With all this self-isolation, I have completely lost track of the days of the week.  Other than Sunday, when we now hold worship services in our home instead of at the church building, each day is exactly like the other.  Know what I'm talking about?  Penn Holderness does:


Needless to say, I'm very proud of myself for remembering that today is Tuesday!  Yippee!  Time for my favorite weekly meme.  If you're not familiar with Top Ten Tuesday, you can educate yourself by clicking on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, where you can get all the info you need.  Join in the fun by creating your own list, then hopping around the book blogosphere to view other people's lists.  It's an enjoyable way to beat boredom, spread some love, and find more books to read.  I'm averaging a book a day right now, so I'm definitely up for new recommendations!

When an elderly woman is hit by a train on an isolated piece of railroad track, Sheriff Lily Ross is called in to investigate.  While it's immediately clear that the woman is dead, it's not apparent just what she was doing out in the middle of nowhere in the dead of night, wearing only a flimsy nightgown.  Marks on her wrists indicate she had been restrained recently.  Was the death a tragic accident caused by a roaming senior citizen with dementia?  Suicide?  Or did something more sinister occur?  Lily doesn't believe the brakeman's tale about a ghost pushing the old lady off a cliff directly into the path of an oncoming train, but she can't shake the feeling that there's more to the incident than meets the eye.

Determined to figure out Jane Doe's identity and the truth behind her death, Lily starts digging.  Her probing leads her to a facility deep in the holler.  Hiding secrets both old and new, The Hollows asylum may be the key to solving Lily's current mystery as well as answering disturbing questions from the past.  In the midst of working the Jane Doe case, Lily's also dealing with the fallout from attempted integration at the mines, an upcoming election that could win her the sheriff's seat in her own right, and a shivery ghost story she's starting to believe in spite of herself.  Can Lily close the case?  Will she keep her job as sheriff, despite many thinking it's an unsuitable job for a lady?  And what about the ghost that haunts the holler?  Will it make a believer out of pragmatic Lily Ross?

I enjoyed The Widows—the first installment in Jess Montgomery's historical mystery series featuring Lily Ross—so I was eager to read its sequel, The Hollows.  Like its predecessor, the novel features an atmospheric Appalachian setting in an intriguing historical time period.  It discusses issues/groups I don't know much about, including prohibition, integration in the mining industry, women's issues in the 1920s, and the Women's Klu Klux Klan.  In addition, it brings together a cast of colorful characters, most of whom are likable and fun to read about.  Lily is no exception.  She's an understated heroine, which makes her all the more alluring.  To top it all off, Montgomery writes with assured, engrossing prose.  All of these elements come together to make The Hollows another winning historical mystery from Montgomery.  You better believe I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment in this enjoyable series.

(Readalikes:  The Widows by Jess Montgomery)

Grade:

Good Tuesday morning!  How is everyone?  How's the apocalypse going for you all?  My family and I are still doing just fine.  We've got plenty of t.p., food, and medicine, so we're just hunkering down.  The weather here yesterday was absolutely beautiful, so we did venture out to a neighborhood park.  It was full of people walking their dogs, doing yoga, riding bikes, etc.  We ate our lunch in an empty ramada, fully intending to socially distance ourselves, but the first people my 11-year-old daughter saw were two of her really good friends.  The kids all squealed and jumped around, so excited to see each other!  It broke my heart, actually, that these little pals have been forced to isolate themselves when they enjoy playing together so much.  They did get to run around together for a couple of hours, happy as proverbial clams.  Since my daughter's friends are boys, there wasn't any touching involved (cooties, doncha know), but she—and they—got some much-needed time to exercise, bask in the sunshine, and hang out with buddies.  It certainly boosted her spirits and ours.  At any rate, I hope you and yours are healthy and safe during these crazy times.

Speaking of boosting spirits, it's time for Top Ten Tuesday.  Yay!  It's easy to join in the TTT fun—just hop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read a few instructions, build your own list, then spend some happy hours checking out other people's posts.  It's a fun way to discover new blogs, check in on old favorites, and rake in the reading recommendations.  What could be more fun, especially when you're stuck at home in need of a distraction?  Today's topic is a good one, too—Genre Freebie (pick a genre and build a list around it! i.e., best/worst romances, non-fiction for travelers, memoirs for foodies, classics that feel timeless, romance novel kisses, science fiction that feels too real for comfort, women’s fiction for newbies, etc.)

Freebies always throw me for a little bit of a loop and this one is no exception.  I racked my brain for a unique, creative way to spin the topic and nothing came to mind.  So, I'm going to take the lazy woman's way out today and ask for reading recommendations instead of giving them out.  Here's the deal:  I'm a positive, happy person who gravitates toward mystery/thrillers/apocalyptic fiction, even in the End of Days, apparently.  I've read so many that right now my soul is seriously craving books that will lift my heart, make me laugh, and provide the kind of light, fun entertainment that's been lacking in my reading choices of late.  Help a girl out?  I like most genres, although I tend to steer away from high fantasy, poetry, serious sci-fi, and anything too dense/technical/boring.  Erotica and the like is absolutely off the table.  What have you got for me?  Here's a quick Top Ten list that will give you an idea of what I like and am looking for more of:

• Light, entertaining stories that still have substance.  Any genre.  Bonus points if they're clean and well-written.
• Inspiring biographies/memoirs
• Easy, breezy romcoms
• Family sagas (think Kate Morton and Karen White)
• Action/adventure/survival stories where endurance/determination wins out in the end and/or where there's more going on than meets the eye (think LOST)
• Women's fiction that's heartwarming without being cheesy or sappy
• Mysteries that are engrossing, but won't give me nightmares (think cozies and Mary Higgins Clark-ish)
• Humor (fiction or non-fiction, just something that is funny without being too crude or suggestive)
• Sweet/small-town romance (think Robyn Carr without the R-rated bits)
• Haunted house/ghost stories that are shivery and engaging, but not terrifying 

I don't know about your Spring, but mine isn't going quite the way I thought it would!  I had no idea my kids' Spring Break would be extended by a month or that I would be standing in line at the grocery store this morning with half the city just to buy laundry detergent or that all my local libraries would be closed for the duration.  Wow, what a time we're living in!  Despite the fact that I'm a Type 1 diabetic, I'm really not all that worried about the coronavirus—I have a year's supply of food in my house (my church's leadership has been preaching emergency preparedness for decades), plenty of toilet paper (I'm a Costco regular), a cabinet full of Bath & Body Works hand soap (I can't resist a sale), a couple month's worth of insulin (T1D strong!), and a *few* books on my shelves to keep me entertained.  I'll be fine.  I'm a bit of a hermit anyway, so I got this.  I hope you are healthy and calm amid all this chaos.  If you need a distraction from reality, there's nothing like a book to take you away from it all!

If you're not familiar with Top Ten Tuesday, you really should be.  It's my favorite weekly bookish meme.  Playing along is super easy and it's a great way to get acquainted in our fabulous book blogging community.  All you have to do is head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read a few quick instructions, create your own list, then spend some happy hours checking out everyone else's posts.  It's a good time, I promise.

Today's topic is Top Ten Books on My Spring 2020 TBR.  You may recall that I got a jump on this topic last week, listing ten of the books I want to read this Spring.  I even read three of them last week.  Go, me!  Today, I'm giving you the second half of the list, in no particular order.

Ahhh, Tuesday!  My favorite day of the week in the book blogging world. I've been a little bit MIA from BBB lately thanks to my attendance at RootsTech—a big, multi-day genealogy conference.  Since I was in Salt Lake City for the event, I took the opportunity to do some on-site research on some of my Mormon pioneer ancestors.  The Church History Library held an absolute gem—a series of letters written to my great-great-great grandfather from his mother in England while he was eking out a life in Ogden, Utah, in the 1860s and '70s.  Since they hadn't been indexed or transcribed, I spent a few hours sending the letters from microfilm to my email address, page by page.  Once I got home, I couldn't wait to transcribe them, a painstaking but very fulfilling process.  Reading the letters made me laugh, cry, and shake my head.  Let's just say that moms haven't changed much in 150 years!

Hoping to strike gold again, I visited the Salt Lake City Cemetery in search of a more recent ancestor who died in a coal mine cave-in near Helper, Utah, in 1925.  Find a Grave did not have any photos, so I went headstone-hunting hoping to take one for myself.  Imagine my dismay when I found this:


Considering the age of some of the headstones in this cemetery, it's amazing more haven't toppled, but nope—the stone I sought was the only one laying face forward on the ground!  Try as they might, my husband and aunt couldn't lift the heavy stone so we could read its inscription.  Such is the life of the genealogist, I guess.  You win some, you lose some.  Ironically, a quick visit to Billion Graves (which I somehow hadn't thought to check) revealed a perfectly clear photo of the headstone taken while it was still upright, proving I'm not quite the thorough genealogist I thought I was!  Good thing I attended RootsTech to hone my skills.   

Anyway, all this is to say that I'm home, recovered from my vacation, and ready to get the blog updated.  Participating in TTT seems like the best way to get back into the swing of things!

If you're not familiar with Top Ten Tuesday, it's a super fun weekly meme.  You should definitely join in. It's simple.  Just head on over to That Artsy Reader Girl, read some quick instructions, make your own list, and then spend a few happy hours hopping around the book blogosphere checking out other people's lists.  If you're looking for an easy way to feel more connected here while spreading the love to some awesome blogs and adding to your TBR pile at the same time—well, you've found it.  Jump on in, the water's fine :)

This week's topic is Top Ten Authors Who Have a Fun Social Media Presence.  I don't follow many authors, so I'm going to fast forward to next week's topic: Top Ten Books on My Spring 2020 TBR.  Since there are at least 20 books on my Spring TBR, I'll share ten this week and ten next week.  Here goes:

Top Ten Books on My Spring 2020 TBR (Part One):



1.  The Wish and the Peacock by Wendy S. Swore—Swore's debut, A Monster Like Me, was one of my favorite novels of 2019.  I was super excited to get an ARC of her newest, which I'm reading now.  It's a poignant story about a 12-year-old girl who's desperate to hold on to the family farm she loves, which is being sold in the wake of her father's death.  She'll do whatever it takes to sabotage the sale, even tame a wild peacock!  So far, the book is sweet and funny.  I'm enjoying it.


2.  The Light in Hidden Places by Sharon Cameron—I'm a big fan of Cameron's books, which are unique and thought-provoking.  Her newest tells a more traditional story than her others.  It's a WWII novel about a real Polish teenager who hid 13 Jews in her tiny apartment, even with Nazis living next door, throughout the war.  Sounds fascinating!


3.  When We Were Lost by Kevin Wignall—Lark recommended this YA novel about a high school field trip to Costa Rica gone horribly wrong.  It sounds like a tense, exciting adventure/survival story.  I just grabbed it from the library and I can't wait to dig in.


4.  My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira—This is an older historical that I somehow missed reading.  It's about a 17-year-old midwife who dreams of becoming a surgeon.  The Civil War is raging and she offers her services as a nurse, which leads to an adventure that is full of excitement, danger, heartbreak, romance, and sorrow.


5.  Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi (available June 23, 2020)—This one is kind of a cheat since it doesn't come out until the end of June, but I'm hoping to get an early copy of it, so ... I really enjoyed Rossi's Never Sky series, but her latest is a completely different kind of novel.  It's a historical featuring a young woman who snatches a surprise opportunity to assume a different identity.  Eventually, she becomes a Revolutionary War spy for George Washington.  Based on a real person, this one sounds super intriguing!


6.  The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers by Amy Hollingsworth—Not gonna lie, even as a kid, I found Mister Rogers' Neighborhood a little too trippy!  I was never a fan of the Land of Make Believe (so weird!), but I enjoyed the rest of Mister Rogers' show as well as the calm, accepting, positive vibe he put off.  It's been fun getting to know this wonderful man better through recent movies.  My book club chose this book for our March meeting and I can't wait to read it.


7.  The Last Blue by Isla Morley (available May 5, 2020)—I loved The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, which features a "Blue" from the unique Kentucky clan.  I've been interested in reading more about these people, so when Morley offered me a copy of her newest, I gladly accepted.  Her novel is about a pair of journalists who travel to the wilds of Appalachia to study the Blue People of Kentucky for a government WPA project.  The experience opens their eyes and changes their lives forever.


8.  The Supremes at Earl's All You Can Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore—This one came up in a Google search I did for "happy novels."  It's about a trio of friends who have been by each other's sides through thick and thin.  This year, however, will be their most challenging yet.  Sounds a little intense, but I'm hoping happy wins out in the end!


9.  A Good Neighborhood by Therese Ann Fowler—This one's gotten some excited buzz lately, and it does sound interesting, especially considering I have a bi-racial daughter.  The novel concerns a family with a bi-racial son whose ordered lives are challenged when their uppity new neighbors start causing tension, which causes everyone in the neighborhood to ask important questions about race, class, and interracial romance.


10.  In Five Years by Rebecca Serle—This novel, which comes out today, sounds like a thought-provoking one!  It concerns a woman who knows exactly where she will be in five years.  Until one night when she has a very real-feeling dream in which she's shown an entirely different future.  What does it all mean, if anything?  Oooh, the possibilities with this premise ... I'm excited to see what happens.

There ya go, ten books I'm hoping to read this Spring.  Have you read any of these?  What did you think?  What's on your TBR list this season?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on yours.

Happy TTT!