Weather is certainly changing. We have seen a few nights in the forties. Usually I am glad to see this weather, I really do love it but soon we will be moving inside. I still have not figured out how to cope with six or seven months of being in the house. I will probably do even more reading.
I have a range of books for you this month. My first favorite book Is The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson, it Is well written and hard to put down. Winston Churchill comes to life during the time that England is under attach by Germany. His ability to give people a clear picture of what is going on draws the English to have faith in what he is doing. You will learn about his family and surroundings during this difficult time. You don’t have to have a strong interest in WW2 to find this a fastinating read.
A Respectable Trade by Philippa Gregory does not follow her usual study of the Kings and Queens of England. You will still find yourself in England towards the end of the 16th century. A slave trader who has worked himself up from nothing comes up with a new scheme where he will train newly captured slaves to become household slaves for the wealthy residents of England. He marries a woman two train these slaves. This does not end up going quite as planned. There are a lot of particularly good books covering the tragedy of slavery but this one gives us a new slant on slavery in the United Kingdom.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett’s the story of twins born in a small southern town. They are black but very light. They live in a mostly black town where being light skinned makes them special and treated better than the darker citizens. They run away to New Orleans to find a more exciting life. One of the sisters decides to pass as white and falls in love with her boss. She follows him to the north not to be heard from again. I won’t give the plot away, but this is a great book.
The Absolution by Yrsa Sigurdardottir is the third book in this series. You can bet I am going to read the first two. This Icelandic series is a bit dark and scary. The book I read certainly has the typical Scandinavian, not so happy ending. I find myself drawn to this dark mystery writing.
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