For awhile, my favorite genre for audiobooks was celebrity memoirs, but recently I’ve been diving into another rabbit hole – Victorian-era lady detectives.

My first audiobook of 2018 was the second in the Veronica Speedwell series, A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn, narrated by Angèle Masters. Veronica is a butterfly collector and scientist who, in this book, is commissioned by a mysterious noblewoman to save a man accused of the brutal murder of his mistress. As they try to solve the mystery, Veronica and her partner, a brooding and handsome natural historian, find themselves pulled into a world of art, debauchery, and a secret Victorian-era sex club.

Like the first book in the series, I thought this one was utterly charming. Veronica is a delightful narrator, and the chemistry she has with her partner, Stoker, is magnetic. The dialogue is snappy and funny, and works especially well on audio because Veronica and Stoker spend a lot of time talking out different scenarios for the whodunit. It’s very easy to follow, which I appreciated in this format.

My second audiobook this year was a Study in Scarlet Women, written by Sherry Thomas and narrated by Kate Reading. It’s the first in a series that reimagines Sherlock Holmes as the alias of a young woman named Charlotte Holmes, cast out from society and forced to make her way in the world using her sparkling intellect (and with more than a little help from her friends).

While I enjoyed the characters in the book – Charlotte is odd and funny, and her Mrs. Watson and friends are well-drawn – I didn’t feel this audio book was quite as successful. The plot jumps around a bit, which made it difficult for me to follow along with the mystery. And because it’s a Sherlock Holmes novel, which relies on a character just knowing and observing more than the rest of us, it occasionally felt like the mystery was being solved at random. I loved the relationships that Thomas set up between various characters, along with Charlotte’s stubbornness to push against the constraints she faces, but just wasn’t as enamored with the plot.

I’m trying to rely on my local library for my next audio selection, but I’m really not sure what lady detective to spend time with next since I’m at the end of the available books in both of these series. Deanna Raybourn has another series I might try, or perhaps I’ll see what’s available for my first lady detective love, Amelia Peabody. And of course I’m open to suggestions – who are your favorite Victorian-era lady detectives?

Did January feel like the longest month ever? Between the snow and the dark and the cold, it just felt like the calendar would never turn over. And yet it did, and now we’re in February. Whew.

January was an interesting reading month. Other than a little planning for my first two books of the year, I think I just sort of read where I wanted to read, which was a nice mix of new books, old books, and books I picked up on a whim from my library. I also finished three tasks for the Read Harder challenge, and one audiobook, which is an excellent start to my reading goals for the year! Here’s what I finished:

• Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich (fiction)
• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (nonfiction)
• The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani (middle grade fiction)
• The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin (fiction)
• A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn (audiobook, mystery)
• The Milk Lady of Bangalore by Shoba Narayan (nonfiction)
• Murder on the Red River by Marcie Rendon (mystery)

I absolutely adored The Immortalists, which broke my heart in the best way possible. I’m still trying to figure out how to write about it. Big Magic and The Milk Lady of Bangalore were excellent nonfiction reads – I hope I end up reading more nonfiction in February. If all goes as planned, I’ll have quick reviews of my three Read Harder titles – The Milk Lady of Bangalore, The School for Good and Evil, and Murder on the Red River – up next week.

A Look to February

I don’t have a ton of specific plans for February, other than a couple of ARCs I’d love to get through and a couple other books that are calling me at the moment.

The two February releases at the top of my list are The Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantú, a memoir about a Border Patrol agent who is also the grandson of a Mexican immigrant, and I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara, a work of true crime that’s gotten a lot of buzz because the author is the deceased wife of comedian Patton Oswalt. Reviews of the book have been good too, so I’m curious about the buzz.

Because the Olympics are coming up in February, I’m itching to pick up a book from a couple years ago, Speed Kings by Andy Bull, an account of bobsledding at the 1932 Winter Olympics. I also just bought Tell Me More by Kelly Corrigan, an essay collection about the words and phrases we use to sustain and nurture the important relationships in our lives. When I read the summary, it felt like one of those books that would be important to me this year.

But we’ll see what the month brings! February is short, but I don’t have a ton of weekend plans, so I’m hoping I can dig in and read all the books.

What was your favorite book of January? What are you hoping to read in February?

Around Here | It’s been a strange week! On Monday, a major snowstorm hit the Twin Cities area, dumping around 8-12 inches of snow across my neck of the woods. It was a super weird storm too. The morning commute was totally dry, with the worst of the snow not hitting the area until mid-afternoon. I was lucky enough to work at home for the day, but used the storm as an excuse to do absolutely nothing else that night. Past Kim was happy to spend the evening binge-watching episodes of ER, but Present Kim is regretting that decision because of how far behind in life I currently feel. C’est la vie.

Reading | I’m in the middle of two books right now, both of which will count for Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge and both of which I took out from the library. The first is a mystery written by a person of color, Murder on the Red River by Marcie R. Rendon, which I expect to fly through pretty soon. The second is a book about nature, The Evolution of Beauty by Richard Prum, a chunkster of a book about Darwin’s other theory of evolution, mate choice. It’s not a book I would have otherwise picked up, but it’s my next book club selection and I am committed to giving it a try.

Watching | A few short months after I started wishing that I could watch ER, Hulu has made my dreams come true. My mom used to watch the show regularly, but I don’t remember watching it with her. It’s fun to see younger versions of actors I’m familiar with now, and think about how medical procedurals have evolved since this show aired. Also! Baby Bradley Whitford in S1E18 was amazing.

Listening | My goal to listen to one audio book each month is off to a good start. I just finished the second book in Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell mysteries, A Perilous Undertaking, and am eagerly awaiting the next book from the library. The series, about a spunky Victorian Era butterfly collection/amateur sleuth is a total delight.

Cleaning | Last weekend, I finally got fed up with the stacks and stacks of unread books piling up around my living space. My sister challenged me to get rid of 100 unread books, and I was victorious! One hundred four books are now in bags ready for sale, donation, or friendly giveaway. All of my books are on shelves, and there’s actually a little wiggle room between them. Huzzah! (Also, I know how absurd it is that I could get rid of 100 books and still have full shelves… I’m trying to cut back, honest).

Loving | I am crocheting this hat for my sister, and I totally love the pattern. I’m making it with a smaller yarn than I usually do, which has also been satisfying. It’s not going as fast as projects with a chunkier yarn, but I don’t mind.

Hating | I am SO BUMMED that the Vikings lost to the Eagles in such a spectacular fashion and won’t be playing in the Super Bowl next weekend. I’m trying to hold on to the feeling of winning from our buzzer-beater against the Saints (Vikings fans NEVER get to be on the right side of a sports miracle), but going out in such a pathetic game ended the season on a down note.

Contemplating | The government shut down and subsequent nonsense has pushed me right up to the limit of what I can handle in politics right now. I’m conflicted though. On the one hand, tuning it out comes from a position of privilege and I feel like it’s my responsibility to keep being informed for the sake of people who are deeply affected by what is happening now. On the other hand, it’s also important to recognize your limits and make choices to ensure participation for when it matters most. I’m trying to figure out how to ration and focus my attention — an ongoing battle if there ever was one.

Anticipating | Tonight we’re going to a game night with friends, then it’s a wide open weekend. A trip to Half Price Books is probably on the horizon, but otherwise I’m hoping it’ll be a lot of reading, writing, and crafting.

Happy Friday, friends!

For the last several years, I’ve participated in a workshop called One Little Word. The point of the workshop is to pick a word to guide your year, then revisit it each month through a series of creative prompts. I’m not always great at the prompts, but I’ve loved the process of choosing a word and seeing where it takes me. My past words — curate, nurture, and open — have all been important and helpful and challenging in the years that I’ve chosen them.

I didn’t really pick a word in 2017, although a word ended up finding me anyway — “persist.” It was a year of putting my head down and moving forward after widowhood and unemployment seemed to throw my life entirely off course. It was a year of learning to recognize when it is time to rest, and of learning when it is time to hunker down to do the work as well as you can and for as long as you can, knowing that doing the work is the only thing we have control over. Persist is not an exciting word, but sometimes it is the best we can do.

As the end of 2017 approached, I was pretty convinced my word was going to be “present,” and that my energy for the year would be on learning and relearning how important it is to be focused on and engaged with the tasks in front of you instead of fretting about what might come next. I thought that this year would be about trying to put that knowledge into action in some new and challenging ways.

But as the end of the year got closer, I kept feeling like “present” wasn’t quite the right fit. I couldn’t see how to stretch that word into all areas of my life, and in some areas I actually wanted to do more than just be present. I wanted to be more, to try more, to be engaged and curious as well as present.

So I went back to the drawing board. I looked through the quotes I’d been bookmarking, the Etsy stickers that I’d been saving, and the activities in my life that have been giving me the most joy right now, to see what they might have in common. Lo and behold, a theme came through and my word seemed obvious… “explore.”

In late 2017, I signed up to take a watercolor painting class with my sister. I’m not artistic and I’ve never painted before, but I got it in my head that I wanted to try it. We found a class through a local community ed organization, bought our supplies, and started spending Monday nights in the studio.

There’s so much about this decision that makes me happy. I love being a novice at something. I love doing an activity with no expectations of success, and with no consequences for failure. I love doing something tactile that uses different parts of my brain than I use in most of my other hobbies. I love that watercolor, in particular, challenges me to be patient and to accept imperfections.

I want more experiences like watercolor class. I want to give myself space to explore new things, and to see how I can give familiar things a fresh energy and perspective. I want to get off my computer and out into the world. I want to approach my new job with a spirit of constant experimentation and a willingness for things to fail. I want to declutter my physical spaces to create flexibility, and I want to settle my monkey mind so I can be open and curious. I want to be a person who feels like the world is a place worth exploring, not person who constantly worries about how the world can crumble underneath her feet. It takes a lot of faith to be an explorer, but I want to try and find that for myself again.

Each year, I tried to find a quote or manta to go along with my word and help guide the year ahead. This year’s mantra comes from a Mary Oliver poem:

“Instructions for living a life.
Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”