turntable and library desk.

After announcing her plans to move late last year, Swift turned to the community for help, and Open Books raised $51,300 through donations. The all-poetry bookstore struggled during the first two years of the pandemic and its previous building was put up for sale. Swift hopes it will thrive in the new space and benefit from better foot traffic.

"We're going to create a space that we are hoping is going to be around for another 25 years," Swift told Crosscut.

 I read and loved Sarah Plain and Tall, and Skylark and Caleb's Story when I read them back in my grad school days and after I moved to Seattle. They were imbued with emotion and simple, elegant prose that was heartfelt and beautiful. RIP to this wonderful author.

Obituary Note: Patricia MacLachlan

Patricia MacLachlan https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz51664175, an award-winning author "known to millions of young readers as the author of Sarah, Plain and Tall, a novel about two motherless farm children and the gentle woman who comes to the prairie to make them whole," died March 31, the Washington Post reported. She was 84.

MacLachlan wrote more than 60 children's books during her career. She "deplored children's books of the moralizing kind, those sledgehammers of literature wielded by grown-ups determined to pound ideas into young minds," the Post noted.

"Among some writers there's this ghastly notion that one has to teach children lessons," she once told the Orange County Register. "That's condescending and incorrect. It's not what writing is about. You write to find out what you're thinking about, to find out how you feel."

Sarah, Plain and Tall received the Newbery Medal and has sold more than seven million copies since it first appeared in 1985. The book was adapted into a 1991 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie starring Glenn Close as Sarah and Christopher Walken as Jacob Witting, the father of Anna and Caleb. MacLachlan co-wrote the script.

She also wrote several sequels, including Skylark (1994), Caleb's Story (2001), More Perfect Than the Moon (2004) and Grandfather's Dance (2006). MacLachlan's other books include Journey (1991), Baby (1993) and Cassie Binegar (1982). She wrote several books with her daughter, Emily MacLachlan Charest, including Once I Ate a Pie (2006), Fiona Loves the Night (2007), I Didn't Do It (2010), Cat Talk (2013) and Little Robot Alone (2018).

"Children read with a certain belief and vision about finding themselves in literature," MacLachlan said when she received a 2002 National Humanities Medal. "Literature changes their lives. They have a sense of closeness with literature that speaks for them."

MacLachlan's connection to the Wyoming of her youth--and to the world of Sarah, Plain and Tall--was such that throughout her life, she kept a souvenir of the prairie, the Post noted. "I carry a small bag of prairie dirt to remind me of where I began--the prairie that I miss and still dream about," she said in an interview published on the website Two Writing Teachers. "It is sort of like a charm from my childhood. I had a wonderful childhood with wonderful parents who were storytellers and educators. They loved and respected children. So, my little bag of prairie reminds me of them, too."

 Crudrat by Gail Carriger is her second book in the "Tinkered Stars" science fiction series, after the 5th Gender. Though the overt sexuality of the 5th Gender put me off a bit, I did want to give Crudrat a try, because it seemed more of a YA book than 5G, and I love YA novels about young people finding their way in the world, against the odds.Crudrat delivers on all the YA fronts and as a science fiction/adventure novel, with it's intrepid heroine Maura and her crud-eating critter (who is described as something like a blue cat) defying the odds and becoming friends with a fuzzy white alien (kind of like a polar bear combined with Big Hero Sixes BayMax) who takes her to his home planet where she discovers that her athletic abilities make her perfect to become a kind of intergalactic spy. Here's the blurb:
New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger brings you a fast-paced young adult scifi adventure featuring a capable heroine, her adorable pet, and the alien they accidentally rescue.

Abandoned
Outcast
Crudrat

With only her crud-eating murmel and a fuzzy alien stranger to help, Maura must find a way to survive, before they catch her and blow what’s left of her life into space.

In the far future, on a space-port the size of a city, crudrats scrape out a meager living cleaning the great machines that generate usable power. Only children can safely traverse the cramped tunnels and the massive blades that harvest crud. But one misstep and a crudrat gets caught on a blade edge and killed. Like rats, they scurry through the bulkheads, duty-bound to clean the air ducts so everyone else can breathe.

But, when they grow too big to be useful, they become outcasts. Now one of the forgotten, Maura might just be able to turn rejection into escape – if she’s resourceful enough.
In this classic YA adventure about finding one’s place in the universe, Gail Carriger brings golden age-style science fiction into the 21st century, stuffs it full of heart, and gives it a finely polished, gleaming edge.

What I loved about this book was Maura's realization that what made her an outcast and a successful Crudrat is intrinsic to her nature, and is an advantage, rather than a disadvantage. Carriger's prose is sterling, as usual, and her sense of humor and whiz-bang plots keep readers glued to the page long past bedtime. I could not put it down, and I was sorry to see the end, as I was enjoying all the mischief that Maura, her murmel and Fuzzy get up to on his home planet. A solid A is warranted here, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantastic science fiction adventure stories that are witty and gripping.

Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T.L. Huchu is the second book in the Edinburgh Nights series of what seem to me to be YA fantasy novels. Though it's not marketed as such, Ropa Moyo seems to be the classic YA heroine, going on a quest to set things right with the spirits of post-apocalyptic Scotland. I remember enjoying the first book in the series, The Library of the Dead, but finding Ropa to be a bit too full of herself, which seemed like a defense mechanism against her impoverished background and lack of education. Still, in this sophomore effort Ropa's swagger helps her survive amidst all the lies and secrets of the three magic schools and the magical "banks," libraries and other institutions that all vie for supremacy at the cost of the lives of those around them. Here's the blurb: Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by T. L. Huchu is the second spellbinding book in the Edinburgh Nights series.
Some secrets are meant to stay buried

When Ropa Moyo discovered an occult underground library, she expected great things. She’s really into Edinburgh’s secret societies – but turns out they are less into her. So instead of getting paid to work magic, she’s had to accept a crummy unpaid internship. And her with bills to pay and a pet fox to feed.

Then her friend Priya offers her a job on the side. Priya works at Our Lady of Mysterious Maladies, a very specialized hospital, where a new illness is resisting magical and medical remedies alike. The first patient was a teenage boy, Max Wu, and his healers are baffled. If Ropa can solve the case, she might earn as she learns – and impress her mentor, Sir Callander.
Her sleuthing will lead her to a lost fortune, an avenging spirit and a secret buried deep in Scotland’s past. But how are they connected? Lives are at stake and Ropa is running out of time. 

That last sentence isn't exactly true, as what Ropa's lead to is not the actual fortune but the people all vying for the money, and the King behind all the death and mayhem who is trying to secure his power over the schools, libraries and magical societies that are ruled independently by some very nasty old hidebound magicians. What I find most curious about both the Edinburgh Nights books is that Ropa, though mouthy, self confident and tough, never thinks to apprise her boss/mentor why the unpaid internship is unacceptable to her as the sole provider for her family (which consists of her retired magical grandmother and her snotty, whiny little sister who seems to appreciate none of what Ropa does or has to do to keep her alive and fed). She needs to be able to pay rent and food and clothing for her family, and I don't see why her mentor couldn't slip her some cash to help her keep her family fed, as it's in his best interests to do so. She also agrees to solve a huge murder mystery for free, which is insane, as she can't take other paying work while she's embroiled in solving the murder. She should have stood up for herself, or at the very least apprised her boss that she needs to go part time on the internship because she needs paying work ASAP. Also, I would think that Ropa would be glad to see the backside of her nasty little sister when the sister gets a scholarship to a prestigious school in Aberdeen. That's one less mouth to feed and one less worry for a young woman whose back is already burdened with too much responsibility. But no, she tries, and fails, to get the money to keep her sister at home in their leaky old caravan. Why? Anyway, I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys magical YA fantasy with a lot of twists and turns. 

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton is a rolicking magical fantasy/romance with a fast-paced plot that kept me reading into the wee hours. Pirates and Pettifers and witchcraft, oh my! This book reminded me of Gail Carriger's Souless and Finishing School series at their best...full of wit and adventure and lots of enemies-to-lovers romance with plenty of sparky dialog. Here's the blurb: Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the teahouse. . . .

Miss Charlotte Pettifer belongs to a secret league of women skilled in the subtle arts. That is to say—although it must never be said—witchcraft. The League of Gentlewomen Witches strives to improve the world in small ways. Using magic, they tidy, correct, and manipulate according to their notions of what is proper, entirely unlike those reprobates in the Wisteria Society.
 
When the long lost amulet of Black Beryl is discovered, it is up to Charlotte, as the future leader of the League, to make sure the powerful talisman does not fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, it is most unfortunate when she crosses paths with Alex O’Riley, a pirate who is no Mr. Darcy. With all the world scrambling after the amulet, Alex and Charlotte join forces to steal it together. If only they could keep their pickpocketing hands to themselves! If Alex’s not careful, he might just steal something else—such as Charlotte’s heart.

With all the hatred and restrictions between the witches (who are never allowed to admit that they are witches) and the pirate community, I was worried that Charlotte and Alex would never be allowed to continue their relationship once it was apparent that one couldn't live without the other.  Fortunately, all's well that ends well, and things worked out for the two protagonists, though I'd imagine things will get sticky again once they're married and start a family. Still, this book keeps things light and fresh, with sparkling prose and a "faster than a flying pirate house" plot. I'd give it an A, and recommend it to anyone searching for a delightfully distracting novel that is Steampunk-ish and similar to Gail Carriger's works.