5 New Books for End of Summer Enjoyment -- MAILBOX MONDAY

 

MAILBOX MONDAY

It's time again for Mailbox Monday, where we share the books that have come our way in the past week (or so). What new books do you have to share?

I have a stack of enticing new books, all sure to provide end of summer summer enjoyment and autumn anticipation:

Rizzio by Denise Mina. This new novella is a historical thriller about the bloody assassination of David Rizzio, private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1566. 

I adore Mina's contemporary crime fiction so am excited to get my hands on a preview copy of this new dark tale. Rizzio launches September 7 from Pegasus Books and is available for pre-order. 

You Are Enough! Reclaiming Your Career and Your Life with Purpose, Passion, and Unapologetic Authenticity by Charlene Wheeless (2021, Mascot Books). Charlene Wheeless shares the wisdom she's learned from her years as a Black woman executive and cancer survivor in her new book that is part memoir, part inspiring essays.

Welcome to Kamini by Don Engebretson. This is the debut novel from a seasoned magazine and short story writer.  It looks like a new(age) twist on a mid-life crisis story, with the hero heading to the Canadian woods to get over his failed marriage and professional tailspin. He meets an Ojibwe fishing guide and three powerful women who change his plans, and his life. 

This one comes out October 1 from Guernica Editions. I was lucky to get a review copy early and just hope I can get to it soon. It is available for pre-order now. 

Deep Hanging Out: Wanderings and Wonderment in Native California by Malcolm Margolin (2021, Heyday Books). Malcolm Margolin is a fixture in California's Native American community. Although not Native American himself, Margolin has been “deep hanging out” – immersing himself in a social, informal way – in California’s Indian country since the 1970s. 

This new book from Heyday Books is a collection of 30 articles and other pieces, mostly collected from News from Native California, a quarterly magazine Margolin founded in 1987.

A Few Words about Words: A Common-Sense Look at Writing and Grammar by Joseph J. Diorio. I love any and all grammar books! This new one from Beaufort Books comes out next week. Diorio is the author of a popular newsletter of the same name that has been around for 30 years.

Share your own new books on Mailbox Monday with other book lovers. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to share your post link, find links to the other participants' posts, and read more about Books that Caught Our Eye the week before.

Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, Martha of Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf, and Velvet of vvb32reads are the gracious hosts of Mailbox Monday.

July Wrap Up -- My July Books

 

MONTHLY WRAP UP

Do your reading habits change in the summer? I’m drawn to lighter and shorter books in the summer, although a few darker mysteries and more serious novels sneak in. 

Here are the 11 books I read in July, in the order I read them, not the order they are stacked up in this picture. Please keep in mind that my ratings reflect my own reaction to a book, not its artistic merit.

MY JULY BOOKS

A Little Book of Japanese Contentments: Ikigai, Forest Bathing, Wabi-sabi, and More by Erin Niimi Longhurst, illustrated by Ryo Takemasa, a lovely introduction to a Japanese culture and traditions of living well. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

How the Light Gets In by Louise Penny, not pictured because I read it with my ears. This, the 9th book in her Chief Inspector Adam Gamache series, was excellent and makes me want to continue through the rest of the 17. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King. What’s the line? Writing about music is like dancing about architecture? I’m not sure writing about architecture is any more engaging. I had a hard time getting through this one, although my husband loved it. 🌹🌹🌹

Jolie Blon’s Bounce by James Lee Burke. I’ve read most of his Dave Robicheaux series but missed a few here and there. It was fun to visit the series again. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Bruno, Chief of Police by Martin Walker is the first of the series, set in a French village. I loved it! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Fork It Over: The Intrepid Adventures of a Professional Eater by Alan Richman is a collection of his restaurant reviews and food writing from when he was the food critic for GQ magazine. What a delight! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar has been on my TBR shelf for too long. It was excellent. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

What French Women Know: About Love, Sex, and Other Matters of the Heart and Mind by Debra Ollivier. I loved her later book, Entre Nous, but this one didn’t come together for me. Entre Nous inspired me to make my French Connections list of books about or set in France. 🌹🌹🌹

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon was his debut novel. I’m not one for coming of age novels, so this wasn’t my cup of tea. 🌹🌹🌹

Foxed Quarterly, the Spring 2021 issue. Here so I can keep track of which ones I read. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Shape of the Journey is a collection of over 120 of Jim Harrison’s poems. Harrison once quipped that to draw attention to poetry "you would have to immolate a volunteer poet in an 751 BMW." I keep a book of poetry on my bedside table and try to read one each morning. I started this one late last year and just finished it this month. I love Harrison's prose writing and appreciate him even more now that I read his poetry. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

MY FAVORITE COVER OF THE MONTH