BEOWULF

Kevin Crossley-Holland & Charles Keeping. Beowulf.

A great way to get the plot. A Geat, Beowulf, helps the Danes. Beowulf kills Grendel and Grendel's mother and is killed by the dragon years later. 

FIRESIDE STORIES

Fireside Stories: Tales for a Winter's Eve.

A great collection. KAL:yach and Bride. Babushka. 

WARLIGHT

Michael Ondaatje. Warlight.

Nathaniel and Rachel have been abandoned by their parents in London during WWII, left in the care of The Moth and his friends, The Darter. Nat's girlfriend Agnes. It turns out that the parents have separated, and that the mother, Rose, works in intelligence. Nat tries to research her career, to fill in what he does not know of her.

BALLISTICS

Billy Collins. Ballistics.

A writer friend knows this American poet laureate so I took down two volumes from my poetry section and read this one out loud to myself. I like it. I wanted to share 2. "No Things" and "Adage". 

STILL LIFE

Louise Penny. Still Life. 

A friend loaned a box set so I began to re-read Louise Penny in order. Still Life is one of the best. The first. Introduces the main characters, Armand Gamache and Jean-Guy B investigating the murder of an old woman in Three Pines. Was it an accident?  Who benefits? Who fails to do as she is told and fails to learn?  

AND WISDOM COMES QUIETLY

And Wisdom Comes Quietly.

THE NATURE OF THE BEAST

Louise Penny. The Nature of the Beast.

A Hawthorne Book Club selection for September. Re-reading this classic Penny is well worth it. Once you know what happens, the details of character and plotting stand out as so impressive.
I still have two reservations about the plot. 1) the importance of paper plans to a weapon once the concept is known and models exist. 2) the description of armed guards inside a Canadian prison, and an unauthorized person escorting a dangerous prisoner out without proper authority. I think not. 
But the sub-plots. The American deserter who has created a new life and young family for himself. The mysterious CSIS agents and arms designers and sellers, some of it based on fact. The complicity of the community in years past, especially Ruth the poet who knew more than she shared. The hints of challenges to come--Jean-Guy's addiction, Armand's career path

. 

WHEN THE MUSIC'S OVER

Peter Robinson. When the Music's Over.

I was quite a ways in before realizing that I have read this one, historic sexual abuse case from the 1960s. One of my favourites, focussing on Banks' love of pop music. 

PROMISE NOT TO TELL

Jayne Ann Krentz. Promise Not To Tell.

Set in Seattle and one of the San Juan islands. The middle of a trilogy featuring children of former cult members. 

FINAL REPORT

Reclaiming Power and Place: Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Others.

Took me a while to digest this. See My Truth and Reconciliation Quilt. 

WHOSE LAND IS IT ANYWAY

ed. Whose Land Is It Anyway? A Manual for Decolonization.

A collection of essays from a variety of Indigenous writers. Pam Palmatar's book club. 

61 HOURS

Lee Child. 61 Hours.

Another lost weekend. This is set in South Dakota, around an old missile site, in a great snowstorm. 

THE AGE OF HOPE

David Bergen. The Age of Hope.

Loaned by a friend, and then I found my own copy on my CanLit bookshelf. Enjoyed this gentle glimpse into another woman's life. Set in Steinbach and Winnipeg. Hope marries a Mennonite. Is hospitalized with post-partum depression.

THE BOY AT THE KEYHOLE

Stephen Giles. The Boy At the Keyhole. 

Another Hawthorne Book Club success. No one liked this book. The child abandonment and child neglect and child abuse were triggering. The characters, boy and caregiver, were unappealing. But discussion brought out the craft, the image of the limited POV as symbolized by the keyhole, the surprise ending made sense. Everyone chose to re-read and enjoyed it more the second time. 
Set in England. Australian author.