Wintering by Katherine May...reprint from 2021

  In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

― Albert Camus

That Camus quote nicely sums up what Katherine May discovered as she wintered through some tough times.   Categorizing this book challenges...part memoir, part self-help, part commentary on ritual...and then there's all the history, and quirky details about things we (or at least I) just don't think about.  Winter is May's metaphor for quietly working through troubling times, no matter when, where or how long he working through takes.

May takes us along as she winters through a full year filled with doubts, fears and high anxiety.  At times she frustrated me with her Debbie Downer routines, and just like that, a smooth transition would begin.  In the process of allowing herself to drift away from the darkness, she learned, she grew, and she accepted her life in the moment.

New age thinking took center stage at times, not quite unicorn thinking, but close. New age has never been my genre of choice but,  stepping aside from that, May filled the book with stories past and present.  She offered insights into the Druid religion, the feast of Saint Lucia (that story was a doozie), and took me to the sauna culture of Scandinavia.  Like May, I'd take a fast and hard pass on that one.  No way I am going to sit sweating with a bunch of naked strangers, plunge into icy water, and declare myself renewed.   

Oh, but the wolves stories and the bee keeping - mesmerizing.  Embedded in all her experiences was the warmth and strength we get from ritual.  Weekly coffee with friends, game night, or perhaps something bigger like religious celebrations...rituals keep us close to what is important to us, to what grounds us, and to what brings us together.

This is a book to share.  It will resonate with each reader differently.  My copy will find its way later today to a friend's front porch with the hope that, after reading, she will do the same.  Maybe, in a couple years or so, it will find its way back to me, battered, highlighted, written in, and questioned.

For some reason, after reading May's closing words...

"It often seems easier to stay in winter, burrowed down into our hibernation nests, away from the glare of the sun. But we are brave, and the new world awaits us...we have a kind of gospel to tell and a duty to share it. We, who have wintered, have learned some things"

...I wanted to walk to my dog on this cold January day, and the let the bitter cold air surround me...just to see what is has to say.  

Pleasant wintering to you all.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay happy.

Only ten Mondays till spring. 

It's a Wonderful Woof by Spencer Quinn

 

You all have been keeping us busy the past few months here at LaDeDa.  Thank you for that.  We sure do appreciate your continued support by purchasing books, and recommending our shop to your friends.  But more than that, there is nothing better than hearing the bell ring, watching the door open and seeing your smiling face.  This has become a second home for me, and your visits...well, I wish I had the word's to tell you how much they brighten my day.

During these brisk months, I usually kick back with some fun, easy reads.  I have missed a couple Chet and Bernie book over the years and, when this holiday title popped up I took it as a sign. Time to get reacquainted with an old, favorite series.  If you haven't' read a Chet and Bernie book, here's the scoop: Bernie is a washed up cop with some crazy habits, but still well connected to people in his previous world.  Bernie open his own PI business and  takes on random, and quirky cases.  Chet, his obnoxious, insightful, and mixed-up breed dog and constant companion, helps solve Bernie's wack-a-doodle cases.  Oh, Chat narrates all the books and I sincerely believe that Spence Quinn was a dog in a former life.  He nails dog ways and wags on every page.

In this special edition book, Bernie Little and Chet are enjoying a joyful holiday in the Valley.  Despite the dismal shape of the finances in the Little Detective Agency, Bernie passes on a case and refers it to a fellow PI.  But when Victor doesn't show up at his mother's house to light the Hanukkah candles, she hires Chet and Bernie to find him.

They soon discover that Victor's clients have also vanished, and the trail leads to whispers of a previously unknown art treasure, possibly buried for centuries..

No one is better than Chet at nosing out buried secrets, but soon he and Bernie are dashing through a Christmas blizzard with danger closing in around them.

You can pick up the books any where in the series, but starting with Dog On It will introduce you to Bernie, Chet, and Chet's little friend, Iggy.  Such fun.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe, Stay healthy. Stay happy.

Read silly stuff one in a while. 

Killers of the Flower Moon

 

In May of 1921, Mollie Burkhart's family members began to disappear. People adjacent to her life became ill. Many died.  The "coroners" and other officials shook their heads, and then turned their heads - away from the issue. After all. Mollie, her family, and friends were Osage Indians. Murdering them seemed to be the only way white men could get possession of the valuable land owned by this tribe.  Eventually there were arrests and a series of questionable trials.  One reporter wrote "It is a question in my mind whether this jury is considering a murder trial or not. The question for them to decide is whether a white man killing an Osage is murder -- or merely cruelty to animals."

The complexity and shame of this piece of American history if finally coming to light.  The stories of murders and rapes of indigenous women throughout history are finally being told in numerous showcases.  Recently the Manitowoc Public Library hosted an compelling exhibit - much of it with appalling details, hard to read, and even harder to believe.  "Alaska Daily," a new network tv series focuses on missing indigenous women in Alaska --  women authorities simply don't care to spend time searching for.  And Craig Johnson, author of the Longmire series tells us the story of a missing Indian youth in Daughter of the Morning Star,

The more I read books like this, and books like Radium Girls, The Woman They Could Not Silence, and historical fiction pieces such as Before We Were Yours the more  I am grateful for the happy bubble where I can retreat to a space filled with friendly, honest, and ethical people.  But I can't stay there too long; outside the bubble, there are more people in need than we can imagine.  Our own community may not be hosting the type of atrocities we read about, but there are needs.  Now is the time we begin to think about our neighbors in need, our fellow citizens,  and we donate time, goods and money.  Moving into 2023, let's think about year long awareness, giving and helping. 

Thanks for stopping by

Be aware. Be grateful.  Be happy.

Oh...forgot to mention, this story of Mollie Burkhart is made into a streaming movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  He will play Mollie's husband. A white man who married Mollie with a specific plan in mind.

  

The Hacienda

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Like it or not, pumpkin spice season has arrived. That warm scent drifting though every conceivable airspace signals me that the time has come to get scared.  Can't explain why. As I kid I spent hours

working up the courage to watch one of the corny Vincent Price movie spin-off of Poe tales.  I also spent many hours with eyes covered in fear of seeing something I would never forget...and  fingers in my ears to not hear the woman scream (it was always a woman being terrorized, wasn't it?).

That was all too much for me and eventually I turned to scary books. Not much better. I found myself  warning the sweet young thing not to open the door, or to go down into the basement.  The Hacienda is one of those books.  Chapter one.  Right out loud.  I asked Beatrix "What were you thinking?"  Stir up a potion of Rebecca and Mexica Gothic and you have this book

During the overthrow of the Mexican revolution, Beatrix's father was executed and their home was destroyed.  When handsome Don Rodolfo Solorzano proposes, Beatrix ignores the rumors surrounding his first wife's sudden death.  Marry Rodolfo - live in a lavish estate with servants.  Yup...sounds like trouble...and it is. 

There are visions.  There are voices. There are threats.  And there is Rodolfo's odder than odd, sister, Juana.  Beatrix has nowhere to turn so she clings to the village priest, Padre Andres, who...well, he has his own bag of disturbing tricks.

I warned her again and again....

Great Halloween read.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay happy..,and get a little scared.

 

Author Meet and Greet

Susan Fink and Mary Schmal will be visiting us for an author Meet and Greet 

Saturday,  October 29, 10:30 -12:00.

Manitowoc author, Susan Fink, has written an accessible guide for anyone struggling with a number of life's stressors such as time management, parenting, social media use, and alone time.  Each chapter looks at a myth about self-care, shares the author's personal challenges, and identifies misconceptions. Scriptural explanations, questions, and prayer prompts are included with blank spaces for interactive use.  The book's easy to use format is conducive to personal and group study.

Mary Schmal, Milwaukee teacher and writer, hopes that her Children of the Light Series inspires readers to acknowledge and embrace, as do her character, all nine Fruits of the Spirit. Nine kids, Nine gifts. Nine blessed.

Each book in the series focuses on a different Fruit of the Spirit.  The stories tell of the many adventures, challenges, and experiences of nine children and their lives in a remote lighthouse in 1884.  Each child learns about the importance of a specific Fruit of the Spirit meant not just for him or her, but for everyone. 

Books will be available for purchase and signing on the day of the event.  Author signings such as this help independent bookstores stay alive and thriving.  Therefore we respectfully ask that you not bring in books to be signed that have been purchased elsewhere.  If you would like a signed book but cannot attend,  we will happily reserve one for you.  Pre-payment required.

 

A Death in Door County by Annelise Ryan

 So many of us follow the fall colors, watching the lush greens change day by day painting the world with soft brown, orange, and beige.  This magic foliage show stands out as one of the highlights Door County has to offer us.  That and miles of shoreline for sea glass searching, campgrounds, hiking trials and of course limitless shopping and eating.

Now let's add a monster and a murder to that list.  Since I haven't quite finished the book yet...here's the info from the inside flap...

Morgan Carter, owner of the Odds and Ends bookstore in Door County, Wisconsin, has a hobby. When she's not tending the store, she's hunting cryptids - creatures whose existence is rumored but never proven to be real. It's a hobby that cost her parents their lives but one she'll never give up on.

So when a number of bodies turn up on the shores of Lake Michigan with injuries that look like bites from a giant unknown animal, police chief Jon Flanders turns to Morgan for help. A skeptic at heart, Morgan can't turn down the opportunity to find proof of an entity whose existence she can't definitely rule out.  She and her beloved rescue dog, Newt, journey to the strait known as Death's Door to hunt for a homicidal monster in the lake, but if they're not careful, she just might be its next victim.

A tag line on the binding says "A monster Hunter mystery."  Could that mean Morgan survives to solve another Door County mystery?

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay happy.

Bake by Paul Hollywood

 Covid wasn't all bad, was it?  Here at LaDeDa we felt life slow down.  Customers wandered and shopped longer, and then they stayed around for conversation.  We made new friends during covid, friends to have coffee with, friends to laugh with, and friends to listen to as they philosophized.

People read more. Because of  travel challenges including masks, and  mass of complex restrictions, people stayed here - right in the Lakeshore.  Discovers were made. We really do have an endless treasury of goodness right in our own backyards.  And backyards got a whole lot of attention during covid.  Gardening, canning, and best of all, sharing the wealth of produce with neighbors became the norm.

 And people baked.  I have arrived a bit late to the baking craze, still I have arrived.  For me, baking has always been a chore.  Even making cookies gets out of hand. Flour everywhere, gooey dough, complicated, ingredient laden recipes.  Not my idea of fun.  But then there's Paul Hollywood.  Yup, he lured me in with those steely blue eyes, leaning in and critiquing the nervous contestants on The Great British Baking Show.   

I caved and purchased his very expensive, bake book filled with manageable recipes, and beautiful colored pictures of bakes, and of Paul Hollywood.  My plan is to bake my way through the book. So far so good.  I have owned the book for exactly one month now, and have made one recipe, the first one - banana bread.  OK. I did OK as you can see from the above picture.  I will make a few changes if I ever go back to this recipe, but no time for that now.  I must move and learn to make a proper Victoria Sponge.  This one looks easy and if it works out, I may share it with my book group.  But for sure, you will get a picture of the final product.

Thanks for stopping by

Stay safe. Stay healthy, Stay happy.

Daughters of the Morning Star

Thanks to friend Nebraska Steve for introducing me to Walt Longmire and the gang years ago.  I first got hooked on the TV series, and then backtracked and began reading the books.  The series is good...but the books...offer so much more.  Starting with the series planted a voice and a cadence in my ear, making reading the books that much more powerful.  

Walt is a sheriff on the border of an Indian reservation, requiring him to balance his law with reservation law. The two often frequently due to deeply held beliefs and traditions.  

This particular book brings even more meaning to the recent exhibit at the Rahr-West on missing, murdered, and exploded indigenous women.  I am not quite finished yet so rather than bumbling though a summary. here's the info from the back of the book....

When Lolo Long's niece Jaya begins receiving death threats, Tribal Police Chief Long calls on Absaroka County Sherriff Walt Longmire along with Henry Standing Bear as lethal backup. Jaya "longshot" Long is the phenom of the Lame Deer Lady Morning Stars high school basketball team and is following in the steps of her older sister, who disappeared a year previously, a victim of missing Native women in Indian Country. Lolo hopes that having Longmire involved might draw some public attention to the girl's plight, but with this maneuver she also inadvertently places the good sheriff in a one-on-one with the deadliest adversary he has ever faced in both this world and the next.

If you're intrigued and want to dig into a Longmire book, Cold Dish would be a good place to start.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay happy.

 

One Hundred Saturdays by Michael Frank

Stella's story will stick with you.  In recent years, publishers have offered us a fine selection of WWII fiction, often highlighting  little know heroic efforts made by women. Of course, the backdrop of many of these stories was the Holocaust. These novels stand as warnings about how quickly anger and hate can change the world.  I have read and appreciated many, but none compare to the depth, honesty, and sensitivity of Stella's recollections.

For one hundred Saturdays, Michael Frank visits with Stella and little by little, she shares.  From growing up in Jewish Rhodes, being removed to a concentration camp, and ultimately surviving and thriving, she talks - with some hesitation. We feel her mulling as she weighs her words deciding what to relive, and with how much detail.  The process begins with gentle prompts from Frank and evolves organically to a shared experience between two people who have become friends. 

I so wanted Stella to be angry, to cry, to spew acidity at those who robbed her of family, and years of happiness and normalcy.  She did not.  My admiration grew the more I read, and to be honest, I slowed down the closer I got to the final pages.  How would she bring this all together and put a neat punctuation mark on it all, I wondered.  

If you have a friend, old or new, I encourage you to listen.  There are stories waiting to be told. There are vibrant storytellers all around.  If you have read one WWII book this year, please read another. Read Stella's story...and then seek out your own Stella.

 

The Gown by Jennifer Robson

All of England is abuzz this week as Queen Elizabeth celebrates her 70th year as Great Britain's most beloved public servant.  We all know that the Brits handle pomp and circumstance better than anyone, but there will be some livelier celebrations later this week as notable musicians rock out in her honor.

The Gown tells the behind the scenes story of the making of the Queen's wedding dress.  Robson uses the trendy framework of characters in different times and places narrating their stories. She also incorporates the rather trite convention of someone finding an odd bit of this or that tucked away which leads the finder on a mission to learn more - of course, ultimately uncovering family secrets.  In this case, it is Heather who suspects that an intricately embroidered piece of fabric left to her by her grandmother might have some connection to the royal wedding. Really?  Why did her grandmother not include some sort of note in the box with the fabric?  This just does not happen.

Oh, but it does. sort of.  In fall, my basement flooded  again, and in order to fix it correctly this time, extensive masonry work needs to be done.  In clearing out the area for work to begin, I ran across a gallon freezer bag filled with items from England.  Among other items, I found this program dated June 2, 1953 - the approved program from the Queen's coronation.  What a wealth of information and history!  Following several pages of pictures, Arthur Bryant writes " A coronation is a nation's birthday. It is the day on which people celebrate the union that makes them one. Of that union the Crown is the symbol."

What I found most captivating were the thirteen pages (in tiny, tiny print) detailing the coronation procession - what carriages/vehicles were used, who sat where in each, the time each was to leave the palace...hundreds of names and titles.  A few pages beyond that, the Archbishop of Canterbury offered a tribute, followed by the complete text of the coronation ceremony itself.  

I have no idea where this treasure trove came from.  I do not remember buying it, or receiving it as a gift.  Unlike our protagonist Heather,  I will not attempt to discover the source of this mysterious gift. Instead, I will enjoy it, and perhaps if you stop in the store and are real nice to me, I will show it to you.

Back to The Gown.  This is simple book, elegant, stylish.  History, romance, self discovery all play parts in this multi-generational tale of a dress. Often, major televised events such as this pique our interest, and lead us to a bit of personal research.  Although The Gown is historical fiction, there is enough time and place info to satisfy your need to continue you royal fix.

Thanks for stopping by.

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay happy.