A history of Anthony Comstock, the women who fought against him and fell victim to his overly zealous crusade. It's infuriating that one man had such a huge influence and that it took so long for society to progress beyond that influence... And now our society seems to be regressing back to the same sort of repressive attitude.

I had really been looking forward to this one and I'm a little disappointed in it. It's not bad, just not as good as I was anticipating. The series has potential but this first one is kind of bland.

This is an interesting look at the various women's exercise trends over the past several decades. Jazzercise, aerobics, yoga, and more!

Goodreads giveaway win #bookmail

#bookmail

This was fun. Ridiculous and not realistic, but that's what I want sometimes 😀

This was longer than it needed to be and had too many POVs for my taste, but it was still good. After reading this, I realize that I know next to nothing Spain's history and need to learn more.

Creepy haunted house. A little slow-moving but good.

#botm arrived yesterday!

Easy kids mystery set in a First Nation community in Canada. First in series.

Entertaining, easy read. Unlike many cozy mysteries, the main character is married and has a small child.

This examined music at a deeper level than really interests me, but I think it's an interesting approach to looking at history. The time period (1971-present/the author's lifetime so far) also interested me because it's just several years more than my lifetime. Questlove's writing is interesting and humorous. His narration of the audiobook is entertaining.

A beautiful story meant to be savored

Impulse buy, fantasy novella. I saw this in an email from Tordotcom and couldn't resist the stunning cover and 1920s setting.

#bookmail

I was interested in seeing an interrogation of the evangelical and purity culture, but this just didn't dig deep enough and lacked character development. Extremely unsatisfying ending.

Fun history of women and alcohol. Easy-going, not academic. Audiobook read by the author.

The rise and fall of the small central Ohio city of Lancaster and the Anchor Hocking glass company, one of its biggest employers. Corporations, politicians, & people who vote against their own interests & resist change all share the blame. The author, who grew up there & left, treated the struggling, addicted, vulnerable citizens that he featured with compassion. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions and many towns like this one.

Just one book this month from #botm but it's one I've been looking forward to for months.

Really good historical mystery with an interesting setting - rural Appalachian coal-mining town in Ohio in the 1920s. While the plot does revolve around the mystery of who killed the sheriff, this is really about the women left behind to pick up the pieces, not only the two women mourning the sheriff's death, but the other women in the community who have lost loved ones to the mines in various ways.

Book 1 in series.

Somehow this entertained me enough that the flaws didn't really bother me. I wanted something light and easy to listen to on my walks, and this fit the bill. The talking cat sidekick was great, but there were lots of things that had me thinking "that's not how that works" or "nobody does that!"

Book #2 in Lily Adler mystery series, set in Regency London. Good series, looking forward to #3 coming out this year.

Another good one from Simone St. James. Her books are just the right amount of spooky for me.

This book wrecked me. Everything I've read by this author is so good, but also makes me cry!

The title is very straightforward as to what to expect in this book!

In 2025 a new pandemic comes on the heels of covid, but this time it's a disease that causes sudden uncontrollable bouts of intense violence. Against this backdrop, an abused woman, her daughter, and her mother improbably find empowerment.

Fun cozy mystery. Book 1 in series. Good on audio 🎧

#botm arrived today!!

I liked this. It wasn't perfect - I feel like there were some holes in both the plot and the characters' motivations, but I still got caught up in the story.

Excellent book. I highly recommend the audiobook.

My #botm selections. I was already planning to read The Good Left Undone, but the other two were not on my radar. The cover of Kaikeyi is gorgeous!

I love this series so much! The mystery is good, but the characters make the book great.

I would have bailed, but it's for book club.

Very slow start, lots of boring sections, terrible dialog, kind of got interesting near the end, but the ending was garbage.

This just didn't really work for me.

Parts were repetitive and dragged.

The U.S. edition was changed to be set in the U.S. instead of England but it was still so very obviously British. It would have been better if the setting wasn't changed.

The dog died.

I hated the solution to the mystery/who the murderer was. It left me feeling rather depressed.

#botm arrived today!

This is a cute teen book. Mary's family is very literary (both parents are professors), and she navigates life based on what she knows about classic literature. This system does not serve her well, leading to misunderstandings with friends and a love interest. Lots of references to classic literature.

Spent yesterday afternoon and evening working on this puzzle and listening to the tagged book on hoopla. #audiopuzzling

This series never disappoints! This installment involves an impostor (maybe) and a jewel theft but no murder, which was kind of refreshing.

Listened to the tagged book while working on this bookish puzzle with Nancy Drew covers. I've had my eye on this puzzle for a long time and finally decided to treat myself last week and bought it and some other puzzles (most of them also bookish). #audiopuzzling

A little rambling at times (although that is also part of its charm) but good.

Two indigenous children are living with white foster parents who are well-intentioned but fall short. After an argument with the foster parents, the kids find a portal to another world in the attic. This world is based on traditional Cree stories. The author is a member of the Cree Nation. 1st in a series.

Re-read this because I needed a refresher before reading book 2. I love series but have a terrible time remembering what happened in the last book!

Still liked this one the 2nd time around, so onto the next!

Book 3 in the Sparks & Bainbridge mystery series set in London in the late 1940s. The plot is not as much about investigating the murder as it is about rescuing Gwen and her father-in-law when they're kidnapped and discovering the family secrets.

This was very interesting! The author demonstrates the importance of home economics and it's important role in our history but also discusses the problematic aspects of its history, especially racism.

Had to brave the wintry weather to walk to my mailbox, then had to de-ice the mailbox to get it open so that I could get my #botm box! 🥶❄️

This is the third book in this series and I didn't like it quite as much as the first two, but it was still good. Kind of slow pace in the beginning.

Good mystery. Looking forward to reading the next books in the series.

I can't resist historical fiction set in Hollywood. This is a teen mystery that's got a bit of a noir flavor.

This short story has been on my Kindle for ages and I finally read it. Not sure how to describe it - mystery, historical, fantasy, clockwork, steampunk? I liked the setting and characters, so someday I might read the rest of the series.

Good middle grade graphic novel. I hope the series continues.

Some annoying things in this mystery, but it was entertaining enough and kept me reading to find out what happened