Lovely Books and Things - 9.12.21

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update

Linking up with:
Sunday Post (details)
Sunday Salon (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

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HAPPY THINGS:

1. Finding a new hole-in-the wall thai restaurant gem - yummy
2. Planning a fall wardrobe - cozy cardigans
3. Spotting horses at Golden Gate Park

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Library: audiobook

White Ivy
by Susie Yang
Contemporary, Thriller | Published: 2021 | Goodreads
Library:

The Sleeping Nymph
by Ilaria Tuti
translated by Ekin Oklap
Mystery, Italy | Published: 2020 (first 2019) | Goodreads

Period Piece
A Cambridge Childhood by Gwen Raverat
Classics, Memoir, Victorian, England | Published: 1981 first (1952) | Goodreads

Freebies: from Little Free Library - thanks to the folks who share their books

The Glass Room
by Ann Cleeves
Mystery, Crime, England | Published: 2012 | Goodreads

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Virtual Author event: hosted by Book Passages
See archive of this (here)

Kept Animals
by Kate Milliken
Historical, LGBTQ, Horses | Published: 2020 | Goodreads

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AND watched: Netflix

Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed (2021)
Director: Joshua Rofé
Documentary, Art | imdb | my rating: 5
Bob Ross brought joy to millions as the world's most famous art instructor. But a battle for his business empire cast a shadow over his happy trees.

Such a good guy.

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* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Summer Pools in California

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Elsewhere, California
by Dana Johnson
Contemporary, African American, Coming of Age | Published: 2012 | Goodreads
location: Los Angeles
We first met Avery in two of the stories featured in Dana Johnson’s award-winning collection Break Any Woman Down. As a young girl, she and her family escape the violent streets of Los Angeles to a more gentrified existence in suburban West Covina. This average life, filled with school, trips to 7-Eleven to gawk at Tiger Beat magazine, and family outings to Dodger Stadium, is soon interrupted by a past she cannot escape, personified in the guise of her violent cousin Keith.

When Keith moves in with her family, he triggers a series of events that will follow Avery throughout her life: to her studies at USC, to her burgeoning career as a painter and artist, and into her relationship with a wealthy Italian who sequesters her in his glass-walled house in the Hollywood Hills. The past will intrude upon Avery’s first gallery show, proving her mother’s adage: Every goodbye aint gone. The dual-narrative of Elsewhere, California illustrates the complicated history of African Americans across the rolling basin of Los Angeles.

Kept Animals
by Kate Milliken
Historical, LGBTQ, Horses | Published: 2021 | Goodreads
location: Topanga Canyon
Rory Ramos works as a ranch hand at the stable her stepfather manages in Topanga Canyon, California, a dry, dusty place reliant on horses and hierarchies. There she rides for the rich clientele, including twins June and Wade Fisk. While Rory may have unwittingly drawn the interest of out-and-proud June, she's more intrigued by Vivian Price, the beautiful teenager with the movie-star father who lives down the hill. Rory's blue-collar upbringing keeps her largely separate from the likes of the Prices--but, perched on her bedroom windowsill, Rory steals glimpses of Vivian swimming in her pool nearly every night.

After Rory's stepfather is involved in a tragic car accident, the lives of Rory, June, and Vivian become inextricably bound together. Rory discovers photography, begins riding more competitively alongside June, and grows closer and closer to gorgeous, mercurial Vivian, but despite her newfound sense of self, disaster lurks all around her: in the parched landscape, in her unruly desires, in her stepfather's wrecked body and guilty conscience. One night, as the relationships among these teenagers come to a head, a forest fire tears through Topanga Canyon, and Rory's life is changed forever.

The Guncle
by Steven Rowley
Contemporary, Humor, LGBTQ | Published: 2021 | Goodreads
location: Palm Springs
Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick (GUP, for short), has always loved his niece, Maisie, and nephew, Grant. That is, he loves spending time with them when they come out to Palm Springs for weeklong visits, or when he heads home to Connecticut for the holidays. But in terms of caretaking and relating to two children, no matter how adorable, Patrick is honestly a bit out of his league.

So when tragedy strikes and Maisie and Grant lose their mother and Patrick’s brother has a health crisis of his own, Patrick finds himself suddenly taking on the role of primary guardian. Despite having a set of “Guncle Rules” ready to go, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old. Quickly realizing that parenting—even if temporary—isn’t solved with treats and jokes, Patrick’s eyes are opened to a new sense of responsibility, and the realization that, sometimes, even being larger than life means you’re unfailingly human.

~*~ * header image source: Spotted at The Beverly Hills Hotel: Dogs at The Beverly Hills Hotel by Gray Malin

* part of Summertime time (schedule)