I’m pleased to be getting this bookpost out before the middle of the month — it’s been a while since I managed that. But hunkering down to put it together has been a way to anchor myself these last few mornings. So much for a Canadian to feel sad and angry and fearful about at the moment; I’d like to release those feelings temporarily in the interest of emotional and physical health (which we all need to conserve for “the resistance,” whatever that may mean to each of us). And chatting with you about books seems a hopeful way to do that. I’ve read some good ones over the past weeks, and I’m sure some of you have as well. . .
Most of what I read in February was light enough — popular fiction — or, if more “literary,” was escapist in the sense of taking me “away from all this,” even if it took me to other challenges faced by humanity at different times, in different places. Let me tell you what I read, and then perhaps you’ll return the favour and we can enjoy the distraction of a good ol’ book chat!
I say this every book post now, for those who are new here and as a reminder to regular readers: As usual, the numbering comes from my annual handwritten reading journal, and the italicized text below is directly transcribed from that journal’s pages (once upon a time, I simply included photographs of those pages, but too many of you found my handwriting tough to decipher, especially in the photographed format). Notes to myself, that is, so that I can remember a book and remember my response to it, rather than any attempt at a more polished, edited review.
I’ve used regular font for any additions to my journal notes and included references to any posts from my Instagram Reading account.
Here’s my February 2025 list:
8. The Dentist. Tim Sullivan. Mystery/crime novel; Police Procedural; Detective George Cross series; Autistic detective; Set in Bristol, England.
Thanks to “Wendy of York” for recommending this series. Given that Sullivan’s books are apparently so popular, I was surprised I couldn’t find them in the Vancouver Public Libreary catalogue, but got this one specially priced on Kobo for only $1.99!
I’m looking forward to reading more in this series. Detective George Cross’s autism makes his methodology, perspective, behaviour within a hierarchy, and uncompromising commitment to truth especially pertinent to the genre of police procedural. And while his persistence, his inability to be dishonest, and his general oddness irritate many — his work partner and his direct superior alike — his work ethic and his unique mix of intuition and logic win over enough supporters to allow him to resolve a difficult cold case.
9. Steal Like an Artist. Austin Kleon. Art/Creativity; Self-help.
Encouragement, inspiration, and exhortation from an unconventional (and very successful) Influencer/Creative. A Zine-style book, catchy poster-like illustrations throughout with generally pithy advice.
Steal Like an Artist: Find artists/creatives whose work you admire and copy enough to find your way, gradually, to your own style. Spiral from there to follow other artists, or read books about this artists, what music they like, etc. Inspiration is everywhere.
I borrowed this from the library, but I could see owning a copy to keep above my desk so as to have it at hand when I need a boost of energy and/or inspiration.
10. Light a Penny Candle. Maeve Binchy. Popular fiction; Domestic Fiction; Romance; Friendship; Historical Fiction; Irish history; mid-20th Century; Ireland; London; Feminist.
I was reluctant at first to reread this, but did because it was the choice for a meeting of the Book Club at the Irish Consulate here (and thanks to Joanne for letting me know about the book club). But I was pleasantly surprised to discover this 1982 “chicklit cozy” from a new perspective — some 40 years after I’d first turned its pages. For all the Romance genre tropes and the expectations of an exoticized old-country Ireland, Binchy’s done something subversive, especially considering the role of the Catholic Church in Ireland at the time it was written.
The restrictions against birth control — never mind abortion! — the expectation that a good wife would stay loyal to an alcoholic husband, tolerate domestic abuse, etc. Binchy exposes all of this and above all, she writes about the power of female friendship and the strength of women in supporting each other. Made me think it would be interesting to read it alongside Marilyn French’s The Women’s Room (published 5 years earlier) — French’s is obviously the more literary novel, but albeit the different cultures within which each was writing, the books do some similar work.
11. The House of Doors. Tan Twan Eng. Literary fiction; Historical fiction; Colonial history; Malaysian history; Somerset Maugham; Sun Yat Sen; Domestic fiction.
Beautifully written novel pivoting around a 1921 visit to colonial Penang by William Somerset Maugham and his secretary/companion/lover Gerald Hoxton where they were hosted at the well-appointed colonial estate of an old friend of Maugham’s, Robert, and Robert’s wife, Lesley.
While there, Maugham receives bad news about a financial investment and despairs of finding a story to tell that will allow him to recoup his losses. Meanwhile, unhappy in her marriage, Lesley gradually overcomes her distaste — nearly revulsion, to be more precise — at her guest’s homosexuality and begins to confide in him. It’s a complex web of narratives, tying together Sun Yat Sen; one of his followers whom Lesley has befriended; a murder trial of an Englishwoman whose defense is that the man she killed was attempting to rape her; and Lesley’s discovery of duplicity in her marriage.
Years later, now a widow resettled in Doorfontein, South Africa, 1947, as the Prologue tells us, Lesley remembers the many nights over which she told her story to WSM — and she receives a copy of the book he has made from it. And is able to close a narrative on a personal story whose ending she’s always wondered about. . .
Romance, intrigue, gorgeous prose, a setting deftly evoked, and compelling characters. A novel of manners that peels back layers of race, class, gender, & sexuality. Easy to see why this was longlisted for the 2023 Booker prize.
12. Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë. Literary novel; Victorian literature; Gothic novel; bildungsroman; coming-of-age; Feminist; Romance; early 19th-century Northern England; orphan.
I reread this because S. mentioned she was teaching it to her Victorian Lit class; I was surprised how much I enjoyed it. Language so fresh and a narrative voice so strong. Jane’s sense of self, awareness of injustice, willingness to speak out at such a young age and in such a dependent, seemingly weak position most impressive. Her feminist thinking — but also the way that’s coupled with a firm, deeply rooted morality, especially as she’s exposed to more learning, people (her friend Helen; the teacher who eventually becomes a colleague and friend; the two sisters who shelter her when — but no, no spoilers.)
I kept being struck by the shift in voice when she speaks directly and frankly about her emotions as she realizes she loves Rochester, recognizes her love as futile because she knows he’s courting and planning to marry another — Present tense, very “in the moment,” detailed, psychological, etc. Almost stream-of-consciousness long before Virginia Woolf.
Not sure we all need to forgive her “dear Mr. Rochester,” and I’m thinking I should probably reread Jean Rhys’s The Wide Sargasso Sea to give some kind of voice to “the madwoman in the attic.”
13. Who By Fire: A Dame Polara Mystery. Greg Rhyno. Mystery; Dame Polara series; Female detective; Canadian writer/Canadian detective; Set in Toronto.
First in a new series featuring a Canadian amateur detective — a young woman who grew up accompanying and learning from her father, a retired licensed private investigator now living with Alzheimer’s.
Well-written, as might be expected from a writer with an MFA from U. of Guelph and a debut novel (To Me You Seem Giant) that was nominated for a couple of literary/publishing awards. Credibly (and compellingly) plotted and a female protagonist who is interesting and likeabale — if somewhat prone to rash decisions.
In this first volume, she’s working in Heritage Protection for the City of Toronto and concerned about a trio of suspicious fires in historic buildings that seem connected to a woman she’s been asked to follow. (Her landlord exerted some pressure to get her to investigate his ex-wife for possible infidelity.) Meanwhile, Dame is still grieving the break-up of her marriage and the continued failure of the IVF treatments she can barely afford. And she keeps having disturbing memories of a childhood event involving a burning heritage building. . .
Promising beginning to a series which is already projected to offer Volume 2 this Spring — Who by Water. I’ll admit I was partially attracted to the title when I saw the book in an independent bookstore recently. The reference to the Leonard Cohen lyrics immediately evoked the song as covered by PJ Harvey and Tim Phillips and played as the introduction to each episode of the excellent Apple TV series Bad Sisters. I hope Mr. Rhyno goes on to pen Who by Sunshine, Who in the Merry Merry Month of May, and perhaps Who by Barbituate, and Who in Her Lonely Slip. . .
That’s it for my February reading (and I must say that March is serving me some great reading as well. . . But I can always make room on my TBR list for some of your suggestions, and even if I don’t make it to ALL the books, I look forward to reading what you have to say about them. Comments welcome below — let the bookchat begin!
This weekend I’m packing for more travel, this time with a special companion or two (or three 😉 . . . My missives and postcards will likely be sent from my Substack account. I’ll try to post those links here occasionally and drop in to chat a bit, but I expect to find my Social Media and blogging patterns changing this trip. I very much hope, though, that we can maintain the community I so much enjoy here.
Happy Reading!
xo,
f
I am grappling with my partner’s medical treatment along with the daily machinations of the orange menace so I’ve been reading for comfort too. Maeve Binchy, SJ Bennett’s books about Queen Elizabeth’s mystery solving and Elinor Lipman. Escape and humor are just what I need.
Author
I’m glad you’re finding comfort in your reading material, Liz — that’s a lot you’re contending with especially in the current context. Take care.
Elinor Lipman’s new one, Miss Demeanor, is great fun. She never disappoints. Also, Claire Pooley’s Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting, heart warming and funny.
Author
Thank you! “Heart-warming and funny” might be just what the doctor’s ordering these days 😉
Hi Frances: Please be aware that so many Americans are appalled at the behavior of the occupant of the White House. I watched Mark Carney’s acceptance speech and applaud who he is.
On a lighter note: if you have not read Meet Me at the Museum by Anne Youngson–I think you would like it.
It made me think again (age 74) about looking deeply at who one is and the world around us. In very different way, as good as The Salt Path (at least for me). If you have read it, I would like to see your review. Again, thanks for your writing!
Mary
Meet Me at the Museum is on my list of favorite books and I’m so glad you mentioned it to everyone.
Author
Another one — obviously a Have to Read
Author
Thanks, Mary. I know that many of you Americans feel this way and it’s appreciated.
I’ve just put Meet Me at the Museum on hold — it should be waiting for me when I get back from my trip.
I wrote a bit about The Salt Path on Instagram.
I have read Jane Eyre a few times and each time, the novel speaks to me in a different way. Rereading The Wide Saragasso Sea, while Jane is fresh, is a good idea. I read After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie and The Left Bank and Other Stories by Rhys as well. She definitely has a stream of consciousness style.
I will look for Who by Fire? on Libby. I get behind with the books on my Libby shelf because sometimes they come too quickly.
I’m looking forward to the next Irish book club.
Author
I’m looking forward to it as well, Joanne, although it’s a much more serious and sobering book! I just hope the meeting isn’t scheduled until I’m back. Crossing fingers!
Thank you for your post. I have an enormous TBR pile, mostly as reading has failed to calm me and relax me as it usually does. I am finding that I can only read for about 30 minutes and that’s it, not my usual read until the books finished or until I fall asleep style! Currently I am trying to read Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, if I read this in my teens I have forgotten. A recent purchase was How We Learn to be Brave by Mariam Edgar Buddy. She is the Bishop of Washington National Cathedral. I thought I am probably going to need to be brave soon, so some lessons were needed. I am enjoying the book so far. I like her style of writing, very personal, in her writing I can hear her voice. Obviously she writes from a Christian viewpoint, but one of honesty, empathy and courage. I have made note of the Greg Rhyno book and will look out for it. As in everything now I am trying to support Canadian writers Canadian businesses in general. Enjoy your trip.
Author
I’m finding the same thing with reading right now. . .
I can imagine that Bishop Budde’s book would be inspiring — we were so impressed by her sermon at the inauguration, her demonstration of what Christianity really means, what it demands, truly.
And ah yes, Fahrenheit 451. I read it in my teens — horrifying how relevant it has become again.
Thank you for your book post,especially here,Frances! It would be interesting re-reading Maeve Binchy after a lot of time
The House of Doors is on my list for almost a year,Dame Polara Mysteries go to the top at once
So: Yael van der Wouden’s debut novel The Safekeep(shortlisted for 2024 Booker) is set in 1961 Netherlands. Isa lives alone and lonely in the family home,obsessively keeping it (actually it’s her brother’s property) in order. Her brother Louis brings his girlfriend Eva to stay with Isa while he’s away. After an awkward period of time they begin a relationship. And than…..such a twist that leaves one breathless. The atmosphere,you can feel it while reading (and it is not the love story I’m writing about but a “razor-sharp,perfectly plotted novel,where history always comes back to nick you”-Sunday Times). An excellent book
Holly Gramazio’s Husbands is at the first sight,Sliding Doors-like chick lit,but no,no,no…..what would one do if one has an attic where one husband climbs and a new one appears getting down(maybe too many times,at the end :))? Tinder-like satire….(although I’ve never seen IRL how Tinder looks like)
Tim Sullivan’s The Bookseller is a very,very good mystery,I utterly love his books, can’t wait till the the next one (later this year)
And,while living in a world full of horror stories…a lot of cozy crime novels:Robert Thorogood’s Murder on the Marlowe Belle and A Meditation on Murder ( starting his Death in Paradise series) and some other retiree detectives spin-offs
Happy trip!
Dottoressa
Author
The Maeve Binchy book is dated, of course, but really interesting to read from the perspective of our time.
I’m on a long waitlist for The Safekeep. Hope it’s available when I get home.
Your last paragraph! Yes! “a world full of horror stories” — and somehow we are comforted by cozy crime novels (insert Shrug emoji!)
I am going to read Jane Eyre next… somehow I never read it before. Glad to see you enjoyed it! But first I have to finish wading through The Hypocrite, which doesn’t seem to hold my interest. Love your book synopses.
And please know that I am appalled by our current administration (both USA and Texas – where I live). and trust that you know that not all here support this insanity. XO Donna
Author
Thanks for reaching out with encouraging words — much appreciated.
I’ll be curious to know what you think about Jane Eyre — suspect you’ll enjoy it! Hope so!
I’m also enjoying book therapy these days & I’ve made note of the Greg Rhyno book . It’s often difficult getting Canadian books here but I see he is available . I would recommend Meet Me At The Museum too . I’m glad that the Tim Sullivan books are not ‘ fizzling out ‘ & I think his latest one is excellent . We have friends with a son like George & it’s good to see such a sympathetic portrayal . It’s interesting to know Maeve Binchy still reads well , I did like her books . Such a lot of warmth & empathy without being twee . A book I’ve really enjoyed recently was The Bookshop, The Draper , The Candlestick Maker by Annie Grey . It’s a social history of the high street in Britain . Beginning before the 1600s it charts the development of the high street from pedlers & market stalls up to the multi national companies of today . Astute manipulation has been around for a very long time . So readable & I loved it , especially as York gets a good mention .
Thanks, Wendy, for the Annie Grey recommendation. I’m coming over the Pond in a week or so and will be sure to get this book soon after I land–bookstores (John Sandoe, Toppings, Daunt, Blackwells, etc.) being high on my list of places to go. Will be doing a daytrip to York (among other places) as I do love the town. I grew up in the UK, so remember well the daily trips to the butcher, the baker, the iron monger, etc.. Sounds like a good (history) read for my various train trips.
I think you’ll enjoy the Annie Grey book Mary . You might be visiting some of the other places mentioned too . I hope you have a great time & that our weather is kind to you .
Author
Ooh, good for you, Mary — all those bookstores to visit!
Author
Good for Rhyno’s publishers getting the book out in the UK! (We often have a time lag of at least several months before Brit books show up here– I can get impatient!).
Meet Me at the Museum will be waiting for me at the library when I get back — thank you!
I’d have to say that Binchy’s books are clearly dated, but that’s part of the appeal for me — that historical record and what she was able to do within that “chicklit/romance” genre.
I really like the kind of social history you describe in that last book. Sounds like something “Linda in Scotland” would like as well
Thanks for the Annie Grey recommendation, Wendy. I already have The High Street, by Eric Ravilious, so I have the high street we have lost in art form, and will look forward to this one.
Hi Linda
My calendar this year is an Eric Ravilious . Coincidence.
So do I, plus Angie Lewin!
Amazingly, I have read one of the books on your list – Light a Penny Candle. I do like Maeve Binchy and think I’ve read all her books, unfortunately. I could do with a new one, but not to be. In my mental bookshelves arranged by “what sort of book I want to read right now” I have her in the same area as British writer Joanna Trollope. If you don’t know her, do have a look for her novels, including The Choir, A Village Affair and The Rector’s Wife. Sometimes criticised (by men) as “Aga sagas” in the same way that Maeve Binchy is criticised for chick-lit, Agas in fact only appear in two of her books, and there’s nothing particularly cosy about a lesbian love affair in a conservative English village, for example.
Very slim reading here this month, partly because of ongoing stuff around our burst pipe in January, partly because the garden is calling. But I did manage A House in the Mountains by Caroline Moorehead. Subtitled The Women Who Liberated Italy from Fascism, its a detailed account of the amazing heroism and tenacity of women partisans in and around Turin. I didn’t know that Italy had what amounted to a civil war once the Nazis started to withdraw, and how entrenched fascist attitudes were in some sectors of the population. Also how the French Resistance didn’t trust the Italian partisans, how the Allied forces were blind to pretty much everything except keeping Communism out, and how the British treated the Italians as natives of a distant colony of the Empire. Not a comfortable read, but a necessary one.
Also The Rotters Club by Jonathan Coe. Coming of age novel set in Birmingham (UK) of the mid 1970s, with a cast of characters at high school. Events woven into the story include the IRA Birmingham pub bombings, power cuts due to strikes, strikes at British Leyland car manufacturers, racism, and the first stirrings of Thatcherism. Funny, tragic, pathetic. It was the era of my teenage years, and I well remember the background fear of being in a crowded public space, travelling on the Tube in London, in case yet another bomb went off, plus the feeling that the country was unravelling. I’m now about to start the sequel, The Closed Circle, set twenty years later.
Bon voyage for your travels.
Author
I have read some of Joanna Trollope’s books and enjoyed them, although the last time I tried one (about 5 or 6 years ago) there was something about her gender/generational politics that put me off so I didn’t finish the book.
A House in the Mountains sounds fascinating — we’ve just been reading about Oriana Fallaci in my Italian class, amazing that she was carrying ammunitions (cladnestinely, of course) to partisans in her early teens!!
After reading this, I am tempted to reread Maeve Binchy! It’s been a long time, but I enjoyed everything I read of hers back in the day.
Author
I’ll be curious to know how you’ll find them now — they are definitely of that time 😉
I love Jane Eyre – it’s one of my all-time favorite books!
I definitely did some escape reading in February: one each in four different mystery series. My favorite books for the month, though, were Elegy for Eddie ( a Maisie Dobbs mystery ) and Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (not a mystery, but a clever and mostly upbeat book).
Author
Thanks for adding some promising titles (I love the title of the last one)
Stu and I love the Inspector George Cross series. His place on the autism continuum makes the character so interesting. I’ve dealt with a few students like George, lovely kids all of them. I remember one student who loved anything about the weather and so he did the weather report for JMSS every morning. Like Linda, I always loved when a new Joanna Trollope came out. I’m not sure why I grew away from her. Thanks for the suggestion of the new Canadian mystery writer. I’ll be on the look-out for his books. Wondering if you remember the L.R. Wright books a few years back. I loved her mysteries set in Sechelt.
Author
I do remember L.R. Wright books and also loved them. I never met her, but always think of her as “Bunny” Wright, apparently a fond nickname she was known as by many out here on the Coast, at least. Thinking of her also makes me think of Peter Gzowski’s Morningside. . . .
I have coincidentally read a Malayan historical novel as well as a Canadian crime novel. The Malayan one was The Storm We Made, by Vanessa Chan. The time frame is 1935-45. Prior to WWII Cecily, a bored Eurasian housewife married to a civil servant falls under the spell of a charismatic Japanese general. What begins as rather casual spying will have devasting effects on her family, friends, community. Harrowing at times, the novel builds in intensity and we are left with the consequences. The crime novel is Louise Penny’s The Grey Wolf, the latest featuring Armand Gamache. Intricately plotted, the book also has much to say about morality, family, love, community. So more than just a who done it. She has a sequel coming out nest year, and her American book tour was to have begun in Washington’s Kennedy Center. For her a career highlight. But she has since cancelled this event, and has decided not to travel to the US under the current regime. I certainly do0 not blame her. One of my book clubs read By Her Own Design, Piper Huguely. A fictionalized biography of Ann Lowe. She was an African American designer who rose from Southern poverty to an exclusive boutique in New York. She was the designer of Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding dress and made dresses for many socialites but who’s name is largely unknown. I have just finished Anne Tyler’s Three Days In June. Tyler to me is the thinking woman’s chic lit. she writes about ordinary characters, your neighbors next door or perhaps even you? I know for me as Gail, our protagonist tells of her years of relationship with an ex husband it reflected my own journey.
Author
Thanks, Darby! I haven’t read Louise Penny’s Gamache series, but I did see that about her decision to cancel her American events (and her publisher’s strong support for that decision) and made my own decision to finally get around to start the series.
Currently writing this in bed with my morning cup of tea in Paris so will keep response short, but I very much appreciate your interesting contributions here (and amused at our synchronicity–as mentioned in your first sentence)
Although I’ve always been a reader, I’ve never read as voraciously (in all my 70 years) as I have since waking the day after my country’s most recent Presidential election. Books are an important part of how I get through every day, and especially many nonfiction books about the WW II resistance and all the American, British, French and other citizens (including so many women!) who gave so much of themselves to help set the world back on a more even keel. Apologies for what we have released on the world, and thanks to all here for the many book recs. Frances, wishing you a wonderful trip.
Author
Yes! For those who have the stamina and appetite, books can be a way of inspiring and arming resistance! Education is part of that work, and reading gets us there!
As always, I appreciate the exposure to writers I might otherwise not encounter. And I value all the historical fiction that expands beyond just the Western-centered well trod path of how “the US saved the day” in WWII. So self-centered and so self-aggrandizing. The rest of the world exists too and the consequences of our actions and inactions have a long tail. Perhaps if these stories were better known we could have empathy. Gee – didn’t take much to set me off.
Another shout out from a Texan who is quite unhappy.
Author
Thank you for the encouraging comment.
I always look forward to your reading lists! I shall certainly look for the Dame Polara book.
A quick question, I’m getting a bit confused about the whole sub stack thing. I know several people who have a sub stack but none of them are people who had a successful blog. Did you have a particular reason for splitting your output? Do forgive me if you’ve already written about this but I wonder if there is a danger of diluting your writing and losing some of the community you have built up here.
Author
I appreciate the thoughtful comment, Maureen, and I know the switch to substack won’t sit well with all readers. I’ll try to write more about my decision again (I did do that back in early January). But very briefly here: maintaining a blog independently currently costs me hundreds of dollars annually and if there are tech challenges (as arise occasionally), I don’t have support other than “muddling through.” Substack integrates (for free) features I pay for now AND offers the opportunity to earn aome income, should I choose to offer paid subscriptions as well. I hope — fervently!! — that I don’t lose the community I’ve built here. Thanks for caring!
I haven’t had the bandwidth lately for reading anything challenging (for the typical “how can it all slip away so fast?) reasons; I did check on the Sullivan and Rhyno series you mention but they are not in my local library so on the list for later they go.
Hope your upcoming trip is a delight.
Ceci
Author
Thanks for the travel wishes, Ceci. And yes, “those” reasons get seriously in the way of challenging reading. . .
As a traveler, I think you would enjoy two travel memoir books by the same author, Alice Steinbach–who was a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist with the Baltimore Sun newspaper for years before she wrote these books. They are older books: “Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman” was written in 2000 when she was in her early 50s about her solo travel in Europe around 1993–taking a sabbatical from the newspaper; “Educating Alice: Adventures of a Curious Woman” was published in 2004. In the latter book, she traveled to various destinations and tried her hand at a variety of things, including intensive cooking classes at The Ritz in Paris. What I think you will appreciate about these books is Steinbach’s skilled observations about not just the places but the people she encounters. Her zest for life, even when she feels a bit intimidated by circumstances, is infectious and thought-provoking. And she was indeed a very curious woman–which is why I thought you–a very curious woman–would enjoy her work. I got both books from a used book dealer.
Safe travels. I’ll wave if I see you in Paris. Will be there on the 28th. 🙂
Author
Thanks for these recommendations, Mary! Steinbach’s writing does sound like something I would enjoy.
And safe travels to you as well!