It’s our last “What Are You Reading? of the year, so I’m curious as to how you’re rounding out 2021. What are the final books you’re reading or listening to this year?
I’m working on my February Treasures in My Closet post for January 1, and I’m reading one of the novels from that list. It’s been enticing me, and I was going to put it on hold at the library until I received a copy. Love & Saffron: A Novel of Friendship, Food and Love by Kim Fay comes out Feb. 8. It’s a small book, so I’ll actually finish it before this post is published. I think Kaye and Margie will both appreciate it. I know others might.
Love & Saffron is an epistolary novel that takes place from 1962 to 1965. A young woman in Los Angeles writes to a columnist from Washington state, a woman she’s admired for years. In that first letter, Joan encloses a small packet of saffron and a recipe. The correspondence develops into a deep friendship as both women, and Imogen’s husband, experiment with adventures in food. Of course, events of those years are mentioned, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy’s assassination. But, the friendship is the point of the book.
So, I’m reading a novel of friendship, and maybe another book or two before the end of the year. What about you? What are you reading? Plans for the New Year? Let us know!
I hope everyone had a good Christmas.
It’s been very rainy and cold here, might even get some snow pretty soon. Haven’t had snow on the valley floor here since the 1990’s.
I’ve been trying to catch up on my goodreads wins.
Atacama Nights by William Graham; An American detective turned hotel owner keeps his hand in solving murders in Chile.It’s written like it’s magical realism only there’s no magic.
Three Weeks to Say Goodbye by CJ Box and A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson both felt like someone was trying to write a movie, but these feel like 90’s movies, probably starring Ashley Judd.
Three’s a Clowder by Gin Jones; A virus has ended the worlds and a woman with cats solves a murder…Maybe a little too close to the bone.
Santa Con Wedding Heist by Marco Olivari; A guy tries a heist during SantaCon right before his wedding, and we get a lot of the kind of Big City craziness we used to see in 80’s movies like Adventures in Baby Sitting and Quick Change.
Macaron Murder by Harper Lin; A cozy set in Paris, France, rather than Paris, Texas or Tennessee.You can almost see the berets.
The Last Days of the Dinosaurs by Riley Black; Great book that tells what happened when that asteroid hit.Covers 100,000 years.
Captain Easy Volume One by Roy Crane; Sunday Comics about the soldier of fortune. We don’t get comics like this any more.
Christmas seems so long ago, I forgot to ask that question, Glen! I’m glad you did. 80s, 90s, you’ve been living in the past with your books. I laughed at that comment that the movies probably starred Ashley Judd. At least you had a great book there, and an excellent book of comics.
Good morning Lesa,
I like the sound of Love and Saffron, though I’m never too sure about epistolary novels (I didn’t like The Guernsey Potato Peel Pie (or whatever it was called…) Any book about food always interests me, though like any others, they can be good or bad. I enjoyed Writing at the Kitchen Table, the biography of Elizabeth David that I read this year, and I loved the Julie & Julia film. I’ve also (finally) finished The Alice B Toklas Cookbook, which is laden not only with butter and champagne, but also fascinating details of Toklas’ and Stein’s lives and social circles in the early 20th century (mainly in Paris.)
I just didn’t have the chance to contribute last week (though I really did read all the posts), and we are travelling yet again tomorrow, so I am writing most of this on Wednesday to make sure I get something done.
I hope everyone has enjoyed their holidays so far. I am not a great fan of Christmas myself, but it has been lovely having our elder daughter, Anna, here. She and I have had some good walks (even if today’s was in pouring rain – I told her it was ‘atmospheric’…)
Our younger daughter Madeleine tested positive for Covid before Christmas, so she and her similarly afflicted flatmate Dulcie had to isolate in Glasgow, but I’m glad to say they were hardly ill at all, and had a good time watching horror films and consuming large amounts of food (and drink) – they managed to arrange a home delivery of both from Morrison’s. We missed Madeleine, but our son organised a Christmas family quiz on Zoom, which was a great success and the source of much hilarity.
Tomorrow we will be in the car again, heading back to Edinburgh to take Anna to the airport; she is flying to Cardiff to spend New Year with her partner’s family in Wales. We then plan to head over to Glasgow to spend a few hours with Madeleine (who is now ‘free at last’). We hope to be back up in Aberdeenshire on Sunday, and after that I sincerely hope we will be able to stay put for quite a few weeks.
Yesterday we met up with our son and his wife at Corgarff Castle, a mediaeval tower house that later became an army base for seeking out pro-Jacobite sympathisers and after that, whisky smugglers. I’ve never actually been inside the castle, which is firmly shut for winter now anyway, but we pass it every time we go up into the Highlands. David found a walk from the castle car park with great views of the hills. It was icy in places, but OK, and afterwards we had lunch at the Corgarff shop, a roadside café and gift place that also hires out skis for people on their way to the Lecht slopes. It was a good day, though dreadfully foggy on the way there and back.
I’ve failed miserably on the reading front this past week, but when we saw Freddie & Naomi they gave me my Secret Santa present, which turned out to be a stack of books I had put on my list and forgotten all about, so that was a lovely surprise. The books I got were:
TEA IS SO INTOXICATING by Mary Essex
NINE COACHES WAITING by Mary Stewart
WEATHERLAND, and ROMANTIC MODERNS, both by Alexandra Harris.
I am absolutely delighted with them.
On the television we watched the Celebrity Christmas Bake Off – this year with some of the cast of It’s a Sin, Russell T Davies’ acclaimed series about the AIDS crisis in 1980s London, told through the stories of a group of young gay men, and one girl, who share a flat. It really is an exceptional drama, and although it is at times horrifying and heart-breaking, it also has some very funny scenes, and some positive messages. In the Bake Off the cast (which includes Olly Alexander) were absolutely hilarious – and surprisingly good at cooking.
We’re now watching the second series of A Very British Scandal, which is about the Duke and Duchess of Argyll and the infamous 1963 divorce proceedings that he brought against her, in which his lawyers produced photos of the Duchess in a very compromising position with a ‘headless’ man – ie his head could not be seen, and to the end of her life the Duchess never revealed his identity.
The first two episodes were mostly about their whirlwind courtship (both had already been married, he twice), her renovations of Inverary Castle, his Scottish ‘seat’, her discovery of his near-bankruptcy, and the imploding of their marriage. He is portrayed (by the excellent Paul Bettany) as a volatile, violent, alcoholic and womaniser, she as sex mad, selfish and cruel. (She grew up in New York, the child of wealthy Scottish parents, and had been encouraged to believe that she deserved the best, and should have anything she wanted. Argyll had married her for her father’s money, which he tapped mercilessly to shore up his estates and to finance a hopeless project to raise a Spanish Armada ship wrecked in Tobermory Bay [which was part of his estate].)
The Duchess is played by Clare Foy, who has become television royalty after her stint as the young queen in the first two series of The Crown. She also played Anne Boleyn in the TV adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall. She is an outstanding actress.
And BBC Sounds gave us a week of short stories by Maeve Binchy. I’ve listened to the first three and enjoyed all of them. Maeve may not have been a ‘literary’ writer, but I love her writing, it has such a true feel of Ireland; if you have ever been there, you can hear her characters talking, she has every expression and turn of phrase down to a T.
I have to say I’m looking forward to getting back to some kind of ‘normal’ now. But I hope anyone who celebrates New Year enjoys it. See you all in 2022!
Good morning, Rosemary, although I have no idea what time of day you will read this.
I liked Guernsey Literary Society until the end. The older of the two authors died before it was finished, and I felt the ending was flat. I think she must have had a great deal to do with the writing, and the niece (I think niece) didn’t know how to finish the book.
It sounds as if you’ve been all over the place over the holidays. No wonder you’re looking forward to sleeping in your own bed, and being at home. Mr Charlie Parker probably wonders what happened in the last couple weeks.
It’s good that you were able to spend time with all your family, though, and the quiz sounds like it could have been hilarious.
I really need to go back and read some Maeve Binchy that I missed. Kaye Barley, who comments here, reads Rosamund Pilcher this time of year. Both of them are comfort reads.
I’m celebrating the New Year at 7:30 PM with a virtual concert from Ireland. Safe travels, and we’ll talk next year!
Darn. I was halfway through commenting when the stupid laptop decided to reboot itself.
I hate when that happens.
I didn’t read THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY, but I did see the movie version on Netflix. It was OK, in my estimation, watchable but nothing outstanding. It starred Lily James, Michel Huisman, Matthew Goode, Jessica Brown Findlay (three of them from Downton Abbey).
No New Year’s Eve plans other than the usual here – watching our usual movies, TWO FOR THE ROAD and WHEN HARRY MET SALLY…. We’ll be picking up food from our favorite restaurant. The weather should be mild (mid-50s). We will do our packing on Saturday and leave for Florida on Sunday morning. No hurry, so we take three days on the road and will get there on Wednesday afternoon. So far we have been fairly lucky with the weather here – no snow – but we’re looking forward to warmer weather. We will be very careful and stay to ourselves mostly, as Florida is a hotbed of bad behavior about masks, etc.
Jackie is reading the new Nora Roberts (The Becoming?) and has books by Jayne Ann Krentz (as Jayne Castle) and Christine Feehan (who is publishing six new books a year!) waiting. She read about 50 books this year.
My reading this week: Ann Patchett’s These Precious Days was one of my favorite books read this year, her second outstanding book of essays.
I liked Helene Tursten’s first collection of “Elderly Lady” short stories, but her second, An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed, was a big disappointment. She should have stopped after the first.
Monogamy (original hardback title A HOLE IN THE LANGUAGE) was the first collection of stories by Marly Swick. I liked them.
S. J. Rozan is known for her Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series of PI stories. A minor character in the series is Lydia’s widowed (and often nagging) mother. Lately, Rozan has started publishing stories about the mother from her point of view, and every one has been a delight. The latest (published as a separate booklet for Crippen & Landru subscribers, and probably in EQMM) is “Chin Yong-Yun Takes the Stage” and it is fast-moving and fun. Let’s just say that Lydia is not the only member of her family with detecting skills.
Don George, ed. An Innocent Abroad: Life-Changing Trips From 35 Great Writers had varying amounts of interest for me, depending on the writer and where they traveled, mostly. Ann Patchett in Paris, Jane Smiley on horseback in Aquitaine, Richard Ford’s unfortunate choice of a first trip abroad to Morocco are some that really held my attention.
Current reading: Jim Hanvey, Detective by Octavus Roy Cohen, a collection originally published in 1923. And William Shaw’s Grave’s End, the latest Sgt. Alexandra Cupidi book (which, for some reason, has not been published in this country). I like his writing and the series.
I hope everyone here has a safe and enjoyable New Year and that next year is a better one for all of us.
I hate when the laptop or computer causes problems, too, Jeff. At one library system where I worked, the computer was always rebooting. I had to learn to save quite frequently because I would lose entire documents.
Tell Jackie I hope she enjoys The Becoming as much as I did. As I said, it’s the interval before the final battle book.
I downloaded An Innocent Abroad, and I’ll get to it eventually. I know there are pieces I’ll appreciate in it. Thanks for the heads-up, Jeff.
Safe travels to the two of you! If we con’t hear from you next Thursday, since you’ll just be arriving, I hope to hear the following week. Stay safe!
Like you, I’m hoping 2022 is better for all of us!
She said, “I love Marco the best, and the dog Bollocks.”
Have a safe trip! I have that Shaw book here, but haven’t caught up to it yet in the series.
Just finished it. I know there is one more out in Britain but it will have to wait until we get home.
Tell Jackie I love Marco, too. He’s my favorite!
Marco is such a great character! Bullocks is such a good boy. ❤
Guernsey Literary Society remains one of my favorite books ever.
I do love Rosamund Pilcher and re-visit a few of books often; Shell Seekers, Coming Home, Winter Solstice, and September. I haven’t read any of her short stories or novelettes – although I’m not sure why.
I’m going to have to go back, eventually, and reread some of Pilcher. Also Maeve Binchy.
My mother loved the Shell Seekers and I got her copy and loved it too. There was a film of it made which I have not been able to locate and view.
Angela Lansbury is in the film, Rick, and I enjoyed it.
Rosemary, good talks with your grown children are the best! I am so glad you were able to have some with your daughter. It has been years since I have read anything by Maeve Binchy, but every book of hers I read I really enjoyed. Thanks for the reminder – I need to pick up one of her books again. Hope you are able to get some rest!
I find epistolary novels off putting. I’m not sure why, but somehow I never feel grounded reading them. I hope all your traveling has no bumps and you return home refreshed. Happy New Year!
Rick, I totally get that, but I feel the opposite. I like epistolary novels a lot. I liked ANNA’S BOOK by Ruth Rendell as Barbara Vine, I liked A WOMAN OF INDEPENDENT MEANS by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, and several others whose names don’t immediately come to mind.
Jeff, I know you are a fan of them, I guess they’re just not for me.
Oh, I loved A Woman of Independent Means! But, my favorite remains 84, Charing Cross Road. I should get the movie out and watch it again.
Love and Saffron sounds interesting. I’m thinking it was probably more difficult to obtain genuine saffron in the 1960’s. And it’s always fun to get that peek ahead on upcoming books.
Plenty of snow here and poor road conditions. Record snow fall in the Sierra, almost 200 inches for December. All the mountain passes were closed for days, finally opening late Tuesday with a steady line of holiday traffic returning to California. I’ve ventured no further than the quarter mile to the mailbox, a nice tromp though the foot or so of snow here.
I haven’t managed much reading this week but can recommend two books:
Fortune Favors The Dead (2020) Stephen Spotswood
A detective novel set in 1940s New York, featuring Pentecost and Parker, a pair of investigators trying to solve the locked-room murder of a society widow. Fast-paced and humorous, written in the style of the hardboiled classics. Lesa – I passed on this last year when you placed in your TBR stack, but really enjoyed and have the sequel on hold.
56 Days (2021) Catherine Ryan Howard
I award ‘best use of the quarantine’ to this novel by Irish author Catherine Ryan Howard set in Dublin. Interesting to have the quarantine events without the political overlay. Suspenseful and full of surprising twists, no one was who they appeared to be and perhaps the perfect crime. The author won the 2019 Edgar Award for her first mystery.
Best wishes for the coming year and thanks for all the lovely posts and shares this year.
MM, The younger woman in the book went to the Far East after college graduation, and that’s where she picked up the saffron. You’re right. It was unusual in the states in the 1960s. Very good book, not quite as light as it first appeared.
I actually never read the Spotswood, and need to pick it up. The first and the second in that series had great reviews, and I know a number of people like the books.
Thank you! I hope everyone here has a good year in 2022, with a lot of good reading!
I love the idea of Love and Saffron, so that’s now on my list, Lesa! Since I’ve spent the year reading either fiction (mostly mysteries) or true crime stuff about Jack the Ripper for Fogged Off, I am rounding out the year with My Side (Ruth Gordon autobiography), The Illusionist (Todd Rundgren autobiography) and the new bio of Mike Nichols, which I have been saving for months until I could really devote time to it. Happy, happy reading in 2022 and thank you for all the reviews and recommendations, as always. x
Love and Saffron will be a change for you, Wendall. It sounds as if you’ve been saving up the show biz books for a treat. You’re going to enjoy Mel Brooks’ autobiography when you get around to it. And, I have a book about Stephen Sondheim to read soon.
Happy Reading, Wendall. Sending hugs!
We have had nothing but springtime weather and lots of rain in Cincinnati-almost in the 70’s some days.
Only one book this week. I downloaded MRS. CLAUS AND THE SANTALAND SLAYINGS by Liz Ireland after reading your review Lesa. I enjoyed it so much, I put the next in the series about Halloween on reserve so thank you.
Now I am reading THE PLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS. Whitney has a string of bad luck that culminates with her ex from college showing up with her brother at her family’s cabin for the holiday. It is funny but it won’t be a memorable Christmas romantic read. I got it through Kindle Unlimited.
We ar finally getting the last of the blinds for our new house that we moved into at the end of September. Oh happy day! One set was made incorrectly so they had to be remade. Covid and supply chain issues have certainly made moving an interesting experiencethis time around.
I have LOVE AND SAFFRON on my list to watch for at the library.
Happy New Year and Happy Reading!
Mrs. Claus and the Santaland Slayings was much better than the title implies, wasn’t it, Sharon?
Are you almost settled in? And, to think you only moved a couple hours south. What a mess COVID has made of so much.
Happy New Year to you, too! And, definitely, happy reading!
We are all settled in. We finally hung pictures. We still have new construction annoyances with the builders but they are pretty minor. We love living here.
It’s been gray and rainy here (which I’ll take over snow any day) so we only got out for a walk once this week but we saw the juvenile bald eagle so it was worth braving the muddy paths.
I finished the arc of DIARIES IN TIME by Susan Reiss. Most of the story concerns a woman named Emma researching the past with the help of a civil war era ghost, also named Emma, and her diaries but there is also a modern day death to be solved. I would read the previous book Letters in Time first.
An arc of A FATAL FEAST by Lynn Cahoon. The 6th book in her farm to fork mystery series. If Angie can’t clear her best friend’s fiancé of murder the wedding may be put on hold.
RESURRECTION by Denise Swanson. An author goes from writing mysteries to the zombie apocalypse. I wasn’t sure about this when I started it but I wound up liking it. The book focuses more on the survivors than the zombies.
I’m currently reading a nonfiction book, THE DISAPPEARING SPOON: AND OTHER TRUE TALES OF MADNESS, LOVE AND THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD FROM THE PERIODIC TABLE OF THE ELEMENTS by Sam Kean. it’s interesting but I can only read a few chapters at a time.
I’ll take the rain and fog that we’ve had over snow any day, Sandy. I agree with you.
Denise Swanson? Is that the Denise Swanson who writes the series with the school psychologist? Resurrection doesn’t sound at all like her other books, if it is.
Happy Reading in the new year!
Lesa, it’s that Denise Swanson. One of the characters in this one is a psychologist too. I took a chance on it because I like her writing style and characters and I wasn’t disappointed. It’s a very character focused book.
Good morning!
We have had snow and more snow and now we will be getting very cold temperatures for a couple of days. Highs are forecasted to be 4 and 5 for Saturday and Sunday.
Our youngest son is visiting and we are enjoying our time with him.
Between Christmas, snow and visiting I managed to finish The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. When a woman decides she’d rather be dead than alive and takes steps to end her life, she wakes up in The Midnight Library. A place between life and death where you get to try out lives you could have lived. I have seen nothing but good reviews of this book, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m glad I read it though.
I hope you all stay safe and well and have a Happy New Year!
Gretchen, I am happy to know I was the only to think THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY was all that. My daughter recommended I read it. I didn’t love it nearly as much as she did.
Sharon, thanks for commenting. It is always nice to know you are not alone 🙂.
I didn’t even get very far in The Midnight Library, Gretchen. It wasn’t for me, either.
Please keep the snow. That’s not for me, either.
I am glad you’re visiting with your son, though.
Happy New Year, and Happy Reading!
Me too! I was sure I’d love it but couldn’t get into it at all. On the one hand, very disappointing, but on the other, several fewer books to read and more room for others.
Happy New Year, Lesa! I’m finishing up the year with The Moon, the Stars, And Madame Burova by Ruth Hogan. This is an ARC I won on Goodreads and neglected to read in advance of publication when it got buried in a stack of unread novels and nonfiction history. I’ve stopped taking books out of the library until I make a big dent in that stack, so Madame Burova is finally getting some attention. I’ve barely started so I don’t have an observations yet.
We’re finally supposed to get some snow in the Northern Front Range of Colorado tomorrow and Saturday. I’m afraid the weather gods are going to try and make up for our weeks and weeks of drought, but we’re prepared.
Oooooh, I am such a fan of Ruth Hogan! And loved The Moon, the Stars, And Madame Burova. I’ll be interested in hearing what you think, Patricia.
I’m afraid I haven’t had a chance to read Hogan’s book, either, Patricia, even though Kaye loved it.
Good luck with the snow, and the book!
Thanks for the recommendation, Lesa! Love and Saffron does indeed sound something like I would enjoy so I just put a request on it at NetGalley. But since I haven’t had so much luck there recently (5 declines and 1 approval in one week), I’ll put it on my library TBR list as well. It was a good reading week, even with my older son staying with me for 3 nights and the Christmas festivities.
CAJUN KISS OF DEATH by Ellen Byron, the seventh and last book in the Cajun Country Mystery series, starts with a triple wedding and then veers into more dangerous territory. There’s a new restaurant in town, and celebrity chef Phillippe isn’t above some underhanded tricks to steal patrons away from the other town eateries. And since there is also unrest among Phillippe’s own staff, is it any wonder there is a murder? Maggie, an aspiring artist, and her detective husband, Bo, are invested in the outcome of the investigation, especially since some of their friends are persons of interest. To make it even worse, Maggie has a stalker who is sending her disturbing messages along with strange gifts. In the Acknowledgments, the author is open about ending the series (she has others). But her crowning touch is a quite thorough epilogue that tells the reader how all of the major characters, and many of the secondary characters, ended up 20 years after the ending of this book. I really appreciated that!
In the mood for a contemporary romance, I took a chance on JUST HAVEN’T MET YOU YET by Sophie Cousens, and I’m glad I did. Laura is a writer for a lifestyle blog based in London. Inspired by a romantic story involving her family history, she scores a trip to the Channel Islands to uncover more information and to interview some of the knowledgeable locals. But she gets off on the wrong foot when she takes the wrong suitcase from the baggage claim. Convinced by the suitcase’s contents that the bag’s owner is her perfect soulmate, Laura tries to connect with him while pursuing her story. An initially contentious cab driver ultimately agrees to drive her around the island, while Laura’s intimidating boss back home makes increasingly more difficult demands for photo shoots and articles. In the process, our heroine learns to look at her life in a different way and understand what she really wants. I thoroughly enjoyed this light-hearted novel and its ingratiating characters.
I was immediately hooked by THE PEOPLE WE KEEP by Allison Larkin, a fascinating portrait of a young woman determined to rise above her dysfunctional family to have a meaningful, comfortable life against all odds. April’s mother left when she was six, and she is criminally neglected by her father, who lives almost full-time with his partner and her young son. Finding no interest in school and unwilling to accept an offer of an early marriage by her teenaged boyfriend, April hits the road and ekes out a meager living by waitressing and by singing and playing her guitar when she can find a gig. Along the way she finds solace in several places, and with several new friends, but always finds a reason to move on, even when she would rather stay. Her father’s former lady friend remains her most reliable friend over the years, but there is little she can do remotely for April. Sometimes the story seemed too bleak, but the author’s writing ultimately made it a triumph over April’s adversity. She is lovingly depicted as a deeply nuanced, unpredictable character who is often lost but who is easy to root for. I found the ending a bit abrupt but it didn’t ruin the overall impression the author made with her beautifully written novel.
Eleanor Ray’s debut novel, THE MISSING TREASURES OF AMY ASHTON, is extraordinary. Amy is an unmarried Londoner in her thirties with a house and a supervisory job at a financial advisors firm. But it’s becoming more evident to her neighbors, not to mention the housing council, that she is a hoarder, having filled her house and garden with decorative pots (with plants and without) ceramic birds, cigarette lighters (she doesn’t smoke), bottles, old newspapers, mugs, and unopened mail–making it hard to navigate and downright dangerous. And she can’t bear to part with any of it, even though she would like to see more of her new next-door neighbors, including their two young sons. It’s just that all of the clutter belongs to her and won’t ever leave or betray her, unlike others in her life have done. We begin to understand when some of the chapters take us back 20-some years to when Amy was a teenager and a young woman. I was all-in with Amy, despite her weaknesses, and was happy to accompany her on her journey to redemption and happiness. I loved the life-affirming aspect of the book and the welcome touches of humor.
I liked that epilogue in Ellen Byron’s book, too, Margie. It was satisfying to find out how the characters all ended up.
I know you really liked your last two books, but they just sound bleak to me. I can’t imagine not having the family support.
I may have to pick up Just Haven’t Met You Yet. I took it back to the library unread because I just didn’t have time.
Probably much quieter around there with your son gone. I’m so glad you live near the other one now!
Lesa, the Amy Ashton book is not bleak, and I would recommend it. The People We Keep was a bit more bleak, and you know I don’t like bleak books, but this one still kept my attention.
I’d have a real problem with Ray’s book, because I’d be yelling at the protagonist “Just get rid of it, it’s only stuff!” Not very sympathetic, I know.
I know what you mean, Rick, but Amy does have a reason (even though most of us wouldn’t choose her route) and there is a happy ending.
Unless, of course, it was books
Now, there, I’m with you, Rick. Books aren’t hoarding.
Just started “Bluebird”
I know you’ll find reading time over the next weekend, Carol Jeanne. Sending hugs!
I have Love and Saffron nestled comfortably on my Kindle having gotten it through NetGalley (Good Luck, Margie!). I was looking forward to reading it even before Lesa and I talked about it, but now I am moving it up to the top of Mt. TBR.
Recent reads include an eARC by Jenny Oliver – One Lucky Summer when old friends reunite for a treasure hunt. Memories, good and bad, resurface.
and The Paris Network by Siobhan Curham. Just when I think I have read a gracious plenty of WWII novels set in France and focusing on women in the resistance, another one finds its way to me; some good, some I don’t finish. This one appealed to me on many levels, not least of which is a protagonist who owns a bookstore in a small town in France. The book is a testament to words. It reminds us that they’re important. Words and stories outlive us all.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year with a little much needed peace and good health.
Kaye, I ordered The Paris Network because of your comments about it last night, and the review makes me even more eager to read it.
You’re right. We all need that peace and good health! Happy New Year, my beloved friend.
I may try it too.
Reading two books, I read one chaoter of book with tiny print and my eyes werre in extreme pain for the rest of the night. I decided that it was not worth the pain. After that, I took on a purge of books that I have not read because of the tiny print. Will sell the books to the Half Price Bookstore. Got to do it before I have weaken and pull them out of the bag. My eyes just not read tiny print anymore.
I have started When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldi. it has small but manageble print. There is an inscription by the author inside This book is gem to me! A woman who lives with her father in a tiny town in the mountains of Italy, Irma was very poor and plain looking and unmarried. Her father has dementia and confuses her for her deceased mother. Very frightened she tells her grandmother of his attempts to have sex with her. The Priest was told and he advises to go America by herself. On her journey by foot in the 19th century, she meets a kind peddler who takes to sister and a town meeting is called. The town discusses her trip and they figure out what they can do for her. I am skipping so much, but if you have a chance to read this wonderful book, do it!
The other one is the Linen Queen by Patricia Falvey which I won in a contest 10 years ago. Sheila McGee work. A well reserached tale starting at the beginning of WW in Northern Ireland. No future for her there in the County Armaugh (I have ancestors who lived there. Sheila’s plan is to leave her mother who cares more about herself and go to London. There is humor and many tales of poverty where she lives. Sheila wins the Linen Queen Contest. She is very pretty and knows it. But so poor that she could not afford a frock for the contest. Another girl who was out of the contest, offers her frock to be altered to fit Sheila.
Sheila is self centered and when she dates an American Jew, she learns from him what has been happening to Jews under Hitler’s control. Now,she thinks maybe she should not be dating him because he gets angry and sad.
Odd that both of the books have women wanting to go to America, one is too plain to marry and the other is very pretty. I am hoping that Sheila allows herself to grow in empathy. There a big potential for that that I did not mention.
Both books are great!
That is interesting, Carolee, that you have two books about women who want to go to America.
That sounds like a good idea to get rid of the books with such small print. You don’t need eyestrain and more headaches. Take care of yourself!
I know not everything is available, but I wonder why you don’t read ebooks so you can adjust the print size. Or perhaps you do when you can.
Snow on the ground, we had a white Christmas, and temperatures in the 20s here. We’ve been watching football, movies, playing Wingspan and, of course, reading.
I’m rounding out the year by trying to finish up my Christmas holiday reading, but I’ll not complete it for another week – or two, I’m afraid. I finished Thou Shell of Death by Nicholas Blake (Nigel Strangeways), and On Christmas Day in the Morning by Margery Allingham, am still only halfway through A Surprise For Christmas edited by Martin Edwards and have put Poirot’s Christmas back on the shelf for next year. In Twenty-Two, I’ll start my seasonal reading in mid-November!
Judging from my list of books read, I’ll finish at about 80, which includes a couple of rereads and two books I read more than half of before quitting them. My reading goal has always been 104 (2 a week average), so I’m low this year, but so it goes. I have the first half dozen novels stacked and ready for the new year, plus many short story collections and anthologies to hand.
I hope those who celebrate on New Year’s Eve, please be safe! We’re making turkey, dressing, etc. dinner New Year’s Eve, then on New Year’s Day we’ll watch the Rose Parade, maybe some football, then have turkey sandwiches or leftovers and walk, weather permitting, read, nap, maybe watch a movie.
I hope 2022 finds you, Lesa, and all the Thursday At Lesa’s friends well and content.
Rick, Your New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day plans sound good, both tasty and fun.
I am going to start my Christmas season reading in November next year too. I read lots of Christmas books in December but didn’t review as many as I would like. And I want to fit in more Christmas short stories next year.
Your Christmas sounds perfect, Rick. A white Christmas is always magical, I think. Happy New Year – it sounds pretty darn perfect too.
Rick, I hope you’re happy with the books you read this year whether or not you reached some arbitrary goal. I read a lot, but my goad is to read books I enjoy, not a number.
I have a concert from Ireland that I’m going to watch tomorrow night. New Year’s Day, with my German heritage, means pork and sauerkraut. Ohio State plays in the Rose Bowl, so I’ll watch that game. Reading is in there as well.
Thank you, Rick, for the kind wishes for all of us. I’m going to wish everyone good health and good reading.
Enjoy the day, Lesa, and thank you for making me welcome here.
I’m enjoying the third in Wendall Thomas’s Cyd Redondo series. I’m so glad I went back to the beginning of the series after reading about Fogged Off here in November. Now I “get” some of the references to previous adventures. I’m a tad disappointed this book isn’t as madcap as the previous two, but there’s still almost half a book to go. The handoff of the endangered species has just occurred, so things are bound to start going awry! It’s been a fun way to enjoy reading on my Kindle late a night. I just have to quiet my laughter to not wake my hubby!
Sandie, I’m so pleased that you discovered Cyd from a review here! I’m sure Wendall is pleased as well. Hugs to you and Bill!
Dark, cloudy, rainy where I am, but mild temps. Just started FRAMED IN GUILT by Day Keene and enjoying it. This after a disappointing read of a very old memoir I thought would be better, and after bailing on a new novel everyone – and I mean everyone – loved.
Elgin, I’d love to know the title of the book you bailed on. I recently opted not to read a book club selection because I knew it would be too bleak for me. It was The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. Everyone has their own taste in books.
Hmmm. I’m with Margie. Now, I’m curious, Elgin. You should tell us. No one here will pick on you, even if the book is Razorblade Tears.
Lesa, Love & Saffron sounds very good to me, I am glad you mentioned it here. I am especially enticed by the time setting in the 1960s, and the short length.
I read two wonderful books this week.
First was: PICTURES OF PERFECTION by Reginald Hill, #14 in the Dalziel and Pascoe series. I am a fan of police procedural series, but this book in the series did not read like a police procedural at all. There were lots of references to Jane Austen, probably many more than I noticed. It is a village mystery, sort of old-fashioned and one of those stories where everything seems weird and a little off. There were five sections and each was preceded by writings from the past, selections from a journal or from a village history that pertain to the village and its residents. And it focuses more on Sergeant Wield than on either Dalziel or Pascoe.
Next is: FORTUNE FAVORS THE DEAD by Stephen Spotswood. This was Spotswood’s debut novel and the first in the Pentecost and Parker series. The author is a fan of the Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout and used it as inspiration in coming up with this detective duo. Since Rex Stout is my favorite mystery writer, I had to try the series. Lillian Pentecost is a successful private detective but she has multiple sclerosis and her health is failing. She hires Willowjean Parker, who ran off to work in the circus when she was 15, to be her assistant and offers to provide training in many areas. They are the perfect pair, and I loved the story.
Kevin Tipple has posted Aubrey Hamilton’s review of FORTUNE FAVORS THE DEAD at his blog.
On New Year’s Eve we will we watching an old serial, THE PHANTOM EMPIRE with Gene Autry. We used to watch that every New Year’s Eve for years but now it has been a while and it will be fresh again. On New Year’s Day, Glen will be cooking Hoppin’ John, which is supposed to bring good luck during the next year.
Here is a description of THE PHANTOM EMPIRE from the Gene Autry website:
Radio Ranch is a dude ranch resort owned by Tom Baxter and popular radio entertainer Gene Autry. Twenty thousand feet beneath the Ranch lies the super-scientific, highly-advanced kingdom of Murania which is rich in radium deposits and ruled by the beautiful Queen Tika. Gene’s radio contract is such that he must broadcast daily from the ranch or he will lose it. Complications arise when a discredited scientist tries to steal the ranch from Gene for its radium and the Queen tries to protect her kingdom from the outside world by getting rid of Gene Autry and the Junior Thunder Riders.
Happy New Year, Tracy. I’ve heard of gumbo on New Year’s, but hoppin John is new to me. A Southern dish, I believe? I’ve seen, long since, that Autry serial. Republic, if I recall. Not so sure about Fortune Favors the Dead.
Yes, Hoppin’ John is a Southern dish, although I don’t remember having it when I was a child. We did have a lot of black eyed peas though.
The Gene Autry website says Mascot Pictures, but I believe that company merged with other companies to form Republic Pictures.
The Phantom Empire is a weird, but good serial. One of Gene Autry’s best movies. Happy watching!
I really need to read Fortune Favors the Dead.
Hoppin’ John is familiar to me only because I lived in Florida for so long, but I’ve never had it. Tradition in our family is pork and sauerkraut to bring good luck in the new year. We all need to eat something for good luck!
Afternoon….. coming late today as we spent part of the afternoon outside wrapping the pipes as a major front is on the way. My parents got into this house in 1962. Dad never wrapped the outside faucets. Not once. Even when we went to zero here and neighbors had stuff break.
After Dad died in 2012, the neighbor across the street who runs his own home contractor deal would come over and take care of my mom on this deal every winter. He did it for free. Once we got in here, I got the message that those days were over. So, Scott and I go out and do it. It works way better to do it when it is is dry and 80 like today as clouds sweep in then when it is 35 and blowing a gale because the folks who forecast suddenly escalated things.
It is also NYE and all that jazz so I know that we will get a winter weather event. It nearly always happens.
So, the forecast that just two days ago had us only going to 40 for a low and a slight chance of rain has escalated to potential severe weather tomorrow night–hail and wind primarily— followed by a front that by Sunday morning is now supposed to have us at 24 with rain and snow mix. By Monday morning it may be twenty here in Dallas with teens to the north and all around.
We need rain desperately as we have a drought here and rain would cut down on the neighbors who go outside and fire guns and shoot fireworks. July 4rth was a scary warzone and last NYE was not much better. So, I would like some rain to move in around dark and just sit on us till long after midnight.
We have turned down a half a dozen party invites. I am worried about the Covid, keeping my sobriety intact, and am better off keeping us home away from folks and hunkered down. I am more worried about Covid than normal as the branch manager for the library location we use was on TV the other night as she spent four hours in a testing line with symptoms and trying to make sure she did not have Covid. The plan is to not leave the house until 1/7 when we have to go see Scott’s neurologist to get results of the bran wave test and maybe hit the library on the way home.
The case counts here are hitting scary numbers so it would not surprise me at all if things get closed and our stuff gets rescheduled. Our local positivity rate is 30 percent –at least– so things are not good.
Anyway, as to reading, my current read is Dirty Little Town. by Frank Zafiro. This is the seventh book in his police procedural series set in River City, Washington.
Stay safe, folks.
KRT.
Kevin, Now that the pipes are wrapped, I hope you and Scott can settle in for a calm New Year’s with pouring rain all evening and past midnight. Good luck!
Would I like Zafiro’s police procedurals, Kevin?
You’re right. Things are not good at all with COVID, not good here, either. You and Scott stay safe.