Genealogy 101: Never Assume Murder by Carol Grieshop

Genealogy 101: Never Assume Murder by Carol Grieshop
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 rounded to 4 stars - I loved the subject matter - a genealogist who walks you through the research process while telling a good tale. Even more, I loved the fact that it was based in nearby Rugby, TN, a Victorian utopian village about an hour north of my home. We visited last year and learned some of the history of the village, and the book does a wonderful job of bringing it to life.
This was obviously the author's debut novel, and self-published. There were a few errors that a good editor would have caught (punctuation, one run-on sentence), and a little too much food/clothing descriptions, but overall a nice book that I enjoyed reading and shared with my sister afterwards.

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May We Forever Stand: A History of the Black National Anthem by Imani Perry

May We Forever Stand: A History of the Black National Anthem by Imani Perry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I didn't know about this song until recently. How could that be? This book, written by Imani Perry, a professor of African American studies at Princeton traces the history of the song, from its creation by two brothers in the early 20th century through its adoption by the Black community, NAACP, its drop in popularity during the 1970s and its current rise in prominence since the George Floyd protests. It is a book rich in history and culture, and befitting its academic origin, well documented.
Highly recommended.

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The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman

The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All the beauty and pain and wonderful writing I've come to expect from my favorite author. No one quite tells the Jewish experience likes Alice Hoffman, or makes you weep with her characters, or understand the strength of women and the love of mothers for their child like she does. This story takes place during World War II and touches on the resistance, the horrors of the Holocaust, and the goodness of people in the midst of it all. I could read this again and again, and see something new each time.

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Montana 1948 by Larry Watson

Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A small book, tightly written, and wonderfully told, Montana 1948 is a coming of age story, set in a small Montana town in 1948. The Haydens are town aristocracy, the grandfather, the retired sheriff, his two sons, the town doctor and current sheriff. It is told from the perspective of twelve year old David Hayden, as he remembers it forty years later. It is the day he stopped being a child and lost his innocence, when he realized that adults were not infallible, and those he loved could do monstrous things. As he relates the story to his wife, he discovers things about that time he had realized before, looking now through the lens of adulthood, not as a young boy.
I can't say enough good things about this novel, it's succinct, thought provoking, and beautifully written. Highly recommended.

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The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a powerful book, one that I would think about for days, and possibly reread in the future. Set against the backdrop of the civil war that broke out in Syria in 2011, it is the heartbreaking story of Nuri, a beekeeper, and his artist wife, Afra, who must flee their country and find a way to make a new life for themselves elsewhere, while dealing with severe PTSD and blindness after losing the small son, Sami.
I listened to the audio version of this, which had the advantage of hearing the beautiful language in which the story was told, but the disadvantage of not seeing the skips in the timeline, which was more obvious (I'm told) in a print edition.
This raised my awareness of a situation of which I was only vaguely aware of, and although it was hard to read of the pain the characters faced, I am glad to have read it.

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Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 rounded to 5 stars - A wonderful classic by author and essayist Edward Abbey, who spent several years as a park ranger, and who deeply loved the American southwest wilderness and advocated for keeping it that way. Although he occasionally worked for the government, he was an anarchist who was on the government watch list for years. When he died, he requested a "green burial" with his body put in an old sleeping bag and quietly buried in an undisclosed location.
I did a hybrid read of this book, listening to much of it, but also reading along the way. Both methods had things to recommend them. The narrator was excellent, but so were the line drawings in the physical book. The language, descriptive detail and interesting anecdotes makes this a book I would be happy to own, and read aloud on a cold winter night.

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The Light Over London by Julia Kelly

The Light Over London by Julia Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finally, after a run of just so-so books, I've found one that I really enjoyed. The Light Over London is a dual timeline book, both the story of Louise Keene during the second world war, and the contemporary story of Cara Hargraves. Cara, who works for an antique dealer finds an old diary in a piece of furniture from an estate. She is given permission to keep it, and still reeling from the recent loss of her parents, becomes obsessed with the idea of finding the owner or her family.
Cara's story parallels Louise, in that they are both finding their way in the world, learning to stand independently and make a difference.
My parents were married during the war, and that is part of what interests me so much with this era of historical fiction. I look forward to reading more by this author.

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