I had to put Guernsey (TGLaPPPS) back in the bookcase. I had lost the mood for it trying to read other things at the same time. I didn't want to force it so I'll save it for a special re-read at another time. I picked up a Library book called The Nowhere Child by Christian White. I knew nothing about this one but it looked good. It was. About a cold case child abduction that occurred 20+ years ago. I'm about half way through my first Ray Bradbury - Dandelion Wine. I'm enjoying this very much.

Frieda, yes DD visited the Tenement Museum and that is where she picked up the book about Orchard Street. I had asked them, if possible, to visit Trinity Church Wall St where a long ago young ancestor lies buried dating back to the early 1700's but much of the building is closed for repairs. I understand the family, Quakers, had arrived in America with Wm Penn.

They also gave me A History of America in 100 Maps by Susan Schulten, 'though they must have purchased it when back home it is so big and heavy!

Beautifully produced with high quality plates, reproductions of cartography, military maneuvers , city development, aeronautical views, mining plans etc right up to modern day population growth and the 'digital age'.

Impossible to read in one go but something to return to and browse.

Pickles form NO part of my ancestry; although I do enjoy their sharp taste; much more preferable than sweet . . . sorry Carolyn . . .

A book recommended as a good 'new read' in our w/end paper and amazingly one the library held a copy of The Language of Birds by Jill Dawson.

The story is that of the nanny in the headline-hitting case of her murder by Lord Lucan, in the mistaken belief that she was his wife . . . a 'case celebre' still mulled over today.

Dawson had felt that Sandra Rivett (the Nanny) had received little attention either in the trial or the follow-ups since and tells her tale using other names and a slight variation in locations and introducing a fellow-nanny as an extra narrator plus the rather strange use of this girl hearing voices and a fear of birds (hence the book's title)

As anyone who is familiar with the case knows Lucan was never seen after the night of the murder and some friends claim a) he never did it b) they never helped him escape c) they know he is still alive.

The unfortunate sadly unbalanced wife was interviewed on TV about 18 months ago. Despite her husband trying to murder her, she claimed still to love him, had no contact with her three children since the event, had been shunned by all her Society friends and lived a desolate life. She died shortly after the interview.

On the other hand Lucan's children seem to feel that their Father hasn't received justice as there has never been a trial only an inquest. His rich, upper crust, gambling friends have closed ranks and say nothing.

The Story of the Event

Vee, that is an interesting summing up. I did know the story and that the Australian Police thought they might have found Lucan after a tip off but they actually had netted John Stonehouse, the MP who faked his death!

Well, Vee, you've done it again! I have ordered The Language of Birds although I am always skeptical about "fictionalizations" based on real-life events. Do authors do that to make improvements to the story or are there are legal ramifications, thus making changes to names, locations, and minor details necessary? What's the need for the second nanny narrator? I suppose I will have to read it to find out!

I remember the Lord Lucan disappearance and all the speculation it caused. I always thought Sandra Rivett, victim of senseless happenstance, mostly was thoughtlessly forgotten. Lord Lucan's tale, dammit it, is just so much more interesting to most people! People are such voyeurs.

I figure Lucan must be dead by now, if he hasn't already been dead for nearly forty-five years. I don't know what to think of the Lord's children's feelings that he never received justice or that they were estranged from their mother for so many years after the "incident". There was probably a lot more going on in that dysfunctional family than the public understood -- or had the right to know.

Be sure to post what you think of Dawson's effort when you read it, and I'll do the same.

Frieda, as you say the best thing is to read the book and then decide for yourself the answers to the various questions you ask.

I hadn't written much in my summary as I felt most RP'ers would have little if any knowledge of the 'Lucan case' but even after all these years it still bubbles away over here.

I just did a quick check on google and found plenty of comment and articles about the family/motives/friends etc but virtually nothing about the nanny, except the fact that she had been murdered by 'mistake'.

I did notice that Dawson lives in Cambridge on the edge of the 'Fen' country and wonder if she gave that background to the two nannies to add a slight 'edge' to the story. I don't think Sandra Rivett came from that area but as you probably know people from that soggy, peaty part of East Anglia are often considered 'apart'.

Let us know what you think.

Finished The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis, about two women 50 years apart, whose lives are linked to Grand Central Terminal in NYC. In the late 1920's, one of them is an illustration teacher at Grand Central School of Art, fighting her way into the art world, which is dominated by men. In the mid-1970's, a recently divorced woman, who works at Grand Central Terminal, finds an unsigned beautiful watercolor in the abandoned art school. She is intrigued as it resembles an oil painting in an auction house catalogue (she used to be well off before her divorce, thus looks at those catalogues). She tries to find out about the painting and the artist.

It is difficult to warm up to the artist character, she is rather cold. The other woman is trying to find her feet, now that there is no husband to take care of her; at times she seems helpless. But if one keeps in mind their backstories and the times they were living in, it is easier to understand why they are like that.

The story is quite interesting.

The historic background of both stories is real. The Grand Central School of Art opened in 1924 and was one of the largest art schools in NYC before closing in 1944. John Singer Sargent was one of its founders, famous alumni were Norman Rockwell and Willem de Kooning. The real life battle to keep Grand Central Terminal from being demolished is the background of the 1970s' story, with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in a cameo role (she was involved in the preservation of the terminal).

I just finished reading my first Susan Hill novel, The Various Haunts of Men. I selected it because Susan Hill's name has come up a number of times here on RP over the years. I enjoyed the book. In some way that I can't quite explain, to me it seemed to be written like a "good old-fashioned mystery" from years past.

Searching through RP posts of the past, I see there has been some consternation about the ending of this novel, and it's certainly true that there was a perfect opportunity for Susan Hill to end it differently. I have to say it left me in a somber mood, which I didn't enjoy. But I think I will probably read another of her Simon Serrailler mysteries to learn why people like this character so much. He was a rather minor character in this particular book.

I finished A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny today. I enjoyed it a lot! I’ve liked all her books so far. I like the way she wraps up the main story, but leaves the secondary story lines to continue on.

Donna

I just finished "Bog Child" by Siobhan Dowd. Set in the "Time of Troubles" In Ireland in 1981, it weaves together two narratives: the conflicts within an Irish family during the Hunger Strikes, and the accidental finding of the body of a young female from the Iron Age that had been preserved in an Irish bog. The story is told from the point of view of a conflicted Irish student. Dowd is an excellent writer with a gift for making history come alive. I did not want the book to end.

I am re-reading The Guernsey Literary & PPP Society/ I remember enjoying it very much the first time, but I didn't remember that it's written as a series of letters. This time around I keep waiting for her to stop with the letters and start telling the story. :)

I was on the wait list for Eleanor Oliphant is Just Fine and it became available yesterday, so I may put Guernsey aside to read Eleanor.

Donna

The first time I read "TGL&PPPS" I really enjoyed it. I found a copy at a jumble sale and tried to re-read it. For whatever reason, it had lost all its appeal. So I ended up giving it away. I had similar feelings for the narrative as you, Donna.

Donna - I enjoyed both of those books very much. Happy reading!

I've just finished Murder Comes by Mail by A. H. Gabhart, another pleasant (even with a psycho murderer) book set in small town Kentucky where news travels with the speed of light without electronics.

Now I've started Traitor's Codex by Jeri Westerson, latest in her Crispin Guest medieval series. Crispin is a disgraced knight but friend of John of Gaunt who works as a "finder."

I finished Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. Not disappointed exactly, but I think I was expecting something else. I liked it though. I'm not done with him yet. Next was an older book by Jennifer McMahon called My Tiki Girl. A good story by a local writer. No spooky element in this one but the other two I took out of the library seem a bit grisly for me and are back in the Library bag to return. I'm waiting on her newest one The Invited to be returned so I can try that. McMahon was a speaker on our Authors at the Library a few years ago and I watched an archived copy of her presentation. I attended my first presentation last night. The featured author was Mary Fillmore who wrote An Address in Amsterdam, an historical novel about a young girl at the time of the Nazi invasion/occupation of the Netherlands. It's a love story and the synopsis sounds very good. The author was interesting and charming. She mingled with the audience prior to the program to introduce herself to some folks (including me!) and thank everyone for attending. There were about 20 in attendance. I love this program and will attend the others. Next week is Archer Mayor. Fun stuff!

Skibby, I never liked Dandelion Wine as much as I did other works by Bradbury - probably for the same reason as you: it wasn't what I was expecting. I read a lot of Bradbury when I was in high school, but the one that sticks with me now is Something Wicked This Way Comes; I re-read it a few years ago (to compare with Cornelia Funke's Thief Lord, which also features a time-carousel) and it held up surprisingly well, with the difference that now I identified with Will's father, instead of the teens Will and Jim.

I've pulled The Feather Thief off Mt TBR, since the friend who gave it to me for Christmas is coming for a visit in 2 weeks. I've barely started, but so far, so good.

donnamira - LOL - A visiting gift-giver, that's the best motivation for reading a neglected book!

I took a deep dive into the Cormoran Strike books by Robert Galbraith/J.K. Rowling and read all four (The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm, Career of Evil, Lethal White) over the past couple of weeks. I really like them, but they do tend towards the violent and grisly. Lethal White was less violent and I liked it all the better. I'm not usually a mystery reader, but these really grabbed me. I'm curious about the TV series, has anyone here watched it? Is it worth seeing?

I also finished The Lost Book of the Grail by Charlie Lovett, which I really liked. It ticked all the boxes: English setting, ancient books, Holy Grail, academic investigation of mysteries around an ancient cathedral, plus a low-key romance.

I also zipped through the newest Nora Roberts, Undercurrents, which was solid Nora but a little predictable. It also focused heavily on child and spousal abuse, so not exactly a cheery read throughout.

I'm now half way through Gold Dust Woman, a bio of Stevie Nicks by Stephen Davis. As I've always been a Fleetwood Mac / Stevie Nicks fan, this is an interesting read, though I feel it's rather heavily biased in her favor. I'm sure she's not quite the paragon of virtue Davis makes her out to be.

I've had a reading drought recently, reading either pleasant but lightweight page turners (Kerry Greenwood's Corinna Chapman books) or rubbish I abandoned halfway through (quickly forgotten). However in the past couple of days I read two novels that I just devoured.

The first was The Burglar by Thomas Perry. Mostly I don't like thrillers, but this one I could not put down, staying up late to read to the last page. Perry is the author of the Jane Whitefield books, and the main character here somewhat resembles Jane, only instead of rescuing people, she robs them. And yes, she is the good guy, and you will want her to prevail.

The second is The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo. I tend not to read Chinese fiction because it is usually tragic. A steady diet of it can depress me. I base this opinion on a small sample and a few movies, all of which killed off everyone the reader/watcher ever cared about, except perhaps one lonely figure left in perpetual mourning. Not for me. The reviews of this one encouraged me to pick it up, and I am glad I did. The author is American of Malaysian Chinese descent, so possibly the blending of cultures gave her permission to break out of the mold. It was not a jolly book, but it was engaging and I loved it. I'm going to read the author's new book The Night Tiger, and I'm going to read her next novel after that, when and if she writes more.

I finished re-reading The Guernsey L&PPP Society last night. I ended up getting caught up in the story and enjoyed it a second time. The cover looks like a movie was made of it at some point, but I don't see how you could make a movie from a bunch of letters.

Next up is Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

I've seen quite a few books/authors mentioned this month that I would like to read. :)

Donna

Donna......I enjoyed Eleanor, strange though she is.

Has anyone ever read C.V.R. Thompson's two books : I Lost My English Accent and Trousers Will Be Worn ? Both are his personal memoirs.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Entertaining account of an Englishman's life in America since 1933. Sent over as correspondent for the London Daily Express, he lands at the height of prohibition, and it, and other quaint American customs, throw him for a loss, but only for a short time, for he lacks the British reticence in hiding his ignorance. He interviews Roosevelt, covers a Cuban revolution, tours Chicago intent on finding gangsters and gunbattles (unsuccessfully), reports the Flemington trial, marries a newspaperwoman, Dixie Tighe, which brings new situations in its train, they move to Pound Ridge, where servant problems and friendships among the famous neighbors provide him with highlighted moments, and the book comes to a close with the journey with the King and Queen this year. It's likeable reading, not smart-alecky, but amusing, with a genial attitude toward this country and its people and a tolerant acceptance of customs, habits, food, drink, living that he encounters.

Adored Guernsey when I read it years ago, and Eleanor Oliphant was one of my favorite reads. I hope you enjoy it was well. waiting for Feather Thief from the library.

I'm reading Fall of Angels by Barbara Cleverly, the second of a new series by the author of the Joe Sandilands books. The main character is a detective in Cambridge between the wars.

I just finished "Nomadland" by J. Bruder. It is a non fiction account of Americans of all ages who choose to live in RV's and campers. These folk travel all around the country, looking for seasonal work and enjoying the camaraderie. They often choose to live this way and some have left behind lucrative careers. The author selected one woman named Linda and followed her for 3 years, interviewing her, learning of her varied experiences and numerous jobs. These "nomads" have reunions in the far West and camp together, helping each other with various tasks. It seems to be a growing trend among certain retirees.

Now I am trying to get into Bernard Cornwall's "The War of the Wolf" which is about early Saxon England, just after Alfred the Great. So many characters with similar names, it is hard to keep them straight. I'm not sure I will finish this one, although I am interested in that time period in history.

My Cleverly book was the first of a new series, not the second. I finished it today, and it was quite good. Det. Redfyre got his man; can you believe it?

Woodnymph, at the moment my son is being a nomad around Australia. He has taken a break from his business to be a volunteer Camp Host at various sites and is loving the variety. Although the nomads are often referred to as "Grey Nomads" being retired, a good number are young and have families. They have to find work so move to seasonal jobs, home-schooling the children.

I wouldn't mind following the sun as they do, this morning. I am freezing at home!

Feeling in the mood to read something in French to see if I still could, I chose Les Fiancailles de M. Hire by Georges Simenon. I already knew Simenon's book had been filmed twice: 'Panique' in 1946 and 'Monsieur Hire' in 1989 (the latter is not a remake of the former; it is a different adaptation of the same story). I figured that my memories of those two films would help me in my attempt to read Simenon's original French. They did! What a storyteller the Belgian Simenon was! I have heard that repeated many, many times. He's said to be as good, in his way, as any of the greatest writers in the French language. I'm convinced it's true, now.

Once I got into the groove of reading French again, I flew through M. Hire. Yet I wondered if I had really understood everything, whether I had picked up the nuances. I decided to read an English translation, so I turned to that of Anna Moschovakis with the English title Mr Hire's Engagement. I had to be wiped up from the floor! Oh, if I had only had the talent and skill of Ms. Moschovakis to be a translator.

Subsequently, I went on to read about a dozen of the new Penguin English translations of Simenon's Inspector Maigret series. Penguin has seven or eight translators working on the 75 'Maigret' books that were published between 1931 and 1972. I've already got a couple of favorite translators in this series and one I think is a dingbat, but I even like him because I can argue over his choice of words.

Any other Simenon fans among RPers?

Woodnymph, I think it's likely you know the Julien Duvivier-directed 'Panique' and Patrice Leconte-directed 'Monsieur Hire'. True?

I stayed up way too late last night finishing Eleanor Oliphant. What a great story! I really liked it. About halfway through I began to suspect the secret that was revealed at the end.

This is Gail Honeyman's debut novel. I wonder if she can write another one as great as this one?

Donna

It appears that she has a second book in the works, as yet untitled.

Donna, have you read Where'd You Go Bernadettte ?.

Yes, Bon, I read Bernadette about a month ago. :)

Barbara Cleverly's name was mentioned here. I can never get her name right. Somehow I keep tangling her name with that of the noted children's author Beverly Cleary, and my brain fuses them both into 'Beverly Cleverly'.

I may never read another book by either one of them.

That's funny, Rose, because I called her Beverly Cleverly for ages. I do like her books, amusing but not trying to be haha funny while still having a good mystery. I believe you prefer sci fi, though?

Carolyn, SF&F is my favorite genre, but I do read some mysteries. They are Tom's favorites, and sometimes he passes them along to me if he thinks I will enjoy them.

I even read some nonfiction now and then, though almost never politics and rarely biography.

Just finished Island of Sea Women by Lisa See. Very good. Even though it takes place in Korea, but the book Heidi pops up a number of times. I just saw Heidi mentioned in another thread, so I guess I need to read Heidi.

Now reading Shepherds Hut by Winton. I might have seen it mentioned here. Australia, non-standard writing, lots of slang, etc. But ok. Good for me to step out of the box.

I'm reading Cover The Butter ! by Carrie Kabak. It's a delightful debut novel set in 1960's Wales about a young girl growing up with an overbearing mother and a wimpy father.

I chose the book initially because of the title, which is an expression my friend uses if something is especially gross or disgusting. In the context of the story the parents of the main character sit at the table for a family dinner each night and when they've finished they both light up cigarettes at the table. The mother always says " Cover the butter " to the husband so that it won't absorb the smoke smell !

Last night I finished Echo Park, the latest in my goal of reading all of Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch books. They are sort of much of a muchness, but I like them.

Carolyn........"much of a muchness," is this like " too too " ?

Tom and I watched the first episode, first season of the series Bosch. Way too dark and violent for us. There was one particular scene that made us turn it off, and we never tried again. It's one thing reading the books, but we found seeing it acted out on the television too disturbing.

yoyo, over here 'much of a muchness' just means more of the same/no different. Probably the same for Carolyn.

I am just finishing up Bernard Cornwall's "War of the Wolf." The author is an historian and his excellent research shows in the detail. I recommend this to anyone who wants to get an idea of how "England" actually began. It is set in the time just after Alfred the Great, when warring kingdoms (Mercia, Wessex, Northumberland, etc.) vied for power in a land invaded by Danes, Saxons, Vikings, and Scots. King Alfred's dream was to unite the island under one language and one government. This book tells of the lengthy struggle that went into that effort, after much warfare. I usually would not choose to read books dealing with war, but I have an interest in Britain before the Norman invasion and this was satisfying to read, in all its complexity.

Yes, what Vee said.

Mary I haven't read much Cornwall but have enjoyed what I have read.

Finished Cover The Butter ! and enjoyed it very much . Now on to Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny.

In preparation for our trip, I spent this afternoon re-reading Heidi and wiping away a few tears, I must admit. And I just placed an Amazon order for Heidi Grows Up and Heidi's Children which I never had but some of my cousins did. It's been a very long time since I read them, and the public library doesn't have them.

I just finished Stone Kiss by Faye Kellerman. I've been reading all her books in order; this one was # 15 or so. I think I need to take a few months off. They are all starting to sound alike! :)

I have a hold on my next Louise Penny (the one after A Trick of the Light) so I'll have to find something else in the meantime. I made a list of all the books and/or authors I want to look for from this month's thread, so hopefully my library will have some of them!

Donna

I've only read one book by Cornwall, A Crowning Mercy. I believe it is one of his early works and more of a romance than his later books. I got the impression that his later books were all about war and battles, and I dislike reading about war and battles, so I never tried any of them.

One Cornwall book I read was Stonehenge, and it was quite interesting to me. It's been a long time, but it seems it had human sacrifice debated but not actually done.

That one sounds interesting, Carolyn. I'll have to look for it as I have an interest in that time period.

Donna - I'm a little late with this comment because I've been out of town for a while, but I just wanted to say I'm impressed that you figured out rather early the secret that was revealed at the end of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I had no idea until it was spelled out for me.

Kathy.....I also read Eleanor and never suspected the ending. I generally do not try to figure out a story as I'm reading but rather let it develop.