Good morning! My apologies to all my blog subscribers when you sat down for your Morning Meandering in your email yesterday morning and found I did not exist. I did start a post yesterday morning but was in a hurry to get to work and planned to activate during a break in the morning…
well, that break never came. 😀
I do love my new position at work, it appeals to the creative side of me, but also includes times when I need to participate in evening events and this week… there are three of those. SO…. that would explain my absence yesterday.
Moving on…
I had a wonderful time checking out what people are reading this past Monday and found a few treasures that appealed to me. I would love to share with you what I found:
Set in 12th century Korea, this is the story of Tree-ear who lives under a bridge with his disabled older friend Crane-man. Tree-ear becomes fascinated with the potter’s craft and longs to create Celadon ceramics. However pottery is a trade passed on from father to son and Tree-ear is an orphan. He works long and hard hoping to become an apprentice.
In the midst of a Katrina-like disaster, 10-year-old Dinah and her siblings, teenager Zeke and toddler Rebecca Ruth, find themselves cut off from society, with only their distant cousin for company. To distract the siblings from their predicament, Gage begins to tell them the story of the skibbereen, the creatures generally known as tooth fairies. His story focuses on What-the-Dickens, an orphaned skibberee whose adventures bring him into contact with a house cat, a bird, a tiger, and a variety of humans, including Gage himself.
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, Reichl focuses on her life as a food critic, dishing up a feast of fabulous meals enjoyed during her tenure at The New York Times. As a critic, Reichl was determined to review the “true” nature of each restaurant she visited, so she often dined incognito–each chapter of her book highlights a new disguise, a different restaurant (including the original reviews from the Times), and a fresh culinary adventure.
A debut novel for the British Ghanaian writer tells of a dark childhood in an apparently safe Devon boarding school.
In the interview Yaba Badoe tells Nicola Barranger about how her work has been 18 years in the creation and how a tragic event in her own childhood drove the narrative in her True Murder.
Drawing on her rich family heritage Yaba also discusses how Ghanaian traditions inform the novel bringing together West Africa and South West England.
Agnes McMillan and Janet Houston were convicted for shoplifting. Bridget Mulligan stole a bucket of milk; Widow Ludlow Tedder, eleven spoons. For their crimes, they would be sent not to jail, but to ships teeming with other female convicts. Tin tickets, stamped with numbers, were hung around the women’s necks, and the ships set out to carry them to their new home: Van Diemen’s Land, later known as Tasmania, part of the British Empire’s crown jewel, Australia. Men outnumbered women nine to one there, and few “proper” citizens were interested in emigrating. The deportation of thousands of petty criminals-the vast majority nonviolent first offenders-provided a convenient solution for the government.
Crossing Shark-infested waters, some died in shipwrecks during the four-month journey, or succumbed to infections and were sent to a watery grave. Others were impregnated against their will by their captors. They arrived as nothing more than property. But incredibly, as the years passed, they managed not only to endure their privation and pain but to thrive on their own terms, breaking the chains of bondage, and forging a society that treated women as equals and led the world in women’s rights.
Thank you to Mari at Bookworm With A View
That is the beautiful thing about seeing what other book lovers are reading. I love to see the books not yet known to me and read the excitement and experience of the book through another’s thoughts. It was a great week to find new titles that appealed to me.
Book Journey 
Welcome back, Sheila…I pictured you lying on the couch, felled by a malevolent virus—or…gallivanting to some magical place where you got lost—or you simply forgot about us, your devoted readers, who would wonder who to have morning coffee with…sigh.
Seriously, though, I know days like that. And you so made up for it all today with the tempting books you’ve shared. That one about the petty criminals shipped off (The Tin Ticket) really gripped me.
Laurel – I am here and will have coffee with you every morning I can 😀
Grab your cup friend – I am having coffee right now.
I had quite the list of awesome books I found on Monday and had to (HAD TO!) share. 😀
It’s no fun to be addicted alone…LOL
Glad that you’re back, Sheila! Actually all of the books that you mentioned sound great, and I’m saving the list of them to get at some point! Another book mentioned on All Things Urban Fantasy blog called ” Songs of Love and Death” has peaked my interest, too. Diana Gabaldon wrote one of the tales in it, and she’s one of my favorite authors!
Barb I have heard such wonderful things about Diana Gabaldon. I have yet to read her but imagine a time when I would love to take a weekend and get into this authors books. 🙂
Ooh, A Single Shard looks really fun!
Hannah I am loving that cover and I am so excited about it! It was in stock at my library so I will be picking it up this afternoon 🙂
Sheila these are some awesome titles-thank you.
The beauty of the Monday What Are You reading Esme 🙂 I know I have enough to read on my own, but I love seeing what everyone else is reading around the world. Thanks goodness too, as I may not have heard of these titles if not for my wonderful fellow book lovers! 😀
Oh wow, I love the sound of ALL of those! I am going off on a hunt right now to track at least 3 of them down – I just have to have them (from one bookaholic to anothe – you know what that’s like) 🙂
Book Whisperer I love that we can share great reads with one another! 😀
Hi Sheila !
You were missed yesterday for sure ! Do take care and do not overwork yourself (it backfires believe me….I had to go on a diet…..COOKIES…I need COOKIES !!!! )
Those books are really way out and ‘True Murder’ sounds totally interesting. The cover story itself shows something sinister and yet something sentimental that is lurking within its fine pages (YUCK ! ME AND MY 18th CENTURY VOCABULARY !!). This book is a must read for me. ‘Dark childhoods’ seem to be the norm of the day for many authors which tend at times to be a bit too sinister for my taste, even though I am a horror fan.
You are right , the cover of ‘What The Dickens’ is fantastic and it will be a soothing read. ‘The Thin Ticket’ sounds a bit on a ‘history textbook’ angle of looking at things. I hope it is not for the characters intrigue me for their own individual differences while facing a situation that is beyond their control. Lots of research has definitely gone into ‘The Thin Ticket’ and I hope you enjoy this one.
By the way…which one are you going to read first ?
HI Fiza – I believe from what I have peaked into the Tin Ticket so far that is it Historical Fiction, but may even be historical non fiction.
I will probably read A Single Shard first because I can pick it up at my library tomorrow…. of course I am in the middle of reading my own what are you reading on Monday list so we shall see 🙂
It just had to be me to read the name of the book wrong !!!
Even the library owner at my place was wondering what I was talking about when I said ‘THIN’ !!!
But in the end I found ‘The TIN Ticket’ and I am reading it right now…..enjoy your day !
Any more recipes coming our way ?
Oh Fiza- LUCKY! My library did not have it. And yes, I do have a couple more recipes from the girls weekend… thanks for the reminder 🙂
I loved these posts – I’m adding A Single Shard to my list. Thanks for the shout out 🙂
Thank you Mari for introducing me to what looks like a fascinating read!
True Murder is speaking to me the most of those on the list. Thanks for sharing the books and the links to bloggers who have already written about them.
Thats what this blog is all about for me Kathleen – talking and sharing books and if I can help others find great reads through other bloggers too – all the better! 😀
Out of all of these the Tin Ticket appeals to me the most.
It does sound fascinating Alyce 🙂
Just recently I seem to have become overwhelmed by the number of book reviews I’ve read thinking I must add that to my wish list and what do you do? That’s right, add yet more wonderful sounding books. Seriously Sheila, thanks for the information. I especially like the look and sound of Meet The Dickens. Which book would you choose as your favourite?
HI Terry! 🙂 Which book would I choose as my favorite? That’s a tough one…
They all appealed to me for different reasons. I would say if they all arrived today at the same time and I had nothing else going on – I would probably grab up The Tin Ticket because I am fascinated with the story line and want to research that one more.
Of course – for a laugh I want to read the food critic one, for a deep mystery the True Murder one, my fantasy side longs to read What The Dickens and A Single Shard comes at me from that desire to learn about other cultures…
GAH! I am a hopeless book addict 🙂
Yay for True Murder making your list! Loved the book so much.
Thanks Amy for your post about this book – it arrived this week and I am so excited to read it! 😀
Oh yay!!! So excited and can’t wait to see your thoughts!