Book Review: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The Midnight Library

by Matt Haig (Haig)

 

If you could go back and change one thing, unwind one regret, would you?

 

Nora Seed’s current life is not what she imagined and she attempts to commit suicide. She goes to a special library, where she can see how all of her regrets would have played out, had she not committed them.

 

Follow Nora along her journey towards the meaning of true happiness and how to achieve it. The author leaves us with a satisfying, if predictable ending.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman, A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby, Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, or Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore.]

[ official The Midnight Library page on the official Matt Haig web site ]

 

Recommended by Rio B.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Magpie Murders

by Anthony Horowitz (Horowitz)

 

Anthony Horowitz is rapidly becoming one of my favorite contemporary mystery writers. In part, because he refuses to play by the rules of modern mystery fiction, and instead reinvents the genre regularly, with most of the novels he’s published in the past 10 years or so.

 

With the novel Magpie Murders, which the members of the libraries’ Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion club read and discussed in March 2021, Horowitz deconstructs the Agatha Christie-style traditional murder mystery, and then rebuilds it with multiple overlapping levels. Magpie Murders is a mystery novel set inside of another mystery novel. Editor Susan Ryeland has handled the cantankerous and pushy author Alan Conway for many years, shepherding his series of Atticus Pund novels (think Hercule Poirot, only German) to the bestseller lists. When his latest — and what he has threatened will be his last — Pund novel is delivered to the publishing office incomplete, Ryeland needs to get the final chapter — only Alan Conway is murdered before she can, falling from the rooftop observation level of his ostentatious rural medieval castle.

 

Magpie Murders features the incomplete Conway novel, surrounded by chapters in which Ryeland attempts to investigate Conway’s death. It turns out that Conway included not-so-loosely fictionalized versions of the many people he had poor relationships with, as suspects in his final Pund story — and identifying who the killer in the seemingly unfinished Pund novel is may be the clue to Ryeland figuring out who had enough motive to kill Conway in “real life”.

 

Filled with innumerable twists and turns, I found Magpie Murders to be compulsively readable, even at over 500 pages. This is not a casual read — clues and red herrings abound, and you have to really pay attention to everything that everyone says and does! Even though I thought I know “who done it” in both levels of the mystery, it still surprised me in the end.

 

Magpie Murders is in the process of being filmed as a six-part British television adaptation (ironic, as one of the plot points in the novel is that a TV producer is negotiating for the rights to adapt the Atticus Pund novels!) Hopefully, it will end up on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery series.

 

[If you enjoy this, there’s already a second novel in this series, 2021’s Moonflower Murders also by Horowitz. This novel will also be most appreciated by people who are already fans of Christie’s Poirot novels and short stories.]

[ U.S. publisher’s official Magpie Murders web page ] | [ official Anthony Horowitz web site ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

 

Scott read this one for the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group discussion online in March 2021. If you're a mystery fan, join us for the next group meeting on July 29th, where we'll be discussing the suspense novel One by One by Ruth Ware. The Just Desserts group has returned to in-person meetings as of June 2021. Join us at 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the 4th floor auditorium of the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown at 14th & "N" St. on the last Thursday of each upcoming month. For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts

Book Review: A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas

A Study in Scarlet Women

by Sherry Thomas (Thomas)

 

I read A Study in Scarlet Women this month by Sherry Thomas. It is the first in the Lady Sherlock Series. Here Charlotte Holmes, who has always had trouble fitting into London upper class society in the 1880s, finds herself an outcast from society and her own family. She ventures out to make it on her own, and quickly discovers it is not easy for a young lady without resources or references to find adequate lodging or employment. By happenstance she lands a job as a lady’s companion to a kind widow. This allows her to assist the authorities under the assumed name “Sherlock Holmes”.

 

Charlotte employs the same skills as the Arthur Conan Doyle version of Sherlock, putting together facts and clues based on simple details and appearances. Unfortunately, she must do this through correspondence. She also creates the rumor that Sherlock is in a sickbed, and acts as a “go-between” for clients and the fictitious Sherlock in another room. Other reoccurring characters are a concerned younger sister, a patient police inspector, and a love interest from her past.

 

This installment, A Study in Scarlet Women, features the deaths of three unconnected persons. Until Charlotte steps in, the deaths may have been deemed natural causes and unrelated. Charlotte must help the police find the killer to clear her family from involvement.

 

I found A Study in Scarlet Women to be a pleasant read, but lacked any page-turning elements or much action. The series rests more on the uniqueness of a female detective mastermind. Perhaps the next five installments A Conspiracy in Belgravia, The Hollow of Fear, The Art of Theft, and Murder on Cold Street — will be more dramatic. The latest in the series — Miss Moriarty, I Presume — sounds a lot more promising and will be released November of this year.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Gaslight series by Victoria Thompson, or the William Monk series by Anne Perry.]

[ official A Study in Scarlet Women page on the official Sherry Thomas web site ]

 

See the Elementary (Sherlock Holmes) booklist here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Cindy K.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

 

Cindy read this one for the J Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group discussion in May 2021. If you're a mystery fan, join us for the next group meeting on July 29th, where we'll be discussing the suspense novel One by One by Ruth Ware. The Just Desserts group has returned to in-person meetings as of June 2021. Join us at 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the 4th floor auditorium of the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown at 14th & "N" St. on the last Thursday of each upcoming month. For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts

Book Reviews: Home and Home Work both my Julie Andrews

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years and Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years

by Julie Andrews, and Julie Andrews with Emma Walton Hamilton (Music 782.14 Andrews & Biography Andrews)

 

These two autobiographies should appeal to and even fascinate anyone who is a Julie Andrews fan — she of the sublime soprano and the bawdy sense of humor. Home: A Memoir of My Early Years goes into great detail about her childhood and teen years and the very hard work it took to be one of the world’s most “naturally gifted” singers. It also covers her Broadway trials and triumphs. Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years delves into her two marriages, her primary film career, and her blended and growing family. Did you know that she and second husband, acclaimed movie director Blake Edwards, adopted two Vietnamese orphans? That’s just one tidbit you will learn more about. Andrews is, of course, most strongly identified with the iconic musical films “Mary Poppins” and “The Sound of Music” but has done a number of other movies of differing genres. She is very open in both memoirs about her family relationships and associated dynamics and her personal struggles and satisfactions. Home Work was co-written by Andrews’ biological daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. The two ladies have also shared authorship of over 30 young people’s books.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try any autobiographies of Carol Burnett, Debbie Reynolds, or other variety performers; any movies written and/or directed by Blake Edwards or starring Julie Andrews; any movie soundtracks or other music albums featuring Julie Andrews.]

[ publisher’s official Home web page ] | [ official The Julie Andrews Collection web site ]

 

Recommended by Becky W.C.
Walt Branch Library

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

New BooksTalk Booklist: ALA Notable Books (2020)

 

On April 7th, 2021, Library Director Pat Leach presented her annual "American Library Association Notable Books" talk, featuring titles from that annually-published list that were released in 2020, during a Zoom version of the Lunch at the Library bookstalk series.

You can see a list of the items Pat discussed at:

ALA Notable Books - published in 2020

Interested in being added to an e-mail list for notifications about future In-Person or Online Book Talks? Visit our E-mail Groups Sign-Up page to sign up!

Booklist: If You Like...John Green

 

Are you a fan of the novels of John Green, the author of The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns? If so, you may be interested in checking out the "readalikes" list that Carrie R., at the downtown Bennett Martin Public Library put together.

Check out this relatively new booklist on BookGuide at the following link:

If You Like...John Green

Music Book Review: A Sound Mind by Paul Morley

A Sound Mind: How I Fell in Love With Classical Music (and Decided to Rewrite Its Entire History)

by Paul Morley (Music 781.68 Mar)

 

Author Paul Morley is no stranger to writing about music. He’s been a music journalist for 40 years, mostly focusing on pop and rock music, and he’s written several books about bands such as Joy Division and David Bowie. He was also one of the founding members of the early digital sampling pioneers The Art of Noise, and is said to have helped with early publicity for the band Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

 

Until now, though, Morley was only known for his pop criticism. Then technology changed, streaming music became possible, and he found himself expanding his horizons into jazz and classical music, at first during travel downtimes. As his musical horizons became more inclusive, he also became philosophical about the era of his youth, the “album era,” and how short-lived it might be compared to other ways of consuming and thinking about music. Before you know it, he was headlong into classical music, and he shares his new journey with us in his latest book, A Sound Mind.

 

Morley’s style is one of the most appealing things about this book — he does check some boxes for music history and biographical information throughout the book, but fundamentally this works as a memoir that happens to document his own investigation into classical music. He’s worked successfully with this kind of approach before in his 2000 book “Nothing,” which reflected on his own childhood and the suicide of his father while considering the work of Ian Curtis (Joy Division), Elvis, and Marc Bolan. Where that book focuses on the darker side of life and missed opportunities, though, this book seizes the moment and finds new life in the embrace of centuries of music that might have been overlooked by many of us surrounded by contemporary rock and pop records.

 

One of my favorite things about this book is how capably Morley weaves modern and older classical traditions together. He’s discovering and enjoying this music in a modern, hyperlinked kind of way, so he looks for asynchronous associations that many of us who have studied all of these works chronologically might not have considered before. These movements through time are beautifully depicted in playlists that periodically illustrate points throughout the book. Moving at one point between Bach, Steve Reich, Beethoven, George Crumb, Kraftwerk, Keith Jarrett, and Thomas Arne, for example, turns out to be an incredible experience. This book proves to be a great introduction to classical music, and a breath of fresh air for those of us already on the inside.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try RIYL: Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs and Classical Music by Blair Tindall, or Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day by Clemency Burton-Hill.]

[ publisher’s official A Sound Mind web page ]

 

Recommended by Scott S.
Polley Music Library

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Check out this, and all the other great music resources, at the Polley Music Library, located on the 2nd floor of the Bennett Martin Public Library at 14th & "N" St. in downtown Lincoln. You'll find biographies of musicians, books about music history, instructional books, sheet music, CDs, music-related magazines, and much more. Also check out Polley Music Library Picks, the Polley Music Library's e-mail newsletter, and follow them on Facebook!

Book Review(s): The Zig Zag Girl and Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths

The Zig Zag Girl and Smoke and Mirrors

by Elly Griffiths (Griffiths)

 

In April 2021, the libraries’ Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group reading assignment was to sample one or more of the series novels written by British mystery author Elly Griffiths. Having long been a fan of stage magicians, and fondly remembering the 1973-1974 Bill Bixby TV series The Magician (featuring a crime-solving prestidigitator), I decided to try The Zig Zag Girl, first in a 1950s-set series that features a team-up between Max Mephisto, star stage magician, and his old Army friend turned small town police detective Edgar Stephens. I ended up enjoying the first one so much, I immediately read the second entry, Smoke and Mirrors as well. Both are very good, but actually have somewhat different tones.

 

In The Zig Zag Girl, a brutal murder of a young woman occurs, in which her body is cut into thirds, much like a stage illusion done by Max Mephisto. The senior detective on the case, Edgar Stephens, served with Max in WWII, in a unit called The Magic Men, comprised of magicians and illusionists, who were tasked with creating large-scale illusions to fool the Germans into believing the English coast was better-defended than it actually was. Edgar calls on Max’s magic-trick background for advice, but then more murders occur, each tied in some way to the old Magic Men unit. The characters are engaging, with the magician angle in the 1950s providing a fresh viewpoint. There’s a strong sense of place, in the British seaside town of Brighton. And the mystery of a young woman who’s appeared who may have some connection to Max’s past is intriguing. The mystery itself is fairly commonplace and easy for the reader to solve, so the fun here is getting to know the characters.

 

In Smoke and Mirrors, two young children are murdered and their bodies left to be discovered in a staged tableau, but are hidden by a snowstorm. Edgar, once again in charge of the investigation once the bodies are found, finds himself emotionally torn up by the events. Fortunately, Max is appearing in a nearby musical comedy stage show, where his illusion skills are put to good use, and is there to provide insight. New recurring characters are introduced (who will become even more prominent in subsequent entries), and the mystery is a lot more complex this time. But this one has a much darker feel than the first one in the series.

 

I really like this series, especially the friendly relationship between Edgar and Max, and look forward to reading more — there are five so far with a sixth due in late 2021. If you like a 1950s time frame, police procedurals, or the world of stage performers (particularly magicians or illusionists), you’ll probably enjoy this series.

[If you enjoy these, I recommend trying to track down the following TV shows featuring stage magicians, illusionists or mentalists who help solve crimes: The Magician (1973-74, 22 episodes), starring Bill Bixby; Blacke’s Magic (1986, 13 episodes), starring Hal Linden and Harry Morgan; Jonathan Creek (1997-2016 — a UK show with 26 episodes with several year gaps between seasons) starring Alan Davies; The Mentalist (2008-2015, 151 episodes) starring Simon Baker and Robin Tunney; and Deception (2018, 13 episodes) starring Jack Cutmore-Scott.]

 [ official The “Brighton Mysteries” page on the official Elly Griffiths web site ] 

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to these? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

 

Hey mystery fans! Don't miss this month's Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group where we'll be discussing the "Jack McEvoy" series novel Fair Warning by Michael Connelly. The June  2021 Just Desserts meeting, returning to "in-person" meetings for the first time since February 2020, will be tonight at 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the 4th floor auditorium of the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown at 14th & "N" St. For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts

Book Review: The House That Wasn't There by Elana Arnold

The House That Wasn’t There
by Elana Arnold (j Arnold)

 

First impressions are not always the best impressions. The House That Wasn’t There uses the story of two middle school neighbors to tell the story of how friendship needs time to grow. At first, the two main characters in The House That Wasn’t There seem very different. But as the story unfolds, coincidences begin to sprout up, almost magically, and they discover that what they share goes deeper than they would ever imagine.

 

Sixth-grade Alder lives with his mom — his father, a folk singer and musician, passed away when he was very young. He is an introvert, likes to knit, has lived in his house most of his life, and only hangs out with one friend, who now seems to have found a new best friend. The exciting school year he anticipated quickly falls apart around him. Oak, also in sixth grade, moves in next door. She lives with both of her parents; a new job brings them from San Francisco. She is outgoing and easily makes lots of friends. Although she dreaded a term at a new school, she happily settles into her new class.

 

It’s not surprising that they don’t start out as friends. When Oak’s family moves in, her mother arranges to have a cherished tree cut down between the two houses, which immediately angers Alder and his mother. The tree was a reminder of Alder’s father; a reminder they can’t get back.

 

But a school project throws the two kids together. And that’s when the twists of fate begin. Alder’s mother surprises him when they go to adopt a kitten, one of a set of siblings. When he returns the next day to purchase the other cat, it has been adopted. Surprise, surprise. Oak’s mother had the same idea and she adopts the other cat. The two cats escape in the middle of a storm and when the two kids search for their lost cats, they stumble into a magical portal — a house between the two houses that wasn’t there. After the unusual experience, strange coincidences keep happening, until the final chapter, where we unearth the biggest revelation of all.

 

I found The House That Wasn’t There an easy-to-read book with a charming story and an unexpected twist at the end. It’s a story that love and family can be found all around us, we just have to be willing to look.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Sea in Winter by Christine Day, or These Unlucky Stars by Gillian McDunn.]

[ publisher’s official The House That Wasn’t There web page ] | [ official Elana Arnold web site ]

 

Recommended by Cindy K.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: The Windsor Knot by S.J. Bennett

The Windsor Knot

by S.J. Bennett

 

I am only very marginally an Anglophile. I’m slightly interested in British history, and have been a fan of Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Who, Steed & Peel of the Avengers, and of the plays and poetry of Shakespeare for many years. But I have never been particularly interested in the Royal Family, per se.

 

None-the-less, this charming new mystery intrigued me enough to select it for the “Series Share” meeting of the libraries’ Just Desserts Mystery Fiction Discussion Group, where all the members sampled a “new” mystery series and shared our opinions about whatever we had each selected. I selected The Windsor Knot for this year’s entry. It was published in early 2021, and a second volume in the series is due by the end of the year.

 

This is a mystery, with some twists that cause it to stand out. The sleuth at the heart of the story is Queen Elizabeth II herself, but she is far from a traditional mystery solver. Set in 2016, just before and including the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations, this story reveals that Elizabeth has been helping (behind the scenes) to solve a variety of mysteries since her teen years. As the monarch, she can’t be seen to be meddling in the affairs of the police or MI-5. So when she has a hunch, born from years of careful observation of everyone and everything around her, she sets some of her many loyal, hand-picked employees on the trail of clues, or slips carefully planned “suggestions” to the appropriate authorities on new avenues to pursue in their investigations.

 

Enter Rozie Oshodi — a young British Nigerian with a military background, who’s a newly installed Assistant Personal Secretary to the Queen. Little did she know, when she took the job, that it would include secret missions on the Queen’s behalf, to question possible murder suspects or to make contact with some of the Queen’s former allies in crime-solving. In this first entry in the series, Rosie and the Queen investigate the suspicious death of a Russian pianist who was a guest in Windsor Castle, who was made to appear as if he accidentally killed himself. But the Queen’s suspicions about an incorrectly tied Windsor Knot lead to a possible international incident…and another killing.

 

The Windsor Knot was fast-paced, with charming characters (though a bit simplistic). I do look forward to seeing where this series goes in future volumes, especially as Prince Philip has recently passed away in real life (2021), and he has a fairly large role in this first mystery novel, set 5 years ago.

[ official The Windsor Knot page on the official S.J. Bennett web site ] 

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Carville's Cure: Leprosy, Stigma and the Fight for Justice by Pam Fessler

Carville’s Cure: Leprosy, Stigma and the Fight for Justice

by Pam Fessler (362.196 Fes)

 

When Pam Fessler, NPR correspondent, discovered that her father-in-law’s father was taken away from his family for having contracted Hansen’s disease (leprosy) during the 1902 campaign in the Philippines. (He, along with an unknown number of Americans, contracted the disease while in the Philippines, Japan and other parts of the world fighting for the US Military.) She decided that this was the book she needed to write. The Louisiana Leprosarium was established in 1894 and the state of Louisiana contracted with the Catholic Daughters of Charity to run the home. This was not a luxury hospital as many of the Tuberculosis Sanatoriums. This was a rundown mansion where the Sisters lived, and the slave shacks on the former plantation housed the victims of the disease.

 

Though the medical community could not come to a consensus on the disease, Hansen’s was not exceptionally contagious, unlike Tuberculosis. Also unlike TB the people who contracted Hansen’s were still considered at cause for their disease and treated as outcasts and often punished for having the disease. Ms. Fessler’s extensive research gives us an inside view to what life was like at the home and how individuals fought for their rights and for better accommodations. In 1921 the Federal Government took over running the home, though it brought better food, it did not necessarily bring better living conditions. The home did not close until 2005.

 

Though we learn a lot about what Hansen’s disease is and how the cure was discovered, we also learn that medical professionals still don’t know really how it’s spread. This book is mostly about the patients and the caretakers of Carville’s Leprosy Colony.

 

I’ve read some information about Hansen’s disease, but this is by far the most informational and fascinating look at the disease and how the patients were treated in America.

 

I highly recommend Carville’s Cure to people who like history books, social justice books, and medical history.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Pox: An American History by Michael Willrich, The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic — and How it Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World by Steven Johnson, or The Radium Girls: The Scary But True Story of the Poison That Made People Glow in the Dark by Kate Moore.]

[ publisher’s official Carville’s Cure web page ] | [ official Pamela Fessler Twitter feed ]

 

Recommended by Marcy G.
South Branch Library

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!