14.  Indigo: In Search of the Color that Seduced the World, by Catherine E. McKinley

This book is way more down my line than the historical fiction one about the indigo plantation owner.  I really enjoyed my time with it.  The author earned a grant to explore indigo in Africa in about 2000, and I think this book was published about ten years later. She tells about her fascination with indigo,  some of its history and what remains of its place today, her travels, and her friendship with a local shop owner.

12.  I guess I forgot to post this when I read it. Actually, I think I wrote something and must not have hit the publish button. Maybe there was another book, too.   The Indigo Girl was for the historical fiction group I am in at least temporarily.  It's hard to excuse the slavery and see this woman as admirable, I felt, and the book was just so so.  It is interesting to read a little additional about the history and the indigo plant. There is a DIY show one of the ladies shared with a bit about indigo and this woman, and the host of the show painted a house indigo.  I loved the house. The woman, not so much.

13.  Louise Penny's Glass Houses: I have read most of these books in order, and this is one of the more recent ones.  I kind of burned out, but then a friend has loaned me the one after this. Penny creates a fantasy place, an escape for the reader.  All the dear friends live close to each other in a beautiful town which has managed to escape modern maps and GPS.  They share lovely meals regularly.  They are all famous, but retain privacy, and they quote poetry regularly. One character behaves so badly nobody would really put up with her, but they find her charming. I really don't get that.  Horrible things happen, as in all these murder mystery chains. The main character has a strong moral sense in a sea of corruption.  He has a perfect marriage. The fabulously talented artist is a thinly disguised caricature of how the author sees herself.  Reading these makes me want to visit Quebec, but I do roll my eyes a bit. The individual stories are forgettable.  She has quite an imagination, and a reader should always check out her author notes to see a bit about what is true and false in the real world.