Top Ten Tuesday: May Flowers

Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week the theme is May flowers and I immediately thought of Flower Fables (1854),which was Louisa May Alcott’s first published book, written for Ralph Waldo Emerson’s daughter.

December 2025 Reading

You’ll have to wait a little longer for my Best of 2025 list (I'm having a hard time narrowing it to ten) but here is my December reading.  I think my favorite was the newest installment of the Thursday Murder Club.  Osman's gift for conveying what his characters are thinking is impressive.  That is why I think a voiceover would have made the Netflix adaptation even stronger (also it should have been a multi-part series).

Suspense

The Charity Shop Detective Agency by Peter Boland (2022). Several months ago, I started listening to this mystery about three friends who volunteer at a charity shop somewhere near Dorset. They are upset when a favorite client is murdered and decide to (somewhat ineptly) help the police with their investigation. When my library canceled its Hoopla subscription, I was left stranded mid-story and it took quite a while to find a print copy from ILL. Probably not worth the effort but I hate not finishing a book.

Rhododendron Pie by Margery Sharp, for Dean Street December

This was a great choice for Dean Street December! Ann Laventie is the youngest of three in an eccentric family in Sussex, beginning with a distinguished father with an independent income from his wife; a mother who was injured in a riding accident and cannot walk; sister Elizabeth, a witty essayist; and Dick, an artist. They are all attractive and intelligent, but Ann’s role seems primarily to admire the others as she does not believe she has any particular skill except observing and appreciating.