Vickie Martin

It’s back!!!!! I am resurrecting my monthly blog that charts my reading over the previous month.   These are NOT reviews ( writing a review would cramp my reading time!)  However, I will tell you the books I highly recommend. In January I read a total of 9 books (do I need to get a life?)

1. CATCH AND KILL: LIES, SPIES AND A CONSPIRACY TO PROTECT PREDATORS by Ronan Farrow:,  A capitvating book,  I couldn’t put it down. 
2. THE HOLY OR THE BROKEN: LEONARD COHEN AND JEFF BUCKLEY AND THE UNLIKELY ASCENT OF HALLELUJAH by Alan Light: If learning about the story behind songs you hear, this might be of interest to you. I learned alot about Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley.
3. MURDER IN THE CHOIR by Liz Hedgecock :  I picked this book up at the library because of  storm threats. I wanted a cozy, quick book to read – in bed. It took about 3 hours to read, so it served it’s purpose.
4. THE LIBRARY BOOK by Susan Orlean:  Orlean put in a lot of legwork investigating the fire of the Los Angeles Library in 1986 that destroyed or damaged over a million books. If you love reading and love books, you will love this book. 
5. HOLY LANDS by Amanda Stiths:  An epistolary book, it follows a retired Jewish doctor who won’t use technology and how his family is connecting through actual letters. It starts out as a humorous tale, but as it unfolds, it ends up packing an emotional punch. It is a short read. Oh- the retired doctors has moved to Israel to raise pigs.
6. CARNEGIE HILL by Jonathan Vatner:  I admit I checked this book out because of it’s cover about a co-op on the Upper East Side of New York.  It was entertaining while I was reading it, but once finished – poof! it is gone in my head.
7. FALSE IMPRESSION by Jeffrey Archer: A fast paced thriller that is based on the sale of a Van Gogh self portrait.  Since part of it involved the world of art, it was a page turner for me.
8. THE LOST GIRLS OF PARIS by Pam Jenoff:  Historical fiction based on the women of the S.O.E. before and during WWII.  I didn’t know about the women in the group, so I’m curious to know more. However, see if you can find the anachronisms in the book – better research was needed.
9. THE ORCHID THIEF: A TRUE STORY OF BEAUTY AND OBSESSION by Susan Orlean: This is a world I never knew existed that takes place in South Florida – and I lived there for three years!!! (Note: same author as The Libra

I have included a few podcasts I discovered in the month of January:

CATCH AND KILL:   Perfect companion piece to the book (#1 above). 

DOLLY PARTON’S AMERICA:  Even though there are limited episodes, it is a breath of fresh air!

THE MOTH:  Storytelling at it’s best, with over 30,000 stories downloaded there will always be something to listen to.  I was founded by novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate the evenings in Georgia, when moths were attracted to the porch where people got together to tell tall tales.

Did you find a favorite book in January? Or did you find a favorite podcast? I’d love to know.