What I've Read Recently

I've had numerous requests to share some of the books from my reading pile, so today I share a handful that I have enjoyed.  It has been a challenge made to myself to try and read books that I wouldn't typically choose, selecting from a list I've made from a couple of youtubers channels as well as the ModernMrsDarcy.com website (the comments of any of the book recommendation & podcast notes posts on her site are a great resource).  Affiliate links throughout the post.

Here are a few that I've recently read and enjoyed:

Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank 

This was the first book I finished by this author, and I enjoyed it!  I recently tried one of her other books and didn't get very far but I enjoyed her writing style and knew I'd find a winner trying another.  I picked the right one for me.

This is a book about family, relationships, figuring out who you are, making the most of life and, of course, honeybees.  Set in Sullivans Island, South Carolina, we meet Holly, a beekeeper who is a part-time teacher hoping for a full-time position.  Holly lives with and cares for her unappreciative mother, known as the "queen bee".  Holly is enamored with her neighbor, recent widower Archie, and his two young boys.  Her sister is married and living in Ohio until she discovers some things about her husband that surprise & upset her, leaving her with the need to separate from him in order to take the time to process it.  She decides to return home to South Carolina, moving back in with Holly and their mother, while she sorts it out.  

The book is witty, sometimes silly, quirky, and engaging.  I enjoyed the characters and their interactions, and most of the plot lines, one exception being the way a neighbor's new spouse was seemingly used to create chaos and then quickly dismissed.  

This is an easy summer read.

Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen

A magical book that reads kind of like an adult fairy tale, something I typically steer away from but I am so happy that I decided to read it!  I thoroughly enjoyed all of the characters (and character development) in this book as well as the writing and storyline.  Honestly, I pretty much loved it all.  I have added more of this authors books to my list of books I would like to check out next.

Harry Crane is happily married and works as an analyst for the US Forest Service.  It's a desk job that he despises - he longs to be out in the forests.  When he and his wife are walking to the movie theater, he convinces her to wait while he runs into a convenience store to purchases a lottery ticket.  A ticket he hopes will be a winner so that he can quit his job and open up a business called "Harry's Trees".  While in the store a tragic accident happens and kills his wife.  Unable to cope, he runs to the remote woods of northeastern Pennsylvania, to the Endless Mountains.

Harry has a suicide attempt, but fate intervenes in the form of a fiercely determined young girl named Oriana.  She and her mother are struggling to pick up the pieces from their own tragedy.  Harry and Oriana pair up in a ludicrous scheme in an effort to help his bad luck come to an end.

While this book deals with some pretty heavy topics, it does so in a delicate and tasteful manner.  This is an uplifting story about grief, tragedy, the redeeming power of friendship & love, and the magic to be found in life's most surprising adventures.  

This was one of my favorites of this list.  I highly recommend it!

The Blackhouse by Peter May (first of a series)

This was my other favorite book on this list.  I love Peter May's writing and very much enjoyed this book.  I will definitely be reading the next in the series.

The book takes place on the Isle of Lewis, a beautiful but remote island in Scotland.  When a brutal murder on the island bears the hallmarks of a similar slaying in Edinburgh, police detective Fin Macleod is dispatched north to investigate.  But since he himself was raised on Lewis, the investigation also represents a journey home and into his troubled past.

Each year the island's men perform the hunting of the gugas, a savage custom no longer necessary for survival, but which they cling to even more fiercely in the face of the demands of modern morality.  For Fin the hunt recalls a horrific tragedy, which after all this time may have begun to demand another sacrifice.

This is a crime novel that does have a couple of sections that are quite gory - the description of the autopsy of the dead man on the Isle of Lewis as well as the specifics of the hunting of the gugas, which I could have done without, but is a large part of the overall story.  It has twists and turns that you don't see coming which is always a plus in a thriller.

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (first of a series)

A good old fashioned murder mystery, the Long Call is the first of the Two Rivers series.  This is the first book I've read by this author, and I am interested in reading the next one in this series as well as trying her very popular Vera series.  That being said, I recommend this with reservations.

Here is the description from inside the book cover:  

"In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his estranged father's funeral takes place.  On the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team.  A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.  The case calls Matthew back to the people and places of his past, as deadly secrets hidden at their hearts are revealed, and his new life is forced into a collision course with the world he thought he'd left behind."

This book touches on a number of events.  A funeral.  A murder.  A rape.  Two missing vulnerable adults.  Estranged family.  Believe it or not, even with all of these events, the pace is fairly slow until the last quarter of the book.  I thought there would be more complicated plot twists but sadly, there was not.

While I enjoyed the diversity of characters, none of them had their own unique way of speaking and none of them really stood out to be remembered.  It actually felt to me like a very low-energy one-dimensional cast.  Perhaps that's unfair?  If you disagree, I would love to hear your take.  I think the main character, Detective Matthew Venn, was likeable and relatable and will be better developed as the series continues, but I did find him hard to connect with and his relationship with his husband to be almost treated like an afterthought.  

I don't mean for this review to be negative.  I am trying hard to not judge it against the other murder mystery books that I love written by other authors and instead judge it on its own.  That, however, can be difficult. 

Growing A Farmer: How I Learned To Live Off The Land by Kurt Timmermeister

As noted in a previous journal entry, I read this book about 10+ years ago and remembered enjoying it, so I decided to re-read it. 

This is a memoir-style book told by Kurt about his journey from being a restaurateur in Seattle, to purchasing a run-down property on Vashon Island and building a farm on it.  Kurtwood Farms still exists today.

I enjoyed his writing style and, of course, the subject matter, but I did find myself disagreeing with quite a few of his thoughts/opinions (i.e. after taking all of the honey for himself, being ok with letting his honeybees die off in the winter rather than trying to overwinter them; he, at times, puts others down who do things differently, contradicts himself, etc.).  Disagreements aside, I did enjoy reading the book.

A quick note that this book is written by subject matter and not chronologically.  Also, he does go into detail regarding the raising and butchering of animals.  If this bothers you, I recommend skipping those chapters.  (I think it's nice that it's by subject and not chronologically for this reason.)

I liked his honesty about many of the experiences he had, whether they succeeded or failed.  It was interesting to read about his venture, pre-youtube, to not only build a farm from the ground up but to also make many things from scratch.  He offers great descriptions and detail about many aspects of his journey.

Sylvia's Farm: The Journal Of An Improbable Shepherd by Sylvia Jorrin

Like Growing A Farmer, I originally read this book 10 or so years ago.  I remembered enjoying it and wanted to share it here.  This is a biography, with Sylvia telling the story of her journey to become a sheep farmer as a middle-aged woman in the Catskills of New York.  

It is a collection of essays (originally written for a newspaper) where she shares bits of her life as she builds her farm and learns to raise and care for a flock of sheep.  I found her story to be personal, inspiring, and cozy and was amazed at all she was able to do on her own.  She did write a second book although I haven't yet read it.  It's on my list!

Funny Story by Emily Henry

I truly enjoy Emily Henry's writing style.  That being said, I don't love all of her books.  It seems like every other one that I have read I haven't liked.  I liked this one and would recommend it.  If you've never read a book by Emily, I would recommend this or Book Lovers to start.

Back to this book.  Daphne, our main character, finds herself in Waning Bay, Michigan after moving there for her fiancée only to have him leave her for his best friend Petra.  She has no friends or family nearby but is employed in her dream job of a children's librarian.

Daphne, needing a place to live after her fiancée kicks her out of the house, moves in with Petra's ex Miles.  Through their share of tragedy, they form a unique and lovely friendship.  I found the banter between Daphne and Miles enjoyable.  I also appreciated the relationship Miles had with his sister as well as Daphne's friendship with her co-worker.  

The Bitter And Sweet Of Cherry Season: A Novel by Molly Fader

I found this book to be emotionally engaging that held my attention throughout.  It is a well spun story about secrets, love, fear, and forgiveness.  The story unfolds from the voices of three generations - Hope, her daughter Tink, and her aunt Peg, which makes for an interesting and enjoyable read.

Hope and her daughter Tink arrive at her aunt's Michigan home late one night desperate and scared.  Hope has never met her aunt, who owns a cherry farm.  After a frosty reception, her aunt agrees to let them stay with the condition that Hope helps with the cherry harvest.

It's clear that both Hope and her aunt are hiding something.  What Hope is hiding is fairly obvious, but the actual details unravel throughout the book.  Her aunt's secret, however, is harder to figure out.

Midnight At The Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber

This is an easy read, perfect for these summer days, and a great cozy magical realism story. It was a charming, heartwarming story with characters I enjoyed.

Anna Kate returns home to the small town of Wicklow, Alabama to bury her beloved Granny Zee and settle her estate.  Granny Zee leaves her the cafe, a place beloved by the community, a place where they can get a slice of blackbird pie that may give them a message from a loved one who has passed.  Originally, she plans to be there a short time, time enough to take care of the estate and sell the Blackbird Cafe, but that doesn't happen.  Instead, she is drawn into the town that her mother had run away from and begins to learn more about her father and his side of the family as well as form relationships and bonds with the people in it.

Here are a few books I've recommended in previous posts:

The Inspector Gamache Series by Louise Penny (I LOVE this series)

The Thursday Murder Club Series by Richard Osman (another that I LOVE)

The Dirty Life: On Family, Food, & Love by Kristin Kimball (a memoir)

Bootstrapper: From Broke To Badass On A Northern Michigan Farm by Mardi Link (a memoir)

The Great Alone: A Novel by Kristin Hannah

School By The Sea Series by Jenny Colgan

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel by Gail Honeyman

The City Bakers Guide To Country Living: A Novel by Louise Miller

Eight Perfect Hours: A Novel by Lia Louis

Here are the books in my TBR stack right now.  The fourth one down I just realized you can't read the full title but it is "The Secret Wisdom Of Nature: Trees, Animals, and the Extraordinary Balance Of All Living Things".  I'll be working through them this month and probably into the beginning or middle of next month.

Each time that I check out a pile of books I usually have at least 1 book that I don't finish.  I've learned that this is ok, and not a waste of time at all, because it has allowed me the opportunity to discover authors that I may enjoy, just a different book choice.

Have you read any good books lately?