Mother of Rome and Brit Mysteries

Where does the snow end and the blossoms begin?

Here's a trio of books that I recently read and enjoyed as the fickle Colorado weather played havoc with my need for sunshine and vitamin D. We had three inches of snow a few days ago, but now it is all melted and the tulips, daffodils, and crabapple trees are doing their thing.

Mother of Rome, by Lauren J.A. Bear - another wonderful novel by the author of Medusa's Sisters, which I read and loved last year. This time Bear tells the story of Rhea Sylvia, princess of Alba Longa, who becomes a wolf after giving birth to twin sons, Romulus and Remus--who were fathered by Mars, Roman god of war. 

Alba Longa was the city on the Italian peninsula founded by Aeneas, who fled there with the survivors after Troy fell to the Greeks, back in the mists of time.

This was a wonderful imagining of how Rome was founded, weaving the myths of the she-wolf suckling the infant boy twins, with the Aeneas myth, and throwing in Vestal Virgins as well a hunky river god of the Tiber River. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Rhea as she grew from entitled princess to super mom in wolf's clothing. Her cousin Antho was equally interesting--bartered into a loveless marriage after her father usurped the crown from Rhea's father, but strong and capable in her own right. Like with Medusa's Sisters, the theme of sisterhood runs strong in this novel.

The Crossing Places, by Elly Griffiths - This is the first in Griffith's Ruth Galloway series, which I heard about last year and finally got a copy from my used bookstore, after putting in a request for a copy. Ruth is an archeologist at a university in Norfolk, England, which was the hook that pulled me in. Ruth is brought into a missing child investigation when the local police unearth human bones near the site of an ancient sacred site that is in a salt marsh near where Ruth lives. 

The setting, the story, the main characters (Ruth, her neighbors, the local police, and her university colleagues), and the archeology were all fantastic. I am definitely going to be reading more in this series.

The Darkest Evening, by Ann Cleeves - another blue-covered mystery set in England, this is #9 in Cleeves's Vera Stanhope series. I just love reading about Vera and how she goes about her work. This time she discovers a car abandoned in a snowstorm, complete with an infant inside but the door wide open. Vera and her colleagues solve the mystery of the murdered mother, but not without needing to delve into the farming community's deepest secrets as well as poking around in the skeletons in Vera's own extended family closet.

Gardening Update

The onions, peas, lettuce, spinach, and strawberries are all thrilled with all the moisture over the past week and are healthy and growing rapidly. I've been repotting the seedlings under grow lights, and my guest room is starting to look like a jungle. I cannot plant most things outside until mid-May, but the violas are now in pots on the back deck. 

Love this time of year so much. 

The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver

I really enjoy Barbara Kingsolver's books, but I didn't start reading her until I fell in love with Prodigal Summer, published in 2000. I've read most of what she's published since then, which means I have all her early stuff to read. I started on the backlist with The Bean Trees, published in 1988, and it was fantastic!

Here's the GoodReads synopsis:

Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time Taylor arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child, a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle, and must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity for putting down roots. Hers is a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places.

As with most synopses, you get the plot but not the heart and the heart (and writing) are what makes this novel sing. Taylor is a very young woman, but she shoulders the responsibility of caring for an abused baby that is literally thrust upon her. She figures out how to feed, clothe, soothe, and protect this child, and in the process gains a supportive network of friends and allies who become family.

In some ways, the story is dated--of course, there are no cell phones, Amazon, smart watches, and all the other trappings of life in the 21st century--but the themes and stories are timeless. The subplot of Estevan and Esperanza, refugees from Guatemala who fled for their lives, leaving behind their kidnapped and probably murdered daughter, is particularly relevant these days.

The bean trees of the title are wisteria trees--their seed pods look like green beans. Turtle, Taylor's adopted daughter, has a mania for plants, especially vegetables, and she renamed the wisteria "bean trees." Cute, right?!

Fun Fact (and speaking of cute): I found Turtle's favorite book, Old MacDonald Had an Apartment House. Urban gardening without a rooftop garden plot. I may just have to get a copy for my gardening bookshelf!

 

April Showers

It's really spring, and we're having the rain (and snow) that comes with the rhyme! Thank goodness--my native flower garden is greening up, the onions and peas are in the ground, and I'm transplanting seedlings this week. Got the Roma and Money Maker tomatoes, tomatillos, and violas transplanted into larger pots so that their roots can develop before they go outside. Next, I'll do the various peppers, and then soon the other flowers. I'm running out of room, so I'll be assembling my second grow station to handle the overflow as bigger pots take up more room.

March flew by--the wrist is mostly healed, but now my right shoulder has been hurting from something or other. Hopefully, I will get that sorted soon as the garden is calling, and I must go.

I have a lot of books in progress and have finished a couple.

The Last Queen, by C.W. Gortner - this was a recommendation from Michelle at True Book Addict...Books, Cats, and More. I reread The Winter King with her in January, and she recommended this novel about Juana, Queen of Castile, daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand and sister of Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Known as Joanna the Mad, this was a fabulous fictional account of a princess of Spain who is married off to Philip the Handsome, Archduke of Flanders. They have a passionate love marriage until he becomes jealous of her inheriting her mother's kingdom of Castile. Really a wonderful historical novel about someone I knew very little about. I know everyone knows that it wasn't easy being a woman, even or especially a royal woman, in the 16th century, but Juana did her best to be the heir to her mother's crown. Her story makes Elizabeth I's achievements even more astounding.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, by Jesse Q. Sutanto - loved this book so much. Set in San Francisco, Vera Wong is a Chinese Tiger Grandma who flexes her detective muscles when she discovers a dead body in her tea shop one morning and decides that he must have been murdered. I loved her spunk and her many flaws, which actually are far outweighed by her many virtues, not least of which is cooking massive meals for those she loves, might love, or might have clues that she needs to uncover. I also loved reading about her tea ingredients and what special brews she could concoct.

This is book one in a very promising series--book two was just released this past Tuesday, April 1--there is a great assortment of secondary characters who promise to have strong legs to help carry the series, including the classic reluctant police detective, a couple of surrogate daughters desperately in need of a Tiger Mom to help them find their full potential, a couple of surrogate sons who also need direction, and a real son who has no idea how ingenious his mom really is.

I hope everyone is able to clock some outdoor time this April--the best way, besides reading, that I know of to stay sane and functioning. Take care, my bookish friends, the world is getting weird, but we are a supportive community that shares common interests.

Bear Country Colorado

Our neighborhood Black Bear decided that spring was indeed in the air and arrived at our backyard at 4:30 am this past Tuesday morning, after being incommunicado since last October. He took down the bird feeders and feasted on bird seed, thankfully he spared the pole this time.

We knew that we had been living on borrowed time, so we brought the bird feeders in Tuesday night, as we do all summer and fall, but left the pole up. Here's the video of the fun that Bear had even though he could not believe that we didn't leave out the bird feeders for him to snack on during his Wednesday morning visit. 

This video is a compilation of 15 separate video segments that our game camera recorded over the 40 minutes he visited. Near the end, you can hear him going after the compost bin, which luckily was empty. We have subsequently moved that inside the garage along with trash and recycling.

If you don't want to watch the whole thing, make sure you fast forward to about 3:15, where Bear finds one of our dog's toys and plays with it!

The whole thing is both fascinating and unsettling. Apart from the potential destruction, we don't want Bear feeling right at home on our deck. I am vigilant about cleaning the kitchen every night, but I'm afraid he could still pick up food smells.

He returned once more this week, Thursday morning--4:30 am each time--but left as soon as he saw that there was no food to be had. Hopefully he has moved on and will leave us and our neighbors alone for the season.

A Spring in My Step

 Yes, I am obsessed with Spring. Now, with daylight savings time, I still struggle in the morning but am relishing the evening light. 

I have five flats started under grow lights--Roma tomatoes, Moneymaker tomatoes, cherry tomatoes jalapeno peppers, yellow bell peppers, ancho peppers, coleus, and viola. Everthing sprouted in less than a week. I love those Botanical Interests seeds! This weekend I plan to get the snapdragons, marigolds, impatiens, tomatillos, and anaheims started. Last year I put in my native (to my region in CO) flower garden, and things are starting to green up!

Now on to what I've been reading...

The Last Ranger, by Peter Heller

Ren is a park ranger in Yellowstone, working hard to keep the park, its fauna, and the people who love and study them safe from ruffians and those who want to exploit the land and its resources. I found the plot reasonably interesting, with lots of tension, and I loved learning about the ways of the wolf packs that have been gaining a foothold in the park. I liked reading about the life of a park ranger in one of the premier national parks, and one that I have visited several times and love. I don't love Heller, and I definitely am not interested in his dystopian stuff, but this was a good solid outdoor adventure novel. 

The Spy Coast (The Martini Club, #1), by Tess Gerritsen

Definitely a story inspired by the massive success of The Thursday Murder Club--the latter was published in 2020 and took off like a rocket, and The Spy Coast was published in 2023. Maybe I'm just cynical, but the premises of both are so similar. The Spy Coast is set in Maine and features a group of retired CIA spies who all live in the same village and have to dust off their spy skills when the past catches up with them. I'm not saying I didn't really enjoy the book and am looking forward to reading the second in the series. It has a good, interesting set of characters with a good, interesting plot. Appealing to us aging Baby Boomers is definitely a good idea!

The Berry Pickers, by Amanda Peters

Loved this book--also set in Maine. The story is narrated by two characters--a Native American girl/woman, kidnapped when she was five years old and raised by adoptive parents, and her brother, who was the last person to see her before she went missing. The two stories run parallel as the sister and brother live out their lives, struggling to figure out their place in the world. Reading about the treatment of Native Americans is rough, but I definitely feel I understand a bit more of how life was in Maine and maritime Canada in the mid/late 20th century. This is a debut novel, so I am eager to see what Peters writes next.

Death at the Sign of the Rook (Jackson Brody, #6), by Kate Atkinson

I just love Jackson Brody novels, and this one was such a treat to read. Jackson is his usual self-deprecating self, Reggie is there with all her baggage and snark and earnestness (which is a charming combination), and the premise is such fun. A murder mystery evening set at a dilapidated Downton Abbey-esque estate, with actual murders as well as stolen art (one of my favorite themes anyway) and goofy characters. Just so much fun!

The Annotated Emma, by Jane Austen with introduction and annotations by David Shapard

My JASNA regional book club decided to read Emma for our March book, so I decided to read the annotations by David Shapard while listening to an audio version. The older I got, the more I love Emma--she is just delightful to watch growing up. The annotations were pretty good--Shapard promised not to interpret but to try to illuminate details that a 21st reader might not get. He did a good job.

That's all for now, folks! Hope you are finding some great books that put a spring in your step as well.

Travelogue: Point Reyes National Seashore, Sonoma, and Benecia

Just returned from the land of color! Winter in Colorado is pretty monochromatic. Shades of brown occasionally interrupted by snow white under mostly crystal blue skies. Love the blue skies, but the brown gets old. 

Our annual trip to the Bay Area to visit our daughter and my brother means this color-starved Coloradan gets to feast on emerald-green hills, luscious yellow trees in full bloom, orange and lemon trees, azaleas, daffodils, and some wonderful ground cover that was thick with yellow flowers and seemed to be everywhere.

First stop was Sonoma--visiting in the off-season means that we could stay in a wonderful old venue, Seven Branches that is mostly used for weddings, with only six suites available. It was absolutely lovely--quiet and just a few blocks from the Plaza in one direction and less than a mile from my brother's house in the other.

Our day trip to Point Reyes National Seashore was absolutely glorious. Unseasonably warm--no jacket required--sunny with blue skies and a fresh breeze. The beautiful Victorian houses in Petaluma gave way to rolling green hills, tastefully decorated with cows from the many historic ranches along the winding road. I've only been to Ireland once, but the drive to Point Reyes made me feel like I was in Ireland, especially the dramatic cliffs that drop down to the sea.

We visited the Point Reyes lighthouse and climbed down and then up the 313 steps and drank in the ocean views the whole way. We also visited Drake's Beach to see the annual return of elephant seals for mating and birthing. The day before we were there (i.e., Feb 27), the blackboard announced that volunteers had counted over 1200 individuals. The population peaks at the end of January, so we were seeing the latter stages of the event.

Fun Fact: Drakes Beach is the generally agreed upon, most likely spot that Sir Francis Drake beached his ships for refurbishing during his circumnavigation of the globe in 1579. 

I try to stop in at bookstores in the places I visit, and this trip was no exception. I picked up The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters at Readers' Books in Sonoma, started it during the trip and finished it shortly after our return home. Great 4-star book--review coming soon.

I also stopped in at Bookshop Benecia where we went to visit one of California's early capital cities, and I bought a Vera Stanhope mystery by Ann Cleeves (The Darkest Evening), which I hope to get to soon.

Another Fun Fact: Benecia was one of the first incorporated cities in California. Named after Dona Benecia, wife of General Vallejo, founder of Sonoma and general bigwig in the area in the 1840s and 1850s, it was the state capital for a whopping 13 months before Sacramento was chosen as the permanent capital. It was also in Benecia, at a local tavern no less, that word got out that gold was found at Sutter's Mill, triggering the California Gold Rush.

Benecia Capital State Historic Park

As much as I love to travel, I love coming home. It was great to reintroduce color to my winter-weary senses, pick up some new books, and visit my brother and daughter.

Happy March!

Post-Holiday Reading Roundup - Wrist is on the Mend

I'm back, having graduated from a splint to a brace in just one week, and the doctor's orders to do whatever. "If it hurts, then don't do it!" So cooking, driving, typing are all back--not sure I can play the piano yet or sew, but so much happier to be doing instead of whining!

So, without further ado, I present to you...what I have been reading:

Making It So - Patrick Stewart's Memoir

Really enjoyed this. I have never watched Star Trek: The Next Generation, which catapulted him from a stock Shakespearean actor to a global celebrity, but it is now on my watch list. I particularly enjoyed hearing about Stewart's youth in Yorkshire--very poor, hardscrabble, with a rough father, but incredibly interesting. I loved hearing about his early days as an actor, going from school plays to a scholarship in Bristol to the dream job with the Royal Shakespearean Company. All the backstage, behind the scenes stuff reminded me of the Judi Dench memoir, which I also loved. And his "bromance" with Ian McKellen was simply wonderful. Despite his celebrity, Stewart seems to have maintained a practical, salt of the earth demeanor which made the memoir work for me. I listened to him read it, but I did have to up the speed to 1.5 as he talks slower than is comfortable for this listener.

Fun Fact: Did you know that one of Stewart's first TV roles was as Mr. John Thornton in a BBC adaptation of Elizabeth's Gaskell's North and South, from 1975? I thought the marvelous version with Richard Armitage was the one and only adaptation! Not sure that I necessarily want to watch it, but who knew?

You Are Here - David Nicholls

Actually, this was a pretty good Valentine's Day read. It's all about getting over the heartache of a breakup and figuring out how to live and relate and even love again. And the best part is that our hero and heroine walk the Coast-to-Coast path in the UK--something I still burn with ambition to do myself. Of course, they do 15-20 miles a day, whereas I am a 8-12 mile/day hiker. But still, I loved reading about the walking.

Nicholls creates realistic characters who deal with modern life in ways that make sense to me--I really enjoy his writing and his characters.

In a Dark, Dark Wood - Ruth Ware

I am becoming addicted to Ware's thrillers, despite her penchant for rather dim heroines. This is the third one that I've read in the last 6 months, and it was a page turner and definitely took my mind off of my broken wrist. I did figure out the killer fairly early, which is never as much fun as being surprised, but it was still an interesting story.

Rereads 

The Winter King - Thomas Penn 

I reread this nonfiction book about the later years of the reign of Henry VII, and I enjoyed it immensely. It is so rich in detail that a reread still worked--lots to review and try to retain. Penn has written several other books about this time period--late Renaissance in England, and I want to read them all, starting with The Brothers York. One of my favorite historical periods to dive into.

Here's my original post on the book.

The Briar Club - Kate Quinn

I do love this book so much. The reread was listening to it with my husband because I knew he would enjoy it and it's fun to listen to a book while we're doing errands or on road trips.

And, here's my original post on this one.

Broken Wrist

This post is brought to you, courtesy of my left hand, hunting and pecking on the keyboard. I tried to dictate a post using Word, but my brain refused to cooperate. So posts are on hold until I get the cast off my right wrist. 

Please check back for my thoughts on Patrick Stewart's memoir, David Nicholl's You Are Here, and the other books I have been reading. Plus, I want to tell you about the Civil War era quilt that I've started and the sailboat that my husband (with my colossal help) is building.

So, did I finally learn not to go for a walk when black ice is lurking about? Probably not!

Come on Spring!!!

Troy - Stephen Fry

I really enjoyed Stephen Fry's Mythos, and I knew that much as I love mythology, I really didn't want to slog through any translation of the Iliad again...so I read Fry's Troy. It's 100% a retelling of the story of the Iliad, but with lots of the backstory and aftermath filled in.

For example, the Iliad begins with Achilles sulking in his tent and refusing to fight because Agammemnon has taken away beautiful Briseis, the girl that Achilles picked as his trophy. It ends with Hector's death and funeral. But, wow, there is so much more to the story than that! 

Fry explains why the Trojan War happened--basically a beauty contest between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite judged by an unwitting Paris and instigated by another god, the one of strife and mischief. He explains who Paris is--yes, a prince of Troy but also a foundling, abandoned by his parents because it was foretold that he would be the cause of Troy's downfall. 

He also gives us Achilles's backstory--not as good as in Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles--but still interesting and helpful to understanding who Achilles is. There are ample footnotes and asides and tangents to fill in most of the rest of the holes that Homer's tale assumes his readers already know--who the various gods are and why some have grudges or owe favors to others, why they protect certain cities, and why they seem hell-bent on destroying others.

Once again, I was firmly on the side of the Trojans and hoping against hope that Hector and Priam would survive and that somebody would finally listen to Cassandra and heed her many warnings. I cheered when Aeneas and his family escaped to found Rome--looking forward to reading Lauren Bear's Mother of Rome, which just came out.

Fry includes the story of the Trojan Horse--Odysseus's brainchild--and the horrific sacking of Troy, which Homer left out but which the Greek playwrights fully covered.

As with Medusa's Sisters, which I loved, the net-net is that humankind is better off when the gods stay on Olympus and stay out of human events. They can squabble all they want amongst themselves, but back off and leave the mortals alone!

Fry also has Odyssey, which I plan to read in the not-too-distant future, and I still need to read his Heroes.

I know that many high schoolers still tackle the Iliad and the Odyssey as part of the standard curriculum--I never did because except for Shakespeare, my high school was devoted to strictly American authors :(. 

While I think it is is important that kids learn the Greek and Roman myths and legends, as well as the history, I think Fry's funny, wry, and readable approach will give them a better experience than Homer's. That said, I'm glad that I did actually read the Homeric versions, in translation of course, but they are not for the faint of heart. I think Homer's versions are important to read if you want to understand the evolution of literature, but if you just want the story, Fry's retelling wins hands-down.

And, yes, I fully intend to rewatch the 2004 movie Troy with Brad Pitt as Achilles, Sean Bean as Odysseus, Eric Bana as Hector, and a really great cast overall. One of the things I love about this movie version of the story is that the gods are not depicted at all.

From the Depths of Winter

January truly is the longest month. The holiday decorations, except the outdoor lights, are put away for another year. Too cold and snowy to deal with the outdoor stuff, besides they are pretty so I still turn them on every night to drive away the dark.

Here's what has gotten me through the darkest part of the year.

The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, by Helene Hanff - a Christmas gift from my son (yes, it was on the list I shared with him!). I simply devoured this short book. Hanff, the author of 84 Charing Cross Road, visits London as part of the promotional campaign when 84 is released in the UK, and she is the ultimate tourist, visiting all the places she has read about and longed to visit her entire life. She is wined and dined, feted as a celebrity, and has the best time. A wonderful armchair trip to London in the 1970s.

The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara - continuing down the Civil War rabbit hole, I reread for the 3rd (or is it the 4th?) time this incredible novel about the Battle of Gettysburg. Shaara, father of historical novelist Jeffrey Shaara, focuses on Lee and Longstreet for the Confederate side of the story, and Burford and Chamberlain for the Union side. Even if you aren't a fan of war stories, this novel is worth reading just for the portrayal Shaara provides of the scholarly hero, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the language professor who ultimately rose to general in the U.S. Army. A truly admirable man.

Jeff Bridges (left) as Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (right)

The introduction to the audio version that I listened to was by Jeffrey Shaara, who described visiting Gettysburg on a family vacation when he was young. His father was a struggling novelist and was starting to research Gettysburg as a possible novel topic. He spent many years researching and writing the novel. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1975 but was not a bestseller until the TV mini-series, titled Gettysburg, was broadcast in 1993. Sadly, Michael Shaara died in 1988 and so never knew that his masterpiece finally found its audience.

I am planning a Civil War battlefield tour before or after the JASNA AGM in Baltimore in October, and Gettysburg is top of the places I hope to visit. 

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, by Robin Wall Kimmerer - I actually received my copy of this little book, courtesy of a GoodReads giveaway. Kimmerer is the author of Braiding Sweetgrass, which I loved. Serviceberry is basically an extension of many of the themes in Sweetgrass--the basic idea is that the plant world shares its gifts with the fauna of the world, and we humans need to learn (or relearn) how to share with each other and the world. There is room for everyone at the table, so we really don't need to hoard, grasp, and connive others in order to get more than what we need. 

In the spirit of sharing, I decided to donate my copy to one of the Little Free Libraries in my neighborhood with a note asking whoever takes it to read it and share it in turn. I noticed that it was gone from where I left it, so hopefully it will find many sympathetic readers out there.

Hope everyone is getting through all 1000 days of January with great reads!