Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris

Ellis is a want-a-be reporter in Chicago during the depression.  He is stuck writing for the society page, but dreams of getting his big break.  He is also a budding photographer, and when he snaps a picture of two boys and a sign that says, "Boys for Sale" he has no idea where the picture will take him. Lily works as a secretary at the same paper, but she, too, has hopes of a more illustrious writing career.  She also has a secret and when she starts working with Ellis to find out what happened to the kids in his picture, her own life threatens to unravel.

I picked up this one because it was a New York time Best Seller when it came out last year.  It started out feeling like a straight-up historical fiction, but turned into a mystery with a little romance at the end.  I enjoyed it pretty much.  The author had a great way of throwing in historical details that put me right in the time setting.  The main characters are interesting and appealing.  There are a lot of complicated and sympathetic relationships.  It didn't quite charm me like the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peal Pie Society book did, but it was a good read and I recommend it to anyone who likes period pieces. (2018, 352 p.)

A Justified Murder by Jude Devereau

Kate lives with her famous writer aunt, Sarah and Sarah's "adopted" grandson, Jake.  After solving a complicated  and dangerous murder case in their hometown of Lachlan Florida they a determined to stay out of the sleuthing business. When a sweet old lady is brutally murdered in their town, they try not to get involved, but circumstances, and their reputations, keep dragging them in.  As they reluctantly follow one clue after another they discover that nothing is as it seems and that even their best friends hide dark secrets.

This is the second in the Medler mysteries.  I enjoyed the first one and I enjoyed this one as well. Devereau is good a writing snappy dialog between the three main characters.  There is a tantalizing romantic tension between Kate and Jack, that keeps the romance lover in me engaged.  The plot is also well crafted, with plenty of twists and turns, right up to the last page.  This is a fun cozy mystery with a tiny splash of tabasco. (2019, 330 p.)

Some Writer: The Story of E. B. White by Melissa Sweet

I have read a bunch of biographies of authors before, and after you read a few you start to feel that someone has to have a tortured life to be a good writer.  E.B. White proves that hypothesis as wrong.  He grew up in a loving home.  He started writing early, winning his first writing competition at nine, and then regularly submitted poems to magazines until he went to college.  After college he took a road trip with a friend and ended up as a reporter in San Francisco.  Later he returned east and wrote for Harper's Magazine and the New Yorker.  He eventually moved with his wife and family to a farm in Maine where he wrote Stewart Little, Charlotte's Web, and The Trumpet of the Swan, all of which, to my knowledge, have never been out of print.

Granted, this is a biography for children.  Maybe if I read the other biography of the same name written for adults I would discover that Webb suffered from chronic depression, or sever anxiety of something.  The book is illustrated with collages of artwork, photography and text that are beautifully arranged to reflect the peaceful mood of the text and of White's life. This book got a ton of starred reviews when it came out and all of them are well deserved. (2016, 161 p.)

The Question of the Dead Mistress by E.J. Cooper

This is the fifth book in the "Aspergers Mysteries"  series.  In this one a women asks Samuel Hoenig and Janet Washburn if her husband is having an affair with a ghost.  Samuel believes that ghosts are not real and therefore wishes to dismiss the question.  Janet had an experience as a youth that made her believe in ghosts.  As a concession, Samuel encourages Janet to take on the case by herself.  It strains their already tenuous relationship, but leads to the discovery of a very twisted tale of deceit and betrayal.

I checked this out in a hurry when I was about to go on a vacation.  I have enjoyed this series so far, but was sad when I discovered I missed one in between.  Samuel is an endearing character with his impressive logic and struggles with social interaction. The plot is well crafted and, as in the other books, has an interesting, not-too-predictable conclusion. The book is a light and interesting mystery and I will probably go back and read the one I missed. (2018, 228 p.)

The Origin of the Universe by John D. Borrow

This is a short and interesting history of the development of the competing cosmological theories.  Borrow recounts the discoveries that lead to the invention of the Big Bang theory, and the contributions of scientific greats like Einstein and Hawking.  He discusses how particle theory and cosmology are related and what is now, (or was in 1997, when the book was published) the cutting edge theories of the inflationary universe.  As with the Skunk Works book I read, this one left me wanting to know how the field has developed in the two decades since this book was published.  This is a great choice for the 6th-8th grade science geek. (176, 1997)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peal Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

Juliet is an author living in London soon after the end of WWII.  She has written a humorous column during the war that has been turned into a successful book.  Book talks, generous royalties, and the attentions of a rich American publisher fill her life with excitement. In some ways she is at the peak of her success, but she is at a loss about what to write next.  She receives a random letter from a farmer on the Channel Island of Guernsey and she becomes fascinated with the experience of the people on the island during the five years that they were under German occupation.  She begins a brisk correspondence with different residents of the Island that leads to more than she would have imagined.

 This book was hugely popular when it came out about 10 years ago, and I can see why.  It is utterly charming, and I can truly say I was sorry when it was finished.  The story is told entirely in the form of letters, telegrams and other print communications. Shaffer has a wonderful way of making each character come alive.  Some of the stories told by the Guernsey residents are heart wrenching, but much of the book is a sweet old-fashion love story.  It is interesting that the book was co-authored by Annie Barrows, the author of the successful Ivy & Bean series.  It turns out that Barrows is Shaffer's niece. Shaffer was quite elderly when she wrote the book, and passed away soon after it was accepted for publication.  Her niece agreed to do the needed revisions to get it ready for publication.  So the question is, how much of the book is Shaffer's and how much is Barrows? No matter which had the genius, the book is wonderful and I will be recommending it to all my friends.  (2008, 290 p.)

Gideon Versus the Gods of Cool by Stephen Gashler

Gideon is a nerd, and is pretty happy with his state until one of his teachers tells him that he must join the football team or get expelled.  He joins the team and is invited to a kind of initiation where he learns that the whole football team worships a strange supernatural god of sports.  Gideon and his friends soon discover that there are other gods brain washing students, the god of fashion, the god of rock music etc.  Can Gideon and his friends fight the seemingly inexorable forces of coolness, and save their classmates from becoming mental zombies?

This was a fun satire of junior high life, written by a master storyteller.  With a healthy mix of humor Gashler makes peer pressure into a fast paced fantasy adventure. It is not all fun and games, however. Like any good satire, it brings up important questions about if, and how, students can resist the strong peer pressures they face every day.

In full disclosure, I must mention that Steve is a good friend of mine.  He worked as a storyteller at my library when he was still in college.  For more than a decade he and his family (his wife and daughters are also great performers) have been regulars a the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival and local "Biggest Liar" competitions.  We are working with him now to come and do a book signing at our library. (296 p. 2019)

Skunk Works by Ben Rich

Ben Rich was the director of Lockheed's "Skunk Works" for 15 years and oversaw the developments of some of our country's most advanced tactical vehicles. This autobiography is organized by project, rather than chronologically, but the reader can see how the industry changed over the decades discussed in the book.  In addition to Rich's story, there are also chapters by other key players, such as test pilots, chief engineers, and military commanders. In many ways this is not a biography of Ben Rich, but of the Skunk Works as an institution.

I put this book on hold, not knowing what it was about.  I thought it was an action/adventure fiction like "The President is Missing".  I was pleasantly surprised to find out it is nonfiction, and I enjoyed listening to it. The way the planes and missiles were developed is fascinating to me, as is the way the Skunk Works interacted with the government and military leaders.  It wasn't until I was nearly finished with the book that I realized how old it is.  It made me wonder about what had happened to some of the projects after the time period covered in the book. (1996, 372 p.)

Aru Shah and the Song of Death by Roshani Chokshi

In this second adventure, Aru Shah and Minni have teamed up with a third reincarnated Pandava sibling, Brynne. The teens are accused of stealing a bow and arrow of the gods. To clear their names they must recover the artifact and use it to stop whoever is amassing a huge zombie army. Once again the kids must unravel the complicated mysteries of the Hindu pantheon.

This is a good second installment in a series that will appeal to the Rick Riordan fans.  It is fun that Chokshi added a male questing companion.  I also respect the fact that she resists the temptation to have Aru`s task be a simple case of good vs evil.  Our heroes face moral ambiguity that is never fully resolved. These books don't have quite as much fun snappy patter as Riordan's books, but they also don't have a lot of GLBT grandstanding that made me stop reading Riordan, so I am likely to recommend them often in my library. (2019, 381 p.)

A Defense of Honor by Kristi Anne Hunter

Lord Graham Whorten is bored of society. As a 30-something unmarried son of a Baron he has seen too many London seasons full on insipid conversation and social climbing debutantes. He knows he should find a wife but none of the belles interest him. His curiosity is peeked when he sees a woman near his age wearing a dress of an unfashionable color hiding behind a potted plant at a ball. When he tries to talk with her, she is evasive which only feeds his curiosity. As he tries to discover who she is, he is exposed to a dark side of the Ton society and is challenged to examine his own values and behaviors.

Can you tell I have been traveling again? Hunter's books make the perfect caramel-corn reading for riding on airplanes or waiting for the metro. This one is in a different series from the other Hunter's books I have read recently. Part mystery and part social commentary it is mostly a romance with a cast of stock characters we have come to expect in Hunter's books.  There is perhaps more of Hunter's anachronistic Christian musings than in the others I have read, but I really don't mind.  They are just a fun, fluffy, clean, historical romance to take my mind off long hours in a cramped airplane seat. (2018, 376 p.)