I've been a little MIA lately due to illness and travel, so I'm playing catch up. I spent a fun extended weekend in Utah, though, attending the largest family history conference in the world: RootsTech by FamilySearch. Since it's not a bookish event, I wasn't going to mention it, but then I realized that a couple of the featured speakers had authored books in addition to doing whatever other cool things they do. The host, Kirby Heyborne, isn't a writer, but he is an actor, musician, comedian, motivational speaker, and an award-winning audiobook narrator. Steve Young, a retired pro football player who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005, was interviewed by Kirby. He's the author of a few non-fiction books, including, most recently, The Law of Love and The Law of Love In Action. I haven't read anything by Young, but I've heard good things about both of these titles. We also heard from the incredible Tara Roberts, a National Geographic Explorer in Residence, who has spent the last seven years diving with and chronicling the experiences of a Black scuba team that searches for slave shipwrecks. She's a bookworm, an editor, a content creator, and the author of a memoir I really want to read called Written in the Waters: A Memoir of History, Home and Belonging. My favorite guests at RootsTech are not authors, but they're talented Irish dancers, the Gardiner Brothers. They were super fun to watch! 

A friend of ours owns Peach & Bee Honey. She mentioned that some of her products were for sale in the gift store at the Salt Palace, where the conference is always held, so my husband and I hied off to do pick up a little souvenier from the Beehive State. In addition to yummy honey products, the shop also had a Little Free Library! I snatched up a crisp, new-looking hardcover of The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny. It's the 19th installment in the Armand Gamache mystery series, which I love. I'm behind on the series, but I'll get to this one eventually. 

Because I was busy getting ready for my trip last week, I missed Top Ten Tuesday. The topic was a Genre Freebie. I was sorry to miss it, so that's what I'm going to do today, even though the prompt du jour is: Top Ten Book Titles Featuring Ordinal Numbers. As always, TTT is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. 

1. Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven (published January 6)—It's 1964 and the Newman family has been the darling of American television for two decades. Although they play perfect versions of themselves on screen, each of the Newmans is struggling with maintaining their flawless image. With ratings falling, Dinah Newman—the matriarch—decides its time to bring the show to an end. Will she have the courage to go out with truth and integrity or will the family be forced to continue living a lie?

2. Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson (available February 10)—Centered on themes of race and identity, this novel tells the stories of several main characters: 

7. The Moonlight Runner by Karen Robards (available March 24)—Set in Ireland in 1918, this novel features a young nurse who treats wounded soldiers and the boy she loves, who has taken up gunrunning to support the rebellion. When Rynn hears rumors of a British offense being planned against the gunrunners, she hurries out at midnight to warn her boyfriend, only to find herself caught up in a shocking turn of events that propels her down a terrifying path that leaves her fighting for survival in a world torn apart by war.

8. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (available May 5)—Ever since loving The Help, I've been waiting for another book to come out by this author. I'm in the middle of reading an e-ARC of The Calamity Club, and I'm enjoying it. The story moves veeerrrrryyyy slowly. Stockett's writing is colorful and engaging, so the book isn't boring, but it definitely takes its time getting anywhere. I thought my Kindle was lying to me when it said it would take me 14 hours to read this door stopper. Nope! The print version is 656 pages long.

The story is about a group of women from different walks of life who band together in 1933 Mississippi to face a host of challenges, including economical, emotional, marital, and everything in between.

9. The Young Will Remember by Eve J. Chung (available May 5)—It's 1950 and Chinese American journalist Ellie Chang is on a military flight headed into the mountains of North Korea to cover a battle when her plane is shot down. Surrounded by the enemy, she fears the worst. When a woman saves her by claiming Ellie is her long-lost daughter, she's relieved. Determined to get herself and her rescuers to safety, the journalist leads them on a journey south, one that will also hopefully lead the family to their real missing daughter.

10. Up From the Ashes by Sharon Cameron (available October 26)—This YA novel is based on the true story of a Jewish couple who meet and fall in love during World War II while imprisoned in Holland's Sobibor death camp. When the prisoners come up with a daring plan to escape Sobibor, the duo must decide what they're willing to risk for freedom—and for each other.

There you go, ten 2026 historical novels that I'm looking forward to reading. Have you read any of them? Which new historicals are you excited about? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

February is a short month and it sure whooshed on by for me! I'm still a bit startled that it's March already. It was 80 degrees outside yesterday here in the Phoenix area and I am not ready for that kind of nonsense. Good thing my husband and I are spending next week in Utah. It should be much cooler there while we attend two genealogy conferences. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed for no snow. Last time we went to RootsTech, we drove home had to drive for an hour in a snowstorm. Yikes!

Anyway, I only managed to read one bookish book in February and, truthfully, it wasn't even all that bookish. Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano is about a mystery writer who's dealing with a recent, bitter divorce; two needy young children; an empty bank account; and a looming deadline for her a book she's already collected a hefty advance for but can't seem to get written. When a desperate woman overhears a plotting conversation Finlay is having with her agent, she mistakes the writer for a hit woman, and hires her to kill the woman's husband for a large sum of money. Finlay is only a murderer on paper, but she desperately needs the cash and the husband really is a scumbag. It may be an offer Finlay can't refuse...

Even though the plot is totally unrealistic and absurd, this novel is hilarious and fun. I loved it. It's the first in a series and I'm absolutely looking forward to reading more.

As for March, I'm not sure what I'm going to be reading exactly. I just started this one, which also features a writer as one of the main characters:

In The Treasure Hunters Club by Tom Ryan, the writer and several others are looking for a famous treasure in a small seaside town in Nova Scotia. As they soon find out, there's more to the treasure hunt than meets the eye. Folks in quaint Maple Bay are hiding dangerous secrets and someone will kill to keep them buried.

It's a fun read so far. Not all that bookish, really, but entertaining and compelling nontheless.

I'm not much of a romance reader. This one looks cute, though, and it's very bookish:

An Overdue Match by Sarah Monzon stars quirky librarian Evangeline Kelly. After her fiancé abandons her at the altar because she's losing her hair due to alopecia, she swears off love. For herself, anyway. Instead, she launches a secret matchmaking service using librarian patrons' check-out histories to pair up suited readers. When Tai Davis offers to help with the scheme in exchange for dates with Evangeline, she finds herself reluctantly in league with him, which might just lead to a match of her own.

We'll see what I actually end up reading in March, but this one sounds fun, so it's a definite maybe. I'd love to know if you have any bookish books on your docket this month.

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic is all about our dream jobs—or at least those that look fun, exciting, and interesting in fiction.  The prompt, Top Ten Characters Whose Job I Wish I Had, has left me scratching my head, though.  I guess it's just too early in the morning for my brain to match up characters from books I enjoyed or books I want to read with jobs I wish I had.  Probably I'm being too literal.  Although I have a college degree in English, my oldest child was born prematurely (at 29 weeks gestation) not long after graduation.  I have been a stay-at-home mom ever since.  While it's hardly the most glamorous career choice in the world, I've found a lot of satisfaction and fulfillment in being able to focus on motherhood full-time.  I do feel less needed now that my oldest two are on their own and my youngest two are in school all day, but I still don't feel any great longing to enter the workforce.  The other day, my husband was joking about me getting a full-time job so he could retire (he's 44).  Our 16-year-old son, who's usually pretty "whatever" about things, looked appalled at the idea and said, "What?  No!  I need you at home, Mom."  So, there you go.  I've been working my dream job for over 22 years now and, all in all, it's been pretty great.  Still, wiping runny noses and changing dirty diapers isn't the stuff of which great fiction is made, so...

If I could choose another dream job, it would for sure be that of a professional reader.  Since book blogging is pretty darn close, I have to say that I'm actually already "working" two of my dream "jobs."  Wow!  

That brings us to family history, which has long been an interest of mine.  A couple years ago, I made the decision to become accredited as a professional genealogist.  While you don't technically need any kind of certification to work in the field, especially as a self-employed researcher, I thought it would be a fun, challenging way to up my genealogy game. And it has been.  I completed two big research projects in two different specialty areas (the Great Lakes and the Southwest regions of the U.S.) and now all I have to do is test in both.  This was supposed to have happened a year ago, but thanks to COVID, it's been postponed.  In the meantime, I've continued researching my own ancestors in an ongoing effort to know and understand those who came before me and to keep my family history sleuthing skills sharp.  One way I do this is by attending RootsTech—the world's largest family history conference—which is held annually in Salt Lake City, Utah.  Because of the pandemic, this year's event was held entirely online and was, for the first time ever, completely free.  Even though the conference has ended, the classes and presentations that were given are still available online, meaning you can watch them right now.  If you've ever wanted to learn more about how to research your own family history straight from industry professionals, this is your chance to do it from the comfort of your own home and without spending a dime.  Click on over to RootsTech.org for more details.

 

If you have any desire at all to know about your roots, I highly recommend checking out FamilySearch.  It's a free, easy-to-use genealogy website where you can build a family tree, connect it to others that are already in its enormous database (chances are excellent that your great-grandparents and beyond are in there, meaning you won't have to do extensive research to find them), and use historical records (millions of which are available to search on the site for free) to learn more about their lives.  Although my illustrious ancestors were more pauper than prince, I have found it extremely rewarding to get to know them and connect to my heritage.  

I know it seems I've meandered far away from books, but I promise this is going somewhere!  Obviously, I love learning about family history—from reading stories about my ancestors to studying old documents to Nancy Drew-ing my way through puzzling mysteries, I'm here for it all.  Not surprisingly, I also enjoy reading books about genealogy.  I've found a few that star genealogists and a lot more that feature characters who are looking into their own pasts in order to solve a mystery, understand an enigmatic family member, connect with a lost culture, or find themselves in their own pasts.  My list today is gong to be a mixture of books I've read and those I want to read about genealogy and family history.  

However you want to twist the TTT topic, you definitely want to join in the fun.  All the details are over at That Artsy Reader Girl.  Check it out.

Top Ten Books About Genealogy and Family History:  

1.  The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissmann—I read this middle grade novel earlier this year and loved it.  It's about a mixed-race girl who was adopted as a baby by a white Jewish couple.  As she prepares for her upcoming bat mitzvah, she begins studying the life of her adoptive great-grandmother, who fled her European homeland during World War II.  This propels the girl on a journey to discover who she really is and where she truly belongs.  It's an excellent, moving book about identity and family.

2.  Murder Once Removed by S.C. Perkins—This cozy mystery series features a professional genealogist who solves family history mysteries as a job.  In this first installment, she's been hired by a Texas billionaire to find the murderer of his great-great granddaddy.  Although I didn't absolutely love this book, it's still a fun read.  There are a couple more books in the series now—I need to catch up.

3.  Inheritance by Dani Shapiro—In this memoir, Shapiro recounts what happened when a DNA test she took returned unexpected results.  The journey she then undertook to find and understand her true identity is an intriguing one that asks important questions about family, identity, culture, and the ethics of sperm donation.  It's fascinating.

4.  It's All Relative by A.J. Jacobs—I heard Jacobs speak at RootsTech in 2015 after he published this book about his quest to find his roots.  It's a hilarious, entertaining read that any genealogy addict will enjoy. 

5.  The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton—I'm a huge fan of Morton's multi-layered family sagas for lots of reasons.  This one concerns a young girl who is taken in by a tender-hearted old man when she arrives alone in Australia without anyone to retrieve her.  She's raised by the man and his wife, without knowing she's not their biological child.  When she finds out, she sets out on a journey to find out who she really is.

1.  The Lost by Daniel Mendelsohn—Stephanie over at She's Probably at the Library recommended this book about the author's search for his family's Holocaust story.  The way she described his painstaking research process made me especially interested in reading this heavy tome that Stephanie says is heartbreaking but fascinating.  

2.  Under the Light of the Italian Moon by Jennifer Anton (available March 8, 2021)—Based on the author's own family history, this novel tells the story of one woman's resilience during World War II in Italy.

3.  Send For Me by Lauren Fox—This dual-timeline novel concerns a woman who finds her grandmother's letters from World War II Germany, which propels her on a journey into her family's tragic past.  Have I mentioned that I've got a thing for family history?

4.  Paging the Dead by Brynn Bonner—The first installment in a family history mystery series, this one has the professional genealogist main character investigating a murder in order to clear her own name.  Sounds fun!

5.  The Lost Family by Libby Copeland—This book, which examines DNA results and family history research, has gotten some good buzz.  I'm definitely interested in reading it.

There you go, ten books about family history/genealogy that I've read and want to read.  Which books of this type have you enjoyed?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.