What Have You Been Reading? Detective, Detective, Spy Edition

When left to my own devices, I tend to binge-read about subjects or to binge-read authors and/or series. That works well for me, but it’s something I try to avoid inflicting on the readers of this blog because I seriously doubt anyone else is as interested in some of these literary rabbit trails as I am. (You’re welcome.)

Lately, however, I’ve been exploring some mystery and espionage thriller series I’ve been meaning to read for a while, and I did want to share those.

Book Buzz: Modern-Day David Copperfields, WWII Romances, Vacations, Rivers, and Journeys

Every month, we’re profiling new-ish releases that are getting critical and commercial buzz. For November, we’re looking at Barbara Kingsolver’s latest acclaimed novel, a Rebecca-esque romance set during WWII, a throwback to summer, the real-life story of a modern mythical figure, and an audiobook set in medieval Ireland.

Alan Rickman’s Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman (2022)

I imagine most people have an Alan Rickman role that is their default for him. For some, it might be one of his rogue’s gallery of villains (like Hans Gruber in Die Hard) or perhaps one of his rarer romantic roles (Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility or Jamie in Truly, Madly, Deeply) or his cryptic Snape in the Harry Potter movies.

For me, it’s probably a mish mash of Gruber, his hilariously put-upon Alexander Dane in Galaxy Quest, and his condescending Obadiah Slope in The Barchester Chronicles (an early role).

Rickman died nearly seven years ago, the terminal cancer that took him a closely guarded secret from the public until his passing. Rickman had been a diligent diarist for years, and there has been mixed information on whether Rickman intended to publish these diaries. Regardless of his intentions, this collection of his diary entries were released last month.

Cookbook Corner: Where’s the Meat?

In honor of our Books, Spice, and Everything Nice theme (and spice club!), we’ll be doing a monthly round-up of our cookbooks. We have a really nice and extensive collection, but it’s easy to get lost in the sheer number of them. Hopefully these posts help! In honor of November’s spice annatto, we’ll be focusing on cookbooks that cover everything you want to know about cooking and processing meat–and just in time for hunting season.

Books, Spice, and Everything Nice: Annatto

For 2022, the Berryville Library is hosting its own Books, Spice, and Everything Nice spice club. Stop by the library to get the spice of the month and then stop by the blog on the first Tuesday of the month for recipes and more information on the featured spice. We’ll also be adding monthly posts about cookbooks in our collection. For November, our spice is annatto!