New Word Definitions, Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction, Rushdie's Attacker Sentenced to 25 Years, Quote of the Day, AI Generated Reading List Contains Non-Existant Books, Urban Reads Faces Harassment, Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger, Mrs Porter Calling by A.J. Pearce, Secrets of a Midlife Witch by JC Yeamans, and City of Stardust by Georgia Summers

Welcome to the third week of May, as we make our way into June and sunny weather with warm temps. I've gotten a whole new raft of great books awaiting my attention in my TBR, and I'm excited to see which ones will be great and which will be duds. I'm also going to be posting to a memorial blog that I wrote for my best friend, Muff Larson, after she died unexpectedly years ago. Her birthday was June 1st, and I still miss her. She was a huge reader, like myself, and we met at Clarke College in 1980. She loved all things Irish, and we visited Ireland together in 2001. She was my college roommate for awhile, and then she moved in with someone who could tolerate cigarette smoke better than I could, (I have had asthma and allergies since age 5), but we remained the best of friends. Anyway, theres a lot going on in the world of books, so here's a tidbit and vocabulary-strengthening list for your edification!

 

New Words I found that I didn't know:

Obbligato= used as a direction in music, an instrumental part, typically distinctive in effect, which is integral to a piece of music and should not be omitted in performance.

Avizandum= In legal context, "avizandum" (from Late Latin "avizare," meaning "to consider") refers to a judge or court taking time to consider a case privately before delivering a judgment, essentially meaning the court "makes avizandum" with the case. 

Tout=attempt to sell something, typically by pestering people in an aggressive or bold manner, or to offer racing tips for a share of any resulting winnings.

Oleograph=a lithographic print textured to resemble an oil painting.

Pusillanimously=The adverb "pusillanimously" describes an action or behavior that is characterized by a lack of courage, resolution, and a tendency to be easily frightened, aka weak or cowardly, frightened of taking risks.

Pangyric=a public speech or published text in praise of someone or something.

Djellaba=a loose hooded cloak, typically woolen, of a kind traditionally worn by Arabs.

Viridine=primarily refers to a green variety of andalusite. It's a gemstone known for its bright, grass-green color due to the presence of manganese

Mononymic= adjective describing something relating to or characterized by a mononym. A mononym is a name composed of only one word, like Madonna or Socrates, or a person who is known by just one name, often their first name. 

Gonoph=thief, pickpocket, London slang, 1852, said to have been introduced by German Jews, from Hebrew gannabh "thief," with form altered in English as if from gone off.

  

Looks like they had a tough time deciding on book awards this year, though these sound wonderful, and I am hoping to find copies at sales this fall 

 

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Goes To:

A book I learned about today. No shade, but I hadn’t come across two books on the finalist list of five titles and the winner, Small Rain by Garth Greenwell, was one of them. That said, looking back at the list of winners of this award, which honors fiction by American permanent residents in a calendar year with a winner selected by three writer judges, this strikes me as one of the less predictable awards with a mix of big name/big publisher books and lesser known (or at least less buzzy) authors. The finalists vying for this year’s prize alongside the winning title were Ghostroots by Pemi Aguda, Behind You is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj (the other book I hadn’t heard of), James by Percival Everett, and Colored Television by Danzy Senna.

 

Thank heaven they caught this nasty piece of crap and sentenced him to 25 years in prison...authors should not be attacked by utilizing freedom of speech, guaranteed by the constitution.

Salman Rushdie’s Attacker Sentenced to 25 Years

In February, Hadi Matar was found guilty of attempted murder for trying to kill The Satanic Verses author during a speech. Matar stabbed Salman Rushdie multiple times before bystanders pulled him off, and Rushdie was left blind in one eye. The 25-year sentence was handed down this past Friday when Judge David W. Foley "told Mr. Matar that his assault had been against not only a man, but also the right to free expression." Rushdie’s statements haven’t been made public, but his newest book, Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, which was a National Book Award finalist, recounts the traumatic event and its aftermath. Truly terrifying stuff.

This is true, there's power in recommending great books to people and knowing that you can change their lives or make them re-think their positions on the oppression of POC, Women or LGBTQ folks.

 

Quotation of the Day

"These days, I've found power in bringing together people of all kinds

in my bookstore. Democracy requires critical inquiry, which I now enable

not through cable-news hits but by putting a copy of The Federalist

Papers in the hands of a precocious middle-schooler or recommending

Marcus Aurelius's Meditations to a neighbor trying to come to grips with

the chaos of our political era.

"Being called Congressman remains the highest honor of my life. I still

have deep admiration for members on both sides of the aisle. But the

title 'bookshop owner' has unexpectedly brought a greater sense of

purpose. The trappings of power are hard to beat, but they never gave me

as much pleasure as putting a book in someone's hands and saying, 'Read

this.' "--Steve Israel, former Member of Congress and now owner of Theodore's Books 

 

Shame on the Chi-town Sun-Times for taking the easy way out and using AI to generate articles full of errors. They should be embarrassed for quite some time to come.

 

Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don’t Exist

LLMs make mistakes that no human would. And they aren’t mistakes even in a traditional sense, but incorrect calculations about the probability of words going in order. So whoever ran a to ChatGPT or whatever to "write" a post for the Chicago Sun-Times called "The Best Summer Reading List for 2025" made at least two mistakes. First, do not have LLMs do your work for you. Research yes. Spell check and grammar, sure. But trust it to know what books are real and which are just somehow figured to be pretty likely to exist even when they don’t? No. This is embarrassing for the writer and a real blow to the paper’s credibility. Which is not to say this isn’t probably (certainly really) happening all over the place. But if you are not going to do human work, then you shouldn’t be read by other humans.

This is just heinous, that a bookstore in this day and age faces virulent racism from some evil idiots and cowards who hide their vitriol behind interent anonymity. SHAME on you, racist harrassers!

Urban Reads Bookstore, Baltimore, Md., Faces Racist Harassment, Threats

Urban Reads Bookstore, Baltimore,

Md., has been dealing with a barrage of racist harassment

and threats since about February, WMAR2 reported.

Store owner Tia Hamilton said she has shared more than 500 calls,

messages, and posts with the police, the FBI, and Maryland Attorney

General Anthony Brown. She told WMAR2 that she receives more "every

day," with texts and calls arriving from numbers in nearly 10 states.

Hamilton added that she refuses to back down, and explained that when

she receives a racist or threatening message on social media, she posts

the users' profiles. Asked how community members and others can help

Urban Reads, Hamilton suggested buying a book, donating to the store's

prison literacy program, and standing up for the bookstore.

"Just protect my store, because my store is your store," Hamilton said.

"We hold meetings in here, book signing kids events, children literacy

programs, protect the environment. It's just not protecting me, it's

protecting Urban Reads and protecting what we love in the Waverly

community."

Of course they tried to lay blame on someone else! They don't want to be the laughingstock that they are as a newspaper for using AI for a reading list full of non existent books! And to blame a freelance writer is really low...I worked freelance for years, but my work was always fact-checked and edited by the newspaper or magazine that purchased it.

 

Chicago Sun-Times Points Fingers for AI Article Debacle

This went about as I expected. In a statement released last night, The Chicago Sun-Times blamed its publication of an AI-generated (and thus hallucination-filled) summer reading list  on its syndication partner, who then blamed it on a freelancer. The internet was quick to pile on about how bad and dumb AI is (it can be) and to decry the use of AI to replace writers (which it certainly is). But the story behind the story is the nesting dolls of content creation, syndication, and lack of editorial oversight that is happening all around you everyday. That the mistakes were so egregious belies the underlying truth is that for most of what you read and watch online, no one is watching. No one is checking. Because there is so much free content, the price that can be paid for most content cannot support the kinds of checks and balances that would prevent something like this. And this only makes leaning, or fully standing on the shoulders of, modern technology that makes making stuff faster and cheaper.

Purgatory Ridge by William Kent Krueger is the third book in the Cork O'Connor mystery series by master wordsmith WK Krueger, whose prose is muscular and brilliant and whose plots fly by like the best thrillers. Here's the blurb: 

When mayhem descends on a tiny logging town, former sheriff Cork O’Connor is called upon to investigate a murder in this “wonderful page-turner” (The Denver Post) that “prolongs suspense to the very end” (Publishers Weekly) by Edgar Award-winning author William Kent Krueger.

Not far from Aurora, Minnesota (population 3,752), lies an ancient expanse of great white pines, sacred to the Anishinaabe tribe. When an explosion kills the night watchman at wealthy industrialist Karl Lindstrom’s nearby lumber mill, it’s obvious where suspicion will fall. Former sheriff Cork O’Connor agrees to help investigate, but he has mixed feelings about the case. For one thing, he is part Anishinaabe. For another, his wife, a lawyer, represents the tribe.

Meanwhile, near Lindstrom’s lakeside home, a reclusive shipwreck survivor and his sidekick are harboring their own resentment of the industrialist. And it soon becomes clear to Cork that danger, both at home and in Aurora, lurks around every corner.

I've read 7 books now in this mystery series, and I have to say that Krueger never fails to provide a juicy and exciting reading experience, with plot twists and turns that even jaded mystery readers will not see coming. I love Cork and his family, and the Native Americans who surround and support him. I'm especially fond of Henry Meloux, the Native American "Mide" or wiseman of indeterminate age who always seems to know what to do and who to respond to for the situation to come to a decent conclusion. I was not expecting the bad guy to emerge as the rich guy, but with the way things have been going in the US in recent years, I should have seen that coming. Anyway, fascinating un-put-downable book that deserves an A, and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in Midwestern/Minnesotan Native American tribes.

 

Mrs Porter Calling by A.J. Pearce is the third book in the Emmy Lake series of WWII historical fiction novels. The prose is fizzy and the plot never flags for an instant. These books are like potato chips, they're addicting! Here's the blurb: A charming and irresistible novel featuring aspiring journalist Emmy Lake as she navigates life, love, and friendship in London during World War II—perfect for fans of The Paris Library and Lessons in Chemistry.

London, April 1943. Twenty-five-year-old Emmy Lake is doing her part for the war effort by spearheading the hugely popular “Yours Cheerfully” advice column in Woman’s Friend magazine. The postbags are full, Emmy’s guidance offers much needed support to her readers, and Woman’s Friend is thriving. Cheered on by her best friends Bunty and Thelma, and resolute in the absence of her husband who is fighting in the army, Emmy is dedicated to helping women face the increasing challenges brought about by over three years of war.

But Emmy’s world is turned upside down when glamorous socialite, the Honorable Cressida Porter, becomes the new publisher of the magazine, and wants to change everything about it. Aided by Mrs. Pye, a Paris-obsessed editor with delusions of grandeur, and Small Winston, the grumpiest dog in London, Mrs. Porter fills the pages with expensive fashions and frivolous articles about her friends. Worst of all, she announces that she is cutting the advice column. Her vision for the publication’s future is dreadful and Emmy is determined to fight back.

Emmy and her friends must save the magazine they love, but when personal tragedy strikes, they are forced to face the very real implications of life in war-torn London.

Set in 1943 but inherently resonant with how we live today, Pearce’s signature blend of laugh-out-loud funny and heartbreakingly sad storytelling delivers a tribute to the strength of friendships. An enriching story about women coming together, Pearce’s latest novel is the perfect tonic for our times. 

You can't help but pull for Emmy and her band of stalwart and quirky co-workers at "Women's Friend" magazine as they attempt to help readers navigate the difficulties (rationing and shortages of just about everything) of life in London during WWII and after the Blitz. Add to this Emmy's female factory worker friends who are also single parents trying to raise children without childcare, and heartbreaking circumstances are bound to crop up. I loved every minute, however, and can hardly wait until August when the next book in the series debuts. I'd give this dramatic and insightful text an A, and recommend it heartily to anyone who has read the other books in the series.BTW, these books also have great cover art!

 

Secrets of a Midlife Witch by J.C. Yeamans is an urban fantasy series that features an older female protagonist trying to navigate a new career and find love. Though it appears to be self published, there's decent prose here which is the saving grace of the up and down wonky plot. Here's the blurb: 

The spellbinding first novel in the Witchy Urban Fantasy Series from author J.C. Yeamans! Who knew one’s life was so full of secrets—a husband’s lies, a family history of witchcraft, a hidden coven, and supernatural beings, wreaking havoc in her town. Join Gwynedd Crowther on her journey into magic, mystery, and love.

Middle-aged Gwynedd Crowther is taking her first graduate class after thirty years in the small college town of Bearsden, Delaware while working a monotonous, part-time insurance job. Recovering from her husband’s death, she’s sleep-deprived and dealing with menopause. She feels lucky to get out of bed in the morning and put on matching shoes.

She meets Scottish professor Dr. Archibald Cockburn and her already jumpy demeanor is tested to the max. He’s younger, easy on the eyes, and amiable. Soon after, she begins to experience unusual phenomena and the weirdest hot flashes ever.

Her best friend convinces her to join the local pagan group of community members and Zillennial graduate students to expand her social circle. When the murder of a local homeless man occurs, her strange experiences go into overdrive, making her question her reality. Are these experiences real? Is the murderer a serial killer? Or something more sinister and supernatural?

Secrets of a Midlife Witch is a Witchy Urban Fantasy and Book One in The Bearsden Witch Series. It is a dynamic series, and the books should be read in order. Contains profanity and adult situations.

There's a lot of old romance tropes here, especially the "petite" but curvy and irresistibly sexy female protagonist who is infantilized and immediately attracted to the handsome and "experienced" male protagonist who is nothing like the abusive husband that Gwyn is barely mourning after decades of marriage. The new guy, who is a womanizing bastard, is a jerk, but because he's so handsome, Gwyn can't resist his allure, and becomes stupid in his presence, just like a hormonal teenage girl, except this time its menopausal hormones that are to blame for her haze of lust that seems to remove all her common sense. Insert eye roll here. The ending was total crap, but I am still curious to see if things turn out okay for our hapless heroine Gwyn. I'd give this book a B, and recommend it to anyone looking for a spicy romantic read with a middle aged heroine.

 

City of Stardust by Georgia Summers is a "dark" contemporary fantasy novel that is a debut for Georgia Summers, and it shows. The long and often boring plot drags through staid prose full of cynical characters who are either stupid and ineffectual or abused and immature cowards. There's literally no one to like or identify with in this horror novel masquerading as dark romantasy. Here's the blurb: For centuries, the Everlys have seen their best and brightest disappear, taken as punishment for a crime no one remembers, for a purpose no one understands. Their tormentor, a woman named Penelope, never ages, never grows sick – and never forgives a debt.

Violet Everly was a child when her mother, Marianne, left on a stormy night, determined to break the curse. When Marianne never returns, Penelope issues an ultimatum: Violet has ten years to find her mother, or she will take Marianne's place. 

Her hunt leads her into a seductive magical underworld of power-hungry scholars, fickle gods and monsters bent on revenge. And into the path of Penelope's quiet assistant, Aleksander, who Violet knows cannot be trusted – and yet to whom she finds herself undeniably drawn.

With her time running out, Violet will travel the edges of the world to find Marianne and the key to the city of stardust, where the Everly story began.

Slip into a lush world of magic, stardust, and monsters in this spellbinding standalone fantasy from debut author Georgia Summers. 

 

This book ends in blood and despair, with not a peek of the awful abandoning mother figure who caused all the pain and suffering (which was the whole point of Violets painful journey, to find her mother). Since there's nothing to be gained from reading this book but a headache, I'd give it a C, and I can't think of anyone to recommend it to, unless you enjoy depressing horror novels. The book itself was prettily produced, if that's any consolation.