On My Bedside Table

I have been neglecting this blog. 

This happens from time to time with me. 

I feel that I have nothing to say. 

Or I feel that no one reads it so why bother writing. 

People don't want to hear about ducks over and over again. 

I can't quite get over the fact that I'm a sharer, though. 

And I have been reading. 

So here's a post about books I've read recently. 

I usually only read once I get into bed at night. 

Once the day's obligations have been met. 

A few chapters each night and then I turn off my bedside lamp and doze right off. 

The Widow by Fiona Barton. 

My friend Ron in Chicago recommended this book to me. 

Ron and I used to be in a book club when I lived in Chicago. 

I think he was the person who told me to read Gone Girl and we both loved that (didn't everyone?!), so he thought of me when he read The Widow. 

The storyline involves a missing little girl, a man who's been singled out as her abductor, and his wife. 

There are twists. 

We see the story through the wife's eyes. 

The detective working on the case offers his viewpoint. 

The man accused tells his side. 

It's a puzzle and a mystery to discover who's telling the truth. 

I'm currently reading An Undisturbed Peace by Mary Glickman. 

This book had me really excited when I saw it at the library. 

It involves the mass removal of the Cherokee people from the southeastern  United States in the late 1770s. 

My maternal grandfather's side of the family hail from the Cherokee tribe that were relocated to Oklahoma. 

We are officially recognized, because our ancestor's name is on the Dawes List. 

The federally official list of native Cherokee. 

My mother is a member of the Cherokee tribe. 

The story told in An Undisturbed Peace involves three main characters. 

A young Jewish salesman named Abe who is making his life in America. 

A slave who has a storied past and who now lives in isolation. 

And a female Cherokee named Dark Waters. 

There's a strong female dominance within the Cherokee tribal family. 

I wasn't aware that women had such a powerful role in the Cherokee society. 

All three characters are intertwined in each other's lives and all must fight their own demons. 

I'm halfway through this story, which is one of my favorite genres, historical fiction. 

Historical speaking, President Jefferson declared that the native tribes people in the southeastern United States must be moved west to make room for those new to the lands, essentially immigrants. 

For their own safety and survival. 

It was the Indian Removal Act of 1776-1779. 

It's a harrowing piece of American history and so far, Mary Glickman has me hooked as she brings three people from this time period to life. 

Sometimes I'll get two books when I check out material at the library.

Just in case one book doesn't grab me I can have another book on backup. 

When I grabbed An Undisturbed Peace, I also grabbed The Storied Life Of A.J. Fikry. 

I must admit the cover and title alone pulled me in. 

A book store owner who rediscovers himself. 

A story of redemption. 

I'll start reading it once I finish the Cherokee novel. 

I haven't read too much from the last post I did about the novels I've been reading. 

Chad and I discovered the Wallander DVD series from The BBC One Drama folks. 

There are five seasons so far and we have watched 1-3 and are hooked!

The girls really like it as well. 

It's set in Sweden and stars the amazing Kenneth Branagh as Detective Kurt Wallander. 

He's a very flawed man, but, by golly, he can solve a murder!

The series is based on the novels by Swedish author Henning Mankell. 

I learned about this show when I caught an episode last month on PBS and the sets and outdoor scenes really pulled me in. 

Thankfully our local library carries the series. 

Books I've Read

I wanted to share what I've been reading at home. 

Other than books about duck care, because we now own six ducks. 

I'll write a post about the ducks soon. 

I've been busy with them and seem to have neglected this blog. 

Anyway, I've discovered the author Alice Hoffman. 

I'm sure some of you are saying "have you been living under a rock?!"

Well, maybe I have. 

But I've dug my way out and "Hey look!  Alice Hoffman novels!  They are really good!"

It started with this novel. 

I saw it at the library in their new fiction section. 

I'm drawn to covers. 

And there was something about the woman on the cover that drew me towards her. 

When I read the synopsis on the inside cover I was hooked when I read "island life, Paris, painters, love"

I'm a HUGE fan of historical fiction. 

I've read all of Philippa Gregory's historical fiction novels about the Tudors. 

Historical fiction takes a moment out of real history (as in Gregory's books about British royalty from the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries) and fictionalizes conversations between these real historical figures. 

In The Marriage of Opposites, Alice Hoffman focuses her story on the parents of the Danish-French Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro in the 1800s. 

That's the history part. 

They all live on the island of St Thomas and you follow his parents love story and their interactions with others on this hot, fragrant, colorful, and tantalizing isle. 

The story eventually turns to Paris, France and it's just as tantalizing and colorful in Paris as it was back on St Thomas. 

It was a great read. 

So, I went to the library and found another Alice Hoffman novel. 

This peeked my interest. 

Again, it was the cover. 

And the synopsis told me I would be reading about the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in NYC in 1911, Coney Island freak shows, photography, and love. 

History and fiction melded together quite well in this book. 

I was as hooked while reading this story as I was in The Marriage of Opposites. 

So, I went to the library again and found my way to the HOF adult fiction section and perused the Alice Hoffman section once more. 

I saw Practical Magic.

Was this made into a movie?

I couldn't quite remember, but the story sounded interesting to me. 

Two sisters, witches, love. 

Hmmm, no historical fiction. 

But, I gave it a go. 

I didn't care for it as much as the others. 

It seemed too fluffy to me.

I missed the historical aspect of the other novels. 

This book focused on instant sexual attraction, the need to have a man more than needing yourself, and like I said...fluff. 

I did finish it and took it back to the library yesterday. 

I saw this on the shelf of books that needed to be reshelved (have you found that shelf at your library yet?!)

Judy Blume, the author who wrote all of those teen novels that were so taboo when they were written in the 1970s because she spoken about *gasp* sex. 

I've seen Judy Blume talking about this newest novel on TV recently and it's about history so I snatched it up. 

Three airplanes fell from the sky in New Jersey in the early 1950s. 

This is Judy Blume's historical aspect of her new novel. 

She lived in New Jersey when these planes fell from the sky, so she's also fictionalizing her own history a bit. 

So far, so good.