It’s Thursday! I look forward to catching up with you; what you’ve been doing, what you’ve been reading. Thanks for sharing with all of us. It was a quiet week here, which I needed after all my appointments, so I have nothing to share, other than the book I’m reading.
Oh, and I want to thank everyone who wrote or read the posts for Favorites of 2024. I enjoyed the variety of books we picked. Thank you!
I’m reading a book I mentioned for Treasures in My Closet, Elise Hooper’s The Library of Lost Dollhouses. It’s a paperback release on April 1.
Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses.
After finding clues hidden within these remarkable miniatures, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, hidden history, but also a future for herself—and an astonishing familial revelation.
I’m not too far into the book, but I’m enjoying it so far.
What about you? What are you reading this week?
Skin and Bones by Paul Doiron. It is a Mike Bowditch novella set many years earlier than the current books.
Interesting, Kevin. Sometimes, I like prequels.
It’s been a busy week around here. Oldest daughter’s birthday. David’s brother (lives out of town) came to visit. Friends of ours came to visit today. And I had an optician appointment – besides the vitreous detachment (thank you again Carol for the link to that very helpful and informative article!) I had been noticing that I could see less well than before in the other eye. Turns out the shape of the eye has changed which is messing with vision, so I had a prescription for new lenses to be made. So when they are ready in a couple of weeks, things might improve vision-wise.
Then just before dinner today, David discovered that someone had broken the glass window in one of the two back doors to our apartment building; glass everywhere, and of course the building was accessed. Well, the parking garage anyway. So rather than eat dinner David was downstairs boarding up the broken window. He left for less than five minutes to get a tool and in that time the perpetrator had ditched the bicycle he’d stolen from the parking garage; left it in the hallway, and left the building. After dinner David boarded up the window in the second door in case the guy came back tonight. Never a dull moment around here!
Just one book read this week:
TRAGEDY AT PIDDLETON HOTEL by Emily Organ
First book in the Churchill & Pemberley Cozy Murder Mystery series.
Annabel Churchill, recently widowed, has bought a detective agency and moves from London to the small village of Compton Poppleford to see if she can make a go of it. The agency comes with Doris Pemberley, secretary to the former owner.
Quite quickly they end up with two cases to solve – one involving a cat, and the other has them tasked with solving the murder of a woman who was widely disliked by the other villagers. The local police have ruled her fall down the stairs an accidental death but the woman’s godson thinks she was murdered. There is certainly no lack of suspects.
This was definitely on the cozier side of cozy, but entertaining nevertheless. Something I liked about it was that even thought the ladies were bumbling and often didn’t seem to be getting anywhere with either case, at least they actively tried every way they could think of to get to the truth. So many cozies seem to have the main character ‘solve’ the mystery even though they’ve done no detective work whatsoever. Not so Churchill and Pemberley; they never give up and there’s lots of silly, amusing dialogue as they lurch from one seemingly dead end to another. A very light read but sometimes that’s just the right thing.
You’re right, Lindy. Sometimes a cozy is just what we need.
So weird about the break-in that the thief ditched the stolen bike.
I hope you can see better when the new lenses are in! Good luck!
It’s been pretty warm and sunny, but a storm is supposed to be coming through. We’ll see.
This week I read:
The Pilgrim of Hate by Ellis Peters; Brother Cadfael is helping to deal with a pilgrimage to the gravesite of a saint who is buried elsewhere. There’s a medieval murder. Better if you’ve read your Chaucer, I think, which I have.
The Body in the Bed by Stewart Sterling; Part of the old hotel detective subgenre, which seems to have disappeared. In an expensive hotel, a South American dictator, run out of his old country, holes up in the hotel, only for somebody to try to assassinate him. They had trouble with the green cards even then!
The Moorings of Mackerel Sky by MZ Emily Zack; Peyton Place with some magical realism thrown in.
Thunder and Daisy by Mercedes Paradiso; Poems about heartbreak and heartache. Got pretty repetitive, and very emo.
The Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander; Second book in the series, I didn’t read the first. A princess has to go learn how to be royal, and is soon abducted. Her doughty friends and a hapless prince try to rescue her. To be honest, I was reminded of Ransom of Red Chief, but all the characters actually wanted to rescue her.
The Missing Sapphire of Zangrabar by Steve Higgs; A 50 something lady catches her husband canoodling with her best friend. She cleans out the bank accounts, and goes on a cruise ship, where she is quickly accused of murder. Of course she has to clear her name, and self actualize in the process.
Do you remember Hugh Pentecost’s mysteries set in a hotel, Glen? Some were better than others, but I read all I could find.
Are you reading Lloyd Alexander for your family group? I read that whole series.
Yes, Pierre Chambrun, Hotel Manager. THE CANNIBAL WHO OVERATE (1962) was the first in the series. But other than that, I really can’t think of many hotel-set mysteries.
Your comment about hotel detectives reminded me, Glen.
Yes, for some reason, the kids got multiple copies of the second book, but none of the rest in the series. They didn’t get the Ransom of Red Chief reference.
Howard Hunt wrote House Dick, something of a classic in the Hotel detective subgenre. Hard Case Crime reprinted it, and that’s the book that got me started. The similar cruise ship subgenre, has taken its place, I think.
Oh, I’m sure they didn’t get The Ransom of Red Chief reference. That made me laugh.
I never heard of House Dick. I think you’re right about the cruise ship subgenre, although I haven’t read one yet that I liked as much as Pentecost’s books.
Hi, Glen. As a child and young adult (because I reread the books in my teens), I loved all five of Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain books. The Castle of Llyr is in fact the third, after The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron, and before Taran Wanderer (my favorite) and the High King. I hope you enjoy the rest!
I just loved Lloyd Alexander, Kim.
I’m back this week! I met up with family in the Palm Springs area last week. Took a few days off work and was there through Sunday. It was nice, although too short.
I’m currently working on Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles by Elizabeth Crowens. It’s set in 1940 Hollywood. The name dropping was fun, but the mystery plot is way under developed. I have about a third to go, but I don’t see the end redeeming the rest of the book.
I need to find that book, Lisa. I try to read all the books about libraries that I can find. Some of them are mediocre, but many are really good. I just started The Story She Left Behind, by Patti Callahan Henry. It’s about an author who disappeared, the secret language she created, and her daughter’s journey to discover the truth.
Have you read The Memory Library, Mary Ann? I have it on hold at the library because my best friend recommended it.
I will look for it
Well, that’s one book I won’t be looking for, Mark. Thanks for the honest comments.
So nice to spend relaxing time with family, isn’t it?
Good morning Lesa and everyone.
The Library of Lost Dolls Houses sounds interesting Lesa. I see that the author also wrote THE OTHER ALCOTT, about May Alcott, Louisa’s own sister, on whom Amy March in Little Women was based.
We have had some fine spring weather lately. I like to walk around my very small garden and see the shoots coming though. I’m always especially pleased to see the peony start to grow again, but everything is coming back to life now. The birds are nesting, and their song in the evening is just beautiful.
I’m writing this on Wednesday, as tomorrow we are taking my 97 year old mother out – we suggested taking her for lunch for Mothers’ Day, and she replied that she would rather go shopping!!! So it will be a day at Livingston Shopping Centre and Designer Outlet for us. I loathe shopping, but she loves it. She has far more stamina than I do when it comes to looking for clothes, etc.
Books:
I finished THE KING’S WITCHES by Kate Foster. It is about the North Berwick Witch Trials, told from the point of view of three women. The first is Princess Anna of Denmark, who is sent to Holyrood to marry King James VI. In the book she is 17. In real life she was just 14 years old. The second woman is her Lady of the Bedchamber, Kirsten, who has her own secret reasons for returning to Scotland, a country she visited with her father many years previously. The third is Jura, a poor young woman from North Berwick, whose late mother was a healer. Left to cope with her alcoholic father, Jura finds employment as a maid in the house of a wealthy government official. She soon finds out why so many people had warned her about Baillie Kincaid.
Eventually the three women’s stories will intertwine, as they all have to navigate the terror and paranoia seizing 16th century Europe, a time when any women (and a few men) who don’t toe the line will be accused of witchcraft and face an horrific fate.
The King’s Witches is very well written, easy to read and with commendably short chapters. I’d recommend it to anyone interested in this terrible period in Scotland’s, and Europe’s, history.
I’m now about to start the final book in Janie Bolitho’s Cornish mystery series, KILLED IN CORNWALL.
I also visited a few of my favourite charity shops here in Leith this week. I was really only looking for a copy of Shirley Jackson’s WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE, which I did not find – but surprise! The Bethany Bookshop had a great thriller/mystery book sale on – any three books for £1. So of course I came home laden. One of the books I got was STAY OF EXECUTION by Quintin Jardine, who lives just a few miles outside Edinburgh. I have a few of his books but I haven’t yet read any of them – have any of you? Would you recommend?
Another of my purchases was BLACK IS THE COLOUR OF MY TRUE LOVE’S HEART by Ellis Peters, author of the Cadfael series. This one is part of a separate series, The Felse Investigations. Again I know nothing about it. Book sales, like libraries, are great for taking a chance on a new author or series.
We’ve been to a couple of concerts this week. The first was THE DEAD SOUTH, a Bluegrass band from Saskatchewan in Canada. David likes them very much. I was surprised to see what a huge following they clearly have in Edinburgh – many people had dressed as the band does, in outfits that to me looked quite Amish (but I may well be wrong; all I know about the Amish community came from the film WITNESS many years ago.)
The second concert was PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTING, whom Anna and I had already seen last autumn. They are wonderful performers; they layer their music over old newsreel footage of events like the first ascent of Everest, the Miners’ Strikes in 1980s South Wales, the Apollo 11 space mission, Amelia Earhart’s solo flights, and even Auden’s famous poem The Night Mail, and the iconic black and white film made by the Post Office in 1936, of the poem being recited to a Benjamin Britten score, while postal workers sort the mail on the then nightly mail train from London to Scotland.
The band has three core members, plus a fantastic brass section that comes on for some numbers, and a fabulous Norwegian singer called EERA.
Last week we also went to see the poet LEMN SISSAY at the Aberdeen Music Hall. He is an excellent performer who can switch from funny to moving in a second. He is a great champion of children in care (‘looked after children’) as he suffered so much in the care system himself. He was the child of a single, Ethiopian, student mother, who asked the council to look after him just while she visited her sick father in her home country. He ended up being fostered, adopted then returned, through no fault of his own, to various awful children’s homes, all against his mother’s wishes. She looked for him for many years, in vain.
A few years ago Lemn started to write a four lined poem every morning (in addition to his longer works), and some of them are stunning. A very entertaining, humbling and thought-provoking evening.
It’s getting late here now so I will stop. Have a great week all 🙂
97 years old! Amazing! Enjoy the day with your mom.
I love that your mother still has energy to shop. Like you, I hate it.
I wondered if we’d hear from you today, Rosemary. I knew you were heading to Edinburgh.
Did Lemn Sissay ever reunite with his mother?
Rosemary, we’ve added LUDWIG to our watching this past week. Fun show.
We started Ludwig this week too. It is great fun.
Rosemary,
Here in America, everyone is fixated on the Salem Witch Trials, but there were many witch trials all over Europe, not to mention a flap of werewolf trials at about the same time. In France, they also had a lot of infanticide trials.
Everyone has some theory as to what the heck was going on, but I’m not sure I wholly buy any of them.
Both concerts you went to sound wonderful, Rosemary!
Almost finished with Hid From Our Eyes, a little shocked about the crime!
Started a book that I won long ago, Elizabeth I by Margaret George. It is gasp, 681 pages long! I saved it for when I have no appointments coming up for while, as it is a hardback and very heavy!
It was a struggle to get it, I took surveys to get, not know what would be offered for the prize1 LOL, it was the only book offered and I did not like any of the other prizes. It was a battle to get because after I earned enough to turn in my points, they wanted me to pick something else. I stuck to my guns, the other stuff was junk. Finally after three months, I received it and quit the survey site. Now will see if the fight was worth it. Only on page 26 so I have a very long way to go!
Good luck with your book, Carol. I hope your eyes hold out to read all those pages!
It’s been pretty quiet here. We did wander into a church rummage sale last Saturday on our way to lunch. Everything was half price so we picked up a couple of puzzles and a big chunk of iron pyrite. There’s another rummage sale this weekend so we might stop by. We also have tickets for Ride the Cyclone on Saturday.
I read an ARC of The Stuff of Mayhem by Kathleen Kalb. A re-enactor is blown up during a Fourth of July celebration. Now I have to go back and read book one in this series.
Three Tainted Teas by Lynn Cahoon. It’s the third book in her Kitchen Witch series. Mia is hired to plan the wedding between the children of two feuding families after the original planner is fired. The original planner turns up dead and Mia has to survive long enough to get the couple married. Lynn’s not an author I’ve read a lot but I like the characters in this series.
Sandy, what is Ride the Cyclone?
I think I’ve only read one of Lynn Cahoon’s books. Characters make all the difference!
Jackie is a fan of the Cyclone in Coney Island, perhaps the world’s most famous roller coaster. I don’t like roller coasters.
I loath them Jeff. I once took our youngest two to Legoland at Windsor and ended up in the queue for a ride, not knowing it was the scariest one on the site. When we reached the front of the line I asked the guy if it was ok for young children. He said ‘oh they’ll love it!’
They did.
I myself was absolutely terrified and thought I was about to meet my maker.
Never again. I think you either love these things or you hate them.
Lesa, we’ve never seen it but here’s the premise of the musical.
Members of the St. Cassian High School chamber choir of Uranium City, Saskatchewan, have perished on a faulty roller coaster called The Cyclone. Each tells their story, in song form, to win the reward from a mechanical fortune teller: the chance to return to life.
Okay! It’s a musical. Sounds like it could be good, Sandy. I wasn’t sure what it was. Thank you.
A beautiful sunny morning and some warmer days ahead – it’s definitely starting to feel like Spring.
I finished the audio book of “Hang on St. Christopher” by Adrian McKinty. I was so excited to have another Sean Duffy book to read The audio book was once again read by Gerard Doyle – he does such a great job! I loved the majority of the book, but didn’t love the last few chapters. I felt that the wrap up of the book was just too fantastical. Sean was jet setting all over the world with nary a nap and didn’t take the normal precautions that he’s known for. With that said, I do still recommend it. There were some really exciting parts. I always learn something from these books as well – listen for the odd/obscure reference from Sean and have fun looking them up to learn more.
I also read “The Girl from Greenwich Street”. I always look forward to a Lauren Willig novel. This one is based on a true story about a murdered Quaker girl, Elma, in 1799. An illegitimate child, she is living in the boarding house of her cousin, Caty, and her family, including her husband Elias, numerous children, and her sister Hope. Local workers board at this house, and a good looking young man named Levi is one of them. Soon he is flirting with both Hope and Elma. Elma tells Hope that she is going to elope with Levi. On the night that she leaves the house, with Caty’s blessing and assistance with dressing, Elma is murdered. It takes days to find out where her body is. Levi is charged with her murder. No one actually saw Levi picking Elma up. Based on Levi’s wherabouts that evening, it appears technically impossible that he could have dumped her in the well and made it back home within the allocated time that he was away from his brother’s house. This book goes into the details of the prosecution and the defense. The defense is made up of a three person team, that includes Aaron Burr and Alexandar Hamilton. The investigation brings out the possibility of other men in Elma’s life, adding to the mystery of who really killed Elma. A gripping account of a historic trial.
Hi Mary. I also felt that in this Adrian McKinty, Sean Duffy wasn’t behaving like himself, doing and staying things that the “real” Sean Duffy wouldn’t do and say. Yet I’d still recommend it as a lot of fun.
I liked The Girl from Greenwich Street, too, Mary. You’re right. It was gripping.
First, I doubt I’ll have time to say more than hello next Thursday. We’ll be packing up after three months in Florida this weekend, and we leave Monday morning for home, where we’ll arrive on Thursday. It’s been great.
Books. After reading the Linda Lael Miller book, CHRISTMAS IN PAINTED PONY CREEK, Jackie is reading the latest HUNGER GAMES prequel by Suzanne Collins (thank you, Cloud Library), SUNRISE ON THE REAPING. It’s set 25 years before the action of the original trilogy. She likes it.
I feel like I’ve been too scattered this week, first a cold that turned into bronchitis, then books coming in from everywhere. I did read James Sallis’s collection Bright Segments: Complete Short Stories, a huge book over over 100 stories. He’s a good writer, but I prefer his Lew Griffin and DRIVE and other novels to the short stories.
As mentioned, several library books have come in, and I was just about to start the Hayley Scrivenor book I have, when the Cloud Library delivered John Scalzi’s new book, When The Moon Hits Your Eye. I am a long-time Scalzi fan, since I read the first in his Old Man’s War series (book seven is coming later this year). I am a daily reader of his entertaining blog as well. In recent years he’s published several standalones, and MOON is the third and latest. Rad Lesa’s Tuesday review to get the details of the plot, which is a lot of fun. Some of the humor is subtle, some isn’t, but it’s there and fun if you look for it. (Let’s just say a certain self-important billionaire with his own rocket ships doesn’t come off well.) Scalzi just goes from strength to strength here and you can almost see the movie while you’re reading it. It would be a lot better than DON’T LOOK UP for one.
Have a good week. We had a lot of rain the other nightm but mostly it’s been nice and warm. I see New York is all over the place, temperature-wise, as they are predicting near 80 on Saturdayn then back to 48, and 62 (fingers crossed) the day we get home. We’ll see.
So glad you had three good months in Florida, Jeff. It will be hard to come back to New York’s changeable weather, I’m sure. At least you discovered Cloud Library!
I like John Scalzi’s work, but I think you’re a bigger fan than I am.
Safe travels home!
Safe journey Jeff!
It’s been a pretty quiet week here. We had a few days with high temps in the 70s/80s, which was nice for a change. Back to the low 60s today. Here’s what I’ve been reading:
In the mid-1960s, the trajectory of 17-year-old Frances’s life is forever changed when a fortune teller reveals that she will die by murder. Throughout her life, Frances collects information on everyone around her who might prove to be her murderer. But nothing untoward happens until she changes her will and summons her grand-niece Annie, among others, to meet with the executor. Before Annie arrives, however, Frances is dead in a mysterious manner. Although Annie has never actually met her great aunt, she is called upon to help solve her murder before another character or law enforcement can solve it, thereby allowing her artist mother to remain in a house that Frances owns. That is the premise of HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER, first in the Castle Knoll Files by Kristen Perrin. One other murder will be discovered, and (way too) many characters become involved in the story. There are frequent flashbacks to the younger days of Frances and her two closest friends, which alternate with goings-on in the present time regarding the investigation. I found it somewhat confusing to keep track of all of the suspects who had a reason to want Frances dead, and I never really engaged with anyone in the story. The writing is competent but without much nuance. I’m hoping I enjoy the sequel more, as I already have it from NetGalley. And as this is the author’s adult debut, there is reason for optimism as her writing matures.
Debut author Amelia Ireland scores with a clever and surprising novel, THE SEVEN O’CLOCK CLUB. Four strangers, ranging in age from 20 to mid-4os and with occupations from a clerk to a rock star, are participating in a weekly counseling session designed to help each of them move on from a tragedy. Their counselor, Genevieve, has told them it is an experimental treatment and encourages each to finally reveal the calamity that robbed them of their former lives. They start by recalling a positive experience from their childhood, then progress through a roller coaster of emotions to finally come clean about why they can’t shake their overwhelming guilt and grief. At that point, 70% through the novel, everything changes. I mean, EVERYTHING. And although I knew from other reviewers that there was a twist, I was gobsmacked to discover that the final 30% of the book was my favorite–the most revealing, the most emotional, and ultimately (for me) the most satisfying. The characters of Callum, Freya, Mischa and Victoria, as well as Genevieve, were well portrayed throughout the book, and after a somewhat slow star, the plot galloped toward the final resolution. No spoilers–you have to read it yourself. I’m looking forward to more from this new author. (April)
Michael Connelly’s newest book, NIGHTSHADE, is either the beginning of a new series or a standalone, with no trace of the characters from the author’s other series. I was intrigued that the book is set on the island of Catalina, off the coast of Southern California–a place I visited briefly many years ago. There are no automobiles allowed on the island, and much of the activities revolve around the water–sailing, fishing, beach sunbathing, water sports, and so on. Detective Sergeant Stilwell (even at the end of the book, we don’t know his first name) is responsible for investigating crimes that originate on Catalina–unless the LAPD tries to take over. Stil (as his friends call him) was “transferred” to this position a year ago as a punishment for alienating the management and certain members of his previous department, but he finds he greatly enjoys the new environment and has found a girlfriend in Tash, who works for the Harbormaster. When the body of a woman with a purple streak in her hair (hence the nickname Nightshade) is found tied to an anchor, it calls for the Catalina and LA detectives to put aside their bad blood and work together, At the same time, Stil needs to bring to justice the person who beheaded and absconded with the head of one of the island’s protected buffaloes.The book’s immersion into Catalina local color and customs makes for an interesting read, and Connelly’s signature writing style and intricate plot are in evidence. I’m hoping that if this is a series, Stil’s character will be fleshed out and his romance with Tash developed. (May)
Margie, as a big Connelly fan I am looking forward to the new book. I can’t remember if it was him or someone else, but a few years ago I read a short story set on Catalina and it was fascinating indeed.
Jeff, Connelly also has a Lincoln Lawyer book out this year. I’m a big fan of that series.
Margie, I have the Seven O’clock Club. Your review intrigues me. Thank you. I think I’ll skip How to Solve Your Own Murder.
Lesa, you might hate it, as it’s gimmicky. But for some reason, it worked for me.
Thanks for the heads up, Margie. We’ll see.
So excited for Opening Day today!
Three books for me this week.
JANE AND DAN AT THE END OF THE WORLD by Colleen Oakley is about a married couple at dinner for their anniversary. Before they get to the first course, masked gunmen rush the restaurant and take the diners and staff hostage. But there is something familiar about the events to Jane. They seem eerily similar to her moderately successful novel she published many years ago. Parts of this were clever and fun but mostly it was an okay read for me.
KATE AND FRIDA by Kim Fay. Not sure why this one didn’t work for me. An epistolatory novel about two friends in their 20’s. One is Paris and the other in Seattle. I liked the discussion of the book titles they shared and reliving the fall of Yugoslavia was interesting, but Kate and Frida were a little too juvenile to me (?). The author did get bonus points for quoting the lyrics from Neil Diamond’s Porcupine Pie. That sent my siblings and me reminiscing when I told them about it.
Lastly, was TILT by Emma Pattee. Author Ellery Adams recommended this book, so I gave it a try. Thirty-seven-week pregnant Annie is shopping at IKEA for a baby crib when a major earthquake hits the Portland, OR area. The rest of the book is Annie trying to desperately reach her husband. I enjoyed this but I wanted a little less of an open ending. I thought the author did a terrific job describing the earthquake and its aftermath.
Happy Reading!
Ah, a baseball fan. I went to lots of games, and watched a lot on TV when my husband was alive. Just never enjoyed it as much by myself. Enjoy! Sharon!
Oh, well. The women in Kate & Frida were young. And, for some reason, the ending reminded me of her earlier book.
Lesa, after Jackie retired, we used to go to 6 night games a year. (We’d gone to the occasional game before that. The earliest game I remember was when my father took me and my brother to the old Yankee Stadium in 1960. The Yankees beat Baltimore 15-9 but it wasn’t that close. It was 12-1 after 7 innings. Amazing what you remember.) The problem was, it was an hour and a half by subway from where we live to The Bronx, then another hour and a half home. Plus, even then tickets were not cheap in Yankeeland, and they went up every year. Still, we enjoyed it. After that, we’d go if they were at home on July 4, which was always a day game.
I was lucky, Jeff. When we lived in Charlotte County, FL, my husband’s boss had box seats for the Texas Rangers spring training, and he’d let us have them. When we lived in Lee County, FL, we lived right behind the spring training facility for the Minnesota Twins. The Red Sox were also in Ft. Myers, and we went to a game or two there. We drove to see the Dodgers and the Tigers and then went to see the Florida Marlins play in Miami during the season. We went to a lot of Diamondbacks games when we lived in Arizona. As I said, though, I sort of lost interest after Jim died.
When my parents moved to the Phoenix area, my father started following the Diamondbacks, as he followed the A’s when they were in northern California, though I think his heart remained with the Yankees. We did get to go to one Diamondbacks game and saw the roof close, which was cool.
Hello! The sun is shining, daffodils and primroses are blooming in everyone’s gardens, and tomorrow my husband and I are off to a village in Switzerland’s eastern Alps (a place in the Canton of Graubünden called Klosters) so he can ski and I can hike on the winter hiking paths. Despite spring arriving in Bern, it will still be winter up there, and our son will join us for two days of snowboarding and hanging out with the parents. Having that much of his time at once will be wonderful.
I was surprised that I didn’t read much this week–just the latest book in the Chronicles of Osreth by Katherine Addison, the author of my 2024 favorite, The Goblin Emperor. The book I finished, THE TOMB OF DRAGONS, continues the story of Thara Celehar, the Witness for the Dead in the book of that title. Part detective and part lawyer, as well as priest, Celehar’s job is to find out from the recently dead how they died and/or what they still need done for them. But the messages are not always clear, so there’s a lot of investigating to do. Like the other books in this series, this one was a pleasure. These aren’t thrillers, but the setting and characters are excellently portrayed, and the puzzles are intriguing.
I also listened to a terrific book this week, also by an author on my “best of 2024 list,” Natasha Pulley. The book of hers I enjoyed so much previously was about a future society on Mars; this one, THE HYMN TO DIONYSUS, is set in the ancient Greek city of Thebes. Most of it takes place about ten years after the Trojan War, and the hero, who fought through the entire war (where he lost his lover) and has returned with PTSD, is a Theban elite soldier who has been training to fight and to obey his queen and his military commander since he was four years old. Then Dionysus, the God of obeying instincts, not duty, comes into his life, and he begins to change. There’s also a very exciting, fast-moving, and sometimes slightly chaotic plot that is fun to follow, but the best part of the book is Phaidros, the Theban soldier, who is a fascinating and lovable character, despite being sometimes prey to uncontrollable violence because of his PTSD. The world-building is excellent, too, with Pulley combining legend and imagination to portray life in this ancient city-state. Talk about a book that pulls you out of normal reality!
Oh, Kim. I’d have a hard time leaving when spring has arrived. But, I’m sure two days with your son will be worth it, and you can enjoy the last of winter. I’m not a fan of anything winter except Christmas. Enjoy your trip!
The Chronicles of Osreth sounds good, but I don’t know when I’ll find time for another series!
We got home Tuesday night and I’m finally getting caught up. The trip was fun but I’m glad to be home. The weather in Idaho was 80 degrees yesterday. Woohoo! Today, it’s cloudy and not near as warm. Anyway, I did manage to read two books on the trip.
The first one was Switcheroo by E.J. Copperman. I loved the author’s other series, Jersey Girl but I’m kind of up in the air about this one. Fran and Ken Stein are siblings whose parents “manufactured” them. Hence, the names. After creating them, their parents left them for parts unknown. Now in their 30’s, they work as private investigators specializing in finding the biological parents of children who are adopted.
Austin Cobb comes to them and wants to hire them to find his biological parents. Fran goes to the adoption agency and finds the adoption file to be super sealed. No one will divulge the information in the file. The more she pokes and prods to get the information the more dangerous it becomes. But no fear there, because she and her brother have extraordinary strength that gets them out of all kinds of messes.
The other book was Booked for Murder by P.J. Nelson. I know a couple of people here have read this book. I struggled with it. I didn’t really like any of the characters in the book and Madeline’s impulsiveness was a big turn off.
Oh, 80 degrees sounds wonderful, Bev! I’d take that any day.
I liked Copperman’s Jersey Girl series, too, as well as earlier ones. But, I just wasn’t excited about the premise of this one, and didn’t pick it up.
I liked Booked for Murder more than you did, and I see possibilities for the series, if Madeline can move on from her impulsiveness. That bothered me, too.
Hi, everyone. I had reported last week that our cat, Rosie, had not been well and we had been to the vet several times. By the weekend there was a dramatic worsening to her condition so on Sunday we got an appointment at a very good 24 hour emergency vet. Their opinion was it was time to let her go. We did that. (Glen helped me write this.) We miss her very much and keep remembering all her habits and quirks.
Glen is now reading EREBUS: THE STORY OF A SHIP by Michael Palin and has read about half of the book. He is interested in the subject but he is finding it a dry read. I may give it a try someday.
I finished a book late last night: A GOD IN RUINS by Kate Atkinson. I liked the book a lot until the ending, so I am not sure how to rate it. It has an interesting structure, the story is not told in a linear fashion. The main character is Teddy Todd, the younger brother of Ursula Todd, from Atkinson’s LIFE AFTER LIFE. He flew bombing tours over Germany (mainly) throughout World War II and that part of the story was excellent.
Oh, Tracy. I’m sorry you had to let Rosie go, but I’m sure it was best for her. That’s no consolation, I know, when you love a cat and she adds so much to your life. I’ve had to do that with a lot of beloved cats, and it’s never easy. I’m sorry for you and Glen.
So many readers like Kate Atkinson, but I haven’t yet made it a priority to read her books.
Oh Tracy, I’m so sorry about Rosie. Like Lesa I’ve been there many times, but it never gets any easier. Thinking of you and Glen.
Tracy, I am sorry about your Rosie. Such a sad time when you need to let a beloved pet go. The house just feels wrong after that, doesn’t it? I hope you have lots of pictures of her to remember her by. Sorry.
Lesa, Rosemary, and Lindy: Thanks so much for your comments here. It is a sad time for us but it was better for Rosie for us to let go. We are thankful for the time we had with her.
I’m reading Three Days in June, Anne Tyler’s new novel about events before, during, and after a wedding. On the day before her daughter’s wedding, Gail learns she is being replaced in the next term by a younger woman as deputy principal at a private school. Irate, Gail quits and walks out immediately, intending to focus on her daughter for the time being. She hasn’t been home long when her ex-husband, Max, shows up, expecting (without an invitation) to stay with her until after the wedding. He has with him a sweet cat he is fostering, and he and the cat seem to partner in trying to persuade Gail to adopt the kitty. All seems well until their daughter, Debbie, shows up in tears to tell them she has learned something about her fiancé that makes it impossible for her to go through with the wedding. This is classic Anne Tyler, set in Baltimore as always, pulling the reader into the instantly relatable problems of the characters. No car chases, no menacing villains, just utterly real people with real-world dilemmas. Anne Tyler and I have grown old together, and I have read everything she’s published. This is yet another pitch-perfect gem of a book. As usual with her novels, it has gone straight onto the bestseller lists. Now more than ever, I think a lot of us need to dial down the tensions of the world and enjoy time with Anne Tyler characters.
What a beautiful, thoughtful review, Sandra. Saying you and Anne Tyler have grown old together. You’ve seen her develop as a writer over the years. Yes, perhaps right now is the time to settle in with one of her books.