The Rest of October: Books

 My thoughts on the books I read in the first half of October can be found here. Shortly after that was posted, things went in an unexpected direction--one that seriously messed with my reading. I don't like things that mess with my reading. 😉😕😏 Believe me, it was a happy day when I could pick up a book once again. So in this post, I'll tell you what I thought about the books I read in the second half of October.

The Book at War: Libraries and Readers in an Age of Conflict by Andrew Pettegree (borrowed from the library)

I was reading this book when the crud entered our home, so it sat for several days while I was coming back to myself, as they say here. I think the subtitle is slightly misleading--or maybe just incomplete. The book does discuss libraries and readers, but it goes far beyond that to look at all aspects of books in wartime. Pettegree defines 'book' rather broadly to include propaganda (in written text) of various kinds, leaflets and pamphlets, etc. His main focus is on the time between the US Civil War and the end of the Cold War, although he reaches further back in history to provide support for his argument at times. He includes chapters about how civilians and military personnel consumed books during the war, how printers, bookshops, and libraries adapted to war, and what kinds of books were popular during war. But he also discusses how books influenced various dictators like Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, and Mao and how they used books to educate themselves and, in writing books themselves, to make their own monstrous ideas more widely known Iwith more or less success). It's a fascinating book. I found it because I was looking at a bookish email in which the author's latest book about the history of bookshops was featured. I saw the cover and the author and wondered if this was the same guy who wrote the book about the history of libraries that I read about 5 years ago. I went to the library to put a hold on the bookshop book and I saw that he did indeed write the history of the library as well. In between those two, he wrote this one, so I requested it at once. I'm glad I did.

The Black Mountain by Kate Mosse (BorrowBox audiobook)

Earlier in the month, I read a collection of short stories by Mosse and enjoyed it. I was looking through BorrowBox and came across this novella in audiobook format. I borrowed it and it came in handy when I was sitting up at night with the crud. One night I just sat in the dark with my eyes closed and let someone read me a story. It was nice. The novella opens in May 1706, with a family gathered in a corner of their land as they hold a private funeral and burial for their husband and father. It has been determined that he committed suicide, so couldn't be buried in consecrated ground. Ana knows that her father did not commit suicide and figures that he ran afoul of the town mayor and his brother the priest. Mosse's description of these two was enough to give me the creeps--it was very well done, which I noted even through my fog. Because the town was the most important port in the area, these two were very intent on keeping things the way they were, even with the threat of a volcanic eruption from the mountain they were living on/at the foot of. Ana's father allowed his warnings about an eruption get to the ears of the wrong people. Ana seeks out his friends and together they try to warn townspeople who, in ways that seemed very familiar, opted to ignore the evidence of their own eyes, ears, and experiences. I thought the ending was a little too pat, but overall I enjoyed this novella. I find I like Kate Mosse's work so I'll be reading more of it.

Danger Point by Patricia Wentworth (my e-book)

Once the worst of the crud had exited, I was eager to pick up a book again. I wasn't feeling so coherent that I wanted anything that required lots of attention, analysis, or deep thought, so I went to a classic crime novel. It's what I do. 😏 I am slowly reading the Miss Silver books and I decided that would be perfect for the day. This was a weird Miss Silver book. When it opens, Miss Silver is alone in a train carriage, coming home from a holiday spent with a niece and her kids. She's hoping to have the carriage to herself all the way to London, but suddenly a distraught young woman rushes into the carriage and sits down. Of course, Miss Silver coaxes the story out of her--she was at a house party that she did not want to attend. Her husband pushed her to go, even though he wouldn't be there. As she was out walking around the grounds, she overhears a conversation happening on the other side of the hedge. To her horror, she realizes these people are talking about her husband--and her. They're commenting on the fact that he was lucky when his first wife fell off the cliff--what a happy accident!--because it provided him with the money he desperately needed to keep the family property afloat. Now, they say, it might be time for another happy accident to befall wife number two, because he needs money again. Wife number two is terrified, flees from the house, meets Miss Silver on the train, and tells her story. Upon disembarking, Miss Silver gives this woman her business card and says to call if she needs help. Exit Miss Silver until very nearly the end of the book. Meanwhile, wife two goes home and the story goes on from there. When Miss Silver shows up again, she doesn't really do any investigating, although she does give advice. It was a good read, although not one of the best Miss Silver books I've read. I wouldn't really recommend it as a place to start with Miss Silver, but it was perfect for the day I read it.

Finally, I read a couple of books from my NetGalley shelf, one was OK and one was fabulous. As always, I thank NetGalley, the publishers, and the authors for digital review copies of these books.

Medusa's Laugh by Hélène Cixous with Eric Prenowitz (Translator)

ISBN 9780241776223

to be published on November 12, 2026 by Penguin Press UK, Penguin Classics

This is a new translation of a work first published half a century ago. Cixous argues for women to write the truth about their lives and experiences and not let cultural expectations silence their realities. Although I've never read this particular piece before, I have a background in anthropology and women's studies, so the ideas she's writing about here were not new to me. In terms of the history of feminist thought, however, I can see how this would have been a radical piece of writing half a century ago. And it is still relevant, not just as a historical document, but in terms of encouraging people, especially women, to look below the surface and to see the ways in which our lives are shaped by cultural forces we're not even conscious of. People take certain ideas for granted and think 'that's just the way things are.' But when it comes to things like patriarchal culture, it is how things are, but it doesn't have to be. By writing the truth of their own lives, women can empower themselves and others and help change culture. One must get below the surface, though. The idea that we can 'add women and stir' to existing cultural and societal institutions is certainly some kind of progress for some women, but it doesn't address the underlying beliefs that cause such harm. For anyone interested in the history of feminism or to whom these kinds of ideas are new, this is a great little volume to turn to. 

The Christmas Tree Murders by Katie Lumsden

to be published on November 5, 2026 by Michael Joseph/Penguin Random House

ISBN 9780241826584

I am a regular viewer of Katie Lumsden's YouTube channel, Books and Things, and when I watched her announcement video for this book, it immediately went onto my 'want to read' list. There's always a danger when I am eagerly anticipating a book that I'll allow my expectations to get too high and I'll end up disappointed. That was definitely not the case here! I was hooked on this book from the first page, when I was greeted by the spirit that was to be my tour guide of sorts, through Clifftop House and the events that unfolded there during the last week and a half of 1884. There is a video of Katie Lumsden reading the first chapter of her book here. Clifftop House is the home of an obsessive scientist, Sir Russell Morgan. He has all kinds of gadgets scattered throughout the house and grounds--dishwashing machine, electric lights, indoor plumbing, and more. Sharing his home are his second wife, Lady Morgan, his adult children from his first marriage, and various servants and other household help. Guests arrive for the lavish Christmas gathering he has planned, some old friends and some newer acquaintances. There are secrets everywhere. People are being manipulated. Millie, our heroine, is a kitchen maid and she is good friends with a couple of the male servants in the home. She's a bit shocked at some of the things she witnesses, and she is the victim of bullying on the part of some of the other servants, but she's happy overall and she enjoys her friendships with Fred and Ayansh. Then things turn deadly and someone doesn't make it to Christmas Day. Millie decides to do a bit of investigating.

I loved this book from two different, but intertwining directions. First of all, it was simply a good story. I was into it from the start and kept reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen. I was immersed in the setting and invested in the characters. The solution to the mystery was clever and not one I saw coming. The second reason I loved this book relates to the first reason and that is the quality of the craft here. The structure of the book is not what I would typically expect of a historical Christmas mystery. It was so well done, though, and enhanced my reading experience. From watching her videos, I know that this author has a passion for the Victorian era and has done massive amounts of research over the years. Thus, she has a good grasp of many aspects of life during that time. She has apparently done even more research specific to this book and it shows--not in a heavy-handed way, but rather it's woven into the story in ways that give a deeper understanding of what life would have been like at that time. For instance, interspersed throughout the text are things like journal entries, letters that people have saved, menus, and the like. These provide some of the backstory without long descriptions of what happened and they allow the reader to gradually see how some pieces of the puzzle come together. I particularly loved the menus, which gave a glimpse into what a Christmas table would have been like. The author's note at the end provided some insight into the inspiration for the book and some of the sources Lumsden relied on in her research. I found that quite interesting as well. There is a video here of of some of the books that inspired the author when writing this book, but I haven't watched it yet.

I could go on and on here, but I'll just say that I loved this book. It's so well crafted and was a joy to read. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Unfortunately, there is no US publisher for this book, but Blackwell's in the UK will have it and they ship worldwide, with shipping included in the price of the book.

So that's what I read in the second half of October. In November, I hope to get into some books that I planned to read a few weeks ago, before the crud interfered. Whatever you're reading at the moment, I hope you're loving it!

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Ghost Turnip

 Happy Halloween!

This is how jack o'lanterns began. This particular ghost turnip was donated to the National Museum of Ireland by a schoolteacher near Fintown, Co Donegal (just up the road from us) as an example of the sort of carvings that would have been common in the area around 1900. A relica was made to preserve it. Candles would have been placed inside. According to the museum website , Jack was not welcome in heaven and he was not welcome in hell, so he had to wander the countryside carrying his lantern. Judging from the facial expression there, he wasn't too happy about it, either 😉

So now carved pumpkins are more common. Interestingly, pumpkins are not a thing here except for a few weeks in October. Sometimes people will call butternut squash pumpkin, and it's possible that in other parts of the country pumpkins, whether fresh, frozen, or canned, are available, but not n the places we've lived. During our first Halloween season in Ireland, I was listening to a radio documentary about how it used to be. It was so interesting listening to people talk about the Halloweens of their childhoods. One woman commented, 'We gave Halloween to the Americans and they sold it back to us.' 

Whatever you're doing on this Halloween, keep an eye out for wandering Jack and his lantern.

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Life Update and in Praise of Librarians

 It's been an interesting couple of weeks here. Those of you who read Bill's blog will know that he was in hospital for 10 days. He came home Wednesday, recovered from the pneumonia, but tired and with an aversion to gravy. Our Thanksgiving meal will be looking a little different this year 😏Having had some form of gravy every night for supper whilst he was in hospital, he says he's had enough for the rest of his life. Of course, what the meal consists of doesn't matter. The fact that we have much to be thankful for does.

While he was in hospital, I developed a cough. Nothing really unusual in that as it's something that happens once every year or two. It's been a couple years since I had it, but I knew what was coming. Trying to lie down and sleep with the cough was pointless, so I sat up all night and slept in short snippets as I was able. This went on for a week, so I was not functioning very well. I must say, when I was young, I would never have been able to imagine how much I could crave sleep. Live and learn. Anyway, my days were spent doing the bare minimum, talking to Bill, and coughing. I couldn't read or stitch--too tired and unable to focus. I found myself wishing for my regular boring old life. Then I reminded myself how great it is to have a regular boring old life that I was eager to return to and not one I was trying to escape from. A few nights ago, I was able to sleep in a modified horizontal position. It was still broken sleep, but it was great to be able to stretch out and give my body a change from sitting. I slept a bit better last night and, if past experience is anything to go by, I expect to be sleeping better as the nights go on. One fine day, I'll wake up and feel rested.

In the meantime, I have been able to read these past couple days and am deep into a really excellent Christmas mystery. I will be starting to catch up on the blog posts from you that I've missed over the past week. 

Yesterday, Bill and I went to Donegal town to do a library run. We both had books in--in my case, one that I put on hold on Halloween last year! When the books come in, we usually have two weeks to pick them up. In this case, that was up last week. Had I been able, I would've gone to pick up the books for both of us, but I wasn't. Our wonderful librarian told me not to worry about the books. She'd keep them there a little longer and I should just come in whenever it was convenient. She told me she knows my routine and knows I'll be in, so she's happy to keep them a little longer. When we went yesterday, I had a stack of books to return and it was kind of heavy, so I put them in a backpack with wheels that a friend gave us over a decade ago. It's really handy, but it can be loud. The librarian must've heard me coming, because she appeared at the door, took the pack from me and brought it inside. She lifted it up and laid it on something so I wouldn't have to bend down to empty it, she put the new books inside it, and she carried it out and handed it to me after I'd gotten down the few steps out of the building. She offered to carry it down the steep-ish hill for me as well, but I said I'd be OK. I was so touched by her kindness. 

The past couple of weeks have been something of a blur, but it's nice to be moving towards normal again. I hope all is well with you and you're enjoying whatever life is throwing your way at the moment. I'm reminded once again to savor the small moments.

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So Far in October: Books

 As always, October is racing by and I wish it would slow down a little bit. Finn went home the other day, so my lap is my own again and I don't have to plan my reading around what kind of book I can comfortably hold up without disturbing Himself. 😉😏 Here's what I read during the first half of the month. I enjoyed some short stories, an excellent cozy mystery that'll be published in less than two weeks, and a couple works of nonfiction.

I started the month with short stories. I love, love, love short fiction (and quite long fiction--LOL). I am eagerly awaiting another collection of spooky stories written by women, so hopefully that'll be here soon and I'll be able to tell you about that at the end of the month. I really loved the two collections I did read.

The Mistletoe Bride and Other Haunting Tales by Kate Mosse (personal copy)

I picked this up in a charity shop a few months ago. I'm a huge short story fan and I was interested in reading something by this author. I found the first in her Languedoc trilogy a few years ago in a charity shop and the second early this year. I'm on the lookout for the third. When I found the first one, Labyrinth, it looked like something I wouldn't normally pick up, but if I remember correctly, it involves a book or books and for 20 cents, I figured why not give it a try. I still haven't done that as it's a chunky book and other reading always seemed to beckon, so I don't even know if I'll like the books. When I saw this book of short stories, I snapped it up because it seemed like a good way to try out the author's work. And now, having read it, I can say that I'm eager to get to Labyrinth and whatever else of hers I can get my hands on. I loved this book. The stories all have some kind of otherworldly aspect to them. Most, if not all, are set in either Sussex or the Languedoc region of France. Some are historical fiction. Some are more contemporary. The title story leads off the book and a story set at a different time in the same place ends the story section of the book. After that, there is a play that the author wrote. There was not a story in here that I didn't like. An added bonus was the author's note that accompanied each story, which explained things like what the story was based on (folklore, for example), what inspired Mosse when she was writing it, and what was going on in her life at the time. These notes are an excellent addition to the book and I enjoyed reading them. So I'm very pleased indeed that I came across this book and picked it up. I was going to start it in September, but when I noticed the subtitle, I decided to save it for spooky season in October. It was worth the wait.

A Moment on the Edge: 100 Years of Crime Stories Written by Women edited by Elizabeth George (personal copy)

Several months ago, Bill was starting the latest Elizabeth George novel that he'd borrowed from the library. On the page where they list the author's previous work, this book was listed. He thought I'd like it so he found it and bought it. He was right. I love this book! It's an excellent collection of stories, all but two of them new to me. There are many different kinds of crime stories and many different subgenres included in the book, from classics like A Jury of Her Peers to more modern stories by women still writing today. A few were by authors not usually associated with crime fiction and others by authors known for their work writing mysteries. Some of the more hard-boiled detectives are here, while others are of a different sort. I also found the short introduction to be excellent. The book is well worth a read. It's a keeper.

Sticking with fiction and mysteries, the next book is going to be published at the end of the month.

An Inkling of Death by Anna Beer

to be published on October 28, 2026 by The Book Guild

ISBN 9781835746486

Dr Eve Brook is extremely smart, proud of her PhD, her daughter, and her professional accomplishments, a fan of classic crime novels, and endlessly curious about things. Nothing excites her more than digging deep into a particular topic and following the clues to get answers to her questions. She's very good at this. What she's not great at is interpersonal interactions. She can come across as aloof, but that's residue from her painful childhood with an addicted mother. Eve has a carefully constructed protective shell around herself. So it's with some surprise that she finds herself at a New Year's Eve party in a swanky home, with a guy she had a weekend hook-up with a few months before. She's uncomfortable when she arrives and the feeling only deepens as the visit goes on. After a disturbing night, she decided to leave early and prepares to head home, but she's stopped by news of a car accident that killed one of the people in the house and seriously injured another. Or was it an accident? Eve is involved in the investigation, whether she wants to be or not, but what she really wants to spend her time on is researching the life story of a Jewish women whose name she came across when doing research for a client who unexpectedly inherited a house where he thinks some lucrative information about a former owner's relationship with CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien may be found.

I love Eve. I can relate to her--in various ways, she reminds me of myself. I love the way she dives into something that might be seen as peripheral to others and keeps digging. I love the way she makes connections between seemingly trivial historical moments and bigger events. She wants to know why things happen. So I was immersed in this book from the start. I was interested in the mystery, but also in what Eve was finding out about Esther and her experiences in the UK in the 1940s. Anna Beer is extremely skilled at seamlessly weaving the history into the story. She's an excellent writer overall and she includes a section at the end telling readers places and events in the story are real (and providing links to find out more) and which are fictitious. . The mystery aspect was well-constructed, as were the settings. When Eve has a rough day and just wants to go sit in her bed in her cozy little house to read a mystery novel, I'm right there with her. Where I do feel some distance and resistance to Eve as a character is in her 'romantic' relationships. For someone with a grown daughter, she can sometimes come across as immature and clueless. However, in thinking about this, I realized that I have known people exactly like this, especially lonely people who find it hard to trust others and who just want someone to love them. It made me uncomfortable, but I do think it's realistic.

This is an excellent and highly enjoyable read that I loved spending time with. I've read both books in the series, although one doesn't have to have read the first one to enjoy this one. I hope Eve will reappear one day--I'd love to read more!

I thank NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a digital review copy.

Now for the nonfiction:

In My Grandfather's Shadow: A Story of War, Trauma, and the Legacy of Silence by Angela Findlay (borrowed from the library)

I don't remember exactly how I learned of this book. I think I came across it while looking up something else at the library site. In any case, I was extremely interested when I read what it was about. Angela Findlay was born one week before her maternal grandfather died. She's the daughter of a British father and a German mother and the granddaughter of the Wehrmacht general in charge of the Eastern Front during WWII. She has always felt as if this grandfather passed her a baton as she was entering this world and he was leaving it. But there was silence around his role in the war--how much did he support the regime, how much did he know, and what kind of soldier was he? After years of struggle, feelings of 'badness,' eating disorders, and other issues, she started to investigate. It was sometimes slow going, but she did start to learn more as time passed. Findlay grew up in Britain, but spent much time in Germany as well, both growing up and as an adult. She became an artist and did a lot of work with people in prisons, partly as a way to feel like she was doing something good, even though she felt like a bad person. She pursued many strands of inquiry to learn all she could about who her grandfather was and what he'd done. She desperately wanted to believe that he was a good German being a good soldier and not someone who committed atrocities. She also became very interested in the idea of transgenerational transmission of trauma and found out more about that. Being the granddaughter of a Nazi myself, I was eager to read this book, particularly the transmission of trauma from one generation to the next. I first read about this around a dozen years ago when I read a very brief story somewhere about research being done in Ireland around trauma from the famine and whether or not there is some genetic residue from traumatic experiences like that which get passed down through the generations. I've understood for decades that I was affected by my father's childhood experiences of war, simply by his own inability to process his own trauma, but it wasn't until about 20 years ago that I started wondering about some kind of transmission of trauma that I couldn't see. We'd moved to a location with an air force base nearby and at times, the fighter jets would suddenly scream overhead. I would get very agitated--my heart would pound, I could feel myself shaking, etc. Usually I could hide my distress, but one day I just burst into tears. I had no idea where this was coming from. I did think of my father being shot through the leg by a British (I think) plane when he was a kid. So I was interested to read about similar experiences the author had (her mother remembers hiding from a plane on her way to school and she did not get shot). Although I found this to be a fascinating read which contained much food for thought, I would have liked to read more about transgenerational transmission of trauma. What was included was quite informative though, and maybe at this stage of research there isn't much more to say about it--it's apparently a very controversial topic. Beyond all that, I am really glad I discovered this book. One of the things I found particularly interesting was how shame played a part in not just the lives of the Nazis themselves after the war, but in the lives of their children. This was sometimes exacerbated by moving to a place like the UK or US because animosity towards the former enemy lingered. Children were taunted and bullied at school, for example. The shame often influenced behavior well into adulthood and in some cases, for the rest of their lives. So for me, this book gave me new things to consider when evaluating my own family of origin, but aside from that, it's just a fascinating memoir, oral history, historical exploration, and psychological examination of a particular episode, the effects of which continue to ripple through the generations and the years.

Burning Snowflake: Nature, Writing, Rebellion by Sarah Hall (BorrowBox e-book)

I saw this title when I was scrolling through the new e-books added to the BorrowBox library. This short book is the text of a talk that the author gave on the topic of climate change and fiction writing. She opens with a description of her childhood home and the nature she was immersed in there. She then moves on to how those experiences show up in her fiction writing, peppering this with mentions of other climate fiction and how other authors handle the construction of a future world in their work--completely dystopian, hopeful, something else. She argues that fiction can serve to wake people up and encourage them to act and points out that her latest book is the first one in which an element of the natural world is the narrator. She's talking about Helm, which she says is the only wind that's been given a name and 'who' is the narrator of her novel. I've not read Helm, although I've seen reviews of it and I am interested in reading it, so I'll be placing my request for it at the library soon. This is a short book, but a very interesting read--Faber and Faber publish some really great work. I'm glad I came across it!

So there you have it--my book report for the first half of October. It's been an excellent reading month so far and I hope the same is true for you!

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September Reading Wrap-Up 2: Publishing Soon

 In addition to the books I posted about yesterday, I read a few books that will be published very soon. Publishers and publication dates may be different in your neck of the woods. Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers, and the authors for digital review copies of these titles.

One Day a Cat Came to Me: Timeless Zen Wisdom from a Cat and His Monk by Bokyeong Sunim with Jinwoo Park (Translator)

to be published on October 15, 2026 by Serpent's Tail/Viper/Profile Books

ISBN 9781806491568

This was a mixed bag for me. The first half of the book was a bit annoying, to be honest. The second half of the book was better and I actually enjoyed it. The author, a Buddhist monk, has returned to a mountain temple after living and working in Seoul for years. Soon after his return, a cat appears and he begins to care for this being, explaining that it's usually not the thing for monks to have pets because personal property isn't allowed (although this monk seems to go shopping fairly frequently). He explains that he decided to write about his experiences with this cat, which he proceeds to do, but is all over the place, sometimes contradicting himself. For example, he says that the only cats he was familiar with growing up in a rural/farming community were cats running around catching mice. When he observes the cat at the temple, he says he knows nothing about cats, even going so far as to carefully explain, as if to a child, that when a cat licks his/her fur, it's called 'grooming.' He also gets angry at the cat for killing mice and bringing these dead creatures to the temple, which, if his story about cats in his childhood was true, shouldn't be an issue, since he would have been aware that this is what cats do. He doesn't like the cat killing anything but he feeds him store-bought cat food which would contain animal products. He gets angry at the cat for shedding. He refers to the cat as 'it' most of the time, but sometimes as 'he.' I don't know anything about Korean grammar, so it could be that this has something to do with the language in which the book was written, but I wasn't keen on the use of 'it.' This part of the book just didn't work for me. Much of it felt jarring. But the second half was more about Buddhist teachings with his relationship with and observations of the cat being illustrative. I settled in and enjoyed this part of the book. So a mixed experience with this one. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a digital review copy.

Murder Most Proper by Josie Lloyd

to be published on October 8, 2026 by HQ

ISBN 9780008550806

Alice Beeton runs the Household Management Agency, which was, at least in part, inspired by her distant relation Mrs Beeton of Mrs Beeton's Household Management fame. Alice lives with her dog, Agatha, and many mystery novels. Her best friend, Jinx, is also her business partner. Alice and Jinx are very different sorts of people, but they've been friends since they were in school together and have remained close. As this book opens, Jinx is in another relationship that Alice isn't too sure about, since Jinx has a habit of falling in love with men who aren't what they seem. Could this time be different, Alice wonders. Since Jinx has moved in with Guy, she hasn't been around at the agency and others have had to pick up the slack. All of Jinx's attention is taken up with Guy and the planned renovations to the big old house they've just moved into. They're going to turn it into an exclusive club and Jinx wants Alice to help her. Alice goes there for the weekend, meets and befriends Guy's sister, and then gets cajoled into helping with a big treasure hunt/party weekend which is only a few weeks away. Then weird stuff starts happening--are there reasonable explanations for these occurrences or is something more sinister going on? Alice, with the help of Agatha and her friends from London, is going to poke around until she finds out.

Like the first book in the series, this was a delight to read. I quite enjoy Alice and Agatha as characters. You don't need to have read the first book to read this one (although that is also a fun read). The characters--both primary and supporting--are very well done. I like the mix of different ages in both the recurring characters and the book-specific ones. The setting works well--the old country house but updated. In both characters and setting we see the tensions between old ways and new and embracing the present or focusing on nostalgia. There's also an interesting undercurrent for me about the pull between history and imagined history. But the main thing is the mystery, which kept me turning the pages. It was unique, very well constructed, and with a satisfying conclusion. I also enjoyed the seasonal aspect here, with the story unfolding primarily in the autumn, and ending at Christmastime. I do love a good seasonal cozy mystery and this one hit all the right notes for me. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Death on Holly Island by F. L. Everett

to be published on October 8, 2026 by Random House UK

ISBN 9781804959541

A few days after Christmas and podcaster Jenna is on a ferry. Her destination is a Scottish island where the only inhabitants are the people staying at the hotel--the only building on the island. Jenna is nervous for a couple of reasons--she's going to see her old flame for the first time in a decade and she has a chance to further her career at the Twixtmas Crime Writers Festival. She's making plans about interviews and such when she learns that she's on the last sailing of the day. It's a stormy night and the rest of the crossings have been cancelled. It's not clear that all the authors have made it and who knows whether the attendees will even be able to get there. Jenna discovers that 6 authors have made it and hopes to interview them. But everyone is cold and hungry and they settle in to wait out the storm. By the next morning, there's one author less as the obnoxious 'star' author is fund dead with a skewer sticking out of himself. Attached to the skewer is a note advising people that the clue is in chapter 1. What does this mean? Which chapter 1? And since the storm continues, no ferries are sailing, and the causeway to a larger inhabited island is flooded, no one can come or go, so the killer must be one of them. The hunt for a murderer is on, but will the truth be discovered before there's another death?

This is an excellent cozy mystery. I was hooked from the start and I loved it more as I read on. The focus on the various chapter ones was so well done--each one is part of this book in all the different styles and subgenres each of the author characters wrote in. The setting and atmosphere were pitch perfect and I loved that the story takes place during Twixtmas--a nice twist on the holiday mystery. The characters were well drawn and we learn about their back stories in the course of the investigation and questions about how their lives fit into each chapter one. Each character also has to come to grips with some hard truths they've been avoiding and an epilogue gives a brief summary of what happened to each in the year following the murder. The solution was quite satisfying, not in terms of whodunnit, but because of the reasons given and the clues offered in the relevant chapter one. This is definitely a top-tier cozy for me. I think it was skillfully imagined and constructed, with a variety of flawed, interesting, troubled characters, an excellent seasonal setting, and just the right pacing. It's very well written, too. Highly recommend if you're a fan of cozy mysteries--especially cozies set during the festive season.

So this wraps up my thoughts about the books I read in September. I've got a couple of good books on the go to begin October and plenty more that I'm looking forward to getting into--never enough time. Here's to some excellent reading in October!

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September Reading Wrap-Up 1

 As I mentioned in an earlier post, September was a weird reading month for me. I ended up starting and not liking more books than I finished at first. Or I started and decided that it wasn't the right book for the moment. But eventually, I got my mojo back. Here are the books I ended up reading.

Penguin Bloom: The Odd Little Bird Who Saved a Family by Cameron Bloom and Bradley Trevor Greive (borrowed from a friend)

There's a funny story associated with this book. I was sitting with a friend, waiting for Bill to be finished with an appointment so we could all go to breakfast at a local cafe. Friend started talking about how some books just appear in your life and turn out to be meaningful. He went into the glove box, pulled out this book, handed it to me, and said it's a really good book and I should read it. He also said he had no idea where it came from or how he happened to have it. It was just there in his house. I read the blurb on the back and it did sound good so I said I'd give it a go. I also mentioned that Bill might like it. When Bill returned, we showed him the book. It was then that the mystery was solved. Bill said, 'I read it already. I used to have it.' I had no idea it was ever in our home. I do recall him reading a book about a bird, and me saying I didn't want to read it. That was a few years back, so what must've happened was that Bill put it with the books to donate. Friend, who is also friends with a couple who used to be very involved with the Animals in Need organization, would take our things to be donated to them and they would bring them to the charity shop in Donegal town. This book never made it there, apparently.

So what's the book about? Sam Bloom and her husband, Cameron, were quite outdoorsy and liked to travel. Some of the travel was curtailed a bit when they started having kids--three sons--but they started travelling again when the kids were old enough. One one trip, Sam fell from a tower while they were sightseeing. It was a catastrophic fall that almost killed her and did leave her paralyzed. When she returned home, she was depressed and angry. She loved her family deeply but could not get past the pain and anger. And then they rescued an injured magpie and things began to change for the entire family. They named the bird Penguin. They knew he needed to be free if he recovered so they did create space for that, but Penguin seems to have a sense of where his home is. The book tells this story through words and photos and contains an afterword by Sam. She is a straight talker--no platitudes or feel good emotions from her--she's brutally honest about the fact that she's still very angry about what happened and she has not come to terms with it. She has improved and can better handle her situation, but she will always be angry at what she lost. She wants others in similar situations to know that this is OK and she provides advice and information for people. It is a good book that was apparently made into a movie a few years ago.

The Butterfly Season: On Beginnings, Endings, and the Life in Between by Lea Korsgaard, translated by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg (borrowed from the library)

On the first day of the year, the author decides that she will go in search of all the butterfly species that can be found in Denmark. She doesn't really know why she has this sudden need to find these butterflies, but there it is. She never paid much attention to them before. It becomes something of a passion/obsession, much to the amusement, and sometimes annoyance, of her family to participated in her quest occasionally. She read and researched butterflies, especially those in Denmark. She contacted experts. She read about butterflies in folklore, myth, philosophy, and in personal stories. She makes a plan about which butterflies she can see where and when and prepares to travel to various places. The book is about all of these things--butterfly watching culture in the present and in the past, her own experiences, how she learned how to do this, how she felt doing it, and what she learned from this project. I did shake my head at the people who claim to love butterflies, but, when they find what they're looking for, kill it and put it under glass like a trophy. I guess it's not that different from people who have heads of dead animals on their walls. I knew that people did this with butterflies, but it just really stuck out in the context of this book. I should hasten to add that the author did not do this. She took photographs and also included drawings of the butterflies. I enjoyed this book. I'm always interested in stories about people who have great passions in their lives--what they love, why they love it, how they came to realize that they had this passion. There is some of the 'why' in this book, but the author does just roll with it without understanding why at first and doesn't fully understand this even at the end of the butterfly season she writes about. I should say that the US version has a different cover and subtitle.

Wylder's Hand by J. Sheridan le Fanu (personal copy)

In the past few years, I've discovered that I quite like the work of this author. I'd read a few novels before this one and a couple novella and short stories. I hadn't heard of this one until Bill came across it while looking for something else. It sounded good, so we bought it. It was good! It's a classic crime novel, but doesn't really follow the usual formula. In some ways, it was kind of obvious, but in others, not so much. The story revolves around a marriage that neither the prospective bride nor groom really wants to go through with. They're some kind of cousins--there are a lot of cousins running around this book--and the whole point of the marriage is to unite two sides of a feuding family and the fortune that's involved. The wedding day is quickly approaching when the groom disappears. Then letters start to appear with instructions to his lawyer. He keeps postponing the date of his return. The wedding day comes and the wedding day goes. Where is he? And what about the newcomer who takes quite an interest in the bride-to-be? Of course there are other storylines feeding into this one. I was going to say 'secondary storylines' but I don't think that would be accurate. Unlike some Victorian novels, each of these threads is central to the main plot throughout and not running on parallel tracks until they all meet at the end. I had a great time with this book and I'll be reading more le Fanu for sure.

And So This is Christmas: 51 Seasonally Adjusted Poems by Brian Bilston (BorrowBox audiobook)

I was in the mood for a little humor so I borrowed this audiobook. I'd listened to it when it first came out a few years ago and loved it, so I figured I'd enjoy listening to it again. I did. I like his approach to poetry and his sense of humor. I also like his approach to the holiday season. He's British, so some of the poems contain specifically British Christmas things, like The King's Speech. No matter. It's a fun collection.

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome (personal copy)

Sticking with the humor, I picked up this book that I found in a charity shop a couple of months ago. I started off laughing so much tears came to my eyes. First published in 1889, the book opens with three guys sitting in the room of a boarding house where one of them lives. Two are talking about their ailments and the third is looking at a circular about liver pills and what symptoms to look out for. With a creeping sense of horror, he reads on and becomes quite sure that he has serious liver problems. He has some experience with this kind of thing and proceeds to tell the story of how he went to the British Museum reading room once to look something up. As he was closing the book he needed, he happened to glance at an entry for typhoid fever and understood that he had this disease. He then decided to start at the beginning and go through the alphabet. By the time he was done, he knew he was a walking specimen of disease and sickness because the only thing he didn't have was housemaid's knee. He felt a bit put out by the fact that he didn't have housemaid's knee, but it couldn't be helped. I read these pages aloud to Bill who also laughed, but not quite as hard as I did. It just reminded me of today when people google things and quickly become convinced that they are very ill. As it happens, when Bill would listen to the Red Sox games online, one of the ads was for a medication and they'd say to ask your doctor about it. They didn't even say what it's for, just urged people to ask the doctor. From 1889 to today, not much has changed in this regard. There were a few more passages in the book that made me laugh like that and that I read aloud to Bill. There were other parts that were amusing. Anyway, after talking over their ailments, the guys decide to take a boat up the Thames to restore their health and this short novel is an account of that trip and also the memories it invokes. A couple of the guys are based on friends and acquaintances of the author. Needless to say, they're inept and often foolish, which is where the humor lies. This is a light, fun, and sometimes silly book, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

A Very German Christmas: The Greatest Austrian, Swiss, and German Holiday Stories of All Time by various authors and translators (BorrowBox e-book)

I saw this when scrolling through the offerings on BorrowBox. It was available so I borrowed it. I've read Christmas stories from various countries over the past several years and it's always interesting to see what they're like. They're a fun window into the various cultures. The stories in this book range from the early 1800s to the mid 1900s, so there's a good century and a half here. I quite enjoyed this book. The stories were quite varied in tone and there was a good mix of emotions in them. 

Blind Corners By Stefania Lucchetti (NetGalley book)

I wrote about this excelent book in my last post. 

I also read a few books that will be published quite soon, but in order to keep this post to a reasonable length, I'll post those tomorrow.

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Blind Corners by Stefania Lucchetti

 Blind Corners by Stefania Lucchetti
published on September 25, 2026 by Antepost

ISBN 9791282522106

Cover art: Portrait by Italian painter Francesca Draetta (2026

In her introduction to this powerful poetry collection, Stefania Lucchetti writes that she's interested in 'the spaces in between.' This collection shows readers what she means by this. The title is apt because in each poem, I got the sense of a woman turning corners in her life and in so doing, discovering things that were so close and yet unseen until that moment. Of course she had to be ready to go around those blind corners and be open to what she discovered there. So many people prefer to stay where they're comfortable, even if it's painful and this is a part of the poems too. Each one is a journey that explores experiences of love and loss, denial and self-awareness, fear and courage, submission and agency, self-doubt and self-confidence, and more. I got goosebumps several times when reading these poems and I re-read many of them. This is a book that can be read over and over, providing new insights and food for thought on each reading. I loved it.

Also in the introduction, Lucchetti explains that she writes in both Italian and English, but one is not a translation of the other. The words and the poems they create come to her in both languages, almost simultaneously, she writes. I find this fascinating. I have no knowledge of Italian, but I'm sure that for people who are bilingual in that language and English will find even more to engage with when reading this book. This is the first work by this writer that I've read and it won't be the last. I will now seek out more. I highly recommend this poetry collection. Some of these poems will stay with me for a long time and I will be reading it again. 

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