Friday, December 24, 2021
Monday, December 13, 2021
What Did Women Like in 2021?
You might recall that last year I asked a few of my women friends who I know to be discerning readers, and who are well known in the mystery community, if they would share some of their favorite reads of 2020.
It turned out to be a fun thing, as you can see right here.
They enjoyed participating, and many of us got to add some new titles, along with some new authors, to our always growing book lists.
But not just mysteries.
We decided not to limit the books in any way. Just some favorites we'd like to share with others.
And, with that we ended up with a wonderfully fun mix of fiction, non-fiction, children's books, crime fiction, romance, fantasy, photo books, young adult, etc etc etc.
Nor did we stick with books published in 2020 which made it fun to see some old classics along with a few books to look forward to in 2021.
So, we're doing it again for 2021.
Most of you who read Meanderings and Muses know some, if not all, these women. And what an amazing group they are; readers, writers, book advocates, librarians, teachers, reviewers, publicists, webmasters, bloggers who support authors and the world of books.
You might run into any of them at any time at a book convention (when we're all able to actually start attending book conventions again).
Consider this list of holiday recommendations our gift to you.
Marlyn Beebe is a librarian, knitter, reader, and grandmother (not necessarily in that order). AND a blogger -http://mbstuffandnonsense.blogspot.com/
She intensely dislikes being cold.
Adams, Sara Nisha. The Reading List. William Morrow, 3 August 2021.
Bhatia, Anisha. The rules of arrangement. Alcove Press, 13 July 2021.
Brenner, Jamie. Blush. G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 22 June 2021.
Dev, Sonali. Incense & sensibility (The Rajes #3). William Morrow, 6 July 2021.
Doller, Trish. Float plan. St Martin’s Griffin, 2 March 2021.
Edmondson, Lauren. Ladies of the House. Graydon House, 9 February 2021.
Fraser, Jackie. The bookshop of second chances. Ballantine Books, 4 May 2021.
Hawkins, Karen. A cup of silver linings (Dove Pond #2). Gallery Books, 6 July 2021.
Kelly, Julia. The Last Garden in England. Gallery Books, 12 January 2021.
Lalli, Sonya. Serena Singh flips the script. Berkley, 16 February 2021.
Lackey, Mercedes. Briarheart. Little, Brown BFYR, 5 October 2021.
Martin, Madeline. The last bookshop in London. Hanover Square Press, 6 April 2021.
Pearce, AJ. Yours, cheerfully (Emmy Lake chronicles #2). Scribner, 10 August 2021.
Sampson, Freya. The last chance library. Berkley, 31 August 2021.
Thompson, Elizabeth. Lost in Paris. Gallery Books, 13 April 2021.
Verant, Samantha. Sophie Valroux’s Paris stars. Berkley, 19 October 2021.
Webber, Heather. The Lights of Sugarberry Cove. Forge Books, 20 July 2021.
Youngson, Anne. The narrowboat summer. Flatiron books, 26 January 2021
Sarah (EC) Byrne is a lawyer and dilettante from Canberra, Australia. She has had a lot of trouble this year with the facial recognition feature on her phone
Sheerwater - Leah Swann
Slough House - Mick Herron
How To Pronounce Knife - Souvankham Thammavongsa
Memorial - Bryan Washington
These Women - Ivy Pochoda
The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman
A Couple of Things Before the End - Sean O'Beirne
Rodham - Curtis Sittenfeld
No One Is Talking About This - Patricia Lockwood
Empire of Pain - Patrick Radden Keeffe
Anxious People - Frederik Backman
Seven Doors - Agnes Ravatn
House of Correction - Nicci French
A Registry of My Passage Upon the Earth - Daniel Mason
Gathering Dark - Candice Fox
A Line to Kill - Anthony Horowitz
Homeland Elegies - Ayad Akhtar
Consolation - Gary Disher
A Treacherous Country - K M Kruimink
Bloody Women - Helen Fitzgerald
Jen Forbus is a former teacher, former blogger, and life-long learner with a passion for animals and photography.
I've immersed myself in non-fiction for several years now, partly due to a natural curiosity and also my desire to be as educated as possible about the causes and issues that matter to me. In addition I've reviewed children's books for Shelf Awareness and have several titles that are just amazing standouts for any aged reader.
1. The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee
2. Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland by Jonathan Metzi
3. Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm By Robin DiAngelo
4. Learning in Public: Lessons for a Racially Divided America from My Daughter's School by Courtney E. Martin
5. After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made by Ben Rhodes
6. How Stella Learned to Talk: The Groundbreaking Story of the World's First Talking Dog by Christina Hunger
YA/Children's Books
1. Me, Moth by Amber McBride
2. The Other Talk: Reckoning with Our White Privilege by Brendan Kiely
3. The Genius Under the Table: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Eugene Yelchin
4. Killers of the Flower Moon (Adapted for Young Readers): The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
M'Lou Greene - "My grandmother taught me to read at age 3, and I've never stopped!"
I was able to enjoy reading a lot more in 2021 than I did in 2020, thank goodness.
There were a few I didn't like or didn't finish, and many which didn't make the list of "favorites."
These were all at the top!
Laura Lippman, My Life as a Villainess
Jess Lourey, Salem's Cypher
Anna Jean Mayhew, Tomorrow's Bread
K F Breene, Magical Midlife Madness
Melissa Gould, Widowish
Jess Lourey, Bloodline
Laura Lippman, Dream Girl
Elyssa Friedland, Last Summer at the Golden Hotel
S A Crosby, Blacktop Wasteland
Chuck Wendig, The Book of Accidents
Kim Michelle Richardson, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
Take It Back by Kia Abdullah (2020)
Body Zoo by J.D. Allen (2021)
Under the Cold Bright Lights by Garry Disher (2019)
Odds-On Murder by Jack Dolph (1948)
When I Grow Rich by Joan Fleming (1962)
Death of a Showman by Mariah Fredericks (2021)
The Killing in the Hills by Julia Keller (2012)
The Dime by Kathleen Kent (2017)
Greasy Bend by Kris Lackey (2019)
Doing the Devils Work by Bill Loehfelm (2016)
The Judge by Steve Martini (1996)
The Hallows by Victor Methos (2019)
Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich (2016)
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (2016)
Hopjoy Was Here by Colin Watson (1962)
Lesa Holstine is a librarian and award-winning book reviewer. While she specializes in mysteries, only half of her favorite books from 2021 fit that category. She blogs at https://lesasbookcritiques.com
Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser
Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger
The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin
The Mystic's Accomplice by Mary Miley
The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt
The Becoming by Nora Roberts
Christmas by the Book by Anne Marie Ryan
Tricky by Josh Stallings
Patti Lang is a Reader, librarian, coloring aficionado, both nerd & geek, friend, daughter, sister, aunt, feminist, transplanted Michigander.Favorites through November 23, 2021
Mystery
The Windsor Knot (Her Majesty the Queen Investigates #1)
by S.J. Bennett
The Heron's Cry (Two Rivers #2) by Ann Cleeves
A Rogue's Company (Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery #3) by Allison Montclair
Comes the War (Eddie Harkins #2) by Ed Ruggero
Murder Under Her Skin (Pentecost and Parker #2) by Stephen Spotswood
Fiction
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
Science Fiction
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (Wayfarers #4) by Becky Chambers
Nonfiction
Taste: My Life through Food by Stanley Tucci
The Boys : A Memoir of Hollywood and Family
by Ron Howard and Clint Howard
Dru Ann Love is an award-winning mystery blogger at dru's book musings (https://drusbookmusing.com/) and is Fan Guest of Honor at Malice Domestic 2022
The Twelve Jays of Christmas by Donna Andrews
A Plus One For Murder by Laura Bradford
Dessert is the Bomb by Catherine Bruns
Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron
Fallen by Linda Castillo
Runner by Tracy Clark
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
Murder at the Taffy Shop by Maddie Day
The Night Hawk by Elly Griffiths
Independent Bones by Carolyn Haines
Watch Her by Edwin Hill
A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones
All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris
The Hiding Place by Paula Munier
A Side of Murder by Amy Pershing
Up To No Gouda by Linda Reilly (2022)
Mango, Mambo, and Murder by Raquel V. Reyes
Forgotten in Death by J.D. Robb
Fogged Off by Wendall Thomas
The Lights of Sugarberry Cove by Heather Webber
Stitch, Bake, Die! by Lois Winston
Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger (2021)
Where They Wait by Scott Carson (2021)
Every Cloak Rolled in Blood by James Lee Burke (2022)
Rabbit Hole by Mark Billingham (2021)
56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard (2021)
Find Me by Alafair Burke (2022)
The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (2021)
The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell (2021)
A Different Dawn by Isabella Maldonado (2021)
1979 by Val McDermid (2021)
The House of Ashes by Stuart Neville (2021)
The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz (2022)
Forty Words for Sorrow by Giles Blunt (2001)
A Secret About a Secret by Peter Spiegelman (2022)
When You Are Mine by Michael Robotham (2022)
Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh
The Plea by Steve Cavanagh
Verity by Colleen Hoover
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now by Thich Nhat Hanh
Ikigai by Héctor Garcia
Let That Sh*t Go: Find Peace of Mind and Happiness in Your Everyday by Kate Petriw and Nina Purewal
Get Out of Your Head by Jennie Allen
The Collected Poems of Wilfred Owen by Wilfred Owen
The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean (2021)
The Nighthawks by Elly Griffiths (2021)
Fogged Off by Wendall Thomas (2021)
A Gingerbread House by Catriona McPherson (2021)
State of Terror by Louise Penny and Hillary Rodham Clinton (2021)
The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams (2021)
The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell (2021)
The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths (2021)
The Hollywood Spy (Maggie Hope #10) by Susan Elia MacNeal (2021)
The Playground Murders (The Detective’s Daughter #7) by Lesley Thomson (2020)
The Distant Dead (The Detective’s Daughter #8) by Lesley Thomson (2021)
Body Zoo by J.D. Allen (2021)
Shot Caller by Jen Danna (2021)
Murder in Material Gain by Anne Cleeland (2021)
Untrue Blue by Emma James (2021)
Division and Clark by Naomi Hirahara (2021)
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (2020)
The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett (2021)
Death at Greenway by Lori Rader-Day (2021)
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (2020)
The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny (2021)
LJ Roberts, a professional reviewer since 2004, reviews for multiple online mystery sites, plus Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine and Mystery Readers' Journal, and has a review site at
https://booksaremagic.blogspot.com/
Dark Sky by C.J. Box
The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves
State of Terror by Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny
Dead Ground by M.W. Craven
The Stolen Hours by Allen Eskens
The Custom House Murders by Ashley Gardner
The Drop by Dennis Lehane
Transient Dreams by Donna Leon
Black Coral by Andrew Mayne
To the Dark by Chris Nickson
Final Out by Sheldon Siegel
Sara Weiss - High school teacher/College professor, avid reader and part time reviewer.
I’ve been reading mostly series this year.
Nora Roberts The Awakenining and The Becoming
Naomi Novik A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate
Mercedes Lackey’s whole catalog!
Leigh Bardugo Rule of Wolves
Andy Weir Hail Mary (Stand-alone)
JD Robb Faithless in Death and Forgotten in Death
John Sandford The Investigators
Gregg Hurwitz Orphan X series and Tim Rackley series, I read all of both!
Dean Koontz Namless series, great on audio if you like listening.
So many more… feel free to check out my goodreads list.
My Turn!
I read a LOT of books this year, which you can see in the sidebar at my blog, Meanderings and Muses. More than usual, I think.
But these were my top favorites read in 2021.
This was the hardest year yet to cull my list down to a number that would not seem ridiculous to some. It leaves off many books that I loved; books I'll be recommending to friends, and that I'll be re-reading in the future.
A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers
A Magical New York Christmas by Anita Hughes
An American in Paris by Siobhan Curham
Faithless in Death by J. D. Robb
Forgotten in Death by J. D. Robb
Flight Risk by Joy Castro
Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger
Lizzie and Dante by Mary Bly
Lost in Paris by Elizabeth Thompson
Razorblade Tears by S. A. Cosby
State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny
The Becoming by Nora Roberts
The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman
The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
The Inheritance of Orquidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova
The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny
The Paris Apartment by Kelly Bowen
The Summer Seekers by Sarah Morgan
Those Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall
When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash
And these! They're 2022 releases - January through June, so add them to your list.
You will thank me.
The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain (Releases in January 2022)
The Fashion Orphans by Randy Susan Meyers and M. J. Rose (Releases February 2022)
Songs by Hummingbird by Peter McDade (Releases in March 2022)
Lost and Found in Paris by Lian Dolan (Releases in April 2022)
Darling Girl: A Novel of Peter Pan by Liz Michalski (Releases in May 2022)
The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill (Releases in June 2022)
Happy Reading!
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas,
the Happiest of Holidays,
Joy ,
and Good Cheer!
And Magic!
I hope you find magic
And may I also suggest snuggling up with Eloise!
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Another Christmas novel recommendation
"What do you do when the man you pledged your life to breaks your heart and shatters your dreams? You pack your bags and travel the big, wide world to find your destiny—and your true love . . .
Ten years ago, a young and naïve Cassie married her first serious boyfriend, believing he would be with her forever. Now her marriage is in tatters and Cassie has no career or home of her own. Though she feels betrayed and confused, Cassie isn't giving up. She's going to take control of her life. But first she has to find out where she belongs . . . and who she wants to be.
Over the course of one year, Cassie leaves her sheltered life in rural Scotland to stay with her best friends living in the most glamorous cities in the world: New York, Paris, and London. Exchanging comfort food and mousy hair for a low-carb diet and a gorgeous new look, Cassie tries each city on for size as she searches for the life she's meant to have . . . and the man she's meant to love."
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Merry Christmas!
From Princess Annabelle of Meat Camp, NC
Happy Wishes for this Holiday Season
“Christmas Bells” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
A book recommendation for lovers of Peter Pan
I was lucky in being able to grab an electronic advance copy of this wonderful book from NetGalley.com
Release date is May 3 of next year. Mark your calendars!
As you can see from all the praise below, I'm not the only early fan of this magical novel.
Darling Girl
A Novel of Peter Pan
In this beautiful, grounded, and darkly magical modern-day reimagining of J. M. Barrie’s classic, to save her daughter's life one woman must take on the infamous Peter Pan—who is not the innocent adventurer the fairy tales make him out to be . . .
Life is looking up for Holly Darling, granddaughter of Wendy—yes, that Wendy. She's running a successful skincare company; her son, Jack, is happy and healthy; and the tragedy of her past is well behind her . . . until she gets a call that her daughter, Eden, who has been in a coma for nearly a decade, has gone missing from the estate where she's been long tucked away. And, worst of all, Holly knows who must be responsible: Peter Pan, who is not only very real, but more dangerous than anyone could imagine.
Eden's disappearance is a disaster for more reasons than one. She has a rare condition that causes her to age rapidly—ironic, considering her father is the boy who will never grow up—which also makes her blood incredibly valuable.
It’s a secret that Holly is desperate to protect, especially from Eden's half-brother, Jack, who knows nothing about his sister or the crucial role she plays in his life. Holly has no one to turn to—her mother is the only other person in the world who knows that Peter is more than a story, but she refuses to accept that he is not the hero she’s always imagined. Desperate, Holly enlists the help of Christopher Cooke, a notorious ex-soldier, in the hopes of rescuing Eden before it's too late . . . or she may lose both her children.
Darling Girl brings all the magic of the classic Peter Pan story to the present, while also exploring the dark underpinnings of fairy tales, grief, aging, sacrifice, motherhood, and just how far we will go to protect those we love.
Editorial Reviews
“A compelling and richly imagined twist on an old story, Liz Michalski’s Darling Girl captured me on page one and hasn’t released me yet. An emotionally gripping demonstration that a mother’s love, when tested, can become a force of nature. I will never look at Neverland and its inhabitants the same way again.”
—Brunonia Barry, New York Times bestselling author of The Lace Reader
"A dark and elegant look at a story we all know well. Liz Michalski takes Peter Pan where all the old stories go, where magic is never without a cost, and pixie dust might be more powerful than you imagine. Fantastic!"
—Barbara O’Neal, When We Believed in Mermaids
"A captivating question quivers at the center of the engrossing novel, Darling Girl: What if Peter Pan isn't just a story? While meeting the Peter Pan you never knew, reading Darling Girl is like falling under the enchanting spell of Liz Michalski prose. As with all true magic, there must be both the seductive darkness and the illuminating light: Michalski masterfully gives us both. Darling Girl introduces us to the Darling family decades away from Wendy and Peter, descendants who are grappling with secrets that protect a family mythology and a boy who will never grow up. With a young girl and her fiercely protective mother at the center of a spellbinding story, Darling Girl is powerful and captivating. Neverland and the reader will never be the same again."
—Patti Callahan, New York Times bestselling author
"A dark and dazzling tale. Liz Michalski has used her own magic wand to shed light on the lengths we go to in order to preserve the myth of beauty, the myth of youth, and even the myth of fairytales themselves.”
—Sarah Addison Allen, New York Times bestselling author
"Darling Girl is a richly written story of what it means to live in the wake of a fairy tale, and the strength and courage it takes to step out of that shadow and find your own story. Full of heartache, sacrifice, and bravery, this is a book that will linger in a reader's thoughts."
—Kat Howard, Alex Award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magicians
“A gritty retelling of Peter Pan that incorporates a dark, disturbed Peter Pan into the lives of the Darling family's descendants in search of immortality. Skincare magnate Holly Darling's world is rocked when her comatose daughter goes missing, and things get even worse when she realizes there's only one person who had a motive to steal her daughter – the shadow of a man she once knew. This is the perfect story for readers looking for the darker side of fairy tales.”
—Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks
(Above copied from amazon.com)
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