July 13, 2023

Actually, to be accurate, one reading day became several reading DAYS.

Since we had no plans for the 4th of July or the weekend leading up to it and because it was so hot, I declared a time-out, and for me that always means reading time. My husband, who loves to read, too, posed no arguments, but he did suggest a field trip to mark the beginning of our reading days.

One year when our children were young and we couldn’t afford to go away on a vacation, we had a staycation. One of the days that week was B Day, which stood for “Bookstores, Bakeries and Batman.” (The first Batman movie had just been released.) We went to more than one bakery and more than one bookstore, where we each could choose a book –or was it two–and then we ended the day by going to the movie. A day we all remember fondly.

We decided to honor the last day of June and the entrance to July with a B Day with a slight modification. One bakery. One bookstore. And no Batman.

First Stop: A Bakery

We had a hard time choosing what to eat right then and what to bring home from this new french Vietnamese bakery. I guess we’ll have to go back.

Second Stop: A Bookstore.

A small, but oh so deliciously packed bookstore dedicated to mysteries and thrillers and true crime books. A little overwhelming, but I had my list, and Bruce was looking for more books by C. J. Box. We both left with a nice stack. I especially appreciated a section dedicated to books that are first in a series. I bought the first in the Vera Stanhope series and the first in the Shetland series, both by Ann Sleeves because we have enjoyed watching the BBC TV series over the years.

Along with the Ann Cleeves books, The Crow Trap and Raven Black, I bought:

• Death at Darkening Mist by Iona Whishaw. This is #2 in the Lance Winslow series. I am willing to give this a try, even though I have not read #1. Lance Winslow is a former British Intelligence officer who yearns for a nice, quiet life, but alas, the body of a Russian man is found in the local hot springs and…
• The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill, #2 in the Simon Serrailer series. Serrailer by the way, is described as a “dashing detective,” and that’s good enough for me. Years ago I read the first in the series, The Various Haunts of Man, and I remember so liking it, but nothing else about it. Perhaps I will need to re-read #1 before reading #2.
• Murder Flies the Coop by Jessica Ellicott. a Beryl and Edwina Mystery–most certainly in the English cozy category. This was the wild card of the day, and I admit the pleasing cover influenced me, but doesn’t this description sounds fun: “One would hardly call them birds of a feather, but thrill-seeking American adventuress Beryl Helliwell and quietly reserved Brit Edwina Davenport do one thing very well together–solve murders…”

Third Stop: Back Home and My Favorite Reading Chairs

For the next few days–right through the 4th of July, I read and read and read. I didn’t read any of the recently purchased books from Once Upon a Crime, but instead selected from other books waiting for me on my TBR shelf.

• Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams. First, I finished reading this book, which was my wild card selection from an earlier bookstore field trip, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Williams writes historical fiction, and this book, set mainly during the Cold War, is inspired by the spy ring, known as the Cambridge Five. However, the main characters and the story that unfolds is fiction. In 1948 Iris Digby vanishes from her London home with her American diplomat husband and their two children. Several years later her twin sister receives a postcard from Iris expressing the need for help. And the plot thickens…
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. This book has been on the bestseller list for such a long time and is now finally in paperback. A fantasy in which the main character, Nora seeks to end her life, but instead is given a chance to explore paths she could have taken. Each book in “the midnight library” offers the opportunity to undo regrets. This is a book to read in one sitting on a hot day, such as we just experienced, or on a cold blizzard day. Oh, my favorite chapter title is “If Something Happens to Me, I Want to Be There,” and I also like the term used throughout the book, one’s “root life.” Not a great book, but a pleasant diversion from whatever demands diversion.
• The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamala. This book showed me how timing is everything. I had checked this book out of the library when it was first released and quickly discarded it. I have no idea why, but I recently heard some reviews of this book and decided to give it a second chance. I am so glad I did, for I Ioved it. Set mainly in Tehran in 1953, a time of revolution, two young people meet in a stationery shop. Of course, they fall in love. And then there is a coup, and I don’t want to reveal anything more about the story, except that I cried two different times while reading it.
• Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel. This woman can write! I loved Station Eleven, but for whatever reason put off reading this 2022 title. Yes, this is time travel, which normally doesn’t appeal to me, but this treatment is subtle and compelling. Set in four different time periods, early 1900s, 2020, 2203, and 2401, one of the characters is on a mission to uncover an event that crosses all of those years—without changing what happens in the future. A favorite quote:

“—and my point is, there’s always something. I think, as a species, we have a desire to believe that we’re living at the climax of the story. It’s a kind of narcissism. We want to believe that we’re uniquely important, that we’re living at the end of history, that now, after all these millennia of false alarms, now is finally the worst that it’s ever been, that finally we have reached the end of the world.”

• Writing the Sacred Art, Beyond the Page to Spiritual Practice by Rami Shapiro and Adam Shapiro. I like to read a few pages in a book about writing before I work on an essay. I finished this book during the days of reading and noted material to adapt for the writing group I facilitate. The chapter, “Writing to Open the Mind,” was especially compelling.

So…five books in five days. My idea of heaven. Why not try a B Day or Days for yourself?

An Invitation

Have you ever given yourself a reading day or days? I would love to know.