The Woman before Wallis - Bryn Turnbull

Mixed reviews for this book - the subject matter was interesting but the writing was sort of clunky for my taste. Fans of The Crown, The King's Speech, or Downton Abbey might enjoy this book, as it's set in that sort of milieu and in the case of the former two, has many of the same characters. This book did make me want to learn more about the titular woman - maybe I will search out a biography. 

The Revisioners - Margaret Wilkerson Sexton

 This was a great book club choice. It's actually our book for November, and I am looking forward to the discussion. The writing was top notch and the story was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. It's really a kind of tribute to women, and to mothers, and to how women can help support each other through generations. I'd definitely read more by this author. Recommended. 

Violette Nozière - Sarah Maza

Time for another library confession! Way back in 2019, I stumbled on this book in the library and the subtitle: "A Story of Murder in 1930s Paris" really sold me (I like 30s music/movies/fashion, I love Paris, and I enjoy true crime stories). I checked it out, started to read it and - I don't know what happened, but I somehow ran out of time to finish and had to return the book (I suspect some work travel got in the way). All this time has passed and I have thought about this book from time to time ever since, feeling guilty for not finishing it, and wanting to know how the story ended of course, so I finally checked it out again 2+ years later. 

This is a meticulously researched nonfiction book about a young woman who poisoned her parents. The author, who is evidently a history professor, sets the scene with a lot of detail about life in Paris in the 30s, particularly for working class/bourgeois people, as well as getting into detail about how this sensational case impacted popular culture. I appreciated the overall tone of the book being more academic, rather than sensational or "trashy" like some true crime writing can get. I won't go into detail, but the case is fascinating for many reasons and there are still unanswered questions the world will never know the truth of. Recommended. 

Me - Elton John

Stumbled across this book in the library and thought it looked interesting. As you may have surmised from the title, this is the autobiography of one of the most prolific and popular singer-songwriters in the world. His music has been around for so long that I don't remember a time when it wasn't played on the radio back when I was a kid, and even though I'm not a super fan or anything, I can name a bunch of his hits off the top of my head without trying. This book is incredibly well written - it's like having a comfortable conversation with the pop legend, who comes off as very funny, witty, smart, outrageous, and honest. If you've seen the film Rocketman (which was entertaining and well done), many of the events in the book will seem very familiar - and probably the reverse is true. This was a really fast and entertaining read. Recommended. 

The Henna Artist - Alka Joshi

 This book was another good choice for the virtual book club. It's a page turner - while reading, I really wanted to see what happened next, and I liked the main character a lot. The writing is heavy on the telling rather than showing, but the story carries you along and it's an enjoyable read. Evidently, there is a sequel that's been published, and I would definitely read it to get more of the story and of the main character (some of the side characters I could do without, ha ha). All in all a recommended read. 

The Poison Squad - Deborah Blum

You know the French saying "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose" (the more things change, the more they stay the same)? This nonfiction book is a case in point. Subtitled "One Chemist's Single-minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the Twentieth Century" this book shows that the current issues our entire planet seems to be having with a small group of wealthy people doing everything in their power, including deliberately inflicting harm on people, so they can get even richer, is an apparently eternal conflict. That it seems to play out day after day after day, year after year after year, century after century after century, is, frankly, infuriating and disgusting. 

When we apply Mr. Rogers' wonderful "look for the helpers" principle we find people like the subject of this book, Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, who spent decades fighting for basic food safety legislation. Of course, he was fought tooth and nail by the creeps that profit on literally poisoning humans to make a buck, and their idiotic arguments were pretty much exactly the same idiotic arguments these creeps make today to get away with their numerous misdeeds. I'm just glad that we have had (and still have) people like Dr. Wiley on the side of what's right. 

The Lost Book of Adana Moreau - Michael Zapata

This book can best be described as a "mindflip." It's another book that I am not sure what to think of. I liked the premise but it's one of those books that would most likely benefit from multiple readings to really see and grasp the connections the author has set up. There are a lot of disparate elements that sort of come together and sort of don't. Fans of speculative sci-fi type books might love it. 

Libertie - Kaitlyn Greenidge

Confession time - I have to admit I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. I found the main character fascinating, and the time period really rich with potential, but I think the book had two distinct parts and I am not sure how well they blended together. I think I would have preferred a book that focused on either one of the halves, if that makes sense. Or, a book that focused on the main character's mother - that would really have been a story I would have liked to hear. The writing was good so I would definitely read more by this author. 

The Only Good Indians - Stephen Graham Jones

Hot on the heels of reading a bestseller with "meh" writing, I dove into this amazing, well written book and couldn't put it down. If you like horror novels, you need to read this book. Even if you don't like horror novels, you should read this book for the sheer pleasure of reading something so well written. If you have any interest in Native American folklore and contemporary life, you should read this because I think you will be as captivated as I was. How is it possible that I have only now heard of this author, who apparently has something like 20 books out??? I have to credit Christopher Buehlman for mentioning this book on social media - no way could such a recommendation be something I wouldn't enjoy, I reasoned, and I was correct. I'm actually really happy that there are so many books I can catch up on for a new favorite author. Very highly recommended. 

The Mystery of Mrs. Christie - Marie Benedict

Did you know that famed mystery writer Agatha Christie went missing for more than a week? It's a very mysterious thing - Agatha herself never spoke of it, and didn't even mention it in her autobiography. It was played off at the time as amnesia but there is no way to know, and considering she is to this day the best selling mystery writer of all time, it's easy to think she could have planned something as a publicity stunt, or for some other, more personal reason. 

This book is a speculative historical fiction novel that posits an explanation for the disappearance (I won't give it away). It was the latest book club choice, and I think it was a good one for book club. Despite devouring Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories when I was a kid, I was only vaguely aware of this event in her personal life, so this book was an entertaining way to learn more about her life. As is typical for "bestseller" type books, the writing is a tad clunky and there is a lot of telling rather than showing, but all in all this was a fast read that had me wanting to read more Agatha Christie books.