Today is a Halloween freebie so I am making a list of the top ten musicians to listen to while reading that might also put you to sleep.
Diana Krall
My husband turned me on to Diana Krall and I used to play her music to help calm my son when he was a baby and to help him fall asleep. We listened to Diana up until he was probably 5 or 6 to fall asleep and he said the other day that he has a type of Pavloveyn response to her music because no matter where he is and hears it, he immediately wants a nap. I can say the same thing because one time The Husband and I were in Barnes and Noble (many years ago because we have not been to one in probably a decade) and Diana came on. I immediately looked at the comfy chair I was standing next to and considered a nap.
2. Frank Sinatra
The best album of his to listen to for reading or dreaming is The Wee Small Hours
3. Nat King Cole
Just about any Nat King Cole album will do but I love any of his albums with a lot of ballads on them for this purpose
4. Miles Davis
Kind of Blue is a good album choice for this one
5. Harry Connick Jr
Harry has some peppier albums so I stick with his more mellow tunes but one of my favorite albums of his is Red Light, Blue Light
6. Alison Krauss
You’re either going to relax or cry listening to her.
7. Rachael & Vilaray
A recent duo for me suggested to me by The Husband
8. Michael Buble
Don’t listen to his fast stuff or you will have to get up and dance and sing because his music just makes people happy. Stick to the smooth, easy going songs or albums.
9. JJ Heller
I don’t remember how I discovered JJ Heller but I listened to her lullaby album to help Little Miss sleep and now when I hear songs from the album I burst into tears remembering those wonderful days of naptime with a newborn, infant, and toddler, cuddling and just connecting as JJ’s music played in the background.
I always imagine that heaven will just be full of those moments – reliving those special times with our children and loved ones over and over again.
10, Vince Gill
Specifically his box set These Days. This is another set of albums I listened to when The Boy was little. I love the jazz album for sleeping/reading and just every other album for anytime listening. I combined him and Allison for this clip — love this song.
Bonus:
Elliot James Reay
I discovered this guy while looking up these videos so I am adding him as bonus.
So how about you? Do you like to listen to music while you read? What are your go to genres or musicians? (I’d also add classical music to this list, personally, but didn’t choose any to share this time around. Maybe a future list!)
Today’s topic is: How My Reading Habits Have Changed Over Time (submitted by Lydia @ https://lydiaschoch.com)
I don’t really know how to do this as a top ten list so I thought I’d just chat about it.
I started reading fiction fairly consistently when I was a kid and then even more when I was a teenager. When I was a “kid” – like under the age of 13 – I read books like the Little House series and the Chronicles of Narnia and sometimes I used a flashlight to finish a chapter because Mom had said I needed to go to bed and shut my light off but I didn’t want to go to bed yet.
I never read books quickly but I consistently had a book with me when I was a teenager. Back then I read mainly historical fiction and some clean/Christian romance. Now I read mainly mysteries – clean and cozy mainly.
In high school I got in trouble at least twice for reading in class. It’s not my fault my Roman-based epic was way more interesting than the football coach rambling about driver safety. Or a book from that same series (The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers) was way more interesting than my history teacher who never really taught but mostly talked about football because he was the other football coach. Huh. Coincidence there? I think not.
I remember my mom came to a parent teacher conference, holding one of those books because we had picked it up at the local Christian bookstore (which only lasted about two years in our tiny community) and the teacher said, “Oh. Is that one of those books you got caught reading in class the other day?”
My mom, with her quick wit, said, “Yes, it probably is but it is based in history at least.”
I don’t think she meant that as a slam against that teacher but he was the one who used to start classes each year by holding up the text book and saying, “You can take this an use it to prop up a window.” Then he’d spend the rest of the year talking about who knows what from the front of the classroom with very little of it being actual history.
The only thing I remember from his class is how he told us all not to mess around with pimples and other spots on our skin because his mom had one she didn’t get checked and it was cancer. I don’t know if she died from it or not but that unlocked a new fear for me.
In college I mainly read textbooks. I didn’t seem to have time for reading fiction. I started working full time my senior year of college and there was no time for reading. I was taking classes twice a week and working like 60 hours a week, sometimes seven days. That’s about the time I killed my thyroid and my mental health but I was young and stupid.
I don’t really remember picking many fiction books back up again until a few years ago when I really got back into reading again. When I had my kids I was working full time at newspapers or writing blog posts or completely immersed in photography and homeschooling while taking care of kids. I didn’t take a lot of time for myself or to escape the stress of life by reading fiction. I wish I had because it would have helped all the stress back then.
Now I always have a hard copy of a book and my Kindle in my purse or with me wherever I go. I may not always read the book but I have it with me “just in case.” Instead of watching TV or surfing online all the time, I now carve out time for reading, even on the days I think I don’t feel like reading. I’ll find that once I start reading, I get caught up in the story and I start to relax and forget about all the things I was stressed about. I think I recently heard that reading even 15 minutes a day can help a person relax and reset their emotional state. Something like that anyhow. I don’t know – just go with it and pretend I’m smart. *wink*
Now that I am reading more, I have gotten caught up more than once with feeling like I have to read what other people are reading instead of what I want to read. It’s crazy that even at my age I can be influenced by what is popular or talked about a lot or what others say I should or shouldn’t read. Luckily, I have pushed aside a lot of that in the last year and now I really am reading what I want to read.
Sure, I see recommendations and sometimes I take them but I don’t just read a book because a lot of people claim it is good. Yes, I have read books that I’ve seen recommended a few times, but I don’t feel like I have to anymore. I do it because the book actually interests me.
Honestly, I find myself leaning away from books that are heavily recommended more than I lean toward them. I’ve been burned more than once by books that were supposed to be so amazing and then turned out to be complete duds or pushed agendas or morals that didn’t fit with mine.
Becoming an independent author opened my eyes to the publishing world and how reviews can be bought, essentially, or reviewers can be swayed to give a book a good review because they either don’t want to be excluded from other advanced reader groups or because they don’t be the one to step out of line and say, “I didn’t like this book everyone else liked.”
Before this year I was susceptible to getting wrapped up in all those “BookTok” (not on TikTok though. What a nightmare that app is!) “Bookstagram” drama sessions about – well, everything about reading. This year, though, I couldn’t care less what some Bookstagrammer says I should or shouldn’t read or what I shouldn’t or shouldn’t say on social media.
I read books, I share about the ones I like, I move on. Life is way too short to be so dramatic about reading. Good grief. Reading is for leisure and enjoyment. There was a time when only the rich could read books and then it became so everyone could read books as long as they had a good education and were taught to read.
Now we teach children to read at a young age so the world is opened wide to them. They can learn so much from books – fiction and non-fiction. This can be a bad thing, of course, if the subject matter is not age appropriate but in the vast majority of cases being able to read is a wonderful thing.
Because reading is a gift, I don’t believe we should try to finish books that don’t bring us joy. I do not continue reading a book I am not connecting with. A couple of years ago I made way too many commitments to read books and review them without knowing what I was really getting into. This year I have been reading books because I want to.
I read a couple of books for author friends and ran into trouble because the books were okay but they simply weren’t for me. Then what do I do? I don’t want to keep reading the book simply because the person is a friend if it is taking the joy out of reading for me. That’s why I’m now deciding that if I do read a book by an author friend, I’m not going to tell them I am reading it in case I don’t enjoy it.
Life is too short to read books qw aren’t enjoying. This is something I’ve heard said in reading circles again and again and it is something that we readers need to heed more.
Sometimes I do break my own “rules”, though. I’m reading one right now that isn’t one I’d probably finish if it was just me reading for fun, but I’m reading it to review for a magazine. Just because the book isn’t really for me, doesn’t mean it won’t be for someone else. The fact I am pushing myself through this book, though, has made me decide I probably won’t be doing reviews for magazines anymore unless I have already read the book first and enjoyed it.
My motto the rest of this year and next, therefore, is to read what I want and review it only if I want to.
I hope I can keep up with that because taking the pressure off something that should be done for enjoyment and relaxation is what I really need in my life right now.
How has what and how you read changed over the years?
Today’s topic is: Books I Read/Avoided Because of the Hype (and did you make the right choice?)
For this one, I decided to share eight books I read because of the hype and two I avoided.
First, the ones I read because of the hype:
How To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristin Perin
It was the hype on Netgalley that hooked me on this one. Reviewers were calling it the Knives Out of mystery books so I decided to give it a go and I ended up really enjoying it – with the exception of a couple issues and two unnecessary swear words.
The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett
I’ve heard a lot about this book over the years and had seen the movie years ago so figured I needed to give it a try. I ended up enjoying it but wanted more from the ending.
Little Women by Louisa Mae Alcott
I think I got sick of women gushing about this book and having no idea what they were talking about. I’d seen a few versions of the movie but never read the book. Now that I have I think the book lived up to the hype. I fell in love with the book and plan to re-read it each Christmas season now.
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
I’ve heard a lot about this classic book over the years, but, again, never read it. I finally did that last year as part of my son’s English curriculum and ended up feeling like the book did live up to the hype.
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
After all of my family fell all over these movies and my much, much older brother read it in high school or college or whatever (I can’t remember. It was sooo long ago.), I figured I’d better try it too. I didn’t think I was going to make it because of all the tree descriptions but I ended up falling in love with the characters and, in the end, the book. I can’t read to read the other two installments.
The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kipp by Sara Brunsvold
This was huge in Christian Fiction circles when it came out.
I think the hype is warranted for this one but I’ve never been able to actually finish it. Not because it isn’t good but because the topic is heavy and I have older parents and I’m struggling with that so the topic of an elderly woman with a terminal illness is a hard one for me to read. I do plan to finish it though.
The Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham
In this instance, I didn’t make the right choice for me. I found the main characters irritating, the marriage of convenience trope ridiculous, and the suggestive comments about the sex the morning after really uncomfortable, even though they weren’t graphic. This was a Christian fiction book and this book and the reaction of Christian readers to it, was particularly grating to me because I was condemned for a kiss scene in one of my books by Christian readers but they had no issues with this author’s main character being giddy over getting to have sex with the man she was “forced” to marry and then daydreaming about their night together the next morning for a full page and a half.
It was weird to me but I’ve learned there are as many hypocritical Christian fiction readers out there as there are crooked politicians. It’s weird the things Christian Fiction readers will embrace and the things they will reject. It seems to change every other month or so. I have just never understood the readers of that genre and their absolute love for marriage of convenience books.
That trope is so disgusting to me – being forced to marry someone you don’t love and then supposedly falling in love with that person. I mean what cheap thrill do these women get out of that? I have no earthly idea.
The Mysterious Affair of Styles by Agatha Christie
I had heard a lot about this first Poirot book within the cozy mystery reader circle over the years and so when my husband suggested it, I decided to give it a go. I ended up really liking it but not liking the antisemitism buried in some places. Great story, but Agatah had some issues there, which is something I wrote about on the blog earlier this year.
Two books I avoided because of the hype:
50 Shades of Gray
Yes, this self-proclaimed prude tried this book because I had NO idea what it was about. I barely made it into it when it hit me what was going on and the book was returned to Amazon for a full refund and I never touched it again. Sex is one thing. Abuse and domination is another and I do not read those kinds of books at all.
Fourth Wing
I know. I know. But ….just not my thing. Not a fantasy or a smut reader so I avoided it. So many people loved this book and if you did – that’s awesome. It’s just not my thing. That’s all!
What are some of the books you read or avoided because of the hype?
This week’s prompt is to list our Autumn To Be Read list. I actually already did this a couple of weeks ago so this is a bit of a rehash, but I’ve added a couple of new ones since I have found a couple of books that have caught my attention too. And, yes, there are more than 10 books here so I broke the rules.
Here is the list of books I’ll be choosing from for September, October, and November – with new ones being thrown in from time to time, I’m sure.
An Assassination on the Agenda by T.E. Kinsey
I actually just finished this one this weekend and it was pretty good. I love the bantering between Lady Hardcastle and her maid as they solve mysteries and fight crime.
There were a few slow sections but I still enjoyed the book. Lady Hardscastle has the best lines. I’ll share some of them when I share a book review later this week..
Description:
They’re hoping this visit is a return journey—but it might be a one-way ticket to murder.
July 1912. Lady Hardcastle and her tenacious lady’s maid, Florence Armstrong, are enjoying a convivial gathering at the home of their dear friends, the Farley-Strouds. The only fly in the idyllic ointment seems to be the lack of musical entertainment for the forthcoming summer party—until, that is, Lady Hardcastle’s brother Harry calls with news of a murder.
Harry dispatches them to Bristol on behalf of the Secret Service Bureau, with instructions to prevent the local police from uncovering too much about the victim. It seems an intriguing mystery—all the more so when they find a connection between the killer and an impending visit from an Austrian trade delegation, set to feature a very important guest…
Summoned to London to help with some very important security arrangements, the intrepid duo will have to navigate sceptical bureaucrats, Cockney gangsters and shadowy men in distinctive hats in their attempts to foil an explosive—and internationally significant—threat.
Ever Faithful by Karen Barnett
I kept saying I am going to read this one but I could never find a copy unless I bought it new and I didn’t want to in case I didn’t like it. None of the local libraries had it and Libby didn’t either (for my library anyhow) so I finally found an audio version of it on Hoopla and am listening to it now.
Description:
A man who can’t read will never amount to anything–or so Nate Webber believes. But he takes a chance to help his family by signing up for the new Civilian Conservation Corps, skirting the truth about certain “requirements.” Nate exchanges the harsh Brooklyn streets for the wilds of Yellowstone National Park, curious if the Eden-like wonderland can transform him as well.
Elsie Brookes was proud to grow up as a ranger’s daughter, but she longs for a future of her own. After four years serving as a maid in the park’s hotels, she still hasn’t saved enough money for her college tuition. A second job, teaching a crowd of rowdy men in the CCC camp, might be the answer, but when Elsie discovers Nate’s secret, it puts his job as camp foreman in jeopardy. Tutoring leads to friendship and romance, until a string of suspicious fires casts a dark shadow over their relationship. Can they find answers before all of their dreams go up in smoke?
A Simple Deduction by Kristi Holl
I just finished this one last week and ended up liking it more than I thought I was going to.
Description:
Liz is offering something new, A Sherlock Holmes weekend. She asks for help from a magician to pickpocket the participants then give the items to Liz for safekeeping. But more possessions start to disappear even with people locking their doors. Liz needs the help of all her sidekicks to solves this mystery.
The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene
Yep, another original Nancy Drew. These are fun to read, even if they are dated.
Description:
Nancy and her friends, Bess and George, meet Joanne Byrd on a train ride home. Joanne lives at Red Gate Farm with her grandmother, but if they do not raise enough money to pay the mortgage, they will soon lose the farm! Nancy, Bess, and George decide to stay at Red Gate for a week as paying customers. Soon, they learn about the strange group of people who rent a cave on the property. They describe themselves as a nature cult called the Black Snake Colony. Nancy investigates their group and helps to uncover a ring of counterfeiters in town!
The Cat Who Brought Down the House by Lilian Jackson Braun
I’ve read almost all the books in this series but when I saw this on my shelf a couple of weeks ago, I knew I needed to add it to my list because I am certain I’ve never read it. I am not even sure where I picked this copy up but it was probably one of the local library book sales.
Description:
Jim Qwilleran lives in Pickax, a small town 400 miles north of everywhere, and writes for a small newspaper. He stands tall and straight. He dates a librarian. His roommates are two abandoned cats that he adopted along the way, one of them quite remarkable. Qwilleran has a secret that he shares with no one—or hardly anyone. His male cat, Koko, has an uncanny intuition that can tell right from wrong and frequently sniffs out the evildoer…
Retiring in Pickax, actress Thelma Thackeray has decided to start a film club and organize a fundraiser revue, starring Koko the cat. But Thelma’s celebrated arrival takes an unpleasant turn when the strange circumstances of her twin brother’s recent death seem suspicious to Jim Qwilleran. Qwill needs a helping paw in this case. But will Koko deign to take time from his stage debut?
Catch Me If You Candy by Ellie Alexander
This one is a fall-themed cozy mystery that I have decided to read because I’ve read another book in this series and liked it okay and I wanted to read something more autumn themed. I didn’t love that first book I read in the series, but it was a good escape read. Hopefully this one will be too.
Description:
Halloween has arrived in picturesque Ashland, Oregon, and all of the ghouls and goblins have descended on Main Street for the annual parade. It’s a giant street party and Torte is right in the mix.
Jules Capshaw and her team have been baking up autumn delights and trick-or-Torte bags filled with sugar cookie cutouts, spiced cider, and mummy munch. It’s the end of the season at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which means that the costumes for the parade are going to be out of this world. The elaborate guises even extend to pets. The grand marshal of this year’s parade is no other than a regal pug aptly named King George. Jules is delighted to get to share the experience with Carlos and Ramiro, but things take a dark turn when she discovers a dragon slumped in front of the bakeshop.
A Fatal Footnote by Margaret Loudon
This is one my daughter picked up at a used book sale for me because the cat reminds us of our cat, Scout. I skimmed the first chapter and see that it is written in third person, which isn’t usually for cozy mysteries, but a POV I write in and like to read in cozy mysteries.
Description:
Writer-in-residence Penelope Parish will need to use every trick in her quaint British bookshop to unravel a murderous plot that threatens to ruin a ducal wedding.
The wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Upper Chumley-on Stoke has all the makings of a fairy tale, complete with a glowing bride and horse-drawn carriage. But it wouldn’t be much of a story without a villain, and as American Gothic novelist Penelope Parish is coming to learn, happy-ever-afters are as fraught in this charming British town as they are in her books.
When the Duke’s former girlfriend is found murdered at the reception it’s up to Penelope and her newfound family at the Open Book bookshop to catch the killer before they strike again.
Getaway With Murder by Diane Kelly
A friend read this, and I decided I’d try it too. I currently have it downloaded in my Audible so I might listen to it.
Description:
As if hitting the half-century mark wasn’t enough, Misty Murphy celebrated her landmark birthday by amicably ending her marriage and investing her settlement in a dilapidated mountain lodge at the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With the old inn teetering on both a bluff and bankruptcy, she must have lost her ever-loving mind.
Luckily, handyman Rocky Crowder has a knack for rehabbing virtual ruins and for doing it on a dime, and to Misty’s delight, the lodge is fully booked on opening night, every room filled with flexible folks who’d slipped into spandex and ascended the peak for a yoga retreat with plans to namaste for a full week. Misty and her guests are feeling zen―at least until the yoga instructor is found dead.
With a killer on the loose and the lodge’s reputation hanging in the balance, Misty must put her detective-skills to the test. Only one thing is as clear as a sunny mountain morning―she must solve the crime before the lodge ends up, once again, on the brink.
A Christmas Gathering by Shelley Shepard Gray; Rachel J. Good; Lenora Worth
I feel like I will read this in November – as I start getting ready for cozy winter reading. And I’ll probably take breaks between the stories.
Description:
A CHRISTMAS REUNION by Shelley Shepard Gray Tricia Troyer is thrilled when Brandt Massey, her cousin’s English friend, joins the Troyers’ holiday gathering for the second year in a row. The sparks between them are clear to everyone. When Brandt asks Tricia to be his girlfriend, they both know she’ll have important choices to make about her future. But the two aren’t as different as some believe—and with open hearts and understanding, their very own Christmas miracle just might be possible . . .
WE GATHER TOGETHER by Lenora Worth When Lucas Myer meets Kayla Hollinger on the shores of Lake Erie, he’s smitten. Their families are even staying at the same inn, for different gatherings. The two plan to meet again—but soon enough they discover a problem: their relatives are locked in a longtime feud and forbid them to socialize. Fortunately, Lucas and Kayla are old enough to make their own decisions—and they decide to create a Christmas miracle of forgiveness and love . . .
HITTING ALL THE RIGHT NOTES by Rachel J. Good Years ago, Andrew was banished by his Amish family when he chose a career in music. It still hurts, especially during the holidays. And now, just before Christmas, he and his band find themselves stranded after their manager absconds with their money. Desperate, Andrew is offered a job teaching piano—but that’s just the first miracle. His work will not only bless others in need, but a longtime fan might just capture his heart—and even lead him home . .
Little Men by Louisa Mae Alcott
I will probably read this one closer to the end of November and carry it on into Winter like I did with Little Women last year.
Description:
The March sisters are among the most beloved characters in children’s literature, and Little Men picks up the story of fiery, headstrong Jo where Good Wives left off. Intelligent, funny, perceptive, and genuinely touching, the novel is set at a rather unusual boarding school run by Jo and her husband, where the pupils are encouraged to pillow fight and keep pets. When the penniless but talented orphan Nat Blake shows up on her doorstep, Jo takes him in, and his arrival sets in motion a chain of events that will affect all their lives.
Murder Handcrafted by Isabella Alan
Description:
Spring has arrived in Holmes County and Angie couldn’t be happier. She’s got great friends, a thriving business, and is in the perfect relationship with Sheriff James Mitchell. The only thing raining on her parade is her mother drafting her into a massive home renovation project—and using their sudden mother/daughter bonding time to comment on Angie’s ticking biological clock.
The house’s repairs and upgrades between the Amish craftsmen and their Englisch counterparts are proceeding well until a tremendous shock comes to the workers when the electrician is found dead on site. With the sheriff suspecting foul play, it falls to Angie to root a killer out of the woodwork. . . .
Move Your Blooming Corpse: An Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins Mystery by D.E. Ireland
My daughter picked this one out at a used bookstore this weekend and I immediately loved the title and premise.
Description: In the second book from talented writing team D.E. Ireland, famous literary characters Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins once again come to life as a hilarious investigative team. Move Your Blooming Corpse explores the Edwardian racing world and the fascinating characters who people it, from jockeys to duchesses, in this delightful traditional mystery that will appeal to fans of British mysteries.
Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins are at the posh Royal Ascot, the biggest horse racing event of the season. Eliza’s father is the new co-owner of a champion racehorse, and Eliza and Henry are excited to cheer the Donegal Dancer on to victory. However, their idyllic outing takes a serious turn when a victim is trampled during the Gold Cup race and someone is found murdered in the stables.
With time running out before the upcoming Eclipse Stakes, she and Higgins investigate jealous spouses, suffragettes and the colorful co-owners of the Donegal Dancer. But can they outrace the murderer, or will there be another blooming corpse at the finish line?
Peanut Butter Panic by Amanda Flower
This is another used bookstore pick up by Little Miss.
Description:
Thanksgiving is Bailey King’s busiest holiday weekend. This year promises to be even more hectic, since Bailey’s candy shop, Swissmen Sweets, is providing desserts for Harvest, Ohio’s first village-wide Thanksgiving celebration. Yet, even with a guest list close to seven hundred people—Amish and English alike—the event’s organizer, Margot Rawlings, is unfazed . . . until she discovers her mother, former judge Zara Bevan, will be in attendance.
Zara’s reputation as a harsh critic is matched only by her infamy as a judge who has actively harmed the Amish community. So no one is prepared when Zara arrives with much younger boyfriend Blaze Smith and reveals their impending nuptials at dinner. That should have been the day’s biggest news, except shortly after the announcement, Blaze suffers an allergic reaction to something he’s eaten and dies on the spot.
Now, Bailey’s desserts are prime suspects, along with Margot and nearly everyone who attended the meal. With such a cornucopia of possibilities, Bailey must dig in and get to the bottom of this murder, before the killer goes up for seconds…
Move Your Blooming Corpse by DE Ireland
My daughter picked this one out for me at a local used bookstore so I am adding it to my list – pretty much because I already started it and I am enjoying it.
Description:
In the second book from talented writing team D.E. Ireland, famous literary characters Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins once again come to life as a hilarious investigative team. Move Your Blooming Corpseexplores the Edwardian racing world and the fascinating characters who people it, from jockeys to duchesses, in this delightful traditional mystery that will appeal to fans of British mysteries.
Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins are at the posh Royal Ascot, the biggest horse racing event of the season. Eliza’s father is the new co-owner of a champion racehorse, and Eliza and Henry are excited to cheer the Donegal Dancer on to victory. However, their idyllic outing takes a serious turn when a victim is trampled during the Gold Cup race and someone is found murdered in the stables.With time running out before the upcoming Eclipse Stakes, she and Higgins investigate jealous spouses, suffragettes, and the colorful co-owners of the Donegal Dancer. But can they outrace the murderer, or will there be another blooming corpse at the finish line?
So what is on your list to choose from this autumn?
Today’s topic is: Books That Provide a Much-Needed Escape (bonus points if you tell us why!)
Here is my list of ten books that provided me with a much-needed escape – though they may not provide the same escape for other readers.
The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
I wrote a review of this classic book last month and one thing I wrote was that I just loved this story and the transformation of the main character. If you haven’t read it before, I highly recommend it.
Description:
In The Blue Castle, L.M. Montgomery, the beloved author of Anne of Green Gables, introduces us to Valancy Stirling, a timid and repressed young woman living in the small town of Deerwood. But when she receives devastating news about her health, Valancy decides to take control of her life and pursue her dreams, no matter what anyone else thinks.
This heartwarming coming-of-age novel is a beautiful exploration of self-discovery, family relationships, and the power of love. With vivid descriptions of rural life and quirky characters that will make you laugh and cry, The Blue Castle is a true gem of small town fiction.
But what truly makes this novel stand out are its strong female characters. Valancy is a woman ahead of her time, defying social conventions and taking risks to find true happiness. Her journey is an inspiration to anyone who has ever felt trapped by society’s expectations.
If you’re a fan of inspirational fiction, classic literature, or coming-of-age novels, The Blue Castle is a must-read. It will touch your heart and leave you with a sense of hope and joy.
Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz
I had a hard time putting this Sherlock Holmes book down, even though Sherlock wasn’t even in it. I guessed the perpetrator before the end but I didn’t even care. It was so well done I still needed to know how they did it. This was a book I read in a couple of days because just couldn’t stop. It is written in a bit of an old style, which might bother some people, but Horowitz was writing in the style of Doyle for this one.
Description:
Horowitz’s nail-biting novel plunges us back into the dark and complex world of detective Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty—dubbed the Napoleon of crime” by Holmes—in the aftermath of their fateful struggle at the Reichenbach Falls.
Days after the encounter at the Swiss waterfall, Pinkerton detective agent Frederick Chase arrives in Europe from New York. Moriarty’s death has left an immediate, poisonous vacuum in the criminal underworld, and there is no shortage of candidates to take his place—including one particularly fiendish criminal mastermind.
Chase and Scotland Yard Inspector Athelney Jones, a devoted student of Holmes’s methods of investigation and deduction originally introduced by Conan Doyle in “The Sign of Four”, must forge a path through the darkest corners of England’s capital—from the elegant squares of Mayfair to the shadowy wharfs and alleyways of the London Docks—in pursuit of this sinister figure, a man much feared but seldom seen, who is determined to stake his claim as Moriarty’s successor.
A riveting, deeply atmospheric tale of murder and menace from one of the only writers to earn the seal of approval from Conan Doyle’s estate, Moriarty breathes life into Holmes’s dark and fascinating world.
Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish by Bethany Turner
This book was just a lot of fun. There was a lot of hilarious banter between the two main characters, pop-culture references, and clean sexual tension.
Description:
Celebrity chef Maxwell Cavanagh is known for many things: his multiple Michelin stars, his top-rated Culinary Channel show To the Max, and most of all his horrible temper. Hadley Beckett, host of the Culinary Channel’s other top-rated show, At Home with Hadley, is beloved for her Southern charm and for making her viewers feel like family.
When Max experiences a very public temper tantrum, he’s sent packing to get his life in order. When he returns, career in shambles, his only chance to get back on TV and in the public’s good graces is to work alongside Hadley.
As these polar-opposite celeb chefs begin to peel away the layers of public persona and reputation, they will not only discover the key ingredients for getting along, but also learn the secret recipe for unexpected forgiveness . . . and maybe even love. In the meantime, hide the knives.
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans by Agatha Christie
I loved Bobby and Frankie in this. What a great detective team. Great chemistry, funny quips – especially from Frankie – and the mystery was engaging.
Description:
While playing an erratic round of golf, Bobby Jones slices his ball over the edge of a cliff. His ball is lost, but on the rocks below he finds the crumpled body of a dying man. The man opens his eyes and with his last breath says, “Why didn’t they ask Evans?”
Haunted by those words, Bobby and his vivacious companion, Frankie, set out to solve a mystery that will bring them into mortal danger….
This title was previously published as The Boomerang Clue.
The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
Horowitz, as I have said before is a mystery writing genius. This one was full of humor and intrigue and I read it through pretty fast to find out who was the guilty party.
Description:
A woman crosses a London street. It is just after 11 a.m. on a bright spring morning, and she is going into a funeral parlor to plan her own service. Six hours later the woman is dead, strangled with a crimson curtain cord in her own home.
Enter disgraced police detective Daniel Hawthorne, a brilliant, eccentric man as quick with an insult as he is to crack a case. And Hawthorne has a partner, the celebrated novelist Anthony Horowitz, curious about the case and looking for new material. As brusque, impatient, and annoying as Hawthorne can be, Horowitz—a seasoned hand when it comes to crime stories—suspects the detective may be on to something, and is irresistibly drawn into the mystery.
But as the case unfolds, Horowitz realizes that he’s at the center of a story he can’t control, and his brilliant partner may be hiding dark and mysterious secrets of his own.
A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers
This book about characters in Ancient Rome is easy to escape into and get lost in. The world around me completely disappeared when I read it. I had to find out what happened to the main character Hadassah, a Hebrew girl who becomes a slave in the home of a Roman leader.
Description:
The first book in the beloved Mark of the Lion series, A Voice in the Wind brings readers back to the first century and introduces them to a character they will never forget—Hadassah.
While wealthy Roman citizens indulge their every whim, Jews and barbarians are bought and sold as slaves and gladiators in the bloodthirsty arena. Amid the depravity around her, a young Jewish slave girl becomes a light in the darkness. Even as she’s torn by her love for a handsome aristocrat, Hadassah clings to her faith in the living God for deliverance from the forces of a decadent empire.
At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
I mention Jan Karon a lot but it really is easy to lose yourself in Mitford and all the different characters with their various dramas and adventures and
Description:
It’s easy to feel at home in Mitford. In these high, green hills, the air is pure, the village is charming, and the people are generally lovable. Yet, Father Tim, the bachelor rector, wants something more. Enter a dog the size of a sofa who moves in and won’t go away. Add an attractive neighbor who begins wearing a path through the hedge. Now, stir in a lovable but unloved boy, a mystifying jewel theft, and a secret that’s sixty years old. Suddenly, Father Tim gets more than he bargained for. And readers get a rich comedy about ordinary people and their ordinary lives.
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice to Murderers by Jesse Satanto
This was a funny, sweet, and just plain ole’ fun mystery that I just finished last week. I was definitely pulled into Vera’s world.
Description:
Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady—ah, lady of a certain age—who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to.
Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing—a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would do a better job than the police possibly could, because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands. Vera knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer.
What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for each and every one of them. As a protective mother hen, will she end up having to give one of her newfound chicks to the police?
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
I can’t believe it took me this long to read this but I read it in the Spring – or rather listened to it and ended up really enjoying it. Maybe it was the narrator, I’m not sure, but I was completely swept up in the story.
Description:
Mr. Phileas Fogg is not your typical Englishman. He may be a routine-loving timekeeping gentleman, but when adventure knocks on his door one evening at his local club, he bets half his fortune on a daring bet to complete a seemingly impossible task: travel around the world in 80 days.
To his good fortune, his loyal French valet Passepartout, curious, capable, and brave, is by his side. And when their journey takes them on a race against the clock from the busy docks of Victorian London to the Wild West and the treacherous jungles of India, Phileas and Passepartout will have to face every adventure that comes their way with courage. But they don’t know that their every move is watched and a detective follows them, waiting for the mistake that will bring everything down. As the deadline draws near, Phileas knows that if they don’t make it back to London in time, all their efforts will be lost. Can they make it?
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Yes, I know. So cliché for a woman to choose this one, but I so easily fall into Anne’s world when I read this book and it such a comfort escape for me. I think many know what the book is about, but I’ll still leave the description.
Description:
First published in 1908, “Anne of Green Gables” is Lucy Maud Montgomery’s enduring children’s classic which chronicles the coming of age of a young orphan girl, from the fictional community of Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia. The story begins with her arrival at the Prince Edward Island farm of Miss Marilla Cuthbert and Mr. Matthew Cuthbert, siblings in their fifties and sixties, who had decided to adopt a young boy to help out on the farm.
However, through a misunderstanding, the orphanage sends Anne Shirley instead. While the Cuthbert’s are at first determined to return Anne to the orphanage, after a few days they decide instead to keep her. Anne is an imaginative and energetic young girl, who quickly befriends Diana Barry at the local country school, becomes rivals with classmate Gilbert Blythe, who teases her about her red hair, and has unfortunate run-ins with the unpleasant Pye sisters.
Set in the close knit farm community of Avonlea, based on the author’s real life home on Prince Edward Island, “Anne of Green Gables” is at once both a comic and tragic tale. Read by millions, this novel begins a series of books that the author continued writing until the day she died.
This week’s theme is: Relationship Freebie (Pick a relationship type and choose characters who fit that relationship as it relates to you. So, characters you’d like to date, be friends with, be enemies with, etc. Bookish families you’d like to be a part of, characters you’d want as your siblings, pets you’d like to take for yourself, etc.)
From this prompt, I decided to make a list of ten characters who I would love to be friends with in real life – if they were real. Well, you know what I mean.
Cynthia Kavanagh from The Mitford Series by Jan Karon
Cynthia is the wife of Father Timothy Kavanagh, an Episcopal priest in Mitford, N.C. He meets Cynthia either in the end of the first book or the beginning of the second, A Light in the Window. Their love story is so sweet and pure. It’s a beautiful example of what love late in life can and should be. Father Tim has never been in a relationship and Cynthia was in a cold, loveless marriage before. Their relationship starts slow and awkardly.
Cynthia is an illustrator who also writes childrens books about her cat, Violet, a fluffy, white monster who Father Tim and his dog Barnabas aren’t so sure about. I would love to be friends with Cynthia. We’d sit in her little yellow house and sip tea and talk books and cats and how neither of us are really very good cooks or bakers but like to try anyhow.
2. Elizabeth “Bess” Marvin in the Nancy Drew books.
I absolutely love Bess from the Nancy Drew books. I love how she is described as pleasantly plump and isn’t shy about eating whatever she wants and flirting with boys – not even caring that back when these books were written fat girls were supposed to be not who boys would be interested in and were shamed into eating lettuce and a tomato for dinner.
I could absolutely see myself hanging out with Bess. She’d be more outgoing and crazy and I’d be quiet and laughing at her crazy antics. We’d talk about what foods we like and how no matter what we do we can’t get ourselves super skinny but there are times we still feel healthy and happy.
3. Valancy Stirling in The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
I would absolutely hang out with Valancy from The Blue Castle. If I met her before she received the bad news about her health, I would have been trying to pull her out of her dumps and encourage her to ignore her family’s rude comments about her.
After she received the bad news I would have joined her for tea at her Blue Castle and I would have walked with her in the forest, picking flowers, listening to the wind rustling the leaves and to her read excerpts from John Foster’s books.
4. Jo March from Little Women by Louisa Mae Alcott
Jo and I would absolutely hang out in real life and talk about the books we are writing and the characters we’ve created and our fear of people reading what we have written. We would talk about how we feel like the stories and characters belong to ourselves and how we are sometimes afraid if others meet our characters they won’t like them and it will take something away from us.
We will totally talk about how we both snap sometimes and say mean things and have to wrestle the mean sides of ourselves the same way Marmee said she had to wrestle her feelings.
And we will absolutely dish about how publishers in her day were completely sexist and that if she were alive now she could write and publish whatever she wants.
5. Aunt Minnehaha Cheever from Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright
Aunt Minnehaha visited Gone Away Lake, really called Tarrigo Lake, with her family, including her brother Pindar, when she was a child. The site was a summer getaway for the wealthy but when a dam was created upstream it caused the lake to dry up and all the wealthy vacationers to leave, many of them leaving their homes behind. When Aunt Minnehaha hits hard times and can’t afford her home in the city she moves back to Tarrigo to live. Eventually, children named Julian and Portia discover the homes and become friends with Minnehaha and her brother, who has also moved there.
Minnehaha has had some sadness in her life but she is absolutely full of optimism and likes to look at tough situations in a new and exciting way. If she and I were friends we would look through all the old dresses she has and all the old china and she’d make me some of her amazing tea and then she’d tell me that what I am facing now is nothing compared to what they had to face when they were young, living among some very rich and arrogant neighbors.
6. Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
I’m sure Anne would be on the list of many readers. An imaginative orphan girl who comes to live with an older brother and sister on a farm on Prince Edward Island, Canada would absolutely be a very interesting person to be friends with.
She and I would go walk along the shores of the Lake of Shimmering Waters and pick apples from the apple trees. We would also walk through the falling leaves during autumn to Diana’s house to visit her and have pastries and tea together.
We would absolutely talk about books and, well, I hate to say it but I’d probably tell Anne she is way too focused on what is and isn’t romantic and what romance should look like. If it was older Anne we would talk about raising children and how she keeps the romance alive between her and Gilbert.
7. Angie Braddock from the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries by Isabella Alan
I’ve only read one book in the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries but I really liked Angie. She’s bold and not afraid to find out how someone has been killed so she can clear the name of another person. She’s also dating a handsome sheriff (at least in the one book I read) and has a great relationship with her father who is trying to figure out his place in the world now that he is retired.
She sells sowing materials at her shop and I don’t think I’d be able to talk to her too much about fabric but I bet we’d like other similar things and I would love for her to introduce me to her Amish friends.
8. Miss Jane Marple from the Agatha Christie series
I would love to be friends with Jane Marple and ask her questions about various “goings on” in the village she – er- we live in. We’d of course – like with everyone else – sip tea – probably real English tea and have a few coo—biscuits while she tells me about her latest case.
Since I’m her friend, I’d also follow her around while she solves various cases. And maybe get some credit with her. *wink*
9. Sam Gangee from The Fellowship of The Ring
Sam and I are kindred spirits. We both like second breakfasts and are a bit nervous but also pretty loyal to our friends. Since we are friends we would enjoy meals together and we would be friends after the adventure to get rid of the ring so I’d ask why he did everything for Frodo and ask if he’d like to get more credit.
10. Flo and Lady Hardcastle from The Lady Hardcastle Mysteries by T.E. Kinsey
I know…I popped in two into this one but they come as a pair, I’d say. I would love to be friends with Flo and Lady Hardcastle from The Lady Hardcastle Mysteries. Flo is Lady Hardcastle’s maid but really she is her best friend. Both of them have been spies and investigators and solved mysteries during the early 1900s. Flo has no fear when it comes to tracking down criminals and solving mysteries. She fights the bad guys, cleans up, and then heads home with Lady Hardcastle and serves her tea.
Lady Hardcastle, like Flo, has no fear and is like a dog with a bone when it comes to solving a case. I love how both women break barriers, ignoring all “rules” of society in England in the early 1900s.
I could see us enjoying tea (I know! I like tea! What can I say?) and talking about cases we’ve solved together and laughing about how we’ve shown the men in our small town that women can do more than cook and clean and keep house.
How about you? What literary characters would you love to be friends with?
