Much Ado About You by Samantha Young (bookstore wish fulfillment and more)

Title: Much Ado About You
Author: Samantha Young
Publication: Berkley, trade paperback, 2021
Genre: Chick Lit
Setting: Present-day Chicago and England

Description: Evie is humiliated and fed up with the dating scene in Chicago and equally infuriated by the sexism at work where she has done her boss’ job for years without credit or a promotion.

WWW Wednesday – April 28, 2021

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Behold, Here's Poison by Georgette Heyer - for the 1936 Club

Title: Behold, Here’s Poison
Author: Georgette Heyer
Publication: Sourcebooks paperback, 2009 (originally published in 1936)
Genre: Mystery
Setting: 1930s England

This is a final review for 1936 Club, hosted by Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings.

Description: Gregory Matthews is a tyrant who is disliked or feared by everyone in his household, which includes his sister Harriet, widowed sister-in-law Zoe, niece Stella, nephew Guy, and various servants.

The Hiding Place: A Mercy Carr Mystery by Paula Munier

Title: The Hiding Place: A Mercy Carr Mystery
Author: Paula Munier
Publication: Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s, hardcover, 2021
Genre: Suspense
Setting: Present-day Vermont

Description: After serving two tours in Afghanistan where her fiancé was killed, Mercy Carr left the Military Police and is recovering with her bomb-sniffing dog Elvis in Vermont where she grew up.

Revolt - and Virginia by Essie Summers

Title: Revolt – and Virginia
Author: Essie Summers (1912-1998)
Publication: Harlequin, paperback, 1970 (originally published 1969)
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Setting: New Zealand

Description: Virginia loves her job managing the advertising of a prominent family-owned department store in Dunedin until the owner’s son improperly snatches a kiss. Hello, Me Too movement!

Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild - who is your favorite Fossil?

Title: Ballet Shoes
Author: Noel Streatfeild
Illustrator: Richard Floethe
Publication: Random House, hardcover, 1937 (originally published in 1936)
Genre: Children’s fiction

The 1936 Club is hosted by Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings.

Plot: Great Uncle Matthew (known as Gum) was a noted collector of fossils and lived in a large house on London’s Cromwell Road with his niece Sylvia, and her childhood nurse, Nana. One day he brings home an orphaned baby who Sylvia and Nana name Pauline. Soon there are two more, Petrova and Posy.  

Drums Along the Mohawk by Walter D. Edmonds - for the 1936 Club

Title: Drums Along the Mohawk
Author: Walter D. Edmonds (1903-1998)
Publication: Little, Brown & Co., hardcover, 1936
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: Upstate New York, 1976-84

The 1936 Club is hosted by Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings.

Description: When pioneering farmer Gilbert Martin sweeps 18-year-old Lana Borst off her feet and away from her family to help him settle his new farm in the Mohawk Valley, she anticipates a life of hard work and challenges but does not expect Indian warfare, violence, starvation, or Gil’s disappearance for endless periods of time when her husband is conscripted to the Revolutionary forces. She complains much less than I would! 

Susannah of the Mounties by Muriel Dennison - for the 1936 Club

Title: Susannah of the Mounties
Author: Muriel Denison (1886–1954)
Foreword: Susan Tweedsmuir
Publication: Puffin paperback (originally published in 1936)
Genre: Juvenile historical fiction
Setting: 1890s Saskatchewan, Canada

The 1936 Club is hosted by Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings.

Description: When Susannah’s artist father gets a big commission in India, her parents put her on a train in Montreal with a newly hired nanny to her uncle in Regina.

Death at the President's Lodging by Michael Innes - for the #1936 Club

Title: Death at the President’s Lodgings
Author: Michael Innes
Publication: Penguin paperback (originally published in 1936)
Genre: Mystery
Setting: 1930s England

This week Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings are hosting the 1936 Club, where bloggers read and write about books published in a chosen year.

Description: In this series launch, Inspector John Appleby of Scotland Yard is summoned to Oxford for the difficult and delicate task of investigating the murder of the unpopular Josiah Umpleby, president of St Anthony's College.

The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf - sitting quietly and smelling the flowers with the 1936 Club

Title: The Story of Ferdinand
Author: Munro Leaf (1905-1976)
Illustrator: Robert Lawson (1892-1957)
Publication: Viking Press, hardcover, 1936
Genre: Picture Book
Setting: Spain

This week Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings are hosting the 1936 Club, where bloggers read and write about books published in a chosen year.

Description: Everyone knows the story of a bull who would rather smell flowers than engage in bullfights.

Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie - for the 1936 Club

Title: Cards on the Table: A Hercule Poirot Mystery
Author: Agatha Christie
Publication: Harper Collins, hardcover (originally published in 1936)
Genre: Mystery
Setting: 1930s London

This week Simon from Stuck in a Book and Karen from Kaggsy’s Bookish Ramblings are hosting the 1936 Club, where bloggers read and write about books published in a chosen year.

Description: At an exhibition of snuffboxes, which I am sure we all would have enjoyed, Hercule Poirot encounters the purring Mr. Shaitana, a rich man known for his lavish parties.

Songbird by Karen Heenan - a visit to Henry VIII's court

Title: Songbird: The Tudor Court #1
Author: Karen Heenan
Publication: Trade paperback, 2019
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 16th century England

Description: Life in Southwark is hard for Peter Davydd and his family. They lost their only son to the sweating sickness. His wife and daughters do washing and ironing for those who can afford it but barely make a living so he brings ten-year-old Bess to Greenwich Palace. Recognizing his child’s exceptional voice and Henry VIII’s love of music, Davydd sells his child to the king, freeing himself of a burdensome mouth to feed and also securing her the training she needs.

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Title: The Goldfinch
Author: Donna Tartt
Publication: Little, Brown & Co., hardcover, 2013
Genre: Fiction
Setting: New York, Las Vegas, Amsterdam

Description: On their way to what will be an unpleasant school meeting about Theo’s bad attitude, he and his mother stop at the Met to visit a Dutch Masters exhibit.

Six Degrees of Separation — from Shuggie Bain to Down the Rabbit Hole

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place, add six books, and see where we end up.   This month’s starting point is Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, which won the 2020 Booker Prize.

First Degree

Shuggie Bain is about a boy and his alcoholic mother, living in poverty in public housing in Scotland.