Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross

Title: Divine Rivals
Author: Rebecca Ross
Publication: Wednesday Books/Macmillan, hardcover, 2023
Genre: YA Fantasy

Description: Iris Winnow’s beloved brother Forest has gone off to fight a strange war in which two gods are in conflict, her mother has lost her grip on reality, and Iris not only needs to earn a living but also has a newly developed desire to be a journalist.

WWW Wednesday – November 29

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?

Currently Reading

Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash, an evacuation novel for adults

Title: Beyond That, the Sea
Author: Laura Spence-Ash
Narrator: Ell Potter
Publication: Macmillan Audio, 2023
Genre: Historical Fiction
Setting: 20th century London, Greater Boston, Maine

Description: When Millie and Reggie Thompson make the difficult decision to send their eleven-year-old daughter as an evacuee to America to escape the Blitz, they could not have guessed she would be gone for five long years.

We’ll Always Have Casablanca: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood’s Most Beloved Movie

Title: We’ll Always Have Casablanca: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood’s Most Beloved Movie
Author: Noah Isenberg
Publication: W.W. Norton & Co., hardcover, 2017

Genre: Nonfiction/Film

Description: This well-researched and lively book about the making of Casablanca was a fun read, covering the evolution of the original play (never produced) to the screenplay (written by Theo Epstein’s grandfather and great-uncle).

The Moon-Spinners by Mary Stewart

Title: The Moon-Spinners
Author: Mary Stewart
Publication: William Morrow, hardcover, 1962
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Setting: 20th century Crete

Description: Nicola Ferris has been working as a secretary at the British Embassy in Athens, working on her Greek and trying to explore the country whenever possible. She has planned a trip to Crete to meet up with her cousin Frances and gets a ride part of the way and arrives a day early, needing to walk across country to the town of Agios Georgios.

Nonfiction November: My Year in Nonfiction

Nonfiction November is hosted by several different bloggers and has specific categories for each week. Week 1, Your Year in Nonfiction is probably all I can handle (although it is past Week 1), and I was surprised to find I had read seven nonfiction books, all basically biography/memoir or history and all of which I enjoyed. This is about 3% of my total for the year, which seems typical for me. I do have a few more in mind for November but we shall see.

Guest Review: The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb (Anchor Books, 2022)

As this book begins, Ray McMillian, a young Black violinist, is about to fly to Moscow to take part in the Tchaikovsky Competition. He opens his violin case and the violin is gone, replaced by a ransom note.

My October 2023 Reads

October was a busy month with a business trip to Tulsa (no direct flights, so lots of reading time), some reading for the 1962 Club, and hosting my book group’s discussion of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (not everyone finished it). My favorites this month were Just Another Missing Person, The Serpent Pool, Witch of the Glens, and two from D.E. Stevenson, along with several rereads.  Three reads this month were audiobooks.

Trumpets in the West by Geoffrey Trease

Title: Trumpets in the West
Author: Geoffrey Trease
Illustrator: Joe Krush
Publication: Harcourt, Brace and Co., hardcover, 1947
Genre: Juvenile Historical Fiction
Setting: 17th century England

Description: In June 1685, the Duke of Monmouth, eldest illegitimate son of Charles II, landed at Lyme Regis in South West England where he had widespread popular support, planning to take control of the area and march on London to seize the throne from his uncle James II. The rebellion fails but not before young Jack Norwood and his irrepressible friend Jane Goodrich sneak out of their respective homes to see the battle.

Six Degrees of Separation – from Western Lane to Music in Western Civilization

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 Western Lane by Chetna Maroo, a coming-of-age story about a girl whose only escape is squash after losing her mother. It is too new to have reached my library but got a great New York Times review and is a finalist for the Booker Prize.

A Wind From Nowhere by Nicholas Stuart Gray #WitchWeek2023

Title: A Wind From Nowhere
Author: Nicholas Stuart Gray
Publication: Faber & Faber, hardcover, 1978
Genre: Juvenile fantasy/short stories

My Impression: I have been a big fan of Gray’s fantasy since I found The Apple Stone in the local children’s library when I was ten, but obtaining affordable copies of his books can be challenging.

WWW Wednesday – November 1

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?

Currently Reading

During my commute, I am listening to Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson (2023). Jackson is an editor at Knopf who wrote a contemporary novel set in Brooklyn about affluent New Yorkers and the middle-class woman from Providence who marries into a rich and very snooty family.