We made it to Thursday! I do have book reviews scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week, so it won’t be an entire week of nothing.
The weather here has been unusual for August, only in the high 70s yesterday. They say 77 and sunny as I write this, but I don’t see much sun out there. And, I’m wearing the traditional librarian’s cardigan in my office because it’s cold in here.
So, let’s talk books. I’m currently rereading a book I read way back at the beginning of the year, Stephen Mack Jones’ fourth August Snow novel, Deus X. He was one of the authors on a panel I moderated then. Deus X is actually due out November 7.
If you haven’t “met” August Snow, he’s a former Marine, a Detroit ex-cop, who received a tidy amount of money when the city of Detroit mistreated him. He’s used that money to renovate his Detroit neighborhood, Mexicantown. He’s also worked with young people to help them find their places in life, although he’d never admit it, nor would they. Now, he’s tangling with the Catholic Church.
“Father Michael Grabowski, a Franciscan priest who has tended the spiritual needs of Detroit’s Mexicantown for forty years, has suddenly retired. August Snow, who has known the priest his whole life, finds the circumstances troubling—especially in light of the recent suspicious suicide of another local priest. What dark history is Father Grabowski hiding?
“The situation takes a turn for the deadly with the appearance at the Detroit diocese of a mysterious priest and combat vet calling himself Francis Dominioni Petra. The man comes from the Vatican, and as his armored guard circles closer and closer to Father Grabowski and his friends, August wants to know why. A terrible crime has been committed in the name of faith—but who is seeking justice, and who is trying to bury the truth and any of its witnesses? August grapples with his own ideas about his faith and his chosen family in this action-packed fourth installment in the Hammett Prize–winning series.”
I love the writing and characters in these books.
What about you? What are you reading this week?
Lesa,
Best Wishes on your upcoming retirement and move. Lots of changes! You’re on to your next chapter!
I recently finished “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett and really enjoyed it. I’ve read most of her books and was looking forward to this one. Then I read Linda Castillo’s new one “An Evil Heart” and liked it. Now I’m reading “The Last Ranger” by Peter Heller. Lots of new fiction out this summer that I haven’t gotten to yet, and more to come.
You’re right, Linda. I started “Tom Lake”, but found I just don’t have time right now. I’ll get back to it. Glad you liked “An Evil Heart”.
And, thank you for the kind wishes!
Greetings from Northern California, where it is currently 91 degrees at 10:00 p.m. Nevertheless, my son and I braved the heat to attend an outside concert with a great band from 7:00 to 9:00 (we spent 5:30 to 7:00 in an air-conditioned restaurant after we put our lawn chairs at the venue), we even got sprinkled on a few times, which was refreshing, and we finally got a breeze. There was even a double rainbow earlier! Best of all, Glen and I got to say hello in person for the second time. I got to meet his very sweet girlfriend, and he got to meet my older son. No dancing for any of us because it as just too hot, but the high-energy band of 9 performers was at it for almost the whole two hours with a short break in the middle, and there were many people who danced the entire time. Whew–not this time!
Anyway, here is my reading for the week:
I’ve enjoyed two of Susan Wiggs’ books, especially The Lost and Found Bookshop, but WELCOME TO BEACH TOWN let me down. If you read the summary inside the front cover, you know that Nikki is a scholarship “day student” at an elite boarding school in beachside Alara Cove, CA. She is about to deliver her valedictorian speech when she suddenly decides to instead avenge a friend’s recent death by dropping a big accusation on her fellow students, their wealthy families, and the school staff. It’s a gutsy move, but it upends her plans for college and her future. So when an opportunity arises for surfing star Nikki to join a surfing team and travel the world with its Adonis-like recruiter, she grabs it and runs. But after 15 years away from her home, her father, and her two closest friends, she returns to Alara Cove to grieve an important person in her life and to somehow build a new career with no money and no plan. Anything more might venture into spoiler territory, so here’s what disappointed me about the book. Nikki’s 15 years away from home rates hardly a mention. Her decision to join the team is too sudden, and her activities with the surfing team and her romance get short shrift. When she returns home, she finds that several of the people she knew in high school have undergone amazing and difficult-to-swallow transformations. Most importantly to me, I never engaged with Nikki as a relatable character, as I felt she lacked nuance. I usually enjoy a good epilogue, but I found this one to be ungrounded in the reality that was set up earlier in the book. Finally, I’m sure there is a more expressive replacement for the book’s unoriginal title. This isn’t really a beach read, nor is it a believable romance. Susan Wiggs, I will look for your next book because I know you are a talented author. This time, the book just didn’t work for me, although I am sure other readers will enjoy it.
What makes DARK RIDE extraordinary is the specificity with which author Lou Berney makes each of his characters distinct and special. In this story, it is 23-year-old “Hardly” Reed’s voice that describes the narrative, replete with his keen observations, on-the-nose descriptions, and especially his self-analysis. Hardly is fine with working a low-paying, mostly undemanding job as a “scarer” at a horror theme park that allows him to spend time with his fellow stoner friends and to very slowly pay back his college loans, even though he had to drop out after a semester and a half. A former foster child who lost his parents at an early age, Hardly can’t help but be deeply affected when he notices two young children sitting by themselves with blank faces outside of a government building, their clothing failing to fully hide the three evenly spaced cigarette burns on one’s collarbone and the other’s ankle. Although Hardly’s foster experience wasn’t a bad one, he is suddenly shaken out of his complacency with an overwhelming urge to somehow save these children. That’s what this book is all about–one young man’s self-transformation into someone who can put together an initially shaky plan to rescue the children from their abusive father and carry it to a conclusion regardless of the consequences, with the help of a group of quirky friends. Although Hardly is the star of the story, the specificity I mentioned is also applied to his “team”–a “goth girl” public servant, a teenaged coworker who lacks social skills but idolizes Hardly, and a former {female private investigator who is currently a real estate agent with an eye for younger men. Hardly’s older, much different foster “brother” also plays an small but memorable role. The result is often humorous, sometimes heartbreaking, and always unforgettable. Highly recommended (September)
After a devastating day at work and a horrible blind date, Lucy decides she would rather skip her current circumstances and get to “the good part” of her life early. Not so coincidentally, she steps into a small shop to get out of the rain and notices a machine in the corner that purports to fulfill any wish for a small donation. So, as one does, she makes her wish and hurries home. The next day, she wakes up a bedroom that is much nicer than the one in her dingy flat, with a hunky husband, a toddler, and a 7-year-old son, not to mention a high-level job, none of which she remembers. Lucy is also shocked–not in a good way–to see her reflection in a mirror. After all, she is 42 now, not 26. And it seems that technology has advanced far more than she had expected. The rest of the book focuses on how Lucy adjusts to her new life, how she explains why she doesn’t remember anything, and whether she will decide to stay in her future or return to age 26, if she has the opportunity, to live out the 16 years she has lost. I didn’t find Lucy very likeable at the beginning of the book, but she grew on me. I enjoyed her experiences with her aging parents, her oldest friends, her longtime coworkers, and especially her “new” family. My favorite characters included her delightful son Felix, her unbelievably understanding husband, Sam, and her loyally supportive friends, all of whom are realistically drawn and relatable. I found it fascinating how Lucy was able to address an important work project with very little information about how to do it. The end of the book will be a polarizing event for some readers, depending on which decision they would like Lucy to make. It’s a time travel story that absolutely requires suspension of disbelief, but I truly enjoyed Lucy’s journey once she decided to give it her all. It is, by turns, frustrating, humorous, heartbreaking, and life-affirming. (November)
Margie, I have that Lou Berney book on hold, as he is a favorite writer.
You did NOT give the name or author of that last book!
Sorry about that! My third book review was for THE GOOD PART by Sophie Cousens.
Margie, Despite the weather, I’m glad you enjoyed the concert with your son, and ran into Glen again. I love that!
I read Dark Ride. I’ve read almost all of Lou Berney’s books, including his early ones. I liked this one, but I just never could get excited about it. I was glad to see your review, and can’t wait to see other reviews to see why it didn’t work for me as much as his earlier ones. Just me, probably.
I’m currently working on MURDER IN THE WINE COUNTRY by Janet Finsilver. This is the sixth and final in her series. I like the characters, so I’m happy to be back with them. The story seems to have lots of elements, so I’m curious how everything is going to come together.
And, I never even heard of Janet Finsilver, Mark. The books you read often surprise me because I’m not familiar with the authors. Thank you for sharing!
Hello, Lesa. I’m reading the seventh book in Adrian McKinty’s Sean Duffy series. Duffy is a policeman in the Belfast area during the Troubles, and he’s a terrific character, full of cynical humor and yet dedicated to investigating the crimes on his patch. The first in the series came out in 2012 and after writing six books, McKinty took a break to write two standalone thrillers. Now he’s back with a brand-new Sean Duffy, THE DETECTIVE SLEPT LATE, and so far it’s as funny and gripping as the others.
That sounds so interesting Kim, I’ve never read anything set during what we are apparently now asked to call The Conflict rather than the Troubles. (I learned this from an Art Festival talk this week, when one of the speakers was a guy from Array, an artists’ collective in Belfast.)
I’ll see if my library has any Adrian McKinty books. Thanks for the tip.
Hmm. Interesting, Rosemary. I wonder if Adrian McKinty just stuck with “The Troubles” since he has the series going. He’s from Belfast originally.
Another book I have on hold. I love the Duffy series.
I think I only read one in the middle of the series, Kim. I liked it, and should go back and start at the beginning. Thank you for the reminder!
I just want to add: for goodness sake, everybody, don’t read The Chain or The Island. They are not Sean Duffy books but very disturbing standalones that were not my kind of thing.
I pushed The Chain the summer it was out, although I didn’t read it. But, I know patrons who loved it. I’m not a fan of disturbing standalones.
Good morning everyone,
Edinburgh has cooled down (from its giddy heights of 21C (69.8F) ) and we are all extremely glad. Being squashed into tiny festival venues is no fun when it’s hot.
This week I’ve seen a lot of Art Festival stuff, much of which I have to say went right over my head. I did attend an interesting talk with some artists from Array, a collective working in Belfast, and two women from Haven for Artists, a collective in Beirut. The women explained the very different political conditions they have to work under in Lebanon. They were amazing.
In the Fringe I’ve seen some good plays, especially one about punk rock – The Only Punk Rocker in the Village – in which Dermot Petty gave a brilliant one-man talk about growing up in the remote village of Lisdoonvarna (North Clare, west of Ireland) in the 1970s, hating school discovering punk via the pages of the New Musical Express, and determinedly introducing his parents, his friends and his youth club to it in a place where ‘even Elvis Presley had had a hard time’.
It was hilarious, full of anecdotes – and music. Petty is obviously no longer young, but he still loves punk and so do I – so I loved the snippets he played of Teenage Kicks, Sheena is a Punk Rocker and Anarchy in the UK. He even danced, and showed us how he’d learned to pogo.
I also saw Better Days, another one-man show, this time about a 1980s/90s teenager caught between his love of football (and football violence) and his new obsession with Acid House, Rave and the drugs that went with that. Very well done.
Plenty of other shows too, but they do start to blur in one’s mind!
The Book Festival has now opened. I find it more irritating every year, it is resolutely middle class and full of Edinburgh retirees of a certain brand (ie wealthy and opinionated), but yesterday I trudged down to the festival’s new abode at Edinburgh College of Art for a session with Don Paterson. He’s a well known Scottish poet about whom I, needless to say, knew nothing.
He turned out to be excellent. His roots are in working class Dundee, he left school with no qualifications at the age of 16 and worked in one of Dundee’s two big employers at that time, DC Thompson (publishers of many things, including The Beano and Desperate Dan). He didn’t last long, as he was sacked for smoking dope in the toilets – so he took himself off to London, and while staying in a seedy boarding house in Tottenham he discovered poetry simply because his landlady’s TV was so ancient that he couldn’t get a proper picture to watch the snooker, so he turned over to BBC2 and saw a poet performing.
Despite never returning to formal education as a student, he has now taught on the MLitt at St Andrew’s University (ie where Prince William went) for 20+ years. He said whenever he applied for promotion, he was given a form to complete that had a section ‘education’ – under which he wrote ‘not applicable’.
‘They didn’t seem to mind.’
He was at the festival to promote a memoir that he’s just written of his first 20 years, so luckily I didn’t need to know much about his poetry – this is about his childhood and teenage years, during which he suffered a major mental health breakdown and was hospitalised for some time.
He was such a good speaker, so down to earth and very funny. He told a good story about one of the posh English boys who tend to frequent St Andrew’s coming up to him after a lecture and saying ‘you’ll have to tone your accent down if you want people like us to understand you’
‘I should’ve failed him on the spot’
But instead he calmly pointed out that he was in his own country and had in fact been born less than 10 miles from that very spot, so he wasn’t the one who needed to change. (‘And I’d had my lecture voice on too!’)
I’m going to borrow the memoir, which is called TOY FIGHTS: A BOYHOOD from the library. (Eventually!)
Today I’m going to see TOM ROBINSON ‘in conversation’, so I’m looking forward to that.
Last week I saw MHAIRI BLACK in the same series. She was fantastic. I was appalled, therefore, to see how the event was reported by much of the mainstream media, most of whom either were not there in the first place, or wrote what they wanted to write regardless. In particular they attributed things about the transgender argument to Mhairi that I, who wrote it all down practically verbatim, know full well she did not say – she wouldn’t have mentioned this issue at all if the chair hadn’t somewhat pushed her to do so. The Spectator (a very right wing periodical) was the worst offender. I was so cross, though I expect Mhairi’s used to it.
Tom R will probably be marginally less controversial. But only marginally!
Anna is singing in two concerts this week. The first was yesterday and involved music composed by young people. I wasn’t able to go but she said it went well and had a good audience, which is always a big achievement in August, when there is so much on offer. The second concert is on Friday night and will be a performance of the Durufle Requiem with readings.
My reading has been absolutely pathetic this week. The only place I do any is on the tram, and even then I don’t always manage it. I am half way through a Simenon novel THE GRAND BANKS CAFE. It’s very short and easy to read and I should’ve finished it ages ago. August is a write-off for reading really – every year I think I can achieve more than I do.
On TV Anna and I are watching THE BEAR, which I like a lot, and we’re still re-watching DINNERLADIES and don’t want it to end. Victoria Wood was a genius, she really was, and in this she is surrounded by very good actors like Thelma Barlow, Andrew Dunn, Duncan Preston, Anne Reid, Maxine Peake and Julie Walters.
I’m also watching the new series of HEARTSTOPPER and enjoying it very much. Looking forward to seeing the original writer Alice Oseman at the book festival on Saturday – I just hope she doesn’t decide to boycott it, as three speakers have already done, re the sponsor, Baillie Gifford’s, investment policies. I’m not sure where I stand on this. The festival has to be paid for by someone – the tickets would be 4 times the price (and they’re not cheap to start with) if they didn’t have a big injection of cash from BG – and I doubt they could even programme it in the first place, as they need guaranteed funds and not just unpredictable ticket revenue.) I do understand that it’s a huge ethical problem, but BG have reduced their fossil fuel investment to a very small percentage, and are committed to renewables, but they are financial consultants and they also have a duty to safeguard and grow their clients’ money.
I just don’t think the festival would survive if it had to find totally ‘pure’ backers. But what do I know?
So I’d better get on with writing up Don Paterson’s session.
Have a great week all, and Lesa, don’t panic! Moves always come together in the end (says the world’s worst panicker…) And we all understand that you’re super busy!
Rosemary
Sounds like you’re having a good time, Rosemary. We went to the Edinburgh Fringe two or three times. Jackie is a big Alan Davies fan (since JONATHAN CREEK) and we saw him in a show one year.
I agree with you on DINNERLADIES. We are huge fans of Victoria Wood, who died way too young. (I believe Celia Imrie was in this too, as she was in many of Wood’s shows.)
You’re right of course Jeff, the wonderful Celia Imrie is one of the stars of Dinnerladies, I don’t know how I could have forgotten that!
Good morning, Rosemary! I’ll echo Jeff’s comment, that is sounds like you’re having a good time. It’s so interesting to read about the festival since I never heard of the authors or the bands. We are so provincial here in the U.S. We know so little about the rest of the world.
Thank you for being our cultural correspondent in Scotland!
About halfway through THE MURDER WHEEL by Tom Mead. Retired illusionist Joseph Spector has played a minor role to this point, but we’ll see what happens. My reading has slowed down as I’ve been dog-sitting for a few very hot days. Not too many rabbits for the pups to chase in this weather, but they enjoy their little vacation.
Thirty+ books into what used to be a fun, cozy series brings HISS & TELL, a new Mrs. Murphy book from Rita Mae Brown. The animals used to be a main driver in solving a mystery. Now they just eat! The overused and ill-used dual time periods trickery masks the author’s soapbox for the ills of the world. Worse, it is disguised as a Christmas story. Very unsatisfying.
A much more satisfying read was an older book I missed, WITH CHILD, the third in SF homicide detective Kate Martinelli series (Laurie R. King, 1996) Here again social ills are examined, but woven skillfully into the larger story. Interesting characters and well-developed plot.
Also enjoying NATURE ON THE DOORSTEP – A Year of Letters by Angela E Douglas, Professor of Insect Physiology at Cornell University. She wrote an essay every Sunday from March, 2020 to March, 2021 as a distraction from the Covid stay-at-home year. It celebrates the role of the humble backyard in appreciation of the living world. And reminded me how delightful it is to see fireflies (typically east of the Rockies).
Set against the backdrop of Latinx community in New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico’s history, Xochitl Gonzalez’s debut, OLGA DIES DREAMING, is actually pretty amazing for a gossipy, funny romance novel.
The main characters are two siblings: Prieto, a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn and Olga the wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers. Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy as the effects of long-held family secrets come to the surface.
MM, I thought The Murder Wheel was a little slow, and not up to Tom Mead’s first book.
I read several of Laurie R. King’s Kate Martinelli mysteries, and really liked them.
Have a good week!
I really liked Olga Dies Dreaming! It was in my top 10 of books read in 2022 lost. Nature on the Doorstep sounds good too, but I need to finish Braiding Sweetgrass before tackling that one.
This week’s reading. Hmm? Let’s see. Jackie read the Iris Johansen book I mentioned last time, and is now reading T> J. Newman’s first, FALLING.
I finished THE 1998 YANKEES, which did improve as it got to the end of the season and the World Series. Jack Curry is the author.
KISS ME IN THE CORAL LOUNGE by Helen Ellis also got much better as it neared the end. I don’t know if I really needed the details of her and her husband’s Viagra use, but other than that, it’s a fun read.
AN EVIL HEART is Linda Castillo’s latest (#15, plus a bunch of short stories) Kate Burkholder mystery, a particularly vicious murder of a seemingly well loved young Amish man, but things are not always what they seem, are they? At last, the wedding of Kate and her love, John Tomasetti, does finally happen. But first, she is in terrible danger yet again. She never does wait for backup, does she?
John Scalzi’s THE DISPATCHER: MURDER BY OTHER MEANS is the second in his series. In the future it is almost impossible to murder someone, because for some reason, when they are killed they return home – magically – alive and well and naked. Dispatchers are licensed to oversee “killing” people under certain circumstances – say, you are having dangerous surgery and might not survive. But this time, the Dispatcher himself is in danger. Someone is engineering “suicides” where they force people to kill themselves so they are not technically murdered and hence will not come back.
Finally, Lawrence Block’s latest anthology, PLAYING GAMES, is a good one with lots of excellent authors. Games are indeed the theme, whether checkers, Candyland, Boggle, hide and seek, or whatever, and most of the twists are quite clever.
I’m glad your books improved, Jeff.
And, you’re so right about Kate Burkhardt. She has such a good team, and she doesn’t wait for backup. I enjoyed the wedding, though!
Good morning. This week I read an ARC of The September House by Carissa Orlando. It’s a rather strange and somewhat Gordy book about a haunted house where the hauntings really amp up every September.
Scarcely Cat, the latest in Sofie Ryan’s Second Chance Cat Mystery series. It was a quick read and just what I needed after the haunted house story.
Should be somewhat gory. I hate autocorrect.
We had our doors and windows open on Tuesday. It was glorious. Definitely not looking forward to the heat dome arriving this weekend.
I read Mrs. Porter calling by A. J. Pearce this week. Third of the Emmy Lake series. This one involved the staff of Woman’s Friend magazine and the aftermath of new ownership. I enjoyed reading how they tried to outmaneuver Mrs. Pearce from changing the magazine into a frivolous publication. It was good.
Next was a Kindle Unlimited romance Give Me the Butterflies by Jillian Meadows. This was cute but steamy. Millie is a butterfly specialiast at the museum. Finn works in the astronomy wing at the same museum and is guardian to his late sister’s daughter. Sparks fly when Finn is on the committee for Millie’s promotion. I liked this one too.
Lastly, I am finishing up You Are My Sunshine by Sean Dietrich about the bike ride he and his wife took through the C&O Canal Towpath and the Great Allegheny Passage during COVID. Not something I would ever consider doing, but I am enjoying reading about it.
Hope the packing and retirement plans are moving along swimmingly, Lesa. It won’t be long now.
Happy Reading!
You’re right, Sharon. It won’t be long.
Like you, I love reading some of those travel books even though I’d never consider biking like that. I loved one that came out years ago called Worldwalk by Stephen M. Newman. Would I try to walk around the world in 4 years? Not a chance. But, loved the book.
That’s funny, Sandy. I was going to ask you what a “Gordy” book was. I make those spellcheck errors all the time!
I love Laura Lippman’s stand-alone novels, but her latest, Prom Mom, is not among my favorites. I never expect to like Laura’s characters, but usually they fascinate me on some level. In Prom Mom, about a woman trying to rebuild her life decades after being accused of killing a baby she birthed on a hotel bathroom floor during her high school prom, I found the characters a little too cold and off- putting.
Now finishing Jess Lourey’s Oct. 10 release, The Taken Ones. Jess is known for the high suspense and fast pace of her thrillers. This one starts with a small, heartwarming scene as Evangeline “Van” Reed volunteers at an animal shelter and gives an old abandoned dog some exercise and love. Within paragraphs, the focus shifts with a phone call. Van is a cold case detective with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and she is called to work the case of a woman who died after being buried alive. The victim was clutching a heart charm necklace belonging to one of three girls who vanished in 1980. Van and forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck both have ties to the earlier case, and for Van the current crime stirs devastating memories of her own childhood. Together they work to find the connections between the two cases and stop a killer on the loose. The tension never slackens in this chilling and heartbreaking story.
My mistake: Jess Lourey’s new book will be out on Sept 19. I have so many e-galleys of upcoming books waiting to be read that I can’t keep them straight. Lucky me. 😄
That’s true, Sandra! Aren’t we lucky to have e-galleys?
I’m glad you liked The Taken Ones. I’ll get to it when I can. I like her writing, and her stories. And, the new release kicks off a series!
It cooled down to the 90s in the last two days but it will be 106 degrees today!
I am reading Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay. Previously, I read the 2nd book in the series but found the this one and I am going back for the same characters.
Also enjoying Mrs. Porter Calling by A. J. Pearce. I love this book about Emily Lake who writes and answers letters in a woman’s magazine during WWII. Everything was going along fine until the owner died and left it to his niece, Mrs. Porter who is insufferable. She wants to change the magazine drastically and everyone on the staff after a short honeymoon hates her except for one. She is a spoiled self centered rich woman who has no idea of people’s lives during the war. I have been laughing out loud at her and can’t wait for her to either come to reality or leave.
I like that series by Jenn McKinlay, Carol. I haven’t read that series yet by Pearce. Someday!
Stay inside & read! Stay cool!
Margie was right. It was so hot. Luckily, there was a gelato stand nearby.
This week I read:
Baseball Immortal by Roland Colton; A baseball player wakes up after an accident thinking he’s Ty Cobb. It seems odd to read about Ty cobb acting like a caring human being instead of the sack of awful they usually write about.
Thursday The Rabbi Walked Out by Harry Kemelman; Another time capsule. This one tackles early second wave (I think…I’m not sure when all these waves begin or end, and for sure don’t know what wave we’re supposed to be in now) feminism. There’s a mystery in there somewhere.
Iron Lake by William Kent Kreuger; First book in the Cork O’Connor series. There’s a lot of interesting stuff about the Wendigo legend, but when the mystery kicks in, it’s all the usual crap.
Snobbery With Violence by Marion Chesney; A woman who is incredibly naive even for the Edwardian era, is sent to a last chance camp for unmarried women. She’s not too interested in marriage, but a murder wakes her up.
Your Words, Your World by Louise Belanger; An effective book of inspirational poetry. I didn’t know people still wrote that.
Murder of my Aunt by Richard Hull; The intro says it’s the first Columbo style mystery. it’s okay, except all the characters are repellent.
I’m sorry, Glen. I didn’t see anything to get excited about in this week’s books.
Two very different books, both of which I enjoyed.
One Christmas Eve by Shari Low – (e-galley)
If you’re a fan of Christmas books, even in August, and able to suspend your belief at a fairly high level, then this is a book for you. I loved it.
“Three women, three decades, three Christmas Eve moments that change their lives forever…
On Christmas Eve, 1968, Cathy McLean receives a surprise visit from the lost love of her life and is forced to choose between the one that got away and the one that stayed.
On Christmas Eve, 1993, Cathy’s daughter Helena is overjoyed to hear that her boyfriend is about to propose, until a devastating encounter threatens to bring her heartbreak instead of diamonds.
On Christmas Eve 2023, a shocking discovery rocks Eve Quinn’s world. The only gift Eve wants this year is the truth. But will it take a Christmas miracle to unravel generations of secrets?
Unwrap this festive tale of complicated families, impossible choices, and an unforgettable love that lasts three lifetimes.”
Being of an age of having kinda grown-up with this group of rock icons I was excited to read an e-galley of THE MASTERS by Jann Wenner, a founder of Rolling Stone magazine. A collection of interviews including Bono, Dylan, Garcia, Jagger, Lennon, Springsteen, and Townshend. There’s much more to these guys than their stage persona which really shouldn’t surprise anyone seeing as how they stayed around and stayed active and pertinent for an awful lot of years. Loved it.
Kaye! I’m so glad you loved a couple books this week. I’m going to have to check out One Christmas Eve. Sounds like one I’d love, too.
Yes, I thought of you while reading One Christmas Eve! (Although it started a wee bit slow for me).
That August Snow series by Stephen Mack Jones sounds interesting. It is new to me, I will have to look into it more. In the middle of September we go to a Planned Parent book sale (which lasts for 10 days) and sometimes I can find early books in series there. They do have a very good mystery area, always lots of books and authors, but obviously what is available varies from year to year.
We are expecting rain on Sunday and Monday in Santa Barbara / Goleta, due to Hurricane Hilary. Rain here in August is very unusual. I will welcome it for my plants.
Last week I read SLEEP AND HIS BROTHER by Peter Dickenson. I loved the story and the writing. The main character, Jimmy Pibble, was formerly a Scotland Yard detective, now forced into retirement. Fourth in a series. His wife is a volunteer for a charitable institution and asks him to look into a problem they are having. There are supernatural elements, which is not surprising since Dickenson was a well-known author of fantasy books. It is very short, around 200 pages, but very dense, not an easy read at all.
I am now reading THE LAST COLONY by John Scalzi, the third book in his Old Man’s War series. I would describe the series as military science fiction but this one is more about colonization on planets. I am liking it a lot. Published in 2007. And I am still reading OPERATION MINCEMEAT by Ben MacIntyre between fiction books.
Glen is currently reading A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY by J.L. Carr. Set in the 1920’s, a veteran of WWI lives in a remote Yorkshire village working on the restoration of a medieval mural in the local church. Glen liked the book a lot. He is just now starting AGENTS OF INFLUENCE: A British Plot, a Canadian Spy, and the Secret Effort to Bring America into World War II, by Henry Hemming. Which sounds like I would like it too.
I hope your weekend and the following week is not too stressful with the combination of retirement looming and getting ready to move to Ohio.
Lots of lunches, Tracy! I just came back from a 2 hour lunch with one of the bosses. Not one of those liquid lunches people used to have, although I did have a strawberry milkshake.
I like the sound of Glen’s book, A Month in the Country. Sounds interesting!
I think you’ve now read more John Scalzi than I have, but I like his books.
Lesa, that’s funny. I was thinking this morning that you must be going out for lots of lunches at work. That is one fun aspect of retiring.
Good afternoon from my little place in NE Dallas where it is too damn hot. We had a little break earlier this week, but the heat of 107+ plus is back. There are wildfires, but so far they have been further out and we have not had to deal with the smoke. The drought is getting worse. Auston now has Stage Two water restrictions. Dallas has not elevated to that, but the way things are going, I would not be surprised if we get there before the end of the month.
As to reading— I am currently reading ALL THE SINNERS BLEED by S. A. Cosby. Heck of a book. Reminds me a lot in themes as well as word imagery of the Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke. About 100 pages from the end.
Oh, Kevin. I’m sorry about the weather in your little place in NE Dallas. And, the possible water restrictions.
All the Sinners Bleed is wonderful. You’re right. It’s a heck of a book.
Hi everyone! After all these great reviews I am definitely going to put All the Sinners Bleed on my reserves list. The highlight of this week’s reading was THE SENTENCE by Louise Erdrich. The protagonist is an Ojibwe woman who works in a bookstore, and as we learn about her life we see she is haunted by her choices, her past, the past, books, and then, a ghost in the store. It really made me think about how we are all haunted by our choices, our pasts, and books too. A good chunk of the novel takes place in Minneapolis in early COVID times and includes the unrest following the killing of George Floyd.
You’re right, Trisha. The choices we make do continue to haunt us. Even in our dreams.
And, I hope you like All the Sinners Bleed when you get a chance to read it!
I am continuing to read The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers for my book club this Tuesday. On audio, I am listening to Good Bad Girl by Alice Feeney. I just finished “Gone Tonight” by Sarah Pekkanen and really enjoyed it.
Katherine,
I just love that people have so many options for formats of books – audio, ebook, physical book. No matter what I thought of a book, I always enjoyed the discussions in my book club.