100 Cookies by Sarah Kieffer

100 COOKIES by Sarah Kieffer is a wonderful cookbook which anyone would be happy to own and consult. Kieffer subtitled her collection “The Baking Book for Every Kitchen, with Classic Cookies, Novel Treats, Brownies, Bars, and More” and it really delivers with beautiful pictures (a must for me with cookbooks!), simple, straightforward directions and recipes for beginner to professional.  The only element which I wish was included is nutritional information (although this is all about cookies, after all). Clearly, there are many favorites (chocolate chip or shortbread) and innovations (like Lavender Cookies) from which to choose! 100 COOKIES is nominated for the GoodReads Choice Awards this year (winner announcements December 8) which is great to see since those cookbooks are often designed for more accomplished and sophisticated chefs. A fabulous family present to keep everyone baking together!

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah

Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the accidental lockdown at our high school. Alarms went off and teachers and students huddled in silence until the police permitted us to leave our safe places. Then, came the tears and the relief …

THE BEAUTY OF YOUR FACE by Sahar Mustafah is an emotional debut novel about Afaf Rahman, a dedicated educator and principal of Nurrideen School for Girls, a Muslim school in the suburbs of Chicago. It is there one day that Afaf comes face to face with a gun man.  Mustafah uses flashbacks to tell the story of Afaf and her family.  Noting, for example, the experience of unconscious bias when a loved one is ill and the nurse at the hospital “speaks loudly and slowly to them, as though they can’t understand her. It’s a habit Afaf has observed in white people.” Numerous references to religion and cultural aspects like Afaf’s father’s music and her decision to wear a headscarf are interspersed, educating some readers and mirroring others. THE BEAUTY OF YOUR FACE also describes the pain and sorrow that the shooter, a disappointed, radicalized building maintenance worker feels. Overall, though, this is a novel which is full of hope that we can do more to recognize and appreciate about our shared humanity: “so many things are possible just as long as you don’t know they’re impossible.” Like her main character, the author is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants and an educator. She lives and teaches high school students outside of Chicago so I am hoping we can invite her as a guest speaker (perhaps for Lit Fest?) to continue the dialogue in the future.

Simon the Fiddler by Paulette Jiles

SIMON THE FIDDLER by Paulette Jiles would make a wonderful holiday gift (or Thanksgiving read) for historical fiction fans.  Written by the National Book Award finalist (for News of the World), SIMON THE FIDDLER begins a bit slowly, but builds to a crescendo with plenty of travels and adventures interspersed.  The novel is set in post-Civil War Texas and chronicles the travels of Simon and his bandmates. Simon works hard to be able to purchase land since he eventually wants to settle down with Doris Mary Dillon, a young woman he saw briefly at one of his performances. As an indentured servant from Ireland, Doris has to fulfill her contract with the family of a former Union colonel's named Webb. Filled with scenes from Nacogdoches and Crockett in East Texas to Galveston and Corpus Christi on the coast to the Hill Country area around San Marco and San Antonio, Jiles succeeds once again in conveying the essence of Texas’ frontier while building memorable characters. SIMON THE FIDDLER received starred reviews from both Booklist and Kirkus.

Fitness Hacks for Over 50 by Aleisha Fetters

FITNESS HACKS FOR OVER 50 by K. Aleisha Fetters lives up to its promise to provide “300 Easy Ways to Incorporate Exercise Into Your Life.” Most pages have two columns, each with an idea (e.g., Take a Pilates Class, Tap your Toes) followed by a brief explanation and a list of anything you will need (like grippy socks or a good place to sit) along with an estimate of time investment (which can be just a few moments). There is so much from which to choose - I wish that these ideas could be laminated and joined together in a more accessible way – like the old Brain Quest cards for kids.  It’s a good idea to keep FITNESS HACKS FOR OVER 50 in a handy place – as a reminder to MOVE – whether it’s to try some kitchen counter push-ups or to activate your desk with sitting and standing options. Fetters has divided the text into four sections of interest for older readers who want to exercise more: balance and coordination; flexibility and mobility; muscular strength; and aerobic capacity and endurance.  Again, whether you are getting up to change the channels, teaching the kids hopscotch, or sprucing up the yard, there is an activity for everyone. Now off on my two hour walk! Keep counting those steps!

 

Joy at Work by Marie Kondo and Scott Sonenshein

Marie Kondo (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up) and Scott Sonenshein (an organizational behavior expert and professor at Rice University) explore “organizing your professional life” in JOY AT WORK – something we all need, especially lately. After an initial chapter on the benefits of “tidying,” or visualizing your ideal work life and creating an environment where you can focus, they offer suggestions around aspects of work like digital work, time, decisions, meetings, and so forth.  It’s a tough philosophy that requires willpower, with one section titled: “Papers: The Basic Rule is Discard Everything.” They cite data that shows that the search for lost things adds up to an average of one work week per year per employee! The authors offer simple, relatively easy to implement suggestions (e.g., store papers upright; make a pending box; beware the scan trap, and so on). JOY AT WORK is a text worth reviewing multiple times. Its final chapter is titled, “How to Spark Even More Joy at Work!” and that one describes work-life balance, including whether you should change your job if it does not spark joy. May your tidying inspire others! 

The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop

THE WONDER BOY OF WHISTLE STOP by Fannie Flagg is a LibraryReads choice for October.  If you love Flagg’s homespun writing, especially Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, pick up this new equally folksy novel. It charmingly reprises many of the characters and events from that 1987 classic while offering comfort in these uncertain times. For example, title character Bud Threadgoode (now retired and looking to visit his Alabama hometown) observes, “Life can be hard sometimes. And I sort of think animals are little gifts the good Lord sends to help us get through it.” Or when Flagg writes, “that’s what you get when you love something that much. Joy and heartbreak.” My difficulty with this novel was the way it jumped around in time over several decades and across state lines, often making reference or assuming some knowledge the reader did not necessarily have. My advice is to treat yourself: (re)read Fried Green Tomatoes first and then settle in to enjoy more feel good wisdom in THE WONDER BOY OF WHISTLE STOP.

More Mysteries ... by Ann Cleeves and Frances Brody

THE DARKEST EVENING by Ann Cleeves is the latest (number nine) in the Vera Stanhope series of mystery stories, but the first that I had the pleasure of reading. In its starred review, Publishers Weekly declared, “This page-turner is must reading for fans as well as newcomers." I heartily concur! In this wintery tale, Vera finds a toddler in an abandoned car in the snow.  The young and troubled mother, Lorna Falstone, is later found dead on the grounds of Brockburn, a large, grand house in rural Northumberland. That is actually where Vera had headed with the child; she knew the manor house was nearby because it is where her father was raised although he was later estranged from the family. Vera and her colleagues, Joe and Holly, now must work to solve the puzzle of Lorna’s death. The suspects are many, involving tangled ties amongst family members, business associates, and community members.  After enjoying this tale, I was disappointed to learn that the ITV-produced British crime drama is only available in the US through smaller services like Acorn or Britbox. But I was encouraged by Louise Penny’s comment that "Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers.” I will be looking forward to reading more by BOTH of these best-selling authors! 

MURDER IS IN THE AIR by Frances Brody is number 12 in Kate Shackleton mystery series. I always enjoy these charming mysteries set in the late 1920s and early 1930s Britain. Kate is a resourceful sleuth and this story begins as she sends her assistant, Jim Sykes, to a brewery in Yorkshire which is experiencing some financial and management issues. Sykes mingles well with the locals and becomes increasingly suspicious, particularly after the brewery’s extremely capable and knowledgeable secretary, Miss Crawford, is killed while cycling. Exploring the role of women at this time, Brody interweaves the family story of Ruth Parnaby, another capable employee who works in the accounting area and is representing the brewery in a marketing contest. MURDER IS IN THE AIR features more than one puzzle and plenty of inter-relationships which give rise to numerous suspects. Enjoy!