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The Happy Land Kingdom & a Would-be King
True crime, past and present humor, a Carolina kingdom, and more ...
BookBrowse Highlights
Hello Readers!
In First Impressions this week, our members comment on The Fairbanks Four, Brian Patrick O’Donoghue’s investigation and true crime account of the wrongful conviction of four young Native men in an Alaskan murder case, and Serial Killer Games by Kate Posey, a darkly humorous mystery about killing in the workplace.
Don’t miss our online discussion of Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, a BookBrowse Best of Year book following a scientist battling sexism in the 1960s.
Plus, we share our review of Jo Harkin’s Tudor tale The Pretender, a “beyond the book” article on the titular Reconstruction-era kingdom of Dolen Perkins-Valdez’s Happy Land, and a new Wordplay!
Thanks for reading,
The BookBrowse Team
First Impressions
Each month, we share books with BookBrowse members to read and review. Here are their opinions on two recently released titles.
The Fairbanks Four by Brian Patrick O’Donoghue
“Professor Brian O'Donoghue, a former reporter with the local Fairbanks newspaper, notes the crime of a murder of a young white Alaskan boy in 1997. Initially he finds flaws in the prosecution's case but four Native Alaskan men are convicted of the crime. Once Professor O’Donoghue begins teaching at the University of Alaska he enlists his journalism students to examine all aspects of the crime…This book details the intensive techniques of investigative journalism and brings in history of discrimination against Alaskan Natives. For those who enjoy a true crime story this is highly recommended. Also a somewhat similar story to Killers of the Flower Moon.” —Lynne B. (Somersworth, NH) |  |
"I was intrigued from the start to the finish.” —Dan W. (Fort Myers, FL)
“Full of egregious examples of how the legal system let down four young alleged ‘perpetrators’ and the teenaged victim and their families, this tale should be required reading for every high school graduate. That student participation under O'Donoghue's professorial eye kept the fight for justice going lends much-needed inspiration.” —Sara S. (Belmont, MA)
Serial Killer Games by Kate Posey
“I'm already casting the movie in my mind. The book opens within a crowded corporate building elevator with people discussing ‘The Paper Pusher,’ who supposedly is responsible for nine deaths by falling from nine different buildings within the last five years. Immediate suspense is established. We have two different narrators: handsome but odd man in grey — Jake Ripper, a temporary employee who seems to have a body stashed in his trunk, and a mysterious lady in black, Dolores, who quickly adds to the mystery.” —Gwen C. (Clearfield, PA) “I expect it to be a huge hit and I will be recommending it to all of my reading friends. I can't wait to read it with my book club.” —Catherine O. (Altavista, VA) |  |
“At times, it felt a little like reading Catch-22. I would find myself laughing at certain lines/scenes only to then feel mildly uncomfortable about what I was laughing at…I definitely was not expecting the romcom part when I requested the book, but even that was fun and just twisted enough to keep it from being either predictable or too sappy. Definitely an impressive debut novel!” —Mark S. (Blauvelt, NY)
Book Club Discussions
Discussions are open to all, so if you’d like to participate you can do so by creating an account here. Note discussions can contain spoilers.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
From the Jacket A must-read debut! Meet Elizabeth Zott: a "formidable, unapologetic and inspiring" (Parade) scientist in 1960s California whose career takes a detour when she becomes the unlikely star of a beloved TV cooking show in this novel that is "irresistible, satisfying and full of fuel. It reminds you that change takes time and always requires heat" (The New York Times Book Review). From the Discussion “I totally enjoyed this book! I felt that it depicted the 60s very well, and how women were treated in the workplace.” —Lin_Z |  |
“In an interesting way, it actually DID present lessons in chemistry which were fun and informative to read. I enjoyed this book, one of the best fiction offerings I have read in ages.” —Carol_Sullivan
See what people are saying in response to this question: “As a child, Elizabeth had no formal education, and yet she was able to self-educate, thanks to her library card. With the advent of technology, do you think libraries are still important to society? If so, why?”
Editor’s Choice
The Pretender by Jo Harkin
After 500 years, Tudor history has every right to be stale. Its cut-throat court politics have been hashed and rehashed by novelists, poets, and playwrights since Henry VIII was still picking wives. So it's always worth sitting up and taking note when a writer arrives who can inject the genre with a little life—and Jo Harkin, author of Tell Me an Ending, is definitely one such writer. Her brilliant and inventive new novel, The Pretender, tells the extraordinary story of Lambert Simnel, a footnote of history who could have been king. … continued Review by Alex Russell |  |
Beyond the Book
The Kingdom of the Happy Land
Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, which follows a group of formerly enslaved people who build a self-sustaining community on a mountainous plot of land in the Carolinas during the Reconstruction era, is based on a real-life historical place known as the Kingdom of the Happy Land. Perkins-Valdez stumbled upon the kingdom's history online while exploring a newfound interest in North Carolina banjo music. … continued |  |
Wordplay
Solve our Wordplay puzzle to reveal a well-known expression, and be entered to win a one-year membership to BookBrowse!
"A C on H S"
Click for the answer to the last Wordplay (J of A T, M of N), and a detailed breakdown of its meaning and history.
Become a Member
I really enjoy BookBrowse. The reviews help me narrow down books to read especially when time is not abundant.
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