The Motley Reader

  Finished The Bookman’s Tale a few days ago. This is the second book I’ve read by Charlie Lovett and I enjoyed this as much as the first. Quick summary: Peter Byerly is an antique book dealer mourning the death of his wife. He travels to their cottage in the English countryside in an attempt to escape his fryer. While there he cannot keep himself from indulging in his passion for rare books. While browsing he finds a watercolor picture of a woman with a resemblance to his wife tucked into a book about forgery. The watercolor is over a hundred years old. His desperate search for the origin of the painting leads him deeper into the world of antique books than he has ever been. The result is the possible finding of the “holy grail” of books. But is it real or a very convincing forgery? The search for the truth will not only lead him to the answers to that question but it will also help him to let go of the past and move forward into his future. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you ...

  What a fun read this was! Quick summary-after her mother died a woman finds one of Elvis’ Stutz Blackhawk cars in their shed. Cory knew her mother had been a back up singer for Elvis and that she was born seven months after her mother arrived back home and married her high school sweetheart but was never given any other details. She decides to take the car back to Graceland following the same route her mother took when she left. Along the way Cory not only discovers who her biological father is but also about the extraordinary year her mother spent living in Graceland and nicknamed Honey by the King himself. This book is told in two different time periods as the author takes the reader on this journey of discovery. Along the way you get a glimpse of what it was like to live with Elvis during his last year alive. I enjoyed this book on many levels. It was easy to read. The author incorporated historical fact about Elvis in way that made you wonder what was factual and what was fic...

  Did you know that the queen of mysteries was once part of a mystery herself? Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days. Not much is known about what actually happened during those 11 days but author Marie Benedict explores one possibility in this newest historical fiction The Mystery of Mrs. Christie. This is my third book by this author. When I heard it was coming out I got on the list right away at the library. I actually was the first to check it out. As with all of Benedict’s books it was easy to read, a good length that didn’t take too much time and it was thoroughly researched. I was not disappointed. Benedict is an expert at bringing to light the little known stories of women in history like Hedy Lamar, Mileva Einstein and others I haven’t read yet. While The Mystery of Mrs. Christie is not necessarily an unknown story Benedict felt it was a story that needed to be told. I am glad she decided it was a story that should be told. Although I sort of knew how it would turn out...

  Oh my goodness! I so excited to tell you about this book. First, let me say I picked this book up more than two years ago at a used bookstore in my favorite beach town of Ocean City New Jersey. Shout out to Bookateria! Even though I’ve had it this long I also believe that the book chooses when it should be read. So I set it aside and waited. Well, that time has finally come. Now on to my thoughts. It started out ok enough. A little mysterious. Some character choices that make you go “hmmmm I wonder how that’s going to play out.” If you are unfamiliar with the story here’s a blurb- “reclusive writer Vida Winter famous for her twelve enchanting stories had spent decades penning a series of alternate lives for herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about her extraordinary life and the violent and tragic past she had kept secret....” Sounds pretty interesting right? Well, half way through I wanted to chuck the book across the room. The main character, the biogr...

  Ok first, I need to say that this isn't the type of book that I normally read. Second, it has gotten a lot of hype since it was published so that is another reason for me not to have read it. I like mysteries. A little suspense makes for a good story in my opinion. But time travel,"quantum leap" style body snatching, murder and an unexplained setting? Hmmmm, this has all the makings of something that I would not llike to read. And yet.  Here's the description:  . "Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 pm. There are eight days and eight witnesses for you to inhabit. We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer." See what I mean? This title kept coming up in book discussions so I added it to my TBR list. Then, October came around and well, what better month to read a murder mystery sci-fi suspense novel? Thanks to my local library I was able to get this book and read it without spending any money. However, if I had the chance to ...

  So I'm sure many of you have heard of the movie Fried Green Tomatoes. It came out in 1991 and starred Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Jessica Tandy, and Mary Louise Parker.  I have not seen this movie, but I remember when it came out. I remember thinking it looked interesting. I mean, who doesn't like a good girl's night movie? Flash forward to the present and I found out a few months ago that it was based on a book by Fannie Flagg. I also found out that I had inadvertently picked up another book by this same author. I wrote about my thoughts on the The All Girls Filling Station Last Reunion  a while back. I wasn't overly crazy about that book, and sadly I feel the same about this one. Here's a link to that post:  https://themotleyreader.blogspot.com/2020/06/summer-reading-all-girl-filling.html Ms. Flagg is a good writer. I can tell that much from the two books I've read. She is very capable of telling a good story. Her characters are likable. Her stories ...

Do you have a favorite author? You know what I mean right? You've read all their books. You follow them on social media. You know their birthday, the story behind their writing career, and where they like to vacation. You probably recommend them to everyone even if they don't ask.  Now, what if you found out that your favorite author may have plagiarized their most famous book, which also just happens to be your all time favorite? That is the premise of my most recent read  First Impressions by Charlie Lovett. Before reading this book I had never heard of Charlie Lovett. But as you know, I have been listening to the What Should I Read Next podcast by Anne Bogel. Each episode of this podcast is filled with lots of book talk, including book recommendations. First Impressions has been mentioned by Bogel multiple times on the show. From the description she gives, I was intrigued by the concept so I added it to my Goodreads "Want to Read" list a few weeks ago.  Once the ...