Robert Sindelar to Star in his own Play, Bride's Chamber Comes to TV, Reading Party, The List That Changed My Life by Olivia Beirne, Bogs, Brews and Banshees by Rowan Dillon, Massif by Garth Nix, The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard, Weyward by Emilia Hart, and A Bookshop Summer by Stephanie Butland

Hey Bibliophiles! I know its been awhile, but I've been navigating a lot of pain in my knees and back and lower bowel area, with little or no help from my doctors, whom I've got to beg to get low dose pain medications every few weeks. They treat me with great disrespect, which is humiliating, and most seem to think I should go off onto the ice floe and die already, because my pain and suffering is so inconvenient for them...especially the male doctors, of course. Women over 50 are to be reviled and ignored, because they're no longer sexual playthings for men. UGH. Misogyny is still woven into the fabric of our society, which is horrific. Anyway, I've not had the energy to post, but I'm going to try tonight. So here you go, tidbits and reviews and all. 

I've adored 3rd Place Books every time I've visited, and I'm chuffed for their co-owner's performance of his solo play, which is not an easy thing to do from any POV. So if you're in Seattle, go support the theater arts!

Author, Author!: Robert Sindelar to Star in His Own Play

In early November, Robert Sindelar, co-owner of Third Place Books, Seattle, Wash., and a former American Booksellers Association president, performs his own solo play, The Things You Can't Forget, about his experience of returning to the world of theater after a 25-year absence while navigating his relationship with his mother as she loses her memory.

In the 1990s he acted in and directed plays around Seattle's Fringe Theater Scene at such theaters as Aha! Theater, New Mercury Theater, New City Theater, Odd Duck Studios and The Theater Off Jackson. He returned to theater in 2023, playing Vladimir in Waiting for Godot at OutCast Productions on Whidbey Island, where he also played Aston in Harold Pinter's The Caretaker in 2025.The Things You Can't Forget is directed by Dawson Nichols. The play will be performed November 5-8 at West of Lenin in Seattle.

Oooh, dark Dickens! What is not to love?! This looks to have an all-star cast, and I will hopefully be able to view it on one of the American streaming services later in the year.

TV: The Bride's Chamber

Martin Freeman and Jim Broadbent will star in an adaptation of "The Bride's Chamber," which was published in 1858 and "is considered among Charles Dickens's darkest stories," Deadline reported. As is tradition at the BBC, Mark Gatiss created the project, the ninth in what has become a staple of British TV festive season specials. Last year was an adaptation of E.F. Benson's The Room in the Tower, which was preceded by E. Nesbit's Woman of Stone and Arthur Conan Doyle's Lot No. 249.

The cast also includes Adrian Scarborough, India Fowler, and Lewis Shepherd. Principal photography took place on location in Ingatestone Hall, in Essex, U.K. earlier this year. The Bride's Chamber will air on BBC Two over the festive period and play on BBC iPlayer. Adorable Media is producing, with BBC Studios handling international distribution.

"It's unusual to find a Dickens rarity, but this is it," said Gatiss. "A weird and nasty little treasure which lurks within a work co-written with the great Wilkie Collins. A lonely inn, an incognito traveler and a ghastly tale of warped obsession."

 This is a fantastic idea, and I really wish I could be a part of a reading party locally here in Maple Valley. I would hope they'd provide hot tea or juice for those of us who can't drink, but still, what a great idea for extrovert book lovers like myself, who, due to chronic ailments, are confined to areas close to home and fairly lonely. 

Cool Idea: The Reading Party

"What if reclaiming your time could be a little rebellious, and not loud?" asked Books & Books in Coral Gables, Fla. "Once a month, The Reading Party gathers us around a simple proposition: come as you are, bring a book (or don't, we have plenty to choose from), and read together in companionable silence for 45 minutes. Then we break the silence.

"Handwritten prompts open the floor. Wine and light bites flow. Conversations wander. Strangers become friends. Book clubs are born. Someone inevitably says, 'How have we never done this before?'

"Hosted by our very own Alyssa Expósito as part of the Books & Books Literary Foundation, The Reading Party is our small act of resistance against the feeling that our screens are priority. For 45 minutes, we turn to one of the oldest technologies, the book. We read. We breathe. We pay attention. And then we stay awhile and talk about it.... Come for the reading. Stay for the people."

 The List That Changed My Life by Olivia Beirne is a delightful rom-com with sweet and sentimental moments that will have you misty-eyed throughout. Here's the blurb: 

Sometimes all you need is a little push . . .

Georgia loves wine, reality TV and sitting on the sofa after work. She does not love heights, looking at her bank account, going on dates, or activities that involve a sports bra. And she will never, ever take a risk.

That is, until her braver, bolder, big sister finds out that she won't be able to tick off the things she wanted to do before turning thirty, and turns to Georgia to help her finish her list.

With the birthday just months away, Georgia suddenly has a deadline to learn to grab life with both hands. Could she be brave enough to take the leap, for her sister? And how might her own life change if she did?

Olivia Beirne's bestselling The List That Changed My Life will take you on the hilarious and heart-warming journey of a lifetime, showing you what it means to really be alive.

This is one of those books whose prose sucks you in, while the heartwarming characters move through the easy plot like grease in a hot pan. I enjoyed Georgia's journey of risk taking and self discovery, and I felt the HEA came almost too soon, as I was enjoying the story so much. I'd give this beach-read (or just cozy by the fireplace read) a B+ and recommend it to anyone looking for a light and sweet story that will take your mind off the state of the world.

 

Bogs, Brews and Banshees by Rowan Dillon is an Irish cozy paranormal mystery that is replete with black cats and black hats. Here's the blurb: 

She’s looking for a fresh start. But with eerie noises in the night and murder most foul, can she keep from going down for a crime she didn’t commit?

Skye Brigid O’Shea is desperate for an escape. Losing big in a nasty divorce and taking the fall for a patient’s death, the stressed-out thirty-two-year-old jumps at the chance to move to Ireland after inheriting her grandmother’s B&B. But the nosy American quickly lands back in hot water when she investigates unearthly howls and discovers the disagreeable local she argued with earlier stone-cold dead.

Named as the prime suspect, Skye finds herself relying on the constable’s wife and the cryptic clues from her gran’s talking black cat to clear her name. But when her ancestor’s diary points to a supernatural culprit, the ex-nurse isn’t sure if she’s cracked the case or lost her mind.

Can this novice detective overcome a rival pub owner, a dogged policeman, and a thick web of ancient myths to stay out of the slammer?

Bogs, Brews, and Banshees is the charming first book in the Skye O'Shea paranormal cozy mystery series. If you like amateur sleuths, fish out of water, and sídhe sidekicks, then you’ll love Rowan Dillon’s snarkalicious whodunit.

Though I didn't find the "snark" all that witty or funny, I did love the supernatural elements here, and I liked the POV of the main character being a former nurse, as a former nurse myself, so I know how stressful the job can be. I only wish I could have inherited an Irish B&B during my more stressful times of life. But, still, this book provided vivid prose and a zingy plot to keep readers eyes glued to the page into the wee hours. I'd give the book a B, and recommend it to anyone who likes Irish mysteries and witches.

 

Massif by Garth Nix is a science fiction/space opera that is full of bizarre twists and turns, and lots of science-y info-dumps, which really slows the plot at the beginning and the end. Here's the blurb: 

From New York Times bestseller and master of speculative fiction Garth Nix comes his first foray into adult science fiction with a brilliant and poignant stand-alone story of sentient starships, galactic warfare, and the bonds a crew forms far, far from Earth.

It’s business as usual for Ship Leader Parnell Shi-Sawahla and the crew of the corvette Sassafras. Ride a Massif to a new system, fight the enemy, repeat. For more than two hundred years humans have been hitching rides on these sentient, starfaring mountain ranges, colonizing planets and exporting an on and off again war between Earth and Mars.

But the big questions are always there, behind every battle, every new colony, every new star system discovery. Why do the Massifs carry humans to the stars? Why do they help us export our wars?

What’s in it for the Massifs?

Ship crews aren’t supposed to ask these questions, they aren’t supposed to think about these questions, and they definitely aren’t supposed to go deep and talk to Massif avatars. But now Parnell and his tight-knit crew must try to find the answers, to save not only themselves but the future of humanity.

darkest stories," 

I've read a lot of Nix's YA fiction, which I enjoyed, so I was surprised that this adult fiction book was so dreadfully dull in the first 30-50 pages that I nearly quit reading...especially after spending way too much to acquire a hardback copy from Amazon, who were the only retailer to have them (so they overcharged $30 for the book). There's a ton of hype surrounding the book, and a lot of appearances by Nix and good ink in the newspapers. I was surprised at how the sluggish prose and sidelined plot did not live up to even a 10th of the hype, and how annoying it was to try and piece together what was happening once the plot started to move. There was a lot of monsters vs spacefarers moments, but they didn't add to the unraveling of the mystery of who the Massifs were, or why they do the things they do, or how to deal with them in general. Its only in the last chapter that we get any answers at all, and they prove to be dissatisfying and somewhat vague. If you like dull over-explained sci-fi like Rendezvous With Rama, which also seemed incomprehensible to me, then you'll love this nonsensical book. I didn't. I'd give it a C+ and only recommend it to earth science nerds...but don't pay full price. 

 

The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard is a spicy Indian romantasy that comes in a beautifully-designed book with a glorious cover and midnight blue edge papers. Here's the blurb: 

A bladesmith blessed by the stars. A prince with a dangerous secret. A god bound in shadows. From author Amalie Howard comes a scorching new high-stakes epic fantasy romance that will leave you spellbound.

“His Imperial Majesty King Zarek requests your presence as his esteemed guest.”

When the gold-dusted court invitation arrives at Suraya Saab’s forge, she believes it’s a joke. Nobles might seek her skills as a bladesmith, but she has no qualifications as a potential bride for the crown prince. Still, the invitation is the chance at adventure, and the means to finally visit the capital city her late mother loved.

But what awaits her in Kaldari is nothing she could have imagined—and fraught with danger. It’s not the crown prince, but his impossibly handsome, illegitimate half-brother, Roshan, who captures her interest…and her ire in an enemies-to-lovers dynamic she can’t ignore. The invitation isn’t a quest to find a suitable bride, but a veiled hunt for the Starkeeper—a legendary chosen one rumored to hold the magic of the stars in her blood. And across the city, political intrigue and unrest are brewing between the noble houses and the rebel militia.

When the rebels attack, Suraya and Roshan find themselves on the run. Thrown together by danger and forced into proximity, they try to deny their simmering attraction and the knowledge that Suraya herself might be the Starkeeper. But Roshan is guarding secrets of his own. And with no control over the power stirring within her, Suraya has drawn the attention of a dark god, an immortal whose interest might be the biggest threat of all.

This is a lot more of a romance than a fantasy, but it follows the usual tropes of the female protagonist falling in love with the wrong brother, and having to fend off the more powerful, power-hungry evil brother who wants her for her magic, not herself. Of course she loses her mind and her common sense around both handsome men, because all women in romantasys do, and she ends up making bad decisions because of it...ones she comes to regret. The prose was engaging and the plot smooth as silk, which was nice, so I'd give this book a B+ and recommend it to any Bollywood fans or those who like Indian stories that are spicy.

 

Weyward by Emilia Hart is a historical supernatural fiction novel that delineates three generation of witches and the abuse and terror that they must go through before they are able to manifest a spine and turn their magic on their abusers. Here's the blurb: I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great-aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she suspects that her great-aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. When Altha was a girl, her mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence of witchcraft is laid out against Altha, she knows it will take all her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an astonishing debut, and an enthralling novel of female resilience. 

While this book was hyped as a feminist historical fiction novel, it devolves into abuse and torture porn as it goes along, with each generation of women being brutally abused and killed for their powers and/or their inclination for lesbianism. I realize that Altha is in love with a woman who seems to return her feelings as a teenager, but it becomes clear that as an adult she doesn't, yet Altha cannot and will not leave her alone, though the object of her affections testifies that she's a witch who killed her (very abusive) husband, and seems happy to consign her former friend to the noose. You would think that Altha would catch a clue here, but no. Violet is raped by her disgusting cousin, and ends up aborting the fetus, while Kate has to summon the spine to get rid of her evil abusive husband whom she flees when she's 8 months pregnant with her daughter. The message here is that men are evil, and misogynistic, while women are prey who need to learn to stand up for themselves. I'm not sure what the hype surrounding this book was all about, but I found it mediocre and easy to figure out early on. I'd give it a B, and recommend it to those who like to read about rape and abuse of women, in detail, throughout history.

 

A Bookshop Summer by Stephanie Butland is a fun and interesting contemporary romantic British fiction novel that is full of fascinating characters and lovely prose, along with an easy, breezy plot. Here's the blurb: 

An intriguing, twisting and heart-warming novel set in a bookshop that has an unexpected impact on people's lives. 

When the Lost for Words bookshop in York hosts an event for a new reading project, four strangers' lives will change in ways they could never have expected. 

 

Trixie is hosting the event. She loves her job at Lost for Words, and she's feeling grounded and calm - until a phone call from her ex throws everything off course.

Cherry only goes to the event because she needs to get out. Caring for her grandmother without any help is exhausting - and lonely. Maybe things will be different if her long-lost sister finally comes home.

Rhiannon and Guy really hit it off at the bookshop; it feels like the start of something special. And Guy is fantastic with Rhiannon's baby. But Rhiannon is keeping quite a big secret . . .

 

When you spend time with people who love books, you're sure to learn something about yourself - and maybe see a way to start in a different direction. As each of them is about to find out.

This cozy British story has a strong through-line of romance, but the real star here are the characters trying to find a better life through self discovery and reading out loud to one another and people in their community. Every time a couple of the Lost for Words readers felt their positive impact on a senior citizen, or a child, or a school-aged teen, my heart was warmed to a nice hot cuppa tea temp. I can't say that I understood the twins, Cherry and Peaches deep and creepy devotion to one another (especially Cherry, who can't seem to live her life without her twin...WHY?Peaches manages to help the disadvantaged in other countries and stays away for years without a problem, while Cherry takes care of her chain-smoking gross granny and simmers in resentment of her twins adventures...but when Granny dies, and Cherry has the chance to leave with Peaches and explore the world, she doesn't want to, and goes almost agoraphobic.) and Rhiannons "deep secret" (which I figured out immediately) that her husband is long dead, by the time its revealed falls flat except with the Guy Rhiannon likes. He huffs off for some reason, while everyone else understands her grief and forgives her. Men in Britain must really be dickheads. I'd give this wierd but interesting novel a B, and recommend it to anglophiles who like cozy books.

 

Deadline reported. As is tradition at the BBC, Mark Gatiss created the project, the ninth in what has become a staple of British TV festive season specials. Last year was an adaptation of E.F. Benson's The Room in the Tower, which was preceded by E. Nesbit's Woman of Stone and Arthur Conan Doyle's Lot No. 249.