The Copenhagen Connection / Elizabeth Peters

3 out of 5 stars

I had to interlibrary loan this novel and, although it was pleasant enough, I'm not sure it was worth the fuss. However, I did get to it read a book set in Denmark (plus there was a pig farm which is a big plus if you grew up on one as I did).

I have enjoyed the first few Amelia Peabody books and the first two Vicky Bliss books by this author, but I found this novel slightly less enjoyable. Elizabeth Jones isn't my kind of character. She's far too focused on first Margaret and then Christian and not nearly independent enough for my taste. Still, it had a good plot and wasn't the least bit confusing. It was awfully obvious from the first pages who Elizabeth's love interest would be and the romance proceeded at the pace of an older mystery-romance, quickly.

I only managed to spend one afternoon in Denmark when I was on a birding tour in Scandinavia. Thankfully I did get a chance to tour Kronberg castle and see the Little Mermaid. Our castle tour was a bit hurried, unfortunately. Birders often aren't keen on being indoors where there are no birds. I do wish I could return while I still have some living relatives. At least this book allowed me to visit via fiction.

A Far Cry From Kensington / Muriel Spark

 

4.4 out of 5 stars 

What a lark! Why have I not read Muriel Spark before this? I did a bit of googling to find out a bit about her and consulted a page which claimed to recommend the best of her books to start with. This book was not mentioned but I believe it should be. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Mrs. Hawkins!

Nancy Hawkins is a sensible woman, extremely capable, and a fountain of good advice. She is observant of the people around her. She has only one weakness—she despises Hector Bartlett, a hanger on to good writers, a manipulator of women, a pushy excretor of horrible prose. Mrs. Hawkins should know, she works in the publishing industry and has to continually reject Bartlett's various submissions. Finally, in a fit of pique, she tells him to his face that he is a pisseur de copie, a urinator of inferior writing. Little does she know what this fit of honesty will cause in her life. However Nancy Hawkins doesn't let him blight her life. He does that to others.

Nancy tells us how her life proceeds, the people she spends time with, the latest tendril of Bartlett's poor attempts to change her mind. Let me just say that he should have given up! I loved this short novel and will seek out more of Spark's fiction in the future.

Where the Earth Meets the Sky / Louise K. Blight

 

4 out of 5 stars 

***2026 Summer of Sightseeing from my Sofa***

Antarctica was the stand out tourist experience of my life and penguins are among my favourite birds, making this memoir irresistible to me. I first visited this remote area in 2002 and only saw the beauty of the Antarctic peninsula, but when the cruise ended, if they had told me there was room for one more woman on the next excursion, I would have turned around and reboarded the ship and figured out how to pay for it and what to tell my employer later. It is the only international trip that I have made twice.

Louise Blight (a fellow Canadian) writes a lovely account of her three month field study of Adelie penguins. She is the junior researcher, spending plenty of time on data entry when she is not scanning the birds for band numbers, noting eggs laid, and catching and weighing chicks. Field camp at Cape Royds is a basic affair and Blight’s quarters are a tent outside the research hut. The wind and cold ensure that the researchers constantly feel hungry and dehydrated. As a twenty something, I briefly considered a degree in biology and a life in the field. May I say that I am immensely grateful that library work chose me instead! I do not have the grit required for this kind of life.

I can attest to the beauty of the Antarctic. Blight describes it well and conveys her appreciation of her surroundings clearly. The logistics of getting to and from McMurdo Station were daunting. Helicopters are a common conveyance between camps. Initially Blight was concerned about her research partner's introversion, but she also is a quiet person, so they continue to collaborate writing papers. During the three month survey, they seem to have a steady stream of visitors due to their proximity to a historic site (Shackleton's hut). Like the Canadians on my cruise ship, Blight seems to have preferred the company of the Kiwis over that of the Americans. The New Zealand and Canadian senses of humour and worldviews seem to mesh better.

If you've ever wondered about travel to Antarctica or field biology among penguins, this is the book for you. If you're glad to get home after a regular trip, consider how wonderful it would be to get back to the land of flush toilets, hot showers, your choice of food, and a temperature controlled home after a journey like this one.

Come, Tell Me How You Live / Agatha Christie

 

4 out of 5 stars 

***2026 Summer of Sightseeing from my Sofa***

I chose a theme of travel for my summer this year, but regular travel books weren't what I had in mind. This memoir relates to the travels of Agatha Christie, time traveling back to the Syria of the 1930s. Ms. Christie was both an adventurous woman and an introvert. She willingly accompanied her husband Max on his archeological expeditions in Syria, despite the discomforts of heat, dust, fleas, mice, limited diet, and rough accommodations. I think she found some of the humans along the way more challenging than the physical annoyances.

I've always been impressed by Christie's economical descriptions of her fictional characters. She achieves this same effect in this memoir, letting us know a lot about her companions without belaboring the details. She seems to have had the introvert's joy in people watching—observing their behaviour and trying to figure out what makes them tick. The intricacies of various cultures only adds to her fun.

It was enjoyable to see this area of the world during (relatively) peaceful times, before it became the site of so many armed conflicts. Despite that, there were fights between workers of various cultures on the dig site and one driver who routinely tried to run down Muslim pedestrians. One of Max's problems was keeping the peace among these labourers, banishing those who were most belligerent.

I admire Agatha's ability to go with the flow, to enjoy the personal dramas around her, and to get her work done in less than ideal circumstances. But I have to agree with her that one of the best joys of travel is returning to your own home—your own bed, bathroom, and kitchen.

A Few Green Leaves / Barbara Pym

 

4 out of 5 stars 

Book 11 of the 2026 Read Your Hoard Challenge

This novel was published after Barbara Pym's death and was finished during her chemotherapy. It is a bit more somber than her earlier books. The main character, Emma Howick, is an anthropologist, a common occupation in Pym's fiction. She has come to the small village to work on a rather nebulous project. One evening (admittedly after imbibing a little too much alcohol), Emma sends a letter to an old flame who she sees interviewed on TV. The late 1970s version of a booty call? Graham ends up renting a cottage outside the village and writing a book there.

Meanwhile, Emma is turning her eye to the customs and habits of the village community. In some ways, the novel is a requiem for a fading way of life. The rector, Tom, is no longer the man of importance that he would have been in earlier decades; indeed, he is vague and rather fixated on historical projects. The younger doctor in town is much more likely to provide a prescription than advice. The residents of the manor are uninvolved in village life.

While studying others, Emma manages to sort out her own life too. Despite Pym's grave illness and impending death, she managed to give Emma a hopeful ending—a few green leaves to improve the bouquet of her future.

Convent Wisdom / Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita

 

3.75 out of 5 stars 

You're a twenty-first century woman and you're wondering what relevance the lives of early modern era nuns have to you. These two young women make the case that it's nearly impossible to face a problem that hasn't been written about by a nun several hundred years ago. In our age of women being self-sufficient and feeling all kinds of pressures, you can be both amused and amazed at the correspondence between us and them. The authors make the most convincing argument for women in Academia, their natural habitat.

”At some point in our mid-twenties we both decided (still strangers at this point) to join the ranks of academia. The vow of poverty we took when we resolved to be PhD candidates was virtually no different from the one assumed by the austere Discalced Carmelites. The academic submissiveness to professors and thesis supervisors wasn't any less unyielding than the negation of one's will inherent to a nun's vow of obedience. We didn't, in case you're wondering, take the vow of chastity, but you'd be surprised at how easily six years of graduate life in Providence (Rhode Island) can get you quasi-celibate status.”

There's no need to subscribe to any kind of faith to appreciate this book. It is based on the study of literature and history, not religion. What it clearly illustrates is the continuity of humanity. There truly is nothing new under the sun. Our problems, while feeling intensely personal, are representative of dilemmas faced by generations of women. The convent was a haven in earlier centuries for women who didn't want “normal" life of the times: overbearing husbands, unending pregnancies, no time for education, among other hardships. Convent life was no picnic, but at least you had chosen it, rather than being forced into other traditional roles.

The authors are Hispanic women and I wish I knew enough Spanish to listen to their podcast (Las hijas de Felipe). Their fun examination of the current problems of PhD students compared to historical nuns was inspired. Plus, I had to google many unfamiliar terms. I don't have any desire to watch TV, so “almond moms" were a mystery to me. It's never a bad thing to learn—no education is wasted.

The Antiquarian's Object of Desire / India Holton

 

3.25 out of 5 stars 

I didn't have quite as much fun with this third volume of Love's Academic. I'm not as fussed about a friends-to-lovers plot as I am about the enemies-to-lovers option. Amelia and Caleb have been besties since they were children, but in their alternate Victorian universe they must pretend to be academic rivals and enemies to maintain their professional reputations. And they are both tired of it.

A magical explosion (a not uncommon hazard of historical research) ends up with the couple being banished to Cumbria to inventory the enormous collection of Sir Nigel Harrow. Just when Amelia and Caleb think that they'll get some distance from their colleagues (and perhaps some privacy), two rather obnoxious men also show up to “assist.” And keep an eye on the young couple.

Holt manages to comment quite scathingly about the old boys club in academia as well as the general misogyny of a society that puts male entitlement well above female happiness. Sir Nigel's wife, who is desperately unhappy in her marriage tells it as she sees it: Sir Nigel's besetting sin is being boring. He acquires his antiques from agents, not via travel, depriving Lady Harrow of the chance to see other places. Worse yet, all his magical items cause problems that he is too dense to appreciate.

I'm not sorry to have read this, but I definitely preferred The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love.