Last week was gorgeous weather for most of us, but this week we’re back into summer, the heat of August. I spent a couple days at my Mom’s. We had a family reunion yesterday. Mom was so pleased that all three of her daughters were there. I can honestly say I talked with one cousin that I probably haven’t seen in fifty-five years or so. I think everyone had a good time.
Before I jump into my book, I want to talk about all of you. I always give Jeff Meyerson credit for the idea of “What Are You Reading?’ In the last couple days, including at the reunion, three people asked about my blog. I told them I usually review mysteries and thrillers. But, I suggested they stop by on Thursdays. I said that’s the day people from all over talk about what they’re reading, and give short summaries. Then, they can get more eclectic reading suggestions than just my reviews. So, thank you, Jeff, and thank you to everyone who jumps in to talk about books. You make this site more welcoming to everyone.
I know I mentioned James Byrne’s first Dez Limerick thriller, The Guardian. This week, I’m halfway through the second book in the series, Deadlock. Desmond Aloysius Limerick (“Dez” to his friends and close personal enemies) is a man with a shadowy past, certain useful hard-won skills, and, if one digs deep enough, a reputation as a good man to have at your back. Now retired from his previous life, Dez is just a bloke with a winning smile, a bass guitar, and bullet wounds that paint a road map of past lives. Laleh Swann, a business journalist hot on the trail of an auditor who was mugged and killed, lands in the hospital just one day after her Portland apartment is ransacked. When Jaleh’s sister, Raziah, reaches out to an old friend for help, Dez has no choice but to answer. The Swann sisters have been pulled into a dizzying web of cover-ups and danger. At the center lies an insidious Oregon-based tech corporation, Clockjack, which has enough money and hired guns to silence just about anyone.
I love this character, Dez Limerick. He’s a good guy opposed to the bad guys. And, it’s interesting to see how the bad guys are able to infiltrate our social media and our technological networks. It’s a little scary. I’m just sad that this is my last Dez Limerick for a year and a half. I’ve already read the one that comes out at the end of January. Darn.
Next Monday night, my sister and I have tickets to an event at a public library. Amanda Jones, a Louisiana librarian and the author of That Librarian will talk about her battle against book banning. I’m sure she’ll talk about the death threats she’s received. Something else I find frightening. I’ll write about the event and her book sometime next week.
What about you? What have you been doing this week? Weather report! And, let’s talk books. What Are You Reading?
Loved hearing about your reunion, Lesa. I know you girls made your mom happy by being there.
Honestly? I have not read one thing worth mentioning. Major reading slump here, but I’ll keep trying, of course – something always pops up sooner or later.
Looking forward to reading about Amanda Jones.
Oh, I get it, Kaye. At least you have so many other things to occupy yourself when you’re in a reading slump. Even so, it almost hurts at times, doesn’t it? Sometimes, I just can’t find that book.
It’s been quite a social week for us. Had a visit from a former neighbour (she knows me well and brought books!); it was my husband’s brother’s birthday; it was a grandson’s birthday (14 years old now, and very much into photography so had requested a special filter for his camera); visits with other friends as well. Although it was all fun, I’m much better with social events spaced out sporadically here and there, so I needed some recovery time after this whirlwind of a week. The weather was wonderful though – temperatures of 19 C (66 F) with one day and night of torrential rain, but next week will be much warmer 29 C (84 F). I can’t wait for fall.
This week I read:
WELCOME TO THE HYUNAM-DONG BOOKSHOP by Hwang Bo-Reum (translated into English by Shanna Tan)
This book is extremely popular in Korea but I find it difficult to come to a conclusion about it. It’s not that I didn’t think it was worthwhile having read it, but maybe that given the premise, I didn’t enjoy it as much I’d expected to.
Yeongju is burnt out from her job at a high-pressure company where all the employees are trying to do better than every one else, and work extremely hard to get to the top. There is no time for any kind of personal life because everyone is expected to dedicate every waking moment, and their entire life, to the company. Eventually, for the sake of her mental health Yeongju quits her job which also ends up costing her her marriage, as well as bringing about the end of her relationship with her mother who doesn’t understand her at all. Lost and adrift, she decides to act on a longtime dream and open a bookshop. It gets off to a rocky start but with the help of various characters who enter her life, Yeongju begins to make a success of it, and the bookshop becomes a welcoming, safe space for many people.
The novel addresses serious issues such as divorce, mental health, the meaning of life, and the quest for happiness. But what constitutes happiness? And what if what might make you happy makes someone else unhappy?
There isn’t really a plot as such, although the chapters are loosely connected. Most chapters are mainly about one or other character and the internal struggles they’re going through. There is a LOT of philosophizing in the book, that provides much food for thought and wisdom. While I liked absorbing all of that, at the same time I didn’t like it because it took away from the continuity of the story. It was like episodes of life lessons being doled out at regular intervals, which made the novel a bit hard to read as a novel. It definitely made for a slower, more contemplative read. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
THE LAST LIST OF MABEL BEAUMONT by Laura Pearson
Mabel is 86 years old and her husband Arthur has just died, leaving her with only their dog for company, although the dog only ever really loved her husband. She and Arthur had no children and seemingly very few, if any, friends. Their marriage was passionless but they did love each other in their own way. Before he died, Arthur made provision in his will for a carer to come in to help Mabel for three months. At first Mabel is dead set against this and can manage on her own, thank you very much. But gradually she comes to count Julie as a good friend. As she does with three other women that come into her life – Erin, a 17 year-old cashier at a grocery store; Kirsty, a new mom; and Patty, who is a dance class teacher.
I thought this was the strongest part of the novel – all these women were trying to deal with personal problems in their lives, and it was great to read about how they were all five of them so supportive of each other; although I felt Mabel herself was often interfering and meddlesome with her efforts to help, and feeling that she knew best what each of these women needed in order to be happy – with mixed results.
I did think it very sweet how the other four women were so invested and helpful in Mabel’s quest to find Dot, her best friend from 62 years ago but who she’d completely lost touch with.
The novel deals with issues of grief, both past and present, mixed with regret. And of finding courage within yourself even at the age of 86 to finally confront the things that have made your life a bit of a sad one.
I did enjoy the book although I have to say I didn’t warm to the characters as much as I wanted to, and am not exactly sure why that was.
Lindy, Your feelings about social events reminds me of one of my sisters. She really needs some down time to recuperate from people overload. She loves her family and friends, just needs some time with her husband and her dog to recover her energy. I get it.
I’m sorry your books weren’t quite what you were looking for this week. Hoping for a better week of reading that you can enjoy indoors with your higher temperatures.
Glad you had such fun at your reunion! And welcome to the new family and friends checking us out!!
We’ve actually cooled off here. If we hit 90 today, I never saw it. Supposed to be mid-90s by the weekend and then keep getting hotter. We’ll be looking at triple digits next weekend. I’m not ready to say goodbye to summer yet, so that makes me happy.
Reading wise, I’m almost a third of the way into Until Depths Do Us Part by K.B. Jackson. It’s the first in her Cruising Sisters series. I’m so glad I picked it up because I am LOVING it. It’s one of those books that pulls you in and makes you want to keep reading. The characters are fun, the pace has been strong, and there is plenty of drama that I’m sure will feed into the mystery down the line. I always put it down reluctantly.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get a few more pages in before I go to bed early. I’m hoping to shake the remnants of this cold.
Good morning, Mark. I’m with you. It’s hot and humid here this morning, but I’m not ready for summer to end. And, I’m not one of those people eager to get everything pumpkin spice. I will admit, though, that a local shop next to Gramercy Books sells hot honey cider. I’ll enjoy that in the fall. But, summer is welcome to stay.
I hope you’re getting rid of that cold!
Your book sounds good!
Good morning. We saw The Scarlet Pimpernel last weekend which was a lot of fun. And this week our town is finishing up the last of its summer concerts. Last night was an Elvis impersonator. Tonight we have a make up night from a rain out earlier in the summer.
I read two cozy mysteries this week. NO PAW TO STAND ON by Laurie Cass is the 12th book in her bookmobile cat series. I found the book a bit slow because the author kept veering off to babies and wedding issues.
But I blew through FONDANT FUMBLE by Jenn McKinlay. In the 16th book in her cupcake bakery mystery two football players want to open a cupcake franchise for when they retire. Of course a body turns up in the new bakery.
And I’m about a third of the way through THIS CURSED HOUSE BY Del Sandeen. From the book description:
In this Southern gothic horror debut, a young Black woman abandons her life in 1960s Chicago for a position with a mysterious family in New Orleans, only to discover the dark truth. They’re under a curse, and they think she can break it.
I won a copy from the publisher and I’m enjoying the book much more than I thought I would.
“Into the fire”, Sandy! I love The Scarlet Pimpernel. I’ve seen it twice. The second time, a college production, was marvelous with a hysterically funny scene as the men got ready to sail to France.
I’m glad you’re enjoying This Cursed House. And, Jenn McKinlay is always wonderful.
Thanks, Lesa. I must admit it was one of my better ideas.
Sounds like you had a fun time at the reunion. Many years ago (1990!), a cousin of my mother’s in New Jersey arranged for a large family reunion of her mother’s family, and we had a great time. People came from all over the country – my brother won the prize for “longest distance traveled” from Oregon -and I saw relatives I hadn’t seen in 30 or 40 years, plus met others I never knew we had, including some from New Orleans, Atlanta and Charleston. Sadly, almost all of the two oldest generations (my parents’ and my grandparents’) are gone now, and we’re almost the “old” ones now! Still…
We had what I hope will be our last 90 degree day yesterday – 15-20 degrees cooler today – but overall it has been much more normal the past week. A friend is in Nashville for the Bouchercon, and he said it is over 100 degrees and unbearable. He was planning on NOT leaving the hotel. I’m not sorry we didn’t go.
Books. As the old cliche has it, “when it rains, it pours.” I downloaded two library books, then two more popped up last night (I put that one off for a week) and this morning (the third Cara Hunter/Adam Fawley, so I got that). Plus, I have to pick up two books at the library today. Not that I’m complaining, of course.
For whatever reason, most of Linda Castillo’s Kate Burkholder books are available at the library only in hardback or audio book edition. Not a problem for me, but Jackie has a hard time holding books open with her thumb problems, and tries to read only ebooks. But only the last couple of books are available in that format, so she skipped ahead (they were getting too nasty for her anyway) to the last one (AN EVIL HEART – murder by crossbow) because that has the wedding of Kate and Tomasetti. I just read the new one, The Burning, and sadly, it might be the last I read. First, the murders have been getting more and more vicious and graphic in the Amish community, but this is the worst, a man burned alive at the stake. One thing I always dislike in mysteries is the “had I but known” element, where the main character walks into a dangerous situation she could have – and should have – avoided. This has been a problem with Kate in previous books – not waiting for backup, etc. – but it is so egregiously bad here as to be unforgivable. She has already been attacked twice, she is almost sure this guy is involved in the murder, he has basically warned her that though he respects her and won’t be happy about it, unless she drops the investigation, he will kill her. But her excuse is, her brother is a suspect and she just wants to “talk” to this guy. So she goes out all alone at 5 pm, doesn’t even wait for Tomasetti to get there to back her up, and nearly gets both of them killed. It is 100% her own fault. She is basically too stupid to live, and were she not the heroine of the series, she would be dead. I found this infuriating and felt like throwing the book against the wall.
Also read this week: Evan Friss, The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore, mentioned previously. I understand his pro-independents/anti-Amazon attitude, but, I’m afraid that ship has sailed. Both can coexist.
I needed something lighter, so read Clare Pooley’s fun How to Age Disgracefully, which Jackie read at the same time (both on Kindle). Think of THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB without the murders, and with more humor…and toddlers. Charming, fun book. Thanks to whoever it was who originally recommended it here.
I’m still reading the short story collections by Philip K. Dick and Somerset Maugham, and have added a third, You Think It, I’ll Say It by (Elizabeth) Curtis Sittenfeld.
The two mysteries I’ve downloaded were both highly recommended 2023 publications, and the one I’m reading first is Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper, about the underside of Hollywood. More next week. The second is British, In the Blink of An Eye by Jo Callaghan, about Chief Superintendent Kat Frank, being coerced into partnering (of sorts) with Lock, an Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity – AIDE – who appears as a hologram. The reviews have been great.
Have a good week, everyone, and enjoy Labor Day.
Oh, one of the books I have to pick up is WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS IN THE LIBRARY, which you made sound very interesting. And I have the second Bruce Borgos book in transit.
Jeff, I agree with you about The Burning. I’m not quite ready to give up on Kate Burkholder, but you’re right. I mentioned in my review here that it was graphic. And, she did do some really stupid things that she didn’t need to do. You’re right.
I’ll be interested to see what you say about both What You Are Looking For, and the Bruce Borgos book.
I’m missing seeing some of the people at Bouchercon, but all I’ve heard are complaints about the confusing hotel. I’ve stayed there before, and loved it, but a friend and I went for the Christmas decorations there, and we weren’t trying to find people and places in the hotel, so we enjoyed it. But, overall? That’s okay that I’m not there.
I’ve already put one September book on hold this morning (The Sequel) and the Dez Limerick series sounds interesting too. I’m still catching up on the Cork O’Connor series with #16 SULFUR SPRINGS. Cork & his second wife, Rainy, are in desert southwest close to the border. I’ll be picking up the latest (#20) at the library soon.
For fans of Gothic suspense, THE SECRETS OF HARTWOOD HALL is a well written debut by Katie Lumsden who fell in love with Jane Eyre as a teen. The author captured the atmosphere of the manor-house mystery, but I wasn’t happy with the characters. How many knowingly wrong decisions is one person allowed?
In THE NATURE OF DISAPPEARING by Kimi Cunningham Grant, when her friend goes missing, a wilderness fishing guide must team up with the man who ruined her life years ago. The wilderness description is beautiful and almost a separate character. The journey is immersive and tense. Unfortunately, the conclusion felt rushed and obvious.
Much more satisfying, the non-stop suspense in SHADES OF MERCY, the second installment of the Porter Beck series by Bruce Borgos. Set in sparsely populated Lincoln County, NV, where the population is less than one person per square mile. Fatal overdoses have the sheriff’s team chasing drug suppliers hidden by the dark web. Wildfires are burning throughout the county. Now throw in government dark forces, a Mexican cartel, Area 51 and a 16 year-old hacker. Borgos creates interesting characters and does a fine job putting all the pieces together.
Yes! I’m glad you enjoyed Shades of Mercy, MM.
Like you, I can be disappointed when I don’t care for characters or the main character does really stupid stuff. Neither of those are true with Borgos’ book. I know he’s out there really promoting this one. I hope he builds his audience.
So glad to be back this week! I had company from Thursday to Tuesday and while it was so much fun, it was also quite exhausting!
I finished 3 books in the past two weeks. I slogged my way through the Ex Vows (truly couldn’t feel any empathy for whiny Georgia), listened to “Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame”, which I finally found a worthwhile read about half way through, and devoured “ Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life ” by Lulu Miller. This slim volume is filled with so much history and contains challenges to societal’s accepted way of thinking. My take on its message is that trying to classify anything in this world is filled with futility and can, in fact, cause really important and diverse things to be overlooked because of how they are classified. Including, ironically, that the book itself, which I borrowed from our local library, is classified as a biography of David Starr Jones, and could cause this book, which is so much more, to be passed by.
David Jones was a taxonomist in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s. This unlikely geeky kid from upstate New York went on to capture and classify hundreds of fish species, became the President of Stanford University (and perhaps was behind the death of Jane Stanford who wanted him fired) and wielded his influence to make eugenics legal in the United States. Author Lulu Miller started out hoping that her research into David Jones life could help her find meaning in her life and the spark to continue keeping on when doing so can seem pointless. She instead discovers lessons learned from his follies and not from his unflappable will to succeed.
Mary, I felt the same way about Georgia in the Ex Vows. I didn’t understand all the 5 star reviews on Goodreads.
Company can be exhausting, Mary, no matter how much you love them.
Why Fish Don’t Exist. You’re right. The subject matter and titles seem odd together. I don’t think I would have picked it up with that title.
Hello, all! I’ll be going home from the skilled nursing facility on Sunday–hurray! I have read 2 books here and reviewed one–a challenge with my writing hand in a big cast. Hopefully I can use dictation to text on my desktop at home to participate in next Thursday’s reviews.
Such good news Margie!
SO glad you’re here. I hope things improve steadily.
Hurrah for you! I know that you will be counting the days to your return home. Congratulations!
Yay is right! Good news, Margie. So good to hear from you. I wish we could all reach out and hug you. I’m sure it’s going to be so good to be home!
Wow, I am so happy that you had a family reunion and got to see a sister that you have not seen for so long. I am eager to read That Librarian, so happy that you will be able to hear her talk! I have put on my Wish List at Amazon and will look for it at the Round Rock Library when I finally get there!
I am reading a book for young adults, The Boy Who Followed His Father Into Auschwitz by Jeremy Dronfield. It is a true story about a Jewish family who lived in Vienna. Spoiler alert, two of the boys eventually made it out, one was a very lucky to get into a special program that paid for transport from Vienna to United States but his mother worked so hard writing letters to get him accepted into it. The other one was in Auschwitz with his father at the point in this book. I am eager to learn how he survived.
Carol, I’ll let everyone know about it after I read the book and hear her speak.
Your book sounds fascinating.
Good morning, Lesa. I’m nearing the end of House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias. It’s set in Puerto Rico where life is hard and violent for the young men trying to survive killers and a community of powerful water creatures. And then there’s the hurricane. The story is dark and intense and probably not for everyone.
Hi Patricia. It sounds as if Iglesias’ book isn’t for everyone, but the right audience will enjoy it.
Hi everyone,
I am finally back from the Edinburgh festivals, after three and half weeks of frantic show-going, exhibition visiting and review writing. It was a good month but an exhausting one and I was very happy to come back up the road to Aberdeenshire on Tuesday afternoon. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining on the fields, and it felt so good to be out of the city.
Your renuion sounds wonderful Lesa, I’m sure your mother particularly enjoyed it. We so often only speak to cousins and other such relations at funerals.
I’m sorry to say I only managed to read one book over the entire month, and that was the Maeve Brennan biography that I started before the end of July. It was extremely detailed and the print was tiny, but even so I think I’d have finished it a lot more quickly at any other time of year.
I was interested in Maeve, an Irishwoman who spent her adult life as a New Yorker journalist. I also read it because I was going to see a a play about her and her poetry editor friend. Howard Moss. I’m sorry to say that the main impression I got from the book was of a difficult, conflicted, volatile and demanding woman who spend money like it was going out of fashion and expected her boss to bail her out time and time again (though in those days this seems to have been semi-normal practice at the New Yorker.) The play, when I did see it at Surgeons’ Hall in Edinburgh, didn’t do anything to change my mind.
After that I decided I needed something easy, so I have started A CORNISH SECRET by Emma Burstall. So far it’s about two friends who haven’t seem one another since schooldays arranging to meet up to walk a long distance path. I’m afraid I’m already getting a bit irritated by all the endless descriptions of women’s clothes and the lattes they’re drinking, but perhaps things will improve.
During the Fringe I saw some great plays. Outstanding shows included TENDING, which was a piece of verbatim theatre about NHS nurses before and during the pandemic. The writer, who was also one of the actors, had interviewed 70+ nurses, and she and two other actors played composite characters made up from the material she had collected. It was very strong stuff, heartbreaking at times, especially when covering the first few weeks of the pandemic; none of them know what they were doing, there was almost no PPE, and far fewer beds than were needed. And even before that, endless financial cuts were making their jobs harder and harder.
Another show I enjoyed was MANikin, about an obese man struggling with life in Ellon, a small town in Aberdeenshire. It’s a solo show, showing us the guy beginning life as the beloved son of a hard up single mother, going to the local primary school and having a happy time there despite his size, then having to move on to Ellon Academy, where he was regularly teased, bullied and beaten up. He leaves school as soon as he can, and has a variety of unskilled, low paid jobs, but every time we think things are getting better for him, they get worse. I know this sounds terribly miserable, but although there were some every sad scenes, there was also humour, especially as the one actor voiced all of the characters – himself, his very Teuchter (rural Aberdeenshire) mother, the awful bullies, the strict headmaster and several others. I loved it.
As well as theatre I also attended some events in a series called The Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas. This was started 12 years ago by The Stand, a well established comedy club, the four Edinburgh universities, and a comedian called Susan Morrison. The idea is that academics come to talk about their research – but they have to do so in an accessible and entertaining way (training is available!) I saw talks about the UK and USA’s over-reliance on paracetamol, the sociology of food (eg how early feeding can influence the rest of our lives, not just physically but also psychologically) and on incels.
The scientist studying paracetamol is Italian and said when she first moved to Scotland 14 years ago she was shocked at the wide availability of this drug. We can buy it anywhere, including in supermarkets and pound shops, whereas in Italy it is rarely taken, can only be obtained from the pharmacist’s counter, and costs 80 euros (yes eighty) a box (about $89).
The talk on incels was also very good; the lecturer speaking about them gave real insight into these rather sad men, and said they should probably be reclassified as mentally ill, as they would then have greater access to help – but he also said most of them strongly resist things like therapy. He showed how much the incel phenomenon is linked to social deprivation, and said we need to address this problem not only for the benefit of the men themselves, but also because their behaviour can occasionally become extremely violent.
The Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas runs all year, but during the Fringe there are lots of extra sessions.
I went to some ‘in conversation’ events, also at The Stand. I especially enjoyed one with Terry Christian, a DJ and music promotor who talked about his childhood in a very run down area of Manchester, and how difficult it was to get into any part of the BBC if you had a northern accent.
Another excellent session was with Darren McGarvey, originally (and still) a rapper, but now also a well known writer, podaster and social activist. He talked with Fiona Duncan, leader of the Independent Care Review, which looked into the care system in Scotland. McGarvey himself grew up in care, and believes strongly that the voices of children and young people must be heard, and that they and their families must be listened to rather than told what’s good for them by people with no lived experience. He also talked about the current fashion for ‘sharing’ so much about your past experiences, your mental health, etc, and said that people must be protected and encouraged only to do this, if at all, in a very supportive and careful environment – it’s not always a great idea to bare your soul on a Fringe stage in the Old Town.
I didn’t have the opportunity to attend much in the Book Festival this year – there are only so many hours in the day! But I did get to hear Jenny Colgan, a very popular romance writer over here, and always a good speaker, and also Lucy Caldwell, an acclaimed writer of short stories, and also author of the excellent novel THESE DAYS, about two sisters living through the Belfast Blitz.
And then there was the Art Festival, in which I also saw some great work.
So now I am back in Aberdeenshire and trying to remember where I left off. I am really hoping to get my reviewing website up and running in the next week or so, but this will be mainly for NE Scotland, not Edinburgh. This morning I met up with my friend Nancy for the first time in weeks; we walked in the policies of Drum Castle, the nearest National Trust property to me, just about 10 minutes’ drive away. It was a lovely morning, hardly anyone else around, lots of bird song, and the brambles heavy with blackberries.
On Saturday I have an art gallery meeting and also hope to get to the Gray’s School of Art Masters’ Show, as that will be its last day.
The only things I have seen on TV during August are repeats of SCHITT’S CREEK (which I enjoyed a lot), 24 HOURS IN A & E (daughter’s choice), the first episodes of CELEBRITY RACE ACROSS THE WORLD (although I prefer the non-celeb version) and BRIDGET JONES’ DIARY, which both Anna and I had seen before, but not for a long time. It was fun. Last night I started the new series of SHERWOOD, set in the old Nottinghamshire mining communities; so far it seems promising.
I’ve so missed these Thursday meet-ups!
Have a good week all.
Rosemary, good to see you back. I thought of you when we watched the second series of the Aberdeen-set GRANITE HARBOUR. I wonder if you saw it. We’re back to the second series of FAT FRIENDS. And occasionally we watch the silly THE GOOD SHIP MURDER, which is set on a cruise ship, with each episode taking place at a different port of call (where the crime, usually murder, takes place). We’ve seen Lisbon and Palma (Mallorca) in the last two episodes. Let’s just say, you won’t have much trouble figuring out the killers, but the scenery is beautiful.
Hi Jeff,
No, I haven’t seen the second series of Granite Harbour – I can only watvh it when my husband is out, as he couldn’t stand the first one! But I see it is on the My5 channel, so i will give it a go, thank you for telling me about it. A good bit of scenery can make up for quite a lot of nonsense!
During the Fringe a cruise ship was brought into the dock just down from our house to act as a floating hotel. I chatted with an American couple who were staying on it, they seemed to like it, and said Fringe actors came and performed excerpts from their shows in the evenings.
I sort of can see his point, but it was nice for once to see a British show not set in London or Manchester. And there were some real Scottish actors in it at least.
So glad to see a post from you today. I’ve missed reading about all the things you see and do!
Oh thank you so much Lindy.
Every Thursday I thought ‘maybe today I will have time to pop in to Lesa’s blog’ – but the festivals are relentless, if you let your reviews get behind you are sunk, so i just had to keep at it. So enjoying having my time back this week!
Welcome back! Always enjoy hearing about your adventures!
Thank you Mary!
We missed you, too, Rosemary! I can’t believe you’re doing all this in retirement, and still find time for reading and walking with friends. I would be so exhausted after the Edinburgh festivals.
Welcome home, Rosemary!
Thanks Lesa.
I have to say I was absolutely exhausted at the end of the festivals! But I’m recovering now. I could never do it more than once a year, but it keeps the brain from rotting I suppose 🙂
Good morning,
It has been unbearably hot in Cincinnati this week. I am ready for a little rain and a cool down.
I enjoyed both of my books this week.
THE WEDDING PEOPLE by Allison Espach was the Read with Jenna Book Club pick. Phoebe is going through a rough patch with her job, her husband’s infidelity and subsequent divorce and unsuccessful IVF treatments. She decides to end it all in a posh hotel in Newport. There she meets a bride who is hosting a lavish weeklong wedding celebration. Throughout the week Pheobe and Lila (the bride) both discover things about themselves. I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I started this but the second half, I could not put it down.
My second book was my favorite, MURDER AT THE WHITE PALACE by Allison Montclair. Sparks and Bainbridge are planning a New Year Eve’s bash for their clients. The venue is owned by Iris’s gangster boyfriend. While checking out the venue a hand belonging to a dead man is found behind a crumbling brick wall. There are changes for both Iris and Gwen-Iris trying to come to a decision about her relationship with Archie and Gwen dipping back into the dating scene. This one took an unexpected turn. I just loved it.
I am glad I am ending August on a high reading note. The month has been mediocre at best.
Hopefully Margie is healing quickly so we can all enjoy her posts again.
Happy Reading!
We could certainly use the rain, Sharon.
I’m going to admit I think most of the year’s reading have been mediocre. There haven’t been a great number of terrific books.
I think we’re all looking forward to Margie’s return.
Happy Reading!
Me too – I’m definitely looking forward to Margie’s return. If you’re reading this Margie, get well very soon!
Afternoon, all….. The 100s seem to have finally broken here in NE Dallas. Rain is, allegedly, on the way in the next hour or so and we have pretty good rain chances all weekend. Which is fine with me. Just want to keep power.
Won’t bore you with more about the trails and tribulations here as things are not fun.
Current read is DEN OF INIQUITY by J. A. Jance. It is the next J. P. Beaumont book and is due out next month. I have the digital ARC via NetGalley.
Kevin, I hope Beaumont is in this book.
Rain and weather not in the 100s. I hope that all breaks for you.
And, I hope other things don’t break bad for you.
The visit with your mother and the family reunion sounds wonderful. And it is very good to hear from Margie and that she will be going home soon.
I am now reading a book in the Wallander mystery series by Henning Mankell, THE WHITE LIONESS. It is very interesting because it is about South Africa and apartheid, something I don’t know a lot about. Published in 1993.
The book I read before that was THE CASE OF THE LATE PIG by Margery Allingham, a very light but entertaining book from her Albert Campion series. The later books in that series were more serious.
I am also reading an annotated edition of THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS. About half way through.
Glen is continuing to read INSIDE THE VICTORIAN HOME: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England by Judith Flanders. He is enjoying it, and is approaching the halfway point. When he finds especially interesting topics, he reads tidbits from the book to me. Judith Flanders has written several mysteries and I have copies of two or three of them, unread.
You’re right, Tracy. It was wonderful to spend the time with Mom and her family.
I never read a Wallander. Maybe someday. And, I only read a couple of Allingham’s books. It’s nice to see some older names here.
Flanders did mysteries, or at least one, about the art world, didn’t she?
Lesa, I think the series she wrote was about publishing, but the second in the series featured a death in an art gallery.
Better late than never! I’m here at Bouchercon, a long way from Bern, Switzerland, meeting interesting readers and authors and trying to encourage some of them to read my Polizei Bern books! I’m also attending lots of thought-provoking panels. The hotel is enormous, but I’ve got my bearings now. On the plane over here, I had the pleasure of reading Sarah Stewart Taylor’s first book in her new Frank Warren series, AGONY HILL, which I very much enjoyed. She’s an excellent writer!
And, Sarah Stewart Taylor is arriving at Bouchercon today. Maybe you’ll get the chance to meet her, too, Kim.
Bouchercon and Gaylord Opryland Resort can both be overwhelming. I’m sure it took a little time to get your bearings.
Enjoy Bouchercon & meeting readers and other authors!
It rained over the weekend, but not it’s in the upper 90’s again. Hell on the peach crop.
I saw two shows this week.
Mick Adams and the Stones was a tribute to The Rolling Stones. Adams doesn’t have moves like Jagger, but he sings pretty good. The show concentrated on the late 60’s early 70’s, when the Stones were thought to be subversive and dangerous. They showed a lot of footage of Altamont, and of Brian Jones, which I thought a bit odd, as there are a number of conspiracy theories around his death. Maybe that was the point. At my age, I remember a very different Rolling Stones, where they were these old looking dudes trying to be cool like Duran Duran.
Also went to Swabbie’s by the River, to see the 27 interview of a local band called “Rogue.” They were pretty good, and Swabbie’s is a fun place when weather permits.
This week I read:
Void Drifter by JN Chaney; Usual space opera with a guy that finds a spaceship on Earth, that’s been buried for 4,000 years. Plus, he’s got an unusual power. He becomes a rebel against his will, and has a crew that stick to the Man. Fast moving, with a sense of humor.
Fat Ollie’s Book by Ed McBain, Fat Ollie, the foil of the 87 Precinct is called to the murder of a city councilman, and while investigating, some steals the book he’s been writing. Like a lot of long running series, it’s gone past it’s sell by date, as these aren’t the 90’s, but a sort of 90’s by way of the 70’s.
Crazy Homeschool Mom by Jade Norton; I thought it was going to be a sort of humorous memoir, but it’s a how to book. She spends a lot of time “debunking” the ‘Socialization Myth,” but in my experience Home schoolers don’t want their kids socialized into a culture where member of The View are in the vanguard. That’s the whole point.
Death by the Dozen by Jenn Mckinlay; The usual baker/sleuth enters the usual contest hosted by celebrity chefs. One of the chefs is her mentor. He gets dead, and she’s on the case. Nothing really outstanding, but a good time filler.
Glen, I always enjoy hearing about the concerts as well as the books. Thank you!
I would probably enjoy Void Drifter. That one sounds fun.
I enjoy Jenn’s books, but I quit reading the Cupcake series quite a while ago. They all seemed the same.
A family reunion.. what fun!!! The Amanda Jones event sounds good. My current reads are The Life Impossible by Matt Haig on audio, The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers on kindle and Radiant Heat by Sarah-Jane Collins in print.
Katherine, You’ll have to let me know what you think of The Book Swap. I had to take my copy back to the library.