Yes, I know I’m more than a month behind but, please, forgive me. I was halfway across the continent visiting my new granddaughter at the end of May and into June, and then a health problem prevented us from returning home until mid-month. I feel as if I hit the ground running and am just now catching up.
Ridiculous, really, but that’s how I feel.

I’ll post the mysteries I read in the month, separately, as usual.
 

1. ALL THAT I AM **by Anna Funder (Literary Fiction, WWII)

The winner of Australia’s Miles Franklin Award and several other prizes, Funder’s WWII drama, All That I Am, is said to be based on real characters. A group of left-wing German activists find themselves self-exiled to England when Hitler comes to power in the 1930s. From their London base, they try to alert the world to the human-rights atrocities being perpetrated by Hitler’s government. With hindsight, we think all should have listened. But no one did.
I found this to be very powerful in an elegant, understated fashion, and think it well-deserving of the prizes and honourable mentions that it garnered.
Read this if: you’re interested in a slightly different perspective on Hitler’s rise to power. 4½ stars
 

 

2. A GLASS OF BLESSINGS** by Barbara Pym (Fiction, Vintage, Satire, Humour)

Pym just gets better and better. A Glass of Blessings is a sly look at upper middle class marriage in 1950s England, through the eyes of Wilmet Forsythe, a posh “dig-me chick’ of her time. Wilmot is in her mid-thirties and clearly has been cosseted all her life. Married, she lives in her mother-in-law’s home, and has no responsibility for any part of the running of the household. She has plenty of money to buy what she wants and her time is her own, so idle hands. . .

Pym skewers her in her usual gentle manner.
Read this if: you’d enjoy a Pym with very little mention of church. 4 stars
 

3. QUEEN LUCIA** by E.H. Benson (Vintage Fiction, Satire)

I’ve heard so many people lately expressing fond memories and revisits to Riseholme, home of Lucia Lucas and her husband, and Lucia’s friend Georgie. This also is social satire—this of small English towns– although more acerbic and over-the-top than Pym’s. Benson’s stories are set in the 1920s but seem timeless, while Pym’s more definitely define the period setting.

I don’t have the emotional attachment to these stories that some others do so, while I enjoyed Queen Lucia, I don’t think I’ll be spending time on any of the sequels.
Read this if: you read them when you were young – evidently they hold up well with time; or you’d enjoy an “outrageously camp” satire of English village life. 3½ stars
 

4. LOST & FOUND **by Carolyn Parkhurst (Fiction, Contemporary)

What could be more contemporary than a reality television show? In this show, teams of two decipher clues to discover where in the world they will go next and what they must find there. The contestants race across the globe—from Egypt to Japan, from Sweden to England—to battle for a million-dollar prize.

There are the requisite characters: the single mother with her nearly-estranged teenage daughter, the religious zealots, the fading celebrities, and the budding lesbian love affair.
And, of course, each character has a secret that the producers know and want to expose in the most sensational way possible.
Read this if: you enjoy reality TV shows. 3½ stars
 

5. LOST & FOUND by Oliver Jeffers (Children’s picture book, Board book)
This version of this title is a charming picture book about a boy who one day finds a penguin at his door. The boy decides the penguin must be lost and tries to return him. Since no one claims the penguin, the boy decides to take it home himself, and they set out in his row boat on a journey to the South Pole.

Colourful drawings, although I found the ending not-quite satisfying. It’s available in several formats; of course, the board book edition is suitable for the very young.
Read this if: you’re looking for a gentle story of belonging and home. 4 stars
 

6. TODAY I FEEL SILLY and Other Moods That Make My Day by Jamie Lee Curtis (Children’s Picture book)

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis has been quite public about her mental health battles with a mood disorder. In this book she helps kids explore, identify, and, even have fun with their ever-changing moods.

Today I feel silly. Mom says it’s the heat.
I put rouge on the cat and gloves on my feet.
I ate noodles for breakfast and pancakes at night.
I dressed like a star and was quite a sight.

Laura Cornell’s bright, detailed, and whimsical drawings complete this charming book.
Read this if: you’re dealing with a toddler (or even an older child) who is learning to deal with moods. 4 stars

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* ALL THAT I AM was the May pick for the War & Literature Readalong, hosted by Caroline at Beauty is a Sleeping Cat.
* A GLASS OF BLESSINGS is the fifth Barbara Pym that I’ve read, as I keep up with the LibrayThing Virago group read-along for Barbara Pym’s centenary.
* I read QUEEN LUCIA as May’s random pick from my TBR wish list spreadsheet of 2,605 items for the Random Reads Challenge hosted by I’m Loving Books.I had collected recommendations for it from Jenny at Shelf Love, Ali at Heavenali, and Simon at Stuck in a Book.
* LOST & FOUND are qualifying words in the Keyword Reading Challenge at Bookmark to Blog, and also fulfill the “Word Lost or Found in the title” category in Beth Fish Reads’ What’s In a Name 2013 Reading Challenge.

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