10 Books to Read in May

One thing I love about the lengthening evenings of May is the chance to spend some time on my deck or porch after dinner. What am I doing out there, besides listening to the birds? Reading, of course. Here are 10 books to put on your list this month. Whether you like crime or history, facts or fantasy, you're sure to find at least one book that calls to you.

Whodunits and Thrillers

• Aunt Dimity and the Widow's Curse by Nancy Atherton (Viking, May 30): This is the 22nd installment in a much-loved cozy mystery series featuring a young mother and her dear departed aunt. This outing involves one of Lori's elderly neighbors and a possible black widow-style curse. Good fun, set in England with a friendly ghost, and you can jump into the series right away; no need to start at the beginning, though why miss out?
• The Graves by Pamela Wechsler (Minotaur, May 2): The second book in the Abby Endicott series, set in Boston, promises to keep you guessing. Our protagonist, a chief district attorney in the homicide unit, is dead set on bring justice to a serial killer who is preying on young women. Class issues, politics, and the judicial system all come into play as Abby tries to help find the killer without becoming the next victim.
• What My Body Remembers by Angnete Friis (Soho Crime, May 2): Get ready for a new Scandinavian crime novel set in Denmark, which takes us on an emotional journal as a young woman struggles to recall the murder she may have witnessed when just a little girl. Will uncovering family secrets heal her or put her and her son in danger? Themes of parenting and PTSD round out the tightly woven plot.
• Target Omega by Peter Kirsanow (Dutton, May 16): This timely thriller pulls us into the world of weapons of mass destruction and the people who really shouldn't have access to them. As the only survivor of a special ops mission, our man Michael Garin is either very lucky or the perpetrator of the mishap. Intelligence agencies from Iran and Russia and even from his own U.S. government are to get Garin, who must stay alive along enough to thwart a horrific terrorist plot.

Astronauts: Real and Imaginary

• Chasing Space by Leland Melvin (Amistad, May 23): In this fabulous memoir, Melvin recounts his transition from NFL wide receiver to NASA astronaut. His story is one of overcoming setbacks, holding fast to one's dreams, and grabbing on to second chances. Melvin takes us behind the scenes, both on the ground and in space, as we follow his inspiring career. Plus, who doesn't love that book cover?
• Hold Back the Stars by Katie Khan (Gallery Books, May 23): In an astronaut's worst nightmare, Carys and Max are left floating in space with only a finite amount of oxygen and no one else in sight. If only one of them can be saved, who will it be and will they be able to make the decision? This novel is the perfect blend of action, romance, and literary fiction.

Modern-Day Stories

• The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo (Putnam, May 9): Fated or star-crossed? Lucy and Gabe meet in college at Columbia and connect over their visions of the future as well as their mutual attraction. Careers, however, take them on different but crossing paths, and as the years go by, they wonder what could have been (or could still be?). A contemporary love story that explores the dilemmas, emotions, and practical decisions that help and hinder twenty-first-century relationships.
• Same Beach, Next Year by Dorothea Benton Frank (William Morrow, May 16). Frank is the queen of the beach read for women of a certain age, and her latest novel takes us back to her beloved Lowcountry and a story that spans two decades. Two couples witness and share years of jealousies, victories, tragedies, and everyday living as they meet each year for their summer at the beach. A thoughtful, intelligent, and witty story.

Women in History

• Marie Antoinette by Stefan Zweig (Pushkin Press; May 2): The definite biography of the famous French queen is being re-issued in an English translation this month. Based on Marie Antoinette's personal letters and other firsthand accounts, Zwieg exposes the private, human side of a woman who had few choices over her own fate. From her teenage political marriage that took her to a foreign country to her imprisonment during the French revolution, she tried to play her expected role, suppressing her own desires.
• The Widow Nash by Jamie Harrison (Counterpoint, May 22): In the early 20th century a young woman's life changes after her father, recently returned from a trip to Africa, seems to have lost both his fortune and his mind. While on a train carrying her father's body across the country for burial, she slips away at a Rocky Mountain station, leaving her controlling fiance and her old life behind. Soon she's settled in Montana, where she's known as a wealthy widow, but has she truly escaped her past? Historical fiction that's garnered lots of buzz.

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Wordless Wednesday 445

Wildflower, 2017

Click image to enlarge. For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

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Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: A Trio of Recommended Books

Just when I thought I was free to read and read and read for pleasure I get a work offer I can't pass up. This is a good thing for me and my wallet, but not so good when it comes to making my way trough my reading stacks.

At least the weather turned cold again, so it's not like I'm missing time in the garden or on the deck. All the rain has meant very little time outside.

In any case, I managed to get through two audiobooks and a graphic novel. Nothing else going on at the moment. I'm working hard over the next few days so I can spend time with my mother this coming weekend.

What I Read Last Week

This Fight Is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America's Middle Class by Elizabeth Warren (Metropolitan Books; 2017): In this well-presented and very easy to understand treatise, Warren outlines the rise and fall of America's middle class over the last 80 years or so. She uses stories from her own life and stories from the lives of struggling working families to illustrate just what's wrong with our current economic system -- minimum wage, healthcare, taxes, Wall Street, trickle-down economics, education, and more. At the end of the book, Warren lists a series of actions we can take right now to turn things around. It's an inspiring book that will make you want to get involved (or more involved). The unabridged audiobook (Macmillan Audio; 10 hr, 44 min) is read by Warren herself, who is expressive and passionate. Her conversational tone makes it feel as if she were talking just to you. Highly recommended -- for readers on both sides of the aisle. (Full audio review found at AudioFile magazine.)

The Rose and the Thorn by Michael J. Sullivan (Orbit; 2013): This is the second book in the second series (the Riyria Chronicles) about thief Royce and swordsman Hadrian. I love getting to know more about the pair's background and their early days of working together. As I said on Litsy, if you like good action, complex plotting, epic fantasy, good humor, and realistic characters you'll love Sullivan's books. It's been a really long time since I binged listened to a series, and I just can't enough of these books. Thank goodness Sullivan has a third series, which (Game of Thrones and Outlander people take note) is already written and is being released one book a summer. Thank you, Sullivan for not making us wait years between installments. The unabridged audiobook (Recorded Books, 11 hr, 59 min) is read by Tim Gerard Reynolds, who has narrated all of Sullivan's books. Reynolds brings the characters to life, tapping into each one's personality just perfectly. His spot-on pacing and consistent characterizations make these a must listen. Highly recommended -- in print or audio (I bought the books in both media!)

The Big Bad Fox by Benjamin Renner (Fist Second, 2017): Exactly what the doctor ordered! I laughed my way through this fun graphic novel about Fox who just can't seem to manage to scare anyone, not even little song birds and certainly not the hens in the hen house. He seeks advice from Wolf, but that plan backfires in a delightful way. The tough hens, the adorable chicks, the bumbling guard dog and his gang, the  mean wolf, and the  completely unintimidating fox will change your ideas of barnyard life. The graphic novel is illustrated in watercolors rendered by the author; the art is expressive and conveys the action and highlights the humor. I'm not at all sure of the target audience of this graphic novel, but it can be enjoyed by readers of almost all ages. Read this when you need a little break from life; read this to your youngsters, who will likely ask you to read to them again. Younger readers may not get all the jokes, but they'll find a lot to laugh at as Fox tries his best to be the scariest guy on the farm. Highly Recommended -- for the whole family. (Thanks to First Second for the review copy.)

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Weekend Cooking: Beach Cocktails by Coastal Living

Bring on the summer with casual entertaining on the deck, by the pool. or even on the beach! I love enjoying the long, warm evenings visiting with friends, nibbling a little food, sipping a little drink.

Coastal Living's Beach Cocktails (Oxmoor House, 2017), has been published just in time to enliven summer fun. Its beautiful photos, matte finish, and tasty variety of recipes also make this a great Mother's Day gift.

I love cookbooks that have stories to tell, and Beach Cocktails gives us the low-down on tiki bars, tells us the origins of famous drinks, helps us make our own mixers, and advises us on equipment and glassware. It's a pleasure just to flip through the book, looking at the photos of beaches and of beautifully garnished drinks.

The cocktails themselves run the full range. Beach Cocktails includes classic Manhattans and martinis, old favorites like margaritas and pina coladas, and newer drinks like Indian Summer (bourbon based) and Christopher Robin (vodka based). Never mixed a drink? No worries. The recipes in Beach Cocktails don't require a degree in mixology; they're all easy to put together.

You aren't a drinker? Again, relax. There's a whole chapter on mocktails with fruit-based drinks in beautiful summer colors with grownup flavors and garnishes. Try a Florida spritzer (grapefruit juice based) or a mango smoothie. All the non-alcoholic drinks look like the perfect refresher for a hot afternoon.

Of course, if you're drinking, you'll probably want to do a little snacking. Fortunately, Beach Cocktails includes a handful of tiki bar munchies. The variety of salsas are easy to make as are the Maine crab cakes.

One of the great features of the book are the recipes for mixers: flavored syrups, grenadine, bitters, sour mixes, and more. Homemade is almost always better than a bottled mix, and most of us welcome having the chance to leave out the preservatives and other unwanted ingredients.

Coastal Living's Beach Cocktails is the single-resource book to slip into your bag before your beach or resort vacation. Kicking back and relaxing in the summer sun and surf--whether you're partial to rum drinks, champagne, or fruit, you'll find cocktails or mocktails to suit your taste. You might even be inspired to make glazed chicken wings to get you through the cocktail hour.

Because today is Kentucky Derby Day, here's the drink I'm making tonight. You'll find it on page 222 of Beach Cocktails.

Mint Julep Iced Tea
Serves 6

• 8 fresh mint leaves
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced
• 1 cup (8 ounces) bourbon
• 3 cups (24 ounces) cold sweetened tea
• Garnishes: fresh mint springs, lemon and lime slices

Combine the first three ingredients in a 2-quart pitcher. Crush with a spoon until mint is bruised. Stir in the bourbon and tea. Serve over ice. Garnish as desired.

Thanks to Time-Life Books for the review copy; all thoughts given here are entirely my own.

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Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

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Mother's Day Giveaway: One Good Mama Bone by Bren McClain

Mother's Day is right around the corner, and I know how difficult it can be to find just the right gift for the special women in your life. I've got at least one present covered for you: Bren McClain's much-praised One Good Mama Bone.

The novel won a starred review from Booklist, it is an Okra Pick from the Southern Independent Booksellers Association, it's a Pulpwood Queen book club pick for May 2017, and it's won glowing reviews from print and web venues.

Before I tell you more about One Good Mama Bone, I want to share the book's opening paragraphs. I think they pull you right in:

One night, deep into it, when sounds are prone to carry, a baby boy lies crying on Sarah Creamer's kitchen table. He is minutes old, still wet with his mother's blood, and hungry for his mother's milk.

But she does not hear his cries. She is no longer there.

Only Sarah. Only Sarah remains. Her body bent over his, her hands rummaging the wooden planks for a towel still white enough to wrap him in. Blood is everywhere, puddled up as if there had been a hard rain. The smell of it saturates the eighty-one-degree air, pushes aside the dry tang of bleach, and fills the heat with the moistness of a long-shuttered earth, now free.

The baby's cries penetrate Sarah's bosom and bounce around its emptiness.

Her hands are shaking.

Set mostly in the 1950s, One Good Mama Bone, is the story of a South Carolina woman who must find her seemingly absent maternal instincts so she can take care of and nurture a young boy who is need of a home. When Sarah decides her son, Emerson, could raise a steer for auction as part of the 4-H program, their lives slowly turn, as Sarah learns how to be a better parent from observing the steer's mother, and Emerson makes a friend of another 4-H-er. Life in the rural South, however, is never that easy or that simple.

McClain explores themes of parenthood, class differences, marriage, rural life, and poverty. The novel has been described as having Southern Gothic elements (Washington Independent Review of Books) and many reviewers have commented on the complexity of the story, and beauty of McClain's writing. Bonus: The foreword is written by Mary Alice Monroe.

The Giveaway

Thanks to the author, publisher, and publicist, I am able to offer one of my readers a copy of Bren McClain's One Good Mama Bone. Although I can't promise you'll get the book in time for Mother's Day, I can promise it will make a great gift for your mother or another woman you'd like to honor this year. All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win is to have a USA mailing address and fill out the following form. I'll pick a winner on May 10 using a random number generator. Once the winner has been confirmed and I've passed the address along to the publicist, I'll erase all personal information from my computer. Good luck!

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