I’ve spent another month reading some beautiful books! My reading was a little slow due to my travel schedule but each book was a delicious respite from the chaos of my to do list.
Velvet Was the Night
Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I really enjoy Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s work. In this novel, based on true political circumstances in Mexico, a young woman with a quiet life is swept up in a dangerous mystery. It’s easy and enjoyable to read, highly recommend!
Braiding Sweetgrass
Robin Wall Kimmerer
This is a beautiful, beautiful book. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a Native American botanist who relays her experience learning about nature both in her native roots and in the Western academic tradition. The two are starkly different and her stories show what native knowledge could bring to the academy. Kimmerer is also a poet and her prose are heavenly to read.
Her Perfect Life
Hank Philippi Ryan
Hank Philippi Ryan is a local author here in Boston and a well known investigative TV reporter. In “Her Perfect Life” readers follow a picture perfect television reporter whose image begins to unravel when she starts getting strange messages from a source. This is truly a page turner, I read it almost all in one sitting. It’s an engaging and interesting story.
An Elderly Woman Must Not Be Crossed
Helene Tursten
This is the sequel to “An Elderly Woman Is Up to No Good.” The protagonist, Maud, is a sharp senior citizen who murders anyone who inconveniences her and then pretends to be just an ailing and confused senior. It’s a delightful bit of dark humor from Helen Tursten, I can’t recommend it enough.
The Gallery of Miracles and Madness
Charlie English
This fascinating nonfiction piece delves into Hitler’s crusade against abstraction in modern art and the use of that crusade within WWII propaganda. There’s a special lens on the art of the insane which was getting a lot of attention and respect from modern artists during this era. An excellent read exploring a lesser discussed facet of Hitler’s reign.