Can it truly be May already? I just noticed I still have Santa mugs on a display shelf in my kitchen. Please tell me I’m not the only one who *thinks* I have all the holiday decorations put away, only to find a few stragglers weeks (months?) later. But yes, according to the calendar page I just turned over this morning, it is May. And that means it’s time for the May edition of the LWD Book Club. Let’s see what’s up for this month! 
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LWD MAY BOOK CLUB SELECTIONS
Death at the Chateau Bremont by M. L. Longworth
I listened to a podcast the other day with the author of this book. She has a brand new book out but I want to start with the first in the series.
The first installment in the beloved, sumptuous mystery series set in Provence, featuring chief magistrate Antoine Verlaque and his old flame Marine Bonnet, who must team up to solve a pair of murders
When local nobleman Étienne de Bremont falls to his death from the family château, it sets the historic town of Aix-en-Provence abuzz with rumors. Antoine Verlaque, the charming chief magistrate of Aix, suspects foul play, and when he discovers that Bremont had been a close friend of Marine Bonnet, his on-again off-again girlfriend, Verlaque must turn to her for help.
The once idyllic town suddenly seems filled with people who scould have benefited from Bremont’s death—including his playboy brother François, who’s heavily in debt and mixed up with some unsavory characters. But just as Verlaque and Bonnet are narrowing down their list of suspects, another death occurs. And this time, there can be no doubt—it’s murder.
A lively mystery steeped in the enticing atmosphere of the south of France and seasoned with romance as rich as the French cuisine that inspires it, this first installment in the acclaimed Verlaque & Bonnet Provençal Mystery series is as addictive and captivating as Provence itself.
If you’d like to check out the podcast here is the link:
203: M.L. Longworth’s New Provençal Mystery and Life in Provence
The Fringe Hours: Making Time For You by Jessica N. Turner
Every woman has had this experience: you get to the end of the day and realize you did nothing for you. And if you go days, weeks, or even months in this cycle, you begin to feel like you have lost a bit of yourself.
While life is busy with a litany of must-dos–work, parenting, keeping house, grocery shopping, laundry and on and on–women do not have to push their own needs aside. Yet this is often what happens. There’s just no time, right? Wrong.
In this practical and liberating book, Jessica Turner empowers women to take back pockets of time they already have in their day in order to practice self-care and do the things they love. Turner uses her own experiences and those of women across the country to teach readers how to balance their many responsibilities while still taking time to invest in themselves. She also addresses barriers to this lifestyle, such as comparison and guilt, and demonstrates how eliminating these feelings and making changes to one’s schedule will make the reader a better wife, mother, and friend.
Perfect for any woman who is doing everything for everyone–except herself–The Fringe Hours is ideal for both individuals and small group use.
Home Sweet Maison: The French Art of Making a Home by Danielle Postel-Vinay
French Women Don’t Get Fat meets The Little Book of Hygge in this lively, sophisticated, and practical illustrated lifestyle guide that shows how to enjoy la belle vie—to live like the French every day—transforming your house into a home defined by beauty, family, and accessible elegance.
How do the French create the elusive and alluring sanctuaries they call home? This question long intrigued Danielle Postel-Vinay. Thanks to a chance encounter with a French expat in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and years of immersive research, she embarked on a quest to discover the secrets of the French home aesthetic.
Experiencing first-hand la belle vie—the beautiful life—Postel-Vinay now shows everyone how to create their own French sanctuary, a home sweet maison, no matter where they live. Providing more than just interior decorating and design tips, Postel-Vinay teaches you how to foster the warmth, beauty, and rituals inherent in the French home and create an environment better suited to living a rich, full, connected life. At the center of the book is the idea that your house should be a reflection of you, your hobbies, your family history, your rituals, all the things that make your life unique. A happy home is a home that expresses your rituals and your taste, not one that relies on prefab décor from a mass retailer.
Home Sweet Maison takes a room-by-room approach to show how the French view:
- The Aesthetic: why the objects in your home matter, why minimalism is overrated, and why the French always choose the perfect décor for their salons
- The Practical: how to use mise-en-place, or the French art of organization, in your kitchen, and how to find the right stain-removing potions to create your own French laundry
- The Sensual: the way the French employ scent in their home as a personal signature
- The Philosophical: the idea that every room in a French house has a specific purpose, and that the activity in one room should never bleed into the others
Home Sweet Maison encapsulates the very heart of the French way of seeing the world: set the table formally, adhere to all the conventions of ritual and tradition, then take pleasure in indulgence. It’s about using French concepts and routines to change our homes, our relationships, and our lives for the better.
What’s better than curling up with a good book and a delicious cup of tea? And when the tea is named “Reading Nook“? Perfection.
Plum Deluxe “Reading Nook” tea blend
PREVIOUS LWD BOOK CLUB CHOICES:
I’m almost done with Fringe Hours and really have enjoyed it.
I downloaded the free sample and read it the other day. Now I need to go purchase the whole thing. I think it will be just what I need to read right now.
I’m not getting my usual reading time at the moment. All the being poked and prodded by doctors is making me behind on things, and that – combined with the being poked and prodded in the first place – is cutting in to my reading time.
Anyway, I have a small holiday decoration on my desk that I keep saying I’ll put away… It’s been there since it was noticed a few weeks ago…
I do hope you are feeling better!
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one with lingering holiday remnants. Ha!
No… It’s not just you. LOL!
Thanks! As regards the asthma, I am. Unfortunately, some other health issues are playing up right now.
Hope you feel better soon!
The Fringe Hours sounds very interesting – I will see if my library has that one! I am reading Buddhist Boot Camp (no, you don’t have to be Buddhist to read this) but I am finding it too simplistic – like he’s a watered down Thich Nhat Hanh, if you’ve ever read him. Next will be Joan Anderson’s Stretch Marks.
I have read some Thich Nhat Hanh but not Buddhist Boot Camp. I had not heard of “Stretch Marks” but after reading the description on Amazon it sounds really good. I’d love to hear your thoughts after you read it.