What We Are Reading in April

Cara/Andrea here, hosting our monthly spotlight on what titles are tickling our fancy. As usual, there are some marvelous-sounding books—I've already added a few to my towering TBR pile. I'm sure you'll find some new "keepers" too:

Nicola Cornick
A real mixed bag from me this month! I did something I very seldom do, which 
is read Stephen King. Although I think he is a great author the squick 
horror factor is usually too high for me to cope with. However I loved the 
short stories in Full Dark, No Stars. I thought they were clever and 
inventive and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. That said, one of the 
stories did give me nightmares!



In something of a contrast I dug out my ancient copy of Watch The Wall, My 
Darling by Jane Aiken Hodge. I'd forgotten what a great book it is. I adore 
the strong, practical American heroine who comes to find her English family 
and sorts them all out in short order! I'm a sucker for a bit of Gothic 
mystery and the brooding atmosphere of Romney Marsh during the threat of 
Napoleonic invasion is beautifully written. With a great cast of characters, 
smugglers, spies and a very attractive hero this is one book very firmly on 
my keeper shelf.

 My non-fiction read this month is The Secret Still, by Gavin D Smith, which 
is about Scotland's clandestine whisky trade. I'm reading it as research for 
the third in my Scottish Brides series which features a gang of illicit 
whisky distillers. The book is great; it reads like an adventure story with 
oral history, formal documentation and tales and legends coming together to 
give a vivid insight into the trade in illegal distilling.

Pat Rice
I'm still on an urban fantasy kick. Just finished Darynda Jones's FOURTH 
GRAVE BENEATH MY FEET and I'm still loving the outrageous humor. The 
protagonist is a grim reaper still learning what she can do, and the 
love interest is a son of Satan in a battle with his father, but the 
characters are the story. Yeah, we all know the apocalypse is looming, 
but what we really care about is whether the grim reaper will get over 
her obsessive shopping compulsion before her apartment falls into the 
one below, and if she'll reconcile with her dying father before she runs 
out of insulting t-shirts. It's more apparent in this volume that the 
author is being encouraged into Janet Evanovich mode, but this character 
changes--constantly.


For something different, I've just started VANITY FARE: A Novel of Lattes, Literature and Love by Megan Caldwell. It's caught somewhere 
between chick lit and women's fiction but the attempt to be literary 
results in a lot of telling instead of showing. The divorcee goes back to 
work in marketing storyline has been done better. I'll keep reading to 
see if there are any new twists.


Anne Gracie
Apart from the Madeleine Brent rereads, which I blogged about here, I've read a few crime novels, including Deborah Crombie's  A Share in Death, which I enjoyed. It was her first book, and I was intrigued enough to order the next one.

The stand out read for me this month was a historical time-travel book. After having read and loved Connie Willis's To Say Nothing of the Dog, which I enjoyed immensely, I approached her The Doomsday Book with a certain amount of trepidation, as I'd heard it was much grimmer. But I really enjoyed The Doomsday Book -- it was set in the same time-travel world but wasn't a comedy. It was gripping --I read far into the night -- and the characterization was as crisp and quirky as the first book of hers I'd read, and yes, the subject was pretty grim in parts, but riveting, nonetheless. It ended well for me and I'd recommend it.

Jo Beverley
Pierre and Marie, The Story of the Real French Lieutenant's Woman, by Pauline Page-Jones. This slim, handsome hardcover, with many colour plates, was sent me by a Welsh friend, and the only way to buy it seems to be on e-bay here.

The book is mostly about the author's town of Llanfyllin and the house where she was raised, but it contains many interesting details about life there in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In that house is a room decorated with dreamy landscape murals that were the work of a French officer, imprisoned
there on parole. He was Pierre Jacques Augerand, and he fell in love with a local girl, Mary Williams. Unlike in the French Lieutenant's Woman, he returned after the war to claim her, and they lived happily in France.

The author gives interesting detail about the restrictions and opportunities for a French officer on parole in the wilds of Wales, which I'm sure could form the basis for a very interesting Regency romance.

I've also been reading The Stranger In England, but C A G Goede, written in 1807. I found it when looking in particular for more information about the way of life of the wealthy merchants., and he's one of those travelers who loves to give detail. He does digress into comparisons with Paris (though they would be
very interesting to anyone wanting to know more about life there at the time) but on the whole he records the way of life in London for ladies, gentlemen, merchants, and whores, even down to times of day.

"The fashionables leave London regularly for half the year, while the  cits still contentedly pursue their business behind the counter. The  city therefore does not lose its attraction when the west end is  deserted; but the middle of spring is the season when London is most  numerously inhabited. Nor is the population confined to an ebb and  flow resulting from the seasons: it varies with the hour of the day, as I shall describe."

This is easily found online here.

Mary Jo Putney
I’ve had a pretty good month for reading, but I’ll restrict myself to two books.  First is a women’s fiction novel: The Union Street Bakery by Mary Ellen Taylor.
 
Mary Ellen Taylor is a pseudonym for romance and suspense author Mary Burton.  I know her from RWA, and we had a nice chat at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, where she mentioned that she’d made her first foray into women’s fiction.  The book sounded interesting, so I ordered it when I returned home.
 
Daisy McRae was a hot shot investment professional before her firm crashes and she finds herself without her fiancé, her job, or her apartment.  With no other options, she moves back to the attic of her family home in historic Alexandria, Virginia, where she will take on the job of manager for her family’s struggling bakery.  This involves getting up at 3:30 in morning (Aieeeee!)—and dealing with the fact that she has never felt like a real McRae.  At the age of three, she was abandoned by her mother at the McRae bakery, and that sends repercussion through every area of her life even though she was adopted by the warm, loving McRaes.  Lots of good character development as Daisy comes to terms with herself and her family, deals with a couple of ghosts, and there are even a few recipes at the end.  <G>  Thoroughly enjoyed this book.
 
Then, a mystery: Rock & Roll Never Forgets by Deborah Grabien. As a mystery reader, I’m not that interested in solving puzzles or whodunit.  I want characters first, last, always.  This is a great series suggested by a friend, and after one book, I’m already glad that the JP Kinkaid series has 7 books total to glom.
 
Author Deborah Grabien is a San Francisco rock musician, a cat rescuer, and a woman who lives with MS, and all those elements are incorporated in the book.  Narrator JP Kinkaid is a guitarist in an internationally famous rock band that bears some resemblance to the Rolling Stones in that the members are in their 50s and have been together a long, long time.  They’re all English, but JP lives in San Francisco with his old lady.
 
JP’s music is his passion, but he also lives with MS and all its uncertainties, with good days and bad days and the knowledge that someday, even with the support of his bandmates, he might not be able to go on.  But for now, he can ROCK!
 
The story begins at the end of an international tour by the rock group, Blacklight, when the members learn that a famously nasty biographer is going to write about them, digging up every piece of dirt and scandal he can find about the musicians and the people around them.  The murder victim totally deserves it, but the heart of the story is the relationships, including a romance of many years that is challenged and transformed as the story progresses.  The descriptions of the concerts are vivid and convincing and ring with authenticity.  I’ve already ordered the second book, While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

Susan Fraser King
In our house, the books are once again reaching critical mass--so it's time to cull and part with some of them, or at least expand with more bookshelves and new, better arrangements. Or both solutions! So this month, my reading stack reveals that I'm on a decorating and organizing kick (or contemplating such), and I'm reading/browsing/drooling over books about storing and displaying book collections. I'm especially enjoying the gorgeous photos in Books Make A Home by Damian Thompson. If you don't know quite what to do with all of your books (and you love being surrounded by them), you'll find some tempting ideas here.

Fiction-wise, I've just started Legend by Marie Lu, a futuristic YA of the post-apocalyptic variety--so far, the writing, story and characters are quite solid and I'm happily sticking with it. Though I'm a bit over the post-apocalyptic society trend in general, this is fresh and moving along at a good clip. And the cozy mysteries always stock my shelves, even if I'm woefully behind on getting through the stacks. This week, I'm reading Night of the Living Deed by E.J. Copperman, the first of a series about a single mom who runs a haunted B&B and ends up working side by side with a pair of ghosts to solve murder mysteries. It's quick, quirky and clever, and keeps me interested (and I do love me a good ghost story) -- so I'll definitely be looking for the next one in the series.

Cara Elliott:
I’m doing my usual thing in having one fiction and one non-fiction book going. I’d been waiting eagerly for Lauren Willig’s new venture into women’s fiction, and The Ashford Affair has proved every bit as wonderful as I imagined it would be. A sweeping family saga that shifts between present day, Edwardian London and 1920s Africa, it’s poignant exploration of character, conflict and secrets that weave together the different generations. Meticulous research creates a richly detailed portrait of the historical eras, so all in all, I’m finding it a compelling read.

For non-fiction, I just started Simon Winchester’s The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary. It’s a delightfully entertaining journey through the history of the English language, as well as the great men of words and their meaning, like Samuel Johnson and Noah Webster. Am not too far into yet, but so far, I’m enjoying it very much.

And lastly, we have this from Joanna Bourne, who is frantic under deadline and fears she’s not going to make it—I think all of us, avid readers though we are, have experienced the same blip on the circuit of life that has her saying, “I'm not reading anything at the moment.” Hugs and good luck on writing “THE END” to the WIP, Joanna!

Now it’s your turn, everyone! What books have had you been reading recently that had you turning the pages long into the night? I know I’ve discovered a number of wonderful titles that I wouldn’t have found on my own through the suggestions made by our readers, so please share!

Comments

[Marguerite Kaye]

I love Jane Aiken Hodge, and I'm surprised that she's just not available these days, even my library seems to have ditched her, I don't know why.

Stand out for me this month was William Boyd's latest, Waiting for Sunrise. Set in London and Vienna from 1913-1915, it's the story of Lysander Reif (fab name), an actor who gets embroiled in a rollicking set of events that are both hilarious and deeply dark. Boyd is an amazing story teller if you haven't read him, I didn't want this one to end.

[HJ]

I'm loving The Ashford Affair (Lauren Willig) too. I bought it because I'm a huge fan of her Pink Carnation series, plus I love books about Kenya. I'm looking forward to Deanna Raybourn's A Spear of Summer Grass for similar reasons - I like her Lady Julia series and this book is another which is a departure for the author (different time period, non-series, and also set in Kenya).

I must read the Jane Aiken Hodge which Nicola mentions, as I love books set on Romney Marsh. I saw another of her books recommended the other day (Savannah Purchase) so have that in my TBR. It would be good to discover another prolific author!

[Andrea Penrose]

Marguerite, thanks for sharing! Boyd's book sounds wonderful, and it's an era I love, so have added it to my list!

[Andrea Penrose]

HJ, I'm also looking forward to Deanna Raybourn's new book, as I'm a big fan of the Lady Julia series.

[Patricia Rice]

Unfair! So many of these wonderful titles require the library, and I don't dare check anything out this close to moving. Argh! But it's handy to have the blog to use as my reading list once I find my new library....

[Janga]

The Jane Aiken Hodge reference made me long to reread her books. Greek Wedding is my favorite. I loved The Ashford Affair, but, although I'm a fan of Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Gray books, I had problems with the heroine of A Spear of Summer Grass. I liked Vanity Fare better that Pat does.

Most of my April reading has been ARCS of books I'll be reviewing over the next three months. I'm particularly enthusiastic about Tessa Dare's Any Duchess Will Do, Cecilia Grant's A Woman Entangled, Eloisa James's Rapunzel tale Once Upon a Tower, and Julie Anne Long's eighth Pennyroyal Green book It Happened One Midnight. Since April is National Poetry month, I've also made an effort to read more poetry, rereading favorites by poets I've been living with for decades such as Emily Dickinson, John Donne, and Gerard Manley Hopkins and enjoying new ones such as Brenda Shaughnessy's collection Our Andromeda.

[Mary Jo Putney]

So many more books to look for! I WANT the Welsh book Jo mentioned. Must find a way to get it.

Jane Aiken Hodge books stand up well, and I'm a particular fan of SAVANNAH PURCHASE since I adore stories of identical people swapping places. *G* She and her novelist sister, Joan Aiken, were both daughters of American poet Conrad Aiken. I found Joan Aiken books much darker though. I much prefer Jane.

[Nicola Cornick]

I love William Boyd's books and I'll be picking up Waiting for Sunrise so thank you to Marguerite for that recommendation. I also like the thought of re-reading some favorite poetry. I've dug out my collection of Emily Dickinson's poems as a result of Janga's comment. And I'm still reading my way through my Jane Aiken Hodge collection!

[Sheri Cobb South]

Doomsday Book is one of my favorites, and since moving to Colorado, I've had the pleasure of joining Connie Willis for coffee at Starbucks!

[Kylan Alexander]

I have a few books going right now, which is very rare for me as I am a read until finished type of reader. I just have been very busy and find myself grabbing whatever book is closest when I get a chance to stop and read.
Current books -
1 ~ Cheri on Top by Susan Donovan ~ Somehow missed this one since the book store didn't have it and read the first of the duo, I want Candy, first. They can each stand on their own but you do find multiple references to the first book. Have to read this before the others just because I read the second one first!
2 ~ Lord of Darkness by Elizabeth Hoyt ~ I have thoroughly enjoyed this series but keep forgetting that I have this one started.
3 ~ Obsession wears Opals by Renee Bernard ~ Ditto to #2 :)
4 ~ The Mystery Woman by Amanda Quick/JAK ~ Very much anticipated so the others got bumped a bit!
Always Happy Reading! :)

[Susanna Cornett]

I am working my way back through the Bastion series by Stephanie Laurens and the Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry, both in audio. The Joe Ledger series is thriller/horror; I just finished rereading Maberry's Pine Deep trilogy. In non-fiction, I've been reading The Poison King: The life and legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy, by Adrienne Mayor. I love history, and listening to the Modern Scholar series through Audible has really ignited an interest in ancient history. And I've started on Universe: The Definitive Visual Guide, by Martin Rees, from Smithsonian. I love encyclopedic discussions of topics like astrology, weather, etc., with lots of photos and illustrations. They give me just enough info without getting into the nuts and bolts that I really don't care about. I have other books going too, but those are the main things!

[Andrea Penrose]

Wow, Janga, you have been a very busy reader!Now I feel guilty for not having read any poetry for ages. Sigh. So little time, so much to read!

[Andrea Penrose]

Kylan, you've got a full shelf too! Thanks for sharing.

[Andrea Penrose]

Susanna, I love the encyclopedic books too. Am fascinated by science,but need a layman's explanation!

[Kylan Alexander]

I have a long list of upcoming new releases to buy, 4 To-Be-Read piles and more To-Be-Read on the Nook AND Kindle. Plus, my wishlist for Kindle stands around 375 books right now... I LOVE reading! :)

[theo]

Still working my way through the Pendergast series again and bought The Third Gate by Lincoln Child. He's a co-author of Pendergast and a wonderful writer on his own as well. So is Doug Preston, but I haven't bought new from him lately.

Other than that, I bought the Bridgerton series epilogues in one book and will go back through those as well. I loved all the Bridgertons. You could tell Julia Quinn had a lot of fun with them all.

[Jo Banks]

Jane Aitken Hodge - Watch the wall my darling -yes I know I have that somewhere I must dig it out!I have been reading steadily through Jo's Rogues .I am about to start on Dare's story.Tho I might get side tracked as a new Kasey Michaels -What a lady needs has just dropped thru the letterbox.Must say my favorite Rogue story is St Raven not one of the actual Rogues and read completely out of sequence but the Duke of St Raven definitly ticks all the boxes for dishy hero of the month!!

[Karin]

I've just finished JAK's latest contemporary "Dream Eyes" which will be followed by her new Amanda Quick book "The Mystery Woman". Aside from that I've mainly been on a museum going binge. In the past month I've visited the Newark(NJ) Museum, the Zimmerli Museum(at Rutgers U.) and this weekend the National Gallery of Art in D.C.

[Andrea Penrose]

Books and museums—you and I have VERY similar tastes, Karin!

[Andrea Penrose]

Theo, I'm ab ig fan of the Bridgertons too. Lots of fun characters and witty dialogue.

[Andrea Penrose]

Huzzah for you, Kylan! You fit right in here at the Wenches!

[Artemisia]

If your library is like ours, it has been designated a "popular materials library" and that means essentially that old books not frequently checked out have been purged. I suspect the criterion used in ours was the shiny cover.

[Janice]

I'm working my way through L. A. Noir by John Buntin, a chronicle of the bad old days in Los Angeles -- all those guys in hats I used to see in the newspapers. On the romance front, I've been rereading Barbara Metzger (most recently Saved by Scandal), Marion Chesney (most recently A Governess of Distinction) and Mary Balogh on my kindle (halfway through The Famous Heroine at the moment). I totally caught up on the Lee Child series of Jack Reacher as well. On the phone I'm rereading Clouds of Witness by Dorothy Sayers, and my bedtime audio at the moment is Silks by Kevin Francis. Also partway through a Margaret McPhee that I missed called Unlacing the Innocent Miss, and a book on famous UFO cases in Montana.

I love having as much time to read as I want now. It is swell being a member of the idle moderately middle class.

[Andrea Penrose]

Artemisia, that's a big problem,and frustrating, though understandable with space constraints. I guess that one good reason to appreciate e-books, as some older, hard-to-find titles can be located and enjoyed digitally.

[Andrea Penrose]

Janice, we may have to call on you as the tech reading guru. I'm very impressed that you can read on your phone—that still flummoxes me!

[Janice]

Cara, my advice is, don't do it! Every time I turn a page, it drains the battery 1%. (It's a Samsung Galaxy III) Or if you must, be sure you carry a recharger too! Honestly, the time honored paperback is a much more practical solution!

[Jorie]

Ms. Cornick: I was curious about Stephen King,... on the level that I came to know his writing(s) through the tv series "the Dead Zone" and the motion picture, "Hearts in Atlantis" as during both discoveries I was a bit surprised that they were based on his works, as they didn't appear to be "King" material!? They each had an etheral and otherworldly attachments to them, but I was plumb surprised that there was so much heart written into the characters! I've not had the proper chance to read either of the original books the adaptations are based on, so I am not even sure if they follow suit or were liberally taken on creative merit. My question is, have you come across any of his stories or novels that 'wouldn't give' you nightmares? I was always afraid to read his stories for that very reason! Have you watched either of these, in order to gauge what I can handle!?

[Jorie]

Ms. Rice: Have you ever seen the BBC series "Mulberry"?! It's about the Grim Reaper's son not wanting to succeed his father's career path! It's heart-warming, and full of black humour at the very same time, because Mulberry is endeared to his charge Ms. Farnaby! We watched the series via ILL from the library last May, and I must confess, I wish the series had gone on! I feel like it ended far too soon, and of course, it's up to you to draw your own conclusion on the 'true' ending. I won't spoilt it here if you haven't seen it, but I think I know where they might have gone with the storyline,...

[Nicola Cornick]

Hi Jorie! I thought Stephen King's characterisation was excellent. It's a very long time since I've read anything else by him for the reasons you give. I'm not in any way a fan of horror and anything too squicky gives me bad dreams. I do like thrillers, though, and crime stories as long as they aren't too graphic. It was those elements I really enjoyed in this anthology.

[Karin]

I'm happy to report that I found a couple of Jane Aiken Hodge books in a local library. I've noticed that libraries don't seem to purge as much in the large print section, and that's where I find a lot of oldies.

[Jorie]

Ooh boy, what am I attempting to read this week!? Which is the easiest way to break down my reading patterns, as my monthly checkout holds rival Santa's List! Laughs. It's a wicked sweet ride though,... discovering new authors, new books, and the emmense joy of clicking into a narrative whose voice is as drinkable and real as any counterpart you could walk up too in reality.

Let me see what is on the docket:

The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh... I originally came across this via Shelf Awareness, I do believe OR it was Book Browse -- I am an avid reader of both -- whereupon I read on the Shelf, that Julian Fellowes loved it! I thought that was keen! The story is what had me check it out! :)

Redemption {Book One: Legacy of the King’s Pirates} by MaryLu Tyndall. I followed her blog tour this Spring for *Forsaken Dreams*, and whereupon I discovered she wrote a trilogy of pirate books shortly after discovering *Pirates of the Caribbean*, by which I am a hearty fan as well,... curiosity, dear bookish friends had me ILL'ing this!

And, I'm betwixt to know how to consume the rest, as I thought I'd have them a bit longer,.. but their already due! Oy!

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott; The View from Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman; Bristol House by Beverly Swerling; The Movement of Stars by Amy Brill; The Best of Us by Sarah Pekkanen, and Amity & Sorrow by Peggy Riley.

PS: Ms. Cornick,... I might have to see if my library has that anthology! You've whet my interest, that's for sure! Thank you!

... Ohh! I have another week to enjoy *The Ashford Affair*!!! Lucky, me!! :) :) And, Ms. Raybourn's *A Spear of Summer Grass* is inbound -- eek! What bliss, eh!? Two authors who are real-life friends write two books that could be considered a compliment of each other!?