Hardacre by C.L. Skelton, a Yorkshire family saga

In late 19th century Yorkshire, Sam Hardacre guts herrings for a living, earning pennies to support his wife, Mary, and two young sons. It is a hard life, following the herring fleet, and although he is not afraid of hard work, he worries what will happen to his family if he is incapacitated. 

 

The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum #Ozathon24

In the penultimate book in the series – at least by the great and powerful L. Frank Baum – The Magic of Oz, it is Ozma’s birthday again and everyone wants to find her something special. 

However, there is trouble on the horizon in Munchkin Country. A dissatisfied young man from a mountain people called Hyups finds a magical secret involving transformation his father has kept hidden:

Mrs. Lorimer's Quiet Summer by Molly Clavering #DeanStreetDecember24

As the introduction by Elizabeth Crawford to this new edition points out, after serving as a Wren in WWII, Molly Clavering settled in Moffat, in Dumfries and Galloway, in the Scottish Borders. She was already acquainted with another writer, D.E. Stevenson, who had moved to Moffat with her husband James after the bombing of Glasgow in the early 1940s. This is the story of two writer friends during one full summer, inspired by the real life friendship of Molly and Dorothy.

Merry Christmas, 2024!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and everything in between! Thanks to Marie Cloutier for reminding me of this end-of-year book meme:

Describe yourself:

How do you feel? I Need You to Read This

Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge

It is quite trendy to write mysteries around famous, real-life characters and I tend to stay far away from these undertakings, as I usually find them unconvincing, anachronistic, or both. However, my friends at Publishers Weekly raved about this new series which features Midwesterner Tabitha Knight, who is making a protracted visit to her grandfather in Paris after WWII and meets aspiring chef Julia Child at the local market. 

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

In this historical novel, two determined teen siblings play a role in winning the war for the Allies.  Everyone tells fourteen-year-old Lizzie Novis that her mother was killed in a bombing but she refuses to believe it. Now that Britain is at war with Germany, her American grandmother wants Lizzie to come to Cleveland for the duration but Lizzie escapes from the ship and heads back to London to find her older brother, Jakob. 

Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie #ReadChristie2024

I enjoy the Christies that feature Ariadne Oliver, the occasionally ditzy mystery author who dislikes the fictional detective she has made so popular, Sven Hjerson. 

She usually avoids public appearances but in this book she has agreed to attend a literary lunch where she is accosted by a stranger who asks about Mrs. Oliver’s goddaughter, Celia Ravenscroft, and says:

"I want you to tell me, because I’m sure you must know or perhaps have a very good idea how it all came about. Did her mother kill her father or was it the father who killed the mother?"

Spell the Month in Books – December 2024

Can you spell the month in books?  All from books I read this year:

Daughter of Lir by Diana Norman (1988). This was an outstanding historical novel set in 12th century Ireland that is funny in some parts and harrowing in others. Irish-born Finola (you know I like orphans) is abandoned and then brought up at a famous French convent and renamed Sister Boniface.

Fontevraud Abbey, France

The Tin Woodman of Oz by L. Frank Baum - #Ozathon24

If you remember when Dorothy first met the Tin Woodman in The Wizard of Oz, he revealed he was once an ordinary wood-chopper in love with a Munchkin girl. After his axe was enchanted by a witch, he lost every limb, one by one, and a tin-smith replaced everything with tin. Once his heart was gone, he no longer loved the girl, so continued as a tin man until he got caught in a rainstorm and rusted, ultimately to be rescued by Dorothy.

Six Degrees of Separation – from Sandwich to Moby Dick

It’s time for #6degrees, inspired by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best. We all start at the same place as other readers, add six books, and see where it ends up. This month’s starting point is Sandwich by Catherine Newman (2024). Because it is set on Cape Cod, the book was a local bestseller and I would have bought it for my sister had it been available in July.

The Astonishing Adventure of Jane Smith by Patricia Wentworth #DeanStreetDecember24

Jane Smith is alone in the world and down to her last two shillings and eleven pence when a strange young man mistakes her for her cousin Renata. Jane and Renata have never met but they are the daughters of identical twins – and are virtually identical themselves, at least in looks. 

My November 2024 Reading

My favorites this month were The Law of Innocence about Harry Bosch’s half-brother, Mickey Haller, accused of murder and forced to defend himself from prison, and Mrs. Hart’s Marriage Bureau, a historical novel set between the wars in Britain. I also enjoyed another book about Orphan X and two books by Joan Aiken for Witch Week 2024 – Night Fall is just as memorable as the first time I read it.