Happy Holidays to all my fellow bibliophiles/bibliophages! I'm a bit late in posting this, but yesterday was my 62nd birthday and I didn't want to sit at my desk, I wanted to get out and shop for books, purses, pens, etc...and have lunch and boba tea with my son. So that is what we did, and it kept us busy all afternoon/evening. And I ate vegan doughnuts for breakfast! YUM! Anyway, I have a lot of books to review, so hang on, it's a sleigh ride from here on out!
I read this book and, though it's not really a book you can enjoy because the subject matter is so dire and painful, it was still riveting reading.
TV: We Were The Lucky Ones
Hulu's limited series We Were the Lucky Ones https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAmPxuQI6alhI011Ew~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jOXcespoMLg-gVdw, based on Georgia Hunter's 2017 novel, is adding Amit Rahav (Unorthodox), Eva Feiler (The Crown) and Hadas Yaron (Mary Magdalene) to the cast. The project "is inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II, determined to survive and to reunite," Deadline reported. Joey King (The Act) stars, along with Robin Weigert and Lior Ashkenazi.
The series is executive produced and written by Erica Lipez (Julia, The Morning Show), who also serves as showrunner. Thomas Kail (Fosse/Verdon) directs and executive produces, along with Jennifer Todd (for Old 320 Sycamore). Adam Milch executive produces and Hunter will co-executive produce.
Though I've only seen this bookstore from afar, I think it's great that it has changed ownership and is still going strong!
Griffin Bay Bookstore, Friday Harbor, Wash., Changes Hands
Mae Cannon has purchased Griffin Bay Bookstore https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAmPwb4I6alhIhkgHg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jOXcD2poMLg-gVdw in Friday Harbor, Wash., from previous \owner Laura Norris and officially took over this week.
Norris ran the 43-year-old independent bookstore on San Juan Island for 16 years and was its third owner. In a statement announcing the change, Norris explained that she is "leaving Griffin Bay Bookstore steeped in the confidence that its future is secure in the hands of new owner Mae Cannon. She is a devoted bibliophile with a wide breadth of talents and expertise which will suit the bookstore and reading community well.
"It has been my honor to serve the island community which I grew up in and love so much for these past 16 years, but I know the time has come to welcome in the next generation and I trust that all of you will join me in supporting Griffin Bay Bookstore's new owner, Mae."
Cannon, a book lover who has had a lifelong dream of opening a bookstore, moved to San Juan Island several years ago with her husband and has "loved Griffin Bay Bookstore" since her first visit. Her first day at the bookstore was December 6.
I salute Laura Norris for her years of running the bookstore, and I am grateful to learn from her expertise as I embark on this new adventure."Many of the bookstore's staff members will stay on and "business will continue uninterrupted as usual. Rest assured, all gift certificates will be honored and special orders fulfilled."
I look forward to movies like this because EA Poe fascinates me. Though I imagine there will be too much horror/gore in the movie for me to watch it all the way through, I still hope that Poe finally gets his due in this film.
Movies: The Pale Blue Eye
Netflix released a trailer for The Pale Blue Eye https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAmPwb4I6alhIhh3Hg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jOXcD2poMLg-gVdw, based on Louis Bayard's 2006 novel "that acts as an origin story of sorts of Edgar Allan Poe," Deadline reported. Adapted and directed by Scott Cooper, the film stars Christian Bale and hits select theaters December 23 before landing on the streamer beginning January 6. Cooper and Bale previously teamed on Out of the Furnace and Hostiles.
The cast also includes Henry Melling, Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Toby Jones, Harry Lawtey, Simon McBurney, Hadley Robinson, Timothy Spall, Joey Brooks, Brennan Cook, Gideon Glick, Fred Hechinger, Matt Helm, Jack Irving, Steven Maier, Charlie Tahan and Robert Duvall.
Michelle Yeoh is freaking amazing, and I first saw her in Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon and then saw several other movies she was in, until she lit up the screen in Star Trek Discovery as Emperor/Captain Georgiou. I imagine she will do the same in Wicked.
Book to Stage to Screen: Wicked
Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Crazy Rich Asians) has joined the cast of the upcoming two-part film version of the hit Broadway musical Wicked https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAmAku0I6alhIhxzTA~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jOUpOlpoMLg-gVdw, which was adapted from Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Playbill reported. She will play Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Crage Hall at Shiz University.
Jeff Goldblum has also been confirmed to star as the Wizard of Oz in the film, which is headlined by Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, with Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero and Ethan Slater as Boq.
Wicked will include new songs by Stephen Schwartz, with book writer Winnie Holzman penning the screenplay and Paul Tazewell designing the costumes. The Universal Pictures films are set for release on Christmas in 2024 and 2025.
I read several of this author's works when she was writing as ME Kerr, and I was saddened to read of her passing, though she obviously lead a full life of activism for lesbians. RIP.
Obituary Note: Marijane Meaker
Marijane Meaker https://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/x/pjJscAnZle4I6alhJBsiEg~k1yJoKXv-hs8x6jOC5SmpoMLg-gVdw, "a versatile and prolific author whose 1952 novel, Spring Fire, was among the first lesbian-themed paperback originals and sold so briskly that it jump-started the genre of lesbian pulp fiction," died November 21, the New York Times reported. She was 95.
Meaker, who wrote dozens of books in multiple genres under several pen names, told NPR in 2003: "I like pseudonyms. I like disguises. I've always hated the name Marijane. And I think the idea that you can name yourself is interesting." Another reason for the strategy was that when she arrived in New York she couldn't get an agent, and so she became one, with a roster of clients that consisted of her pseudonymous selves.
"All of my clients were me," she recalled. "And I would take people out to lunch and tell them about my clients. And nobody knew that I was all my clients."
As M.E. Kerr, she wrote YA novels and was regarded as "a pioneer in realistic fiction for teenagers," as the Young Adult Library Services Association said in presenting her with its Margaret A. Edwards Award in 1993. As Ann Aldrich, she wrote nonfiction books that chronicled lesbian life in Greenwich Village and beyond, including We Walk Alone (1955) and We, Too, Must Love (1958). As Mary James, she wrote quirky books aimed at younger children, like Shoebag (1990).
Her books under her own name included Highsmith: A Romance of the 1950s (2003), about her two-year relationship with the author Patricia Highsmith. She was one of three main interviewees for the recent documentary film Loving Highsmith the Guardian noted, "and on the promotional tour she belied her 93 years with spirited and telling reminiscences."
"But the work that put her on the map and may have had as much impact as any of the others was Spring Fire, published by Gold Medal Books under the name Vin Packer, which Ms. Meaker later used for a series of suspense novels," the Times wrote. The book, which is said to have sold 1.5 million copies, was about a college freshman who falls in love with one of her sorority sisters and "spoke to a significant segment of women who, in the early 1950s, were not seeing themselves in fiction."
Among the writers who followed Meaker into the new world was Ann Bannon, whose books include Odd Girl Out (1957), I Am a Woman (1959) and several others the series known as the Beebo Brinker Chronicles. Noting that Spring Fire was a ground-breaker, Bannon said, "Meaker had in fact founded a new genre, lesbian pulp fiction, which was to become for a stretch of about 15 years wildly successful, and a moneymaker. It was finding fans among both sexes, and coast to coast, pushing same-sex romance into conversational orbit for the first time in history."
Meaker was uncomfortable with the ending of Spring Fire. The Times noted that the Postal Service then "was on the lookout for anything that seemed to glorify what its censors thought of as perversion. So publishers made sure she and other lesbian writers gave their stories unhappy endings."
"Which," said Robin Talley, a queer author of YA books, "is why in Spring Fire, one of the women in the central romance winds up in an asylum and the other becomes straight and forgets she ever liked girls to begin with.... Still, Spring Fire and the novels it influenced were what caused a whole generation of queer women to see themselves represented for the first time."
In 1974, Meaker told the New York Times she was drawn to the YA genre by the conviction that teenagers were "entitled to honest, up-to-date good stories with characters their own age to relate to--books that are about them and what bothers them, not about their parents.... This is the age when kids are going through great emotional upheavals. And they are looking for truths. But until young adult novels started growing up, five years ago or so, they couldn't find books about themselves, about their feelings, their problems."
My Reviews:
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher is a revamped fairy tale that has elements of horror, fantasy and romance, blended together to create a short but intricate story that grips the reader and will not let them go. That said, I had trouble getting into this book initially, I read the first few pages, which are grim and gross, and put the book down until I was in a better frame of mind to read it. I tried again later, but found that I still couldn't get past the Frankenstein-esque dog revival in the cemetery. But, third time was the charm, and once I was past the first 7 or so pages, the paragraphs flew by. Here's the blurb: From Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes an original and subversive fantasy adventure.
This isn't the kind of fairytale where the princess marries a prince.
It's the one where she kills him.
Marra never wanted to be a hero.
As
the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter, she escaped the
traditional fate of princesses, to be married away for the sake of an
uncaring throne. But her sister wasn’t so fortunate―and after years of
silence, Marra is done watching her suffer at the hands of a powerful
and abusive prince.
Seeking help for her rescue mission, Marra
is offered the tools she needs, but only if she can complete three
seemingly impossible tasks:
―build a dog of bones
―sew a cloak of nettles
―capture moonlight in a jar
But, as is the way in tales of princes and witches, doing the impossible is only the beginning.
Hero
or not―now joined by a disgraced ex-knight, a reluctant fairy
godmother, an enigmatic gravewitch and her fowl familiar―Marra might
finally have the courage to save her sister, and topple a throne.
Had I realized this was a tale of a sister seeking to free her sister from an abusive contractual marriage (she's being abused and used as a broodmare for this nightmare of a prince) in an inventive way, I would have powered through those first grim pages much faster. This story is creepy, there's no doubt about it, but there is also a great deal of love and kindness underneath the dark debris, and Kingfisher doesn't let even a whisper of an unnecessary word or sentence pass her by in this slender volume. The plot is taut and beautifully rendered. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to those who like their fairy tales dark and their heroines grim but determined to save the day.
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen was a surprisingly rich and funny romantic fantasy that also had some dark gothic elements and mystery swirled in for good measure. I adored the prose, which was juicy without being decadent and overly detailed, and the plot was strong and swift. But it's the characters of Hart and Mercy and their slow burning love for each other that really captivated me and held my attention all through the book. Here's the blurb: "A uniquely charming mixture of whimsy and the
macabre that completely won me over. If you ever wished for an adult
romance that felt like Howl's Moving Castle, THIS IS THAT BOOK." —Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient
Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds
of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to
ponder his loneliness.
Mercy never has a moment to herself.
She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat
in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for
showing up right when her patience is thinnest.
After yet
another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a
letter addressed simply to “A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an
anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is
born.
If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the
person who infuriates him most—Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow
closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming
romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst
nightmares—each other?
Set in a
world full of magic and demigods, donuts and small-town drama, this
enchantingly quirky, utterly unique fantasy is perfect for readers of The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Invisible Library.
Having read and loved both the Invisible Library series and The House on the Cerulean Sea, I should have known this book would be warm and wonderful from beginning to end. It was certainly a page turner that had me reading into the wee hours. The characters were so vivid, in fact, that the book played out like a movie in my mind, and I could see each situation and feel each heartbreak and moment of joy when the two protagonists found each other anonymously through letters. Though the ending was sweet, there's nothing cloying or cliched about the romance between Mercy and Hart. I don't want to spoil any of this delightful volume for you, so I'll just give it a well deserved A, and recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind a bit of the macabre with their romance.
The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick was a contemporary romantic mystery work that seemed like a BBC movie/series written into a book. I've read two of Patrick's other books, (The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper and The Library of Lost and Found) and though her prose is always sturdy and neat as a pin, her plots tend to meander and her female protagonists always loathe themselves and seem to lack spine, talent or wit enough to move forward with their lives and stop being a doormat who slaves 24/7 for ungrateful family members. Here's the blurb:
The house cleaner of a famous author must
carry out her employer's shocking last wish in this delightful new novel
from beloved author Phaedra Patrick
Mother of two
Liv Green barely scrapes by as a maid to make ends meet, often finding
escape in a good book while daydreaming of becoming a writer herself. So
she can't believe her luck when she lands a job housekeeping for her
personal hero, mega-bestselling author Essie Starling, a mysterious and
intimidating recluse. The last thing Liv expected was to be the only
person Essie talks to, which leads to a tenuous friendship.
When
Essie passes away suddenly, Liv is astonished to learn that her dying
wish was for Liv to complete her final novel. But to do so Liv will have
to step into Essie’s shoes. As Liv begins to write, she uncovers
secrets from the past that reveal a surprising connection between the
two women—one that will change Liv’s own story forever.
Like most of the British women in Patrick's books, Liv does all the household chores, cooks, cleans, has a job cleaning and still manages to keep her family on track for appointments, etc, though they don't show her a bit of gratitude or respect. In fact, her husband and son are greedy whiny babies who seem be unable to wipe their own arses without Liv, who finds that their constant criticism of her, along with her own low self-esteem, stalls her quest to become a writer. Liv also has zero spine or gumption until near the end of the book, and she constantly worries about keeping a secret from her family, as if she owes them a thing after the way they've treated her like a slave over the decades. I found Liv's fussy timidity very frustrating, and for that reason alone I'd give this book a B-. I can't really recommend it to all and sundry, because Liv's story was rather depressing. But if you like heroines who are masochists, you may like this book.
Merlin the Magical Fluff by Molly Fitz was a cheap ebook cozy magical mystery, starring a very arrogant cat named Merlin. This short, self published book was a cheap and easy read on my Kindle Paperwhite, where the entire book read like a bad script from the CW. Here's the blurb:
My name is Gracie Springs, and I am not a witch… but I’m pretty sure my cat is.
I
first started to get suspicious when he jumped just a little too high
while chasing after a robin in our front yard. I knew for sure when he
opened up his mouth and addressed me by name!
The first thing he
told me? That he doesn’t like the name I gave him—even though “Fluffy”
fits him like a warm sweater at Christmas. Now we’ve compromised on
“Merlin the Magical Fluff,” which according to him references his long
and proud lineage just fine.
After that small matter was settled,
he informed me that I must uphold his secret or risk spending the rest
of my life in some magical prison. I agreed, not knowing it would turn
into a full-time job of covering his tracks and fibbing our way out of
some pretty tight spots.
When my boss at the local coffee shop
turns up dead as a dormouse, things go from challenging to practically
impossible… especially since all my coworkers seem to think I’m to
blame.
Here’s hoping my witchy cat can charm our way out of this
one, because right now it looks like I’m cursed if I do and charged with
murder if I don’t. Yikes!
If this book isn't classified as YA, it should be, because the prose is chatty and cute, and the characters cartoonish. The plot is easily understood, and you will know whodunnit by page 5. I really didn't like the protagonist with a name that sounds like a town in Maryland, mainly because she seemed simple and stupid. I also didn't like Merlin the cat, who was downright cruel and arrogant, as well as bossy and ruthless. Though I didn't waste much money on it, I don't think I will be revisiting this author's work ever again. I'd give this short, odd book a C, and only recommend it to those who like their light reading to be so light and fluffy it floats, just like Merlin the mouthy magical cat.
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