Michelle's Musings

29 January 2023

Review: The Magic Kingdom

The Magic Kingdom by Russell Banks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Not a WWII book, I am trying so hard to get out of that genre...this one interested me the second I saw the cover. As a matter of a fact, I didn't even read the synopsis, I just started reading and I am glad that I did. Obviously, it features Memphis, TN in some way, but what you can't tell by the cover is this book covers a couple of generations of a family. I just adore these kinds of books that will take us through the lives of a family over the years. Even though there are many characters, I believe Joan is the main one. You see things happen to Joan when she is a child and then see her become an adult that uses art to hopefully change lives.

When I finished the book I read about it, I now see it is a debut novel (exceptionally well done, I must add) and the author said it was the type of fairy tale she wanted to read as a child. Actually, I am going to quote the synopsis from Goodreads because it is written much better than I could.

Inspired by the author's own family history, Memphis--the Black fairy tale she always wanted to read--explores the complexity of what we pass down, not only in our families, but in our country: police brutality and justice, powerlessness and freedom, fate and forgiveness, doubt and faith, sacrifice and love.

This book is perfect for now!!! So far, it is my favorite book of the year (book #12).

16 January 2023

Review: Coolidge

Coolidge by Amity Shlaes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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26 December 2022

Review: Satisfying Stitches: Learn Simple Embroidery Techniques and Embrace the Joys of Stitching by Hand

Satisfying Stitches: Learn Simple Embroidery Techniques and Embrace the Joys of Stitching by Hand by Hope Brasfield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

While I am an intermediate stitcher and not a beginner, I enjoyed the photos and descriptions that showed me how to do things. I think this book is perfect for a beginner and can challenge even the advanced. An advanced stitcher can skim over the instructions on how to knot and go right to the patterns. The patterns were fun and exciting and Hope teaches you how to transfer these fun designs to your material. Hope even shows us how to do some stitches, many I did not know, and was thankful for the step-by-step photos.

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23 December 2022

First Read with Michelle book pick of 2023

If you are returning to my book pick list, thank you for coming back. If you are new to Read with Michelle, thanks for stopping by and I hope you find some inspiration. Whichever category that you belong to, please be sure to return to my Facebook page and share your thoughts on this book, or any book for that matter, sharing is caring!!! Near the last day of every month, I would love it if you would share all your books that you read that month, whether it is one book or twelve, please just share your love of books!!!

*If you are looking for a way to sum up your 2022 reading life, I have created a list here. I find it fun to rate the books I have read in a top ten list and other random facts. I have been making top ten lists since 1996 and it is fun to look back on some of these books and smile at the memory or wonder why did I choose that one?

*If you are looking for a challenge in 2023, here is my reading challenge. I encourage you to be creative with the prompts and remember to read what you like. If you don't like a category, change it!!!

*Follow me on Goodreads if you want to learn about books that are soon to be published, I read a lot of fiction books before they hit your shelves and many of them will end up as a monthly book pick before the year is over.

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Now for January's book pick. I was looking for something fresh and different and NOT a World War II book. What I found was a book about a future First Lady that I found unique and worthy of a share.

Imagine reading about an icon before she was a household name? We all know her name, Jackie Kennedy, but do we know how she became "Jackie Kennedy"?

Jacqueline Bouvier wasn't sure what she wanted to do outside of spending a year in Paris. Somehow she convinced her mother to let her go to school in Paris for her junior year of college. It would be a year that Jackie would experience freedom from her home life and what was expected and she could just be Jackie. While she is discovering her path, she is traveling through a countryside that still felt the sting of WWII. You will see the characters weave in and out of areas still feeling the destruction from the Occupation and see the strength of Parisians during the rebuilding. I couldn't just quit the WWII books that easily :).

It was nice to see a Jackie that I didn't know, a carefree young woman discovering who she wants to be and experiencing love with Paris as a backdrop.

Thanks again for stopping by, I hope you will enjoy this year's monthly books. There are many on this year's that are simply spectacular!!! I will try to publish the next pick around the 20th of each month, just in case you want to read the book during that month, but feel free to skip around, mix it up, and do your own thing. Come back and share what you thought on the blog or the Facebook page, Read with Michelle.

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