Reading New England Round-Up: September 2016

It’s with some sadness that I announce that for now I’ll no longer be doing a monthly Link Love post. I enjoyed it, but it was very time-consuming — so I’m going to try using my time in a different way and see how that feels. Maybe I’ll change my mind before too long!

I’m going to try to be more active with posting links on my Facebook and Twitter accounts, so please follow me there if you like.

For the remainder of this year, I will still plan to do a round-up of posts for the Reading New England challenge every month or so. With four months of the challenge to go, I’m glad to see that some readers are sticking with it and getting through the various categories. However, even if you read only one book, you are welcome to participate. Don’t feel it’s too late!

Here’s what I’ve seen recently:

• Penni of Penni’s Perceptions was a little disappointed in Orange Is the New Black, set in a Connecticut prison, but she would still like to check out the popular show. She found a more compelling read in The Secrets of Midwives, a novel set in Rhode Island that explores mother-daughter relationships.
• From Other Side of the Sun, we learned of three books about walking the Appalachian trail, including its sections in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
• Laurie of Relevant Obscurity delved into a couple of Massachusetts classics: The Blithedale Romance, based on an ill-fated utopian experiment, and Looking Backward, which imagines a utopian society with some interesting but not entirely satisfying results.
• Continuing with the Massachusetts classics, Stephanie of Adventures of a Bibliophile conquered the giant Moby-Dick, and followed it up with a picture book chaser: Make Way for Ducklings.
• At Monica’s Bookish Life, American Bloomsbury was a fascinating nonfiction read for those interested in the Transcendentalists and their period.
• Getting a bit less serious, Clock and Dagger was another fun cozy mystery reviewed by Carstairs Considers. He also enjoyed Whispers from Beyond the Veil, a historical mystery set in Maine that centers on the Victorian craze for spiritualism.
• The Munich Girl is set partly in New Hampshire and partly in Nazi Germany, juxtaposing a present-day story with that of the infamous Eva Braun. Chris of Calmgrove found it a remarkable piece of writing. He also ventured to Massachusetts with the intrepid Dido Twite, in Nightbirds on Nantucket. And don’t miss his map-laden tour of Dido’s travels!
• Finally, from Lark Writes we learn of a historical mystery set in Gilded Age Newport, appropriately titled A Gilded Grave.

Not posted for the challenge, but of related interest:

• From Books as Food, a couple of newly opened or forthcoming art exhibitions featuring Childe Hassam and William Merritt Chase. I really hope I can manage to visit these.
• Bay State Reader’s Advisory offers three mini-reviews of New England mysteries, helpful if you’re looking for something to read for the SF/mystery category.
• Bibliophile by the Sea came up with a useful list of great books set in New England. How many have you read?
• This is an old post, but I was so delighted to find it: from Staircase Wit, a visit to the real-life location of Maida’s Little Island!
• New England on a Budget offers a list of great independent bookstores in Massachusetts. I’ve been to half of them, but the rest are calling me now.

As usual, thank you all for your interest and participation. It’s been a great year so far.