Tips for Tuesday: The Book Witch, Still Life: Ten Crime Stories, New York's Coldest Cases, & Yesteryear and Movie: Gandhi: The Power of the Powerless

We may have been given complimentary copies and/or access for review purposes to any books, products, and/or any other visual or audio media mentioned below. Any and all opinions expressed here are our own.

Books: The Book Witch, Still Life: Ten Crimes, New York's Oldest Cases & Yesteryear

Me- I had extremely high expectations for the Book Witch by Meg Shaffer, and while it turned out to be very different from what I expected, I’m happy to report that it still managed to meet them!

The book follows Rainy March, who is, as the title suggests, a Book Witch. As a Book Witch, it’s her job to jump inside books, along with her cat familiar Koshka, and protect their stories from being altered or damaged. Book Witches must follow a strict code, part of which insists that real people and characters cannot fall in love, which is why Rainy has been banned from seeing the Duke of Chicago, the fictional detective from her favorite series. However, when her grandfather and her most treasured book go missing, the Duke is the only person who can help her unravel the mystery.

Rainy was such a great main character to follow. Her love for and devotion to books was deeply relatable to any reader, and she had just about the most enviable job imaginable. On top of that, she just felt real. As for Duke, he wasn’t the most fleshed-out character, but he was so charming and funny that I didn’t even care! Plus, the chemistry between these two was phenomenal! Their banter had me squealing and kicking my feet throughout the entire book. They expressed their love and care for each other so beautifully, and I just loved every moment they spent together. 

The plot was also extremely engaging. There were several mystery elements woven in, and while I predicted a few of the reveals early on, several of them truly shocked me. Aside from the mystery, the general concept of being able to physically go inside stories was so cool, and I loved seeing Rainy interact not only with Shaffer’s fictional Duke but also with classic literary characters and settings like Elizabeth Bennett or Wonderland.

Much like Meg Shaffer’s other two releases, The Book Witch is also a love letter to books and reading. It carries a moving and powerful message about books having the power to transport us, change us, and save us. Right now, at a time when books are being banned at an alarming rate, and AI is quickly on the rise, it is a poignant reminder that it is our responsibility to save them too.  

The overall tone of this story is largely silly and fun, but it also contains moving themes and emotional moments, and it brought me to tears multiple times. I truly can’t say enough good things or recommend it highly enough. At its heart, this is simply a beautiful story perfect for any reader who has ever turned to fiction at a time when they felt they had nothing or no one else. Through Rainy, Duke, and the incomparable magic of stories, The Book Witch will remind you that as long as we have books, anything is possible and we are not alone.

Mom - Today, I recommend Still Life: Ten Crime Stories by Malin Persson Giolito. This book is a unique and interesting addition to the crime story genre. Even if you are a fan of these types of books, you may be surprised by this one. These are not your typical crime stories. They are more about the psychology of the crime and what makes these specific perpetrators commit them. 

Their reasons are more relatable than you might think and often have to do with intangible things like needing to be heard and needing love more so than tangible objects like money. It really makes you think about what drives a person to crime and how not all criminals are just greedy and or straight out psychopaths. This, of course, doesn't excuse their crimes or make them any less tragic, but on the contrary, it makes them even more tragic. 

Mom again - Today, I recommend New York's Coldest Cases by David Bushman. This book is more of a traditional true crime book than the previous one. It details ten specific cases of crimes committed in New York City that have never been solved. 

Some cases, like the alleged New York Jack the Ripper and the disappearance of socialite Dorothy Arnold, may be familiar to some people. Others, like the murders of almost all the members of the Mourner family on their farm,  and the locked door murder of Isidore Fink, the proprietor of a laundromat, are likely to be unfamiliar to most people.

The book does more than just describe the crimes. It delves thoroughly into the victims' backgrounds and covers all suspects identified and why they were not ultimately charged with the crime. It also offers an insider's perspective not only on the crimes but on the ensuing aftereffects as told through the eyes of the friends and loved ones left behind. If you are a fan of true crime, you should really enjoy this intriguing book.

Mom yet again: Today, I recommend Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. Natalie Heller Mills is a social influencer who promotes her perfect traditional life with her ideal husband and her six angelic kids on their cosy farm. However, behind the scenes, nothing is quite as perfect as it seems.  There are nannies, farm workers, and modern appliances, and neither Natalie, her husband, nor their kids are as happy as they seem. Then, one day, she suddenly wakes up trapped in 1885, and is forced to live the reality of the life she's been espousing while trying to figure out how she got there, and how to get back to the life she came from.

This is an extremely intriguing book. It is just right for the current day, when some people seem to want to live their whole lives online. It puts a unique and modern spin on the time-travel genre. It is also a kind of speculative fiction that will likely even appeal to those who are not usually fans of that genre but who like historically set novels.

None of the characters is what they seem like on the surface, and they are all hard to root for. Yet, the book is still completely unputdownable and exciting. It is full of surprising twists and turns, and the ending is a complete shocker yet still feels appropriate to the story and not like it came completely out of left field. 

Movies: Gandhi: The Power of the Powerless

Today, we recommend Gandhi: The Power of the Powerless. This is a documentary film that traces the roots of Gandhi's peaceful protest movement and its influences on later similar events around the world. They include the United States Civil Rights movement, the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, Lech Walesa's Solidarity movement in Poland, and more. 

The film is extremely fascinating and highly relevant to today's world, when peaceful protest is the key to making the changes we need to promote a fairer, more equitable world for all, without bloodshed. Although it is not an appropriate film for very young children, it is a good history lesson for older ones.

And that's our view. Still Life Ten Crimes was published on March 31. The Book Witch, New York's Oldest Cases, and Yesteryear were published on April 7. Gandhi: The Power of the Powerless is available now digitally for purchase or rental. 

Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

Film images and The Still Life: Ten Crime Stories image have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and/or  PR firms. Any and all other images are our own. Address any concerns regarding image usage here.