I thought I’d give Patricia Wentworth a try.

*** NOVEL: Touch Not the Cat AUTHOR: Mary Stewart YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1976 REVIEW: *** This book is totally bonkers, but in the best possible way.  Oh, to be a heroine in a Mary Stewart novel! Young, attractive, bright, well-educated, independent,  possessed of a true moral compass, and with romance and adventure right around the … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Touch Not the Cat →

*** BOOK: Still the Promised Land AUTHOR: Natwar Gandhi YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2019 REVIEW: *** Still the Promised Land is a memoir, the true and deeply personal story of Natwar Gandhi’s journey from an impoverished village in rural India to a governmental career in Washington, D.C.  Especially in these times of anti-immigrant sentiment, it’s a … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Still the Promised Land →

Snow is something of a hard book to describe. It is extremely well written. It has moments of beauty. It has postmodern flourishes.

*** Zoe Mulford, a folk singer, has now become most widely known for a song she wrote about President Obama’s singing of “Amazing Grace” during the eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney.  Reverend Pinckney was killed, along with eight others, during a mass shooting at a Charleston church in 2015. Joan Baez heard her song and … Continue reading Amazing Grace – Our Q&A with Singer-Songwriter Zoe Mulford →

A Handy Guide To Having Fun

*** NOVEL: Magpie Murders AUTHOR: Anthony Horowitz YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2017 REVIEW: *** This is a mystery novel for mystery novel lovers–a story within a story. A meta mystery.  I will explain. *** The book begins with Susan Ryeland in an unmade bed with a bottle of wine, tortilla chips and salsa, and a pack … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Magpie Murders →

Hadestown was excellent, and no surprise–it won eight Tony awards in 2019, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

*** NOVEL: Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor AUTHOR: Stephanie Barron YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1996 REVIEW: If you are a regular reader of my book reviews, you’ll know that I am a fan of Jane Austen.  And also that I like mysteries. Why not combine them? Two great things just might go great together–like … Continue reading On Our Bookshelves – Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor →

It was an impulse buy–I liked the cover (bright red) and the title, and it was displayed prominently at Books on the Common in Ridgefield, Connecticut.