This past winter I started quite a few plants from seed, turning part of my laundry room into a mini greenhouse. Not everything sprouted, and many seedlings never flourished. These are some of my favorites from this summer and fall. The Verbena grew many tall, thin flower stalks, and the Monarda had up to four tiered flowers on each stem.
Journalist Susan Casey has long been fascinated by the ocean. She’s written books on sharks, rogue waves, and dolphins. Here she shares the joy and wonder she experiences while learning about and visiting the ocean depths. She travels around the globe interviewing scientists and explorers, including Don Walsh and Victor Vescovo. The book is full of photos of the weird, wonderful, and numerous creatures of the deep ocean.
It’s fun to read about her experiences at sea. Her first chance to dive in a submersible to the deep ocean comes in the Bahamas, where the 3-person Neptune goes to the bottom of the twilight zone, 1000 meters deep.
Another intriguing chapter involves the search for a Spanish galleon off the coast of Columbia, that was sunk in 1708, with a cargo full of treasure. The challenges of locating the ship, keeping that location secret, and obtaining funding and permission to raise the ship are detailed.
More sobering sections discuss the risks of plastic debris on the ocean floor and recent proposals for deep sea mining.
The most exciting chapters describe Case’s final chance to dive to the abyssal zone, over 5000 meters below the surface in a 2-person submersible, to the base of one of Hawaii’s underground volcanoes.
Armchair travel, popular science and real-life adventure combine in a compelling and informative read.
Brenda
Muffins are one the easiest and most delicious things I like to bake. You can make mini muffins for a large group, or regular size muffins to enjoy at home, and they freeze well. Blueberry muffins are a classic, and I have several different recipes I’ve tried, having been baking them since I was a teenager. A couple of months ago Deb Perelman of the very popular Smitten Kitchen blog and author of three cookbooks, posted the recipe for Raspberry Streusel Muffins. Deb is known for her very funny descriptions of her recipes, or headnotes. She states that these might be the best muffins she’s ever made, so I had to make them. They are made with frozen raspberries. Like many bakers who’ve tried this recipe, I made 9 muffins, not 6. The cooled muffins stuck to the cupcake liner. They are tangy and have a good texture if you like raspberries. I added ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg to the streusel and added the zest of half a lemon to the batter. If I make them again, I would brush melted butter in the muffin tins and skip the cupcake liners. These are fine, but not the best muffins I’ve ever baked. If you make them, follow the directions carefully.
For easy and very reliable muffins recipes, I rely on Sally’s Baking Recipes. Sally McKenney also has a popular blog and is the author of three cookbooks, but isn’t quite as well-known as Deb of Smitten Kitchen. The Apple and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins recipes are on her blog. If you’re looking for a very healthy muffins recipes, look no further. For seasonal baking, I really like the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. Mini chocolate chips are used, and that makes it easy to bake mini muffins, or regular size. Even Sally’s bran muffin recipe is delicious. Even though these are easier to make and healthier, I like both of these recipes better.
Brenda
This enjoyable contemporary romance is set in New York City. The first part of the book is all emails from Lily, an editorial assistant, to her favorite Black British fantasy author. Lily has a very demanding boss and two sisters who keep setting her up on dates, a cute young niece, and a cat. Author Strick now works as a travel journalist and writes emails from his assignments in several different countries.
Several months later, Lily is staying with her sister Violet, saving up money to rent a studio apartment, when she meets a handsome book-loving neighbor names Nick, who has a sparsely furnished apartment on the same floor. Lily and Nick become friends, and there are definitely sparks between them. It’s hard not to root for them to get together. The world of a writer and a woman who longs to edit children’s books make for very appealing reading.
Brenda
Have you read Legends & Lattes yet? Then you’re in for a treat, and you don’t need to be a coffee drinker to enjoy it. This new novel, due out November 7, is a prequel.
Viv, an orc, is at the beginner of her career as a mercenary here. Recovering from a severe injury, Viv is stuck in the seaside village of Murk until Rackham’s Ravens return. While occasionally following the doctor’s orders, Viv is bored. So very bored. Constant questions from Gallina, a young gnome who wants to join the Ravens, doesn’t help. But Fern and her shabby bookshop do. One book, suggested by savvy readers advisor Fern, leads to others. Viv, with the help of Pitts, a poetry loving orc who hauls things, help make the bookshop more welcoming. Then there’s Maylee, a dwarf who runs the local bakery. Baldree writes so lovingly of scones and pastries in both books that you’ll want to make a quick trip to a local bakery or bake some scones, cookies, or muffins yourself.
Many cozy mysteries are set in bookstores or bakeries. I start quite a few, finish some, and am delighted by only a few. Baldree’s cozy fantasy books featuring Viv, though, are awesome. Besides an injured orc and a bookshop that needs spiffing up, there’s also a gryphet, a reclusive romance author, some sweet kisses, and a greatsword belonging to an evil necromancer. Also, a gray man, smelling of ice and death, has Viv and the local guard on high alert. What could possibly go wrong before the Ravens return? This is a charming read, well worth savoring. These books can be read in either order. More, please!
Brenda
This near future science fiction thriller, published in 2015, is set in 2060. I read it for my science fiction/fantasy book group, and found it to be a long but fast and fun read. The Chinese are prepping a human mission to Mars, while the United States has a large space station. Almost by accident, privileged Sandy Darlington helps discover that a spaceship is headed to one of Saturn’s small moons. Then the ship moves away, but the moonlet may be artificial. The Americans, with a very determined President Amanda Santeros in charge, set a mission in motion, ostensibly to Mars, with the goal of beating the Chinese to Saturn. Soon enough, the Chinese discover where the American ship is headed, and why, and the race to Saturn is on. Their spaceships, methods of propulsion and routes to Saturn are very different, and there is probably a spy and perhaps a saboteur on board the American ship. I won’t describe what they discover near Saturn; no spoilers here.
Then one of the spaceships needs assistance to get back to Earth, and there is absolutely no trust between the two countries. But the laws of space are different; you must provide needed aid if you can. This was an entertaining novel of early space exploration and discovery. While a few aspects of the plot are predictable, such as whether everyone or anyone will make it back to Earth safely, the book was still hard to put down.
In this charming series of four contemporary novels set in the Lake District of northwest England, four sisters all deal with turning points in their lives, including jobs, romances, housing, and personal growth. The Holley sisters grew up in the Thornthwaite vicarage and have returned home in A Vicarage Christmas. They are all dismayed to learn that their parents, Roger and Ruth, plan to leave soon for missionary work in China.
Esther, Anna, Rachel, and the much younger Miriam cope with a number of serious issues, including an unexpected pregnancy, a possible divorce, stuttering, and unresolved grief. Local teacher Rachel is looking forward to a big wedding, a very large house, a puppy, and a family of her own. Sharp-tongued Esther is suddenly discontented with everything in her life. Quiet Anna realizes she must finally deal with her stuttering and some grief issues, while Miriam has been traveling the world, ending up in Australia before heading back to England to start over without a university degree or good job prospects.
I enjoyed listening to this series on audio, available from my public library on Hoopla, narrated by Hannah Curtis. I plan to look for more books by Kate Hewitt, especially if they’re narrated by Hannah Curtis.
Brenda
Readers who enjoy real life adventure, American history, armchair travel, or horses will likely enjoy Will Grant’s new memoir. The Pony Express, in which a letter could be delivered by horseback from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento in a blistering 10 days, only lasted about 19 months from 1860 to 1861. In 2019, horse trainer and journalist Will Grant set out to ride the same 2,000-mile path. He planned to take 100 days, with two horses, riding one and leading the other with packs, riding four days, and resting one. Of course, the journey doesn’t go quite according to his plan, partly due to weather. The selection of the horses begins the tale, then Will sets out in early May, with an escort over the Missouri River bridge from St. Joseph, Missouri, into Kansas. Sensibly trailering his horses around a few cities on the route, Grant details life on horseback, the history and present state of the Pony Express stations, and the people he meets along the way. In a few arid locations, he has water and hay caches located for the horses. Grant rides his horses at a walk, not the gallop of the Pony Express, and he ponders how challenging it would have been for the Pony Express to keep enough horses ready at the stations, and supplied with enough feed and water for the horses and their handlers. Grant clearly loves horses and the American West, and is very good company for the journey. Rinker Buck’s The Oregon Trail and Life on the Mississippi are very good readalikes.
Brenda
One of my very favorite cozy mystery writers is Donna Andrews. Birder, She Wrote is #33 in the delightful Meg Langslow series. Meg is a blacksmith in Virginia with a large extended family. It’s not a spoiler to share that she marries actor and drama professor Michael and they have twin boys. Almost every year, Donna publishes a winter holiday mystery and another mystery. The audiobooks are narrated by Bernadette Dunne, and I can’t decide whether I enjoy reading the print books or listening to the audiobooks more. There is good character development, lots of humor, and a good mystery. Also, pets, mostly dogs and sometimes a whole litter of Pomeranian puppies. Living outside Caerphilly, the extended family also has a number of other animals, from sheep to occasional peacocks and more. All of the books have a bird in their titles, beginning with Murder with Peacocks. They always entertain and amuse me, and are even good to reread or to listen to again. Most of the audiobooks can be downloaded from Hoopla or Libby/Overdrive library collections. I think readers can jump into the series pretty much anywhere, especially any of the first five or six books.
I recently reread the third book, Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos, set near Yorktown, during a Revolutionary War enactment. Meg is selling her wrought iron wares, hiding a case of flamingos made for her mother’s friend, admiring Michael in his French officer’s uniform, and making peace after Michael’s mother hands out another fine as she seeks complete authenticity among the crafters and reenactors.
Book 17, Good Emus, Bad Emus has the Langslow family searching for Meg’s grandmother Cordelia, who gave her son up for adoption. Meg looks just like a young Cordelia, and they’ve found her cousin. A murder must be solved, and the whole clan are trying to rescue a group, or mob, of feral emus.
In Meg’s latest mystery, Birder, She Wrote, she is hoping for a lazy summer day, lounging in a hammock sipping a cold drink and watching hummingbirds sip nectar from feeders. This sounds like a perfect day to me as well. Alas, Meg soon has several tasks to add to her to-do list. Edgar, a wildlife photographer and beekeeper, is missing, Meg’s father wants help moving beehives, and Edgar’s new neighbors keep complaining about his beehives. Meg goes along on a search for a lost graveyard and finds a body, but it isn’t Edgar. And then there’s a persistent young reporter who wants to interview Meg’s grandmother for a magazine profile. More mysteries then in many of the earlier books, but as full of family, humor, and animals as the others. More, please!
Brenda
Book Girl & Little Bear 