Walking into a small store in Paris changes Thad Carhart's life. Find out how in The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier. This is a charming book about reconnecting with a past love and the quirky people that helped. There are chapters on the history of the piano, restoring and tuning them, along with the unusual finds the store owner finds. This book inspired a new trail, but would it be books about the piano? France? We'll see!

One about France actually popped up first: French Toast: Celebrating the Maddening Mysteries of Parisians. This is a memoir by Harriet Welty Rochefort who was born in Iowa but went to Paris during college. She married a Frenchman and settled there to raise their family. Here she discusses the perplexities, complexities, and puzzlement of the French. An amusing and informative read!

Then came The Piano Maker, by Kurt Palka. From her earliest days Helene Giroux was taught not only how to play a piano, but how to build and tune them as well. Her family has done so for generations. Sadly, times change, and she ends up taking refuge in a small town in Nova Scotia. She is a woman with a secret. Nicely written.

A woman with a secret is also part of the story line in Piano Tide, by Kathleen Dean Moore. I was caught up in the first chapter because in order to deliver an upright piano to a small town in Alaska, the tide must be in. Small towns often struggle for survival, and here it is no different. How far do you go? Clear cut a forest? Ruin salmon runs for a fancy bottled water? Watch out for this one, I was reading and doing other things at first, then I was just reading, stopping just long enough to feed the dog! The people will really catch your interest. Thanks go to County Reader for this recommendation. (Sorry it took so long for me to get to it). :-)

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England. 1953. The upcoming coronation of Elizabeth II has everyone buying a new fangled device called the television. A body is found with the ace of hearts on top of the corpse. While many may think this is a card of love, to magicians it's much more sinister. The Blood Card, by Elly Griffiths, is the third in the Magic Men series. This time, in addition to bodies, there is a bomb threat, but is it against the coronation, or the variety show that will air that same night? Clear some time to read this one, it was hard to put down.

One of the books in A League of Literary Ladies Mystery series was the reason dinner was very late one night! Author Kylie Logan admits to being a huge fan of Agatha Christie and wants her books to be in a similar style. I think she hit the mark here with And Then There Were Nuns. (Of course, it's been (ahem) a while since I read And Then There Were None) Who would be after nuns? And why? Again, just a nice cozy read, with some good twists to the plot. :-)

Do you like to bake? Are you creative in the kitchen? I am neither, so found myself most intrigued by A Sweet World of White House Desserts: From Blown-Sugar Baskets to Gingerbread Houses, a Pastry Chef Remembers, by Roland Mesnier. Note, there are no recipes included because each dessert was unique for the occasion, whether it was a state dinner, a celebration (birthday, holiday), or a special event. Check out some of Mr. Mesnier's amazing creations and remember, sometimes as many as 650 were needed. He was proud of the fact that in 25 years he never served the same dessert twice! Wonderful pictures!

Here's another title from the Mindset People ... The Mindset List of the Obscure: 74 Famously Forgotten Icons from A to Z, by Tom McBride and Ron Nief. Here they describe several things that were once popular. It includes items that were found in every home, well known phrases, and people from stage and screen ... and radio. See how many are familiar! I'm not sure if this is amusing or depressing, but it was a fun read. (See post from November 14, 2017 for another Mindset book).

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The timing of the arrival of these wordless books (at the same time!) would do a musician proud! Even though he was told to head directly to his lesson, our young brass player gets distracted in Tuba Lessons, by T.C. Bartlett and illustrated by Monique Felix. Seems many animals are interested in the music he makes! I love how the staff becomes part of the adventure.

The Conductor, by Laetitia Devernay, was not what I was expecting (a musical theme) (silly me!), but I ended up quite enjoying the book anyway. Finding himself in a grove of trees, this conductor conducts them, instead of musicians! A very nice spin. :-)

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There is no doubt that a wonderful dog named Tara made a huge impression on author David Rosenfelt. He and his wife even run a dog rescue foundation in her name, so I was not surprised to find a book called Lessons from Tara: Life Advice from the World's Most Brilliant Dog. These are things learned from Tara, and the other dogs in the Rosenfelt life (and there are dozens). Fun and insightful you'll find chapters on everything from public speaking, to acceptance, to respect for others, coping with the ups and downs of life .... all coming from experiences with dogs.

It was nice going from this to the next Andy Carpenter Mystery, Collared, by David Rosenfelt. This time it's a dog tied to the door of a shelter that starts the investigation into a kidnapping from a few years back. There are some interesting twists this time, and folks are not always what they appear to be. More courtroom than CSI than other mysteries I read, it makes for a nice change. Author has a sarcastic style that I enjoy.

I'll admit I was a bit reluctant to read Saving Sadie: How a Dog That No One Wanted Inspired the World, by Joal Dere Dauer with Elizabeth Ridley, as these books can be so very sad ... and (fair warning here) parts are ... but ... mostly this is a story of survival and recovery of an amazing dog and the human who saw something special in a dirty, badly injured dog. Sadie and Joal will go on to offer support to kids suffering from bullying, soldiers recovering from brain injuries, and so much more. Thanks go to Riding Reader for this one!

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For a fun (and for some of you, useful, maybe?) connection, partner Tequila Mockingbird from the February 9, 2016 post with The Cocktail Guide to the Galaxy: a Universe of Unique Cocktails from the Celebrated Doctor Who Bar, by Andy Heidel. The connections with so many SF books and authors and shows and movies ... well, it was just a great read! I have not tried any of those included here, but it seems they've all been field tested as being excellent.

I had mixed reactions to The Library of Unrequited Love, by Sophie Divry and translated from the French by Sian Reynolds. When a librarian (assigned to the books on the lower level of the library) comes across someone who got locked in the library overnight, she gets started on a one-sided conversation that goes on and on. I found myself agreeing sometimes, and not others. Sometimes I thought she was spot on, other times I felt like she was whining. It's a short book, just 93 pages long, so I suggest giving it a try and seeing what you think!

Here's something for my strong women trail and well as the 'you read what?' trail! Women in Sports: 50 Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win, written and illustrated by Rachel Ignotofsky. Designed for tweens, I think, this is a great collection of short bios, fun pictures, and bits of trivia about athletic women from early times to present day.

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It took me a while to realize that the Jack in the title is the dog! Now, if I'd seen the earlier books by this author/illustrator, I would have known that, but I haven't, and I didn't! Jack and the Night Visitors, by Pat Schories is a wordless book about some unusual creatures who arrive late one night outside the window of Jack and his human's bedroom. When the situation gets out of hand, it's Jack to the rescue. Cute!

For some reason, if I am going to have an odd day (not so much a bad day, just one that is awkward, or seems off a bit), it often seems to come on a Tuesday. I might not be the only one who does! Check out Tuesday, by David Wiesner for what must be one of the oddest Tuesdays ever! Don't miss the dog!

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It may be the start of a new year, but there are a few books I read for, or over, the Christmas holiday that I still need to post. It seemed like too long a time to wait until next December! ;-)

Rhys Bowen's newest Molly Murphy book is a holiday mystery: The Ghost of Christmas Past. Hoping to spend a quiet Christmas at home, plans change with an invitation to join Molly's mother-in-law in the country. Years ago, at this time of year, there was a kidnapping. The footprints in the snow vanished at the river, there were no other prints to be found, no ransom note ever arrived ... just what happened? How Molly figures everything out made for a nice winter read.

This book was in my stocking: Christmas Trivia, from Publications International, Ltd. Full of information on the traditions (new and old), the food, decorations, variations on Santa, carols, to the hottest gifts over time it's a fun book to read and share. Just one curious observation on my part, though .... there was not one mention of the song White Christmas!

In the effort of full disclosure here, I did not read all of this book ... it was just too big and it was over the holidays and others were waiting for it. Still, what I did read was amazing so I thought I'd go ahead and include it anyway. Journey: an Illustrated History of Travel, by Simon Adams, R.G. Grant, and Andrew Humphreys is a big (and heavy) book about, well, travel. Rich and detailed there's lots of information here, and because it's a Smithsonian book, wonderful pictures as well. From walking the earth to walking the moon and everything in between it's an amazing journey. (Sorry!) ;-)

I'm liking the change of when I post my blog, so look for new ones Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. :-)

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