Alright, so that’s not a direct quote from one of this month’s books, but it’s close.

Six books this month, with so many more calling out to me from literally every room in the house. The year 2021 brought with it my first Folio Society (a British company, now employee-owned) purchases, to add to the 550 volumes we inherited from Dad and Mom. This year also included the delightful discovery of Your Brothers Bookstore, an independent shop in downtown Evansville. There’s so much to be unhappy and worried about as 2021 comes to a close; being surrounded by books soothes the soul.

Week 1: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Surprisingly, it was a movie that introduced me to Alan Bennett. After watching The Lady in the Van (highly recommended), I searched online for the book version and recognized the cover of his work titled The Uncommon Reader.

The only real downside of having so many books is that I don’t have the full collection entered into the embarrassingly-named BookBuddy+ app yet (the list includes 612 so far; I’ve got a long way to go). Gary and I both looked on the shelves where we thought I’d have stashed Mom’s copy, but no luck. We must have shared The Uncommon Reader with another book-loving relative.

Until, a few months later … aha!

It was tucked away with other “be sure to read these” books on the Amish sled reproduction next to the comfy reading chair in our bedroom.

The book is so delightful, I was able to talk Farmer “I only read non-fiction” Gary to give it a whirl (he enjoyed it, too). The only note I wish to leave here is this: I’d always wondered why Queen Elizabeth carries her purse with her wherever she goes. Now I know.

Week 2: The Five by Hallie Rubenhold

This is quite a book. Gary gave it to me for my birthday back in May. (Quick question: Is there a name for a person who buys a book as a gift, but reads it before wrapping it for the recipient?)

When he told me the book was the story of five women, each the victim of murder by Jack the Ripper, I begged off reading it for a while. When you’re in the early stage of mourning your father, any form of true-crime reading just seems to be too much to bear.

I kept the gift on the end table in our living room, so it wouldn’t disappear “into the void,” as grandson Cameron says whenever he drops a piece of LEGO on the floor). When it was time to decorate for Christmas, it seemed time to give The Five a read.

The author is one heck of a determined researcher. She unearthed so many details about the five women who lost their lives in the fall of 1888 that, in a sense, she gave them back their lives.

That was the same year my Irish great-grandparents Regan were married in Belfast and immigrated to New Haven, Connecticut. It was 18 years after Charles Dickens’ death. Grover Cleveland was president. Long ago, and yet not so much.

The Five is a fascinating look at these five women who struggled in life, but never deserved to be lumped together dismissively in death as a bunch of street walkers. Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Kate, and Mary Jane did the best they could to get by in the slums of London, as poverty, disease, abuse, and addiction all but squeezed the life out of them before Jack ended it all with murder.

Week 3: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Converted back to a reader of fiction with this one – and a chance to laugh. The narrator in this murder mystery is a snarky middle-aged doctor who lives with his unmarried sister. She is quite the busy-body, but is nearly always spot on with her gossip. When newly-retired Hercule Poirot moves in next door, we’re off to the races.

That was a hint, by the way. And it’s all I’m saying – other than be sure to read this one.

Week 4: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Can it really be? I think this is the first time I’ve been a reader of this Dickens classic. I’ve seen untold number of versions on television and heard a few radio plays, but I can’t say positively that I’ve sat down and read A Christmas Carol before this month.

Surely you know the story through and through yourself, I’ll just add this curious tidbit. The story begins, of course, with mention of Scrooge’s dead business partner, Jacob Marley. It specifies that Marley had been dead exactly seven years. Was this to mean that Marley, too, had been visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve, but had chosen to ignore their warnings seven years earlier? (Excuse me, I must go put on a sweater. There’s a sudden chill here in my study.)

Bonus Book 1: Ironweed by William Kennedy

Nope. Just … nope.

Can’t recommend this one. Not because it isn’t a well-written book, though. It won a Pulitzer, after all. But the triggers were throughout: addiction, cruelty, hopelessness, murder, poverty, intolerance, brutality, abuse.

I told Gary that not since Tobacco Road have I struggled so hard to finish a book.

Bonus Book 2: Peter Pan and Wendy by J.M. Barrie

Took a hard turn for this next book: Second to the right and straight on till morning.

This is another first-time read for me, although I grew up watching Mary Martin play Peter Pan on television (we had the record, too, to play at naptime; oh how I love the lullaby Tender Shepherd sung in a round).

The book itself seems rather shocking – with talk of murder and such – but come to think of it, most of those storylines are included in the movie versions, too.

But let it be said, dear reader: When it comes to her treatment of Wendy, Tinkerbell is a wretch!

In closing, here’s the photo and greeting I shared earlier with the good folks in the Fans of Folio Society group on Facebook: As we ready ourselves to fearlessly fly into the new year, here are bountiful wishes for good health and great books!

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