April Books

 Hi everyone. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

Today I am sharing my April reads for those of you, who like myself, enjoy reading about books. I had a great reading month.  You’ll notice there was a few Greek themed books also because I love to come home and read more about the place I have recently visited. 😏 And that's not all I read about in April.

FYI- I read a lot last month so this is a long post. But the beauty of book posts you can just read about the book(s) that might catch your attention, or if you're not interested, skip this entire post. 

     My first read for April was this short story by Marie Benedict that was part of an Amazon series called Blaze. Blaze is 7 short stories written by different women's historical fiction authors. In this series they write about women who blazed a trail in their time even if their names aren't easily recognizable today. Each story is separate, so you could read the whole series or only those that peak your interest.  This particular story was about Ruth Nichols, an early woman pilot and  a close friend of Amelia Earhart.

     This story was good, but it was only around 35 pages long. It could have been more and a bit longer too. I enjoyed it, but as I just said, I don't think it really did Ruth Nichols a lot of justice at that length.  I would love to see Marie Benedict write a full length novel about this pioneer woman pilot. Saying that, it does make a nice introduction to Nichols, and if you aren't interested in her, then these  35 pages would probably be all you need. 

     My next read, The Curious Case of the Village in the Moonlight, was a really charming  novella. The story begins in June of 1889 as Vincent Van Gogh works on painting his Starry Night masterpiece. He is in the Saint-Paul Mental asylum at the time. This story isn't really about Van Gogh, but more about a character that resides in the village you can see in this painting. This character is named Lucas, and he is the village lamplighter. In fact, it is his last night to light the gas lights before electricity is installed in the village  the next day.

     Lucas has quite a magical evening.  On his way to light the lamps, he meets some interesting people. Well, not all of the "people" he meets are actually human, but those characters are wonderful. Is it the absinthe Lucas  drank or is it the magic of Van Gogh's painting that makes this such a wonderful night?  If you like to believe that a painting can transcend reality, then this might be a story for you.  I very much enjoyed this novella, and it was fun to read something so imaginative. 

      My first full length novel for April was this mystery/  thriller partially set on a Greek Island.  I know that Michaelides' last book, The Silent Patient, was a huge success, but I have never read anything by this author before. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but since I was still in a Greek connection mood after my trip, I thought I would check this book out. 

      This book goes back and forth between the past and present. A retired Hollywood starlet, Lana Farrar, visits her privately owned Greek Island with some people. There's her son, her second husband, 2 of her friends, as well as the former nanny for her son (now her closest friend) and the Greek caretaker who lives year round on the island even when Lana is back at her home in London. And then, someone is murdered.

     This book is FULL of twists. Perhaps too many twists. I enjoy thrillers, but not as much as procedural mysteries. In thrillers it seems like the characters are always more in your face and full of obvious gaping flaws. However, I will say it was very hard to put this book down. And if you enjoy thrillers, you would probably enjoy this novel.

       I also have never read any Mitch Albom, and this book was an Audible daily deal that came up while I was still away on my Greek adventure. Since it also had something to do with Greece,  I decided to pick it up and listen to it. It is also read by the author.

      The narrator of this story is TRUTH. I thought this was a really interesting way to tell a story which begins in Greece in 1942 as the Nazi's entered the country. There are 4 main characters; three of them are Sebastian, Nico and Fanny. They are Greek Jewish teenagers when the story begins, and the first half of the book talks about how they survived the war.  The fourth main character was a German officer named Udo. He was the man in this novel who sent many of the Jews of Thessaloniki to Auschwitz. 

     It was interesting to see how the 3 teenagers survived the war.  I thought what happened after the war was even more interesting because that story hasn't been told in as many novels. The novel follows all 4 characters throughout the 1950's, the 1960's and even further into their lives. Each character  takes their own journey, but having truth tell the story is a thought provoking perspective since people's ideas of truth can vary. Eventually, the real truth comes out, and that is a great way to wrap up the story. This book was a very good novel, and I  recommend it.

      

      My next book, Eleni, had been sitting on my book shelf for a very long time. When it was first published in 1983, I was only in my twenties, still single, and ended up being at my parent's home frequently. I mention this because I'm a native or Worcester, Massachusetts, and the author, although not a native of Worcester, has lived in that area for many years of his life. When this book was published, became a best seller and was nominated for some awards, it was a very big deal in my hometown area. Not to  drag out my reasons for reading this book, but  I have wanted to read this book for decades.  Since this non-fiction book is about Gage's mother's life and death in Greece, it had become the  time to read it.

       One of the rhetorical questions we discussed while traveling was "Is it better to read a book about a place before you travel there or after you come home?"  I think it depends a lot on the subject of the book, but this book, Eleni, worked better for me to read after returning home. I had actually visited some of the places mentioned in the book. That connection really put me into the story.  And wow, what a story. It is hard to believe it is all true, but it is.

   The author, Nicholas Gage,  was born  in a remote mountain village in northwestern Greece in 1939. His father was mostly absent, working in the US to support the family, and his mother was Eleni, the main character in this book. While the author lived in Greece as a child, his family not only witnessed the German invasion but also the Greek Civil War between the communists and Greek state. The author's mother was tortured and then murdered by the Communists. Since Gage's father had become a US citizen after having been in America for many years, when Eleni died, the author and his siblings came to the US. Eventually Gage became an investigative reporter for the New York Times and spent many years working out of Athens. 

    This is really the story of the author's mother's life set against the background of the author's childhood.  All of the events in this book are based either on the author's memories or stories he was told by other people who were there.  After my visit to a different but small mountain village in Greece (where my friend's grandparents immigrated from),  this book really spoke to me, and I am glad I waited several decades to read it. However, it is an excellent book whether you have visited remote mountain villages or not.

      I could write a post on this book alone, because it really blew me away. I highly recommend this story. It is not a fast nor always an easy read subject-wise, but at least for me, it has added many layers to my post-trip  experience and was an excellent book.

         

     I’ve read this non-fiction book, Color a Natural History of the Palette, many years ago. but with  early April's winter weather and the lack of any color outside,I decided it was time for a reread. 

    This is one of those books you could read  many times and still learn something new. Color to me is  like candy to so many children (or even adults). It's irresistible.  The author, Victoria Finlay, writes this book so each chapter tells a story about a color. She starts with the original artist color, ocher. This color  was used in ancient cave drawings and still used by native people's in Australia. Then she moves onto black, and after that white. Etc. Each chapter tells many stories about the color. Some of those stories are how the color is created for art. Some of those stories is how the color is used in art.  Other stories are little side pieces that are fascinating bits of history related to the color.

     Finlay traveled the world to get her stories (which must have been exciting), and her stories represent the full spectrum of all colors.  I learned about staining Stradivarius violins, making  the color Indian yellow, how Napoleon had green wallpaper that might have poisoned him and led to his death.   There were also stories about  Mummy Brown, made from Egyptian Mummies,  lead white which if made with lead has toxic characteristics, and many other colorful journeys. I'm sure in another 5 years or so I might decide to read this book again, because it is so packed full with fascinating tidbits.  This read was just as enjoyable this second time around as it was the first time.

     It was  time for me to get back to a series that I hadn't picked up for a while. (Actually, I'm antsy to get back to a couple of series, but this is the first.) The Paris Spy is book 7 in the Maggie Hope mysteries. To get the most out of this World War 2 based series you should read these books in order. 

     At the end of book 6, Maggie jumps on a plane for occupied France. It's a spontaneous decision, and that book  ended with a bit  of a cliff hanger. Book 7 picks up where book 6 left off. Maggie is in Paris. She needs to find out what's happened to another female British spy, Erica Calvert, and she is also on the look out for her  half sister Elise. Maggie has been trying to help Elise get out of occupied Europe ever since meeting her in an earlier volume of this series, but Elisa has her own mind. 

     This series is an enjoyable read, and this volume is no exception. I think the author did a great job creating the atmosphere of the Nazi's in Paris. Plus in this book Maggie becomes friends with Coco Chanel which, although is maybe pushing the believable limits,  really does add an interesting twist to the story. There is always just enough tension that you worry about what is going to happen to the characters as you read, and things do happen to them.  Like the earlier books in this series, the author brings back many of the "regulars" that have been in the previous stories.

     This book ends with another "cliffhanger". I see there is one more book (#11) in this series coming out later this month, and the write ups say it is the conclusion to the series. I guess I better get reading as I have 3 more to go before that one. 😏

    Bianca Bosker is a 30 something reporter who once thought she wanted to be an artist. When the financial reality of being a full time artist hit her, she became a journalist instead. She forgot about being an artist, that is until she was cleaning at her parents' house and came across a watercolor that her grandmother had painted. Finding that painting set the author on a journalistic art trail.

      I listened to this book. It wasn't exactly what I hoped it would be, but it also opened my eyes to things I never really thought about. Bosker begins by taking the reader into the world of New York art galleries.  She also talks about collectors who buy art. In a BIG way. She looks into why they collect art, and it was surprising because some people  buy just to buy. They have too much money and too many homes and they are basically die hard collectors and bored with having so much cash. (Personally, I can't imagine that.)

     This book also focused on artists and how hard it is to become a money making full time artist.   It comes down to a matter of how much you want your name to be "out there" and whether you want your creations to be in a museum. Bosker also talks about art as a status symbol, performance art, what makes something "art", and why making art is important to many. 

     After finishing this book I am glad I read it; I especially liked the second half.  But I am also still a bit disappointed. It's a good book, don't get me wrong, but I was hoping for more about making art and creativity,  rather than how to become a big name in the art world. Or not to become a big name, which is more the truth. I'm not sure this book is about the artist as much as it was about art within society. I recommend it if you're interested in art though because it does show you a side of "art" that can be a cut-throat, and for some artists, really frustrating and hard. 

    My next read was this book from 2001. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks is set in 1665 and 1666 during a bout with the Bubonic Plague in England. It is loosely based on the actual community of Eyams (pronounced Eems) that closed its borders after the plague carrying fleas were brought into town on a bolt of cloth. I actually learned about this town's history back when I taught Microbiology, and it was really interesting to read  fictional story set at that time.

     I've read a few other novels by Brooks, and she is a very lyrical writer. This story has so many wonderful images of nature. Of course in the 1660's  life in a small country village very much ran around the cycles of the natural world. Anna, the main character, is a young widow with 2 small children. When Anna  takes in the tailor (as her boarder) who has the flea infested bolt of cloth, she doesn't realize what will then happen. I like how this story actually puts you into 1665 Eyms as the plague hits and takes you along as the people react to this devastating disease. 

     As this book progresses, I became a part of the Eyams community. People went about their business, many getting sick and dying, and at times, I was shocked with events. Because people didn't  know what really caused this disease, there were some unusual treatments. The last 50 pages of this book were very unexpected. The sickness and death did pass, but life continued. I'm glad Brooks is such a good writer because I like being surprised, and I like how she ended the story.

     My next book was something I pulled off the shelf as I was making pages for Art Journal Journey. I was excited to see you could still buy my next book off of Amazon, which is where I borrowed this photo. I've had this volume of poems since I was a little girl. I even remember where, after asking my mother to buy it for me, she did. 

     I loved the poems in this book as a child, so much that I have kept this book for decades.Some of these poems are pure childish fun, but some are from poets like William Butler Yeats, Robert Louis Stevenson, Emily Dickinson, William Wordsworth and John Keats. I hope there are still children reading poetry from anthologies such as this one. 

     As many of you know, I love to bake, and if it wasn't for gaining a million pounds, I would bake a lot more.  I also love the history of baking and making traditional bakes especially with a twist. I've had this next book, American Cake, for several years, and I've read it before. But last month I was looking to make an old fashioned yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and in my recipe search, I pulled this book off the shelf. That's when I decided I would read it again. And maybe get inspired to bake something different.

     Anne Byrn lumps cakes into time periods, starting with the 1600s through most of the 1700s and then working her way through the present. There are more chapters with shorter time periods as you get further into this cookbook, mainly because over time  1) there were new ingredients (like baking powder or chocolate), 2)  cake baking went from being something only the wealthy could afford (because sugar and other ingredients were very expensive early in our history) to being something most people could afford, and  3)  more magazines and cookbooks became published giving people a bigger range of cake ideas. Add to that things like the Pillsbury bake off, television baking shows and the world just becoming smaller added a whole new range of recipes to the American Cake scene.

       I know cookbook reading isn't everyone's idea of a good book, but if you like to bake and like food history, then you would probably enjoy this book. It is very well researched, has lots of color photos, and lots of interesting reading. 

     My last listen for April was this fantasy. It sucked me right in. This is the story of David, a local fisherman from the island called Black Conch in the Caribbean, and the mermaid called Aycayia he spots one day while he is out fishing.  He sees her a few more times, before a hurricane blows her away.

       When she returns, she has been hooked by some fishermen from Florida who have come to Black Conch Island for a fishing derby. Unlike David who falls in the love with Aycaiyia, these fishermen have money signs rolling in front of their eyes. While she is at the dock one night while the men who caught her are in a pub getting drunk, David steals her. he takes her to his home and nurses her back to health. 

        That is when a surprise happens, because Aycaiyia wasn't born a mermaid. She was actually a woman that was cursed hundreds of years earlier when much of the Caribbean was settled with native Taino peoples. That curse made her a mermaid. 

        I liked this book. I like that the readers used Caribbean accents (Jamacian Patois or Patwah) that were not too thick. I  also liked that the book was written  using a bit of this colloquial language also, or just enough to give it an actual island feel.   It was easy to listen to, an enjoyable story, and something different also.     

     My final book for April was the newest release from Anne Hillerman. I really enjoy these mysteries set in the Navajo lands of the Four Corner region of the US. This time all 3 of Hillerman's characters are back-Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito. In the last book Leaphorn was in Hawaii, but this time he is the character where the story starts from. And as I've mentioned  before, Anne Hillerman has taken up these characters from her father's novels after he died.

      Leaphorn is a retired detective, but he now works as a private investigator. He has 2 cases. One is a missing wife of a man, who, while on the phone with Leaphorn, is in an explosion at a school. The other case is to find the parents of a Navajo woman who was adopted out of the culture. That is where the title comes from. Lost Birds is the name for Native American children who get adopted out of their tribes. 

      This book has some great scenes full of tension. One was during a search for a missing person where you didn't know what situations Leaphorn and his friend were going to find. And another one was figuring out who blew up part of the school? Was it the janitor, and did he murder his wife as the police suspect? Hillerman does a great job writing a suspenseful and well plotted out mystery. There were a few surprises in this book also. 

 

        Just like her other stories in this series, this one does not disappoint. 

If you made it all the way through this post, thank you. I know it was a really long post. I hope you have a happy new month of reading too, and please if you  have any recommendations, I always enjoy reading about them. (And sometimes I even get around to actually reading recommendations too.There are just so many books and never enough reading time.😏)