Links I love

 

As Ed Stark said "winter is coming," so here is a picture of Mt Washington.   We're getting ready for the upcoming holiday here and that's overwhelming!  The holidays are both lovely and stressful. I'm currently reading a non fiction book about the KKK in the midwest by Timothy Egan and listening to Project Hail Mary, both of which I'm enjoying!

1. Home Alone turns 35 this year!
2. Name the iconic Christmas song in just one lyric!
3. Boarding school mysteries for all ages. 
4. Mt. Washington could break record for snowiest November.
5. Five novels set in the Moors and five novels about living near serial killers.
6. How well do you know the history of Thanksgiving?
7. Best books of the year on BookRiot. They also have their best true crime books and historical books. Nonfiction too. 
8. The winners of the National Book Award are announced.
9. The Dublin 2026 longlist is announced!
10. Mostly bookish gifts for the holidays.
11. The NY Public Library's best books of 2025.
12. 9 movies that take place at Christmas.

I hope that everyone has a great holiday!

REVIEW Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

 

I was absolutely long overdue in reading this book but I'm glad I did because Eleanor Zott, the main character, has to be one of my favorite main characters of all time. My hesitancy in reading books like this is that the hype far outpaces how good the book actually is - but that wasn't the case here. It was every bit as good as the hype. 

Eleanor Zott is a chemist but in the 50's this is seemingly impossible for a woman. In her PhD program, Zott is brutally blocked from getting her degree, even though she's infinitely smarter than the men in that program. As a result, she becomes a lab tech that is often mistaken for a secretary. That doesn't stop her - she's smart, determined and a tad oblivious which leads her to meeting a brilliant scientist that works in the same lab, leading to a life that is unusual and brilliant. 

I really loved Garmus' writing style - it was easy and moving and free wheeling and led to the pages just turning on their own. The characters, including a dog named six-thirty - were memorable.  I loved the feminist aspects and the magical realism (the dog actually is a POV character). I also really enjoyed the novel's take on female-female friendships.  The book really drove home that women can really move forward in all aspects of life if we support each other instead of looking at each other as competition and tearing each other down. This really came through in this novel. 

Very much recommend. 

Links I love

 

Holiday shopping is in full swing here.  I've started getting items for the people in my family.  I've also started doing a lot more rowing and lifting now that I've retired from running.  I owe you a review which will come this week!  Upcoming - my son's final fall crew awards ceremony.  I am sure that I will be a crying hot mess. 

1. Advent calendars for 2025.
2. The winner of the 2025 Booker Prize has been announced. 
3. 17 exemplary and translated books from university presses. 
4. I'm always down for a new workout. Since I've gotten a severe arthritis in my ankle diagnosis, I've been doing more rowing, going on the elliptical and lifting.  
5. 2025 National Book Award finalists. 
6. Choosing book gifts your friends will love.
7. Alien Earth renewed for season 2.
8. Ken Burns has a new documentary out.
9. Barnes and Noble announces its book of the year. Time also announced its 100 best books of 2025.
10. 9 Divorce memoirs that are actually quite positive.
11. Gift ideas for Jane Austen fans.
12. The 15 most viral titles on BookTok currently.
13. 5 Road trips based upon Famous books and movies. 

I hope that everyone has a great week!

Review My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende

 

Anything by Isabel Allende is sure to be beautiful and this book was no exception. This historical novel seemed to have a bit of everything: adventure, violence, romance, you name it. It's told as an autobiogrpahy from Emilia's vantagepoint and takes place at the end of the 1800's, post civil war. Emilia travels to Chile during their civil war as a war journalist to cover the war during a time when women had very few if any rights and where their natural roles were seen to be as mothers and wives. 

This novel also tells the story of the Chilean civil war, making it as much a main character as Emilia herself. This was clearly  a fight for power between the President of Chile, José Manuel Balmaceda and the country’s legislative congress. Wealthy European settlers generally support Balmaceda while impoverished and indigenous people side with Congress. Like the American Civil War, this was a savage conflict. 

Allende's language is so beautiful. It always is. All of the passages are so vivid that it's like you are in the scene and experiencing it all - the love, the pain, the violence.  SO GOOD. A must r ead. 

Links I love

 

I hope that everyone had a good week!  It was a long week for me.  I don't do well with extra darkness either so there's that as well!

• Margaret Atwood has a memoir.
• Eight everyday phrases with bizarre origins.
• Where to donate food during the government shutdown in NH.
• Nonfiction November book ideas. 
• Secret Santa gifts under $25.00
• Gift guide for the readers in your life.
• 7 US parks that look straight out of a fairytale.
• 36 new movies and shows streaming on Disney Plus
• Some new books are out this week, including one by John Irving.
• 9 early signs of dementia that are overlooked. 
• Women's soccer coach let ChatGPT run her defense.
• Best novels of 2025.
• 15 family drama recs. 
• A Disney Christmas store is up on Amazon.
• In praise of librarians in trying times. 
• Non fiction ideas for my book club. Also, these books look fascinating. 
• Thanksgiving sides here.
• I'll try to make this I think.
• Four coping mechanisms for intrusive thoughts.
• 7 of the biggest art heists in history.
• Gen X and the menopause conversation.
• Ten songs based on historical events.

Please don't forget that I have a store on Pangobooks. Go here for a code  to get $5.00 off your first order. I also love Book of the Month Club. Please consider joining by going here. 

REVIEW True Crime Addict by James Renner

 

So, it's not a secret that I live in New Hampshire. I moved  to the area that Maura disappeared in within a few months of her disappearance - she disappeared in February of 2004 and I was living  in nearby Littleton in August of 2004. We would have been peers - I am about three years older than her, tops. I work in criminal justice and know the people that are involved in investigating this case.  I'm legit obsessed with this case because of the plethora of personal connections that I have to the case and lately I have been consuming all that I can on this case. 

This book is  the very personal memoir of James Renner as he gets involved in the unsolved case of Maura Murray, a college student who went missing in February of 2004 in the White Mountains of NH.  This was the first real true crime case of the internet era, occurring in the same month that Facebook went live. It's fair to say that James had an obsession with true crime and missing persons cases specifically when a neighborhood girl, Amy, went missing. James is open not only about his obsession with true crime but about his struggles with PTSD and the behavioral struggles that his child has in this memoir. He begins, however, to investigate Maura's disappearance. Renner's book reveals not only his own personal struggles during the time that he was investigating, but also that Maura had a lot going on in her own life at the time of h er disappearance. 

I may not agree with Mr. Renner on everything that he espouses, but his book is amazing nonetheless. The books is compulsively readable and quick. I couldn't put it down and I could hear Renner talking to me as I was reading.  He made himself particularly vulnerable by airing his own personal demons and telling us about the stuggles his family was experiencing while he was writing about this case.  Definitely recommend reading this book. 

On a serious note, if you have any information about Maura's disappearance, please contact NH's cold case unit at (603) 271-2663 or by email at coldcaseunit@dos.nh.gov. Maura is still missing. Her family misses her tremendously.  

Links I love

 

We were rowing at Head of  the Fish last weekend - I cannot take credit for the above. One of the sibs of one of the rowers in this boat took this picture - isn't it gorgeous? i visited my orthopedist about my ankle woes and I apparently have arthritis all in my ankle. I received a cortisone shot and I'm hoping that does the trick. No more running for me, but low impact like rowing and walking and swimming and biking may work.

I owe you a few reviews and will get it done soon! I hope that everyone had a great Halloween!

1. Cozy mysteries to read for Halloween.
2. John Grisham has a new mystery out.
3. I had never heard of dry begging before.
4. Stephen King quiz - how did you do?
5. 7 Famous 18th century authors that aren't Jane Austen.
6. Having fewer children and the impact on the world's economy.
7. Guess the Halloween candy by its tagline.
8. Netflix's creepiest gems.
9. An exploration of why we're attracted to gore.
10. 15 Appalachian dishes everyone should try at least once. 
11. Behind the masks of Ed Gein.
12. What does 67 even mean?
13. Ten best parks to visit in the fall.