Familyhistorian’s Keeping Positive Thoughts for a Year of Change – Part 8

Hi my name is Meg. I’ve been a member of the mighty 75ers since 2013. In that time, I’ve been hit by many a Book Bullet (BB) so I can attest to the fact that this is a dangerous place. In 2020 I had trouble keeping up with the threads as we all moved more online. My hope to do better keeping up this year hasn’t been going that well. But as we know hope is a renewable resource as is the wish for positive change.

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The WWII family research is going more slowly than I thought (I have a lot of books to get through) so my currently posts are about different subjects. Books may come up in some of them. You can see my latest blog posts at: A Genealogist’s Path to History

Little Free Library

Books culled in 2021

January - 0

February - 6

March - 6

April - 5

May - 7

June - 7

July - 0

August - 4

September - 5

October - 3

Challenges

Reading Through Time

Quarterly

January-March 2021 - Renaissance/16th Century - The Serpent and the Pearl by Kate Quinn - DONE
April-June 2021 - 17th Century
July-September 2021 - 18th Century
October-December 2021 - Napoleonic Era

Monthly

January: Shakespeare's Children - The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey - DONE
February: Fashion - The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott - DONE
March: Arggh, Matey - Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton - DONE
April: The Sun Never Sets - The Palace Tiger by Barbara Clevery - DONE
May: Meet the Press - The Ventriloquists by E. R. Ramzipoor - DONE
June: Rewriting the Past - The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams - DONE
July: Now We Are Free - A Shadow on the Household: One Enslaved Family's Incredible Struggle for Freedom by Bryan Prince - DONE
August: Food - The Cafe by the Sea by Jenny Colgan - DONE
September: Time Travel/Prehistoric - A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - DONE
October: Supernatural - Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz - DONE
November: Reader's Choice
December: Brrrrr Cold!

2021 Nonfiction Challenge

January: Prizewinners - Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson - DONE
February: Minority Lives Matter - The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander - DONE
March: Comfort Reading - The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards - DONE
April: The Ancient World - Blood of the Celts by Jean Manco - DONE
May: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral - The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World by Larry Zuckerman - DONE
June: Discoveries - Longitude by Dava Sobel - DONE
July: Cities
August: Transportation - Sailing Seven Seas: A History of the Canadian Pacific Line by Peter Pigott - DONE
September: Creativity - Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven by Ross King DONE
October: Heroes & Villains - The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA by John Ashdown-Hill - DONE
November: Business, the Economy and Big Policy Questions
December: Go Anywhere

Books read in August 2021

The Secret Starling by Judith Eagle
Death Comes to Bath by Catherine Lloyd
The Café by the Sea by Jenny Colgan
Snap by Belinda Bauer
Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.
Tempt Me with Diamonds by Jane Feather
A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn
J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography by Rick Geary
We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper
The Loneliness of the Long-distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine
Reunion: A Search for Ancestors by Ryan Littrell
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
The Survivors by Jane Harper
Sailing Seven Seas: A History of the Canadian Pacific Line by Peter Pigott
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

Books read in September 2021

The Searcher by Tana French
Miss Seeton Rules by Hamilton Crane
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
London’s Burning by Constantine FitzGibbon
Moms by Yeong-shin Ma
A Shadow on the Household by Bryan Prince
Call for the Dead by John le Carré
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Getting Out of Hope by James Cadelli
Amber & Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz
Seduce Me with Sapphires by Jane Feather
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Master of Deceit: J. Edgar Hoover and America in the Age of Lies by Marc Aronson
The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell
Someone to Honor by Mary Balogh
Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven by Ross King

Books read in 2021

Books Acquired in 2021

Acquisitions for August 2021

An Unlikely Spy by Rebecca Starford
Poppy Redfern and the Midnight Murders by Tessa Arlen
The War Against Miss Winter by Kathryn Miller Haines
Fortune Favors the Dead by Stephen Spotswood
Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War, 1941-1945 by Leo Marks
Her Heart for a Compass by Sarah Ferguson
The Clockmaker's Wife by Daisy Wood
The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths
Briefs Encountered by Julian Clary
The Wire in the Blood by Val McDermid
Victoria Unbuttoned: A Red-light History of BC's Capital City by Linda J. Eversole
Mudlark: In Search of London's Past Along the River Thames by Lara Maiklem
Land Girl: A Manual for Volunteers in the Women's Land Army 1941 by W.E. Shewell-Cooper
Condemned: The Transported Men, Women and Children Who Built Britain's Empire by Graham Seal
The Civil War: A Visual History Smithsonian

Acquisitions for September 2021

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
To Know You're Alive by Dakota McFadzean
Invitation to Die by Barbara Cleverly
Murder at Archly Manor by Sara Rosett
The Egyptian Antiquities Murder by Sara Rosett
Glory In Death by J.D. Robb (I tried to get this from the library I put it on hold, but before I could take it out it became a discard after being in mend for weeks)
We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter
The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleeves
Portrait of a Scotsman by Evie Dunmore
Vile Spirits by John MacLachan Gray
Britain 1940: The Decisive Year on the Home Front by Anton Rippon
DNA & Destiny by R. Grant Steen
The Middle Ages: A Graphic History by Eleanor Janega and Neil Max Emmanuel
Arthur and the Kings of Britain by Miles Russell
Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror by Rupert Matthews

Welcome!

Happy new thread, Meg. x

>13 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul.

Happy new thread, Meg!

Happy new one!

Happy new one!

Happy new thread, Meg!

Hi Meg, and happy new thread!

From your previous thread – I’m glad you liked The Stranger Times. I’ve already pre-ordered the Kindle version of the second book, due February 17th here in the US.

>3 Familyhistorian: As always, your blog is fascinating. I particularly like the genealogical aspect of mysteries, having never really thought about it exactly that way before. But long-lost heirs, black sheep returned, wills, etc., drive so many mysteries.

>15 FAMeulstee: >16 figsfromthistle: >17 drneutron: >18 katiekrug: Thanks Anita and Anita, Jim and Katie!

>19 karenmarie: The Stranger Times was so good, Karen. I can't wait to see what you think of the second book.

I was weaned on mysteries, the Tom Thomson one being part of my family lore. So I tend to think of questions about family history that way. Not to mention that mysteries are some of my favourite reads. Besides, those family mysteries are where most of the juicy stuff is.

136. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers



It took me a while to read The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois because it is a door stopper of a book but it was a library hold and an Oprah’s Book Club pick so I only had a limited time to make my way through it. Before reading the book, I had no idea about the settlement of Georgia. This read was the remedy for that as it drew on the history of the various peoples, the Creek, the black enslaved and the whites who lorded their superiority over everyone; unless they ended up at the bottom of that pile, then they made sure those below them suffered for it.

This was essentially the story of one family in the current day but it went back into the past to look at where that family came from and what it had gone through. It was a tangled past of black and white and red intermingled with casual cruelty and sexual abuse. I especially enjoyed learning the history through the eyes of the main character, as historical research is my jam.

Happy new one, Meg!

>22 Familyhistorian: I want to pick that one up when I'm next in the mood for a chunkster.

Happy new thread, Meg!

>22 Familyhistorian: I'm so chunkstered out it's not even funny...and still that sounds appealing.

Happy new thread, Meg! Since I haven't a prayer of catching up on your other threads, I will try and keep up here!

What a wonderful photo in >1 Familyhistorian:! Happy new thread Meg. Hope you are doing well!

Happy new thread, Meg. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois sounds wonderful.

Happy new thread!

I came by last night when you had 12 reserved messages and decided to wait a bit. Then I failed to notice that it had been a bit and some.

Happy new thread, Meg.

Hi Meg my dear, happy new thread dear friend.

>23 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba!

>24 laytonwoman3rd: It was a long read, Linda. I had to keep telling myself to pick it up when I began because it felt like it was taking so long to read it but things sped up after a while.

>25 richardderus: Thanks Richard! It is quite the chunkster but worth the read.

>26 alcottacre: Stasia, good to see you here. I understand about the threads. I'm impossibly far behind on the threads that I follow at this point and don't remember checking in with you this year either.

>27 mdoris: That's a view of Burrard Inlet taken from Port Moody, Mary. Thanks for the good wishes.

>28 BLBera: Thanks Beth. The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois was a good read but long!

>29 quondame: It's easy to get distracted in the threads, Susan. Thanks for coming back with new thread wishes.

>30 DeltaQueen50: Thanks Judy!

>31 johnsimpson: Hi John, thanks for the new thread wishes.

The other day one of the clues on Jeopardy was about W.E.B Du Bois only they pronounced the name Du Boys. I've never actually heard the name said before and wondered if that is the way it is pronounced.

137. Laidlaw by William McIlvanney



Crime writers at the Edinburgh Festival often cite the Laidlaw books as the start of Scottish crime writing as it is known today. As Ian Rankin has recently written a follow up to the Laidlaw books, they were particularly front and centre this year. So, I had to go and get the first one which, of course, is called Laidlaw.

The crime was the murder of a young woman. The narrative delves into the lives of all who were affected by this crime, in the process exploring Glasgow’s gritty reality. It was really well done. I appreciated the writers use of language in particular.

>37 Familyhistorian: Sounds like one I might like. Thanks for the recommendation, Meg.

>38 alcottacre: It's a good one and the start of a trilogy, Stasia.

>37 Familyhistorian: Somewhere in my braincase is that title in a drawer labeled "pretty good reads." Not clue one about the details.

>36 Familyhistorian: That is the correct pronunciation of his name.

Happy Thanksgiving to you Meg! I think there will be some rainbows close after thunder/lightnight/sunshine. Crazy weather!

I'm wishing you and all yours a very happy Thanksgiving celebration, Meg!

...so delicious looking I want one, too.

>137 Familyhistorian: You seem to have started a run on the library here. All the copies are unavailable. I may put a hold on one of the e-books.

>34 Familyhistorian:. That's the way I've always heard DuBois pronounced when referring to W. E. B, and I have a friend with that surname who also pronounces it that way. Now, if we're talking about Blanche, it's definite DuBWAH.

>40 richardderus: Glasgow noir, Richard. Ring any bells? Thanks re the pronunciation and a smile for the wishes in >42 richardderus:. No pumpkin pie in my future though.

>41 mdoris: Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving too, Mary. No crazy weather here yesterday just straight sunshine which was fine by me.

>43 ffortsa: Hi Judy, it wasn't me who put a run on the Laidlaw books. It was Ian Rankin. He recently came out with another Laidlaw book at the request of McIlvanney's widow.

>44 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks, Linda. I was sure I had heard the name pronounced the same way as Blanche does and by someone from the US too. I was brought up in Quebec so I automatically pronounced it that way too.

>36 Familyhistorian:, >44 laytonwoman3rd: - I think it's because of Canada's French influence in our school system growing up, Meg, the duBWAH is what we default to when we see it in print. I had also always heard Americans say DuBOYS and thought that odd, but I think that after several generations of French families living in the States, that's what happens.

>39 Familyhistorian: Good to know. Thanks for the info, Meg!

138. Darkside by Belinda Bauer



A taut thriller, Darkside was set in a small village where someone started killing the old and infirm. A police team was sent in from outside and they placed the village constable in an unenviable position ignoring his contributions and local knowledge, even when the team needed whatever help they could get as it appeared the killer was not done. It was a very dark read.

>49 jessibud2: I'm sure that's why my pronunciation defaults to the French way of saying the name, Shelley. Even now I have a hard time saying the name the other way and I wonder if the name was said the same way in New Orleans.

>50 alcottacre: I hope you enjoy the reads, Stasia.

139. Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie



The town of Temptation had been governed by succeeding mayors named Phineas T. Tucker, but the current owner of the name was not too fond of the job but not about to give it up to his perpetual opponent, Stephen Garvey. The last time Stephen had been in charge had not gone well for the town. So, when two grifter type sisters drive into town and into Stephen Garvey’s car, Phin just had to accompany his friend the sheriff when he went to talk to the sister who was driving.

The inevitable romance complicated by the competing agendas, hidden and otherwise, of a large cast of characters and a dead body made Welcome to Temptation a fun quick read.

>51 Familyhistorian: That one sounds like it might be a little too dark for me. I think I I will give it a pass.

>54 Familyhistorian: Jennifer Crusie has some pretty good, if light, books out there. I enjoy both Bet Me and Maybe This Time.

>55 alcottacre: It was very dark and bothered me a bit, so good call on that one.

Thanks for the Crusie titles. i looked to see if my library had the newest (I think), Faking It but they didn't. I liked her writing and will have a look for the titles you mentioned.

140. Glory In Death by J.D. Robb



When I received Naked in Death back from the person I’d lent it to I read it again for the third time. After this reread though, I felt like I needed to continue. So, I put Glory in Death on hold at the Vancouver Public Library and waited and waited. It was in mends for the longest time then became a discard. But I still wanted to read it and there it was for sale in my local Chapters which meant I had to buy it again.

I’m glad I did. In this episode of the continuing series Eve and Roarke were spending a lot of time with each other but Eve still has her ratty apartment which was the cause of some tension as the couple negotiate their already tense relationship. On top of that, Eve was working a case with Feeney involving high profile women ending up dead which meant the press were involved, so Nadine became involved. The cast of characters was growing as this book saw the first glimpses of Peabody. I can’t wait to see who all appears in the next one.

Yesterday was a very book focused day for me. I watched a Zoom talk by Alan Bradley. I had no idea that he first started writing the Flavia Du Luce in BC or that the series will be televised.

In the evening I attended a Zoom meeting for the launch of Emerge 21, the anthology put out by The Writers Studio feature the work of the students in the program. Some of the student gave readings of their work.

>58 Familyhistorian: Latest news on the TV series isn't hugely fresh...apparently no casting has been done. But goodness how I hope CTV does get it on-air before Bradley's too far gone to appreciate it.

Thursday, isn't it. Well. One day closer to...what're those things called, the ones that make working people so happy...hm...can't remember.

>59 richardderus: Bradley's getting up there, Richard, but it sounded like another book was in the works. We'll see. I Googled the info on the TV show. Apparently the announcement about the series was made in 2018. Maybe the actor slated to play Flavia aged out of the role.

Yes, those two days that bookend the week, the days I try not to go shopping because everyone else is.

141. The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis



I must admit that I chose to read The Lions of Fifth Avenue because of the memory of the time that I spent in the magnificent New York Library on Fifth Avenue as much as the favourable reviews I saw posted on LT. It was a story told in two time frames, from the point of view of a woman and wife, Laura Lyons, who lived in the library’s apartment with her husband and family in the years immediately after the library’s opening and from the point of view of her granddaughter, Sadie Donovan, a librarian in the same building many years later.

In both time frames the catalyst for action was the theft of valuable books from the library. But the story revealed so much about the families and the mysteries of their past that it was a satisfying read that kept me interested until the final page.

Happy Friday, Meg. I got way behind over here. How does this happen? Have a great weekend and enjoy those books.

>62 msf59: It's hard to keep up with everyone, Mark. Have a great weekend!

>61 Familyhistorian: This does sound good. I have a copy waiting for me. I hope to get to it this year.

>57 Familyhistorian: Woot! Another In Death series fan. Still love those books even after multiple reads of them. As long as she continues to write them, I will continue to read them.

>61 Familyhistorian: I will have to check that one out. My local library has a copy. Thanks for the review and recommendation!

Happy Saturday, Meg!

Hi Meg, I hope you are staying warm and dry today. I just got home from running some errands and it was windy, rainy and cold. It's a good day to make a pot of Clam Chowder and curl up with my afghan and a book or two!

Dropping in to say hello! Hope all is well with you.

>37 Familyhistorian: Sounds interesting. One of my library branches has got a copy of it.

>51 Familyhistorian: I've read Rubbernecker years ago. That's the only Bauer book I've read so far. It looks like I should put her up on my list.

>57 Familyhistorian: Oh, I like the Death series.

>61 Familyhistorian: Nice review, I put it on my list.

Happy Sunday, Meg.

142. Mary's Monster by Lita Judge



I didn’t know the story of Mary Shelley until I read Mary’s Monster. In many ways the lives that she and Percy Shelley led seemed over the top, steeped in melodrama when distilled down to their essence. It was an essence that the author was able to convey through poetry and picture to illustrate an eventful life that produced works, one of which has endured. But, of such turmoil stories can be made and lessons can be taught.

>64 BLBera: It was a good one, Beth. I'm sure you'll enjoy it when you get to it.

>65 alcottacre: I thought you'd pick up on the In Death reads, Stasia. I've reread the first, Naked in Death three times but this is my first reread of the rest and I don't remember much about them because I read them when they first came out in paperback which was 1995 for Glory in Death. That's a whole lifetime ago!

>66 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy, I was able to dodge the rain for most of the day yesterday. I went for a walk in Port Moody in the trails by Old Orchard Park and the only moisture for most of it was the water dripping from the trees. No real wind here either. Sounds like you enjoyed your cozy afternoon at home.

>67 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita, it's good here. Hope you are doing well. I'm finding it hard to keep up with the threads this year so I'm well behind on your news. Will have to catch up.

>68 Ameise1: I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday, Barbara. The reads have been going down easy for me. Good to see that I've hit you with a few BBs!

Happy week-ahead's reads, Meg.

Hopeless behind, but popping in to say Hi! I see you are happily buried "In Death" and Monsters. Sounds like good reading to me. : )

>75 richardderus: Thanks Richard although I don't know how much reading I'm going to get done this week. It's a busy one for me with Vancouver Writers Festival and the Surrey International Writers Conference happening at the same time!

>76 Berly: Good to see you here, Kim. I'm hopelessly behind as well. The In Death books are going down well.

143. When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn



In When He Was Wicked I followed the tale of Michael Stirling who, allowed to be more frivolous than his cousin, the earl, was a noted rake. That came easy since he was in love with someone he couldn’t have, his cousin the earl’s wife. But the earl died young and unexpectedly which changed the whole story for Michael, now the new earl still in love with the former earl’s widow. It was interesting to see how the couple worked their way through their complicated past.

Last night I attended a session at the Vancouver Writers Festival in-person. The writers said how much they enjoyed having a live audience and the audience appreciated being there, I know I did. The talk featured Carrie Jenkins, Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Sam Wiebe.

144. Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton



The start of Feral Creatures didn’t grab me the way that Hollow Kingdom did. It was more of a slow build as ST and a gang of owls and other creatures bring up a female mofo from baby to teenager. ST tried to mold the female child, Dee, into a mofo who would belong in Big Jim’s world, the lost world of Seattle. Of course, that world was gone.

A quest plot underpinned the story once again but Dee and ST were looking for different ways of belonging in this new word. How they negotiated this and all the forces that were out to get them, especially the rapidly evolving creatures that used to be human, was the focus of a story where the action intensified once ST and Dee got back to his old hunting grounds in Washington State and all the creatures from the zoo who might be friend or foe. The action towards the end was rapid and well worth the time spent on the slow build up in the beginning.

I'm way behind in my reviews of my reads and need to get caught up especially as some of them need to go back to the library in a few days. I'm currently juggling events from both SIWC and the Vancouver Writers Fest at the same time.

145. Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb



In this one, Mavis, Dallas’ BFF, had just hooked up with Leonardo, fashion designer and love of Mavis’ life. Only their relationship became rocky when his ex, the glamourous fashion model Pandora tried to put a stop to it and then ended up dead. It didn’t help that Mavis was the one who discovered the body.

Already stressed about her wedding, Dallas had to pull out all the stops to help her friend before she was arrested. To add to the complications Leonard was designing her wedding dress and his studio was the crime scene. It was another page turner.

>83 Familyhistorian: Y'all who love this series are pretty delighted by it. What am I missing, I keep thinking as I recall my underwhelmèdness at Naked in Death.

>81 Familyhistorian: Pretty much sums up how I felt: That ending made the ride feel so much better.

Hi, Meg! Finally catching up around here and I see you've been reading up a storm.

The last few days I've been trying to keep up with the writers festival and writers conference. Both are over now but I've still got plenty to follow up on as I didn't get to see some of the festival online events I signed up for but they'll be sending out recordings. With the conference, too I'll have lots that I didn't see at the time to pack into my viewing in the next 30 days.

Friday was the first full day of the conference but I went to the festival with a friend instead. We only saw one event. That was about What Strange Paradise and the author, Omar El Akkad, was interviewed by Mark Medley.

Our sojourn involved lunch, the festival book store and a few more stores as well. It's been a while since I've done all that.

Hi Meg. You are so busy!! Have all restrictions been lifted in BC, when it comes to gatherings, restaurants, etc? Ontario is beginning to lift capacity starting tomorrow. I am not, though. ;-). Still being very cautious here.

I hear BC is in for some weather. Hunker down and stay dry!!

146. Grave Undertaking by Mark de Castrique



It has been a while since I read one of Mark de Castrique’s series. In Grave Undertaking, this episode of the Barry Clayton undertaker series, a body was found in a grave – besides the one that was supposed to be buried there. The man whose body it was had been presumed to have left town. His burial and gun shot wound made it obvious that he was murdered. The fact that he had a photo of Barry’s girlfriend in his wallet and that he was a PI made for an interesting story and gave the hero sleuth a further reason to look into the mysterious death.

>86 Familyhistorian: Lucky you Meg going to the event for What Strange Paradise. I read the book a few months ago and thought it was very good. How was the interview?

>84 richardderus: There is a lot of love for this series, Richard, but different strokes.

The start of Feral Creatures was slow but I think that's because we already knew about the world we were in, unlike in the first novel when everything was brand new and shiny.

>85 ronincats: Hi Roni, good to see you here. I'm way behind in writing about my reads which makes it seem like I'm reading more than I am.

>87 jessibud2: Hi Shelley, restrictions are still high in the north which leads in new cases per capita and we were still a limited capacity for the writers festival but next week we're supposed to be at full capacity in restaurants and events for vaccinated people, at least in the Lower Mainland.

Yes, weather. We always have weather. Wind gusts were blowing leaves all over the place.

>89 mdoris: The interview was very good, Mary. Omar El Akkad and Mark Medley went to school together so were ribbing each other. It also meant that Mark had a good idea of what questions to ask.

Omar mentioned being influenced by the news of the boy on the beach, Alan Kurdi. I also attended a talk by Tima Kurdi a few years ago after her book, The Boy on the Beach, came out so that caught my attention. Tima is Alan's aunt and a hairdresser in Port Coquitlam. At least she was at the time that I saw her.

>93 Familyhistorian: - I read Tima's book when it came out. Such a heartbreaking story and so courageous of her to have forged ahead the way she did.

147. We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter



Every once in a while, the masterclass I’m a part of for Family History Writing, reads a novel based on family history. This time it was We Were the Lucky Ones. It was a very apt title. Time and time again the members of this Polish Jewish family were able to escape death at the hands of the Nazis. With some of the family it was barely by the skin of their teeth, they came so close to death.

The story was amazing but there were so many parts of it and the family members ended up in so many places that it was hard to keep track. It would have helped to have a family tree to refer back to. A timeline would have come in handy too. The kicker was that it wasn’t fiction.

>93 Familyhistorian: I never read the story, Shelley. I couldn't bring myself to read something that heart rending.

148. The Fade Out, Act One



With an unreliable narrator, recurring scenes and characters who could be heroes or villains or something in between, The Fade Out was set in Hollywood. It wasn’t Hollywood as it first came to be or the Hollywood of the 21st century. This noir GN was set in the Tinsel Town of the shell shocked ‘50s after McCarthy and his ilk had blasted through the city. Now I have to find the next installment.

The SIWC sessions didn't start until 9:00 am this morning and it wasn't raining yet, so I decided to go for an early walk. This was my reward.

149. The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA by John Ashdown-Hill



I find the story of Richard III fascinating. There are so many versions of it. In The Last Days of Richard III and the fate of his DNA, the author looks at just the last 5 months of his reign which were certainly full of the kind of events which a king foreseeing a long future would concern himself with. But that was not to be as we know from our history. But the author even takes history or the historians who tell it to task critiquing some of the accounts of Richard’s reign which came after his defeat.

The story ventures into the discovery of Richard’s remains and gives a taste of the difficulties of finding current connections on the maternal line which allowed the body to be identified. It was a fascinating account which inspired a few of the recent posts on my blog.

This afternoon I was one of 23 people from the program which I recently completed at The Writers Studio who read from their pieces in Emerge, the anthology that is published every year. It was a Zoom event at the Vancouver Writers Festival. It was nerve wracking as I was the 20th reader!

>99 Familyhistorian: I am a died in the wool Ricardian Yorkist, Meg and would gladly have traced the line of Richard III to today to determine the rightful monarch of England and by extension the Head of State of amongst others Canada.

I haven't seen that one but will go and look for it.

>98 Familyhistorian: - Wow, what an amazing shot! The autumn colours and the rainbow! Topper material, for sure, Meg!

>100 Familyhistorian: That sounds stressful even for someone who doesn't hate public speaking. I'm glad it's behind you.

>98 Familyhistorian: Stunning!

>100 Familyhistorian: Congrats on being a published writer. How awesome is that!

>101 PaulCranswick: It's an interesting book about Richard III, Paul. I hope you get your hands on it. My interest in Richard became more intense after I visited Leicester in 2019 and went to many of the spots that had a connection to the discovery of his body. Not sure if you saw my posts about that in 2019.

>102 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley, around this time of year we get lots of scenes with strange lighting like that when we get sun. I've taken a few pictures to capture the light in the last few days.

>105 Familyhistorian: I do recall them. Meg. I worked on the construction of the Magistrates Courts in Leicester which is nearby where the remains were discovered. (30 years ago of course).

>103 richardderus: The reading itself was fine, Richard, but waiting for it made it more difficult. It felt much better when it was all done!

>104 mdoris: Thanks Mary. It's nice to published. It is the first fiction I've had published but I have had non-fiction of a sort published before.

>107 PaulCranswick: There have probably been a lot of changes since you were last there, Paul. I had a wonderful time there touring around in many places with historical connections not least because my tour guide was someone I have historical connections with, my 7th cousin.

>110 Familyhistorian: Yes I probably wouldn't recognise the place at all, Meg.

>100 Familyhistorian: That is wonderful, Meg. Please share with us details on how to obtain/purchase a copy for Emerge. I would be proud to get myself a copy.

Hi, Meg. How are things going? Thanks for the reminder on Feral Creatures. That one got pushed to the sidelines, with the crush of fall books crowding it out. I really liked The Fade-Out series. This is such a great team. Joe is a big fan, as well.

Hi Meg!

>81 Familyhistorian: I’m glad you liked Feral Creatures and I thought your comments were spot on.

>83 Familyhistorian: Yikes. I was current through book 52, but there are three new ones since I last checked. It’s a very good series.

>95 Familyhistorian: I love family trees and timelines in books – both fiction and nonfiction. Too bad the author didn’t include either.

>98 Familyhistorian: Gorgeous.

>100 Familyhistorian: Congrats on being one of the people chosen to read your piece! Sorry it was nerve-wracking, but I’m sure you did a wonderful job.

150. A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee



I saw Abir Makherjee being interviewed by Val McDermid at the Edinburgh Book Festival this year and just had to check out his mystery series. The series begins with A Rising Man, in which the main detective, Captain Sam Wyndham, a former Scotland Yard detective, showed up at his new job working for the police in Calcutta. A definite fish out of water, he had to figure out the culture and the various power wielding entities quickly in order to perform his job. It didn’t help that the first case he was landed with was of a high-profile Scot or that his second in command had been passed over for the position that Sam now held. The casual racism of the British in India was at once seductive and made the truth of what had transpired harder to find.

I really enjoyed the mystery, Sam’s backstory, which at times makes him his own worst enemy, and his sergeant, Surrender-not, who interjects a native knowledge of the culture and who also has Sam’s back. I’m looking forward to reading about their next case.

>112 PaulCranswick: The full name of the anthology is Emerge 21 and it's available on Amazon, Paul.

>113 msf59: Hi Mark, I read your post as the crush of falling books and envisioned one of my stacks falling over and wiping out a few others as it went!
Feral Creatures is worth a read and I'm following up on the Fade Out series. Good to know you both enjoyed it.

>114 karenmarie: Actually, there was a family tree in We Were the Lucky Ones. I didn't notice it until the group discussion. My bad.

As for being chosen to give a reading, we got to read if we volunteered in time. But thanks for the congrats, Karen. It was nerve wracking but probably easier than for those in previous years who read in-person, so it was at once less stressful and less rewarding. I'll be so glad if things go back to as they were before but I'm not holding my breath.

>115 Familyhistorian: The weather ruined that book for me.

>119 quondame: Was that because it was hot all the time? I had no problem with that since I like the idea of living somewhere hot probably because I've never gotten to.

>120 Familyhistorian: Partly. That was about the only aspect of the local that I felt came across in the writing.

>121 quondame: It wasn't strong on setting but there were some things like the size of the river that came across.

>115 Familyhistorian: Congratulations on reaching 2 x 75, Meg!

Congrats on your double!

Congratulations on 150!

>115 Familyhistorian:
Yay!

Meg, 150, that amazes me! Congrats.

151. The Visitors by Sally Beauman



I had some idea about how the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb unfolded but after reading The Visitors I got a closer view of what went on behind the scenes and the various factions involved. The story was told by Lucy, an 11-year-old girl in Egypt to recover her health. Befriended by Frances, the daughter of an American archaeologist, Lucy was able to get a behind the scenes view of the personalities involved and the underhanded dealings in which they indulged.

The story was told by an elderly Lucy looking back on her life with its excitements, pains and sorrows brought about by the times she lived through. That POV lent the story a sadness which it would not have had otherwise but it also allowed the reader to see what happened to the personalities involved in the discovery of the tomb later in life.

>128 Familyhistorian: That one sounds interesting. I will have to see if my local library has a copy. Thanks, Meg!

Happy Thursday!

Thank you Anita, Lori, Stasia, Richard and Mary.

I think I can thank my trigger finger on the library hold button for the amount of reading I do.

>130 Familyhistorian: I put a ton of books on hold too, so I definitely know how that goes!

>129 alcottacre: It was interesting, Stasia. She had short bios of the real people involved at the end of the book. I got the feeling that she really did her research. There's also a bibliography in the back.

>131 alcottacre: It's probably a good thing that I'm so far behind on the threads because it's the BBs that usually get me searching for books. Not that I don't have plenty to be going on with at home.

Meg for the longest time our library had a max of 50 holds (which is very easy to do!) but recently this is not the case and I also know about the trigger finger and the ceiling climbs and climbs.......and I am afraid to ask about the new max.

Hi Meg, just catching up with you - congrats. on passing the 150 mark. I've had The Visitors on my library list for some time - sounds like I need to get to it!

>134 mdoris: The Vancouver Public Library went for no maximum on holds a couple of years ago. That means I can hit that hold button whenever I feel like it. It also means that so can everybody else so more often than not there will be someone else hitting the hold button for the same book which means the hold books you get have to be read quickly. Its a double edged sword but it ups the books read pretty quickly.

>135 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy, The Visitors filled in a lot of the story of the discovery of the tomb for me and was an interesting read as well. Definitely worth a read.

152. Report for Murder by V.L. McDermid



Report for Murder was the first of the Lindsay Gordon mystery series. Lindsay was trying to make a living as a freelance reporter and accepted a job to write about a fundraising concert at a girls school which employs, Paddy, a friend of hers. It’s a book written in a certain era, there were phone boxes and people smoked. So, the attitudes to women working and class were less than enlightened.

The concert’s featured attraction was a bitchy female cello player who got killed prior to the performance. When Paddy was arrested it was up to Lindsay and Cordelia, another friend of Paddy’s to investigate because obviously the police had it all wrong. During the course of their sleuthing the two women started a relationship but it was a case of opposites attracting. Now I want to read the next book to see if Cordelia shows up in that too.

Happy Friday, Meg. Hooray for #150! You are definitely churning through the books. Unfortunately, it barely makes a dent, right? Grins...

Meg, I had lost your thread. I am also having a hard time keeping up with the threads this year.

>22 Familyhistorian: I have this one (The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois) out from the library currently - deckled edge pages! Sounds like I need to make sure I get to it.

>37 Familyhistorian: A direct hit with Laidlaws, and it was only $1.99 on Kindle!

>54 Familyhistorian: Welcome to Temptation is one of my all time favorite books. I reread it every few years, and it always makes me laugh out loud.

>55 alcottacre: Faking It is not her newest one, but it does feature Sophie's Brother, so it is kind of a sequel to Welcome to Temptation. Tell Me Lies is another I would recommend. Her humor speaks to me, so I have enjoyed all of her books that I have read.

>57 Familyhistorian: I really need to get back to that series. Like you, I have read Naked in Death several times and some of the others, but going back and starting over would be good.

>97 Familyhistorian: I loved that series of GNs!

>98 Familyhistorian: Gorgeous photo!!

>115 Familyhistorian: I also love this series! They are fabulous on audio, but it takes forever for them to come out in that format for some reason. And congrats on 150!!

>116 Familyhistorian: Very exciting news about being published, and thanks for the title.

Hoping that your weekend is full of fabulous!

My local library used to allow for up to 100 books to be on hold at a time, but they dropped it to a maximum of 5 a few years ago because some of the school teachers were abusing the system. How, I have no idea. Seems to me teachers might need to put that many books on hold at a time.

>138 Familyhistorian: That sounds like one I might like, so I will check and see if my local library has a copy. Thanks for the review, Meg.

Have a terrific weekend!

>141 alcottacre: That's a really drastic change from 100 to 5. It seems to me something a little higher (maybe around 15-20) would have been a more reasonable limit if one were implemented.

>139 msf59: No, 150 doesn't even come close to making a dent, Mark. Maybe I should stop getting books from the library so I can get through more books on my shelves.

>140 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie, good to know you found me again. I'm with you on the threads galloping away from me. Unfortunately, my library doesn't have many of the books in the Welcome to Temptation series so I'm not sure how far I'll get in reading those books. I already have a book buying problem so don't want to buy them. They do have the rest of The Fade Out series, though. So I'll be following up on those.

>141 alcottacre: I wonder how they were abusing the hold system, strange. Unlimited holds are good but dangerous. I hope you like the Lindsay Gordon series, Stasia. Val McDermid writes good mysteries.

>142 thornton37814: It does seem drastic, Lori. Makes me wonder how they were abusing the system.

>144 Familyhistorian: There's just the two books, Meg.

>147 Crazymamie: Yes, but that’s what I’ve told myself too many times. I really need to make the book piles smaller as the chances are I’ll need to move.

>116 Familyhistorian: I shall go and track it down, Meg.

Well done for reaching 2x75 already.

>142 thornton37814: Yes, it was, Lori. Especially as we got no warning at all that the change was coming. I was not a happy camper.

>145 Familyhistorian: I think I have read one of McDermid's mysteries several years ago, but for the life of me, I do not know which. I have heard good things about her mysteries, so I really need to get them read.

>149 PaulCranswick: Thanks on both counts, Paul

>150 alcottacre: I started reading a lot of Val McDermid's books after seeing her at Zoom events like the Edinburgh Book Festival and other book events which featured crime writers from Scotland. The country has a strong crime writing tradition and I've barely scratch the surface of what is available.

153. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker



I’ve seen The Silence of the Girls on many LT lists and had to check it out. It was an exploration of Greek myths from a different point of view, that of the spoils of war, the women and girls who were taken by the victors after the men of their cities had been killed. Often the males of a woman’s family had been killed but she was treated as if she had no feelings. One of the most poignant passages came towards the end of the book when a male character says:
”I do what no man before me has ever done, I kiss the hands of the man who killed my son.”
The female character observing the scene thinks:
”And I do what countless women before me have been forced to do. I spread my legs for the man who killed my husband and my brothers.”

That effectively summed up the message of the book for me.

Yesterday I went to stay with a friend who lives about an hours drive from me. I stayed with the same friend last Halloween as well as I wasn't looking forward to answering the door to trick or treaters as a person living on my own especially in the midst of Covid.

In the past I would get about 100 kids which pretty much took up most of my time between 5 - 7:30. It wasn't anything to look forward to. At her place the count is more in the range of 30 and there were two of us to answer the door. The easier pace put the fun back into the evening for me.

154. Rapture in Death by J.D. Robb



Continuing with my reread of the in Death series, I read Rapture in Death the fourth book in the series. Dallas and Roarke were off planet on their honeymoon at a new resort. The discovery of a body in one of the suites in the resort which Roarke owns appears to be a suicide but the circumstances niggle at Dallas when the honeymoon is over and apparent suicides of prominent people start to come to her attention. This was another page turning installment of the series.

155. In. by Will McPhail



Nick was a young illustrator searching for and mostly missing meaningful interactions with people that would allow him to make a connection. The story of his struggles was told in the GN In., which mostly showed the action in black and white but, when a true connection was made, it resulted in glorious colour. The story was poignant and ultimately made a connection with this reader.

>153 Familyhistorian: I already have that one in the BlackHole or I would be adding it again.

>154 Familyhistorian: I am only up to book 2 in my re-read of the series, but I will be soldiering on all the way through. I hope you continue to enjoy your re-reads, Meg.

>155 Familyhistorian: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the review and recommendation!

>157 alcottacre: Hi Stasia, the in Death books are going down easy. I don't know why it took me so long to do a reread other than the fact that I rarely read books more than once.

I hope you enjoy In.. I assume that was the recommendation you were referring to.

Hi Meg, I am glad that you were able to enjoy your Halloween. It pretty much passed by here unnoticed. Since we moved to the apartment we don't get Trick or Treaters anymore so I don't bother getting any candy as I would just end up eating it myself.

Hi Meg. Back from the New West trip. Lordy I loved the 'clean and green' of growing things. Not too bad for rain. Read 3 books but only finished 1 (e-reader gave me lots of trouble). Reading while on a family trip is unusual for me. I had to relinquish some long awaited holds such as Finding the mother tree: discovering the wisdom of the forest, but I just re-requested it straight away.

156. Raven's Gate by Anthony Horowitz



I picked up Raven’s Gate because it was written by Anthony Horowitz although it was sci-fi, not one of my preferred genres. The hero, Matt, had fallen afoul of the law and as a juvenile ended up placed in a person’s home to get him back on the straight and narrow. Only, the woman had strange powers and obviously had other dastardly plans for her young charge. Try as he might, he couldn’t find his way out of the village. There were other forces in play and everyone who tried to help Matt ended up dead. Would he be able to get free or end up the same way as those who came to his aide?

Raven’s Gate updated the story of witches to the modern day as the coven tried to harness the power of a defunct nuclear power plant to work their nefarious magic.

>159 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy, the friend I stayed with just moved into a house from a condo so was used to no trick or treaters either. I agreed that all that candy hanging around can be dangerous so you can't buy it too early or it will disappear before it gets handed out.

>160 SandyAMcPherson: Sounds like you lucked out on your trip to New West, Sandy. The weather has been making up for those dry days in the last few. At least Halloween wasn't a soggy mess.

Hi Meg!

>115 Familyhistorian: Congrats on 75 x 2, and I’ve added A Rising Man to my ridiculously-long wish list – I’m up to 92 books since January 1.

>134 mdoris: I cannot imagine putting 50 books on hold. The most I’ve ever had, and that was highly stressful waiting for them to both come available at the same time, was 2. *shudder*

>138 Familyhistorian: I love Val McDermid. I’ve read one standalone and all 6 of the Karen Pirie series. I’ve got the second in the Lindsay Gorden series on my shelves. I usually pick up mysteries at Friends of the Library sales, but we haven’t had one since Fall 2019, having just recently cancelled this Fall’s. We’re hoping for Spring of 2022. 🤞

>144 Familyhistorian: I already have a book buying problem me, too. Sigh.

>154 Familyhistorian: I’m glad you had a good Halloween experience. The last time I had trick-or-treaters was in 1990 in So. California, as Bill and I have lived at three different houses in very rural parts of our county. When Jenna was little, we had to take her into town; fortunately she decided enough was enough when she was 12.

Happy Friday, Meg. " Maybe I should stop getting books from the library so I can get through more books on my shelves." Probably not going to happen but it is a heck of an idea. Grins...Have a good weekend.

>164 karenmarie: I just discovered Val McDermid in recent years, Karen, so there are lots more books ahead of me. Both a good and bad thing in a way. I tend to use the library a lot. My hold list is ridiculous and I have to keep putting a pause on books to juggle them. I generally have about 30 on hold at a time and they tend to come in bunches.

>165 msf59: Hi Mark, reading my own books is not only a good idea there are added pressures in that I might have to move! But still the book buying goes on. I could have worse habits, I suppose. Have a wonderful weekend!

>161 Familyhistorian: ...the hell...? Nuclear-powered witches...?! Every witch I know would laugh that idea into next millennium.

Ah well, fiction is its own thing isn't it.

Sending happy-reading whammys into the Northern Tier.

>138 Familyhistorian: via >164 karenmarie:, I see a Paddy. Too bad that I wasn't all that pleased with the one of Val McDermid I read. Too clever by half.

>166 Familyhistorian: At the library with the best selection, this year I'm over running my eBook holds quota - I stash them over in the recommended list at the other library until I run out of space there!

>164 karenmarie: Sometimes I wait over 6 months (and much longer) for a book to arrive from my reserve requests and then it is like pennies from heaven. Of course sometimes I am overwhelmed and many come in at once. Right now I have a R. Macfarlane waiting for me and can hardly wait to pick it up!

>168 richardderus: Maybe the idea is that witches will use whatever is handy? Fiction can be strange, Richard.

>169 quondame: Too bad the McDermid's weren't your cup of tea, Susan. The year is almost at an end and hopefully that will help your holds list.

>170 mdoris: My holds always seem to come in bunches but that's probably the result of unlimited holds.