Shelf Control #7: Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery

Shelf Control is a weekly feature created by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. Since early January 2023, Shelf Control has moved base to Literary Potpourri.

As I was browsing for a Christmas e-book or two to read next month, I found this book I forgot I've ever bought, how long ago has it been on my shelf?

Gourmet Rhapsody by Muriel Barbery

Summary from Goodreads:
"In the heart of Paris, in the posh building made famous in The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Pierre Athens, the greatest food critic in the world, is dying. Now, during these his final hours, his mind has turned to simpler things. He is desperately searching for that singular flavor, that sublime something once sampled, never forgotten, the Flavor par excellence. Indeed, this flamboyant and self-absorbed man desires only one thing before he dies: one last taste.
Thus begins a charming voyage that traces the career of Monsieur Arthens from childhood to maturity across a celebration of all manner of culinary delights. Here, as in The Elegance of Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery’s story celebrates life’s simple pleasures and sublime moments while condemning the arrogance and vulgarity of power."

I have almost read The Elegance of Hedgehog for Paris in July this year, but I got bored at first chapter, and so didn't continue. I wonder whether Gourmet Rhapsody would better suit me. I like food-theme stories, and it might add charm to this book. So, I think, I'll keep it a try!

Have you read this book? Do you think it's worth reading?

Shelf Control #6: The New Teacher by Erin Lark Maples

Shelf Control is a weekly feature created by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. Since early January 2023, Shelf Control has moved base to Literary Potpourri.

Lately I've been collecting several cozy mystery e-books which I've got free from Google Playbook. They are usually the first book in a series, given free for tester, no doubt. I was skeptical at first – if the book is good, why offers it for free? But in the meantime, I have read two books with the same case: The Bookshop Murder and ChefMaurice and a Spot of Truffle, and they were both very nice. So, there’s no harm in reading more, is there? From several interesting titles on my shelf, this is my pick:

The New Teacher (The Sheridan County Mysteries #1) by Erin Lark Maples

Summary from Goodreads:
"Elizabeth Blau upended her life in the city to move to the Middle of Nowhere and start over. She reconnects with her estranged brother and begins her new life. First, Elizabeth lands a great job, then a date, and her luck seems to change for the better. But when the man’s body is found mangled in a ravine, the murder rocks the small town as fault descends upon the Blau Family.
Frustrated with the pace of local law enforcement, Elizabeth investigates loose threads among the ranchers. But when she starts to dig into the past, she gets a warning: folks don’t like outsiders poking around, and someone is on a mission to scare her out of town."


It sounds like ordinary cozy mystery, but from several reviews on Google Playbook, I gathered that it is a fully entertaining book with a lot of actions. Quite promising, eh?


Have you read this book? Is it worth it?

 

Shelf Control #5: My Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George)

Shelf Control is a weekly feature created by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. Since early January 2023, Shelf Control has moved base to Literary Potpourri.

This week I pick an e-book I've been keeping for a while:

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

Summary from Goodreads:
"Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another; few get farther than the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going--all the way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There he sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits as his tool for survival. In a spellbinding, touching, funny account, Sam learns to live off the land, and grows up a little in the process. Blizzards, hunters, loneliness, and fear all battle to drive Sam back to city life. But his desire for freedom, independence, and adventure is stronger. No reader will be immune to the compulsion to go right out and start whittling fishhooks and befriending raccoons."

I am a bird-lover, and most recently started to compile a list of bird-theme books. It's not much, as I prefer novels with birds as character, rather than how-to-non-fictions of birdwatching or its kind. Right now, I'm just excited to read this one.


Have you read this book? Or do you know bird-theme books I might like?

 

Shelf Control #4: A Fete Worse Than Death by Lesley J. Taaffe

Shelf Control is a weekly feature created by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. Since early January 2023, Shelf Control has moved base to Literary Potpourri.

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you must have noticed that lately my readings are mostly of e-books and audiobooks, which I get from either Scribd or Google Playbook. In this episode of Shelf Control I am featuring an e-book from my "Saved" shelf at Scribd:

A Fete Worse Than Death (and other small church matters) by Lesley J. Taaffe

Summary from Amazon:
"Pastor Michael of Ainsworth Baptist Church has taken several months away from his duties to enjoy a well-earned Sabbatical and so Sister Marjory Steeple, stalwart of the church, upholder of traditional values and all that is seemly and decent, has taken it upon herself to write regular letters to Pastor Michael to keep him up to date regarding what is going on during his absence. Sister Marjory also takes the opportunity in her correspondence to make helpful suggestions as to how the good pastor might best improve the running of the church upon his return, and finds it unexpectedly therapeutic to off-load some of her own personal problems at the same time. These problems mainly revolve around her non-church going husband, George, and his unnerving obsession with his own funeral arrangements, their wayward son Christopher, and a bluff old cousin called Murgatroyd Thrip who is diligently (and against all the odds) following his calling to be a maverick missionary in far flung corners of the world.
Strangely enough Pastor Michael does not seem to appreciate Sister Marjory's selfless sacrifices and insightful suggestions quite as he should."


I think this would be a charming, humorous read that I'd need to cheer me up after some rough time, or a gory murder mystery. I like the tone of it, and the epistolary style of this lite book. But I'm surprised that it doesn't get reviewed in Amazon, and I couldn't find it in Goodreads either, thought it has been published since 2012. I hope it means that I've found a gem, instead of a junk!

What do you think of this book? Have you heard about it?

Shelf Control #3: Hello? Is Anybody There? by Jostein Gaarder

Shelf Control is a weekly feature created by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. Since early January 2023, Shelf Control has moved base to Literary Potpourri.

My pick this time is:

Hello? Is Anybody There? by Jostein Gaarder

Jostein Gaarder is a Norwegian novelist, short stories, and children books writer. His books mostly aim to educate children or young adult on philosophy. His most famous work is Sophie's World (also my favorite). I have read most of Gaarder's other books too: The Solitaire Mystery (another favorite), The World According to Anna, Through A Glass Darkly, Vita Brevis, The Orange Girl, Maya, The Ringmaster's Daughter, and his Christmas theme book: The Christmas Mystery.

Hello? Is Anybody There? is another philosophy-theme book for children. It's on my TBR in Google Playbook, though I don't remember buying it! 🙃

Summary from Goodreads:
"While waiting for the birth of his baby brother, Joe is visited by a strange child from another planet, and the two discover that they, and their planets, share many similarities as well as differences."

I think this will provide a fun reading; a cute yet a little thought provoking story, without highbrow lectures on philosophy.

Have you read this book? Or any of Gaarder's?

 

Shelf Control #2: Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier

Shelf Control is a weekly feature created by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. Since early January 2023, Shelf Control has moved base to Literary Potpourri.

My pick this time is:

Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier

Tracy Chevalier is one of my favorite historical fiction writers. It all started since my reading of Girl with A Pearl Earring, which is, so far, my favorite. Since then I've also read: The Lady and the Unicorn, The Virgin Blue, Falling Angels, and Remarkable Creatures.

What I loved most from Chevalier is her subjects. She usually picks an extraordinary historical art or culture, then weaves a remarkable story around it - story of people involved in it: their lives, struggles, and triumph. Chevalier's great penmanship allows us to be transported to the past, mingling with these characters and living their lives.

In Burning Bright, we are transported to the 18th century London. From Amazon: 1792. Uprooted from their quiet Dorset village to the riotous streets of London, young Jem Kellaway and his family feel very far from home. They struggle to find their place in this tumultuous city, still alive with the repercussions of the blood-splattered French Revolution.

Luckily, streetwise Maggie Butterfield is on hand to show Jem the ropes. Together they encounter the neighbour they’ve been warned about: radical poet and artist William Blake. Jem and Maggie’s passage from innocence to experience becomes the very stuff of poetic inspiration…

I haven't heard about William Blake before, but it is rather interesting, right? Can't wait to be immersed once more into an absorbing reading with Chevalier's.


Have you read this book? Or any of Chevalier's?

 

Shelf Control #1: Mrs. Harris Goes to Moscow by Paul Gallico

Shelf Control is a weekly feature created by Lisa at Bookshelf Fantasies, and celebrates the books waiting to be read on your TBR piles/mountains. Since early January 2023, Shelf Control has moved base to Literary Potpourri. To participate, all you do is pick a book from your TBR pile, and write a post about it–what it’s about, when/where you got it, why you want to read it and such.

This is my very first Shelf Control post. I've been meaning to do this before, but I was always catching up with reviews and other posts. Then an eleven days holiday came, and I was finally ahead of time. And so now I could do this post properly.

My first pick is Mrs. Harris Goes to Moscow by Paul Galico. I bought the e-book few years ago, but then forgot it until very recently.

Paul Galico has written four novels on various hilarious adventures of the memorable Ada Harris (Mrs. Harris or Mrs. 'Arris), an old char woman in London who works for prestigious households. My first encounter with Mrs. Harris was the first book, which has recently been adapted: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. I loved it so much, that I instantly picked up the sequel: Mrs. Harris Goes to New York - less charming but equally entertaining. The third book is Mrs. Harris Goes to Parliament, but it's not really appealing to me, so I skipped that, and went to Moscow instead.

In this adventure Mrs. Harris wins a trip to go to Russia, accompanied by her bosom friend, the loyal Mrs. Butterfield, also a char lady. Mrs. Harris was also charged with a love letter by her employer. Then things begin to go crazy when the two char women, through some administrative faults, were suspected by KGB as spies!

It promises a good hilarious reading, though I'm a bit worried, because many Goodreads reviewers said this was their least favorite of the four. Hmm... shall I just give it a go? Or no? Maybe I'll just keep it until I'm in need of a good laugh!

Have you read this book? Or any of Mrs. Harris series?