I hope you’ve all had a great start of the week. It’s been a bit of a busy one for me but I am back with a post about some new releases this month. Thank you to Netgalley for the review copies.

The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim. Margot Lee’s mother, Mina, isn’t returning her calls. It’s a mystery to twenty-six-year-old Margot, until she visits her childhood apartment in Koreatown, LA, and finds that her mother has suspiciously died. The discovery sends Margot digging through the past. I love family stories and stories of the immigrant experience so I think this will be a good read.

Village of Lost Girls by Agustin Martinez. Five years after their disappearance, the village of Monteperdido still mourns the loss of Ana and Lucia, two eleven-year-old friends who left school one afternoon and were never seen again. Now, Ana reappears unexpectedly inside a crashed car, wounded but alive.

The Book of Lamps and Banners by Elizabeth Hand. Photographer Cass Neary is desperate to get home, and she’s already lost her camera — like losing a limb. Now her only chance is to cash in on a deal that a friend is about to cut for a legendary illuminated manuscript said to contain ancient esoteric knowledge, even an otherworldly power.

Every Now and Then by Lesley Kagen. The summer of 1960 was the hottest ever for Summit, Wisconsin. For kids seeking relief from the heat, there was a creek to be swum in, sprinklers to run through, and ice cream at Whitcomb’s Drugstore. But for Frankie, Viv, and Biz, eleven-year-old best friends, it would forever be remembered as the summer that evil paid a visit to their small town.

Broken by John Rector. Welcome to Beaumont Cove, a slowly decaying tourist town at the edge of the world, and the place where Maggie James’s worst fears for her estranged twin sister, Lilly, have come true. Lilly is dead, and Maggie has arrived to identify her body.

The Watcher by Jennifer Pashley. Pearl Jenkins is a nobody. She was a woman who lived as a hermit in the woods. One day, she’s nowhere to be found, and all that’s left behind is a pool of blood and a child no one knew existed, raised completely off the grid and in the grip of Pearl’s manic paranoia.

Some of these sound like they are perfect for the Readers Imbibing in Peril reading challenge don’t they? Is there one that you are most curious about?

Is everyone ready for the weekend? I know, I am. I have a lot of things I want to spend time on but I know I need to be realistic so I’ll have to make a to do list. One thing is for sure, I have got to spend some time reading. Lately I’ve been reading a lot about book prizes starting off with the International Booker Prize and I’m so interested in several of the books. Not just the winner but even some from the long list.

Did you catch that the Booker Prize shortlist was announced this week? Have you read any of those books? I’m curious about three of them and especially, Burnt Sugar by Avni Doshi. The winner will be announced November 17th so who knows, maybe I’ll have a chance to read one of these books.

The other book event that is coming up at the end of October and beginning of November is the Texas Book Festival and the authors list was recently announced. As the festival is virtual this year maybe you’ll want to put that on your calendar.

Finally, not necessarily a bookish event but thank you to Jenclair, I heard about World Postcard Day on October 1st. Who is joining in? If writing a letter seems like it may take too much time surely a postcard isn’t too hard right? I love this idea and I’ll be mailing out some postcards. Maybe even making my own. So, if you would like to receive a postcard from me just let me know. I’d love to send you some happy mail.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and can’t wait to hear what you’ll be up to and as always, stay safe! More bookish talk soon.