2024

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

Life.

Happy (almost) Thanksgiving! It feels like the holiday has stretched to include the entire week in recent years. I’m still working this week, but it feels like a lot of people have already checked out. I’m looking forward to days off at the end of the week, and spending the holiday with family!

We had major rainstorms this past week, so my usual outdoor activities were mostly cancelled. I made up for it with family chill time, plus lots of reading.

What did I read during the last week?

The Answer Is No by Fredrik Backman: A quirky, funny short story. My review is here.

An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott: My Classics Club Spin book — loved it! My review is here.

Weyward by Emilia Hart: A 5-star read! My review is here.

Pop culture & TV:

Outlander is back! After a Droughtlander of more than a year, the 2nd half of season 7 has started. The first of the new episodes dropped on Friday, and I loved it.

I started a new (to me) Israeli series on Netflix, A Body That Works. I’m about halfway through, and I’m enjoying it… although my overall impression is going to depend on how they resolve certain elements. As of the midpoint, I’d say it’s worth checking out.

Fresh Catch:

I didn’t buy any books this week!

Little Free Library updates:

This week in my Little Free Library:

One ratty old instruction manual was added… but the four or five terrific paperbacks someone dropped off last week all seem to have found new homes! (I’m getting a kick out of seeing what comes and goes each week… and which books seem to stay and stay and stay)

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff: This book keeps coming up as a should-really-read book for me, and I decided to finally make it happen. (It helps that my library branch had a copy on the shelf when I stopped by over the weekend).

Once I finish, I’ll be starting one of these — all of which have been high on my reading pile for a while now:

I’m not quite sure which one I’ll start first, but I’m excited to finally have time for any or all of them!

Now playing via audiobook:

Coming Home by Brittney Griner: I’m so close to the end! I think I need another half-hour or so of listening time to wrap this up. I’ll share my thoughts later in the week — very powerful and moving memoir.

Next, I plan to go for a lighter listen, most likely this one:

I recently finished the audio version of this author duo’s first novel and really liked it, so I’m up for more.

Ongoing reads:

Coming soon! My book group’s newest classic read will be Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. We’re starting in early December, and will be reading and discussing two chapters per week. This will be a reread for me, and I’m looking forward to it.

What will you be reading this week?

So many books, so little time…

24Nov2024

Book Review: Weyward by Emilia Hart

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Weyward
Author: Emilia Hart
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publication date: February 2, 2023
Length: 392 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Source: Purchased
Rating:

I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family’s grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart’s Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Weyward has been on my radar since its release in 2023 — and while I’m mad at myself for not getting to it sooner, I’m thrilled to have finally read this excellent novel.

Weyward follows three women across three timelines to tell the story of a family whose women have special gifts — all of whom must break free from the rules and control of men to fully embrace who they are and what they’re capable of.

In 1619, Altha is a healer relied upon by her community, yet also viewed with suspicion. After a gruesome death, she stands trial for witchcraft.

In 1942, Violet is a teen whose cold, cruel father dictates every aspect of her life, while also denying her a life outside the walls of their estate and a chance to pursue the scientific education she yearns for.

In 2019, Kate flees her abusive boyfriend and takes shelter in the cottage she’s inherited from her great-aunt Violet. At first, she just wants a place to hide, but eventually, she learns more about her family’s heritage and what being a Weyward descendent truly means.

This wildness inside gives us our name. It was men who marked us so, in the time when language was but a shoot curling from the earth. Weyward, they called us, when we would not submit, would not bend to their will. But we learned to wear the name with pride.

The three stories swirl around each other through cycles of chapters. Each woman’s story is, in itself, compelling and utterly fascinating. Each character is wonderfully developed, with rich emotions and complicated circumstances. As a whole, the three stories paint a portrait of a family of powerful women, connected by their abilities, their knowledge, their affinity for the natural world, and their need to protect themselves from those who would do them harm.

By the final third of the book, I hated to leave each woman’s story to move onto a chapter about the next, only to find myself completely absorbed in that chapter and character as well. The interconnectedness of the three women’s lives is lovely to see unfold, and I found myself breathlessly tearing through the final chapters to see how it all came together.

I realize I’m not saying much about plot specifics, but that’s intentional. Weyward is a beautifully crafted, evocative story, and I think it’s best to read it without preconceptions or advance knowledge of details. I recommend enjoying it — slowly, if you can (I couldn’t!) — and savoring the texture and depth of the story as it develops.

I loved reading Weyward, and loved Altha, Violet, and Kate as characters. Highly recommended.

22Nov2024

Book Review: An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott (Classics Club Spin #39)

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: An Old Fashioned Girl
Author: Louisa May Alcott
Publication date: 1869
Length: 224 pages
Rating:

An Old-Fashioned Girl is a novel by Louisa May Alcott first published in 1869, which follows the adventures of Polly Milton, a young country girl, who is visiting her wealthy city friends, the Shaws. The novel shows how Polly remains true to herself despite the pressure the Shaws’ world puts on her shoulders.

The first six chapters of the novel were serialized in the Merry’s Museum magazine between July and August 1869. Alcott added another thirteen chapters before publishing the novel. The book revolves around Polly Milton, the old-fashioned girl of the title, who visits the wealthy family of her friend Fanny Shaw in the city and is overwhelmed by their fashionable life they lead and disturbed to see how the family members fail to understand one another and demonstrate little affection. She is largely content to remain on the fringes of their social life but exerts a powerful influence over their emotional lives and family relations.

Let’s hear it for another great Classics Club Spin result!

I absolutely went through a Louisa May Alcott phase as a young reader. Beyond Little Women, I read Little Men, Jo’s Boys, Jack and Jill, and (I think) Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom… but don’t ask me to tell you a thing about most of them. What I know for sure is that I never read An Old-Fashioned Girl — not for any particular reason. Maybe my local library just didn’t have a copy?

In any case, I’m delighted to have read this book, finally… and while it’s not a masterpiece on the level of Little Women, it’s an engaging read that’s more than it initially seems.

An Old-Fashioned Girl seems at times to verge on being too sugary sweet — but then the author adds just enough snark in her commentary to keep it fun and sassy.

For example, this description of a fashionable young lady:

There was a locket on her neck, ear-rings tinkling in her ears, watch and chain at her belt, and several rings on a pair of hands that would have been improved by soap and water.

Plotwise, the tale starts simply enough. 14-year-old Polly is from a hardworking country family, raised to cherish simplicity, goodness, kindness, and doing well by others. It’s a major culture shock for Polly when she goes for an extended visit with Fanny Shaw, a 16-year-old from a wealthy London family. While Fanny offers Polly hospitality, she also is in many ways incomprehensible to Polly. Fanny is immersed in fashion, primping, flirtation, and gossip — none of which hold any interest for Polly, yet Polly is pressured by Fanny to fit in and at least try to make a good impression.

Fanny went to a fashionable school, where the young ladies were so busy with their French, German, and Italian, that there was no time for good English.

Ultimately, old-fashioned Polly is the one who has an impact on the Shaws, finding the goodness in each family member and infusing a sense of fun into the simpler joys of daily life. One especially lovely scene involves the grandmother of the family, who lives in the upper rooms of the Shaw home, surrounded by precious mementos but largely ignored by her boisterous grandchildren. Polly takes a genuine interest in grandma, and manages to find a way to pique the Shaw kids’ interest in a way that creates a warm, lovely connection.

As the author notes in her introduction, An Old-Fashioned Girl was originally a serialized story that ended with Polly returning back home after her visit, and comprised only six chapters. Apparently, Louisa May Alcott’s readers just weren’t having it, and demanded more! The finished book is 19 chapters in all, and picks up the story six years later, when Polly, now a young woman, returns to the city to support herself and help fund her beloved brother’s higher education.

From here, we see a mature Polly with the determination to work for a living, teaching children’s music classes and living in a rented room. She’s kept her core values, and continues to influence the Shaw family in all sorts of ways. Meanwhile, through Polly’s volunteer work, we get a glimpse of women’s lives at the time, from those struggling to get by to those pursuing art, literature, and learning in lieu of seeking the more traditional pathways for women.

An Old-Fashioned Girl is a fairly simple, straightforward read, and as I mention, it occasionally teeters right on the edge of being too utterly nice. Polly is a bit Beth March-ish, minus the extreme shyness and timidity. Dashes of Jo March, perhaps — Polly speaks her mind, and ventures outside the expected norms for girls and young women of the time. Yet she’s unerringly, unalterably good; she’s kind, she sees the best in people, she’s fair, and she cares for those less fortunate and really, anyone who needs anything at all. She makes peace within the Shaw household and helps each family member in just the way they need. She often does come across as too good to be true — except she’s also wise, self-deprecating, and just sharp enough that I couldn’t help but like her and find her fun to be around.

All in all, I’m very happy to have read An Old-Fashioned Girl, and look forward to catching up a bit more with Louisa May Alcott’s book, including the ones I read so long ago.

Who knew? According to IMDb, there was a film version of An Old-Fashioned Girl released in 1949. The images on the movie poster (below) don’t match how I see the characters in my head, but I’d still be curious to check out the movie, if I can find it.

21Nov2024

Short fiction: The Answer is No by Fredrik Backman

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Answer is No
Author: Fredrik Backman
Publisher: Amazon Original Stories
Publication date: December 1, 2024
Length: 68 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

In a hilarious short story from New York Times bestselling author Fredrik Backman, the absurdities of modern life cause one man’s solitary world to spin suddenly, and comically, out of control.

Lucas knows the perfect night entails just three things: video games, wine, and pad thai. Peanuts are a must! Other people? Not so much. Why complicate things when he’s happy alone?

Then one day the apartment board, a vexing trio of authority, rings his doorbell. And Lucas’s solitude takes a startling hike. They demand to see his frying pan. Someone left one next to the recycling room overnight, and instead of removing the errant object, as Lucas suggests, they insist on finding the guilty party. But their plan backfires. Colossally.

Told in Fredrik Backman’s singular witty style with sharply drawn characters and relatable antics, The Answer Is No is a laugh-out-loud portrait of a man struggling to keep to himself in a world that won’t leave him alone.

A new story from Fredrik Backman is practically guaranteed to be a joy to read… so does The Answer is No succeed? The answer is yes!

This funny, quirky tale is about a man who wants the world to leave him alone, but the world doesn’t seem to get the message. He’s perfectly happy, until the frying pan incident spirals out of control, bringing visitor after visitor to his door.

It’s a cute, clever story with a simple plot. What makes it a gem is Backman’s writing, of course. Here are a few choice snippets:

Lucas is happy. This is a very provoking thing to the world. Because people aren’t supposed to be happy, they’re only supposed to want to be happy, because how otherwise are you supposed to be able to sell things to them?

Just to be clear: It’s not that Lucas hates other people. He just really enjoys being where other people aren’t. He works well in groups as long as it’s groups of fewer than two people.

“During the night someone left an old frying pan on the ground outside the recycling room!” the first head explains, as if this were the beginning of a detective novel where a dead body’s been found in a lake, and a divorced police officer from the big city who has just returned to her childhood home is drawn into an investigation that forces her to confront her past, but which may or may not also give her the chance to fall in love with a man in a flannel shirt who has a golden retriever and a charming down-to-earth view of life.

Lucas opens the door with the defeated manner of a sausage that dressed itself up as a carrot to avoid being eaten by a bear, only to be found by a rabbit.

The Answer is No is available now as a First Reads pick for Amazon Prime subscribers, and will be released officially as of December 1st. It’s a sweet, cheery treat — and obviously, a must-read for Fredrik Backman fans!

19Nov2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Oldest (aka Earliest Published) Books On My TBR

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Oldest (aka Earliest Published) Books On My TBR.

At first, I went to my Goodreads to-read shelf to sort by publication year and look for the earliest, but then realized that I was missing many of the classics I want to get to. So… I went to my handy-dandy Excel spreadsheet (yes, I’m an Excel nerd!) dedicated to my future classics reading, and then did a little mixing and matching.

The results originally showed a few instances of multiple books by the same author, and I made the executive decision to limit it to one book each. In the end, it was very hard to whittle the list down, so…

Here is my list of 10 12 of the oldest books on my to-read shelf!

Belinda by Maria Edgeworth (1801)
Waverley by Sir Walter Scott (1814)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper (1826)
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte (1848)
Lady Audley’s Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1862)
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens (1850)
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (1860)
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (1872)
Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott (1875)
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (1877)
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy (1878)

Note: I’ve read Frankenstein, but it was so long ago that I feel a reread is needed!

Have you read any of the books on my list? Any thoughts or recommendations?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

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18Nov2024

The Monday Check-In ~ 11/18/2024

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Life.

I had a super busy day on Saturday, starting with an early-morning book group Zoom with an author, then a mid-day outdoor dance session, and then even more dancing in the evening! Luckily, I had an unstructured Sunday to just chill, go for a walk, read, and do lots of nothing.

What did I read during the last week?

Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse: What fun! My book group’s classic read wrapped up this past week. This book is silly and adorable, and I look forward to reading more of the Jeeves books.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See: Excellent historical fiction — 5 stars! My review is here.

The Beach Trap by Ali Brady: Really enjoyable audiobook about long-lost half-sisters getting a second chance to build a relationship. My review is here.

Pop culture & TV:

I was at a bit of loose ends, and decided to watch a movie I’d been meaning to get to — Damsel (Netflix). It was… okay. A bit too much time devoted to Millie Bobby Brown running around in a cave in increasingly shredded clothing, but overall, entertaining enough.

Fresh Catch:

I didn’t buy any books this week!

Little Free Library updates:

I thought it might be fun to share updates on books people leave in my Little Free Library.

New this week:

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (funny, since I just finished reading my own copy last week)
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
The Circle by Dave Eggers
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara
Strider by Beverly Cleary

Looks like someone must have been offloading their literary fiction! And it’s sweet to see a children’s classic in the mix as well. A few unwanted books showed up that I’ve already removed, including a couple of super flimsy guides to real estate deals. Why leave those in a LFL???

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott: My current Classics Club Spin book!

Now playing via audiobook:

Coming Home by Brittney Griner: I’ve been waiting for my library hold for this audiobook for months now, and it’s finally available! I started it yesterday — it’s really personal and powerful to listen to.

Ongoing reads:

None right now! My book group’s next classic read starts early December — and meanwhile, it’s kind of nice to have no “obligation” books to worry about.

What will you be reading this week?

So many books, so little time…

17Nov2024

Book Review: The Beach Trap by Ali Brady

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Beach Trap
Author: Ali Brady
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: June 14, 2022
Length: 384 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction / romance
Source: Library
Rating:

Two best friends torn apart by a life-altering secret. They have one summer to set the record straight.

When twelve-year-olds Kat Steiner and Blake O’Neill meet at Camp Chickawah, they have an instant connection. But everything falls apart when they learn they’re not just best friends—they’re also half-sisters. Confused and betrayed, their friendship instantly crumbles.

Fifteen years later when their father dies suddenly, Kat and Blake discover he’s left them a joint inheritance: the family beach house in Destin, Florida. The two sisters are instantly at odds. Blake, who has recently been demoted from regular nanny to dog nanny, wants to sell the house, while social media influencer Kat is desperate to keep the place where she had so many happy childhood memories.

Kat and Blake reluctantly join forces to renovate the dilapidated house with the understanding that Kat will try to buy Blake out at the end of the summer. The women clash as Blake’s renovation plans conflict with Kat’s creative vision, and each sister finds herself drawn into a summer romance. As the weeks pass, the two women realize the most difficult project they face this summer will be coming to grips with their shared past, and learning how to become sisters.

I’m a sucker for books with a connection to summer camps… and from the opening chapter, when twelve-year-old besties spend a glorious summer at camp together, only to have their friendship end disastrously, I knew The Beach Trap would be a book for me.

When Blake and Kat meet at Camp Chickawah**, they become best friends right away — but when Kat’s father comes to pick her up early due to a death in the family, the girls make a shattering discovery: Kat’s dad is Blake’s dad too. Blake’s mom had been “the other woman”, and while Blake has happy childhood memories of time with her dad, that all ended when her mother died in a tragic accident, and her father never came for her. Rather than bringing the girls closer, the discovery of their half-sister status permanently drives them apart, and Kat refuses to respond to any of the letters Blake sends her in the months following camp.

**If the name Camp Chickawah seems familiar, then perhaps you’ve read the authors’ most recent book, Until Next Summer, in which the camp and its staff members take center stage. (It’s a lot of fun!)

Fifteen years later, their father has died, and his will reveals a startling bequest: He’s left the family’s Florida beach house to both his daughters, to share 50/50.

Blake is a stressed-out nanny for a wealthy family, working long hours to pay for her grandfather’s assisted living facility. Kat is a social media influencer (ugh), making enough to support herself, but not quite at a point where she can count on financial security. Blake assumes they’ll sell the beach house, or Kat can buy her out — but either way, the proceeds will help ensure that she can continue to care for her grandfather. Kat sees the beach house as a reminder of rare happy childhood memories, and wants to keep it — and also, it might make a great home reno project to enhance her feeds and help her nab a coveted corporate sponsorship.

When Blake and Kat meet at the beach house, they’re dismayed to find the place in shambles. The only way to turn it around and make it at all viable for sale is to repair, renovate, and redecorate. Kat has the funds; Blake has the time (since the family she nannies for is spending the summer in France) and the skills, thanks to the years she spent learning at her grandfather’s side. While there’s palpable tension and animosity between the two women, they know neither can move forward without the other’s cooperation, and they work out a deal. They’ll alternate weeks at the house, Blake will handle most of the actual work, and Kat will have final say on all decor decisions.

After achieving a tense détente of sorts, they move forward. As the summer progresses, and they start having to communicate and spend together, tentative connections are rebuilt. They once loved each other — who will they be to one another now?

I really enjoyed seeing Kat and Blake work their way back toward friendship, and more. Both grew up lonely; both grew up hungry for the love and attention of a distant father, who cause each one intense emotional pain in the aftermath of the big revelation years earlier. While having very different backgrounds and upbringings, Kat and Blake connect on a deeper level. It’s lovely seeing them work through the hurt and misunderstandings, and start to realize how much time they both spent blaming one another for things outside of their control.

Each woman also finds romance over the course of the summer, but one thing I really appreciate in this book (and in the other Ali Brady book I’ve read, Until Next Summer) is that romance is secondary to friendship. The romantic relationships and storylines are great, but it’s the friendship and sisterhood between Kat and Blake that drive this book and give it its emotional impact and joy.

Where The Beach Trap falls a little short for me has mainly to do with Kat’s character. Bluntly put, she’s hard to like. First off, having a social media influencer as a main character is an instant turn-off for me. (Side note — I feel like contemporary romances have a higher proportion of influencers as characters than is representative of the demographic in real life…) Kat’s whole shtick for most of the book is summed up by her tagline, “life is a fashion show”. She eventually learns to appreciate the messiness of life and what it means to connect, and revises her philosophy — but it’s a fairly quick turnaround, not entirely believable. I’m glad she ended up in a better place, but her attitude for much of the book is very hard to take.

Overall, however, I liked The Beach Trap a lot. The story moves quickly, the setting is terrific, and I loved the dynamic of these sisters finding a way to salvage the defining pain of their separate lives and find a way forward together.

I’ve now read two books by this author duo, and look forward to more! There’s one more book I haven’t read that’s currently available (The Comeback Summer), and an upcoming new book to be released in 2025 (Battle of the Bookstores). I plan to read them both!

About the authors: Ali Brady is the pen name of writing BFFs Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey. The Beach Trap is their first book together. Alison lives in Chicago and works as a VP creative director at an advertising agency. She’s the author of You and Me and Us and Little Pieces of Me. Bradeigh lives with her family in Utah, where she works as a physician. She’s the author of the psychological thriller, Imposter.

16Nov2024

Book Review: Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
Author: Lisa See
Publisher: Scribner
Publication date: June 6, 2023
Print length: 352 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

An immersive historical novel inspired by the true story of a woman physician in 15th-century China.

According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient.

From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose—despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it—and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.

But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.

How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? A captivating story of women helping each other, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a triumphant reimagining of the life of one person who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.

Lisa See’s books are consistent hits for me, and Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is no exception. I was hesitant about getting started, not sure if I was ready to go quite that far back in time. It should not have surprised me that this book was a compelling, excellent reading experience that pulled me in right from the start.

As the book opens, main character Yunxian is an eight-year-old girl, already learning from her mother about how to be a proper wife and fulfill her role as a woman in 15th-century noble Chinese society. When her mother, always referred to as Respectful Lady, dies of infection stemming from her bound feet, Yunxian is sent away to live with her grandparents, who begin training her as a doctor.

As Yunxian matures and then marries, her skills as doctor grow, but she’s limited in her ability to practice by the strict rules surrounding the family’s household, as dictated by society’s norms for the upper class and enforced by the iron rule of Yunxian’s mother-in-law. Her friendship with the midwife Meiling is frowned upon, as midwives are considered practically taboo — they’re necessary, yet because of their dealing with blood, are considered improper for a lady to associate with.

Without delving too deeply into plot, I’ll just say that Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is both an eye-opening exploration of the roles of women in that time and place, and a personal story of one particularly brave and talented woman, the effect she had on those around her, and the struggles with friendship, marriage, and motherhood she endured and overcame. While some of the details of individual encounters and scenes are purely fiction, Yunxian was a real person whose published works on medicine are considered groundbreaking — especially considering that they were written by a woman and focused on treating women, a field male doctors of that time had little interest or experience with.

The book sheds lights on customs that, to modern and Western eyes, seem not only archaic but cruel. In particular, the subject of foot-binding is covered extensively (as in the author’s earlier novel, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan). Some scenes can be hard to read, and it’s especially heartbreaking to read about a woman binding her own daughters’ feet, and to accept that in that society, it was an expected ritual of girlhood, crucial to being marriageable and viewed as a decent, honorable young woman.

Other elements are fascinating from a more historical/sociological perspective — learning about family structure, the running of a household, and of course, the practice of medicine at that time, especially since many of the basic tenets of Yunxian’s medical practice are still considered important elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The friendship between Yunxian and Meiling is especially moving. It’s not without conflict, as the two women’s very different stations in life lead to barriers that cause resentments and sorrows. Ultimately, though, it’s this relationship that provides one of the core emotional threads of the story.

Friendship is a contract between two hearts. With hearts united, women can laugh and cry, live and die together.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a beautifully written look into the life of a fascinating woman, while also presenting an immersive reading experience about a time and place that’s so very different from our modern lives. I enjoyed every moment, and simply couldn’t put the book down once I started. Highly recommended — this book should not be missed!

Want to know more? Check out the wonderful resources available on the author’s website: https://lisasee.com/step-inside/traditions-and-culture/#welcome

12Nov2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Destination Titles

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Destination Titles, and the prompt is titles with name of places in them. These places can be real or fiction!

I’m going with real place names, and have found more than expected on my shelves!

Here is my selection of 10 destination titles:

Moloka’i by Alan Brennert
The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem by Sarit Yishai-Levi (review)
My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan (review)
South Pole Station by Ashley Shelby (review)
The Paris Diversion by Chris Pavone (review)
The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore (review)
Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole (review)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The Shambling Guide to New York City by Mur Lafferty (review)
Denali‘s Howl by Andy Hall

What destinations made your list this week?

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11Nov2024

The Monday Check-In ~ 11/11/2024

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Life.

What can I say about last week? Words fail me. Locally, I’m fairly pleased with our election results, especially a proposition about turning an oceanside roadway into a park. (Want to know what I’m talking about? Check out this article — I voted yes!!)

Other than that… it hasn’t actually been a terrible week. Busy at work, nice family time, and some beautiful sunny days!

What did I read during the last week?

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: FINISHED! After two different reading attempts years ago ended in DNFs, I was determined to finally make it all the way through this book, and I did it! I’m still digesting, to be honest. I can’t say I loved the reading experience, but I can see why this is considered such a huge literary achievement. I’m glad to have seen it through, but don’t feel up for writing an actual review. Still… it’s done!!

Every Summer After by Carley Fortune: I loved this story of former teen sweethearts reuniting years later as adults. Touching and nostalgic, and very engaging. My review is here.

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong: Sweet, cozy fantasy — a light and delicious read. My review is here.

Pop culture & TV:

Season 2 of The Diplomat was fantastic! Both season are available on Netflix. Terrific plot, dialogue, and acting — not that amazing acting is a surprise, with Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell in the lead roles.

Next up: The final season of Yellowstone — the first episode of the new/last season just dropped! It’s a little odd picking up the story again after almost two years… but it pulled me right back in, and I’m dying to see where the season goes.

Fresh Catch:

No new books this week.

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See: My book group’s pick for November — and for once, I’m getting an early start! I’m only a few chapters in, but it’s great so far.

Now playing via audiobook:

The Beach Trap by Ali Brady: After reading my first Ali Brady book a couple of months ago, I jumped at the chance to borrow this audiobook when I randomly saw it marked as available on the Libby app! I’ve listened to about 10% so far, and it’s good!

Coming soon:

An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott: My newest Classics Club Spin book! The deadline to finish is December 18th, and since this is a relatively short book, I may hold off another week or two before starting.