I hope every one of you is having gorgeous weather this week. We’ve had low humidity, sunshine and 80s, just perfect. The humidity will be here next month, so I’ve been enjoying moments outside right now. If you can combine that with reading, all the better!
I want to mention the book I’ve just started. I’ve known author Jenn McKinlay for years. She was still a librarian at Phoenix Public Library when I was working at the Glendale Public Library in Arizona. She was also writing, and hadn’t yet quit her job to write mysteries and rom-coms full time. Summer Reading is her latest romantic comedy. It’s about a woman who doesn’t read and the librarian/book lover she falls for.
Here’s the reason I want to mention the book, though. If you like romantic comedies, but have trouble with the print, Summer Reading might interest you. The heroine in the book is dyslexic, and has a neurodivergent brain. Jenn’s author’s note at the beginning of the book says she made a pitch to have Summer Reading published in a dyslexic-friendly font. “Our book designers were eager to use their skills to adjust not just the font but the overall design of the book to improve the accessibility of the novel with a dyslexic-friendly design….The words that would usually be in italics are bold instead, no words are cut in half with a hyphen at the end of a sentence, and even the size of the margins were adjusted.”
The book is over 400 pages, long for a rom-com. But, that’s because the font is much larger than in most paperback romances.
So, that’s what I’m currently reading, and I thought some of you might be interested. What about you? What are you reading this week?
Can’t stop for long – gotta get back to reading THOSE WE THOUGHT WE KNEW by David Joy which will be released on August 1.
It’s going to be an all nighter ’cause I cannot put this book down!
S. A. Cosby says ” Those We Thought We Knew is a beautifully fearless contemplation. The best novels ask the hard questions and task us to come up with answers. Joy is asking the hardest question and daring us to answer truthfully.”
Description:
“From award-winning writer David Joy comes a searing new novel about the cracks that form in a small North Carolina community and the evils that unfurl from its center.
Toya Gardner, a young Black artist from Atlanta, has returned to her ancestral home in the North Carolina mountains to trace her family history and complete her graduate thesis. But when she encounters a still-standing Confederate monument in the heart of town, she sets her sights on something bigger.
Meanwhile, local deputies find a man sleeping in the back of a station wagon and believe him to be nothing more than some slack-jawed drifter. Yet a search of the man’s vehicle reveals that he is a high-ranking member of the Klan, and the uncovering of a notebook filled with local names threatens to turn the mountain on end.
After two horrific crimes split the county apart, every soul must wrestle with deep and unspoken secrets that stretch back for generations. Those We Thought We Knew is an urgent unraveling of the dark underbelly of a community. Richly drawn and bracingly honest, it asks what happens when the people you’ve always known turn out to be monsters, what do you do when everything you ever believed crumbles away?”
But I did want to say it I think Jenn McKinlay rocks and I love how she pitched, and won, SUMMER READING.
Jenn McKinlay does rock, Kaye!
Thanks Kaye – I don’t think I’ve come across author David Joy previously, but looks like he has written several interesting books. I placed a hold for this one.
Started it too late last night, didn’t you, Kaye? And, I knew you loved it when you said you’re going to Joy’s booksigning. I’m not surprised S.A. Cosby blurbed it.
Hello, everyone! Lesa, Summer Reading is in my library holds queue, and I’m looking forward to reading it. As for the weather, it’s (finally) been much better in my area of Northern California. We’ve had a couple of days with 90 temps, but the next couple of days will be highs in the seventies (57 on Thursday morning at 8 a.m. when I go walking!). Then we’ll be back in the eighties. It’s been a mixed bag of reading for me this week.
THE SWEETHEART LIST, my first book by the very prolific Jill Shalvis, is a solid but unmemorable story about two lost people who find each other. Harper has left an unsatisfytng relationship and a stressful job to open a small bakery in Lake Tahoe, where she had spend some happy childhood summers. Bodie has returned to his family after his job with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms led to serious injuries and the death of his best friend. Bodie manages a small bar next door to Harper’s bakery, and the two have an instant attraction, though neither is looking for a serious involvement. Although I felt that the two protagonists lack the interesting details that usually draw me into a story, I was fond of Bodie’s brothers and mother, of a young woman who works in a bookshop with her grandmother, and of Harper’s giant puppy. The most intriguing part of the story for me involves a teenaged runaway who is taken in by Harper and who is looking for her biological father, but I felt that her search was too easily resolved. The plot is heartfelt and will undoubtedly satisfy longtime Jill Shalvis fans, but it was a bit too familiar for me. (June)
Ellen Byron’s A Vintage Cookbook Mystery series focuses more on plot than character development, but the characters are nevertheless fun and interesting. and there are many. Fortunately, the author lists the characters and their roles at the front of WINED AND DIED IN NEW ORLEANS (book #2) so the reader can easily keep track of them. Many of them are either members of the prominent Charbonnet family or work at the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, formerly a family mansion. Ricki recently arrived in New Orleans to helm the cookbook and kitchenware shop in the museum and is astonished when the museum’s “haunted mystery tour guide” finds crates of antique French wine stashed away by a since-deceased family member. The wine promises to be quite valuable, and when an auction is announced on social media, some less savory members of the Charbonnet family suddenly appear, with the intent to claim their portion of the auction’s proceeds. A couple of deaths and an assault quickly follow, with Ricki helping the police with their investigation so that the family matriarch isn’t the prime suspect. Ricki is an engaging character, although I don’t feel I know a lot about her yet. I particularly enjoyed the characters of Nina, the sardonic female detective, and Olivia, the student intern spending the summer at the museum, who excels at punching up the shop’s social media presence. It’s New Orleans, so hurricanes sometimes threaten, and Ricki, who was adopted by parents now living in Mexico, learns more about one of her biological parents, and there may be a romance brewing. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, you are always in good hands with Ellen Byron.
I love the two complicated protagonists in THE PREDICTABLE HEARTBREAKS OF IMOGEN FINCH by Jacqueline Firkins, a friends-to-lovers romance. Each is dealing with difficult issues that could make a successful relationship impossible, but the author knows how to lighten the mood with vivid descriptions, intriguing detail, and just the right touch of whimsy. Imogen has had 17 successive boyfriends, but none were keepers. In addition, she has ignored her art school degree and works six part-time jobs to take care of her mother, who does not have dementia but who is quite eccentric and sometimes has to be rescued. When Imogen was six years old, her mother told her she would never come first in anything, based on the omens in nature that she used to make often-correct predictions, and over time, Imogen has come to believe in the “curse.” Eliot, who was Imogen’s best childhood friend, along with their other best friend, Franny, has a career as a world traveler who documents his trips on a popular YouTube channel. Because of his grim upbringing, he is unable to stay in one place for long, but he returns home for his father’s funeral, and both he and Imogen embark on a relationship that seems to grow organically from their childhood friendship. Eliot is determined to help Imogen break the curse, and the two participate in many fun competitions to give Imogen her much-needed first place. But a lasting romance may be out of the question because they are so very different. Because I enjoyed the author’s previous book, Marlowe Banks, Redesigned, I tried her next book and am very glad I did. This is an author to watch. (October)
Enjoy the walk while it’s still cool, Margie!
That’s too bad about The Sweetheart List. As you said, though, her fans should be satisfied.
I’m not familiar with Firkin’s books. I’ll have to look.
Predictably, I’m between books again. And I’m starting my June reads.
On Wednesday, I finished PASSPORT TO SPY by Nancy Cole Silverman, which I loved. This is the second in the series, and features a reporter who has gone undercover for the FBI to try to find a cache of art stolen during World War II. Fast paced with lots of complications along the way.
Next up with be HOT POT MURDER, the second LA Night Market Mystery from Jennifer J. Chow. I’m looking forward to returning to these characters.
As to our weather…can I have yours? I don’t think we hit 70 today, and tomorrow is supposed to be about the same.
I’m willing to share the weather, Mark, but I’m not giving it up. This is supposed to be our weather into mid-week next week. It has been great.
I need to work on my Treasures in the Closet this weekend, so I’ll already be talking about July reads.
Good morning everyone, from a sunny Scotland. It’s 8am here and the temperature is 48F, which is fine by me. It is forecast to rise to 57F later. This is actually quite warm by my standards!
We’re having some lovely sunny days after all the rain, and yesterday, for the first time this year, I spent the morning beside the river reading. It was glorious.
The other day I was down at the river at lunchtime. It was very quiet when suddenly up popped the otter, who then swam alongside me as I walked along the path.
I’m reading THE VINYL DETECTIVE: VICTORY DISC by Andrew Cartmel. I didn’t realise that this is a series, and I haven’t started at the beginning (I saw this book in a charity shop, having never heard of the author) but it seems easy to follow despite that.
The Vinyl Detective is a dealer in/collector of rare records (as we used to call them!). He lives with his beautiful girlfriend Nevada, and they are frequently joined by their friend Tinkler, another music obsessive. These characters are very well drawn. The detective (I don’t think I know his name) and Nevada are food lovers, he does all the cooking and there are lots of details about truffle oil and asparagus. They are also cat lovers, and it is in fact Fanny, one of their cats, who sets off the mystery when she finds an old and rare 78 disc in the back of a speaker that Tinkler has bought at auction.
The disc is by the (fictional) Flare Path Orchestra, which was set up in the Second World War as a rival to the Glen Miller band. The Orchestra was made up of serving airmen in the RAF .
The Detective is commissioned by the wealthy daughter of the leader of the orchestra, Lucian ‘Lucky’ Honeyland, to find as many of the orchestra’s records, plus any memorabilia, as he can. She also wants the reminiscences of any surviving members of the band. She says she plans to set up a museum in memory of her father.
Nevada and the Detective start their search (often with Tinkler, who is a real chancer but appears to be the only car owner of the three). As they visit old band members and specialist collectors, they soon realise that there is more to this than music, and that not everyone shares Miss Honeyland’s rose-tinted view of her late parent.
Much seems to hinge on a wartime murder for which one of the musicians was hanged; some people think he was framed.
Before long, more suspicious deaths/murders crop up. Who is ordering them, and why?
And that’s as far as I’ve got.
I’m usually quite a slow reader, but I am whizzing through this and enjoying it a lot. The writing is excellent, the story is fun, and the characters are interesting, nuanced and easy to imagine (the obsessive collectors, the wronged artist living in a charity flat, the bitter composer.)
I also finally finished Ajay Close’s WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU, and would recommend it, especially to anyone who wants to know what life was like for any woman (especially a working class or black one) in 1970s England, especially outside London. The story also gives a real feel for the terror that the Yorkshire Ripper case caused in many Yorkshire communities – and again, the appalling sexism that pervaded the police investigation at the time. The book will be published in February 2024.
I’ve been listening to a very good series on BBC Sounds, VIEWPOINT. It was made last year, which was the 50th anniversary of the publication of John Berger’s seminal work on art WAYS OF SEEING. In each short programme a different artist or critic talks about a work of art (painting, photograph, sculpture, installation, performance) and relates it to Berger’s theories. Yesterday I listened to French/Algerian writer Melissa Chamam talking about Lubaina Himid’s installation, Naming the Money, which addresses slavery, migration, identity and cultural appropriation.
Another episode that I enjoyed very much was Irish critic Sinead Gleeson on ‘Yellow’, a ‘durational performance’ by Amanda Coogan. It’s about the notorious Magdalen Laundries (which existed in Ireland as late as 1996). Coogan was born to deaf parents and her first language is Irish sign language (though she herself is not deaf.) This informs much of her work.
On TV my highlight has been watching REEL STORIES: PET SHOP BOYS – an episode in which Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe sat in a cinema with the journalist Dermot O’Leary to watch and discuss film footage that tracked their long careers. So there were live concerts, appearances on Top of the Pops, their iconic performance with Dusty Springfield at the Brits, their triumphant return to Glastonbury, an early David Bowie concert (which Neil T said was one of the greatest influences on his work) and some very old film of them when they first started out.
I found it sad at times – it must be hard to watch all of that and know that most of it is now passed . Chris Lowe still looks great, but Neil is definitely looking his age, and he was quite choked up and emotional when watching Dusty, and also one of their concerts in Moscow (‘will we ever be able to go there again?’) – but they took all of it in very good part, cringing at some stuff, laughing at others. They really are very funny, very self-deprecating at times. I enjoyed it a lot.
It was a ‘Pet Shop Boys night’ so I still have their Hyde Park concert and a compilation of their BBC appearances to watch. Lovely.
I also watched a short documentary about the artist and film-maker DEREK JARMAN, whom I find very interesting. Unfortunately a 30 minute programme couldn’t possibly do him justice, but it was good to see film of his famous garden on Romney Marsh (in Kent – Great Expectations country)
Today I am walking at the Blackhall Fisheries with Nancy, so i had better get a move on. It’s a really nice walk that follows the Dee for some way, then returns to Banchory in a loop – the return part passes some beautiful country houses set in woodlands, very jealous-making.
Next week I will be in Leith, cat-sitting Charlie while Anna is away on holiday. I’m hoping to get a lot of reading done while I’m there – but of course I’m already arranging meet-ups with Edinburgh friends, so the reading will probably end up on the back burner. Hey ho.
Have a great week all,
Rosemary
Yes, Rosemary, THE VINYL DETECTIVE is a series, but you don’t really need to read them in order (unless you are an obsessive like me). I think I’ve read the first three of them. Wikipedia list 6 titles.
The Vinyl Detective sounds delightful. I agree with Jeff, though. I like to read series in order, too, if I possibly can.
Enjoy your walks, your weather, and the otter! I love that if followed you on your walk.
Charlie’s not going to be happy that you’re there to cat-sit, but making other plans that don’t include him.
Enjoy your week & trip to Leith!
One of the Vinyl Detective stories is hovering near the top of my TBR stack. This may give me the push I need to start it.
The titles on The Vinyl Detective books are very confusing, I thought the title of the first book was just THE VINYL DETECTIVE and now I see it is actually WRITTEN IN DEAD WAX. I have the first one (not read yet) but I am glad to hear Jeff say that they don’t have to be read in order. And I am glad you are enjoying the one you are reading.
Between Summer Reading and Kaye’s recommendation, my TBR overfloweth!
I read my first Con Lehane mystery novel, MURDER AT THE 42nd STREET LIBRARY (2016). Even better than the who-done-it were the wonderfully absorbing characters. And to find Lesa in the acknowledgement section, indeed special! Now I have another series to catch up on.
Also enjoyed a wonderful historical novel SPARKS LIKE STARS (2021), the fourth novel by Nadia Hashimi – mother & pediatrician turned novelist. This story follows Aryana, adopted from Afghanistan forty years earlier by an American diplomat in the aftermath of a coup and assassinations. Heartbreaking yet hopeful, a story of tragedy and survival.
“These are the people willing to cross hell’s gate to prove life and loss are intertwining currents, capsizing some ships and righting others.”
A nonfiction from 2021, TASTES LIKE WAR by Grace M Cho was selected as the most recent “Northern Nevada Big Reads” where an unlimited number of electronic copies of the book are loaned for community discussion.
Part food memoir, part sociological investigation, the author has dedicated her academic career to researching the traumatic legacy of her mother’s life. Her mother was born to a Korean family in Japan and repatriated to war ravaged Korea. The author’s father was an American in the Merchant Marines. The family left Korea for the US in 1972 and the author was raised in Chehalis, WA.
And good news from one of my favorite authors, in addition to a new free-standing novel this fall (The River We Remember), William Kent Krueger has two more Cork O’Connor novels under contract. The first of these “Spirit Crossing” is due for release in the fall of 2024.
That is good news about William Kent Krueger, MM. I don’t read everything like Sandie Herron did, but I love the beauty of his writing.
I like that the characters continue in Con Lehane’s series. My favorite, though, is the bartender.
I do miss Sandie at times. Even though I never met her, her personality really came through in her writing.
Oh, good! More Cork O’Connor makes me very happy!
I am glad that you reminded me of the Con Lehane series. I have MURDER AT THE 42nd STREET LIBRARY and I need to locate it and read it. Too many books to read.
Good morning. I’ve been spending a lot of time outside doing yard work so not much reading time this week. I did finish THE ONLY PURPLE HOUSE IN TOWN by Ann Aguirre. It’s a paranormal romcom but the paranormal elements are only peripheral to most of the story. Jenn McKinlay’s book SUMMER READING is a better book.
We also watched Signore Volpe, an Acorn TV show featuring an British spy who travels to Italy to attend her niece’s wedding and winds up solving mysteries there. We enjoyed the show but there are only three episodes.
Should be Signora Volpe
Sandy, We loved Signora Volpe and are hoping for more.
Enjoy the yard work while the weather is good, Sandy!
Good to know, though, that you liked Summer Reading!
I love the story about the dyslexic-friendly print. Most of us never think of things like that, but if it helps any readers, great idea!
I did finish all the books I was reading last week. That’s the problem with reading four books at once. It looks like you’re not reading anything stats-wise, then you finish four books in two days. I was most impressed with Edward P. Jones’s short story collection LOST IN THE CITY, so much so that I bought (as my library doesn’t have it) a copy of his second collection, ALL AUNT HAGAR’S CHILDREN, which arrived yesterday.
Also enjoyed Oliver Darkshire’s ONCE UPON A TOME, about the joys and hazards of the antiquarian book trade in London. John Lutz’s collection. SHADOWS EVERYWHERE, was good, and I had a mixed reaction to EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY HAS KILLED SOMEONE by Benjamin Stevenson. It has a great premise and his narrative voice is pretty entertaining, but there are times the plot bogs down a bit. He does pull off a nice surprise ending, however, which makes up for some of the sagging spots. I’d rate it good but not great. (Let me add for the record that the Darkshire was a “real” book and the others were on Kindle – two from the library, one bought.)
So I was finally able to move on to new books. First was another collection of fantasy and science fiction stories by Bill Pronzini & Barry Malzberg, ON ACCOUNT OF DARKNESS.
I’m a big fan of singer Lucinda Williams so was looking forward very much to her memoir, DON’T TELL ANYONE THE SECRETS I TOLD YOU. So far, so good. I’m glad she is able to perform again after having a stroke during the pandemic.
Anthony McCarten’s GOING ZERO is a thriller with an interesting premise to me, so I was anxious to try it. The government teams up with an Elon Musk-like figure on a new surveillance plan that is supposed to help national security, but to Beta test it first they need 10 people. Anyone who can disappear off the grid for 30 days will get a big payday, but the Musk figure is under extreme pressure to find them all, and the sooner the better. Our heroine appears to be a Cambridge, Massachusetts woman named Kaitlyn Day, with secrets of her own. Just started it, so we’ll see.
One more non fiction book recommended by a friend and just up my alley: AN ADMIRABLE POINT: A Brief History of the Exclamation Mark! by Florence Hazrat, a “scholar of punctuation.”
Jackie is reading the latest Black Dagger Brotherhood book by J.R. Ward, LASSITER.
You’re right, Jeff. Then, you finish everything at once, and don’t know what to read next. I’m glad you enjoyed Once Upon a Tome.
You read such an eclectic mix that it’s fun to see your selections each week.
Wow, missed two Thursdays in a row! Nearing the end to two great books now.
Nectar In A Sieve by Kamala Markanddaya, an Indian classic, poor farming family fights for survival during droughts, and floods. A daughter turns to prostitution in desperation in order to save her baby brother from dying. No help from the government, lack of clothing, shoes. Makes me want to read about the modern-day poor of India.
And Mockingbird by Kathryn Erkine, is a book that needs to be read by everyone. A ten-year-old girl with Asperger’s trying to find closure for herself and her father after the mass school shooting that took her beloved brother Devon. A school counselor who I love helps her start the journey to closure. I cannot praise this book enough and want to read more of the author’s books.
Welcome back, Carol! Mockingbird does sound like a book that we all should read. Thank you for putting it on our radar.
It is 54° this morning. I am so happy because we are laying mulch.
I made it to page 112 in Summer Reading and gave up. I really wanted to like it more but I didn’t much care for Ruby. And while I appreciated the neurodiverse character and learning about dyslexia, I became quickly annoyed by Ruby mentioning her neurodivergent brain. While this title is on lots of summer reading lists and got mostly 5 stars, it just wasn’t for me.
I did enjoy No Two Persons by Erica Bauermeister. I learned something about free diving which I never heard of before. I enjoyed some of the chapters more than others but I really liked the ending where some characters intersected.
I also liked Love Buzz by Neely Tubati-Alexander. Serena Khan leads the safe predictable life her late mother scripted for her. But a chance encounter with a, stranger at a Bachelorette party in New Orleans causes her to rethink every thing about what she really wants. I enjoyed reading about Serena upending her life and the mistakes she made along the way.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Happy Reading!
We’ll see how Summer Reading goes for me, Sharon. I get tired of repetition, so if she continues to talk about her neurodivergent brain, it might get to me, too.
I liked some of the chapters more than others in No Two Persons, too. I wasn’t that interested in the free diving part of the book. Isn’t it interesting how we all appreciate different aspects?
Happy Reading & happy mulching!
I put down Hollow Beasts by Alisa Valdes earlier this week. I wanted to like it but the characters! The bad guys are very bad and the main character has far too much baggage for just one person. Inaccurate information about a monastery. Final straw: Two eligible men express interest right away, setting up the classic love triangle. Nope, nope, nope. Set in New Mexico and I love the region. Sigh.
However, yesterday’s read was a winner. Deadly Waters by Dot Hutchison. Someone has had enough of the predatory frat boys at the U of Florida in Gainesville and is feeding the worst offenders to the alligators. A couple of impassioned polemics in the book will strike nerves in most readers. Killer reveal was not much of a surprise. I really liked it.
Not sure what’s next.
It’s easy to guess the killers are alligators, Aubrey. Just kidding.
I don’t blame you one bit for giving up on Hollow Beasts. It’s so hard to continue when you don’t like the characters. When you know the information is inaccurate, that just doesn’t work.
Good luck with your next book!
Our weather in Santa Barbara is the same as last week, “May gray” which equals overcast skies most of the day. Many people here get tired of the gloom in May through June, but I love it. And it is good for spending time outside gardening, which I have been doing more of.
Today I am listing the books on my 20 Books of Summer list. Sometimes my interest in the books on the list drops off as soon as I publish the list (and I know I am not the only one) but this time I am very excited about reading all of these and I am impatient for June.
MYSTERIES
Mindful of Murder by Susan Juby
A Dying Fall by Elly Griffiths
Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
A Man’s Head by Georges Simenon
Murder Most Fowl by Bill Crider
The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny
Disco for the Departed by Colin Cotterill
Sleep and His Brothers by Peter Dickinson
The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
SPY FICTION
Our Man in Camelot by Anthony Price
SS-GB by Len Deighton (alternative history)
The Mulberry Bush by Charles McCarry
The Doomsday Book by Victor Canning
SCIENCE FICTION
The Last Colony by John Scalzi
FICTION
The Guernsey Literary And Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff and Frank Doel
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullars
NONFICTION
Jane Austen Cover to Cover by Margaret Sullivan
Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions by Steve Martin, illus. by Harry Bliss (graphic novel)
A Fire Story by Brian Fies (graphic novel)
Last week I read MURDER IS EASY by Agatha Christie. One of her standalone mysteries, published in 1939. A quick, easy, fun read.
Now I am reading KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, about 1/3 into it and enjoying it very much.
Tracy, I have already started mine! I thought I’d try to get ahead, as August is going to be very busy for me and I would like to try to read all 20 books for once.
The only one I’ve read on your list is 84 Charing Cross Road. It’s an easy read, and short, so perfect for 20 Books. I’ve tried to choose mainly shorter books this year.
Rosemary, I may give up and start reading books from the list early, to give myself a little more time to actually write some reviews, which I have a hard time keeping up with. I may aim for shorter reviews, which is one of my overall blogging goals this year.
I was aiming at shorter books on my list, but I did include a few longer books. It is hard for me to believe that I took this long to get around to reading 84, Charing Cross Road.
I did see your list last week and commented on your post (as TracyK). I was interested to see that you had Dead in the Water by Dana Stabenow on your list. I have read the first book in the series and I just bought Dead in the Water in the last year (but haven’t read it yet).
Oh sorry Tracy, I forgot that someone might actually comment on my blog! I’ll have a look right now, thank you for reading it.
I write reviews that are far too long, and find it hard not to, so that’s something I also need to aim for. I always start off thinking I have nothing to say, then find I have written paragraphs.
Tracy – me again. I tried to reply to your comment on my blog but Blogger won’t let me.
I think I’ve had this problem before. I googled it but the advice was totally incomprehensible to someone like me…
So here is the reply I tried to post:
‘Hi Tracy, thanks so much for your comments.
I must admit I usually find Penelope Fitzgerald’s books depressing! Someone I know was singing the praises of this one, so I thought I’d give it a go.
I have quite a few of Dana Stabenow’s books, and can rarely remember which ones I’ve read (I get into the same muddle with Ian Rankin.) I don’t think I’ve read this one. I enjoy the setting and all the fascinating information about life in the National Park.
Good luck with your list. We’ll have to compare notes from time to time!’
Sorry Lesa, not meaning to hijack your blog! I wish I knew how to resolve this problem on Blogger.
That’s okay, Rosemary. I was curious about Tracy’s reading list, and asked her to share it.
Thanks, Rosemary, for commenting on my blog post here. I know that there are lots of problems with comments on blogger blogs, so no worries about that. I got that impression about Penelope Fitzgerald’s books being usually depressing, but I plan to find more to read just because I like her writing. Next time I will be prepared. I will be checking your blog (and comments here) to see what you think of the books on your list.
Thank you, Tracy! I was curious. I love to see other readers’ lists. I’ve read 5 of the books on your list, 3 mysteries, and two fiction. I love 84, Charing Cross Road! I actually read the book after watching the movie years ago, and then I bought the book.
I’m glad you’re enjoying Killers of a Certain Age. I just found it fun!
Lesa, I enjoyed sharing the list.
Killers of a Certain Age is a lot of fun, fast-paced, not really espionage but along the same lines. Perfect for me, at least so far. I read about it first here, so I thank you for that.
Nice list, Tracy! And I say that not just because I’ve read 10 of the books already –
Simenin, Crider, Cotterill, Castillo, Dickinson (Sleep and his Brother, singular, not Brothers), Deighton, Price ( I really liked his spy series), Scalzi, Shaffer & Barrows, Hanff.
Thanks, Jeff. I was reminded to put the Cotterill book on my list when you mentioned the series here in your comments recently. I am working my way through Anthony Price’s spy series, only 13 more to go after this one. The same for Crider’s series.
Thanks for the correction on the Peter Dickinson title, I need to go correct my post now.
The weather’s been great here. Went to the last Wine Down Wednesday for the year. It was great! Next month, they’ll be starting their concert series. Whereas The Palladio has cover bands, Roseville has tribute acts.
This week I read:
GI Confidential by Martin Limon; Sergeants Sueno and Bascomb investigate bank robberies by GIs in 1970’s South Korea, and human trafficking among the South Korean Army’s officer corps. Did they call it human trafficking then? Gets repetitive.
Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor; Rural noir, but really of the kind that big city people are supposed to read so they can feel superior to the hicks, as if San Francisco isn’t in a death spiral.
A Pale Night in the Sky by KG Wagers; Woke science fiction, where a poor little rich girl joins the marines, and is involved in winning the intra armed forces games, which everybody is more worried about than fighting the enemy. I’m afraid that last part might be a little too real to life.
When Luck Runs Out by Julien Rapp; A Hawaiian celebrity is killed (Roger Miller’s Kansas City Star immediately started playing in my head. No thanks Omaha, thanks a lot.) The victim had a very messy life. Dreadlow and Company investigate while dealing with personal problems. Somehow, Dreadlow’s classic car collection keeps growing. Dread’s luck certainly didn’t run out.
I enjoy hearing about the band concerts you attend, Glen. Thank you.
I don’t often read human trafficking books anymore. There are just too many of them.
Thank you! I was curious as to what you would think of Ozark Dogs. I’m going to share it with a friend who just couldn’t get into Eli Cranor’s first book.
Glen, I was just listening to Roger Miller’s Greatest Hits last week. Love “Kansas City Star” and so many of the others.
Hi all, I am happy to say I survived my huge work gala, and, reading-wise finished “A Long Petal of the Sea” by Isabel Allende in time for book club on Tuesday. When I was hibernating after the gala I read “An American in Scotland” by Lucy Connelly, which I knew I’d like based on Lesa’s review. It was a fun mash-up of cozy mystery and woman-chucks-it-all-to-live-in-a-picturesque-town-by-the-sea (featuring handsome locals, of course). I enjoyed it so much I may reread it before returning it to the library. This week I started “Blood and Ink: the Scandalous Jazz Age Double Murder that Hooked America on True Crime” which has a kind of local connection.
Yay! Survival. I’m glad you survived the gala, Trisha, and even had time to read. I’m really happy you enjoyed An American in Scotland. It was fun, although Rosemary would probably be willing to tell us where it went wrong. (smile – I love Rosemary’s comments about our obsession with mysteries and bookshop novels set in Scotland and Ireland.)
I seem to be losing my taste for fiction and reading much more nonfiction these days, but I did finish Ruth Ware’s June 20 release, Zero Days. This isn’t the moody psychological suspense that I expect and love from Ware, but it should please all readers who like an action-driven cat and mouse thriller with danger around every corner. The bare skeleton of the story is a familiar one: spouse #1 comes home from work to find spouse #2 murdered in the house, then quickly becomes the prime suspect. “Jack” (Jacyntha) goes on the run to stay free and to solve the murder of her husband, Gabe. The couple are high level “penetration testers,” hired by companies to try to break into and test the security at buildings where fabulously valuable tech secrets are under heavy guard in banks of mainframe computers. Gabe’s murder was a hit, tied to the high tech world where he had the skill to access any kind of secret. The questions Jack must answer are what did Gabe know, and who would kill to protect that information? Not a typical Ruth Ware novel, and certainly not my favorite of her books, but entertaining as a thriller, and the world it explores held my interest.
I have an advance copy of Sarah Pekkanen’s August release, Gone Tonight, that I look forward to between nonfiction reading. I’m also going to read Laura Lippman’s biographical short piece, The Summer of Fall, with very mixed feelings about how much private information anyone should put out in public when other very real people are involved.
Sandra, I hope you continue to stop by. I know a number of us read nonfiction, so please don’t drop out just because you’re reading more nonfiction than fiction. I’ll be curious to hear what you think about Laura Lippman’s piece.
Lesa, I know you’re enjoying the warm weather we’re having. Yesterday was a bit too hot for me, and I wondered what I’m going to do when it really gets hot. Today has been beautiful though, not as hot and low humidity. I wish it could stay like today all summer. We had a new roof put on Tuesday and Wednesday, and I felt bad for the guys on Tuesday with the heat.
It seems I’ve been busier than usual this past week. I can laugh at it, but it was a bit disconcerting at first that the company Philip and spent three days cleaning the house for didn’t even come in the house. It was friends of his from the D.C. area, and they made a special stop in Owensboro to go out to eat with us. We had planned on them coming back to the house after, but the husband was so tired from driving (they were at the end of a two week road trip) that he just wanted to go back to their hotel and take a shower and go to bed. So, Philip and I came back to our clean house, sat down in our chairs in the living room, and laughed at ourselves for worrying about the house. Then yesterday it was off to Mt. Vernon, Indiana to attend our granddaughter’s piano recital. I love to hear her play. Today I got my hair cut a little shorter because of the hot weather coming, and tonight Philip and I will go to Taco Thursday at the VFW.
So, my reading has suffered from a lack of attention. I have started A Deadly Bone to Pick by Peggy Rothschild, the first of two so far in the Molly Madison series. I was looking for a book with dogs and loving the covers of the two in this series, I will be picking up speed on my reading of A Deadly Bone to Pick this weekend. Molly Madison is a former PI who has relocated across country to California. Here is the official book description:
Ex-police officer and former P.I. Molly Madison is starting over. After the death of her husband, she and her golden retriever, Harlow, move cross-country to California. But as charming and peaceful as the beachside town seems, she soon learns its tranquil tides hold dark secrets.
On her first day in the new house, a large, slobbering Saint Berdoodle wanders in. Molly winds up taking on the responsibility of training Noodle since his owner is too busy to do the job. On one of their daily beachside walks, Noodle digs up a severed hand. Once Molly alerts the police and they run a background check on her, an incident from her past makes her an immediate suspect—after all, Noodle’s testimony to clear her name won’t hold much water in court.
To prove her innocence, Molly must rely on instincts keener than a canine’s to sniff out the real killer. But when Molly’s life is put in danger, will her two very loyal pups be able to rescue her?
I think I’m going to like the dog infused series, as I am certainly a dog lover. The only thing better would be if it had dogs and baby goats. I got to pet a baby goat today, and I was in heaven.
Now, upcoming reading has changed again. Doesn’t it always? Lesa, although I didn’t read your review for The Tumbling Girl, I did read your interview with author Bridget Walsh, and I now have two copies of that book I’m champing at the bit to get to. I accidentally ordered two copies, and instead of sending it back, I’ll give the second copy to a friend. I will be reading Martin Edward’s fourth book, Sepulchre Street, in the wonderful Rachel Savernake series next week.
I had a new book come across my radar from a publishing company friend that I thought looked so interesting. I wondered if any of you have seen it. It’s Extinction by Douglas Preston, and it won’t be out until April of next year, but it certainly sounds like it will be a great read.
Kathy, I love this story about your clean house and the company that didn’t come in. You guys are so cute, and I love that you laugh. ❤
Kaye, it seems we laugh a lot more these days. I guess we’ve lived long enough to know it’s better to do that. Of course, you know if we hadn’t have cleaned, they would have been all over the house. Hahaha!
Kathy – that story reminds me of the time that a friend, who had a huge house, and 5 children under 10 at that stage, had a very smart French lady coming round to visit. She carefully tidied the kitchen, sitting room and one bathroom, which the French lady could use to change her baby.
The day came. The guests arrived. While my friend was in the kitchen, her 6 year old and only girl (it would be) offered to give the French lady a tour of the entire chaotic house. You can imagine.
I’m so glad you could laugh about it! I hate cleaning so much, and find it more and more exhausting – I think for me that’s probably psychological, as what I really want to be doing is walking in the countryside or doing the garden.
Douglas Preston has been doing a bit of advance publicity for Extinction. The story behind the story was interesting and I’m sure the book will be equally so.
Oh, I forgot to give an update on TV watching. I finally watched The Flight Attendant, and it was nothing like I thought it would be, but it was a fantastic first season. I haven’t started watching season two yet. I will watch the new Ted Lasso tonight. I’m saving the new season, season three, of Happy Valley for this weekend. Oh, and I’m halfway through Michael J. Fox’s documentary about his life with Parkinson’s (although it follows his whole career), and I’m finding it well worth my time.
Like Kaye, I appreciated your story about your company, Kathy. I don’t blame them for not wanting to visit any longer, but I’m sure it was frustrating for you. Now, you can enjoy your clean house.
You’re right. I love this weather since the humidity is low. I am not fond of humidity, which is why I preferred Arizona over Florida. “It’s a dry heat.”
I hope you enjoy The Tumbling Girl!
Lesa, when the hot weather hits, I want to find a lovely mountain retreat by a babbling brook to spend the summer. I’ll let you know about The Tumbling Girl.
This is definitely on my tbr, looking forward to the larger print. I love her library mysteries. I am currently reading A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter and the Last Party by Claire Mackintosh. Finishing up Identity by Nora Roberts on audio.
Katherine, I’d love to know what you think of The Last Party. I’ve read all of Clare Mackintosh’s books but one, and I have The Last Party in my short-list of TBRs. I just don’t seem to be getting to it.
Kathy, I got my copy from book of the month when it first came out and just picked it up so i could read it before the sequel is released. It’s moving at a pretty face pace so far, short chapters. I have loved all her previous one and have high hopes for this one.
I meant fast pace. (darn autocorrect)
Katherine, I enjoy her library mysteries, and her hat shop ones.