You may know Georgette Heyer as the 20th century writer of charming Regency novels. However, she also is a writer of mysteries, with two series, each with four books, featuring her favorite detectives, Hemingway and Hannasyde. No Wind of Blame is the first of the series with Detective Hemingway, who prefers airtight alibis. I like him because of his dry humor, as well as his good brain.
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Reading Doris Kearns Goodwin (yes, the woman known for her historical and political writing) about baseball in the 1950s was a delight. She and her family were rabid Brooklyn Dodgers fans, in a New York neighborhood where baseball allegiances were serious business. I'm not into sports, but Goodwin is a great writer, braiding the stories of Dodgers with her own coming-of-age stories and analysis of life in the 50s. She includes some of the major events, such as the outbreaks of polio and the integration of Little Rock High School, but the account is mostly about her neighborhood and schools. The book is enhanced with (mostly black-and-white) photographs. Susan Cain followed her bestseller about introversion, Quiet, with this book on life's bittersweet moments. The work has three major sections, each divided into manageable chapters that ask questions. The first, Sorrow and Longing, deals with Cain's own bittersweet experience with her mother, in which an adolescent's pulling away and one foolish decision caused a rupture for decades. The middle section, Winners and Losers, looks at workplace situations, while Part III is concerned with Mortality, Impermanence, and Grief. Cain has done deep research; there are many pages of notes at the end of the book. While this is not a quick, cheerful read, it's valuable and worth the bit of effort required. We have all had moments of bittersweetness and may need a wise guide to help us process them. Cain is that guide. |
What I’m ReadingI began working in libraries as a seventh grader, courtesy of scoliosis. My orthopedic surgeon wrote me a pass to miss gym class, so I began working in the school library to feed my love of reading. Even after my surgery to correct the curvature, I kept getting out of gym to work in my high school library and then in my college library (for pay, at last!).
So began my eventual career as a college reference librarian—after a detour into teaching high school English. Later I worked for an educational publisher before going back to libraries.
I have a reading and writing life now. I devour both fiction and nonfiction, and will tell you about some of my favorite reads, both old friends and new discoveries.
Here's some library-themed music to get you in the mood.
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