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?

 

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto: A Cozy Mystery

"Vera Wong Zhuzhu, age sixty, is a pig, but she really should have been a rooster. We are, of course, referring to Chinese horoscopes."

💚 With that first line, I was instantly hooked to this cozy mystery by Jesse Q. Sutanto, the first ever of the genre from an Indonesian writer (that I’m aware of). Moreover, I, too, am a pig - still referring to Chinese horoscopes, mind you. I am what people call Chinese-Indonesian - though my Chinese part is certainly very small in proportion. I even have a proper Chinese name, though I never use it, nor people ever call me by that name. Sharing the same Chinese horoscope to Vera Wong, added my enthusiasm to read this mystery. It is guaranteed to be relevantly funny too, judging by that first line!

💚 Vera Wong lives in the Chinatown of San Fransisco. She owns a tea house: VERA WANG'S WORLD FAMOUS TEAHOUSE. I wasn't mistyped Wong to Wang, neither did they who made the sign board. Vera had conveniently (and deliberately) put the famous designer's name for her tea house! Cheeky old darling, isn't she?😉

💚 Vera is a bold, brave, disciplined old woman who lives alone up her shop, after her husband Jinlong died and her only son Tilly (Tilbert) moved out. Her business nowadays is decreasing, only one of her customers, Alex, loyally comes to enjoy Vera's special concoction almost every day. Vera always knows which leaves her customers need in every situation.

💚 One morning as she went downstairs to open shop, she found a dead body of a stranger lying on the floor! But don't worry, Vera has watched enough CSI series that she knows what to do. She didn't touch the body at all, well... maybe only a tiny inch when she's taken the flash drive from it?... And while waiting for the police to come, she even drew a mark round the body as the police always do (again from CSIs she's watched). But when the police came, they said it's just an accident and even throw her out of her own house. Vera was adamant, as she's sure it's a murder! First there are scratches on the man's face, then there's the flash drive - but this she didn't mention to the police! Alright, as the police can't do it properly, she determined that she, Vera Wong, will solve the murder herself!

💚 Vera knew that murderers usually return to the crime scene to make sure they didn't left traces. So, she waited patiently in her tea house. And sure enough, one by one they came - all with different 'motives'. “Here they come - my four suspects!” - thought Vera. They were Riki Herwanto, Sana Singh, Oliver Chen, and Julia Chen with her cute little daughter Emma.

💚 The dead man, Marshall Chen, was, apparently, a scoundrel. Little by little, through her soothing tea concoctions, delicious foods, and warm heart, Vera managed to - not only unfolding each suspect's involvement with the dead man - but also to make them feel loved and accepted. They grew fond of each other in no time - especially Riki and Sana (ahem), and Oliver and Julia (who were Marshall's brother and wife, respectively). The four of them had one bond: one way or another, Marshall had, separately, manipulated them. And Vera slowly becomes like their mother or grandmother, with whom they can tell everything, struggles and all. And Vera always knows how to cheer them up and bring them new hope.

💚 It's not an easy task for Vera to do her job well. How could you put four lovely people into suspects when you loved them like family? But Vera Wong wouldn't budge, not even when somebody ransacked her tea house!

💚 This is a jolly hilarious cozy mystery, with a depth of humanity. It's heartwarming with love and friendship, and... there're numerous feasts of mouthwatering dishes, which reminded me of my grandmother. Whenever we came to her house, there're always at least four or five different dishes at the table. It's just the ordinary Chinese family meals.

💚 How about the murder mystery? It's not disappointing. You would or wouldn't guess the murderer, but it is a bit of a twist, and the ending is satisfying. I loved the book so much, and earnestly hope Vera Wong would investigate yet more murders to come! She might possibly be, considering that Warner Bros. TV has just acquired this book rights, with Oprah Winfrey's and Mindy Kaling's production houses to produce a TV series! Yay to Vera Wong, and bravo to Jesse Q. Sutanto!

Rating: 4,5 / 5

P.S.
Which cover you like most? My e-book copy has the blue one, but I think the black one with an old lady peeping through the blinds is more adorable, and somehow fits the book. And in the blue one, the writer's name is missing 'Q', which is rather annoying.

Six Degrees of Separation, from Hydra to The Magic of Faraway Tree

Six Degrees of Separation is a monthly meme, now hosted by Kate @ books are my favorite and best. On the first Saturday of every month, a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

This month we start from:

0. Hydra by Adriane Howell

"Hydra is a novel of dark suspense and mental disquiet, struck through with black humour. Adriane Howell beguilingly explores notions of moral culpability, revenge, memory, and narrative – all through the female lens of freedom and constraint. She holds us captive to the last page." - Goodreads


I haven't read this book and 'dark suspense' is just not really my cup of tea right now, so I can't think of anything else that is similar to the books I have read, other than that it is a book from an Australian writer. So I would use this to lead to my first chain - another book I've read from an Australian writer:

1. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

"...Most of all, it is the story of the Clearys' only daughter, Meggie, and the haunted priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart—and the intense joining of two hearts and souls over a lifetime, a relationship that dangerously oversteps sacred boundaries of ethics and dogma." - Goodreads

One of most memorable events of this book is a woman (the daughter: Meggie) who fell in love with a priest. This reminds me of another book where the female protagonist was also in love with a local priest:

2. The Conquest of Plassans by Émile Zola

"Marthe Rougon and her husband Mouret live peacefully with their children in a little town of Plassans, almost a perfect happy family. But one day Mouret has an idea to rent their second floor to a priest. Without their knowing, when Abbé Faujas arrived with his mother, the faiths of the Mourets have been sealed. Little by little Faujas and his family—later on his sister and brother in law also live there—conquered Mourets household, just as Plassans being conquered by the Abbé. It all comes gradually, subtly, but cunningly, that no one realizes it until it is too late." - my review

In this story, Plassans is a peaceful small village that is stirred by a stranger. In another book I've read recently, a stranger also came to a peaceful village and made a tremendous stir, which is:

3. The Stone of Chastity by Margery Sharp

"Professor Pounce, an expert in folklore, came to an old village called Gillenham, after learning about an ancient legend of the stone of chastity. According to the legend, there was a stepping stone on the local stream, on which a chaste woman would cross safely, but an impure or unfaithful one would certainly slip into the water." - my review

You know, I came to think that Professors in literature most often brings a certain excitement to a story, do you agree? The most exciting adventure brought by a scientific Professor is:

4. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

(my review)

Professor Otto Lidenbrock believes there are volcanic tubes that reach to the very center of the earth. And this book has inspired many books/authors: "The category of subterranean fiction existed well before Verne. However his novel's distinction lay in its well-researched Victorian science and its inventive contribution to the science-fiction subgenre of time travel—Verne's innovation was the concept of a prehistoric realm still existing in the present-day world. Journey inspired many later authors, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in his novel The Lost World, Edgar Rice Burroughs in his Pellucidar series, and J. R. R. Tolkien in The Hobbit". - Wikipedia 

So naturally, my next chain would be:

5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit is children's fantasy with magical creatures such as elves and goblins. I haven't read many fantasy books, but the one I very recently enjoyed is full of elves, pixie, fairy, and goblins. And so, this charming children stories will be the end of of my chain:

6. The Magic of Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton

"When Joe, Beth and Frannie move to the countryside, they discover that their new house lies next to the Enchanted Wood! And in that wood stands the Magic Faraway Tree. This is no ordinary tree - it is home to more magical lands full of elves, pixies, talking creatures and wonderful adventures than the children ever imagined possible!". My thoughts.

I'm so glad to see how this chain had begun with quite a gloomy book, but ended with a cheerful one!


Have you read those books? If you do #sixdegree, how it worked out for you this time?

 

Holiday Reads: The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton: An Audiobook Mini Reviews

I was having an eleven-days-holiday, while our Moslem fellows are celebrating Eid. I've been meaning to re-read Enid Blyton's adventure books. You see, her books had been my childhood excitement, and it'd be perfect for holiday read. Then I found this audiobook of The Faraway Tree narrated by Kate Winslet! I'm not usually keen to read fantasy, but a children book in Kate Winslet's voice... I can hardly say no!

The Faraway Tree contains of four books - three novels and one short stories. Winslet only narrated the first three novels, so those were what I picked. These are mini reviews of them:

#1: The Enchanted Wood

Joe, Beth, and Frannie moved with their father and mother to a cottage in the country. There's a wood behind it, called The Enchanted Wood, where the trees whisper to each other. There they meet some elves, whose bag is robbed by a gnome. The children chase the gnome, but he runs away up an enormous tree. It's the magical Faraway Tree! Its top branches reach through the clouds, to the magical land that keeps changing. Once a land leaves the entrance hole of Faraway Tree, it will never return, and another land will then appear.

Up the Faraway Tree the children climb, and meet various sort of creatures. Some were rude, but the others are kind and friendly, such as Silky, a fair fairy with silky golden hair; the deaf Saucepan Man, a funny little man with saucepans and kettles hung all around his body; and MoonFace, the most amiable of them all, whose face is round and shiny like the moon. They all live along the Faraway Tree; their tiny houses are carved inside the trunk. I love MoonFace's house most because of the slippery slip! It's a hole in the middle of the trunk, down which one can slide through to the bottom of the tree. Fancy sliding down a tree!

With them, the three children embarked on delightful adventure after adventure through different lands. Sometimes they're dreadful enough (The Ice and Snow, the Roundabout Land) but sometimes they're really fun (Land of take-what-you-want, and Land of Birthdays). Their most exciting adventure was helping their new friends when The Faraway Tree was invaded by a group of Red Goblins.

#2: The Magic Faraway Tree

Rick is a cousin of Joe, Beth, and Frannie, who comes to stay with them as his mother is ill. He's a boisterous and greedy boy, the same age as Joe. He is skeptical about the Enchanted Wood at first, but soon is so excited to be in a magical adventure. So the three children take him to the Faraway Tree, and he comes along to several more of their adventures with MoonFace, Silky, and Saucepan Man on whichever strange lands happen to come on top of the tree.

My (and their) favorites are Land of the Goodies (reminds me of Hansel and Gretel with edible houses and all); and Land of do-what-you-like (whatever you wish to do, it happens immediately, like riding an elephant or wading on the beach). The most annoying is perhaps the Land of Dame Snap - what a wicked lady she is!

But the most thrilling one so far must be in the Land of Spells. They certainly are in a pickle there, and but for the clever help from Watsizname, the Angry Pixie, and Dame Washalot - who were angry to them often before, but came to help anyway - they might not have returned safely to their homes!

#3: The Folk of the Faraway Tree

A friend of the children's mother asked her to take care of her daughter, Connie, because she (Connie's mother) is ill. How convenient it is the practice of sending one's children to friends or relatives when they're ill! Anyway, Connie is a dainty, curious, spoilt girl who likes to prying at others' secret. She didn't believe at first of the Enchanted Wood and Faraway Tree. The tree folks don't like her, and the Saucepan Man in particular is often rude to her. But after some adventures in several lands: the Land of Marvels, the Giant Land (on the top of Jack's the beanstalk!), the Land of Nursery Rhyme, etc. Connie becomes quite an ordinary girl, and believes at last of the Faraway Tree.

Connie gets her most valuable lesson when she's listening to something she oughtn't at the Land of Secrets. She gets a spell that's taken her voice. Then they all go to the Land of Enchantments where MoonFace and Silky got enchanted. Luckily Saucepan Man quickly sets them and Connie free by his mother's spell, and they landed down again at the Faraway Tree just a split second before the Land moves away!

The last and most exciting adventure of the children and tree folks is when an army of trolls attack the roots of the Faraway Tree to dig for jewels, that the leaves gets withered, and the tree is dying. This is the most serious thing, and now the children, the tree folks, and the woodland creatures will join forces to save their beloved tree!

******

As always, Enid Blyton never disappoints in bringing the most exciting adventures we could imagine. It was delightful to read. And I guess, it's a perfect educational story too for children. In particular the symbiotic mutualism relationship between the tree folks and the Faraway Tree itself. The tree has given food and shelter to the folks, so when it is dying, the folks courageously fought its enemy. In return, the tree grew the best fruits the folks have ever tested. It's a good way to teach children to respect nature.

All in all, it has been an enjoyable reading and fantastic holiday. Once again, thank you Enid Blyton!

Rating: 4 / 5

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week's prompt is...

Top Ten Books I Randomly Grabbed from My Shelf

The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton's spellbinding final novel, telling a story of love in the gilded age that crossed the boundaries of society. It is about five wealthy American girls denied entry into New York Society because their parents' money is too new. At the suggestion of their clever governess, the girls sail to London, where they marry lords, earls, and dukes who find their beauty charming—and their wealth extremely useful. - Amazon

🔹️I'd been saving this one for last, as it's Wharton's final novel. But now that I have read all of hers that I own a copy, I guess I'd as well read this one next . It sounds delightful!

The Scarlett Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

A timeless novel of adventure, intrigue, and romance is sparked by one man's defiance in the face of authority...
The year is 1792. The French Revolution, driven to excess by its own triumph, has turned into a reign of terror. Daily, tumbrels bearing new victims to the guillotine roll over the cobbled streets of Paris.… Thus the stage is set for one of the most enthralling novels of historical adventure ever written. - Amazon

🔹️ I haven't read this either. I'm most excited about it, though. Oh... if only every book sold along with time to read it!!

Greenglass House by Kate Milford

It’s wintertime at Greenglass House. The creaky smuggler’s inn is always quiet during this season, and twelve-year-old Milo, the innkeepers’ adopted son, plans to spend his holidays relaxing. But on the first icy night of vacation, out of nowhere, the guest bell rings. Then rings again. And again. Soon Milo’s home is bursting with odd, secretive guests, each one bearing a strange story that is somehow connected to the rambling old house. As objects go missing and tempers flare, Milo and Meddy, the cook’s daughter, must decipher clues and untangle the web of deepening mysteries to discover the truth about Greenglass House—and themselves. - Goodreads

🔹️ I have added this book into my TBR only last month, but I can't wait to read it. It sounds thrilling, right?

Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Bleak House opens in the twilight of foggy London, where fog grips the city most densely in the Court of Chancery. The obscure case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, in which an inheritance is gradually devoured by legal costs, the romance of Esther Summerson and the secrets of her origin, the sleuthing of Detective Inspector Bucket and the fate of Jo the crossing-sweeper, these are some of the lives Dickens invokes to portray London society, rich and poor, as no other novelist has done. - Goodreads

🔹️ My own review

So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures by Maureen Corrigan

No matter when or how recently you've read [The Great Gatsby], Corrigan offers a fresh perspective on what makes it so enduringly relevant and powerful. Drawing on her experience as a reader, lecturer, and critic, her book will be a rousing consideration of Gatsby: not just its literary achievements, but also its path to "classic" (its initial lukewarm reception has been a form of cold comfort to struggling novelists for decades), its under-acknowledged debt to hard-boiled crime fiction, its commentaries on race, class, and gender. - Goodreads

🔹️I have read this book as companion when re-reading The Great Gatsby, but I read it sporadically. Maybe it's time to revisit it to give it full credit.

Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

🔹️ This is always my favorite play of Shakespeare; been reading it twice, but maybe the third is nearly due?...
My review of the second read

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders." - Goodreads

🔹️ Another one I have yet to read. I have planned to, but then Covid-19 came, and a book about plague is the last thing I had liked to do, so it has to wait.

Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk (The Dancer) by Ahmad Tohari

Set in the tumultuous days of the mid 1960s, "The Dancer" describes a village community struggling to adapt to a rapidly changing world. It also provides readers with a ground-level view of the political turmoil and human tragedy leading up to and following the abortive Communist coup. This trilogy of novels traces the lives of two characters: Srintil, a dancer whose unwitting involvement with the region's leftist propaganda machine sets her at odds with Rasus, the love of her life who embraces Islam and finds a career in the army. - Goodreads

🔹️ I have read this book only two months ago; here's my thoughts.

Vita Brevis: A Letter to St. Augustine by Jostein Gaarder

A box of Latin manuscripts comes to light in an Argentine flea market. An apocryphral invention by some 17th or 18th century scholar, or a transcript of what it appears to be — hitherto unheard of letters to St Augustine from a woman he renounced for chastity? VITA BREVIS is both an entrancing human document and a fascinating insight into the life and philosophy of St. Augustine. - Goodreads

🔹️ I have read this book years ago. Though I didn't quite impressed, it's a unique reading. Its history made it more interesting. My thoughts.

The Greek Treasure by Irving Stone

A fictionalized narrative of the derided but determined efforts of German traveler-archaeologist, Henry Schliemann, and his second wife, Sophia Engastronenos, to excavate the sites of Homeric Troy and ancient Mycenae. - Amazon

🔹️ I almost forgot I own this book! I have enjoyed several Irving Stone's biographical novels before, he never disappoints! Now I can't wait to read it.

Zoladdiction 2023 Wrap Up

1st May has come, and it means that our Zoladdiction 2023 has ended. What a lovely month we have all been spending together to celebrate Zola! I love our enthusiasm in reading and posting about Zola. And this year I am happy to announce that our friend Mallika has become a Zoladdict! 🥳 It means that she plans to read more Zola - and I hope in many years to come. Welcome on board, Mallika!

There were six of us who had participated and either submitted their posts in the linky or tagged me on twitter. If you have posted but not get mentioned in this post, please let me know in the comment.

Three of us have read each one book from Rougon-Macquart cycle. Germinal was reviewed by Mallika as her first introduction to Zola, and she loved it! You know the joy of someone loving the book you've cherished, right?

Brona was having a lovely time reading L'Assommoir! She posted two comprehensive supplementary posts concerning L'Assommoir, the introductory and the picturesque wedding of the protagonist, Gervaise. Zola often did that to you! And now I can't wait to read her thoughts about the book. It blew my ming on my 1st reading!

On my part, I have planned to read two books, but in the end only managed to read one ( a re-read). But I have enjoyed every second of it. Besides a review of the splendid The Ladies' Paradise, I have also doing a character analysis of the heroine; while earlier I've also reposted my kind of open letter to one of the characters.

If the three of us have had fun with our books, Nancy had been struggling when reading Rome (from the Three Cities Trilogy) several months ago. But she had valiantly gone through those 900-ish pages (skipping here and there, but who won't?), and triumphantly finished and wrapped it up with this informative review! *clapping for Nancy*

Now the most fun part of Zoladdiction 2023, the Émile Zola Tag. I didn't expect to have this much feedback. Six of us has answered the tag, including Karen @BookerTalk who missed the initial announcement of Zoladdiction 2023, and therefore hadn't read anything. Don't worry, Karen, there's still next year! 😉

I was most pleased to read everyone's answers! Alok with his story of finding the right translation of Germinal that eventually made him a Zoladdict. Then there's Brona with an interesting topic for Zola's soiree.. Cézanne's painting of Zola (I, for one, would love to hear Zola's reaction to this).

Karen and I shared the same character with whom we'd like to hang out with: Denise Baudu from The Ladies' Paradise, though we had different itinerary in mind. Maybe we can hangout together; that'll be fun! 😜

Last but not least, though this was only her first Zola, Mallika also posted her answers, in which she was quite excited to read few essays on Germinal in future.

And now I would like to thank all of you who had participated in one way or another in Zoladdiction 2023. Mister Linky would be closed, but if you still have posts (reviews or others) to submit, you can leave a comment here with the links. I will include them in this post.

See you again next year in Zoladdiction 2024. We will have more fun then! 😉

April Wrap Up - Welcome May!

April has come and gone like a swirl. So many things had happened, it seemed. First half of the month there's the Easter week, then my Mom was hospitalized for 3 days for observation after a week of severe vertigo. Thank God she's alright, but I've had to catch up with some jobs and chores at work and at home, to compensate those three days. Not mentioning the mini-menopausal depression, urghh! Then the second half of April I had 11 days of holiday, hurrah! This month's random selection of reading reflected very much of my chaotic April!

📚 Books Read in April

The Ladies' Paradise by Émile Zola - a re-read
(started in March)
Read from: audiobook

The Stone of Chastity by Margery Sharp
(started in March)
Read from: e-book

Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford
Read from: e-book

N or M? by Agatha Christie - a re-read
Read from: audiobook

Some Tame Gazelle by Barbara Pym
Read from: e-book

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (not reviewed yet)
Read from: e-book

The Faraway Tree series by Enid Blyton (not reviewed yet)
(#1) The Enchanted Wood
(#2) The Magic Faraway Tree
(#3) The Folk if the Faraway Tree
Read from: audiobook

Chef Maurice and a Spot of Truffle by J.A. Lang (not reviewed yet)
Read from: e-book

El Dorado, A Kansas Recessional by Willa Cather (short story)
Read from: e-book


📚Reading Events Attended/Hosted

Zoladdiction 2023 (hosted by me)

I've planned to read 2 books, but managed only 1 book. My posts:
* an open letter to one of the characters in The Ladies' Paradise
* reviewing The Ladies' Paradise -a re-read
* character analysis of Denise Baudu from The Ladies Paradise
* answering The Émile Zola Tag

It's been fun! The proper wrap-up will be published tomorrow.


The 1940 Club (hosted by Simon @ Stuck in Books & Karen @ Kaggsy's Bookish Rambling)

I've somehow managed to read 2 books:
* The Stone of Chastity by Margery Sharp
* Pigeon Pie by Nancy Mitford
 

I've had so much fun, many thanks to Simon and Karen! Can't wait to the October's #1962Club!

📚 2023 Statistics

📊 Total books read so far: 19
📊 Total short stories read so far: 4
📊 Challenge progress:
* 2023 TBR Pile Challenge: 5
* 2023 Victorian Reading Challenge: 2
* 2023 Audiobook Challenge: 8


📚 What's happening in May

🔸️ Will be reading Willa Cather for my annual #CatherInMay. The book is: The Professor's House

🔸️ Will read the only F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel I haven't read: The Last Tycoon

🔸️ Will keep listening to the audiobook of Agatha Christie: An Autobiography