Because of a childhood bout with rheumatic fever, 25-year-old Elsa Wolcott has long been treated as an invalid by her wealthy family.  Lanky, awkward, and shy, she figures she'll always be a spinster, slowly suffocating to death in her parents' home.  She's shocked, then, when she meets Rafe Martinelli, an Italian-American farmer, who pays her the kind of attention she's only read about in romance novels.  The Wolcotts will never accept him as a suitor—he's a blue collar worker, a penniless dreamer, and a "foreigner" to boot.  Elsa and Rafe's secret romance turns into a hasty marriage when a pregnant Elsa is kicked out of her parents' home.  Although the Martinellis are not thrilled with the situation either, they accept Elsa into their fold, soon recognizing what the Wolcotts never have—Elsa is a quick learner, a hard worker, and a person adept at making the best of a bad situation.

By 1934, Elsa is a poor farmer's wife, who is beloved by her in-laws but ignored by her parents and treated with indifference by a husband who is increasingly distant and depressed.  When Rafe abandons Elsa, their young children, and his family's farm, she is left to struggle along with the senior Martinellis to turn a profit from the dying land.  Between the choking dust, the country's desperate financial situation, and the constant work of farming and caring for a family, Elsa is at the end of her rope.  Many of the residents in her Texas town have already fled the Dust Bowl, headed for California, the land of opportunity.  Should Elsa stay or go?  Can she really find salvation in The Golden State?  What will become of her, her elderly in-laws, and her young children?

Kristin Hannah has become known for writing sweeping, emotional sagas about families fighting to survive in difficult situations.  Her newest, The Four Winds (available February 2, 2021), is no exception.  With a setting so vivid you can feel grit stinging your eyes, Hannah paints a grim, gut-wrenching picture of life in the Dust Bowl during The Great Depression.  There's no more sympathetic character than a tireless mother who will do anything to save her children and Elsa is absolutely that.  She's a complex, brave, admirable woman whose determination makes her relatable and root-worthy.  While I found Hannah's depiction of "Okie" life in California fascinating, her descriptions are so vivid, so heartbreaking, that I'm not sure I'll ever forget them.  The Four Winds concludes with an interesting twist, one I didn't much care for; still, the ending feels not just satisfying, but also hopeful.  Despite its bleakness, I found this novel absorbing, moving, and memorable.  It's because of books like this that I've become a big Kristin Hannah fan over the last few years.  I can't wait to see what she does next!

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other stories about the Dust Bowl and The Great Depression, like The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse, I Will Send Rain by Rae Meadows, and A Promise to Break by Kathryn Spurgeon)

It's December 1st.  Can you believe it?  Even though 2020 seems to be lasting for eons, there are only 31 days left in the year.  Inconceivable!  I don't know about you, but I'm scrambling to figure out how I'm going to finish everything I need to do before 2020 disappears forever.  My house is only half decorated for the holidays, I've got Christmas cards to address and mail (I did print them early, so at least that part's done), there are presents to buy, a house to clean, preparations to make for my son's wedding on January 2, a mountain of laundry to tackle, etc.  Despite my never-ending to-do list, what's really on my mind is how I'm going to finish out my reading year.  Priorities, amirite?  My goal was to read 200 books in 2020 and I'm only 30 away.  I read over 30 books in October, so reaching my goal is doable, if not probable.  We'll see.  

What would I like to read in December?  Good question.  I've still got a list of middle grade novels to read for my Cybils judging gig as well as a number I need in order to finish up a few reading challenges.  Then, of course, there are a bunch I'd like to get to just for fun.  *Sigh*  So many books, so little time ...  

Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is Books I'd Like to Re-read.  Since I'm not much of a re-reader and I actually posted about this topic in September, I'm going to be rebellious today and focus instead on the Top Ten Books I Want to Read Before 2020 Ends.  If you want to join in the TTT fun, hop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the info.

Top Ten Books I Want to Read Before 2020 Ends  

1.  The Loop by Ben Oliver—I don't read much sci-fi, but I need a book featuring robots or AI characters for the PopSugar Reading Challenge.  This YA novel, about a teen boy incarcerated in a futuristic prison run by robot guards, sounds compelling.

2.  Beauty and the Baron by Joanna Barker—I enjoyed Barker's 2018 debut novel and have been meaning to pick up another by her ever since.  Beauty and the Baron, the first installment in her new fairy tale retellings series, sounds like a light, fun read to enjoy in December.  It will also fill the "Retelling" prompt for the Nerd Daily Reading Challenge.

3.  Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham—Earlier this year, I read The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman, a MG novel about two young girls whose lives change forever after the explosion at Chernobyl.  The setting was intriguing, making me want to learn more about this historical event.  Midnight in Chernobyl gets good reviews and fulfills the "Genre You Don't Usually Read" prompt for the Booklist Queen Reading Challenge.

4.  The Woman Who Spoke to Spirits by Alys Clare—This Victorian mystery novel just sounds fun!

5.  Christmas Day in the Morning adapted by David Warner from the original story by Pearl S. Buck—I received a copy of this book from the publisher a month ago.  It's a slim holiday story about a man looking back on the gift that brought Christmas joy back into his life.  

6.  A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens—Speaking of re-reads, this is the only book I revisit every year.  It's a quick read but one that always moves me and gets me into the Christmas spirit.

7.  Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Mid-Life Crisis by Ada Calhoun—I've been fascinated by sleeping and dreaming ever since I was a nap-resistant child.  These days, I can barely make it through the day without a midday snooze, although I often have trouble sleeping at night.  I'm interested to see what Calhoun has to say on the matter.

8.  The Power of Ritual: How to Create Meaning and Connection in Everything You Do by Casper ter Kuile—I was looking for a good motivational book to pump me up for the new year and I came across this one.  Not only does it sound inspirational, but it will work nicely to fulfill the "Self-Improvement Book" prompt for the Booklist Queen Reading Challenge.

9.  Lockdown by Peter May—I enjoy May's books, so I definitely want to make time for this one, which was published 15 years ago but just re-released.  It's a murder mystery set against a familiar background: a city in quarantine because of a deadly virus that's creating a worldwide pandemic.  Even though I'm tired of living in a pandemic, I still find them fascinating to read about.

10.  The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim—I've heard good things about this novel, which features a woman who visits her mother in L.A.'s Koreatown only to find her mom dead in a suspicious manner.  In her shock and sorrow, the daughter begins looking into her mother's death, which leads her on a journey of discovery into her mother's past as a Korean War orphan trying to make her way in California.  I'm definitely intrigued!   

There you go, ten books I want to read this month.  What are you planning to read in December?  How are you doing with your 2020 reading goals?  What do you think of my choices?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

One of my favorite musicals of all time is the 1971 film version of Fiddler on the Roof.  I've never read the books by Sholem Aleichem on which the movie is based, nor seen the beloved Broadway play that preceded the motion picture, but I love the story of Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman, who clings desperately to tradition while the modern world marches on in spite of him.  No matter how many times I watch it, the movie never fails to move me.  I laugh, I cry, I sing along ... it's just a gem of a film.  The motion picture ends with Tevye and what's left of his family and Jewish community being forced out of Anatevka, their ancestral home, in the wake of violent "demonstrations" against them by Russian soldiers.  Although the story arc feels complete, it leaves a compelling question:  What happens to them all after they leave Anatevka?

Alexandra Silber, who played Hodel—one of Tevye's daughters—on stage, often wondered what happened to her character after the events portrayed in Fiddler on the Roof.  She decided to answer that question for herself with After Anatevka.  Although the novel drops in on Tevye and his other family members, it focuses on Hodel and her fiancé, Perchik Tselenovich.  In Fiddler, Perchik is arrested for his radical ideas and exiled to Siberia.  After Anatevka starts where the movie leaves off, with Hodel journeying to Siberia to find her love, who is imprisoned in a labor camp.  Although she begs for his freedom, Hodel's pleas fall on deaf ears.  All she can do is stay near Perchik and wait patiently for his release.  How long will it take?  Will the two ever be able to marry and live happily ever after?

As you can probably tell from the skimpy story summary, not a whole lot happens in After Anatevka.  With no real plot, the tale drones on and on, with little action to keep it interesting.  The characters are not well developed, which makes it tough to feel connected to them.  Especially since there are so many of them.  Keeping all of Perchik's labor camp friends straight is a losing battle!  I did finish the book since I wanted to know what would happen to Hodel and Perchik, but considering how it ends, the whole novel just feels pointless.  For me, it ended up being a slow, depressing, dissatisfying slog.  I did enjoy Hodel's memories of life with her family in Anatevka—those flashbacks brought the warmth, humor, and heart of Fiddler on the Roof to the story, which lacks it otherwise.  Without those things, After Anatevka just doesn't have the charm it needs to be a worthy Fiddler companion.  Bummer.   

(Readalikes:  I can't really think of anything.  You?)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

Mrs. Maxim de Winter was working as a lady's maid to a wealthy busybody on vacation in Monte Carlo when she met Maxim.  Although she was shy and awkward, the dashing widower took an interest in her.  In a surreal twist of fate, she found herself married to him just a few weeks later.  Now, she's the mistress of Manderly, a sprawling mansion on the Cornish coast.  With no experience as a wife or a woman with means, she's intimidated by both her formidable new home and her position within it.  The housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, is cold and unwelcoming, obviously finding the current Mrs. de Winter no match at all for her predecessor.  Everyone, in fact, seems obsessed with Maxim's deceased first wife, Rebecca.  Her successor becomes just as fixated.  Who was Rebecca?  Why does she still have such a hold over Maxim and his associates?  Most importantly, what really happened to her?  The new Mrs. de Winter would very much like to know ...

I'm always up for a creepy Gothic novel and Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is a genre classic.  I'd never read it before, but lots of people love it, so I finally decided to give it a go.  It's definitely an atmospheric tale, with an eerie, unsettling vibe that kept me feeling on edge throughout.  That was my favorite part of the story by far.  Plotwise, Rebecca moves at a glacial pace, with so much extraneous information that I yawned through a good 70% of the book.  It picks up toward the end, wrapping up with an odd, abrupt ending that had me wondering if my copy of the novel was missing some pages.  The finale is satisfying, I guess, in that it's about unlikable people getting what they deserve.  While Rebecca is more layered than it first appears to be, making some sharp and subtle observations about identity, marriage, and the subjugation of women, I found it to be a long, dull slog featuring repellant characters that I didn't care for at all.  I didn't end up totally hating the book, but I certainly did not love it.  Even if you adore Gothic novels, I'd recommend giving this one a pass.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me a little of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte)