Excuse Me While I Disappear by Laurie Notaro

February 27, 2023

Excuse Me While I Disappear by Laurie Notaro

A collection of articles/essays on the joys of getting older. Laurie Notaro is known for her IdiotGirl series. I am in Notaro's age group so I feel her pain. When a woman turns 50, she gradually becomes invisible to others (this doesn't happen to guys). Especially if you stop coloring your hair like I did about ten years ago - most men don't color their hair, so why should I? Like all collections, so chapters are laugh out loud funny, others fall flat.

This isn't me, but it is my haircut and my hair color

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

February 25, 2023

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

After divorcing her abusive husband 12 years earlier, Olivia McAfee and her son Asher live a quiet life in New Hampshire. Olivia has a successful beekeeping business, and her son is a high school senior and star hockey player. When Asher's girlfriend is found dead, Asher is accused of murder. But in the course of the trial, unexpected facts are revealed that point to another suspect.

Picoult once again takes on current topics, including domestic violence, abusive fathers, and gender reassignment/correction. I believe this is her first collaboration with another author for a full-length novel. Like most of her books, the reader is seeking answers most of the way through the book (although I guessed the truth shortly after Lily, the girlfriend, is discovered at the foot of the stairs). The characters backstories are gradually revealed in flashbacks; Lily's story is told backward, from the day of her death to the time she and her mother moved to New Hampshire. Olivia's history with her abusive doctor husband isn't much of a surprise (you never know what's going on inside a marriage), but the episodes of abuse go on longer than necessary - does the reader need to hear about EVERY time Brandon abused Olivia? I also got tired of the teenaged angst (why hasn't he called me? did she break up with me? does he still like me? is she sorry she slept with me? Lotsa drama), and there was a lot of repetition. Really, the book could have been 100 pages shorter without damaging the narrative, and considering how long the book was, there was no resolution with either of the fathers - one minute they're part of the story, and the next minute they're just gone. I'm glad I stuck with it, because the story got more interesting about halfway in. I listened to the audiobook which had two different narrators for Olivia and Lily. 

The parts about bees and beekeeping were interesting, and often had parallels to the story. Mad honey is apparently a type of honey that can make you very sick or affect your mind if you eat it. Personally, I don't like the taste of honey (although I have a honey and orange blossom shampoo from Beekman 1802 that smells divine), and I have a mild allergy to bee stings.

This would be an excellent choice for a book club since there are many topics to discuss. Recommended.

Different types of beehives

Prince Edward's Warrant by Mel Starr

February 23, 2023

Prince Edward's Warrant by Mel Starr

After he eased Prince Edward's discomfort at Limoges in France, surgeon Hugh de Singleton is summoned to London to once again aid the ailing prince. But shortly after they arrive in London, one of Hugh's traveling companions dies while dining with the prince. Prince Edward tasks Hugh with determining the cause of death and unmasking the culprit.

Enjoyable historical mystery series set in 14th century England. This is a well-researched series and the reader is immersed in the daily life of 14th century England. I also enjoy Master Hugh's meditations on God, religion, life, and the nobility, and his devotion to his Kate and family. The town of Bampton, Hugh's home, still exists today and was used for the village scenes for the Downton Abbey series. The glossary of medieval terms is appreciated. Readers of historical fiction will enjoy this series.

Map of Kennington Palace in London, Edward of Woodstock's main residence and site of most of the action in the mystery

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K. J. Charles

February 21, 2023

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K. J. Charles

Gareth Inglis is estranged from his father and living a marginal life in London, working for his uncle as a law clerk and looking for companionship in the city's gay underworld. He has a romantic encounter with a man who lives in a rural area, but a misunderstanding pushes them apart. When his father dies suddenly, Gareth finds himself in possession of a title, a country estate, a sister, and wealth. Life in the country is a lot different than Gareth expected, but as he slowly learns the pleasure of country living, he also begins to suspect that his father was not only a selfish man, but may have been a traitor to his country as well.

Boy meets boy in this LGBTQ romance/adventure. I'm not much of a romance reader but I had read another of the author's books (The Magpie King, a gay fantasy/romance), so when NetGalley offered an eARC of her forthcoming book, I decided to give it a try. Good characters (although there are a lot of Doomsdays), interesting circumstances, good writing. There are several strong female characters as well. Be advised that there is pretty graphic gay sex starting on about page three, and a lot more sex in the last half of the book. I don't have a problem with that except that it's hard to read about other people having sex when you're not getting any.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Gay men have been looking for each other throughout history

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

February 21, 2023

Rogues by Patrick Radden Keefe

A collection of articles about modern crooks and con men that the author research and interviewed in his work as an investigative journalist. As in any such collection, some were fascinating, others not so much.

Earth's the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg

February 18, 2023

Earth's the Right Place for Love by Elizabeth Berg

Arthur Moses is a sophomore in high school, a sweet caring boy, when he meets and falls in love with Nola McCollum. But Nola has enough boyfriends and just wants to be friends with him. Arthur loves nature and enjoys caring for plants and watching the birds, and he talks about everything with his older brother Frank who is also his best friend. Frank shares his thoughts and problems with Arthur as well, including his dream of becoming a writer, his relationship with his English teacher, and their abusive father. When their father finally lands a job and things begin to look up, a terrible tragedy rocks the family. Arthur has to learn how to continue living and deal with his grief and loss, while discovering the kind of life he wants for himself.

A lovely heartwarming story about love in its many forms, loss and grief, and the meaning of family. Readers first met Arthur in Berg's previous novel The Story of Arthur Truluv, where Arthur is an 85 year old man who lost his beloved wife and now goes every day to sit by her grave and talk to her while he eats his lunch. This is a prequel to that novel, providing backstory about how Arthur and Nola met and the events that shaped the man he became. I found it almost impossible to put down, which is surprising since it is almost entirely about relationships and there is little action. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

A town like Arthur's in the 1940s

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

February 16, 2023

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

Demon Copperhead (nee Damon Fields) is born to a single teen-aged mother in the mountains of Appalachia, with few assets other than the good looks and coppery hair that he inherited from his absent (possibly dead) father. Demon's mother has a weakness for drugs and alcohol, as well as poor judgment when it comes to men. After her fatal overdose, Demon finds himself first tossed into the foster care system, then as a runaway on his own, exposed to all of the dangers of an adolescent without an adult to look after them.

An adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield: orphan forced out into the world on his own, far too soon, with no one to care for him. There are references throughout the text to Dickens' novel, including the neighbors who look after him sporadically named the Peggots (as opposed to Peggotty in David Copperfield). While her novels have been hit or miss for me, I enjoyed several of Kingsolver's previous books, including The Poisonwood Bible and Animal Dreams, so I was very much looking forward to reading her latest book. At first I was interested in the characters but my interest starting waning after a couple hundred pages, and by the time Demon gets into opiods, it had become pretty depressing and I was over it and skimmed the last 250 pages. I also didn't like the stereotypes of Appalachia and rural people. Disappointing.

David Copperfield