Books read: February 2020

I’m mixing it up a bit, because I’m reading a lot lately and I’m not entirely sure I want to write a full on review of everything I’ve read. I will still do that, but there will be regular brief round ups as well, such as this one.

The Spies of Shilling Lane

A decent mystery that takes place in London during World War II. A woman goes looking for her daughter, to tell her the long held family secret, and ends up finding herself searching for her instead. This was a decent read, a good TV read as I like to call them. It took a bit to get into it, but I ended up enjoying the way the characters evolved.

Moominsummer Madness

I love the Moomins! And this story about their adventures during Midsummer is both very Scandinavian and very fun. Every one of the characters makes me laugh. If I knew kids the right age, I’d be buying them all these books.

The Moomins and the Great Flood

This was the first Moomin story that Jansson wrote and the illustrations are amazing, I got this from the library but have been thinking about buying it because I love the drawings so much. And again the Moomins go on a great adventure, getting into trouble and then somehow finding their way back out again.

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland

I don’t read a lot of non fiction these days, but I’m trying to change that slowly but surely. And this book, even though it’s non fiction, reads like a novel. I know very little about the history of The Troubles in Northern Ireland, so this was my first in depth read on the subject, and the way in which Patrick O’Keefe uses three people’s stories to share that history was utterly engrossing. The other thing this book did was give me some hope. We live in very difficult times, but The Troubles were incredibly difficult times and they’ve found their way to peace.

Drive Your Bones Over the Bones of the Dead

This book, I don’t quite know where to begin. It’s a mystery, that touches on mental health, being a neighbor, the importance of animals, finding your family, and it sucked me right in. Janina, the main character, gives everyone nicknames and love animals. When her neighbor dies, it kicks off a series of deaths in the small valley where she lives. Janina, along with her friends, investigate the deaths and along the way we learn about her passions and about the ways in which she views nature, animals, and people. I really enjoyed it.

A Lessons in Secrets

Another Maisie Dobbs book and they keep sucking me in so that I can’t put them down. As time passes we’re now in 1932 and even as Maisie is still seeingthe ghosts of World War I as she investigates a case, she’s also worrying about the events in Europe. And even though you know where events of history are going, Winspear does a great job of finding ways to continue to tie in both the history of the characters along with the events currently happening.

Sing, Unburied, Sing

The other novel I’ve read by Ward was just as other wordly as this one. I love reading to be brought into different cultures and worlds than what I know and this novel, following the story of a young boy and his family as they welcome his father home from jail is amazing. The boy and his sister have a power that none of the others have, to see ghosts and learn from them, helping them free themselves in some way. The final few pages are amazing.

Ms. Marvel Volume 8: Mecca

I took a long hiatus from Ms. Marvel, but I’m back to catch up. At times this volume felt a bit too on the nose for our times, but at others I read a line that made me stop and realize how perfect it was. And it’s the latter that keeps me coming back to this story.