Just to let you know I have an appointment this morning, so I won’t be around until late in the morning. But, I’m looking forward to seeing what you’re reading this week, and what you’ve been doing.
Even if I didn’t like Murder in the Grotto, I’m willing to take a chance on another cozy mystery that seems to involve ghosts.. I’m just starting Bodies and Battlements by Elizabeth Penney. So, I’m going to quote the blurb since I was finishing a book today instead of starting the new one.
The first in a new cozy mystery series by Elizabeth Penney investigates a suspicious murder in a haunted British castle-turned-bed and breakfast.
Herbalist Nora Asquith is delighted to welcome Ravensea Castle’s first guests to the picturesque village of Monkwell, Yorkshire. After a thousand years of ownership, her family has decided to convert the castle into a bed and breakfast. But when Hilda Dibble, a self-appointed local luminary, is found dead in the knot garden the next morning, Nora’s business is not only at risk―she’s a prime suspect.
Hilda had opposed the hotel plan every step of the way, and although she didn’t succeed in stopping the venture, her disagreements with Nora seem to only further her motive. One of Ravensea’s guests happens to be Detective Inspector Finlay Cole, who is new to the area and now finds himself with a murder case in his lap.
Nora and her actress sister Tamsyn decide to investigate for themselves. They look into the entangled dealings of their newly arrived guests, while also getting hints from Sir Percival, one of the castle ghosts. As they learn, Sir Percival’s tragic death centuries ago sheds light on present-day crimes. Surely they can get to the bottom of this mystery while keeping their new business afloat . .
What about you? What are reading this week? What have you been doing? I’ll check in as soon as I can.
David’s test results are back and the oncologist called today, two days before the scheduled phone call. Bone scan is clear. CT scan showed three small ‘nodules’ on the lungs. These could be from a past infection, or scarring, or they could be cancerous. PSA number is up again (even though it should be at zero). When it gets to a certain number the doctor can put in an order for a PET scan which will give more detailed information. So it’s a waiting game for a while. Sorry. I shouldn’t bore everyone with this. It’s just a bit all-consuming at the moment.
One book read:
DETECTIVE AUNTY by Uzma Jalaluddin
This is a cozy mystery with family relationships at the heart of it. It all comes down to family, and this story especially shines a light on the dynamics between mothers and daughters. But it’s also about community, grief and loss, friendships, marriage, and second chances.
Seventeen years ago, reeling after the sudden death of her husband while still trying to come to terms with a prior family tragedy, Kausar leaves her hometown of Toronto and moves to a much smaller city. She builds a new life there and has a good friend in her neighbour, May. That all changes when her daughter Sana phones to say she’s been arrested for the murder of the landlord of the shopping plaza where she operates a clothing store. Could she please come and look after her home and two granddaughters? So Kausar goes back to her old hometown, something she’d sworn never to do.
It soon becomes apparent that the police are not looking for any other suspects besides her daughter, and that if Sana’s name is to be cleared it will be up to Kausar herself to make it happen. Like a stereotypical South Asian interfering aunty she methodically asks questions, pays close attention and notices and remembers all sorts of little details, is relentless in her search for the truth, and bit by bit starts to piece it all together.
Reviews for this book have been overwhelmingly positive, but I was a bit disappointed in it. Mind you, I did have a busy week and read the book in fits and starts over several days so I don’t think I gave it the full attention it deserved. The mystery was well done, it kept me guessing, and I liked Kausar’s tenaciousness but didn’t really warm to most of the characters.
It’s the start of a series, but I’m not sure I liked it quite enough to want to read another.
Lindy, I am really sorry thinga continue to be so stressful. Sending a big hug to you and am keeping you and David in my thoughts. Take good care of yourselves.
You and David are in my thoughts Lindy. I’m glad to hear the bone scan was clear and I’m hoping these health issues work out well. Hugs
Lindy, you aren’t boring anyone. I know it helps to be able to talk about what you and David are going through. I hope you get some answers soon.
Lindy, You’re not boring anyone with the details. We’re all hoping for the best for you and David. Please keep us posted. Sending hugs!
Hi Lindy
Please talk about your husband as much as you want to, we are all here to support one another, that is what makes our Thursday meet-ups so great.
I think you’re doing amazingly well to read anything at all at the moment – my concentration goes completely the minute I am even slightly worried about anything. Thank you for telling us about Detective Aunty, I had never heard of it, though I’m sorry it was ultimatley disappointing.
I think of you very often, and I want to join everyone else in sending my very best wishes to you both.
Take care, Lindy, I had two nodules on my lungs in the past, they monitored them, and three months they were gone, Are they going to monitor the nodules. I don’t like PET Scans because I am not a fan of sitting still for a long time and my experience was the information from then was vague. I hope that they can help David soon. Please keep us in touch, we are not bored by the updates at all!
Lindy, I’m sorry you and your husband are going through this, and it’s largely a waiting game. I can definitely relate. As for Detective Aunty, I was disappointed in it, too. On a more positive note, I really appreciate your recommendation of I See You’ve Called in Dead (see my review). It was the highlight of my reading week for sure!
Lindy – so glad to hear that the bone scan was clear! But not having answers is so frustrating. Hoping for clarity in the near future for you both!
Lindy, you’re not boring anyone. We’re all concerned and hoping for the best. My sister has been going through something similar with endless tests and scans (kidney cancer) for a year now, and you always worry about the next test.
Good luck.
We are all thinking of you, Lindy.
Lindy, Thanks for keeping us updated on the results of David’s tests. I am sorry you and David are having to go through this.
I will look into Detective Aunty and I might give it a try.
Hi Lindy, sorry to hear about your husband. I’m in a similar wait and see game. My husband had a CT scan two weeks ago. This was the five-year marker one to declare him cancer free. But they found a mass on his kidney. They don’t know if it’s an infection or a tumor and we won’t know till they do the next CT scan in August. Sending you lots of hugs!
Hello, Lesa, and forgive me for not having written for a while. Bern’s English-language bookshop held a launch for SPLINTERED JUSTICE, the fourth book in my series, on Monday, and I’ve had a lot to do. I haven’t done too much reading, but I listened to M. W. Craven’s THE BOTANIST with Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw and enjoyed it very much. It’s the fifth in the series, and I’ve read the first four. The Poe books are always about serial killers, whom I’m not a great fan of, not only because of the excess violence (usually, at least) and the lack of rational motives. But I like Craven’s characters, and the plots are truly ingenious, so I will continue to read Washington Poe books. The next is THE MERCY CHAIR.
I’m flying to the US today for three weeks to see family and friends, and I’ve brought JAMES by Percival Everett for the airplane. I’m looking forward to reading something that has gotten so much attention.
I too enjoy reading M. W. Craven’s stories. I’ve read a couple in the Washington Poe series and fortunately remember the detective rather than the crimes. They are a bit difficult to find here, the ones I’ve read have been via Kindle purchases.
Congratulations on another book shop launch!
Hi Kim, Congratulations on another book launch! I hope it went well, and you enjoyed it!
Safe travels!
We’ve been on the weather roller coaster. Upper 80’s a week ago. 60 on Saturday (if that), and back to 90 today. I think we are leaving the coolish (for us) weather behind until fall. At least I hope so. I’m ready!
I’m not between books at the moment, but I still want to talk about the book I finished up on Tuesday. I actually wound up with two copies of THERE’S NO MURDER LIKE SHOW MURDER by M. S. Greene. I bought the Kindle version when it was on sale back in December. Then I forgot I’d done that and bought the hardcover at Malice last month. I took that as a sign I should read it. And I’m so glad I did. It’s set at a regional theater house. The main character is the head of costumes, and she gets involved when their diva of a leading man is killed one night. It had a strong mystery and was just fun overall.
Now, I’m working on HOME IS WHERE THE MURDER IS, the second Hometown Mystery from Rosalie Spielman. The main character’s best friend is the main suspect in the murder of a woman claiming to be a relative. It was a little slow to get going, but I’m expecting it to really pick up now that the groundwork has been laid.
I hope you have nice weather (80s or so) for the foreseeable future, Mark. My kind of weather.
Oh, I enjoyed There’s No Murder Like Show Murder. I like to at least try mysteries set in the world of theater.
I’m currently reading Joe College by Tom Perrotta – I generally enjoy his books. It’s about a young man – probably around 19 – who is from a working class family in NJ and attending college at Yale. So far, so good!
I never read any of Tom Perrotta’s books, Melissa. I’m glad you’re enjoying this one!
I am off early this morning to the chiropractor. Happy News that our 2nd grandchild arrived yesterday safe and sound – an 8 lb 13 oz baby boy.
This week I read “I see you’ve called in dead” based on reviews read here. I found it to be a book that reminds us to live intentionally and to celebrate those that pass. I enjoyed the message and the audio reader and the bits of humor. I did start to lose patience with Bud’s lack of self motivation, however.
Enjoy the day!
Congratulations on the new grandson, Mary! I hope you’re close enough to be able to see him soon.
Somewhere or another, I have a copy of I See You’ve Called in Dead. I’m going to have to look for it.
I devoted yesterday to running errands on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year (82!) so far. But good reading week overall.
First, two nonfiction reads. From 2010, THE SOUND OF A WILD SNAIL EATING by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. When an illness keeps her bedridden, the author examines the rewards of closely observing nature as the snail adapted and persevered. It’s a very small book, but packed full of information and healing. The other, WISDOM FROM THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES. A collection of passages from the original book by Peter Wohlleben illustrated with paintings of forests and trees from around the world. Beautiful book. (and perfect to have on-hand while waiting for an appointment)
BITTERFROST a “gritty drama”, the first in a crime thriller series from author Bryan Gruley. Feisty defense attorney Devyn Payne faces off against veteran detective Garth Klimmek as they work to solve a vicious double homicide in their small, icy town of Bitterfrost. Underwater smuggling, fueding families & hockey – not a combination you often see.
AGONY HILL by Sarah Stewart Taylor. The first in her
Bethany, Vermont Mystery series. Darker, but less violent than the author’s Maggie D’arcy Mystery series. I really enjoy the small town setting with the depth of understanding and a wonderful cast of characters. Reviewed here last year, the second in the series is due out this August.
To finish the week, I just started a new nonfiction THE CRAZIES [The Cattleman, The Wind Prospector, and a War Out West] The story of a modern range war between a struggling fifth-generation rancher and the billionaires next door.
You did have a good reading week, MM!
I’m looking forward to Sarah Stewart Taylor’s next book. Kaye Barley says it’s a good one!
We had three days of good weather so we headed out to PA. We visited The Michener Art Museum, Longwood Gardens, a couple of used bookstores, and had a couple of nice dinners out. We’ve been going to Longwood for years so it’s a nice spur of the moment trip – all we need is a room.
I only finished one book. Fifty Miles From Tomorrow: A Memior of Alaska and the Real People. I’m going to quote the book blurb:
Nunavut tigummiun!Hold on to the land! It was just fifty years ago that the territory of Alaska officially became the state of Alaska. But no matter who has staked their claim to the land, it has always had a way of enveloping souls in its vast, icy embrace. For William L. Iggiagruk Hensley, Alaska has been his home, his identity, and his cause. Born on the shores of Kotzebue Sound, twenty-nine miles north of the Arctic Circle, he was raised to live the traditional, seminomadic life that his Iñupiaq ancestors had lived for thousands of years. It was a life of cold and of constant effort, but Hensley’s people also reaped the bounty that nature provided. In Fifty Miles from Tomorrow, Hensley offers us the rare chance to immerse ourselves in a firsthand account of growing up Native Alaskan. There have been books written about Alaska, but they’ve been written by Outsiders, settlers. Hensley’s memoir of life on the tundra offers an entirely new perspective, and his stories are captivating, as is his account of his devotion to the Alaska Native land claims movement. As a young man, Hensley was sent by missionaries to the Lower Forty-eight so he could pursue an education. While studying there, he discovered that the land Native Alaskans had occupied and, to all intents and purposes, owned for millennia was being snatched away from them. Hensley decided to fight back. In 1971, after years of Hensley’s tireless lobbying, the United States government set aside 44 million acres and nearly $1 billion for use by Alaska’s native peoples. Unlike their relatives to the south, the Alaskan peoples would be able to take charge of their economic and political destiny. The landmark decision did not come overnight and was certainly not the making of any one person. But it was Hensley who gave voice to the cause and made it real. Fifty Miles from Tomorrow is not only the memoir of one man; it is also a fascinating testament to the resilience of the Alaskan ilitqusiat, the Alaskan spirit.
Sandy, That sounds like such a nice trip. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
And, Fifty Miles from Tomorrow sounds fascinating. I’m glad Alaska’s native peoples were able to get something from the U.S. government. That’s so rare.
I have been doing the chair exercise once a week downstairs in our retirement apartment in hopes that it will prepare me for probable PT. I have to take a Tylenol after because of pain.I t has become a fight to be able to move!
I won an Advance Review Copy from GoodReads of Dogged Pursuit by David Rosenfelt, which is just as good as a box of chocolates. It is a prequel to books that he has already ready, I like to think of it as backstory. I am really enjoying it!
Carol, try taking the Tylenol about 45 minutes before you exercise. That’s what they told my mom to do when ever she had physical therapy and she said it made a big difference
Oh, Carol. I like Sandy’s advice. I hope that helps!
Good morning, all. As a former NY DJ used to say, this is “a real nothing little day.” Normal temperature should be 73 but today will be nearly 20 degrees colder, windy and rainy. We never get nor’easters this time of year, but, hello! Good thing there’s no such thing as climate change, right?
We did see GYPSY on Saturday and Audra McDonald was as spectacular as advertised. She is the fifth Mama Rose we’ve seen, and Jackie said she “blew the others away” with her vocal range. We have another musical this week.
To books, then. Jackie did really like the latest Emily Henry book, GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE. Now she is reading ANGEL BETRAYED (book 2 of 4) by Cynthia Eden, in her Fallen Angels series.
I talked about Long Bright River by Liz Moore last week. I did finish it last Thursday. Now Jackie has signed up for Peacock, so we can see the miniseries version being shown there. For anyone interested, by the way, there is currently – until May 30 – a sale where you can get the Peacock streaming service for $24.99 for a YEAR – $2 a month.
I read an article about siblings last week that talked about writer Lauren Groff (whose younger sister was a two time Olympian triathlete). I had previously had Groff’s Delicate Edible Birds short story collection out of the library but didn’t get around to it. This time I read it. I thought it was a little uneven, but there were some interesting stories. She grew up in Cooperstown, New York, home of the MLB Hall of Fame, which does not sound like a fun place. I am currently reading another collection edited by Anne Perry, Death By Dickens, with a clear theme (I’d think). The first story I read was one of the few short stories by my friend Bill Crider I hadn’t read, “Mr. Pickwick vs. The Body Snatchers” (Bill was a Pickwick fan), which was a lot of fun.
I’ve known (though mostly as a fan, not a friend) humor writer Dave Barry for a long time. (I have a postcard from him from 1997.) I’ve contributed to his blog for as long as he has had it going. In 2005 we actually went to the AARP Convention in Las Vegas to see him speak (and met him for the first time), and I’ve gone to several of his book signings over the years, as well as two performances of The Rock Bottom Remainders, the “rock group” consisting of Dave Stephen King, Amy Tan and other well known writers. I’ve read all of his non fiction books and some of the fiction ones – favorites include DAVE BARRY’s BOOK OF BAD SONGS, DAVE BARRY TURNS 40 and DAVE BARRY TURNS 50. There was no way I wouldn’t read his new Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass: How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up. Of course, I knew a lot of the stories in this pretty complete memoir already, but even so I learned quite a few new things, as well as just enjoying Dave’s outlook on life. Good for what ails you, especially in these troubled times.
I’ve read all of Jeffrey Siger’s Chief Insp. Andreas Kaldis’s Greek-set series, most of which take place on one or another of the Greek islands. The latest is Not Dead Yet, and frankly, it was a disappointment (to me). Yes, the usual team is here, but, first, no beautiful Greek isles. But the main problem is the protagonist, a horrible man not worth saving, other than out of self-interest. There is a plane crash, and the obvious target, powerful and ruthless gangster Dimitris Onofrio, somehow survives. Since the plane was leased from a company owned by Kaldis’s wife and father in law, he has to find out who is responsible, so Onofrio does not come after his family. The best thing I can say for it is, its short and moves quickly, but I didn’t find it representative of most of the better books in the series.
Up next: the new Cara Hunter book.
Jeff, I have to admit I’ve been disappointed in a couple of Siger’s recent books. I see his next one will not be in the series.
Now, I need to know what musical you’re going to see this week.
Tell Jackie thank you. I’m looking forward to Great Big Beautiful Lie, but it might be forever until I get it from the library.
We’re seeing Stephen Sondheim’s OLD FRIENDS, the collection of 40 Sondheim songs, starring Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga.
Am watching it on Peacock now – thanks for the tip!
Good morning! It was that rare week when I had three game mornings (Rummikub and two card games) in a row, and now I’ve been invited to sub in another game tomorrow. I brought the food for one of the games, and my homemade pimiento cheese spread and fudge were particular successes. Today is Toastmasters, as usual. I’ll be doing a Costco run this morning, but I need to spend some time doing things around the house! I can’t believe it’s the last week of school for my grandkids. This summer, each will be enjoying two separate weeks of “camps”–soccer, gymnastics, coding, and musical theatre. I can’t wait to hear about those and to see the musical theatre production at the end of the week. Here’s what I read this week:
From the title and the synopsis, I expected Kathy Wang’s THE SATISFACTION CAFÉ to be about just that–a café where patrons can sit down, enjoy some sweets or Chinese dishes, and engage their choice of disparate hosts in a satisfying conversation. I found that premise fascinating, but unfortunately, it didn’t come to fruition until the book was about 70% complete. Mostly the story is a character study of Joan, who moves from Taiwan to California to attend grad school at Stanford. She has a brief first marriage, then a much longer one with a much older man, has a son and adopts a daughter. Her story is told in third-person narrative in a matter-of-fact style, and the same is true for her children and other characters. Even the moments that should be the most emotional didn’t elicit any emotion from me. I think the author missed an opportunity to expand on the Satisfaction Cafe idea and explore the lives and desires of the panoply of subordinate characters who seek fulfillment there. Sadly, this book just wasn’t for me. (July)
John Kenney’s I SEE YOU’VE CALLED IN DEAD is a sparkling gem of a book and one I will remember for a long time. Forty-four-year-old Journalist Bud Stanley’s life hasn’t been going very well lately. Still trying to recover from a bad breakup two years earlier, Bud is suffering through disastrous dates and making careless mistakes in his job as an obituary writer. Fueled by too much alcohol one evening, he writes his own obituary–full of hilarious exaggerations and outright fabrications–and mistakenly releases it for the world to see. His employer wants to fire him, but first they have to figure out how to change his employee status from dead to alive. In the meantime, Bud starts to attend strangers’ funerals at the suggestion of a quirky new female friend, shares experiences with his paraplegic landlord, and forges a unique relationship with a precocious 8-year-old neighbor. With luminous prose sprinkled with Bud’s gentle snark, and with characters that will pierce your heart, the author creates the story of a man who is trying to navigate life and come to terms with death. His musings and repartee are never preachy nor suicidal–they are real and thought-provoking. Besides Bud, I loved the character of Tim, who had picked him over many other contenders to live in his lovely house when Bud normally couldn’t have afforded to rent in such a nice neighborhood. Leo, his young neighbor, is wise beyond his years yet authentic as an 8-year-old. And Tuan, his eccentric coworker, and Howard, the boss who fired him, are surprisingly supportive. This is that rare book that amazed and inspired me, entertained me, brought me to tears, and encouraged me to find and treasure all the special moments that make life worth living. Thank you, Lindy, for recommending it.
In THE WORLD’S GREATEST DETECTIVE AND HER JUST OKAY ASSISTANT by Liza Tully, Olivia Blunt tires of her fact checking job and is thrilled to land a coveted position as assistant to private detective Aubrey Merritt. At first she is relegated mostly to administrative duties, but things heat up as the women are called away to Vermont’s Lake Champlain resort area to investigate a fatal fall that has been designated a suicide but may be something quite different. Olivia is learning from the exacting, humorless Merritt and begins to sharpen her analytical and investigative skills, but her eagerness to prove herself leads her to situations that put her in danger. It’s an interesting case, well developed with many suspects, but it requires a lengthy (too long?) scene toward the end of the book where Merritt presents the investigation step-by-step and confirms the guilty parties to the victim’s family and friends. I was entertained by the book, which appears to be the first in a series, and I’m hoping that the two main characters will be fleshed out in future series entries. We don’t yet know enough about them and their histories to be fully engaged. The title is attention-grabbing but seems misleading–why is Merritt the “world’s greatest detective”–we haven’t seen any proof–and why is Olivia “just okay” (after all, she is new at this). I would also like to see more about Olivia’s actor fiance, Trevor, and their relationship. It’s a solid mystery, although devoid of much emotion, and debut author Liza Tully has the potential to make it more appealing. (July)
Margie! I can’t believe it’s a last week of school either.
Sounds as if you had a good week with friends. And, I’d look forward to the musical theatre production, too.
A second review of I See You Called in Dead. I’ll have to check it out.
Happy Thursday, all!
i just love a good ghost story!
and Alyson Richman has written one.
Description from NetGalley –
“A ghost in a library. A story waiting to be told.
The Missing Pages is a rich, lyrical novel that reminds us that books are as eternal as the soul.
1912: Harry Widener, a promising and passionate book collector, boards theTitanic holding tight to a priceless volume he’s just purchased in London. After catastrophe strikes the ship, Harry’s last known words are that he must return to his cabin to retrieve his latest treasure. Neither the young man nor the book are ever seen again. Honoring her son’s memory, Harry’s mother builds the Harry Widener Memorial Library at Harvard to house his extensive book collection and ensure his legacy.
Decades later, Violet Hutchins, a Harvard sophomore recovering from her own great loss, is working as a page at the Widener Library. When mysterious things begin happening at the library, Violet wonders if Harry Widener’s ghost is trying to communicate with her, seeking Violet to uncover a long-buried secret that the ardent young Harry took with him to the grave.
For fans of The Midnight Library and The Book Thief, bestselling author, Alyson Richman has written a love story, a ghost story, and an elegy to the healing power of books.”
Oh, thank you, Kaye! The Missing Pages sounds like a book I should read!
Good afternoon from Aberdeenshire.
We’ve been having some great weather, though today seems to be the start of less sun and more rain…On Tuesday Nancy and I had a lovely walk at Garlogie, a tiny village a few miles from here. The walk goes through farmland and then woods, and has a fabulous view of the hills. We were absolutely baking and when I got back to my car it felt like a sauna.
We do, really, need rain, as everything is tinder dry here. Even the Dee, which is a wide and mighty river (though not by US standards – it’s hardly the Mississippi!) is as low as low; rocks are exposed that I’ve never seen before, and I have lived in this area on and off for over 30 years.
We are being urged to put out water for wildlife; a hedgehog rescue posted a video of a little hog who was brought into them just in time; the lady said she thought he would never stop drinking, he was so desperate. So I have water out in my own garden and in the communal gardens opposite the house, and Anna has put dishes out in Edinburgh. I’ve never seen a hedgehog near either house, but there are plenty of other little creatures who could probably do with a drink.
Since I last managed to contribute here I have been to Edinburgh and back, and also to Glasgow to see a an all-girl punk band called Panic Shack. This took place at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, a legendary Glaswegian venue to which we had never been. I had imagined it as a seedy cellar somewhere, but it turned out to be part of one of the beautiful buildings in the city’s West End. Inside was rather less smart, but the staff were so lovely that we felt very comfortable. The concert was brilliant fun.
I have also been to a talk by a group called Our Union Street, who are attempting to regenerate the main street in Aberdeen. Many Aberdonians never stop moaning about the state of the city centre, but if only they would look around they’d see that so many initiatives are gaining ground; there are lots of plans and ideas, and many very positive projects. As the speaker at this talk said, we have to look forward instead of back – no city centre is magically going to be returned to the way it was 20 years ago, and there are reasons why change has happened. The important thing is to plan for the future, and for what people really want and need now.
I also went to meet with the Community Outreach person for the Belmont Cinema – an independent cinema that closed very suddenly a few years ago when the Filmhouse, its sister organisation in Edinburgh, failed. There are people doing great work to get the Belmont re-opened; their intention is to move away from the designation ‘arts cinema’, which no doubt stops many people from coming through the door, and instead to rebrand it is a community venue for everyone.
BOOKS!
I have decided (against my better judgement) to do 20 Books of Summer again, but to choose only very easy reads. So I have made a list that incorporates books for Reading the Meow (a challenge that I really enjoy) and Paris in July (ditto), plus some review books that I should’ve dealt with ages ago. At the moment my list is:
FICTION:
GIRL FROM THE SOUTH by Joanna Trollope (about a 30 year old from Charleston who comes to work in London)
IN THE VALLEY OF THE SUN by Andy Davidson (a review book that I received so long ago that I can’t remember what it’s about…)
THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES by Agatha Christie (I am following a book podcast in which one of the podcasters is reading all of the Hercule Poirot books in order – I think this is the first.)
OCTAVIA by Jilly Cooper – one of Jilly’s early (and much shorter) novels, written before she entered her ‘bonkbuster’ stage (eg Rivals, Riders, The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous, Pandora, Wicked…and many more.) Before all of that she wrote a few books with girls’ names as the titles, I think HARRIET was the first. They still inevitably feature wealthy people and aristocratic goings-on, but she is such a good writer that all of them are a lot of fun, as well as often addressing real issues. IN HARRIET, the heroine has to leave university when she finds herself accidentally pregnant and her boyfriend promptly dumps her. She goes to work as a nanny for a short tempered widower, who nevertheless allows her to bring her own child along. You can probably guess the rest…
THE CAT WHO SAW RED by Lilian Jackson Braun – the next one in the long series featuring newspaper reporter Qwilleran and his Siamese cats Yum Yum and Koko.
THE MOURNING NECKLACE by Kate Foster – Fosterhas now sent me this one, Foster’s latest, which is set in 18th century Edinburgh.
MILIONS by Frank Cottrell Boyce. I loved Cottrell Boyce’s FRAMED, and this is another children’s book that I am sure will also appeal to adults, as again he is such a good writer, and creates such wonderful characters.
THE SILENT KILLER by Hazel Holt – another in Holt’s series about Sheila Malory, retired village resident and amateur detective. Hazel Holt was one of Barbara Pym’s best friends and her first biographer; I enjoy this gentle series (and Sheila also has a Siamese cat!) In this one a widower is found dead from carbon monoxide poisoning – was it an accidental death or was it something more sinister? (Guess!!)
16 LIGHTHOUSE ROAD by Debbie Macomber. This is the first in Macomber’s Cedar Cove series. I appreciate that she is hardly a ‘literary’ writer, but I enjoy a Macomber novel every once in a while. I liked her Blossom Street series, and have been meaning to try the Cedar Cove one for ages.
CAUGHT OUT IN CORNWALL by Janie Bolitho – the very last in Bolitho’s Rose Trevalyn series. I do think these have, on the whole, improved with each book, but once I have finished this one I will be able to donate the complete series to the charity bookshop.
MOG THE FORGETFUL CAT, and THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA, both by Judith Kerr, and MAISIE GOES TO GLASGOW by Aileen Paterson – these are all children’s books about felines, and I am counting them as one choice, as they are all picture books, I’ve read them all before (countless times, to my children), and I’ll get through them very quickly, but they’ll be good for Reading the Meow. I’m interested in how many children’s books are about cats – we seem to have lots of them, including the MEGAMOGS series, THE CAT IN THE HAT, SIX-DINNER SID and SLINKY MALINKI.
NON-FICTION
HOW TO BE A HEROINE (or What I’ve Learned from Reading Too Much) by Samantha Ellia
THE OBSERVER BOOK of FOOD
LONG AGO IN FRANCE by MFK Fisher
THE ARTIST’S WAY by Julia Cameron – I’ve dipped into this in the past but never read it properly.
CHEWING THE FAT by Jay Rayner – a collection of the former Guardian food critic’s newspaper columns
DIARY OF AN ORDINARY SCHOOLGIRL by Margaret Forster (the acclaimed novelist’s real diary, with a foreword by her widower, Hunter Davies.)
PLAYING TO THE GALLERY by Grayson Perry – a short book by the artist who has become something of a ‘national treasure’. He’s written fairly extensively but Playing to the Gallery is mostly about the commodification of art, the various ways in which it can be valued, and what the imposition of those values means for art itself.
BIBLIOMANIAC by Robin Ince. I attended Ince’s event at the Edinburgh Fringe last year – he talked about his UK tour of one hundred UK bookshops, the people he met and talked to and the thoughts he had. The project was undertaken when his stadium tour with his co-podcaster Brian Cox was cancelled in the pandemic. He is a wonderful speaker, very kind and empathetic whilst also very entertaining.
FRENCH LESSONS by Peter Mayle (author of A Year in Provence.) This book is subtitled ‘Adventures with Knife, Fork and Corkscrew.’ Looks like fun, or, at the very least, an easy read.
I’m actually cheating and starting this challenge early, as I rarely get more than one or two books read in August, thanks to the Edinburgh festivals. So I’ve recently read Jay Rayner’s CHEWING THE FAT, which I loved. He’s far more succinct that today’s food writers, and he has strong opinions, many of which I agree with – eg he can’t abide fussy garnishes all over food, tables that expensive restaurants expect you to hand back after 2 hours, tasting menus, afternoon teas, Christmas (for which he proposes a brilliant set of ‘commandments’ – eg ‘thou shalt not mistake Nigella, Mary or Jamie (all famous TV cooks in the UK) for the Lord Thy God. Those Christmas specials are only TV programmes. They’re entertainment, not a blueprint for how your Christmas is meant to be’, and ‘Thou shalt not always make thine own. There’s no shame in buying ready-made.’)
I also read Grayson Perry’s PLAYING TO THE GALLERY, and again I enjoyed his sharp and funny observations and his puncturing of much of the nonsense surrounding ‘contemporary art. And as you might expect, he incudes some excellent drawings.
Now I’m onto Joanna Trollope’s GIRL FROM THE SOUTH, but I haven’t got very far with that one yet. Her novels are wildly variable – I loved the early ones, but some of the later books have been very disappointing. This one is somewhere in the middle, so we shall see.
Tomorrow David and I are going to have a day out on the north coast. Now that he is retired you’d think we’d easily find a date that suited us both, but in fact we’re both so busy that we had to book! It’s full-on golf season here now, and what with that, hockey (not ice), squash competitions, art class, Pilates and music festivals, he’s every bit as occupied as I am.
Our son and his wife are currently in Connecticut. Naomi’s brother and sister-in-law, with whom they are staying in Hartford, bought them Broadway tickets for their wedding anniversary, so they went into New York, did a bike tour, sailed on the Staten Island Ferry, and then went to see BOOK OF MORMON, which they loved. Next week they are moving on to see Naomi’s sister in Vancouver.
Time for me to shut up now!
Have a good week everyone.
You’re certainly keeping busy, Rosemary! We saw BOOK OF MORMON on its first run here in 2018, and it was indeed a lot of fun.
Since we finished watching REBUS (the Ken Stott version; haven’t had the new reboot yet), we’ve added a rewatch of PRIME SUSPECT to our Saturday Night Brit Night. Man, everybody smoked then (1991)! Ans some of the men’s hairdos were pretty bad. We’re up to the final series (#10 of SPOOKS (MI-5 here), so will have to add another British crime show to our lineup soon. Most of the new shows we’re been watching lately have been French or Scandinavian rather than British.
I enjoyed every bit of today’s post, Rosemary, beginning with your walks and activities, and then the list of books for your reading challenges.
As Jeff said, you’re certainly keeping busy! I hope you’re enjoying all of it! Sending hugs!
Rosemary, I like your 20 Books of Summer List. I have done one also, and hope that I can get them all read. Your list has a lot of nonfiction. I could never read that many nonfiction books, even in a year.
I have one Agatha Christie on my list: AT BERTRAM’S HOTEL, a Miss Marple mystery. I took a big chance and put two nonfiction books on my list: THE DAY THE WORLD CAME TO TOWN by Jim DeFede and PERPLEXING PLOTS (Popular Storytelling and the Poetics of Murder) by David Bordwell.
It’s been pretty warm here. I feel like I’ve been busy every second, but I can’t really remember doing anything out of the ordinary.
This week I read:
The Great Healthcare Disruption by Marschall Runge; A doctor describes the disruption AI and high tech will bring to health care. Unfortunately, the author describes four goals for the health care industry, and I’m pretty sure the people in charge of the health care industry share none of those goals.
Dream From Communism by Ian Christoff; Short stories about how corrupt communism was in Romania. It doesn’t go into half of it.
Wicked, Loving Murder by Jane Haddam; A writer is dragooned into preparing articles for a fly by night publisher for a magazine that gives wannabe writers bad advice. Some guy is murdered in her office and hidden in a wardrobe. Very Manhattan. It’s amazing how little that place has seemed to change in the 50 years since Woody Allen started making movies set there.
Nothing special going on here. This weekend we will go to the Santa Barbara I Madonnari Street Painting Festival, which is an annual three-day festival, held on Memorial Day Weekend at the Old Mission Santa Barbara. We have been going every year for many years. This weekend we will go on Sunday, the middle day, and then return on Tuesday, the day after the festival shuts down, so we can see all the completed paintings without all the crowds.
The book you are reading now, BODIES AND BATTLEMENTS, has a great cover. I hope it is a good read.
I just finished reading a book by a Canadian writer, A MEDITATION ON MURDER by Susan Juby. This is the second cozy mystery starring Helen Thorpe, a butler who is hired to help a young woman who is part of a group of internet influencers. The protagonist was formerly a Buddhist nun, and her attitudes and thoughts were a big part of my enjoyment of the book. Also the setting in Vancouver and then later in a more rural part of British Columbia. I loved the book, but it is not your standard mystery.
Last night, Glen finished reading HIGH: A JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIMALAYA THROUGH PAKISTAN, INDIA, BHUTAN, NEPAL AND CHINA by Erica Fatland. He has picked out his next read — IN THE DARK: TALES OF TERROR BY E. NESBIT. I am only familiar with E. Nesbit as the author of THE RAILWAY CHILDREN and other children’s books, but she also wrote supernatural short stories, other fiction, and poems.