Bookish - Remembered

Heya Readers,

Over the summer I read Yvonne Battle-Felton's incredible book Remembered.

The book opens in 1910 in Philadelphia. Spring goes to visit her son Edward in the hospital in the coloured section of the hospital.

He is dying and her dead sister Tempe is on her case to let Edward know his story, his history.

Meanwhile outside the crowds rage did Edward have an agenda driving the streetcar through the crowd? What is really going on?

This was one of those books I didn't want to read. Revisiting the awful ways in which Black people in America were enslaved and treated is horrific. I am coming to realise though that hiding from past hurts and crimes perpetrated against people does not deal with the pain or redeem the past. It's part of the work of all people to see what happened, not the cleaned up or white-washed versions that we may have been presented or may not know at all. Being present to the realities of the world may challenge us to do our part to recognise, repent and to determine to play a part in changing narratives for people today.

Battle-Felton is an excellent writer. Her characters are nuanced and full. They are weak and strong and loveable and difficult.

This book arose from a series of questions that led her into her thesis in creative writing.

The action of the book moves from 1910 and backwards tracing the whakapapa (genealogy) of Edward and Spring and the harrowing and beautiful moments that led to them being in 1910 and the happenings of that fateful night.

Although it is devastating in places it is also beautiful. The relationships between the characters stand out as hopeful and wonderful against the terrible. Highly recommended.

Details - Hachette NZ, Feb 2019, RRP $37.99

may we all have courage and grace in the hardest of things xxx

Bookish - Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel

Ngā mihi nui,

Last year I read Ruth Hogan's novel The Particular Wisdom of Sally Red Shoes and really enjoyed it so I was really keen to read her next offering Queenie Malone's Paradise Hotel.

This one didn't disappoint either. The book is completely different. It still features characters who are real, complex and nuanced. The book jumps between the life of Tilly a small girl with large ideas, a penchant for finding delight in varied unusual things and Tilda the woman she becomes.

The difference between Tilly and Tilda cannot be bridged unless Tilda is able to face her mother's death and unravel why it was she was sent away from the place of happiness and home they finally found with Queenie.

Will she be brave enough to face the truth and will this new truth shatter the truth that has made her who she is?

A book about perception, the people we become and the inherent imperfection and beauty in all people.

I really like Ruth Hogan - I think her writing is delicate and strong and human.

Details - Hachette NZ, February 2019 RRP $34.99

love you more than a fresh box of matches xxx

Bookish - When You Read This

Kia ora

When You Read This by Mary Adkins is book that is conceived in a really original style.

The book is entirely composed of correspondence. In the wake of Iris Massey's death her blog is discovered along with her thoughts that maybe Smith (her former boss) might think it was worth publishing. This leads Smith and his intern Carl (enthusiastic, socially clueless) on a quest to discover a relative for permission.

Enter Jade the (somewhat neurotic) sister of Iris.

Mishaps, mis-understandings and some hilarious crossed wires and quirky characters round out the narrative. Who will we hear from next and what turn will their email take us on?

Don't be fooled that the style will flatten the characters each person jumps larger than life off the pages.

Entertaining, original and modern.

Details - Hachette NZ, February 2019 RRP $34.99

love you more than an email self-help guru xxxx

Bookish - When All Is Said

Happy New Year Lovelies,

Last year I read 42 books which feels good. So far this year I've read 4 although I might slow down once I'm back reading large academic texts.

When All Is Said is the debut novel from Anne Griffin.

It's a really unusual novel. The whole novel is basically a stream of consciousness. Maurice Hannigan sits in a hotel and orders five distinct drinks and toasts five important people from his life.

As he toasts his stream of consciousness follows his life story, his losses and joys.

This novel is really absorbing. I read it in a day following each toast and growing more connected to Maurice as the book unfolded. By the end of the novel there were tears.

This book is written so differently than any other I have read but it is brilliantly realised. Even though there is essentially only one character there are multiple characters and each is brought to life through the eyes of a single individual.

There are some very moving moments and some real insights into the nuances of relationships and love.

I look forward to Griffin's next offering.

Details - Hachette NZ, January 2019, RRP $34.99

love you more than a penny picked up xxx

Bookish - Two Can Keep A Secret

Dear Friends,

It has become apparent that I am using this space to document my reading more than anything else but that's okay... it's what it is at the moment and I love looking back and seeing how my reading life moves about.

Two Can Keep A Secret is the latest YA Crime/Murder novel on offer by Karen M McManus.

Ezra and Ellery have arrived in the 'blink and you miss it' town of Echo Ridge to live with their grandmother for a period of time while their mother fights her own battles.

Echo Ridge might be small but it's not without its demons. Two homecoming queens have disappeared - one murdered and now threats are appearing that it will happen again. Ellery, who's obsessed with playing detective can't help but get drawn into the drama. However, real life is not as simple as a TV drama and she's soon finding out there are secrets hidden everywhere in Echo Ridge.

Will her determination see her solve the mystery or will it land her in the sights of a potential murderer?

Like McManus' last offering I enjoyed this read. It has enough pace to draw you in and is told from the perspective of two characters. While there is some romance this is definitely a murder/crime novel and I really like that about it. The characters are fleshed out but the story isn't weighed down by teenage drama. There are some definite surprises in the story and some breadcrumb trails that might be worth following.

A great summer read for anyone who enjoys crime or YA fiction. I enjoyed it even more than her last offering which did very well being translated into 38 languages.

Details - Penguin Random House, January 2019 RRP $21.00

love you more than a satisfying escape xxx

Bookish - Hedgehog Howdedo

Heya Lovelies,

If you have a little person to buy a gift for this year please do consider a book. As any parent of small people can attest they will get read at least a million times! (Plus so much better than a present that makes loud noises when you trip over it at 3am.)

Lynley Dodd has weaved her magic again with Hedgehog Howdedo.

This delightful board book is so cute and the rhyme scheme so perfect and the language so pared back I was halfway through before I even realised it was a counting book. Some counting books are about counting and not much more but this one has so much charm. I could feel myself smiling as I read it and it feels like an absolute treasure of a book.

I have a little person in my life (niece) fairly newly arrived and I'm sure her big brother would read her this book - question is can I part with my copy? I might have to go and buy another.

Dodd at her wonderful best.
(The link has an author photo - Dodd is very different than I imagined, in my head she was a 'soft/ squishy' grandmotherly look with a million animals and a patchwork coat!)

Details - Penguin Random House, December 2018 RRP $15.99 BB

love you more than some 'bold as brass' hedgehogs owning the woodpile xxx

Bookish - Bright Young Dead

Kia ora Koutou,

I must confess I rather like a good murder mystery. I have been a watcher of Miss Marple and Midsomer Murders for some time. (I feel like such a grandma typing that sentence!) However, I haven't read murder mysteries before. I have picked up a couple of Agatha Christies at op-shops so there is hope.

This meant I came to Jessica Fellowes Bright Young Dead with a very open mind.

The book is set in the 1920s and focusses around the 'bright young things' as they emerge into and claim ownership of the glamorous new ways of their time. The upstairs/ downstairs roles are highlighted and Louisa Cannon the maid and often-chaperone finds these worlds are both colliding and pulling her to make a choice between dutiful maid and a woman who cannot accept the murderer is really guilty.

Alongside the drama that unfolds with the murder of a dinner party guest is the infamous Alice Diamond and her forty thieves - all women and the police's attempts to trap the queen of the ring. Dancing, jazz music, secrets, lies and threats all lie in the way of unravelling the mystery.

A real whodunnit and not an obvious answer - surprises right to the end. I also enjoyed the insights into the lives of women in this era. Longing for independence and emancipation but very much reliant on others giving them the benefit of the doubt and opportunity to prove themselves.

Nice to curl up and read with chocolate and a cup of tea and some jazz playing somewhere in the background.

Details - Hachette NZ, October 2018 RRP $34.99

love you more than a bolt of cloth hidden under a bustle xxx