Warm up with cold weather reads

We are entering our brief period of cold weather, and your outdoor activities may be curtailed somewhat. It affords you the perfect time to catch up on your reading.
 
Don’t deprive yourself of “me time.” Put down the phone and skip the social media feed for a bit. Feed your intellect – don’t numb your brain.
 
We have three nonfiction choices to begin with and a nice selection of fiction – pick a few, pick them all!
 
“Valley So Low” by Jared Sullivan. How big money, heartless corporations, and lawyers will abuse and punish the average citizen. These were people just doing a job and they were bullied out of safety actions and then denied justice after being chronically exposed to deadly toxins. 
 
“All the Beauty in the World” by Patrick Bringley. The author was in the events department at The New Yorker when his brother became ill with cancer and died. In his grief, Bringley left that job and became a guard at The Metropolitan Museum in New York City. 
 
His contemplative and reflective book is a look at grief, but largely a look at the workings of the museum and how to appreciate the beauty at hand. 
 
“We Band of Angels” by Elizabeth Norman. A chapter of WWII of which I was entirely ignorant – Army nurses who were captured and detained by the Japanese in a camp in Bataan for over a year. Wretched conditions leave them with metabolic illnesses as well as chronic diseases. But they continue to care for the soldiers in their facility. 
 
Once released, they were denied military honors because, well, it was just women doing women’s work. There is another book coming out about this experience, so the women are at least being remembered.
 
“Tell Me Everything” by Elizabeth Strout. A delightful read! A small town and its goings on. Some are more momentous than others and though it feels like listening to friends chat over coffee or cocktails, there is gravitas and humanity in this community. Our book club pick for January.
 
“Death at the Sign of the Rook” by Kate Atkinson. One of my favorite writers, Atkinson has a winner with this Jackson Brodie series. This is the sixth – a murder mystery in a crumbling English manor with great characters, settings, and plot. Enjoy yourself in front of the fireplace.
 
“Pony Confidential” by Christina Lynch. Ok – the animals communicate in this book, but the rabbits all talked in Watership Down, so just go with it. If you have ever ridden or had a child who rode, you will laugh at much of this on the nose depiction of the world of riding. 
 
However, the story is mainly a murder mystery and sorting out how what we see isn’t always what happened. Quirky, but extremely entertaining.
 
“Havoc” by Christopher Bollen. An elderly guest and a savvy 8-year-old engage in increasingly violent subterfuge while in residence at a luxury resort in Luxor during COVID-19 restrictions. Builds to a striking conclusion.
 
“Sister Snake” by Amanda Koe. Based on a Chinese folktale, this involves some fantasy, but the metaphor is real. We must each identify our true selves before we can live an authentic life. Getting there can be messy.
 
“Conclave” by Robert Harris. Harris is a great writer. I last profiled his book “An Act of Oblivion,” historical fiction from Revolutionary America. This book is older and has been made into a movie which I am anxious to see. A look at the machinations and politics of choosing a new Pope. 
 
The ending is shocking – too shocking for some, but a surprisingly thrilling read about priests at the Vatican. 
 
“The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden. Revenge lit. Popular fiction, but a decent story, and who doesn’t love to see a bad person meet his due? 
 
Check out Beckysbookclub.com. 

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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