Stacking the Shelves #32

As I mentioned last Saturday, it's hard to think about reading another book when you're in the middle of 750+ page biography. Jon Meacham's Lincoln biography And There Was Light was a bear to get through. I am exhausted from reading it and probably won't be able to read anything else until next month. 

However, the show must go on as they say. I obtained copy of Luana Ehrlich's Three Weeks in Washington from Kindle Unlimited for the Clock Reading Challenge. The book is part of her Titus Ray Thriller Series which I have been enjoying this year. 

In Three Weeks CIA intelligence operative, Titus Ray, arrives in Washington, D.C. on the day a terrorist enters the Washington Navy Yard and murders five people. He is convinced the incident is connected to a Hezbollah plot to use chemical weapons on an American city. As usual, Titus will jeopardize his own career in order to interrogate the killer and learn the truth.

The story sounds interesting and I am looking forward to reading the book.

Stacking the Shelves #31

It's hard to think about picking up another book when you've just begun a 750 page non-fiction book. But . . . I noticed that J. M. Cannon has come out with a new book titled Girl in the Dark. Cannon wrote Blood Oranges which was one of my favorite books in 2023. Girl in the Dark was published two days ago on February 15, 2024 and I obtained a free copy from Kindle Unlimited.

Here is how the publisher summarized the story:

On a cold evening in November, Zoey Knight gets a frantic call from her sister. Their childhood home in remote Maine has burned to the ground. Two bodies have been discovered in the basement.

When the FBI suddenly takes over the case, it's clear something more sinister than a random double homicide has taken place.

Rumors go back to The Family-cult or commune, the wealthy enclave of Black Castle, Maine has never been sure. Twenty years ago, after the disappearance of a local girl, the group vanished. Now, signs of them are resurfacing.

Zoey finds this is no ordinary conspiracy. It doesn't just involve strangers, but the very people she loves. And if she wants the truth, she'll have to risk everything to find out.

The book has mixed reviews on Goodreads with ratings spanning from 2 stars to 5 stars. I have high hopes for the book based upon Blood Oranges. If I ever finish Jon Meacham's Lincoln biography And There Was Light, I will start reading this novel next.

Stacking the Shelves #30

In the past 3 months I have been seeing ads for Steve Berry's new book The Atlas Maneuver which will be published in mid-February. A few days ago I pre-ordered a copy for the Kindle and cannot wait to read it. Berry is one of my favorite authors. He writes the Cotton Malone suspense thriller series.

In The Atlas Maneuver Cotton unravels a mystery from World War II involving a legendary lost treasure, worth billions, known as Yamashita’s Gold. Also part of the story is bitcoin, the CIA, the oldest bank in the world (Templars?) and a person from Malone's past who he would prefer to never see again.

Berry has written 25 novels and 18 of them feature Cotton Malone. Along with his wife, Berry founded History Matters, an organization dedicated to historical preservation. He serves as an emeritus member of the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board and was a founding member of International Thriller Writers, formerly serving as its co-president.

I am expecting to be blown away by The Atlas Maneuver. All of his past stories were amazing and I expect nothing less from the new book.

Stacking the Shelves #29

Cleo Coyle's Bulletproof Barista will be published next week on November 14, 2023.  She is one of my favorite authors so I have pre-ordered a copy of the book.  Cleo Coyle is the pen name of the husband and wife writing team of Alice Alfonso and Marc Cerasini and together they write the Coffeehouse Mystery Series.  I have read every book in the series and all were fantastic. Below is the publisher's summary of installment #20 of the series:

When a film crew’s location shoot delivers an actual shooting, Clare Cosi finds herself at the scene of a true crime in this showstopping entry in the beloved Coffeehouse Mysteries from New York Timesbestselling author Cleo Coyle.

Only Murders in Gotham, the smash-hit streaming program, is famous for filming in authentic New York locations and using real New Yorkers as extras. For its second season, they’ve chosen to spotlight the century-old Village Blend and its quirky crew of baristas. Shop manager and master roaster Clare Cosi is beyond thrilled, especially when her superb bulletproof coffee lands her a craft services contract for the production.
 
Madame, the eccentric octogenarian owner of the landmark shop, reveals an old kinship with the star of the show, comedian Jerry Sullivan. Now a Hollywood legend, Jerry frequented the Blend during his early years performing in Greenwich Village comedy clubs. But the past may hold more than nostalgia for Jerry. Suspicious accidents begin plaguing his shoot. Then a real bullet is fired from a stage gun, and Clare becomes convinced something sinister is afoot.
 
While Jerry’s production moves to exciting new locations, Clare keeps the coffee flowing—and her investigation going—even as a murderer lurks in the wings. But can she root out the rotten player in this Big Apple production before the lights go out on her?

If you haven't read this series yet I highly recommend it.  While each book can be read as a standalone, I suggest that the books be read in order because there is a lot of character growth in each installment of the series.  Give it a try!

Stacking the Shelves #28

The Printer's Row Lit Fest was held last weekend in Chicago. It has been an annual festival for over 50 years and is held in the Printer's Row neighborhood of the south Loop. Three of the books I purchased are being featured below. I spoke with all of the authors. Each of them told me not only what their books were about but also why they were interested in the subject matter that they wrote about. The Fest also hosts events with authors but I did not attend any this year.

Unbound Feet by Kim Orendor is an account of the author's years living in China. Kim describes herself as being a wallflower when she was a child. As an adult she taught at an international university in Henan Province. Here, Kim took time to re-examine all aspects of her life: relationships, faith, and expectations. This journey wasn't always smooth and sometimes she felt as if she was moving backward. Kim was astonished when she found herself dancing in the halftime show of the Chinese University Basketball Association championship. The game was broadcast live to millions of people and her shy self  began to blossom. Kim returned to the U. S. in 2011. She hasn't danced much since returning stateside but every now and then this former wallflower busts a move.

Mailboat: The End of the Pier by Danielle Hannah is the first book in a suspense series. There are 5 books in the series to date. The setting is Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, a day trip away from Chicago. This first book opens with the finding of a dead man tied to the pilings on the pier. He had been missing for 17 years.  The main character is Bailey. She delivers letters by boat in the resort town. Bailey has learned over the years that an occasional splash into the lake as she jumps onto the pier is just part of her job. However, discovering a dead body is far from her routine. Bailey becomes fearful when the police investigation spills over into her abusive foster home, threatening to take her away from Lake Geneva entirely. 

Mother Daughter Murder Night was written by Nina Simon. The main character is Lana Rubicon, a high powered real estate professional in Los Angeles. While recovering from surgery Lana visits her daughter Beth and her grand-daughter Jack, who live 300 miles north. When Jack finds a dead body while kayaking, she quickly becomes a suspect in the homicide investigation. Lana decides to find the true murderer so she can protect her family and prove she still has power. With Jack and Beth’s help, Lana uncovers a web of lies, family vendettas, and land disputes lurking beneath the surface of a community populated by folksy conservationists and wealthy ranchers. These three women, though, must learn how to depend upon each other to find the killer.

What books have you added to your own bookshelf this week?

Stacking the Shelves #27

I just got a copy of Jon Meacham's latest book And There Was Light. The book is about our 16th president Abraham Lincoln, a man who governed America during a period of polarization and political upheaval similar to today's environment. He was both hated and hailed just as the last 4 U.S. presidents have been. The book sounds like it will be instructive on how to handle the struggles we are currently experiencing.

And There Was Light has won several awards. It is the winner of the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, longlisted for the Biographers International Plutarch Award and One of the Best Books of the Year from The Christian Science Monitor and Kirkus Reviews. Lincoln is idolized in the book but it is advertised as giving a human portrait of an imperfect man. His moral antislavery commitment, essential to the story of justice in America, began as he grew up in an antislavery Baptist community. This biography covers Lincoln’s entire life, from birth to death.

I love chunky books and this is certainly one of them. The publisher says it's 720 pages while my ebook version is 1260 pages. I am sure it will be a lovely read.

Stacking the Shelves #26

This week I channeled my inner aloha spirit and added three books to my Kindle that take place in Hawaii. I have quite a few books that I have already planned to read and review in the next two months so I'm not sure when I will have time to read these novels but definitely by the end of the year.

Jasmin Lolani Hakes just published another book this past  May.  Hula is set in Hilo, Hawai'i and it is a family saga about three generations of women. Hi'i is proud to be a Naupaka, a family renowned for its contributions to hula and her hometown of Hilo, Hawaii. She's never met her legendary grandmother though and her mother has never revealed the identity of her father. To make matters worse, there are unspoken divides within her tight-knit community that have started to grow, creating fractures whose origins are somehow entangled with her own family history. However, Hi'i sees a chance to live up to her name and solidify her place within her family legacy. But in order to win the next Miss Aloha Hula competition, she will have to turn her back on everything she has ever known.

Gaellen Quinn has given us a vivid portrait of the final days of the Hawaiian monarchy, when descendants of American missionaries toppled the throne. Suppressed for a century, this story is a little-known part of American history. We get to view it through the eyes of Laura Jennings, who lives in 1886 San Francisco. As Laura is being fitted for her wedding gown, a tragic accident kills her father and her fiancé. Suddenly alone in the world, Laura goes to Hawaii to live with relatives she’s never met, little knowing that her destiny will become intertwined with those of Hawaii’s last great sovereigns.

Alan Brennert has written a  couple of books set in Hawaii. Daughter of Moloka'i is one I neglected to read when it was published in 2019. This companion tale to Moloka'i tells the story of Ruth, the daughter that Rachel Kalama—quarantined for most of her life at the isolated leprosy settlement of Kalaupapa—was forced to give up at birth. The book follows young Ruth from her arrival at the Kapi'olani Home for Girls in Honolulu, to her adoption by a Japanese couple who raise her on a strawberry and grape farm in California, her marriage and unjust internment at Manzanar Relocation Camp during World War II—and then, after the war, to the life-altering day when she receives a letter from a woman who says she is Ruth’s birth mother, Rachel. I already feel Ruth's emotional pain.  She went through alot during her lifetime.

I got hungry while writing this post so I just ordered a huli-huli chicken dinner from the Hawaiian Brothers restaurant for Uber Eats delivery. It's gonna be tasty!

Stacking the Shelves #25

There are a few books that will be published next month that I absolutely must read.  Honey Drop Dead by Laura Childs is one of them. The book will be out on August 8, 2023. I have a copy reserved at my local library but have to wait 6 weeks to get it because alot of folks have already reserved it. 

In this 26th installment of the series, amateur sleuth and Indigo Teashop owner Theodosia Browning is hosting a Honey Bee Tea in Charleston’s Petigru Park where there is a beekeeping project. Unfortunately, a phony beekeeper shows up and sprays toxic smoke at the guests. Then a gunshot is heard and a candidate for the state legislature falls to the ground dead.

I may not be able to wait six weeks to get my hands on the novel and could end up buying a copy for the Kindle. While there is a need to reduce spending, my willpower is weak. 

Stacking the Shelves #24

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! And audiobooks. Don’t forget audiobooks! In other words, if you can read it or if it can be read to you – no matter how you got it – it belongs in Stacking the Shelves.

The Stacking the Shelves meme was originally hosted at Team Tynga’s Reviews. For the last few years it’s been co-hosted at Team Tynga’s and here at Reading Reality. Reading Reality became the one and only host of Stacking the Shelves when Team Tynga’s Reviews closed its virtual doors in 2021.

I hit Amazon yesterday and spent way too much money. I am happy with my purchases though. Here are 3 that I want to showcase today.

I picked up The Key Lime Pie Murder for the August Calendar of Crime Challenge.  One of my favorite holidays is National Homemade Pie Day. It comes around every August 1 and I will be having more than one slice of pie.

The other two books are graphic novels that I have wanted to read for awhile. Ephemera is a serious story about a grown woman, her early memories as a child, and the mental health of her mother. The Joy of Quitting is a domestic comedy encompassing 8 years of hilarious moments in the author’s life. It spans her frantic child-rearing, misfires in the workplace, and frustrating experiences with the medical system. 

I am looking forward to some good reading in the near future.

Stacking the Shelves #24

I have already been thinking about what I want to read in May. Finding books for the Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge is always difficult. I believe that I have found a great choice for the challenge with Stolen in the Night. Patricia McDonald's psychological thriller was published late last year and I have just ordered a copy for my Kindle. 

This thriller is about Tess DeGraff who was nine years old and on a camping trip in New Hampshire with her family when a stranger kidnapped and killed her sister Phoebe. Thanks to Tess's eyewitness testimony, a man named Lazarus Abbott was arrested and convicted for the heinous crime. But twenty years later, a test reveals that Abbott's DNA does not match that of Phoebe's murderer. Driven by her fear that she may have sent an innocent man to his death, Tess and her adopted son, Erny, return to the New Hampshire town in which it all happened years ago. While Tess's family stands by her account of the crime, nerves are frayed throughout Stone Hill, NH and others in town accuse her of lying and view her as a murderer. 

In a race against time to untangle the truth about her sister's murder, Tess encounters an anti-death penalty lawyer, Ben Webster, who infuriates her but who also might open her eyes and her heart; a biased police chief related to the Abbotts; and an unknown killer who has Tess and Erny in his sights. 

I haven't read Patricia MacDonald is a long time and am excited to read this novel. What books are you interested in reading?

Stacking the Shelves #23

Yesterday I searched Amazon for newly published Amish fiction. I wanted something uncomplicated to read. Wanda Brunstetter just published Letters of Trust so I purchased it. It is the first part of a duology called The Friendship Letters. In this series Donna Schwartz, who has always enjoyed writing letters, feels that her letters can be a ministry to her friends.  Exchanging letters that contain open and honest feelings and struggles helps Doretta and two of her best friends through the darkest challenges of their lives.

 The publisher's summary:
 
Life is good on their Pennsylvania Amish farm for newlyweds Vic and Eleanor Lapp—until the day Vic’s youngest brother drowns in their pond and Vic turns to alcohol to numb the pain. Things get so bad that Vic loses his job and their marriage is coming apart. Eleanor is desperate to help her husband and writes letters to her friend, Doretta, living in Indiana for advice. The trust Eleanor places in her friend and the gentle words she receives in return are a balm for even darker days to come.

I am looking forward to reading the book this weekend. 

Stacking the Shelves #22

This past week I visited my local public library and found a book by Charles Finch that I had not read.  His 2021 novel, An Extravagant Death, sleuth Charles Lenox gets a chance to travel to America. Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli sends him on a diplomatic mission to New York City on behalf of the Queen. While there, Lenox hobnobs with both the old Knickerbocker society and the new robber barons. After the season's most beautiful debutante throws her self off a cliff, it is assumed that she killed herself. Lenox thinks that it could be murder. With his reputation for solving cases having preceded him, Lenox is invited to a magnificent Newport mansion to investigate the death.  

I have not posted in this meme before about library books that I have added to my stack. I finally feel safe going to the library since the pandemic began so there may be more of these posts. Last year I read Finch's The September Society which he published in 2008. He has 16 books published to date. 14 of them are part of the Charles Lenox series. I loved The September Society and plan on reading all of his books, whenever I get the time. 

What have you stacked your shelves with this week?

Stacking the Shelves #21

At the end of each month I plan which books I will read during the following month. While doing so this past week, I discovered that Ruth Heald has a new novel coming out later this month. The Nanny will be published next week on September 8, 2022 and I have pre-ordered a copy of it.

The story concerns a woman who, of course, accepted a job as a nanny. When the baby she took care of disappeared, she was blamed. However, the police did not have enough evidence to charge her with any crime. Fast-forward twenty years and the nanny is a mom herself. One day she answers a knock on her door and is shocked at who is standing in front of her. I presume it's the long lost baby but with Ruth Heald that is too easy of a plot. I know that the story will be a wild ride and am looking forward to reading it.

Stacking the Shelves #20

I have not done much reading for the Nonfiction Reader Challenge and decided to buy Mark Kurlansky's Salt: a World History. Published in 2003, Salt is a history of how the product has shaped civilization from the beginning. It is surprising that it has been valuable enough to serve as currency, influenced the establishment of trade routes and cities, provoked and financed wars, secured empires and inspired revolutions. Yet it still remains a common household item, one that humans cannot live without consuming. 

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My non-fiction preferences tend to be toward food and art. In one sense, food is art. Earlier in the year I explored champagne and now I am taking a look at this mineral which Homer called a divine substance.  Plato thought is was dear to the gods. Not knowing how prevalent it is on the planet, earlier generations believed that it had enormous value. Today we take it for granted that we can find it in a box at the grocer whenever we need it.

Reviews of the book state that Salt has a number of fascinating characters within its pages. I am looking forward to reading about them as I learn how this mineral has shaped our civilization.

Stacking the Shelves #19

I am so excited for the publication of The Applecreek Announcement on Monday. It is the third book in the Creektown Discoveries trilogy by Wanda Brunstetter. I loved the two earlier books in the series The Sugarcreek Surprise and The Walnut Creek Wish and have high hopes for the next book in the series.

The Applecreek Announcement takes place in Apple Creek, Ohio. Here we have piano teacher and artist Andrea Wagner and her fascination with painting the rural Amish landscapes around her home. She has made it to her thirties feeling like she has had a charmed life and finally has fallen in love with Brandon Prentice, a local veterinarian. But then she discovers she was adopted and all she thought she knew about herself has crumbled. Andrea becomes so fixated on finding her birth mother that she pushes Brandon away, so she writes to the "Dear Caroline" column in the newspaper for romance advice. What will Andrea lose before she finds herself again?

I have pre-ordered a copy of this novel and cannot wait to get started reading. Wanda Brunstetter is my favorite Amish novelist and I always look forward to reading her stories.

Stacking the Shelves #18

There a couple of graphic novels that will be published later this year that I have pre-ordered. Roberto Saviano's I'm Still Alive will be published on October 11, 2022. The novel is the author's memoir of his life as a journalist whose mission is to expose and survive the mafia. The author lives in Italy and he uses literature and investigative reporting to tell the economic reality and business of the Camorra family. He has received death threats from the Casalene clan, a cartel of the Camorra, and since October 13, 2006 has lived under police protection. 

Invisible Wounds has also been written by a journalist, Jess Ruliffson. Ruliffson interviewed many returning soldiers of the Afghan and Iraq wars for five years. He met them wherever they were living, from Georgia kitchen tables and New York City libraries to dive bars in Mississippi. All of them were grappling with reconciling their wartime experiences and their post-war lives.  Some grappled with their gender and race also.

Guy DeLisle's World Record Holders is the book that I am anticipating the most. I have all of DeLisle's graphic travelogues and loved them. This book will be published on August 9, 2022.  It is a memoir of the author and has comic strips about his childhood and post-fame encounters with readers. One of the strips reveals DeLisle visiting an exhibition of his work where he is confronted by an angry spouse who blames him for destroying her marriage. He is one of the few graphic novelists that every comic fan will read. I expect that the book will be great.

Stacking the Shelves #17

I just purchased a Kindle copy of Bill Rivers' Last Summer Boys. I needed to find a book title with a season in the title for the What's in a Name Challenge. It is a coming of age story about a boy from Appalachia during the summer of 1968. 

When thirteen-year-old Jack Elliot overhears the barbershop men grousing, he devises a secret plan to keep his oldest brother, Pete, from the draft. He believes that famous boys don’t go to war and that he’ll make his brother their small town’s biggest celebrity. Jack gets unexpected help when his book-smart cousin Frankie arrives in their rural Pennsylvania town for the summer. Together, they convince Jack’s brothers to lead an expedition to find a fighter jet that crashed many winters ago—the perfect adventure to make Pete a hero. But with a greedy developer determined to flood their valley, a beautiful girl occupying his middle brother’s attentions, a wild motorcycle gang causing trouble in town, and a disturbed neighbor setting fires, Jack realizes it isn’t just Pete who needs saving.

This isn't the usual type of book that I read but I am still looking forward to reading it.

Stacking the Shelves #16

This week on Stacking the Shelves I want to highlight a chunky book that I bought last week at Barnes and Noble. Vaishnavi Patel's Keikeyi is a novel that shines a light on the vilified queen of the Ramayana. The author expands on her story with this fiction novel. Kaikeyi is the only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya and she was raised on the tales of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharat prospers, and how they offer powerful boons to the worthy.  Kaikeyi is devastated when her father banishes her mother and then as he values her only for her marital prospects to the family. She begins to elicit the help of the gods  in order to bring back her mother, but it does not work. Kaikeyi turns to the scrolls that she once read with her mother and discovers that she has a magic she can harness from the gods. With this power, she begins to transform herself into a warrior, diplomat and a queen.  

I love the feel of holding big books. It is so much better than reading online and enhances my reading experience. Kaikeyi is 478 pages long, too short in my opinion. After reading Edward Rutherford's 1,100 page historical fiction novels of major cities of the world, Kaikeyi is definitely a short book. When I first picked up the book from the store shelves, I thought that it was a story about an African queen.  However, closer inspection of the book cover revealed that the queen on the cover was wearing tradition Indian wedding garb. I feel stupid that I thought Kaikeyi was from Africa just because her face is in silhouette on the cover. 

I have already begun reading the book but am only on page 59. The story has captivated me and I look forward to finish reading it.

Stacking the Shelves #15

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly post about sharing the books that you are adding to your bookshelf. The books can be either physical or or ebooks, books from the library or books that you purchased. Stacking the Shelves was originally hosted at the Team Tynga's Reviews blog but the blog shut down in 2021, the Reading Reality blog took over.

I am looking forward to Daniel Silva's newest novel Portrait of an Unknown Woman. It will be published on July 19, 2022 and I have pre-ordered the book. Silva writes the Gabriel Allon spy series and Portrait is the 24th installment of the series. In the novel we see that the legendary spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon has severed his ties with the Israeli intelligence service and settled in Venice. When longtime friend and London art dealer Julian Usherwood asks Gabriel to investigate the rediscovery and sale of a centuries old painting, Gabriel agrees to help out. After finding out that the painting is a fake, Gabriel conceives one of the most elaborate schemes in his career to find the person who painted the fake.

Stacking the Shelves #14

I am so excited about the approaching publication of A. M. Stuart's Evil in Emerald. I have pre-ordered a copy of the book, which will be published at the end of the month on March 29, 2022. Evil in Emerald is the third installment of the Harriet Gordon Mystery Series which takes place in Singapore during the early 1900s.

Some of you may remember the first two books in the series Singapore Sapphire and Revenge in Rubies. Most historical mystery fans read Singapore Sapphire when it was published in 2019 and loved it. I read many glowing reviews of this novel.

In Evil in Emerald Harriet turns to volunteering in local plays as an outlet from her work. She has been enjoying the rehearsals for her role in the Singapore Amateur Dramatic and Musical Society’s latest production – Pirates of Penzance. However, Harriet quickly discovers tensions among the staff of the theatre company. When the leading man is found murdered, suspicions abound, exposing scandalous behavior as well as some insidious crimes.

Inspector Robert Curran once again turns to his friend Harriet for help with the case. Curren's own life soon begins to unravel when a mysterious man turns up on his doorstep claiming to know more about Curran’s past than he himself knows. After Curran hears some devastating news, the line between his personal and professional life begins to blur. Now, more than ever, Curran needs Harriet’s steadfast assistance. When another cast member is found dead Curran and Harriet  hurry their investigation to find the killer before a third person dies.

Harriet's character has an interesting background. She is a widow who survived a typhus epidemic in India and an incarceration in Britain for her suffragette activities. This past is not part of the mysteries that she solves but it shows how she grew into an independent woman with insight into the human psyche. When she was released from prison Harriet sailed to Singapore to help her minister brother with his school for children.

If you haven't tried this series yet I highly recommend that you start reading.