Another Roundup

Wow, it's been almost two weeks since my last post. Time flies when you are planting seeds, watering seedlings, trimming overgrown dogwoods, moving pea gravel, and dreaming of snowless days! Springtime in Colorado means weekly snowstorms...thankful for the moisture, though!

Here are the milk jugs in which I sowed native seeds for the garden.

And here you can see that the Anise Hyssop seeds, which I sowed on Feb 7, have germinated.

When I am not gardening, here's what I've been reading:

The Call of the Wrens, by Jenni Walsh - another dual timeframe with two main characters whose stories converge. Marion is a dispatch motorcycle rider with the Wrens (i.e., Women's Royal Navy Services) during WWI and Evelyn has the same role during WWII. I love the time period and the individual stories were good--what I had a bit of a problem with was how they converged. A solid three stars, but it left me with a bit of eye-rolling despite really enjoying learning about motorcycle dispatch riding.

The Day That Never Comes, by Caimh McDonnell - second in the 7-part Dublin trilogy (yes, you read that right, 7 books in this trilogy), which just shows the charm and cheek of this Irish comic turned mystery writer. This was an excellent followup to book 1, The Man With One of Those Faces. Believe me when I say that these books are enormously fun to read.

The Door in the Wall, by Marguerite de Angeli - I read this after Kathy posted about it on Reading Matters. Published in 1949, it is a children's book that chronicles the adventures of young Robin, son of a knight in 13th century England. We hear about the plague, which cripples Robin, and how he learns to function again and enjoy life (i.e., finding a door in the wall), about life in both a monastery and a castle, and what it was like to travel in the medieval world. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Jane Austen, by Margaret Kennedy - I've been reading Austen and reading about Austen for over 50 years but only heard about this marvelous little book earlier this year. It was pitched to me as a bio, but the biographical details are brief, and most of the book is commentary by Kennedy, a novelist and playwright from the early 20th century. I haven't read anything else by her, but I think her observations and critique of Austen's work are spot on...except for Lady Susan, which I liked far more than she did. This book wasn't easy to find, but I got a copy through interlibrary loan from a university library. 

Oh, and Happy Equinox! Something we can all celebrate!

Mysteries -- Quebec, Dublin, and London

The Paston Treasure, circa 1670 - featured in A World of Curiosities

I do love a good mystery and a good mystery series and a good mystery-series author. In the midst of a couple of super long books, I managed to fit in a few that meet all three criteria to add extra zest to my summer reading.

A World of Curiosities, by Louise Penny is book 18 in Penny's fabulous Armand Gamache series, set in Quebec. I absolutely loved this mystery and think it among the best of the series. It hits all the right notes for me--mostly taking place in the wonderful village of Three Pines and featuring Armand, his family, his neighbors, his dogs, it tells the backstory of Armand and his second-in-command and son-in-law Jean Guy. It features art (i.e., The Paston Treasure), the struggle between good and evil, DNA, puzzles, witches, and traditions.  The mystery was absolutely first-rate and kept me guessing as to how it would all work out until the end. Clocking in at exactly 400 pages, it counts as my 3rd book in the Big Book Summer Challenge 2023.

A Man With One of Those Faces, Caimh McDonnell - this is a new series for me, book 1 of the author's Dublin Trilogy. McDonnell was apparently a stand-up comedian before becoming an author, and the book is very funny as well as a great mystery chock full of interesting, quirky characters. I loved the setting and the main character and the overall premise (i.e., the fact that Paul Mulchrone has one of those faces and keeps on being mistaken for someone else...with dire consequences).

The White Lady, by Jacqueline Winspear - as a devoted fan of the author's Maisie Dobbs series, I was eager to read this new book in what I expect will be a new series. It was quite good, but the main character, Elinor White, is an awful lot like Maisie. Both survived WWI, with Elinor being slightly younger than Maisie was during that war, but with significant emotional scarring. Both are mentored by strong individuals who recognize their innate abilities, and both work in clandestine roles during WWII. Both school themselves to be steady, strong, capable, and moral. Both love suppers of soup and bread and cheese. I'm not sure if Winspear felt that Maisie's story was winding up, and Elinor was a way she could move into the post-war world. I guess I'm okay with that since I enjoy reading Winspear's novels.