I am guilty of giving chickens far too little credit! Seems they can be clever, and charming, and abide by their own rules amongst the flock. Read all about this in How to Speak Chicken: Why Your Chickens Do What They Do & Say What They Say, by Melissa Caughey. The author spent a lot of time with her chickens (probably still does) and learned what their vocalizations mean ... there was even a special sound they made just for her!

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Here is a a wonderful story of a beautiful and wild country, enduring friendships, and horses! (Really, who could ask for more)? Wild Horses of the Summer Sun: a Memoir of Iceland, by Tory Bilski. The author traveled to Iceland, in the summer, for those long, long days of sunshine for many years, mostly to ride that special breed of horse, the Icelandic. Along the way she made friends who, even though lived far apart, helped each other through the ups and downs of life.

I do enjoy those quirky 'specialized' history books that focus in on one topic and follow it through history, and this one must be one quirkiest: A History of the World Through Body Parts: the Stories Behind the Organs, Appendages, Digits, and the Like Attached to (or Detached From) Famous Bodies, by Kathryn Petras & Ross Petras. Read all about noses and fingers, eyes, skulls, a brain ... and so on ... who they are from and why they made history. An interesting read.

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Santa's Little Yelpers is another in the Andy Carpenter series by David Rosenfelt. Andy, a lawyer, keeps trying to retire, but cases keep popping up, cases that for various reasons, he takes on. This time it looks as if one of his employees at the Tara Foundation has committed murder. Thing is, he's recently been released for serving time for manslaughter, but he's always been sure he was framed. Is it happening again? And why? The investigation leads to all kinds of ... interesting information. These are fun reads, with nice 'doggy' touches.

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Women of the White House: the Illustrated Story of the First Ladies of the United States of America, by Amy Russo is a well done collection of mini-biographies. Not all the first ladies wanted to be there, several let daughters plan and hostess all the proper social events. In one case, for the bachelor president, it was a niece. One did pretty much nothing, others a bit more ... and one did a lot ... Eleanor Roosevelt! (I felt rather sorry for the First Lady who had to follow her). A most interesting read.

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I've decided that Dashing Through the Snowbirds is the book where Meg gives up on sleep. Not only is Christmas just a few days away, but the house is full of visiting Canadians, here to work on a expanding a DNA testing business into the states. It is not going well, the boss is a dreadful man. Meg's Dad is 'up to something' behind a (temporary) fence in the back yard. Bad people keep showing up at the door, what's with that? I do love these Meg Langslow Mystery books by Donna Andrews!

Here's another entry in the Inspector David Graham Mystery series by Alison Golden and Grace Dagnall: The Case of the Uncommon Witness. It is a lovely, quiet day, there is a painting class being held where the students are asked to paint the scene in front of them. A local man staggers into a pub, obviously having been attacked, he will die from his wounds. The investigation takes the Gorey police to the 'privileged' upper crust of society, a group not always easy to investigate! Why would such an ordinary man be murdered? And what's with the (artistic type) painters?

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A few years ago Constant Reader told me about the tradition of giving books for gifts at Christmas, or "jolabokaflod", and this year I learned more about it in The Christmas Book Flood, by Emily Kilgore, with pictures by Kitty Moss. It started during WWII, in Iceland. Pretty much everything was rationed but paper. Publishing houses would print out a lot of books once a year, in October, encouraging folks to buy them for gifts. Which they did, and soon folks were curled up in front of the fire, on Christmas Eve, reading. It continues to this day, and is spreading to other countries. Seems like a fine idea to me! :-)

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It's been a while since I've read one of the Andy Carpenter Mystery books by David Rosenfelt, but Holy Chow seemed more ... intense than those in the past. Andy considers himself to be a retired lawyer, but the right case will change that, and this is one of those. The Tara Foundation has a Chow in need of a new home. The big dogs are harder to adopt out, and this is an older dog as well. Still, the perfect home opened up: an elderly, widowed woman! Things are going well until she is found dead, not too long after an estranged step-son reappears in her life. He is arrested for murder, but Andy is not convinced he did it. Lots, and I do mean lots is going on here, so pay attention when you read!

Here's a good, traditional, old-fashioned cozy! Murder for Christmas, a Mordecai Tremaine Mystery, by Francis Duncan. Benedict Grame holds an annual Christmas gathering at his place. Some guests have been invited for years, others are new. This is Mordecai's first time and he feels there is ... tension in the air. Why? Is there a connection with the guests? Now, Benedict Grame likes to dress as Father Christmas and sneak downstairs and hang gifts for everyone on the tree on Christmas Eve. When the body is found, and it is dressed as Father Christmas, everyone assumes it's Grame ... until the body is turned over. Why was this person dressed the way he was? Just a nice, winter read.

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One of the fun things about friends with grandkids is I get to see picture books! Here's a nice one to read at bedtime: Winter Lullaby, by Dianne White and illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki. A mother bear and Small Bear are headed for their winter nap (Small Bear is not too sure about this). On their way they pass many other animals who, we learn, are also headed for sleep. Learn about them, and how and where they sleep. Read softly, enjoy the pictures ... you might just nod off, too.

I'm not really sure what to say about this book: Quiet, Please: Dispatches from a Public Librarian, by Scott Douglas ... I didn't really like it, although I did like some of the things the author said (and I did finish it) ... so, I will include it and you can decide if you want to give it a try! I liked his observations about news events, and how and why we remember some of them, but not others. I liked his idea that a library is about the people it serves, not just books. On the other hand, it sort of seemed like he was whining about his co-workers and the patrons. Now, it could have been a sort of 'dark' (?) comedy and I missed it! And, as a self-published book, it could have used some more careful editing, there were broken sentences in the layout that could/should have been avoided (at least to my thinking).

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This is a beautiful book, one that needs to be read out loud whether you have kids or not: Twinkle, Twinkle, Winter Night, by Megan Litwin and illustrated by Nneka Myers. Wonderful pictures, wonderful rhyme, read it over several times. :-)

The Tangled Treasure Trail, one of the Lord Edginton Investigates mysteries, by Benedict Brown was a great read! It's full of late night treasure hunts (and drinking and dancing) by the 'younger generation' (at this time called Bright Young People). (some things really don't change, be sure to read the notes in the back!) Much to his grandson's surprise, the elderly retired detective, Lord Edginton, has been invited to participate, and, as the bodies start to appear, well, he really has to investigate. Follow the clues and see if you can figure things out. (I didn't)!

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