I learned of this book when reading Dinner with the President. It took a bit to track it down, and it is a used copy with some torn pages (and missing paragraphs), but Hot Dogs and Cocktails: When FDR Met King George VI at Hyde Park on Hudson was worth it! There's a lot more here than the title implies, it's about the tour the King and Queen took across Canada first, then down to meet with FDR. It's beautifully written, author Peter Conradi is also known for The King's Speech (along with Mark Logue).  King George VI was hoping to get confirmation that the US would offer assistance to England against Hitler. FDR decided to keep it causal, and have a picnic ... and serve the royal couple hot dogs ... on paper plates! It caused all kinds of furor! (Eleanor made a wise observation that it was learning/trying something different on your travels that were the things you remembered). FDR was wise, and had something more traditional also prepared, but it turns out George and Elizabeth loved the hot dogs (once they were taught how to eat them), and the King tried a few beers as well!

This turned out to be a book I picked up that was something different than what I thought! It looked like stacks of books ... mysteries, history, biographies, and so on. Well, it was, but much different than what I was expecting. My fault, entirely for not reading the cover more carefully. I was thinking it was going to be about the sort of books I read, and it wasn't. Bibliophile Diverse Spines, by Jamise Harper & Jane Mount, and illustrated by Jane Mount is an intense collection of books by authors "of backgrounds different from your own." (pg 9) Authors who have been marginalized by white society. So, there are books by Asians, Blacks, Latinos, LGTBQ and more. Be sure to check out the map on page 110-111, I spent a lot of time there! I am embarrassed to say I've only read three of the books I found here, but I have added several to my list. :-) An unexpected, interesting read.

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Proof that great minds think alike! Canadian Reader and I both picked up The Christmas Jigsaw Murders, by Alexandra Benedict as gifts for each other! :-) An excellent read, but no cozy. Author likes Dickens, keep that in mind. She also has puzzles and so on scattered throughout the book (it's all explained in the front) so that makes it fun, too. Lonely, curmudgeonly, but well known crossword puzzle setter, Edie, receives a package ... containing six puzzle pieces and a message. They show part of a crime scene (including part of a body) and the warning that there will be more if she doesn't figure out the puzzle in time. There are more bodies, and the threats are getting more personal. Edie reaches out to the one family member to help. Secrets from the past surface, bad/sad memories and so on (remember, the author likes Dickens). A rather grim, but overall it was a great winter read.

Remember the phrase "and now for something completely different" from Monty Python? Well, that's what this book was ... for me, at least! It is NOT a mystery, not even close. I think (gasp) it can be considered a rom com! When the woman in charge of, well, most everything, at the school her kids attend cancels all the events leading up to Christmas, Melody decides to step up and take over. She enlists the help of family (including twin boys, aged 10) and friends to help. The results are funny, and uplifting (mostly) and, well, romancy. The Christmas Cookie Wars, by Eliza Evans was a nice read, although not the type of book I am likely to read again. It was Christmas, though, and it looked fun! ;-)

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Christmas is coming, so is a baby, as well as a conference "Presumed Innocent" that is talking with, and about, folks that have been convicted of a crime they did not commit. Most are there to learn more about the process, how to exonerate someone, investigation techniques and so on. With the exception of one ... who has the reputation of beliveing that everyone who is convictied is GUILTY, period (including several who are there) and is vocal about it, and obnoxious. He has a blog that spreads 'dis-information' ... he is removed from the conference and things quiet down. Until his body is found in Meg and Michael's back yard. This will be a challenge, pretty much everyone attending had motive to kill him. Rockin' Around the Chickadee is another in the Meg Langslow Mystery series by Donna Andrews.

There are relatives coming for Christmas that Lord Edgerton would just as soon avoid, so when he learned of attacks on a rich old viscount (with those who might inherit his fortune on location), he uses it as an opportunity to head out ... with his trusty grandson, and dog. It's December, and snowy, very snowy ... so yes, this will become a 'snowed in' mystery. :-) Someone does end of dead, of course, but not the expected victim. Everyone has a motive, the viscount has been less than honest with who will inherit what, so who knows that? and when? The Christmas Bell Mystery, part of the Lord Edginton Investigates series by Benedict Brown was a fitting read for this time of year. :-)

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Here is an interesting spin on history: the impact of the outdoors on women, oppressed women, of all kinds. Included are Harriet Tubman, Sacajawea, Louisa May Alcott as well as an amazing Native American basketball team (who beat (gasp) men's teams). From slavery to the children being torn away from family to be given a 'proper' (white) upbringing to an era where women were not only expected, but forced to act in a certain way, this is a fascinating read on the impact of being comfortable and indeed, reveling in, the outdoors had on their lives. Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation, by Tiya Miles is a history read like no other.

I have a chiropractor who helps keep me moving, eases my back pain, and so on, so, when I found Funny Bones: True Tales from a Chiropractor That Will Crack You Up, by Dr. David Friedman, I thought I'd give it a try. It's a good book to read during ads, waiting for the pizza to arrive and so on as the jokes, etc., are better in small doses. Some of the puns are just plain bad (but then, isn't that a characteristic of puns?), others will make you chuckle.

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 I was finally able to order a Vinyl Cafe book I've had my eye on for a while, it came down in price! This is the last of them as Stuart McLean died in 2017, so I read it slowly, one story at a time so as to make it last longer. :-) The Vinyl Cafe Celebrates contains stories that have not been in other collections, as well as a few favorites that have. If you were a fan of his radio show you will hear his voice as you read. Made me laugh, made me cry ... made me smile.

The terrier of the title in The More the Terrier, by David Rosenfelt, started the whole thing ... he showed up at the home of Andy Carpenter (reluctant lawyer) and when the dog was returned to his owner Andy learned the son was in jail, for a crime he did not commit. There are all sorts of 'dark' connections here and it will be hard to prove the innocence of this young man. There are the usual bits of humor you expect from this author too, so it was a nice read. (One in particular should make you laugh out loud). This is part of the Andy Carpenter series.

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Here's another excellent read from the box from Wandering Reader: Sherlock Holmes: the Montana Chronicles, by Dr. John H. Watson, M.D. and edited by John S. Fitzpatrick. (Pay attention there!) Holmes and Watson are in the states, and have been called to Montana by a friend of Holmes to defend a man accused of murder. (He's originally from London, so that's the connection). Then, there's a threat to a race horse, ghosts ... and more all in this enjoyable collection of short stories. The 'editor' is from Montana and includes photos from the time frame of the stories.

Tall Reader shared a book with me recently that came with a warning ... it's hard to put down! It was a most compelling book, and based, she said on a true story. The Forgotten Orphan, by Glynis Peters tells of a (rather dismal) orphanage during WWII in England. For some reason, one orphan was badly treated. She had a twin brother who was adopted out, but she was not allowed to know where he went. She was never brought forward when possible adoptive parents visited and when the building was going to be taken over by the military for wounded and recovering soldiers, she was left behind. What she does next is the story is amazing.

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Mom was right ... there is a better way to teach history than what usually happens in schools! She would have enjoyed this book, I'm sure: Dinner with the President: Food, Politics and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House, by Alex Prud'Homme. It covers most of the presidents from Washington to Biden and was an excellent read! It was Washington who requested the title "Mr. President" as he didn't want anything royal in the title for the leader of the new country. At the time of the first dinner with him, many folks were frontier folks and did not know how to use utensils and ate with their fingers, others, wanting to break from any fancy British etiquette were inclined to change how they used utensils,or even ignore them. The Hoovers both spoke Mandarin and would do so in public if they wanted to keep their conversation private. FDR fed hot dogs to the King of England, on paper plates! King George had never seen them and had to be instructed on how to eat them. He loved them, had several. With beer! (FDR had the kitchen prepare something more formal, too, in case the hot dogs didn't go over well). Some presidents liked to cook, or their wives did, others were less involved. Some had elegant dinners, others more casual. Some treated the staff well, some dismissed or ignored them. On 9/11, when the area was cleared of all visitors and tourists and there was a heavy presence of military and security, the kitchen staff got busy preparing meals (did this on their own, they weren't asked) and in a 24 hour period of time served over 800 meals. Just a fascinating read.

If you like history, ancient history, and have a fondness for the UK, then you should enjoy Secret Britain: Unearthing Our Mysterious Past, by Mary-Ann Ochota. Evidence of towns, burial sites, hoards of gold, and other objects as well as human and animal remains are explored and explained, all with good pictures! They are unsolved mysteries, many of them: we know the where (obviously), the what (mostly) an item is and/or what it is made of, better methods of dating give the when, experience can tell the how it was made and sometimes even the who determined ... what is missing a lot of the time is the why, and that is often a question in the narrative. A thought provoking read. :-)

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Also in the box from Wandering Reader, and my favorite, was Murder on the Middle Fork, by Don Ian Smith and Naida West. A new setting here ... Idaho, in 1918. Did not like the one of the main characters, he was a horrible man ... an abusive husband. Wife had married him to escape an abusive father. They are working an exhausted gold mine so the location is barren and isolated. There is a local man with a nice farm, a German (remember, this is 1918, think WWI) and he is not well thought of, even though no one has bothered to get to know him. A plot is made to take him out and take over the farm. Things take a strange turn and the ending is unlike other mysteries I've read. It's based on a true story. The descriptions of the mountains, and weather and forests and so on are what I enjoyed, they are wonderful and remind me of my time camping in the high country.

As much as I am enjoying the Albert Smith's Culinary Capers mystery series by Steve Higgs, I will also say that I am starting to worry about Albert, and that holds true for the Cornish Pasty Conspiracy, the 13th in the series. Albert is old, after all! He cannot take a beating the way he once could, nor too much hard physical activity. And, he's figured things out, there is a master criminal he has dubbed the Gastrothief behind all the crimes he's investigating, and now he is on to Albert! Rex is along, to help, of course, and he gets into some unusual situations as well. A fun series.

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Evelyne Redfern is working in a munitions factory in war time London when she is pulled off the line and sent to work in the cabinet war room of Winston Churchill by a friend of her father. There is concern that top secret information is leaking out and she has been tasked to look for how and who is passing it along to the Nazis. She is the first to come across a body, one of the other typists in the war room. This sets things in motion for a well written, exciting mystery, the first in a new series, by Julia Kelly, A Traitor in Whitehall (an Evelyne Redfern Mystery). Excellent descriptions of war torn London, working underground, rationing ... kept me up late! :-)

Here's what was an unusual PI (at least for this reader) ... a mother of a three month old baby girl! Formula for Murder looks to be the third in the Maternal Instincts Mystery series by Diana Orgain, so we're jumping into an already developing character here, and after asking someone who had actually been a mother it made more sense to me. :-) Now, Christmas is coming ... the first with the new baby so Kate has a lot on her mind. She and her daughter are in a serious hit and run accident. She can recognize the driver should she see him again, and got a glance at the license plates. They belong to a car belonging to the French Consulate and so have diplomatic immunity. However, as this reaches a dead end, they see two local reporters leaving the building and later, one ends up dead. That starts the investigation for real, then, along with determining what story she was working on the young man involved in the hit and run is found dead. Is there some sort of cover up going on? Not a bad read. This was in the box of books sent from Wandering Reader.

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