Book of the Month: January

I read 9 books in January. It was a great month for reading. The book that I enjoyed the most was Sabina by C. DeMelo. It is a historical fiction novel that takes place in 15th century Florence. I was captivated by Sabina's life story but more than that I loved the author's luscious setting descriptions. They made the book come alive. From the clothes that the ladies wore to the architecture and the bucolic surroundings, the setting was a big part of the story. The characters were amazing as well, particularly the men that Sabina loved. I loved them too. Sabina is a must read for historical fiction fans.

Book of the Month: November

My best books for November include the Hildegard of Bingen duology The Greenest Branch and The Column of Burning Spices as well as Nancy Bilyeau's The Blue and Christine De Melo's Imposter. I could not pick just one book this month. I also considered adding 3 other historical mysteries to this selection: Anna Castle's Death by Disputation, The Widow's Guild and Publish and Perish. November was a great month for reading!

Two authors are new to me. P. K. Adam's wrote the Hildegard series and Christine De Melo wrote Imposter. De Melo has a few other books published that I can read but I will have to wait until 2020 to read the next story from Adams. It always feels good when you find a new author.

Let's see what December brings.

Book of the Month: October

My favorite book this month is I Was Their American Dream.  It made a huge impact on me and may even end up being my 2019 book of the year.

This book challenged my notions of what the American experience is and should be. I felt a little judgmental toward the author for how she made decisions for her life. I felt that I celebrated her heritage more than she did. I know that these feelings are wrong but that is why this book is so special. The author makes the reader think about what the American Dream is for each person. No person can define that for another and each person's definition seemed to me to be related to how long their family had been in the U.S.  When I consider how my friends view this definition, it is the same as mine.  Please read my review of the book here. I loved it and feel it is an important story to discuss.

There were several other books that were good enough to be book of the month for any month other than October. I read some great books such as Irmina, They called Us Enemy, A Fire Story and The Kinship of Secrets. What is amazing is that all of these books except one is a graphic novel. As the month passed I kept thinking that surely this book will be it, then that book. After reading I Was Their American Dream, I knew no other book would surpass it. 

Book of the Month: September

My best book for the month of September is Saving Meghan. This medical thriller was so captivating that it kept me up all night until I finished reading it.  Meghan Gerard has an undiagnosed illness and her mother loves, really loves, taking her to doctors and screaming at them if they don't order tests or additional physician consultations. Meghan's father Carl thinks his wife is nuts. His wife's mother had munchausen's and he thinks she has it too.  So does White Hospital where Meghan is a frequent patient. When the hospital tries to do an intervention, the story intensifies.

Book of the Month: June

My best book for June, 2019 is Susan Wittig Albert's A Plain Vanilla Murder.  In this cozy mystery a botany professor is killed. He has been working to produce a hybrid vanilla plant, a form of the orchid plant, that was disease resistant. The professor was also involved in smuggling orchid plants into the U. S. and selling them at horticulture shows throughout the country. At times this book seemed like a political mystery, which is quite unusual for the series. Whodunnit? Maybe the ex-wife who has a competing business, the grad student the victim screwed out of a plant patent, any one of a number of young female students he had affairs with, or jealous faculty members. I particularly liked the recipes at the end of the book for vanilla sugar, vanilla paste, vanilla syrup, vanilla butter and vanilla whipped cream. I wrote them down for future reference.

I thought this installment of the China Bayles Mystery series was one of the most intricately plotted books in the series.  It is the 27th book in the series.

Book of the Month: May

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My best book for the month of May is Jennifer Robson's The Gown.  The Gown is the story of how Queen Elizabeth II's wedding dress was designed and sewn.  While it had a slow start this book was mesmerizing once it got started.  The excitement that was in the air in Britain when Elizabeth's engagement to Phillip was announced was evident to the reader.  Coming out of the awful era of WWII the news of this wedding excited people, probably because it was good news.  Any good news may have done the trick but this was Elizabeth and Phillips's news.  The story primarily follows two embroiderers who worked on the gown.  There was a parallel plot from the current era that was interesting but not as compelling.  It was used, though, to help tell the story of the embroiderers.  Until I read this book I was not aware that Elizabeth's dress was packed full of embroidery.  I had seen pictures of her dress in the past and had seen rows of something in the dress but never would have guessed that it was silk embroidery.  I would love to see it now in the museum that it is housed in.  I understand, however, that the embroidery did not stand up to time as the silk material it was sewn to was not the best for having embroidery added to it.  However, the Queen's mother insisted on a particular type of silk for the dress.

Book of the Month: April

My favorite book for the month of April is Kid Gloves by Lucy Knisley. Kid Gloves is a graphic novel detailing the author's attempts to get pregnant and carry a child to full term.

I am surprised that for 2 months in a row my favorite book was a graphic novel. It just shows how good these adult graphic novels can be. Kid Gloves is Knisley's most serious novel to date. It is autobiographical and while I am not maternal in any sense, I felt Knisley's emotions throughout her experience, from miscarriage through miscarriage to a full pregnancy and a delivery that almost killed her.  She showed emotion on every page with her drawings and while she used bright colors I think she was being optimistic by using them.

I enjoyed the book enough to buy it after taking it out of the library. I cannot recommend it to you more highly.

Book of the Month: March

My favorite book for the month of March is Dan Dougherty's Self Employee of the Month. It is a comic book and is the 4th book in the Beardo series.

This book was just plain funny. I laughed from the moment I began reading until I finished the book.  Beardo's comments about being at Comic Con are spot on and how he handled working at home was hilarious. This was the best book in the series.

Not all comic books make a reader laugh out loud. Self Employee of the Month is one of them.

Book of the Month: February

My favorite book for February was The Weight of Ink by Rachel Kadish.  It is the story of Ester Velasquez who lived in the 1600s in London's Jewish community. She was quite a compelling character. After having lost her entire family she begins to secretly be a scribe for a blind rabbi. This type of work is unthinkable for a woman of that era. Her intelligence and her job must be kept quiet in order to maintain her standing in the community as well as keep open her marriage prospects. Ester wasn't interested in marriage because she knew no husband would allow her to continue her reading.  She thought that she could somehow make herself a life of intellectual activity but I won't tell you whether she succeeded or not. Read the book!

I began reading C. J. Sansom's Tombland which could have been a contender for book of the month but its 900 pages have me still reading it all the way into March. 

Book of the Month: January

My top book for the month of January is The Sisters of Versailles. Based on a true story, this historical fiction novel presents the bizarre story of the five Mailly Nesle sisters, four of whom had affairs with Louis XV.

While the background of the story was about sex, it did not go into detail about the sex itself. The book showed the differences between the sisters' personalities and how each of their strengths, or vanities, propelled them toward Louis and power in his Court.

They loved backstabbing each other like no other characters you have ever read about before. They grew up on the poor side of aristocracy but had an incredible zest for power and had an innate sense on how to obtain it.  They mesmerized me.

I have already read book two of this trilogy.  It was good but I don't think the mistresses in book 2 can beat the ones in book 1 for their political and sexual maneuvers. I will soon be getting the third novel and conclude reading this delicious trilogy.