Happy Thursday! And, while you’re all still reading, next week we’re going to do What Are You Reading? on Wednesday. Some of us will be traveling, others cooking, and others just busy on Thursday. I’m sure I’ll be around in the morning, so if you happen to forget about it being a day early, I’ll still check in to see what you have to say. This year, I know a number of us are going to be stretching to find something to be grateful for, but I”ll always be thankful for all of you and books to read.
Now, for my first weather complaint for November. Snow! We’re supposed to have snow on Thursday morning this week. Since I’m writing this on Wednesday night, I know it won’t accumulate, and it will melt quickly since it was 60 on Wednesday, but everyone here knows I hate snow. Hate, hate, hate snow.
I do think my sister, Linda, and I are going to do something today, though. We might go to a movie, “Conclave” or “Red One”. We might go to Lancaster (Ohio) to the Decorative Arts Center. We might just have lunch together. Whatever we do, it’s nice just to have time together.
In the meantime, I’ve just started Craig Johnson’s novella, Tooth and Claw. He says it’s in the vein of Wait for Signs or Spirit of Steamboat. I’m liking it so far. Henry Standing Bear is telling retired sheriff Lucian Connally the true story from 1970 about his visit to Alaska where Walt Longmire was working after he returned from Vietnam. They encounter a polar bear that seems to be bent on killing them. But, the men they’re with may be worse.
It’s a perfect book for cold weather reading. However, I’ll be honest. Spirit of Steamboat will always be one of my favorite books, my Christmas read. This won’t replace that one.
What about you? What are you doing this week before Thanksgiving? What are you reading?
Lesa, although Thanksgiving is already over in Canada, I am also ever so grateful for books to read! They saved me all during my dysfunctional family childhood and have remained a necessary part of my life to this day, even though I don’t ‘need’ them in the same way as I did back then. But I will always feel grounded and safe if I’m surrounded by my books. When we moved last year and I had to cull my collection, every book that didn’t make the cut felt like I was betraying a friend. It was awful.
I’ve been very busy this week. Every year I say it but this year I’m making a true effort to get the bulk of Christmas thinking, shopping, wrapping, and family dinner (for 13 people) organizational planning done by the end of November so that I can be free to relax and enjoy all the wonderful pleasures of December instead of being overloaded with things to do. We’ll see how far I actually manage to get. The current Canada Post strike isn’t helping matters at all mind you.
Only one book this week:
A GRIM REAPER’S GUIDE TO CATCHING A KILLER by Maxie Dara
An entertaining cozy mystery with a twist. Kathy works for S.C.Y.T.H.E.. She’s a grim reaper whose job it is to collect the souls from people who have died, and transport them to be ‘processed’ so they can go on to wherever they’re meant to be next. This is safe, routine work.
Kathy has problems though – she’s in her 40s, has self-esteem issues, is pregnant with her soon-to-be ex-husband’s baby, and she’s terribly afraid she won’t be a good enough mother. As stressful as all of that is, by far her biggest problem right now is that she’s come to collect the soul of a 17-year-old dead boy named Conner but it’s not there. This has never happened to her before. Why is the soul not still with the boy’s body, and where on earth can it be?! Find it she does however, but even so, things don’t go smoothly because Conner says he was murdered and refuses to go with her until she finds out who killed him and why. Time is of the essence because ‘processing’ always needs to be done within 45 days otherwise the soul is doomed to be a ghost in the place they died forever more.
This was a fun, page-turning read where the mystery almost took a back seat to the surprisingly touching and emotional story of friendship and found family under the most unusual of circumstances.
Oh, Lindy. I didn’t have a childhood in which I “needed” books as you did, but for some reason I had to sink into them. That’s how I felt about them. I couldn’t even hear anything around me when It was a good book, and at a young age there were so many more of them. It was still a world of vast discovery. I’m so thankful I have them in my life.
Grim Reaper’s Guide was fun, but you’re right. It surprised me with the emotions.
Snow–I don’t miss it from my PA days. Sometimes we get a sprinkle, which immediately disappears (where I am in northern CA). However, we are already having a lot of rain, and sometimes the temps have dipped into the early 30s at night. Brrr! OK, don’t those of you in colder climes start mocking me. It was cool and windy on Sunday afternoon, but we had a great time celebrating Autumn’s 6th birthday in a nearby park. She invited her whole kindergarten class, and while I’m sure not every child attended, those who did brought siblings and parents. I think it might have been the bouncy house, the pinata, and the food that brought them there, and there was a playground there as well. Plus, one woman did face painting for an hour, then balloon animals for an hour. A paradise for 5- and 6-year-olds, but the adults had fun, too. I forgot to mention that another girl in Autumn’s class had a birthday the day before hers, and her parents suggested they have a joint party. It was a great idea. Afterwards, we went back to Autumn’s house and watched her open her many presents, including ours. Today is her actual birthday. Here’s what I’ve been reading:
Many of Wade Rouse’s novels, written under the pen name of Viola Shipman, are heartwarming tributes to family, love, and the challenge of following one’s hopes and dreams in the face of others’ disapproval. THE PAGE TURNER, by contrast, has so different a tone from other Shipman novels that I had a difficult time identifying empathetic characters, and I found little of it to be charming or heartwarming. Emma is a recent college graduate whose parents own a publishing house, The Mighty Pages, that focuses mainly on highbrow literary novels, including the ones written by the patriarch himself. The exception is the romances of their highest-selling author, Marcus Flare. Emma prefers romances herself and has written a thoughtful one over the past four years, but she hasn’t dared to tell her parents about it, knowing they will look down on her for writing in that genre. She was much closer to her grandma, GiGi, who introduced her to books that encouraged her ambition. But GiGi is no longer alive, and Emma is no longer close to her older sister, Jess, a prominent book influencer who has bought into their parents’ literary tastes. For the first half of the book, I couldn’t tell where the plot was going. There were many pages of Emma’s complaints and musings about her unsupportive family and the way men treat women in books, as exemplified by Flare’s misogynistic romances. It felt to me like a feminist diatribe rather than a stimulating plot. As a result, I did not engage with the character of Emma. Several of the other characters also come across as one-note, in particular the odious Flare and Emma’s seemingly clueless mother. There is some redemption late in the book for one of these, but not the other. I also consider the plot about how Emma’s first and only novel is treated by the publishing world unconvincing. There is more plot in the latter half of the book, and the ending is satisfying. However, this book is a miss overall for me. I would highly recommend other Viola Shipman books such as The Wishing Bridge (a charming Christmas-adjacent novel from 2023), The Heirloom Garden, and the Summer Cottage. (April)
In Gigi Pandian’s 4th Secret Staircase Mystery, former stage magician Tempest Raj and her friends are conducting a dress rehearsal of a murder mystery play Tempest has written along with her best friend, Ivy. It is an interactive play that encourages attendees to discover clues in an escape room on a different floor of the premises. As part of the town’s annual “summer stroll,” these interlocking events will celebrate the opening of a new library focusing entirely on classic murder mysteries. But the rehearsal yields unexpected results, including a dead body that suddenly appears . . . then disappears. As a former magician herself, Tempest uses her skills, along with those of others in her circle of friends, to figure out exactly how a body can disappear when no one has entered or left the building, and who might have both the opportunity and the motive for such a crime. I enjoyed spending time with Tempest, Ivy, and two of Tempest’s almost-boyfriends–a magician self-styled as The Hindi Houdini and a talented sculptor–not to mention her grandparents, who produce delicious Indian and Scottish delicacies from their treehouse abode. and Tempest’s furry companion, a large lop-eared rabbit named Abra. This time around, there isn’t as much about how her family’s Secret Staircase Construction builds illusions into the homes of customers who appreciate a touch of magic in their living spaces. And we still don’t have a lot of information about Tempest’s personal life. But I truly appreciated watching the mystery being solved by this interesting group of friends. (March)
Allison Montclair’s Sparks & Bainbridge Mystery series is one of my favorites. In the 7th entry, AN EXCELLENT THING IN A WOMAN, set in London in 1947, Iris Sparks and Gwen Bainbridge are proprietors of The Right Sort marriage bureau. They, feel that one of their clients may be a good match for a young Parisian dancer who claims she needs to get married quickly so she doesn’t have to return to France. But they are unnerved when the woman’s dead body is discovered–the third of their customers to be murdered since they opened the bureau. Could it be that an unsatisfactory first date ended in tragedy, or are there other intrigues in play? At the same time, the pair are facing compelling personal issues. Iris is desolate after the murder of her boyfriend, Archie, and Gwen is in the throes of a new intimate relationship with Salvatore (Sally), a good friend of Iris’s since their Cambridge days. I loved the depiction of early television, as the BBC cobbles together diverse programs for those few who have purchased a TV. Sally is the stage manager for a show that is intended to entertain British viewers with a look at dancers, singers, and puppeteers from across the Channel and finds himself the number one suspect in the young dancer’s murder. I marveled at the way Iris and Gwen once again get involved in a police investigation and are able to put together clues, suspicions, knowledge, and personal experience to help solve the mystery, sometimes in the face of personal danger. It was also fascinating to learn more about what Iris did in World War II–still protected by the British government–and how incidents from her past might be clues to a current mystery. I think Sparks & Bainbridge are one of the most engaging duos in historical mysteries–both in their personal lives and in their chosen career, which often becomes entangled with law enforcement. And Allison Montclair, who is actually Alan Gordon, has managed to very effectively create and develop these females into admirable, relatable characters who never fail to engage and delight me. I’m not sure what the title means, nor why this book is substantially shorter than its series predecessors, but neither affected my satisfying reading experience. (February)
Margie, I can think of no earthly reason for you to miss snow. And, I get it. 30s are awful, no matter where you live.
Sparks and Bainbridge. Do you ever have one of those series you just put off starting because you know too much about it? I feel as if I know every plot because so many of my friends love this series, so I just don’t start it. Maybe I’m just stubborn.
I LOVE Thursday and What Are You Reading! So many new books and often new authors to try.
And something else I love is The Free Library of Philadelphia open for free to anyone who lives in PA. Since I am a former resident I have a lovely library card which allows me to download thousands of books. I just went directly to the Library and got Shipman’s The Wishing Bridge in order to try out this new to me author. Thanks for the recommendation, Margie.
I will really be devastated when it comes time to renew my library card and they realize I no longer live in PA. Don’t know where I will find such another great source for my books.
You’re right, Diane. That’s just wonderful how Pennsylvania allows everyone in the state to use libraries. I think it should be that way in every state, but that’s just a retired librarian speaking.
Oh, I hope you like Viola Shipman. My Mom reads all the books, and likes them as much as Margie does.
Thank you for this Margie! I love Bainbridge and Sparks. I put it on my list to watch out for.
I’ve just put Viola Shipman’s The Heirloom Garden on my want list Margie. I looked it up and it sounds like one I’d really enjoy. Had not heard of the author before today, so thanks.
I forgot to mention that the Gigi Pandian book’s title is THE LIBRARY GAME.
Thanks Margie – I was just going to ask that.
And I do need to catch up on the Sparks & Bainbridge series. I enjoyed the few I’ve read, but seven already!
I’m sorry you are facing snow. That’s no fun at all.
I have what is, so far at least, a mild cold. I started getting it Monday night. I know I’m not 100%, but I’m also not super congested. I’ve been working from home so as not to get others sick from it. Hopefully, it goes away before I visit my family for Thanksgiving. Although, now that I think of it, my colds have been slow to truly hit me recently. So we’ll see what I’m feeling like next week. Anyway, being home has been nice the last couple of days even though I’ve been working. I truly do enjoy working from home.
Also, I’ve been working on Christmas decorations. I have more to do than I was thinking (an extra box of decorations to go through). I really have more ornaments than I really put on my trees. But it’s so hard not to get them.
Reading wise, I’m working on WRATH OF THE TRIPLE GODDESS, the newest Percy Jackson book from Rick Riordan. It’s a bit on the slow side. I’m having fun with it, but the set up really seemed to take forever to get going. I’m hoping now that the story has really started that it will take off.
Mark, I hope you’re cold doesn’t get worse before next week. I hope it breaks so you can enjoy time with your family.
During COVID, when I was working from home, I worked harder than I did in the office, had no one to talk to when taking a break, but I enjoyed it. I got so much done at home!
I need to check your blog again because I enjoy your Christmas decorations.
I haven’t read a Percy Jackson for a while, but I always enjoyed them.
That new Longmire novella sounds interesting, I’ll plan to read that. We’re getting the fringes of the storm hitting CA, mostly wind. We did get 1/4 inch of rain last night.
I did a double-take when I saw the review of “Pony Confidential”. The book I was reading also had cover art featuring a large horseshoe. But there the similarity ends. Award-winning author Willy Vlautin recently made a special appearance at an event hosted by the library featuring forty local writers. His latest book, THE HORSE, explores loneliness, art and regret via the life of a musician unable to escape the tragedies of the past. The musician is living out his final years at a mining claim 50 miles from the nearest town. Really an only-in-Nevada vibe.
I finished Ramona Emerson’s haunting thriller EXPOSURE quickly. Dark, but totally absorbing read. The story is told in alternating chapters from the viewpoint of a killer who has created his own deadly religion and from Rita Todacheene, Albuquerque PD forensic photographer who sees ghosts of victims. Set in Gallup, New Mexico, where violent crime is five times the national average, the serial killer is operating unchecked, his targets indigent Native people whose murders are easily disguised as death by exposure on the frigid winter streets.
On the lighter side, P. D. James was frequently commissioned by newspapers and magazines to write a special short story for Christmas. At just under 100 pages, four are collected in THE MISTLETOE MURDER AND OTHER STORIES. Enjoyable collection, although not particularly festive.
No, MM. I can tell Willy Vlautin’s The Horse isn’t at all like Pony Confidential. I’ve only read one of Vlautin’s books, and found it depressing.
I can see why you needed something on the lighter side after The Horse and Exposure!
This is the first time in years that I don’t have any library book checked out. I have plenty of holds, just nothing coming in. Fortunately we discovered a huge charity book and thrift store about an hour from us in NJ. It’s called The Book Barn and the name fits. We made a trip up there yesterday and made a day out of it with Chinese food and a stop at a farm stand afterwards so I have plenty to read.
This week I read A Buffalo in the House: The true Story of a Man, An Animal, And the American West by R.D. Rosen. A sculptor borrows a stray newborn buffalo calf from a ranch to use as a model. The plan is to return it once it’s weaned and the sculpture is finished but they wind up having to keep it. It was an interesting book, especially as the author interspersed historical sections in with the story.
You’re day off to The Book Barn sounds enjoyable, Sandy.
And, the book about the buffalo does sound good. It sounds different!
No snow (thankfully), but Hallelujah! We’ve had the first real rain since the beginning of September (not counting a quarter of an inch a couple of weeks ago) overnight and into this morning, and could (fingers crossed) get more today and (possibly) tomorrow. We need it badly, as there have been 271 brush fires in New York City alone, without even getting into the more serious fires around us, like the border between New York & New Jersey. It won’t – unfortunately – be a drought buster, but it will help in the short term. Sadly, the warm weather is coming to an end, but we only have another six weeks until we leave for Florida!
OK, books, then. Jackie finished that Cynthia Eden book I mentioned last week, and she is now reading Ashley Poston’s THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP, which may not be quite as much to her taste as her THE DEAD ROMANTICS, one of her favorite books of the year, but which she is enjoying quite a bit. Thanks to Lesa or whoever else recommended it.
I did finish a couple of books this week. Lee Child, Safe Enough and Other Stories is a collection of 20 non-Reacher stories, all but four told in the first person. Many of the protagonists are not good guys – hit men, serial killers, crooks of one sort or another – but Child’s writing always keeps you engaged and even sympathetic at times. I quit reading the Reacher books when he turned the series over to his brother, so it was good to read this one.
Even though she did not coin the phrase “mansplaining,” Rebecca Solnit’s essay (and the title chapter of this collection of essays) Men Explain Things To Me is credited with bringing that concept to the fore. The book was published in 2014, and things have not really gotten a lot better for women in the decade since, as the recent election proved. Check this one out of your local library. It is a short, fast read and very relevant today.
Other books in progress: Lydia Davis, Can’t and Won’t, a collection of mostly very short stories.
Ramona Emerson, Exposure. I know I mention this last time, the second about Albuquerque police photographer/technician (as the author was for 10 years!) Rita Todacheene. Rita’s ghosts – the murdered people she can see and hear – are hounding her more than ever, even following her home and demanding she “help” them. The worst is probably a three year old girl, killed with the rest of her family, who tells Rita who the killer really was. And if that was not enough for the reader to deal with, her chapters alternate with those of a religious nut serial killer, a technique I generally hate. I must admit that his story of how he became the person he is is well told, but we all know where this is going. It makes the book hard to read, and it is why I have to take frequent breaks for short stories or other reading. I have to admit that her first book (SHUTTER) was better.
I need to finish this so I can get to the new Margaret Mizushima, which I just downloaded from the library.
As mentioned previously, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, not least for the food (stuffing is my favorite food) and the association with my birthday. I was born the day before Thanksgiving (this year it is Sunday) and have also associated the days together. Hope everyone can find reasons to give thanks this year. I know I can, despite all the bad stuff.
Update: while I was sleeping, Jackie read in bed for another hour. Now she really loves the book and says Poston is a “great writer” and wants to read her other books.
Oh, I did love The Dead Romantics. I couldn’t get into The Seven Year Slip the same way. I’m glad Jackie’s enjoying it.
I’m even happier, though, Jeff, that you’re getting some rain and relief from all the fires. I hope it helps!
Right there with the stuffing! It’s my favorite, too. When I was a kid, and my Mom’s large family got together for Thanksgiving, I appointed myself official stuffing tester. My aunts just let me keep that job. Loved it! I was sick one year on Thanksgiving, and stayed home by myself, and hated it.
I think Exposure is just too much for me.
I’m reading a galley that comes out March 4 that I really like, and think you will, too. You’ll have to watch for it then. It’s a collection called Playing Dead, short stories by members of the Detection Club, edited by Martin Edwards. It’s a tribute to Simon Brett’s 80th birthday, and includes stories by Ann Cleeves, Kate Ellis, Peter Lovesy. I’m enjoying it. I’ll remind you because I’ll blog it when it comes out.
So agree on stuffing. I can’t help myself from “tasting” it even before we cook it, and we always have to make enough so we have at least a couple of days worth of leftovers. Yum.
Oh, I already claimed leftover stuffing from my brother-in-law’s on Thanksgiving, Jeff. I said I don’t care what other leftovers people take, but I’m putting in dibs on the stuffing.
Oh I can’t believe Simon Brett is 80! I enjoy his books, and the adaptations of them on BBC Sounds with Bill Nighy.
At least there are a lot of books, Rosemary. I think that would be wonderful to hear Bill Nighy read his books!
Bill doesn’t read them Lesa, he plays Charles Paris, the dissolute actor and amateur detective. He’s perfect for the role.
Oh, he would be perfect, Rosemary!
You and I are such opposites Lesa! I even offered to have my son’s dog here over Christmas and let everyone else in the family meet up in Edinburgh (they can’t take the dog there because of Charlie and Herbie.)
No one took me up on it. I know I would actually quite enjoy spending Christmas here by myself and not having to be sociable!
Also, I don’t like stuffing!
Oh, I do get that, Rosemary. My sister, Linda, said I just crushed Mom when I said I really don’t like family gatherings. Thanksgiving is different, though. I agree with Jeff on that.
And, wishing you a belated Happy Birthday. My sister, Christie, extended a wonderful wish. I wish you happiness with your family, good books, and enjoyment in your travels, music and art.
Sending love and thanks for everything you do here.
Thank you Lesa and Christie!
Hi everyone! My fun reading has continued to be re-reading Amelia Peabody mysteries, which I am enjoying. Otherwise I am mostly reading for my classes. Last week we read a great book on peacemaking called The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace. I appreciated the way it calls us to open up to people who are different and with whom we might not agree because we have to live together. But not in a make nice with people whose views are filled with hate kind of way.
On Friday I am going to a book talk at my new town’s Athaeneum, a kind of literary society and library. The book is called “Et Cetera” and is about all the little Latin phrases in our lexicon. I enjoy using and thinking about those so it should be fun.
Oh, enjoy that book talk, Trisha. I love it that you have a new Athaeneum. It sounds wonderful. And, I love talks about subjects that are a little different. A friend and I used to go to those when I lived in Arizona.
Amelia Peabody still sounds like a nice break.
Oh Lesa, I guess that’s why snow is a four letter word! We were supposed to get a dusting, but we’re just getting more rain – but a glimpse of the sun! Wahoo!
This week I read “Open Season” an Alex Delaware #40 by Jonathan Kellerman (February, 2025). Thanks to NetGalley, I got early access to one of my favorite series. The fact that I read this book in two days is probably enough of a hint that it was another winner. Seriously, how does the author keep it up – book #40! This time a serial killer is on the loose, killing seemingly innocuous people (well at least 4 out of 6 were innocuous). All were killed with a long range rifle – one taking out the trash, another with her two year old child in a row boat on a placid lake. Alex and Milo know that there is a connection, based on bullet ballistics, but it takes Alex’s brilliant mind to finally pull it all together and determine whodunnit.
That’s exactly how I refer to it, too, Mary, as a four-letter word. Bah, humbug.
Isn’t it wonderful to have a full body of work by a favorite author, and a new one to read? That’s how I felt with the latest Nora Roberts.
One of my favorite books I’ve read this year – Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Alice Monroe
Description from NetGalley
From New York Times bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe comes her highly anticipated Where the Rivers Merge, the first of two epic and triumphant novels celebrating one intrepid woman’s life across multiple generations in the American South.
1908: The Lowcountry of South Carolina is at the cusp of change. Mayfield, the grand estate held for generations by the Rivers family, is the treasured home of young Eliza. Free spirited, she refuses to be confined by societal norms. Instead, Eliza revels in exploring the golden fields and sparkling ponds of Mayfield, observing wildlife, and riding horses.
But her halcyon days are cut short by the Great War, coastal storms, and unexpected challenges to Mayfield. As Eliza battles personal pains and the ravages of family turmoil over the years, her love and devotion for the natural world puts her on a collision course with the patriarchal traditions of a bygone era.
1988: At 88, Eliza is the scion of the Rivers/DeLancey family. She’s fought a lifetime to save her beloved Mayfield and is too independent and committed to quietly retire and leave the fate of the estate to her greedy son. She must make decisions that will assure the future of the land and her family—or watch them both be split apart.
Set against the evocative landscape of the twentieth-century low country, Where the Rivers Merge is a dramatic and sweeping multigenerational family story of unyielding love, lessons learned, profound sacrifices, and the indomitable spirit of a woman determined to persevere in the face of change in order to protect her family legacy and the land she loves.
Oh, Where the Rivers Merge sounds just like a “Kaye” book with it’s setting in the Lowcountry and an indomitable woman. I’m so happy you had it right now.
Love you, Kaye. I”m thankful for your friendship!
Where the Rivers Merge is on my want-to-read list now Kaye. Thanks! Sounds wonderful, and it’s the first of two. Even better. Not available here till May though.
That sounds like a great book Kaye.
It is 38 but will be in the 70s later today. Wednesday, it will get up to 80!
I am trying to find the time to listen to Anne Tyler’s Ladder of Years, only did disc one out of thirteen but love. Doctor appointments make it difficult to find the time.
Almost finished with Donna Everhart’s The Education of Dixie Dupree. It is amazing! This eleven year old girl’s experiences of child abuse and later sexual abuse by her Uncle Ray. He came from Connecticut to Alabama to “help” the family after her father “disappeared”.
Please read it has some unbearable scenes but it makes you aware of the mental and emotional torture young kids go through when abused and physically and sexually. Very short. I want all teachers and parents to read it.
What a contrast in temperatures in one or two days, Carol!
I hope you’re doing okay. The doctors’ appointments can wear you down. Take care of yourself.
I just don’t know. The Education of Dixie Dupree sounds like a tough book emotionally.
It is very short. And it is written from an 11 year’s point of view.
Given my own experience of sexual abuse at the hands of my grandfather (which is as fresh in my mind today as when I was eight years old), I’m not sure I could bring myself to read The Education of Dixie Dupree, Carol. Although maybe that’s exactly the reason I should read it? I’ll ponder this dilemma.
How absolutely awful Lindy. I am so sorry you had to go through that.
I also saw books as an escape from various things as a child, but I was very fortunate not to have that particular experience.
Thinking of you.
Thanks Rosemary; you’re very kind.
Oh, Lindy. I’m sorry. But, I thank you for finding Lesa’s Book Critiques a safe place to discuss your childhood. I’m sorry.
Hello everyone, from a snowy and cold Aberdeenshire.
We had snow on Tuesday and Wednesday and I believe there is more to come tonight. As a result, two of my arrangements to meet up with friends this week had to be cancelled. One friend lives out in the wilds and didn’t like the idea of driving into town, the other lives just a few miles from me, but we are both such cautious drivers (and walkers) that we also decided to reschedule. Much as I was looking forward to seeing these people, I was actually quite relieved not to have to worry about the roads, and the paths and pavements.
Instead I have been running the usual winter canteen for the garden birds – we have so many more at this time of year, the poor things are so hungry. I am refilling feeders and dishes several times a day. I’ve seen blackbirds, robins, blue tits, starlings, sparrows, crows, and of course the resident wood pigeons, who to be honest look like they could lose a few ounces and not notice, but they sit and wait for me until I am guilted into yet another excursion with the seed packets.
On Tuesday we did go out into the city – to a talk at one of the branch libraries by a writer called Harry Fisher. He lives in Aberdeen but was formerly in Leith (Edinburgh) for many years, and he writes thrillers set down there. I had actually been asked to interview him for The Edinburgh Reporter, but had entirely forgotten about the request – then David and I saw his talk advertised and went along (in a blizzard – he was driving!) Harry (actually Alan) was a good speaker, and explained why he finds Leith such a good setting (‘It has docks – hady for getting rid of bodies’), how he got started in writing (he retired from an IT job and just decided to try writing a novel – there is hope for us all!), how he writes, how he makes sure his information is accurate (he has some helpful and well placed friends) and how he edits (his wife sounds like an absolute saint, and goes through every word with him.) His latest book is 48 HOURS AND THEN SHE DIES; previous ones include WAY BEYOND A LIE, YES, I KILLED HER and BE SURE YOUR SINS. I have requested one from the library service.
It’s currently BOOK WEEK SCOTLAND so the libraries are hosting more events than usual – last night we braved the snow to go to the Central Library for a talk by Edinburgh GP Gavin Francis. After qualifying Gavin spent ten years travelling the world, worked in India and Africa, went with his future wife, from Scotland to New Zealand by motorcycle, and was at one point the doctor for the British Antarctic Survey.
He’s writes for The Guardian, the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books, and has written several books of his own. The one he spoke about last night is called THE BRIDGE BETWEEN WORLDS. it’s partly about 22 of his favourite bridges around the world, but it’s also about what bridges can repesent as metaphors for connections between countries, ideologies, communties and individuals. Gavin gave a fascinating talk – for someone so accomplished (he’s only in his 40s) he’s extremely laid back and modest, and very entertaining. He had taken the train from Edinburgh to Aberdeen that afternoon, and was booked on the night sleeper to London, where he was to give a keynote speech at a conference at 9am this morning (and he needed to do some reading for that on the train.) I don’t know how people like him do it.
It was my birthday on Tuesday; I prefer a quiet one, so David and I went to our little local cafe, Neil Selbie’s, for coffee and scones. It was lovely – very quiet because of the weather, but it’s always very welcoming and cosy. In the afternoon we went to the Harry Fisher talk.
Last weekend we were in Edinburgh to see PROJECT SMOK, who play modern trad – very lively and exciting music. The frontman plays all sorts of pipe, also the flute, the tin whistle, and of course the bagpipes. it was good fun and good music. Then on Sunday we were back in Aberdeen to see a concert by HORSE MCDONALD, a (female) singer from Fife who’s been around for years. She is only 4 days younger than I am, but she still has a wonderful voice; we really enjoyed her singing, and the banter in between.
Books – I almost forgot!
I have finally finished that awful Rebecca Shaw novel, SECRETS IN THE VILLAGE. It did not improve, and I felt like stabbing the appallingly superior vicar, the snobbish and entitled ex-lord-of-the-manor, and just about all of the cliched and unconvincing characters in this fictional village. To be honest it was a good advert for city living, although I’m quite sure it wasn’t intended to be!
I’ve now just begun a re-read of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE Jane Austen was admirably fond of short chapters!
On Tv we are up to the third episode of the new series of SHETLAND. I also started watching Anthony Horowirz’s MOONFLOWER MURDERS, the sequel to the MAGPIE MURDERS. I was so tired when I watched it though, that I think I’ll have to start again. Lesley Manville, Timothy McMullan and Daniel Mays all return, and they are all wonderful actors, so it should be good.
I’ll try to remember about next week Lesa. We don’t have Thanksgiving her, but it’s still a good idea to think about what she should be grateful for. I have so many things.
Have a good week everyone.
Happy Birthday, Rosemary! 🎂
I have one of those coming up next week.
Thank you Kaye, and best wishes for yours when it comes!
Happy Belated Birthday, Rosemary.
We finished the second series of THE DIPLOMAT (the American one, rather than the British one set in Barcelona) and the Scottish First Minister has a role in the last couple of episodes. Rory Kinnear plays the PM and Clare Burt the First Minister.
SHETLAND is starting here next month. We’re watching ELLIS (INSPECTOR ELLIS here), FAT FRIENDS, MI-5 (SPOOKS) and SILENT WITNESS, along with WHITSTABLE PEARL on our Saturday nights, though obviously we can’t fit them all in one on night.
Thanks Jeff! You always seem to find the best series. I have seen The Diplomat advertised on Netflix but I haven’t looked at it yet. And I think I forgot to look up Inspector Ellis, I must do that.
And I forgot SHERWOOD! They only release two episodes at a time, so we’ll wait a couple more weeks to start that.
Rosemary, I don’t blame you and your friends one bit for cancelling your meet-ups. I hate driving on nasty roads, and I don’t like to walk in that weather, either. I’m always afraid I’ll slip and fall. One of my co-workers did that once, and was never the same physically.
But, I love the sound of the two author talks you went to. They sound so enjoyable, and very different with the two topics.
Best of all, you finished Secrets in the Village! That’s a reason to be thankful right there.
Thanks Lesa. I know some people think I make a tremendous fuss about icy pavements, but falling on packed ice is no joke. I don’t want to end up in A & E, I’d rather stay home and enjoy being indoors in the warm.
You’re so right about Secrets in the Village. Hoorah!
Happy belated birthday, Rosemary! I always love to read about your week. You pack a lot into every seven days. May the coming year be filled with a lot of music, books and fun.
Christie (Lesa’s sister)
Thank you Christie! And thank you for reading my rather over-long posts – once I get started I am not good at stopping…
Happy Birthday, Rosemary! I always enjoy your posts!
Thank you Jennifer! That’s very kind.
Happy Birthday!
Thanks Glen!
Happy Birthday Rosemary!
I am looking forward to Shetland arriving on Britbox. We really enjoyed Moonflower Murders.
Thanks Sharon!
I think I’ll restart Mayflower Murders next week when David is away. It’s not his kind of thing at all.
We just watched the third episode of Shetland tonight. It’s good, though I am finding the large number of characters slightly confusing. Thank goodness we can stop and go backwards when necessary!
Happy Birthday Rosemary, and I too enjoy reading your posts. Your life sounds so interesting; or you make it seem so anyway! And I know my husband (also a David) will love Bridge Between Worlds, not available here till May.
Thanks Lindy!
Our husbands sound like they have more in common than just a name. When we go to Newcastle (which is on the bank of the river Tyne) mine spends ages photographing its many famous bridges while I visit the charity bookshops!
And we were once on a train returning from London that for some reason had to wait for over half an hour on the rail bridge just before Newcastle station. We were all very frustrated – apart from David, who spent the time admiring all these feats of engineering.
Ha ha ha; my David would do exactly as yours does, and would have liked nothing better than to be stuck on that rail bridge for half an hour. Too funny!
Hi Lesa, We had a little dusting of snow here in Toledo too, but it’s not too bad. I guess it had to start feeling like November at some point. TOOTH AND CLAW looks like something I’d enjoy. I’m just finishing Michael Connelly’s first Bosch book, BLACK ECHO, and I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve never read much Connelly, and it took me a bit to get into the plot of this one, but the second half of it is just outstanding! Next up on my list is THE DARK WIVES by Ann Cleeves. She’s one of my favorite authors, so it’s always a treat to settle in with a new book of hers.
I hope you enjoy your visit with your family and stay warm!
Hi Kate! Keep that snow up north, please, even if it’s just a dusting!
I never read a lot of Michael Connelly either, but I read Black Echo years ago, and loved it. So different!
Thank you! Staying warm is my goal in life.
No snow here, but snow on the Blues east of us. We got a LOT of wind and some rain from the bomb cyclone .
I just finished THE SECRET WAR OF JULIA CHILD by Diana R. Chambers. I really liked it. Little is known about Julia and Paul Child’s experiences in the OSS in south east Asia, but the author does a good job of taking actual events and people and putting Juia and Paul into the events. She also captures Julia’s voice and heighth. I did wonder if someone could actually survive all the situations she puts Julia into… It’s a different take on World War II, a break from all the French resistance/spy network historical novels.
Great! I have that book sitting on my desk, Cindy, and you just encouraged me to start it soon. Thank you.
Our weather in Santa Barbara has been too sunny but cooler than I remember it being in November. We may see some rain in the next few days, related to the “bomb cyclone” headed for Northern California. We need the rain.
I read THE ROSIE PROJECT by Graeme Simsion this week. I enjoyed it a lot. It was a well-known book when it came out in 2013, but I will describe it just in case… The protagonist is socially challenged genetics professor, Don Tillotson. He lives an orderly life, planned to the last detail, but he has few friends. Somehow he decides he would like to find a wife, so he comes up with a questionnaire to eliminate women with habits or interests he could not tolerate. Then he meets Rosie. Probably an unrealistic story but lots of fun.
Now I am reading A DARKER DOMAIN by Val McDermid, the second book in the Inspector Karen Pirie series. I am about a quarter in, and I am loving the book. It grabbed me immediately. A woman reports that her father has been missing for over 20 years, from the time of the Miner’s Strike of 1984. At the time they thought he had deserted the family but she needs to find him because her son is dying. The story goes back and forth from the 1980s to 2007. There is a lot more to the story, but I am especially interested in the strike so I am getting a lot out of reading the book. I have read a Reginald Hill novel, UNDERWORLD, from 1988 that is about the aftermath of the strike.
Glen is reading two books now:
KIND, BUT KIND OF WEIRD: SHORT STORIES ON LIFE’S RELATIONSHIPS by Joey Held. The stories seem like they are taken from a longer story. They have a lot of description and detail but end abruptly. That makes me curious, so when he finishes that one, I will give a try.
NATURE’S MUTINY by Philipp Blom. The subtitle describes it well: “How the Little Ice Age of the Long Seventeenth Century Transformed the West and Shaped the Present.” He is a third of the way in, and he says that it does discuss the Little Ice Age and its effects on European life at that time, but also has a lots of digressions from that topic.
Lesa, I just wrote a long (for me) comment but it says it is awaiting moderation because I did not use the correct user name. So I hope you find it and can approve it.
Sorry you may be subjected to snow. I like the idea of snow, since I haven’t had much experience with it, but I surely would not like the temperatures associated with it.
I approved the piece, Tracy. I think that usually happens when you send it from a different computer address. Normally, it would recognize that you’re a regular here!
Someday, I need to read that series by Val McDermid. It’s not one I”m putting off because I know too much. Actually, I was intimidated by the size of the first in the series. But, so many of you love this series, I need to get to it.
Thank, Lesa. The first book, THE DISTANT ECHO, was pretty long but it was very good too. This one is around 370 pages. It did take me seven years to get back to the series after reading book #1. There are too many good books to read them all.
Tried to get Tooth and Claw on NetGalley, but no joy.
I did get If It Isn’t One Thing… by Steven F. Havill. Finished it yesterday and very much enjoyed it. Comes out in March.
Oh, I’m glad you liked the new Steven Havill, Kevin. I’m looking forward to reading it.
Very much enjoyed it.
Ripped through it in two days. Would have finished sooner if I was in better shape.
I’m on the list for Tooth and Claw–I have enjoyed every Longmire book I’ve read to date.
I also really enjoy the Joe Pickett series by C J Box
I just finished Lost December–not sure how I missed it when it came out but totally
enjoyed it.
Hope you didn’t get much snow–there is a small probability of some flakes in the metro DC
area where I live–not looking forward to the cold that comes with it.
Have an amazing weekend!
Hi Helen, Fortunately, we didn’t get snow, and I don’t care if I never see it again.
I haven’t read the Joe Pickett books. I’m glad you enjoyed the latest.
We’re getting an atmospheric river rain storm. Better than a drought for sure.
A new supermarket, more like a min-mall, FS Market had a three day grand opening. It was great. They had food trucks, several free concerts, and giveaways. I ended up with a case of green tea, Thai iced tea, a package of coffee, and roasted peanuts. My gf got 10 lbs of rice. The concerts were pretty good, even if I couldn’t understand anything they were singing. Food trucks with Filipino food seem to be en vogue. Can’t really say I disapprove.
This week I read:
This week I read Dr. Syn by Russell Thorndyke, an old adventure novel about a Zorro like British hero, a pastor who masqueraded as The Scarecrow. Disney made a movie out of it way back when, a cult favorite, but they should definitely revive this property.
Civil Unity by Shola Richards; A guy claiming to be an empath writes about returning to civility, but he never mentions legalizing duelling.
Vaccines and Bayonets by Bee Bloeser; an old fashioned nice do-gooder describes her life as the wife of a doctor for the CDC vaccinating people in Nigeria against small pox during the push to eradicate the disease. She was stationed in Nigeria during a turbulent period of war and other disasters. I think this was written in response to the backlash against vaccines after Covid.
Sounds as if you had a good weekend at the mini-mall, Glen.
Dr. Syn! Oh, yes! The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. A favorite. I wish Disney would release it from the vault. Although you can watch it in segments on YouTube. Loved it! Read the book, too.
I used to have half a dozen Fr. Syn books in paperback, but of course, never read them.
No, I will never remember to proofread: Dr. Syn.
It is a cold and snowy day in Cincinnati.
I read three books this week.
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston. Lots of five-star reviews on Goodreads. Eighty-two-year-old Frederick finds himself homeless after paying his wife’s medical bills. He happens upon a gathering from an assisted living facility in a park. He goes up to a gentleman in a wheelchair and discovers him dead. While trying to wheel him back to the group, he slips, and Benjamin Greer falls into the water. The career of the group rushes over and sees Frederick assuming he is Benjamin. So, Frederick mistakenly becomes Benjamin with a bed and three meals a day. Some of this was sentimental. There were lots of pages dedicated to being in assisted living with dementia issues and the indignity of aging. I thought it was good but not overly special.
I also was disappointed in Kiss me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss. Harriet is a special resources teacher in a small community. When the group of 5 difficult students are found in an abandoned theater police are called. The owner of the building requires Harriet to not only clean up the theater but put on a production of The Christmas Carol to help her sell it. And by the way, the owner’s lawyer is the guy Harriet had just had a one-night stand with because she was feeling sorry for herself being alone at Christmas time. There was a lot of heartwarming elements to this, but I just found it all too much, so it was not my favorite Jenny Bayliss.
My last book was my favorite, The Music of Bees by Ellen Garvin. Three lonely strangers become a found family in Oregon. I learned a lot about bees because the main character is a beekeeper. And I just thought this was wonderful.
A cold and snowy day is the perfect day for hibernation and reading, Sharon.
I agree. The Bayliss sounds just okay.
Stay home and warm!
Sharon, I read The Music of Bees a couple of years ago! It was one of my favourite books I read that year. A very special book.
I recently discovered Eileen Garvin has another book out now called Crow Talk, which I ordered just last week. I hope it’s just as good.
I read & enjoyed Crow Talk earlier this year. I’ll need to look for The Music of Bees.
I put Crow Talk on reserve. I hope it is as good as Music of Bees
Thank you, Sharon, for reminding me about Crow Talk, as I also loved The Music of Bees. Unfortunately, the library doesn’t have it (with the site’s recent update, somehow they lost the use of Link+, which looks for books at other CA libraries, but they’re working on it)! It costs a bit too much to buy at this point, but I’ll keep looking!