2024 Epistolary Reading Challenge

I have never participated in this challenge before and am not sure how much I will like this type of book. However, I am going to give it a go next year.  The challenge will be to read books written in the form of letters, diaries, blogs, e-mails and such, either completely or partially written this way. 

Guidelines:

• Challenge will run from January 1 to December 31, 2024.  Books must be started on or after January 1 to count.  Re-reads will be allowed as long as they are read during the specified time period.
• Books may cross over to other challenges in which you are participating.  
• Fiction (all genres and subgenres) and nonfiction that fit the challenge description may be read.
• All book formats are allowed (paper, audio, electronic, graphic novels/manga, picture books). 
• No levels.  You can choose how many books to read.
• You do not need a blog to sign up.  You may keep tract of your progress on Goodreads, Amazon or other similar sites with a shelf dedicated to this challenge. Or sign up on Youtube, Facebook, or Twitter.
• You do not need to post reviews, nor will there be any check-ins.
• Sign up in the comments of the challenge post.

2024 Creativity Reading Challenge

I did not participate in this challenge this year but have missed it.  Now that I am retired I consider my job title to be a full-time artist.  In the past I have reviewed watercolor and fiber art books.  Let's see what I can come up with in 2024.  The rules are:

The challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2024. 

Read as many books as you want.

Books may be nonfiction, memoir, how-to, self help, coffee table books, instructional, picture books, and even fictional books if they are about people who are creative.

Books of any format including traditional books, ebooks or audiobooks

You may reread books. 

Books may count towards other reading challenges in which you are participating.

Sign up in the comments of the challenge post.

Bulletproof Barista

Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse Mystery Series is my favorite cozy mystery series. I have read every book in the series and only have high accolades for each book. Bulletproof Barista , though, was not my favorite installment in the series. The authors have managed to maintain a quality level in their writing over the years but in this 20th novel they faltered.  

Clare Cosi is the main character.  She is the manager of the Village Blend coffeehouse.  She agrees to shut down her business for a week for comedian Jerry Sullivan who is starring in a film that is being shot at the coffee shop.  When the film crew’s location shoot delivers an actual shooting, Clare Cosi finds herself once again at the scene of a true crime.  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. Clare Cosi is beyond thrilled, especially when her superb bulletproof coffee lands her a craft services contract for the production.

Let me begin my review by saying that I was in a bad mood when I began reading this novel.  I thought it would uplift me.  There was something different about how it started out but I continued reading waiting for someone to get killed.  It didn't happen until over 200 pages into the story. Usually, the murder happens in the first chapter.  I remembered hearing the name of the person who died, Billy Saddler,  but he was not central to the story thus far.  I went back to the beginning searching for his name and did not it until page 99.  There was something else that bothered me while I was reading.  One of the characters, Tina Bird, was referred to over 10 times as "cockadoodledoo."  Again, I went back to the beginning trying to figure out why she gained this description.  It turns out that one of Clare's baristas, Tucker, referred to Bird this way.  When Clare didn't understand why Tucker said this, he said that she should remember the phrase that Kathy Bates used in her 1990 movie Misery.  While I had seen this movie several times I did not remember the phrase.  I then went to Google and found several You Tube videos where her character  described a vehicle as a "cockadoodie car."  She even referred to another character as a "cockadoodie."  With my facts straight about the plot, I returned to reading but promising myself to watch the Misery movie again soon.

The Forward to the story talks about a movie being filmed near the authors' home in New York City.  They decided to write this installment of the series based on a movie being filmed at Clare's Village Blend.  I believe that this was a mistake.  The plot was not anywhere near as exciting as the authors tried to make their mystery fit into a predesigned idea of what the plot should be.  This affected their creativity.  There were a lot of cliches used in the writing, which I have never seen before, and Clare's investigation was more about who was sabotaging Jerry Sullivan's TV show than solving a murder. The person who was shot in the beginning of the book survived. 

If you have never read a book in this series, do not start with Bulletproof Barista.  All of the earlier books were riveting and Bulletproof Barista is an anomaly in the series.  I recommend, though, that you read this series.  It has been enjoyable for me. When I finished this book I was planning on giving it a 4 star rating.  However, as I was writing this review I realized all of the problems that I had with it. Consequently, I am rating it 2 stars.  It was not up to par with the earlier ones.

Can't Wait Wednesday #26

I am anxiously awaiting the publication of Ariel Lawhon's The Frozen River.  It will be released on December 5, 2023.  I have not read the author's earlier two novels and, frankly, never heard of her. The attractive book cover made me read the synopsis of the story and I ended up pre-ordering a copy.  The book is a historical fiction account of a real-life midwife by the name of Martha Ballard.

The publisher's summary:  Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is  record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.  Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

The plot sounds pretty interesting. I like that the story is based on a woman from history.   My December is heavily booked with holiday parties and concerts so I may not get a chance to read the book until January. I am excited about the read though.

2024 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge

The Alphabet Soup Challenge is running again in 2024 and I will be rejoining the challenge for a second year.  The "soup" means that by December 31, 2024 your bowls must be filled with one book for each letter of the alphabet.  Each letter counts as 1 spoonful.  The challenge is hosted by the Escape with Dollycas Blog.

Challenge Rules:  

1)  This challenge will run from January 1, 2024 until December 31, 2024.

2)  You can join anytime. You do not have to post a review of the book. Books can come from any genre.

3)  Children’s Books and Novellas are acceptable but they need to be over 50 Pages. 

4)  You do not need to link up each spoonful.

4)  Grab a notebook or make a page or a post or a GoodReads shelf where you will keep track of your spoonfuls.

5)  Crossovers to other challenges are allowed and encouraged!

6)  It’s an alphabet challenge!!! The challenge is to read one book that has a title starting with every letter of the alphabet.

7)  You can drop the A’s and The’s from the book titles as shown below.  The first main word needs to be the letter you are counting except for Q, X, and Z titles then the word that starts with the challenge letter can be anywhere in the title.

8)  There are two different ways you can set up your own A-Z Reading Challenge.

A –  Make a list from A-Z. Throughout the year, as you go along, add the books you are reading to the list. Towards the end of the year, you can check and see which letters you are missing and find books to fit.

OR

B – Make a list now of 26 books, picking one for each letter of the alphabet, and check them off as you read them.

9)  Books can be read in any order and all formats – print – e-book – and audio – are acceptable for this challenge.

10)  If you post about your books on Social Media please use this hashtag #AlphabetSoupChallenge

11)  Follow Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book as there may be special announcements made about the challenge.

12)  You can share your book reviews on the Challenge Facebook page.

13)  If you want to join the challenge, the challenge host is asking everyone to sign up using Google Forms. Sign Up Here. 

Book Cover of the Month: November

My best book cover for this month is from The Yellow Rambutan Tree Mystery novel by Ovidia Yu. Illustrator Andy Bridge designed the cover so well that Yu decided to make a minor change in her plot. She saw a clue in the book cover design that she wanted to incorporate into her novel.  

Andy Bridge graduated from the Brighton Polytechnic in 1989 from their illustration course.  He worked for a studio, Great Western, in West London until 2004.  He now lives and works in France.  In his book jacket design process, Bridge works in three dimensions, producing boxed collages and pieces inspired by all kinds of ephemera.  He has worked with all of the major publishers in the UK, Europe and the USA, including Random House, Penguin, MacMillan, Harper Collins and Orion. Bridge is an award winning illustrator.  He illustrated the cover of the 2022 Man Booker Prize winning novel "Life of Pi" boy Yann Martel as well as the 2009 winner "Wolf Hall" by Hillary Mantel.  In addition, he has created original works of art for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and wine labels for Domaine Saint Rose in France.

Book of the Month: November

It should come as no surprise that my best book for November is Ken Follett's The Armor of Light.  Armor is the 5th book in the Knightsbridge series and it is fantastic.

I cannot begin to talk about how good this book is.  The story spans thirty years. It opens with the sad story of a man who gets injured at work and later dies. His wife Sal and son Kit are part of this scene and they continue with the story until the very end. Sal is a strong female character and I would say she's the main character. As other characters are brought into the story Sal is always there. Her struggles are typical of those who lived during the start of the Industrial Revolution and it is she who came up with idea of unionizing the weavers of Knightsbridge. 

With the Knightsbridge series now set in the early 1800s Armor is probably the last book. This makes me sad but how lucky we all have been for the opportunity to read these books.

The Yellow Rambutan Tree Mystery

The Yellow Rambutan Tree Mystery was published this past June.  It is author Ovidia Yu's 4th Su Lin Series novel but the first book of hers that I have read. I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the story. 

The publisher's summary:

The War may be over but Su Lin's troubles are returning - along with the British - to Singapore...

When two of Uncle Chen's associates come visiting Chen Mansion on the third day of Chinese New Year - an unlucky date in the Chinese calendar - Su Lin doesn't let them in. Not just because of the taboo, but because her uncle has been unwell. But the bad luck has clearly followed them as one of them is soon discovered outside the house, dead, with a strip of dried yellow rambutan peel in his mouth. And the other associate has gone missing.

Could this have anything to do with the recent British ban on opium consumption? Singapore is only just adjusting to the return of British rule and the authorities suspect the dead man was killed for threatening to expose the Chens for processing and distributing the drug. And as Su Lin adjusts to the return of Le Froy to Singapore, being Parshanti's bridesmaid and figuring out why scraps of yellow rambutan peel keep showing up around the mansion, she is forced to think about whether she has a future in the Chen family - and in the new, post-Second World War Singapore.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the Singaporean culture. I picked up most of it from the dialogue between the characters and there was alot of it. However, as a mystery novel the story fell short. There were large gaps in the investigation to make space for wedding preparations for Su Lin's girlfriend Parshanti as well as their interactions with other characters. I feel that the murder investigation should have never stopped once the body was found. The book shined more as historical fiction than as the historical mystery it is advertised to be. Perhaps something was lost in the translation.

The series' protagonist, twenty-six year old Su Lin, is a great character. She lives with her grandmother, uncle, aunt and niece. On the third day of the Chinese New Year, she finds that an old associate of her uncle is at the door. She refused admittance to the house because Lin's uncle was too ill to meet anyone.  The associate was subsequently murdered after leaving Su Lin's home.  In his pocket were some yellow rambutan skins. I thought these skins were an awesome clue.  Having never heard of them before, I headed to Wikipedia for more information.

I have mixed feelings about the book. The setting was exquisite but the murder investigation seemed secondary to the setting. I am rating it 3 out of 5 stars.

The Golden Voice

The Golden Voice is the story of a Cambodian singer by the name of Ros Sergey Sothea.  She was popular during the Vietnam War era, otherwise known in Cambodia as the American War. She disappeared, though, in the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge. Sothea began her working career as a rice farmer but became famous as a rock and roll musician in the 1960s and 1970s. She was also a recording artist who captured the hearts of the Cambodian people. Sothea recorded over 500 songs with her signature angelic voice in several genres from bolero to romantic ballads to psychedelic rock. When Cambodia exploded into a brutal civil war, Sothea's singing career remained prolific, even when she joined the army as one of the country's first female paratroopers. After years of bloody conflict, the communist Khmer Rouge seized control, bringing Cambodia's golden age of music into a dark era of silence. Most artists, including Ros Serey Sothea, were murdered.  Her legacy, however, continues to inspire Cambodians today.

This is an eye opening biography. I did not know anything about Cambodia during the Vietnam War era because I was just a kid while it was going on.  It was sad to read about the conditions that people had to live with. 

The author's added links to songs Sothea recorded in the front of the book. This was ingenious!  I have read biographies of other musicians that did not have this feature and the musicians meant nothing to me. Being able to hear Sothea's singing made her seem more real and complemented my reading experience. The authors also added links throughout the story to Sothea's playlist so the reader can listen to them. I loved this feature. 

The characters spoke three different languages:  French, English and Khmer.  It wasn't always apparent which side some of the characters were on. By using different colored dialogue boxes the authors made it easy for the reader. Pink boxes were used for Khmer,  blue boxes for French speakers and yellow boxes for  English. Again, another ingenious feature.

The Golden Voice is the best graphic biography I have ever read. I am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Chicago The Great Retirement Resource

I met the authors of this book at Chicago's Printer's Row Lit Fest earlier this year.  They were fantastic salesmen and I purchased the book from them there.  The two of them also co-authored another retirement book that they said covers everything imaginable about retirement. I was told that the Chicago version of their first book would contain the same information, including financial information.  

This Chicago retirement resource does not have financial information.  That did not bother me because I do not need that type of information.  At the time of the Lit Fest I had not decided on retiring but ended up doing so earlier this month.  This book has some great information on things to do and see in Chicago.  However, since I have a mobility impairment most of these activities are not within the realm of possibility for me.  I was disappointed.  There is tons of information on a wide variety of activities for healthy folks and the TABs (temporarily able bodied as we call them in the disability community), but leaves out accessibility information entirely.

While I am  disappointed with the book, I realize that only someone with a disability would be able to write such a guidebook for people with disabilities.  I wonder whether I should fill in this gap and write my own retirement resource book for my community.  After all, I already know what is possible and would not have to do much research. However, I am not feeling the oomph right now for writing a book.  Perhaps later.

Since this book has a lot of good ideas for things to become involved with I will rate the book a 3 out of 5 stars.

Where Were You?

Alot of my friends and I have been chatting this morning about where we were when we heard that our 35th President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.  It's something we always remember to talk about every November 22 but today is more special.  It is the 60th anniversary of the assassination.

Where was I?  I was five years old and a student in kindergarten. None of the class was allowed to leave school because there were fears that the Soviet Union would immediately send missiles our way.  School administrators did not want us to be injured or killed as we walked home from school. Mind you, I lived in a tiny suburb of Chicago that, at the most, is one square mile. It has always been hard for me to believe that any of us would have been in danger because we would have gotten home in 5 minutes.  The students were herded into a gymnasium and told to get into the tornado duck and cover position.  

My school day normally ended in mid afternoon but I did not get home until 9 pm.  The school secretary typed up releases from liability statements for each parent to sign so that the school would not be liable if those Soviet missiles were dropped on us on the way home.  I had never been outside after dark and the sky was incredibly dark at 9 pm.  I was afraid.

The next day my entire family was sitting in the living room watching TV coverage of the assassination.  I remember seeing Lee Harvey Oswald on TV stating that he did not kill President Kennedy and that he did not know who did.  He was then taken into the back of the police station in Dallas.  I think this news clip was a replay from the previous day but I am not sure.  Because I live in Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, I could not distinguish between the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and Kennedy. We are taught at an early age that the 16th president was from our state and we learned a lot of Lincoln lore over the years.  On November 23, 1963 I remember asking my mother if Oswald killed Lincoln.  I also asked her if that was James Wilkes Booth on the TV.  I was then told to go into the kitchen.  I guess that is when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby.  I don't remember seeing him shot but I was definitely standing behind the chairs my parents were sitting in as they watched TV. 

This is my "where were you" story. I think that people my age have a fatalistic look out on life because we were raised to believe that the Soviets would drop a nuclear bomb on us and we would all die. Over the years as I have talked with friends about our childhood we all have said the same thing; that we would die before we were 40 because a nuclear war would happen.  It feels amazing to me that I am now 65 and am alive and kicking.  My siblings, who are 6, 7 and 10 years older than me, have a completely different perspective on November 22. However, the entire country was united in grief in a way that has never happened since then.  9/11 was close, but not the same.

So, my question for you is, where were you on November 22, 1963? 

White Faced Lies

In China, local companies hire white (but not necessarily qualified) Americans to lend them credibility. Cons such as these, known as "face jobs", are instances in which Chinese companies hire foreigners to pose as professionals to lend credibility during meetings, press conferences, and other events where "face" is paramount. This fictional account of one man's experience working in this industry is the subject matter of the book.

Veteran "face-jobber" Stanley Becker has been in China for ten years trying to earn money to build a ranch in China. When a young man, Jared, approaches him and explains that Stanley is his long-lost father, Stanley lets him tag along on jobs. Since some of these jobs are considered two man jobs by employers, Stanley had to find someone anyway to work with him who doesn't need the money.  Stanley needs the entire payment for these jobs in order to keep his ranch so he lets Jared pretend to be his assistant. There is just one problem though. A Chinese factory worker whose brother died from drinking tainted soda wants revenge from the CEO of the soda manufacturer. Stanley posed as this CEO on one of his jobs.

The writers, Eric Flanagan and Sam Voutas, are filmmakers. The book's plot was originally intended to be a movie script. When they realized that China was not a viable shooting location, they decided to make their story into a graphic novel.  It is a funny, fast read that shows how much research they did into this industry.

5 out of 5 stars.

The Importance of Pawns

I have not read any books written by Keira Morgan before.  In fact, I never heard of her until I was searching for a book title with a chess piece in the title for the What's in a Name Reading Challenge.  Two date, she has published two novels and a third will be published soon.  Morgan writes historical fiction and does it well.  The Importance of Pawns was a satisfying read.

The publisher's summary:

Step into the lavish world of sixteenth-century French court, where danger lurks beneath the glittering facade. In this enthralling tale, Claude, a queen in name only, must navigate treacherous waters to outwit her rival, win her husband to her side, save her sister, and assert her power. Amidst the backdrop of a dying queen, Claude and young Renée find themselves as heiresses to the coveted duchy of Brittany.

Their guardian, Countess Louise, harbors envy and schemes to steal their inheritance. With cunning and ambition, she plans to marry off Claude to her own son, seizing the opportunity presented by her unexpected guardianship. But standing in Countess Louise's way is Baronne Michelle, a devoted protector of the princesses and their interests.

As political tensions escalate, the futures of Princess Renée and the Baronne hang precariously, threatened by the countess's machinations. Will timid Claude unravel the treacherous intrigues woven by Countess Louise? Can she outmaneuver her and safeguard young Princess Renée? And most importantly, will she find the courage to defend those she loves?

"The Importance of Pawns" is a gripping historical fiction novel inspired by real events and characters. It weaves a timeless tale of envy, power, and intrigue, where loyalty and the strength of women's friendships are put to the ultimate test. From revenge and deceit to love and bravery, this mesmerizing story will hold you captive until the very last page.

Join in this remarkable journey where history comes alive. Discover the indomitable spirit of Claude and her fight for justice. Immerse yourself in a world where alliances are fragile, secrets abound, and the strength of one woman's resolve can change everything.

The story takes place in 16th century Renaissance France. I enjoyed reading about the sumptuous banquets, gowns and chateaux apartments of this era.  I had not heard about any of these characters in history before and believe that Ms. Morgan is the first author to write about them.  In this respect, she made a great choice to write about them.

So, who were the pawns in the story?  Just about every character is a pawn of someone else.  In general, the ladies were pawns of the men but they were the greatest manipulators of events and overshadowed the men.  Louise and Michelle were the biggest manipulators but they themselves were manipulated by others. Princess Claude and her young sister Renee were the biggest pawns in this story. Claude eventually overcame her timidity in the last chapter. Renee was too young to gain mastery over her life.

The book ended abruptly with Claude entering her confinement. It was an odd place to end a story.  The reader does not know if she gave birth to a boy or girl of whether the child lived.  Even if there was a sequel to this novel, this was still a weird place to end. Thus, I am rating the book 4 out of 5 stars.