Book a Week 2019 - BW10: Whodunit Bookology - Chief Inspector Armand Gamache

[Robin M]

Happy Sunday and welcome to week ten in our 52 Books rambling roads reading adventure. Greetings to all our readers, welcome to all who are joining in for the first time, and everyone following our progress. Visit  52 Books in 52 Weeks where you can find all the information on the annual, mini and perpetual challenges, as well as the central spot to share links to your book reviews. 

 Our Whodunit Bookology detective for March is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, created by author Louise Penny. 

Armand Gamache, introduced with the publication of Still Life in 2005, is in his early 50's and works as a homicide detective for the Sûreté du Québec and at the start of the series resides in Quebec, Canada. In the books we are introduced to his wife Reine-Marie, his dog Henry, and a quirky cast of characters that live in the town of Three Pines. Gamache is warm and witty as well as stern and philosophical, digging beneath the surface, along with his second in command, Inspector Jean Guy Beauvoir, to solve murders.  There are currently 14 books in the series with the latest book in the series, Kingdom of the Blind released in November, 2018. 

There are a number of ways to complete the bookology challenge, including but not limited, to the suggestions below:  

·         Read the first book in the series.

·         Read one book per letter in the character's first or last name.

·         Read one book per letter in the author's first or last name.

·         If you're feeling really ambitious, one book per letter in the character's first and last name.

·         Follow in a character's footsteps and read a book set in the country or time period of the character. 

·         Follow in the author's footsteps and read a book set in their place or time of birth.

·         Read a book with the first or last name of the character or author in the title.

Check out Minotaur books Chief Inspector Gamache website to learn more about Inspector Gamache, the stories, cultural references, recipes, or join in discussions about the books.  Go to Louise Penny website for news and book club discussion guides.  For more about Louise, dive into Quill and Quires  Louise Penny's Second Chance or her podcast interview with WCAI. 

Have fun following rabbit trails. 

What are you reading?

Link to week nine

[Robin M]

Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes. I'll let my dad know about your brother's positive recovery @mumto2.  I'm sure it will make him feel more optimistic. 

On my reading plate currently.

Faith Hunter's Circle of the Moon which is totally fascinating. Makes me want to reread the entire series again.  

Louise Penny's Still Life, which I think got stuck in a box and put out in the garage.  Another book hunting expedition is in order.  😀

"Nell can draw magic from the land around her, and lately she's been using it to help the Psy-Law Enforcement Division, which solves paranormal crimes. Joining the team at PsyLED has allowed her to learn more about her powers and the world she always shunned--and to find true friends.    Head agent Rick LaFleur shifts into a panther when the moon calls him, but this time, something has gone wrong. Rick calls Nell from a riverbank--he's naked, with no memory of how he came to be there, and there's a dead black cat, sacrificed in a witch circle and killed by black magic, lying next to him.  Then more animals turn up dead, and team rushes to investigate. A blood-witch is out to kill. But when it seems as if their leader is involved in the crime, the bonds that hold the team together could shatter at any moment."

Sipping from:

Writers and their notebooks:  "This collection of essays by well-established professional writers explores how their notebooks serve as their studios and workshops―places to collect, to play, and to make new discoveries with language, passions, and curiosities. For these diverse writers, the journal also serves as an ideal forum to develop their writing voice, whether crafting fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. Some entries include sample journal entries that have since developed into published pieces. Through their individual approaches to keeping a notebook, the contributors offer valuable advice, personal recollections, and a hardy endorsement of the value of using notebooks to document, develop, and nurture a writer's creative spark. Designed for writers of all genres and all levels of experience, Writers and Their Notebooks celebrates the notebook as a vital tool in a writer's personal and literary life.

Writer's Guide to Persistence:  "Practice. Polish. Persist.  Your writing journey can take you many places: hiking through steep mountains, traversing unknown territory, hurdling both roadblocks and rejections. Even the siren song of fame and fortune can distract you from your true purpose: to express yourself in an authentic and meaningful way, and to share your words with others.  A Writer's Guide to Persistence is your road map through the rugged terrain of the writer's path. You'll discover advice and techniques for cultivating a fruitful, deeply meaningful writing life by practicing your craft, polishing your work, and persisting through even the toughest challenges."

A Secret Sisterhood:  The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot, and Virginia Woolf:  "Male literary friendships are the stuff of legend; think Byron and Shelley, Fitzgerald and Hemingway. But the world’s best-loved female authors are usually mythologized as solitary eccentrics or isolated geniuses. Coauthors and real-life friends Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney prove this wrong, thanks to their discovery of a wealth of surprising collaborations: the friendship between Jane Austen and one of the family servants, playwright Anne Sharp; the daring feminist author Mary Taylor, who shaped the work of Charlotte Brontë; the transatlantic friendship of the seemingly aloof George Eliot and Harriet Beecher Stowe; and Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield, most often portrayed as bitter foes, but who, in fact, enjoyed a complex friendship fired by an underlying erotic charge. Through letters and diaries that have never been published before, A Secret Sisterhood resurrects these forgotten stories of female friendships. They were sometimes scandalous and volatile, sometimes supportive and inspiring, but always—until now—tantalizingly consigned to the shadows."

Have been more in a writerly mood than theological, so have no idea what I'm going to read for Lent yet.    

Edited March 3, 2019 by Robin M

[Negin]

Robin, thank you, as always, for this fabulous thread! 

The Louise Penny books are on my to-read list. I think I tried to read the first one at some point, but couldn't get into it. I've heard that her books don't really pick up until later? 

I read What I Believe: A Collection of My Syndicated Columns - 3 Stars - 

This is the second book that I have read by Ben Carson and I do so like and respect him. This book is a collection of his syndicated columns. I enjoyed reading most of them, although some were a bit dated, which is to be expected, given that they are newspaper columns.

Here are some of my favorite quotes. I am sharing a few here since I don’t want to make it too long. There are more quotes on my Good Reads review.

“Civility and political correctness, contrary to the thinking of many, are not the same. Civility constrains behavior and words based on genuine caring about others, while political correctness is only a facade of caring while hoping to cultivate public approval.”

 “Today many people in America slavishly devote themselves to a political party without engaging in critical analysis of whether the philosophies of that party are really in sync with their true values and with the betterment of their position in society. If decades of such devotion leads to more broken families, more out-of-wedlock births, more involvement with the criminal justice system, more poverty and more dependency on government, maybe it is time to ask whether such devotion is warranted.”

 “Although I strongly believe in individual rights and the rights of parents to raise their children as they see fit, I also recognize that public health and public safety are extremely important in our society. Certain communicable diseases have been largely eradicated by immunization policies in this country. We should not allow those diseases to return by forgoing safety immunization programs for philosophical, religious or other reasons when we have the means to eradicate them.”

I also read Nicholas and Alexandra: The Classic Account of the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty - 4 Stars - This is the third biography that I’ve read by Robert K. Massie. He’s a fabulous writer and his books have a way of grabbing me from the get-go. I’ve been enjoying reading about Russian history, which I had been quite ignorant about until I started on his books.

I knew how this story was going to end and how tragic it would be. Massie is such a great writer, that I was engaged throughout. What I didn’t know is how frustrated I would get with certain key characters.

We have a son with hemophilia, a terrified mother, a cunning faith healer, and an unprepared, but oh, so kind-hearted Tsar, who drove me nuts as he would keep deferring to his wife on major issues. Nicholas was naïve and completely spineless. Alexandra was incredibly foolish and Nicholas should not have listened to her when it came to running the country. When I read those parts, honestly, I was about ready to pop. I had become so invested in all the characters and they felt like family. It was truly heartbreaking, not just for the Romanovs, but for countless others who did not deserve the evil monstrosities of living under the brutal communist regime.

The Tsar was such a family man and I simply love that.

“Unlike many a royal couple, Nicholas and Alexandra shared the same bed.”

"In the evening after supper, Nicholas often sat in the family drawing room reading aloud while his wife and daughters sewed or embroidered. His choice, said Anna Vyrubova, who spent many of these cozy evenings with the Imperial family, might be Tolstoy, Turgenev or his own favorite, Gogol. On the other hand, to please the ladies, it might be a fashionable English novel. Nicholas read equally well in Russian, English and French and he could manage in German and Danish.”

“Books were supplied by his private librarian, whose job it was to provide the Tsar each month with twenty of the best books from all countries. This collection was laid out on a table and Nicholas arranged them in order of preference; thereafter the Tsar’s valets saw to it that no one disarranged them until the end of the month. Sometimes, instead of reading, the family spent evenings pasting snapshots taken by the court photographers or by themselves into green leather albums stamped in gold with the Imperial monograph. Nicholas enjoyed supervising the placement and pasting of the photographs and insisted that the work be done with painstaking neatness.”

“The most famous room in the palace—for a time the most famous room in Russia—was the Empress’s mauve boudoir. Everything in it was mauve: curtains, carpet, pillows; even the furniture was mauve-and-white Hepplewhite. Masses of fresh white and purple lilacs, vases of roses and orchids and bowls of violets perfumed the air. Tables and shelves were cluttered with books, papers and porcelain and enamel knicknacks. In this room, Alexandra surrounded herself with mementoes of her family and her religion. The walls were covered with icons. Over her chaise-longue hung a picture of the Virgin Mary. A portrait of her mother, Princess Alice, looked down from another wall. On a table in a place of honor stood a large photograph of Queen Victoria. The only portrait in the room other than religious and family pictures was a portrait of Marie Antoinette.

In this cluttered, cozy room, surrounded by her treasured objects, Alexandra felt secure. Here, in the morning, she talked to her daughters, helping them choose their dresses and plan their schedules. It was to this room that Nicholas hurried to sit with his wife, sip tea, read the papers and discuss their children and their empire. They talked to each other in English, although Nicholas and all the children spoke Russian to each other. To Alexandra, Nicholas was always ‘Nicky.’ To him, she was ‘Alix’ or ‘Sunshine’ or ‘Sunny.’ Sometimes through the rooms of this private wing, a clear, musical whistle like the warbling song of a bird would sound. This was Nicholas’s way of summoning his wife. Early in her marriage, Alexandra, hearing the call, would blush red and drop whatever she was doing to hurry to him. Later, as his children grew up, Nicholas used it to call them, and the birdlike whistle became a familiar and regular sound in the Alexander Palace. Next to the mauve boudoir was the Empress’s dressing room, an array of closets for her gowns, shelves for her hats and trays for her jewels. Alexandra had six wardrobe maids, but her modesty severely limited their duties. No one ever saw the Empress Alexandra undressed or in her bath. She bathed herself, and when she was ready to have her hair arranged, she appeared in a Japanese kimono. Often it was Grand Duchess Tatiana who came to comb her mother’s hair and pile the long red-gold strands on top of her head. After the Empress was almost dressed, her maids were summoned to fasten buttons and clasp on jewelry. ‘Only rubies today,’ the Empress would say, or ‘Pearls and sapphires with this gown.’ She preferred pearls to all other jewels, and several ropes of pearls usually cascaded from her neck to her waist.”

All in all, this was a truly a captivating biography and I would recommend it to anyone who’s interested in Russian history.

Here are some of my favorite quotes. There are more quotes as well as photos, on my Good Reads review.

   

MY RATING SYSTEM
5 Stars
The book is fantastic. It’s not perfect, since no book is, but it’s definitely a favorite of mine. 
4 Stars
Really Good
3 Stars
Enjoyable 
2 Stars
Just Okay – nothing to write home about
1 Star
Rubbish – waste of my money and time. Few books make it to this level, since I usually give up on them if they’re that bad.

 

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

From the Word Wenches:  What We're Reading in February
https://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/

10 OF THE BEST KNITTING BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS AND BEYOND

https://bookriot.com/2019/02/25/best-knitting-books/

Any other Star Trek novel fans here? Two of my favourites are included in this list.

Friday Five: 5 Noteworthy Pocket Books Star Trek Novels

https://www.pornokitsch.com/2015/09/friday-five-noteworthy-pocket-books-star-trek-novels.html

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

@Neginsaid

The Louise Penny books are on my to-read list. I think I tried to read the first one at some point, but couldn't get into it. I've heard that her books don't really pick up until later? 

I am on my second time through the series all on audiothis time.  The first time I didn’t particularly love the first two books and set the series aside for a few years. When I started it again  I think I was totally hooked by the 4th book but I had also switched to audio for this series and prefer it.  When I started this reread I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the first two books but I honestly think the fact I knew the future is what made them so enjoyable.  I am up to A Long Way Home on my relisten so four more to go!  I am  currently next in line (suspended) for the new book but third for the audio......I hope to wait for the audio.

I finished The Ruin last night https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36588482-the-ruin.  Set in the Republic of Ireland it gave me a Brexit Special for my 10 categories plus the R in Armand.  I really liked this book and believe others have been comparing it to Tana French and her Dublin Murder Squad.  I think there are many similarities including some pretty uncomfortable topics for me but I think this book managed to resolve things quicker.......of course it was shorter!  😉. I think I mean more of a didn’t dwell too long on the horrifying,  it came back to it,  but there were moments of rest.  So I was able to keep turning those pages.  The next in the series will be released on Thursday!  This is a great week for new book releases with Anne Bishop’s latest arriving too.

I spent several hours in a car today and managed to read most of Cathy Maxwell’s latest historical romance The Duke that I Marry which has been very enjoyable.  It’s part of a trilogy called The Spinster Heiresses and all have been slightly different in a good way.

[Negin]

13 minutes ago, mumto2 said:

The Louise Penny books are on my to-read list. I think I tried to read the first one at some point, but couldn't get into it. I've heard that her books don't really pick up until later? 

I am on my second time through the series all on audiothis time.  The first time I didn’t particularly love the first two books and set the series aside for a few years. When I started it again  I think I was totally hooked by the 4th book but I had also switched to audio for this series and prefer it.  When I started this reread I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the first two books but I honestly think the fact I knew the future is what made them so enjoyable.  I am up to A Long Way Home on my relisten so four more to go!  I am  currently next in line (suspended) for the new book but third for the audio......I hope to wait for the audio.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question, Mumto2. I don't do audio books. Not sure if I'll read these after all. Waiting until the fourth book and/or a possible re-read, not sure if that's for me. If I still have any on my Kindle, I will give it a go. Otherwise. I likely won't invest. I have to buy all my books, so I have to be quite selective. 

I just checked my Kindle and I have the first one, so I'll give it another try at some point. 

 

Edited March 3, 2019 by Negin

[Mothersweets]

I've read up to the 9th? book in the Inspector Gamache series. I read about half of How the Light Gets In and just had to set it aside because I was so annoyed with where the author was taking the story. Maybe I'll pick it back up and try to power through. 

I finished The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher and liked it so so much! Any recommendations on which one I should read next?

I finished listening to Magpie Murders but haven't picked a new audiobook. Also started Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell but haven't gotten very far. 

[mumto2]

28 minutes ago, Mothersweets said:

I've read up to the 9th? book in the Inspector Gamache series. I read about half of How the Light Gets In and just had to set it aside because I was so annoyed with where the author was taking the story. Maybe I'll pick it back up and try to power through. 

I finished The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher and liked it so so much! Any recommendations on which one I should read next?

I finished listening to Magpie Murders but haven't picked a new audiobook. Also started Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell but haven't gotten very far. 

I just finished How the Light Gets In last night and found the ending really satisfying.  Not saying you have to finish it but what I suspect was annoying you resolves with that book.  I forgot to say I skipped book 8 The Beautiful Mystery this time through partly because of the annoying issue.  I was going to have a long wait for the audiobook and remember the book well.......set in a monastery so everything was different from the Three Pines setting.

[purpleowl]

Hi all!

I've never read any of Louise Penny's books. But she actually came to my city in November and debuted the most recent novel here. So there's my connection, lol. (I wouldn't be opposed to reading her books, but I don't have any on the TBR list, and the TBR list is my focus for this year. Well, that and books I have to pre-read for the kids.)

I didn't have any finishes this past week. I am at the 70% mark on Martin Luther's Basic Theological Writings (and remember that I started at almost the 50% mark, as I'd read the first near-half years ago). So it's possible I'll finish that this week...kind of depends.

I'm also likely to finish this week the commentary I've been using for personal devotions (sip read), Dale Ralph Davis's 2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity. I think it'll take me about 4 more days. Then I'll move on to the same author's commentary on 1 Kings.

[Kidlit]

Hello, everyone!  I just wanted to say a big thank you for the warm welcome I received last week.  It feels good to be a part of a bookish community again. I've missed it since my blogging heyday is apparently over.  I did manage to sum up my February reading on my blog, with an appreciative shout-out to the WTM BAWers.  

This week I hope to finish my current audiobook, Resilient by Rick Hanson, Ph.D.  I'm very close to finishing it.  It was recommended on a recent thread on the Chat Board. Here's the write-up about it from Goodreads:

Quote

The culmination of New York Times bestselling author and respected psychologist Rick Hanson's work, this is a scientifically grounded program for developing the 12 inner strengths for being resilient no matter what life throws at you.

Rick Hanson is known for his trademark blend of neuroscience, positive psychology, and contemplative practices. And now he's showing the way to build the very foundation of well-being: Resilience. Today, people feel rattled by political and economic forces, and realize that they need to be able to rely on their own inner guidance systems in order to stay happy and calm. Not simply about weathering negative experiences, Resilient's groundbreaking program shows you how to harness the power of positive experiences in order to build an unshakeable core.

In this succinct guide to lasting happiness, Dr. Hanson has distilled 40 years of clinical work and teaching into the tools that actually work. Each of these 12 tools grows a key inner strength for resilience, allowing you to enter a positive cycle in which resilience creates a sense of well-being, which creates even more resilience, and so on. Developed from his incredibly popular online course called The Foundations of Well-Being, this essential book offers everything you need to shore up these powerful inner strengths. In his inimitable friendly, warm, straightforward tone, Dr. Hanson shares stories, support, and simple thoughts and actions that lead to deeply rooted change. Here is the groundwork that will allow you to meet life with a whole heart. (less)

I'm also still reading The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton and REALLY enjoying it. I wish I had about three hours to sit and read with no interruption to FINISH it.  It's very engrossing.

I'm reading The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall aloud to my boys. This is a re-read for me, though I think I'm enjoying it doubly (triply?) due to my boys' enjoyment of it. We should finish it soon and be on to The Penderwicks in Spring. 

I'm reading Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein aloud to my thirteen year old, but we have a dickens of a time making time for it. This is also a re-read for me. I honestly think this is a book best read alone due to its style and the actual plot, but I wanted to read it with her.  We'll see how it goes.

I ordered and received my paperback copy of A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson. I have it in e-book version through Scribd subscription but, I really, REALLY prefer reading the actual book.  I especially wanted a copy of this one because as I've read it, I've highlighted many, many passages that I'd like to copy down in my notebook or have to refer back to. I just comprehend books better when I read the physical book.  Anyway, I started over on this one this week.  I intend to ready it slowly, with my morning coffee.  

A officially decided to abandon Hillbilly Elegy this week.  I do love a memoir, but this one isn't grabbing me.  Plus, I'm afraid I will find it discouraging in the end instead of a triumph.  

We went to the library on Friday and I checked out about eight books!  😮 That's a lot for me because I own so many books that I need to read.  However, because we are going out of town next week with dh, I was in an optimistic mood about how much reading time I'll have on the trip.  Time will only tell if this pans out.  Ha! I have to say that participating in this thread has really reignited my passion for reading (something that's always present but waxes and wanes with attention and inattention). 

For the challenge, I have read Still Life by Louise Penny.  I liked it well enough, though not as much as I expected to, given the amount of fanfare Inspector Gamache garners.  I went on to the second book and abandoned it rather quickly.  I DID NOT like the mother of the overweight girl in the second book (as I know Louise Penny intended).  I found the language in the book shocking and  gratuitous.  I'm willing to give Penny another try if someone tells me that it DOES get better.  

[JennW in SoCal]

I've read almost every Louise Penny book over the years. For the most part I have enjoyed them, loved the community of 3 Pines, and find myself craving brie and baguettes with every book (they eat well in Three Pines)! You do have to suspend belief, as the setting and our hero are all just a little too perfect. But, I'm trying to figure out how to say this without giving anything away. The more recent books featured a long arc of a trope I just can't stand. Let me see if I can white this out... the hero being the lone wolf fighting to save a corrupt, conspiracy filled department. .

My reading was quite varied this week. 

I finally finished A Secret Map of Ireland. I could have rushed through it but preferred reading a couple of essays at a time so the stories wouldn't just jumble together.

Love of Country, a Journey through the Hebrides is really excellent. I'm a little slow going through this one, too, but I find myself needing to stop and google locations and paintings and poems. I especially love how the author Madeleine Bunting weaves in the history and literature and art connected with each Hebridean island she visits. And I love how she addresses the way the English appropriated the culture of the Scottish Highlands and adopted it as their own. The book was written around the time of the Scottish Independence referendum, and this very English author is wrestling with where she stands on the issue, never quite resolving it for herself.

Which leads me to ask @Violet Crown Have you read the James Macpherson epic poems, specifically the Fingal or Works of Ossian? The chapter on Staffa is utterly fascinating.

The name of Frederique Petrides, a female violinist and music conductor, was brought to my attention a few weeks ago. I'd never heard of her before so requested the one book I could find on her, Evening the Score. It is a short book with a brief bio, but the bulk of the book are facsimile copies of her 1930s publications of a newsletter Women in Music which the author has annotated. She was a passionate advocate for advancing the careers and opportunities of women musicians and conductors, and her newsletter covered not just the activities of all the women's orchestras and symphonies across the US, but also included tidbits of the stupid sexism of the time. For instance, the BBC orchestra banned female cellists even though they had other female musicians in the group. A prominent woman composer of the time wondered if "perhaps the attitude of the cello player is considered an unseemly one for women?"

After a break of a couple weeks I started listening again to Michelle Obama's Becoming. It is once again very engaging, and I especially appreciate the vignettes of the campaign trail from the perspective of a mother of young children. Frantically shopping for cute hats in February for the girls for the presidential campaign kick off, insisting that the girls didn't need to sit through his campaign speeches. The tidbits that every mom would relate to.

And thanks to last week's thread when Mumto2 mentioned this series, I started Out of the Deep I Cry. It is the third in the series that features a woman Episcopalian priest in a small town in the Adirondacks. It had been a couple of years since I read the first two, and was happy to see my library has more of the series on the shelves. (And I thought I had read more than 2 of these, but apparently not!)

[Junie]

I made some good progress on The Man in the Iron Mask.  Yes, that was me with a big, fat book at the mall on Friday night.  :)

I *hope* that I can get that finished by the end of next week.

I'm also trying to finish Emma.

The only books I actually finished were two Trixie Belden books and two Magic School Bus books.  :eyeroll:

[tuesdayschild]

I have the wrong author for this month’s whodunit: I think I must not have updated a previous planning option 😛  (Kinsey Millhone – Sue Grafton (US).  Time for a little reshuffle from spelling Sue to spelling Louise,  and to pull some options forward for L, O, and, I .   

@Mothersweetsand @hopeistheword Lousie Penny is not my literary cup of tea, I had a few goes at different books (ebook, and, audio) and decided to move on to try other new to me authors.  

Completed: 

• The Girl in the Cellar: Miss Silver Bk32 ~ Patricia Wentworth, narrated by Diana Bishop  (3)  Reviewed at 03/19 on my list  https://tuesdaysviews.blogspot.com/2018/08/miss-silver-mystery-books-patricia.html
• Closed Casket ~ Sophie Hannah, narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt  (3)  I appreciated this book more than The Monogram Murders; however, Closed Casket did seem to take a scenic route before getting the murder solved.  I like that Hannah has made Inspector Catchpole adept enough in his own right,  he’s not used as a bumbling sidekick to Poriot’s ‘brilliance’.
• The Tech-Wise Family: Everyday Steps for Putting Technology in Its Proper Place ~ Andy Crouch  (4) N/F CC   (sip read, started in January)  Thank you to the BaWer who recommended this book; I’ve suggested it as a very worthwhile read to a few people already.

Currently reading/listening to:

• Sprig Muslin ~ Georgette Heyer   (Heyer bookclub read)
• A.D. 33:  A.D. Series, Bk2 ~ Ted Dekker,  narrated by Ellen Archer  (Christian historical fiction)

Sip Reads (update): 

• Dante’s Divine Comedy, I’ve been in sip, pause n ponder, repeat  mode for about 18months with this title, and then seeing how close I am getting to the end, after another delve into it last week, is giving me the impetus to focus on it more and try to complete it before our winter starts.
• A Child’s Anthology of Poetry ~ Edited by Elizabeth Hauge Sword   Dd and I are sharing the reading aloud of this together, were about a quarter of the way through. (We struggled to ‘get’  e e cummings poetry ETA: does anyone know of any sites that can help us with that?)
• The Fallacy Detective ~ Nathaniel, and, Hans Bluedorn  (Dd is re-reading this to us, quick-ish review before we crack open the Critical Thinking Cards packs and start playing the games.  The two of us are finding that some of the exercises in this book can easily be more than one fallacy, and they don’t always feel like the best ‘practise’ examples.

Abandonded:

• The Book of M ~ Peng Shepherd, narrated by James Fouhey   I figured if the author was investing in f-bombs in the first chapter, impossible to skip on audio, things were not likely to improve swearing wise.
• My Name Is Nobody:  Wilde and Vine Series, Book 1 ~ Matthew Richardson, narrated by Colin Mace.  Three chapters in and I still wasn’t interested enough to continue.

Edited March 4, 2019 by tuesdayschild

[tuesdayschild]

5 hours ago, Kareni said:

Some bookish posts ~

Saving your link sharing post for my next visit here.... otherwise I get sucked out of BaW early and go rabbit trailing ♥

14 minutes ago, Junie said:

I made some good progress on The Man in the Iron Mask.  Yes, that was me with a big, fat book at the mall on Friday night.  🙂

I *hope* that I can get that finished by the end of next week.

I'm also trying to finish Emma.

The only books I actually finished were two Trixie Belden books and two Magic School Bus books.  :eyeroll:

1

My dc & I used to  LOVE magic school bus books, pleased to see you finished them both 🙂

[Junie]

5 minutes ago, tuesdayschild said:

Saving your link sharing post for my next visit here.... otherwise I get sucked out of BaW early and go rabbit trailing ♥

My dc & I used to  LOVE magic school bus books, pleased to see you finished them both 🙂

I don't mind the Magic School Bus (or Trixie Belden), but it's frustrating that it's the only kind of book I can ever seem to finish.  My bi-focals haven't come in yet, so I'm pretty much limited to books with large typeface.

I still do a lot of pre-reading.  (One of my littles is very nightmare prone and weird things can sometimes set her off.)  Ds18 was usually willing to do the pre-reading for me, but he's away at college.  I tried to get dd16 or dd14 to help me out, but my bribery power last week seemed limited for some reason.

Now, what's really fun is when the kids watch The Magic School Bus episodes in French because they have them memorized in English.  :)  

[Kareni]

1 hour ago, tuesdayschild said:

  

@Mothersweetsand @hopeistheword Lousie Penny is not my literary cup of tea, I had a few goes at different books (ebook, and, audio) and decided to move on to try other new to me authors. 

I'm another who has yet to make it through the first book. I may give it another try.

1 hour ago, Junie said:

Now, what's really fun is when the kids watch The Magic School Bus episodes in French because they have them memorized in English.  🙂

That is neat!  Here's hoping your new glasses will soon arrive.

4 hours ago, hopeistheword said:

We went to the library on Friday and I checked out about eight books!  😮 That's a lot for me because I own so many books that I need to read.

Only eight?! Enjoy your trip and happy reading.

Regards,

Kareni

[tuesdayschild]

1 hour ago, Junie said:

I don't mind the Magic School Bus (or Trixie Belden), but it's frustrating that it's the only kind of book I can ever seem to finish.  My bi-focals haven't come in yet, so I'm pretty much limited to books with large typeface.

I still do a lot of pre-reading.  (One of my littles is very nightmare prone and weird things can sometimes set her off.)  Ds18 was usually willing to do the pre-reading for me, but he's away at college.  I tried to get dd16 or dd14 to help me out, but my bribery power last week seemed limited for some reason.

Now, what's really fun is when the kids watch The Magic School Bus episodes in French because they have them memorized in English.  :)  

That puts a whole different perspective to things!  Hoping your glasses arrive soon.  (Nice French 'lessons' extra!!)

One of my Dc was supersensitive and pre-reading was mandatory for them too. 

[Junie]

5 minutes ago, tuesdayschild said:

That puts a whole different perspective to things!  Hoping your glasses arrive soon.  (Nice French 'lessons' extra!!)

One of my Dc was supersensitive and pre-reading was mandatory for them too. 

I've really needed bifocals for more than a year, but I was reluctant to get them before I got my migraines under control.  The migraines aren't really under control, yet, but my ability to read has really plummeted in the past few months.  I have to take my glasses off to read and I have to hold the book really, really close to my face (especially if it's smaller print).  I was probably a sight at the mall with my nose literally in the middle of The Man in the Iron Mask.  

I should have my glasses sometime next week.  Dd11 is getting her first bifocals, too.  I'm guessing that she's going to adjust much more quickly than I will.  Dd8 had bifocals for several years (although she doesn't wear them now).  She adjusted immediately!  It was amazing to watch her.  She told me, "These lines help me see better!"  Dd11 is getting lined bifocals; I'm getting progressives.

And the French lessons!  Dd11 really wants to learn French, but I don't have the ability to teach it to her.  We get little bits of it here and there when we can.  😉  On nights that I have insomnia I have been known to put in a favorite movie and change the language to either French or Spanish.

Dd16, dd14, (ds18 when he was here), and I are all learning ASL from a youtube channel.  This is much, much easier (imo) than conjugating verbs.  I have had  4+ years of Spanish and 2 years of French.  I don't really have the skills to teach either of those languages well.  I was able to get ds18 and dd16 through Spanish 1 before we bailed.  (Also, dd14 is working independently through a Latin text.)

Lots of languages going on around here, but we're only fluent in English.

[Liz CA]

2 hours ago, Junie said:

I made some good progress on The Man in the Iron Mask.  Yes, that was me with a big, fat book at the mall on Friday night.  🙂

I *hope* that I can get that finished by the end of next week.

I'm also trying to finish Emma.

The only books I actually finished were two Trixie Belden books and two Magic School Bus books.  :eyeroll:

 

I always loved Trixie! Read those books into the night with a flashlight under the covers while my mother pretended she didn't see the glow.  🙂

[Liz CA]

Reading:

Double Take by Coulter, practically done. It's my go to right now when I just need to be surrounded by familiar characters and be entertained more or less.

On my Overdrive shelf is also: The Quiet Gentleman by Heyer and The lost Key by Coulter.

Audiobooks:

Faro's Daughter by Heyer

About six months ago, I read one of the Gamache books by Penny and meant to get back to others. I cannot even remember which one it was but I liked it.

 

Edited March 4, 2019 by Liz CA

[Kidlit]

2 hours ago, Junie said:

I made some good progress on The Man in the Iron Mask.  Yes, that was me with a big, fat book at the mall on Friday night.  🙂

I *hope* that I can get that finished by the end of next week.

I'm also trying to finish Emma.

The only books I actually finished were two Trixie Belden books and two Magic School Bus books.  :eyeroll:

6 minutes ago, Liz CA said:

 

I always loved Trixie! Read those books into the night with a flashlight under the covers while my mother pretended she didn't see the glow.  🙂

I'm also a Trixie fan! I inherited an older cousin's Trixie Beldens, which doubled the enjoyment (and the enjoyment of the memory) for me!

[KathyBC]

@Junie I occasionally  browse through the large print section at the library. They are so much easier on the eyes!

@tuesdayschild I ran across this article by Andy Crouch last week and loved it!

Edited March 4, 2019 by KathyBC

[Violet Crown]

Brief post; Wee Girl and I are down with head colds and are watching Blue Planet 2 and sharing a box of kleenex. Miserable yet snuggly.

This week read one of the great 20th-century Texas novels, Edward Anderson's Depression-era noir, Thieves Like Us.  

Re-read James Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. Classic and deeply strange exploration of identity and duality in a hyper-Calvinist context. Now reading Emma Tennant's 1978 gender-switched version of Hogg's famous novel, The Bad Sister. 

Jenn, I have not read any Ossian, though now and then I feel I ought to get to the library and dig it up. 

[mumto2]

VC,  I hope you and Wee Girl feel better soon.  Enjoy the cuddles!

I loved Trixie Beldon!  Magic School Bus in French is a great idea.....

I am another large print girl.  When reserving a book at the library I always pick a large print copy when it is a choice.  Embarrassed to say this but large print copies get less use and are cleaner for a popular series when I realized that I switched.  Also I can read them in the car easier which is a side benefit!

Have a good trip Hopeistheword!

[Kareni]

Some currently free books for Kindle readers ~

I liked this one: Past Crimes: A Compendium of Historical Mysteries  by Ashley Gardner/Jennifer Ashley

The Fifth Sense  by Erik Nickerson

The Bad Break: A Riley Ellison Mystery  by Jill Orr

 

Junkyard: (a Fractured Stars novella)  by Lindsay Buroker

 

Smallworld  by Dominic Green

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kidlit]

Popping on to say I finished the audiobook of Resilient by Rick Hanson, Ph.D., while ferrying my boys about today for errands.  I got a lot out of it and hope to blog about it before I forget it.  I shared the Goodreads summary above.

I also re-read The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde for my CC class. 

[Ravin]

My overall reading goals are to take in a mix of fiction and nonfiction, spiritually enriching, informative, and fun selections; to keep up with the Druid book discussion/study group I'm in, to put eyes on words not related directly to work more often than last year, and to read books that I bought ages ago and still haven't read.

My currently reading list:

The Stand (unabridged) by Stephen King (on audiobook; it's over 48 hours long, so this will definitely take me more than a week, as I listen to audiobooks on my commute and when driving for work, about 6-10 hours a week). Update: I'm now on Chapter 72, with just 48 minutes left on the audio book! Looks like I'll finish this week!

The Táin translated by Ciaran Carson Update: I've finished through chapter seven. I'm reading the end-notes as I go, too.

Odin: Ecstasy, Runes & Norse Magic by Diana L. Paxson (this is one of those "bought ages ago and still haven't read" books) Reading on Kindle. I haven't made progress on this one in the last couple of weeks.

Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor Almost done with Chapter 30, 93% done with the book.

George Carlin Reads to You by George Carlin. Started this one riding in the car with my co-worker. There's 3 hours and 25 minutes left on the audiobook. It's possible I'll finish this one if my coworker and I carpool to court again.

Next Up:

I think I have one of Kamala Harris' books on hold from the library on audiobook. I picked up The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin on Audible (not available on audiobook from my local library).

I still feel like I need to finish some more of my current reading list before I go looking for more, but the following have been added to my "want to read" list:

The Uninhabitable Earth by Davis Wallace-Wells (This will fit the "science" category of my 10x10 challenge).

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport 

My 10x10 challenge categories:

1. humor

2. science (nonfiction)

3. fantasy & science fiction by new-to-me authors (Thank you to those who made suggestions, I'll be going back to refer to them later!)

4. LGBT

5. classic fiction

6. folklore (The Táin will satisfy this)

7. religion (nonfiction) (Odin: Ecstasy, Runes & Norse Magic by Diana L. Paxson will satisfy this)

8. law (nonfiction)

9. modern fiction in translation (i.e., originally published in a language other than English)

10. books by women of color (Stone Sky met this requirement)

The books must of course all be separate selections, though they may fit into more than one category, they cannot be used for more than one, so that I read 10 books for it.

Books I've read for the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge this year (most recently completed first):

3. American Like Me by America Ferrera. 

2. The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin (third book in the Broken Earth series) I heard a great Science Friday talk with the author about this series last week! 

 

FEBRUARY 27, 2019SciFri Extra: A Night Of Volcanoes And Earthquakes With N.K. Jemisin (Scroll down the podcast's page to the date find it).

 

1. The Sky-Blue Wolves by S. M. Stirling 

[tuesdayschild]

17 hours ago, KathyBC said:

@tuesdayschild I ran across this article by Andy Crouch last week and loved it!

Good article - really like #6! So true, well, in our home.

[tuesdayschild]

18 hours ago, Junie said:

Dd16, dd14, (ds18 when he was here), and I are all learning ASL from a youtube channel.  This is much, much easier (imo) than conjugating verbs.  I have had  4+ years of Spanish and 2 years of French.  I don't really have the skills to teach either of those languages well.  I was able to get ds18 and dd16 through Spanish 1 before we bailed.  (Also, dd14 is working independently through a Latin text.)

Lots of languages going on around here, but we're only fluent in English.

2nd languages via youtube (off to search options soon), thanks for that suggestion.

🙃 I seem to still struggle with maintaining fluency in English.

Edited March 4, 2019 by tuesdayschild

[tuesdayschild]

17 hours ago, Violet Crown said:

Miserable yet snuggly.

Hope the snuggly stays, and you get over the miserable quickly!!

(Thanks for sharing what your user name meant on the other thread, i'd always wondered. 🙂)

***

Eta. Sorry BAWs, my phone won't allow me to block quote.  I darent drown the thread any more than I have.

Mumto2. Your comment about big print books made me laugh. So true too!

Edited March 4, 2019 by tuesdayschild

[Junie]

1 hour ago, tuesdayschild said:

2nd languages via youtube (off to search options soon), thanks for that suggestion.

🙃 I seem to still struggle with maintaining fluency in English.

What languages do you speak?

[tuesdayschild]

4 minutes ago, Junie said:

What languages do you speak?

English 😉, and my goal is to try to move beyond the very basics in French and Maori.

[Junie]

8 minutes ago, tuesdayschild said:

English 😉, and my goal is to try to move beyond the very basics in French and Maori.

I haven't watched any French youtube channels.  And, I've heard of Maori but I have never heard it spoken.

I would put my ASL level at elementary; Spanish is pre-school; and French is probably toddler.

[Junie]

I read some more of The Man in the Iron Mask.  I'm hoping to get it finished this week (sooner than expected!).  

Also, I finished a short book called How Bible Stories Work by Leland Ryken.   It was a really simple way to explain literary analysis in general, and with Scripture specifically.  I was an English major a long, long time ago, so there was really nothing that was new for me, but it was presented a little bit differently and I thought he had an interesting approach.  The book also had some built-in assignments so that you could practice his analysis technique with assigned Scriptures.  I think I'm going to give this to dd16 and dd14 and have them work through it.  The book is part of a series.

 

[Kidlit]

11 minutes ago, Junie said:

I read some more of The Man in the Iron Mask.  I'm hoping to get it finished this week (sooner than expected!).  

Also, I finished a short book called How Bible Stories Work by Leland Ryken.   It was a really simple way to explain literary analysis in general, and with Scripture specifically.  I was an English major a long, long time ago, so there was really nothing that was new for me, but it was presented a little bit differently and I thought he had an interesting approach.  The book also had some built-in assignments so that you could practice his analysis technique with assigned Scriptures.  I think I'm going to give this to dd16 and dd14 and have them work through it.  The book is part of a series.

 

I want to look this book up.  Thanks for the mini review!

[Kareni]

Last July I read and enjoyed a book so requested the second book in the series via inter-library loan. I think my request was lost for a time, but the book arrived at last. This series is very much Horatio Hornblower in space complete with cutlasses, space suits, and cat o' nine tails. I zipped through the book and am now wondering how looking it will take to borrow book three.

Mutineer (Alexis Carew Book 2)  by J.A. Sutherland

"Just as Midshipman Alexis Carew thinks she’s found a place in the Royal Navy, she’s transferred aboard H.M.S. Hermione. Her captain is a Tartar, free with the cat o' nine tails and who thinks girls have no place aboard ship. The other midshipmen in the berth are no better. The only advice she’s offered is to keep her head down and mouth shut – things Alexis is rarely able to do."

 Regards, 

Kareni

[Kidlit]

On 3/3/2019 at 9:42 PM, Kareni said:

 

Only eight?! Enjoy your trip and happy reading.

Regards,

Kareni

Well, *I* checked out eight books for my own enjoyment.  This doesn’t account for everyone else’s books, plus the ones for homeschooling. 😝 I think I had something like 75 books out on my last check out cycle. 😅

[Kareni]

Just now, hopeistheword said:

Well, *I* checked out eight books for my own enjoyment.  This doesn’t account for everyone else’s books, plus the ones for homeschooling. 😝 I think I had something like 75 books out on my last check out cycle. 😅

Okay, that sounds far more reasonable.

Regards,

Kareni (who currently has 15 books from one library, three books from a second library, one inter-library loan from a third library, one borrowed e-book, and you-really-don't-want-to-know how many Kindle books)

[mumto2]

Library books ........I only have 9 out on Overdrive right now.  Picking up a stack of paper books tomorrow or Thursday.  I think I am going to be up first for the new Anne Bishop.....second in line!

[Kareni]

Some bookish posts ~

Fans of the Aubrey/Maturin books by Patrick O'Brien might be interested in this series of posts from 2010 by Jo Walton when she reread the series:

RE-READING PATRICK O’BRIAN’S AUBREY-MATURIN SERIES
“Not a moment to be lost”: Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series by Jo Walton

https://www.tor.com/2010/10/04/not-a-moment-to-be-lost-patrick-obrians-aubrey-maturin-series/or

Friday Five: 5 Fantastic Gardens

https://www.pornokitsch.com/2015/01/friday-five-5-fantastic-gardens.html#more

Bookmark: 12 cheery books to bring you out of the winter doldrums

http://www.startribune.com/bookmark-12-cheery-books-to-bring-you-out-of-the-winter-doldrums/506176252/

Fran Wilde Science Fiction, Journaling, and Travels through China

https://www.tor.com/2019/03/01/science-fiction-journaling-and-travels-through-china/

Regards,

Kareni

[Mothersweets]

3 hours ago, Kareni said:

Some bookish posts ~

Fans of the Aubrey/Maturin books by Patrick O'Brien might be interested in this series of posts from 2010 by Jo Walton when she reread the series:

RE-READING PATRICK O’BRIAN’S AUBREY-MATURIN SERIES
“Not a moment to be lost”: Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series by Jo Walton

https://www.tor.com/2010/10/04/not-a-moment-to-be-lost-patrick-obrians-aubrey-maturin-series/or

 

These are wonderful! Thanks Kareni!

[CindyH in NC]

On ‎3‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 11:07 PM, Junie said:

I've really needed bifocals for more than a year, but I was reluctant to get them before I got my migraines under control.  The migraines aren't really under control, yet, but my ability to read has really plummeted in the past few months.  I have to take my glasses off to read and I have to hold the book really, really close to my face (especially if it's smaller print).  I was probably a sight at the mall with my nose literally in the middle of The Man in the Iron Mask.  

I should have my glasses sometime next week.  Dd11 is getting her first bifocals, too.  I'm guessing that she's going to adjust much more quickly than I will.  Dd8 had bifocals for several years (although she doesn't wear them now).  She adjusted immediately!  It was amazing to watch her.  She told me, "These lines help me see better!"  Dd11 is getting lined bifocals; I'm getting progressives.

And the French lessons!  Dd11 really wants to learn French, but I don't have the ability to teach it to her.  We get little bits of it here and there when we can.  😉  On nights that I have insomnia I have been known to put in a favorite movie and change the language to either French or Spanish.

Dd16, dd14, (ds18 when he was here), and I are all learning ASL from a youtube channel.  This is much, much easier (imo) than conjugating verbs.  I have had  4+ years of Spanish and 2 years of French.  I don't really have the skills to teach either of those languages well.  I was able to get ds18 and dd16 through Spanish 1 before we bailed.  (Also, dd14 is working independently through a Latin text.)

Lots of languages going on around here, but we're only fluent in English.

Would you mind sharing the ASL channel that you use?  My daughter is taking an ASL class once a week, but is looking for a good source to help her review and learn more.  I don't know enough to help her find something accurate.  Thanks.  You can PM me if this is too off topic for this thread.  Don't want to derail the book talk.  😉

[Robin M]

Thank you for all the great links, Karen

Violet Crown - hope you and wee girl feel better soon. 

Junie - glad to hear you are getting your glasses soon.

Hope - I'll stop by your blog soon.  I'm starting to get back in the mood for posting. 

Tuesday - I'm so sorry., totally my fault. Last year I did start out with Sue Grafton, then changed my mind to Louise Penny.   

On 3/3/2019 at 8:35 PM, KathyBC said:

 I ran across this article by Andy Crouch last week and loved it!

Synchronicity!  Wonderful article and hits the nail on the head with me.  I've been feeling the urge to unplug completely but can't so  I had decided with the start of March and the coming of Lent to limit my online time. My guilty passion is all the darn celebrity sites which eats up so much time. Decided every time I feel the urge to aimlessly web browse to grab my notebook and use that time to write instead. 

Love the Magic school bus series and read them all out loud with James way back when. Whenever we cull books out of his bookshelves, guess which ones always end up staying?  Magic School Bus. 

My introduction to the Gamache series was The Brutal Telling sent to me for review several years back. It threw me in the middle of the series and made me want to read the rest of the books. which I have except for the last one. Waiting for it to come out in paperback this year.  I never read the series in order so a reread is in order at some point. I love books with an ensemble of characters and the arcs that carry over from book to book don't bother me as long as I don't have to wait a whole year to find out what happens.    

Still immersed in writing books and waiting for Ups to deliver Wild Country. 

Edited March 6, 2019 by Robin M

[Robin M]

9 minutes ago, CindyH in NC said:

Would you mind sharing the ASL channel that you use?  My daughter is taking an ASL class once a week, but is looking for a good source to help her review and learn more.  I don't know enough to help her find something accurate.  Thanks.  You can PM me if this is too off topic for this thread.  Don't want to derail the book talk.  😉

I'd love to know too and no worries about derailing the book talk.  

[Junie]

8 minutes ago, CindyH in NC said:

Would you mind sharing the ASL channel that you use?  My daughter is taking an ASL class once a week, but is looking for a good source to help her review and learn more.  I don't know enough to help her find something accurate.  Thanks.  You can PM me if this is too off topic for this thread.  Don't want to derail the book talk.  😉

*Pardon the minor derail, please.*

We use Bill Vicars' Youtube channel.  He is Deaf and teaches at a college in California.  We have worked through his ASL 1, ASL 2, and ASL 3 playlists and are about halfway through ASL 4.  In my opinion it is an excellent class.  Well, classes.  It's 4 semesters.

The material is mostly suited for any age group, although there are a few (infrequent) things that I am not comfortable with for my young children.  (He sometimes mentions beer and other topics that would be relevant to college students.) 

He also has a website that has quizzes for ASL 1 and 2.

[Kidlit]

I just finished reading the delightful third book of the Penderwicks series aloud to my boys—The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall.  This is such a good series—modern, but with a classic feel.  

[Junie]

C'est fini!  (It is finished!)

I finally finished Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask.  I love this book.  

The chapters are fairly short, but there are nearly 90. 

Dumas was a master at developing characters.  I loved all of them.  Well, almost all of them.  😉  I felt like I was in the room with the characters, watching the scenes play out, like a part of the drama.  It was a lovely experience.

[Kidlit]

9 hours ago, Junie said:

C'est fini!  (It is finished!)

I finally finished Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask.  I love this book.  

The chapters are fairly short, but there are nearly 90. 

Dumas was a master at developing characters.  I loved all of them.  Well, almost all of them.  😉  I felt like I was in the room with the characters, watching the scenes play out, like a part of the drama.  It was a lovely experience.

Sounds like a must-read!

[Junie]

49 minutes ago, hopeistheword said:

Sounds like a must-read!

I definitely enjoyed it.  It is the last book in The Three Musketeers series.  I would recommend reading The Three Musketeers first.  I have not read the books in the middle of the series, but I hope to! 

[mumto2]

Just did my library run and came home with the new Anne Bishop!  As a bonus I somehow was lucky enough to get the latest by Elly Griffiths who is another of my must reads.

Lots of fluffy reading happened yesterday because of travel......

Not the Duke’s Darling by Elizabeth Hoyt.......her latest I believe and pretty good if you are a fan.

The Day Before Forever by Anna Caitabiano......the last in the Seventh Miss Hatfield time travel trilogy,  I wonder if I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t waited two years to read it?  Well, I have closure and I didn’t fall asleep while reading it.🤣. Seriously I love the premise of these books a vial of water from the fountain of youth allowing immortality to these women who pass it on ,  they also have a time traveling clock.  The idea might be better then the books.....

Sweet Tea and Sympathy by Molly Harper.....some of her books are hilarious.  This is a new series for me and some scenes are snort worthy but not sure if I will bother to read more.  For those who know the author no vampires or werewolves in this series,  just a woman from Chicago who gets to know her family in small town Georgia and finds a bit of romance too.