Good morning, or afternoon, whenever you’re reading this. Our weather has been a little cooler, and my schedule has been light. Today, though, I have another Thursday morning appointment, so I won’t be around until early afternoon. So, tell me about your week, please, and what you’ve been reading. I’ll catch up when I get home.
I’m reading Something Whiskered, the seventeenth Cat in the Stacks mystery by Miranda James. Charlie Harris and Helen Louise have been married for two months when they take a belated honeymoon to Ireland. They’re hoping to celebrate the 100th birthday of Finn O’Brady, Baron O’Brady who is related to Helen Louise. His grandson, Lorcan, runs the family farm and bed-and-breakfast. But, as Helen Louise drives up to Castle O’Brady, a body flies from the roof of the castle and lands in front of the car. It’s Finn. Did he jump or was he pushed? Lorcan asks Charlie to look into it. The couple, along with the Maine Coon cat, Diesel, are on the case.
Ireland! My favorite country, so of course I’m enjoying the setting. And, there are apparitions in the castle, including Fergal, a ghost cat that Diesel and Charlie can see. Despite the death, I’m enjoying the setting, story, and, of course, two cats.
What about you? What are you reading this week?
I love the cover for Something Whiskered!
The most exciting thing that happened this week is that the painting we ordered (print of the original) arrived, which meant David and I spent hours rearranging things in the living room. The picture looked better hung over the bookcase we had in the dining room so we had to move that one to the living room and put the one from the living room into the dining room. I have discovered that books don’t seem too many when they’re nicely corralled in the bookcase, but take them out and it suddenly looks like four times the amount. It was a lot of work to move all of them, but I think the end result was worth it. The painting is by Adam Young, who lives in Newfoundland. I like so many of his paintings, and the one we got is called ‘Salvage’, in case any of you might like to look up either the artist or the painting.
On to books read:
A WITCH’S GUIDE TO MAGICAL INNKEEPING by Sangu Mandanna
This is a cozy/paranormal/fantasy
from the book cover:
‘Sera Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great-aunt Jasmine from the (very recently) dead, lost most of her magic, befriended a semi-villainous talking fox, and was exited from her Guild. Now she (slightly reluctantly and just a bit grumpily) helps Jasmine run an enchanted inn in Lancashire … and longs for a future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power…
Enter Luke Larsen, a handsome and icy magical historian, who arrives on a dark autumn evening and just might know how to unlock the spell’s secrets. Luke … has absolutely no interest in getting involved … and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper past his walls, so no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sera with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing.’
The book is whimsical and gentle; a feel-good story about a second chance at finding a part of you that was lost, and the people in your life you call family who all have something to contribute to your quest in their own well-meaning ways, and the magic of life itself in large and small ways.
I enjoyed the first two thirds of the book a lot; loved meeting each of the characters; and their interactions with each other were amusing and touching. Despite this being a fantasy it all felt believable. Even the villains were suitably and believably villainous. To me the last third of the book became a little too sweet and syrupy, the characters felt a bit too-good. Although the rooster was quite a wonderful addition, and the book was worth reading for him alone. While I did enjoy the book, I think I preferred another book by the same author- The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.
FINDING FLORA by Elinor Florence
This book has been mentioned here before, but I’m sorry I don’t remember who it was who talked about it.
This is a most compelling historical fiction novel, set in the early 1900s in the province of Alberta in western Canada. With an easy, readable style the pages flew by. We are introduced to Flora on page one as she and her husband are on a train to the west, at the point just after she’s discovered that her husband of only one month is in truth a horrid, abusive man. Desperate to escape from him she risks her life by jumping from the moving train.
Now she needs to ‘disappear’ so that her husband can’t find her, should he attempt to do so. Because of a kindness from someone she meets, Flora ends up being able to claim a homestead on the prairie. She knows nothing about farming but she has three years in which to meet the government’s requirements to make the homestead viable before she can receive full title to the land.
Her three nearest neighbours are also women – a widow with three children, two American women, and a Metis woman. Nothing is easy for any of these women. They need to learn how to farm, and quickly at that; the weather can be brutal; and they need to deal with the fact that many people look upon them as landgrabbers who are stealing land from the British men. On top of that, because they are women they’re not taken seriously and have more official hoops to jump through than any man ever would. There’s also the ever-present threat of Flora’s husband coming after her and the fear of what will happen if he finds her. They do get a bit of help from some surprisingly unexpected sources, which makes the very harsh life of these pioneer lady farmers a trifle easier. But there’s always more trouble just around the corner.
The author does a wonderful job of showing us a great deal of fascinating history. And I do mean showing; it’s just worked naturally into the story and not once did I feel I was having a history lesson. Except that’s exactly what I got, only it was delivered in the best way possible.
I enjoyed the book immensely. If I were to have a quibble, it would be that even though events were tense and pulse-pounding, or heartfelt and sweet, it did feel that I was reading about these things happening to the characters, rather than experiencing them with them. I’m not explaining it well but there could maybe have been more depth to characters and events. Just a quibble though, because it’s otherwise a great book and I loved reading it.
Thanks for this, Lindy. I loved the Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, so I’ll try to temper my expectations for this book.
Lindy, I ordered the witchy book you mention and just received it, having loved the first in the series. Based on your review, I think I will enjoy it and may not mind the positivity in the last part, but we’ll see! Thanks for your review.
Lindy, I looked up Adam Young and really liked his work. I’d never heard of him before – thanks for telling us about him.
Your painting is beautiful, Lindy!
I agree. Roo Roo was a great character in A Witches Guide to Magical Innkeeping. I thought armor wearing Nicholas was great as well.
I will look for Finding Flora.
Thank you Sharon. I love the painting.
I liked Nicholas in the book as well; I felt like I wanted to give him a hug!
Lindy, One more thing (sorry). I looked up the artist of your painting. He lives on Fogo Island. We watch a half hour program on Amazon prime called Still Standing with Jonny Harris. One of his episodes was Fogo Island. What an interesting place!
Thanks Sharon! I’ll have to search out that episode; sounds like something I’d quite enjoy watching.
Like Rosemary, I looked up Adam Young’s Salvage to see your painting. It must be a beautiful addition to your home. I love the colors and the story of it.
Thank you Lesa. When I look at it I instantly feel grounded and peaceful for some reason.
Lindy, the covers for this series have gotten better over the years.
Oh, Lindy! I love your painting! Art in a home is one of the things that makes it a home. ❤
I agree with you completely Kaye! A home must have books and it must have some art, and then it feels like a sanctuary to me.
The weather here has been really nice. I went to the Marysville Peach Festival. It had everything peach you can imagine, and probably some things you don’t imagine. Usually it’s about a zillion degrees, but this time it was only 85, and you felt like staying and listening to the music and lingering around instead of getting some peaches and getting gone.
This week I read:
Up Country by Nelson Demille; A pretty typical 90’s thriller about a middle aged Vietnam veteran returning to the country where he lost his innocence to see if he can track down a witness to a murder of an American soldier. You can see the end by page two.
Guess Who Didn’t Take A Nap by Rick Kirkman; I can’t get over how different the strip used to be.
The Killer Question by Janice Hallet; The owners of a pub run a trivia game. Someone is cheating, and there’s a murder, and at some point I was hoping Andy Capp would show up, but he didn’t.
Death in Amsterdam by Nicholas Freeling; This one gets a lot of praise, but I found it pretty lame. A horrid woman is murdered. Her former lover is the prime suspect, but the detective lets the guy hang around the case. It all comes down to something they should have done in the first place. If they ever had a crime wave in Amsterdam, these police would never even notice.
Kill Shot by JT Sawyer; Our buddy Kyle is buying a knife at a gun show, when some people claiming to be FBI agents want to talk to him. It does not go well for them, but Kyle’s on the run, The real FBI is involved. There’s art smuggling, terrorism, drones, explosives, neo-nazis, and I’m pretty sure the kitchen sink is involved, too.
I love your reviews Glen. They’re funny and they tell me everything I really need to know about the books, with just the right amount of info to decide whether or not I want to give them a try.
I agree Lindy, I always enjoy Glen’s reviews,even if I’ll never read the book, as they’re so witty.
Lindy,
Thank you!
Glen
All along, I’ve said what Lindy and Rosemary did. Glen, your reviews are succinct and fun.
And, a peach festival! I’ve been enjoying sweet, delicious peaches lately. I’m glad they had a good day for it.
Good morning. It’s been a busy week and I feel like I’ve been doing everything except reading. Last Friday we saw Sponge Bob the Musical. I wasn’t ever a fan of the cartoon but it turned out to be a fun show.
Sunday my mom turned 98 so my brother reserved the private dining room at her assisted living facility and we brought in Chinese food and had a little party for her. The family members who couldn’t come sent cards and a couple of presents so she had fun but by the time lunch was over she was ready for a nap.
Monday we had a contractor rip out a 1940s cast iron tub and put in a walk in shower stall. They promised a one day job and the guys were here for 13 hours but they did finish it. And as cleanly as they worked we still had dust from the demolition that got into other rooms so we had to clean the house the following day.
And we finally got nice weather yesterday so we went to an outdoor concert a couple of towns over. If it doesn’t get too hot, our town has a concert tonight. And then it’s supposed to be 100 and humid tomorrow.
I read The Book of Roisins, a short YA book about a girl who’s given a scrapbook that allows her to travel in time and meet all of the previous generations of women in her family who share her name.
And I’m currently trying to read Murder at the Mansion by Sheila Connolly.
That sounds like the perfect birthday celebration for your mom Sandy. I bet it was fun for her, even if she was tired by the end.
Are you happy with the shower stall? Huge difference from a cast iron tub!
Lindy, we love it. Neither of us used the tub and the walk in shower will be safer as we get older.
I love my walk-in shower, Sandy. It’s one reason I moved to this apartment complex. I wanted a walk-in.
Your mom’s birthday party sounds as if it was just enough.
Busy week! I can see why you haven’t read much.
Good morning – grandchildren arriving this weekend – first visit to our house. A 1 1/2 year old and 3 month old. Hoping for good weather and a good time!
This week I finished The Borgia Portrait (Venetian Mystery #2) by David Hewson. I listened to the audio version of this book and enjoyed the narration. I also enjoyed the history that comes with each of this author’s books. If you liked the movie National Treasure you will like this book. Majority of the book is a treasure hunt solving multiple clues that should eventually lead to the lost portrait of a nude Lucretia Borgia. While interesting, I’m not a fan of books where helpers consistently show up just in time to save the day/right the path/advance the story, which happens with some regularity in this book. But with that said, I would read another by this author.
Mary, have a fun weekend with your grandchildren! You might need a nap afterwards!
I know what you mean about characters who show up just in the nick of time
Hello, everyone. I’ve listened to and read several books this week that I’ve decided aren’t really worth mentioning. Right now, however, I’m in the middle of THE KILLING PLAINS, a debut mystery by Sherry Rankin that came out in February of this year. It’s selling brilliantly and, so far, I think it deserves to be. I have a feeling one or more of you may have already mentioned it–sorry I can’t remember.
It’s dangerous to praise a book too much when you’re only halfway through, but it’s hard to imagine how this book can end anything but well. Set in a small town in West Texas dominated by one family with a big business and a lot of influence, it is very well-written, with a realistic heroine who is the widow of one of the brothers in the influential family and has come back to the town from Houston to help her police-chief brother-in-law disprove that yet another brother-in-law murdered someone. The setting is striking, the investigation is gripping, and the characters all have big problems and yet make you care about them. I’ll let you know next week if the book finished well.
OK, Kim. You sold me on the Rankin book.
Kim, I know Kevin Tipple picked The Killing Plains as one of his favorites for the first half of the year. I read it, and just couldn’t care for the main character. I finished it, but it really wasn’t for me.
Our weather has been a little more temperate, though they are predicting 99 on Friday. We could use some rain too, which they are predicting for Friday and (especially)Sunday. Otherwise, it was a quiet week. Busier times are coming in August.
Books, then. I finished the Carl Jacobi SF MEGAPACK that I mentioned last time. This is NOT the Lovecraftian horror, but older, (yes) dated SF from the ’40s and ’50s I’d guess, pleasant enough for a retro read every now and then.
S. S. Van Dine, The Almost Perfect Crime: True Crime Featuring Philo Vance, With Other Stories is a new collection of much older stuff. Ogden Nash once famously wrote “Philo Vance needs a kick in the pance” and that is a statement I can agree with. The pretensions are pretty unbearable – I read one of the novels nearly 50 years ago and never had an interest in another. This book brings together 9 true crime pieces with the conceit of “Vance” explaining (in the most unbearable, g-droppin’ fashion possible) the Hall-Mills case as well as a number of true European crimes I’d never heard of. Next is a series of seven short stories published in 1916, a decade before the first Vance novel, as by Albert Otis. These are capers of the “crooks scamming worse crooks” manner, featuring some of the worst anti-Semitic stereotypes, as well as casual racism. The stories themselves are quite readable, if you can ignore the rest. Lastly, there are a few Vance comic strips. Not a book I would have chosen, for sure, but it was better than I feared.
I read the first two of Bruce Borgos’s series about Nevada Sheriff Porter Beck, so was always going to read his new one, The Blue Horse, despite a couple of negative comments I’ve read about it. If you liked the earlier books, you’ll probably like this one. I did. Beck (as he’s generally called) was in the military (obviously in Intelligence) for 20 years, but when his father retired as Sheriff after 40 years (he has Alzheimer’s), Beck was brought it to replace him in this huge but mostly empty county near Area 51. The main plot involves two murders (one of them incredibly grisly) surrounding a wild mustang round up. But there are other subplots, Canadian (!) Mafioso, a romantic subplot, Beck’s impending blindness from retinitis pigmentosa, and, since this is November 2020, the arrival of COVID.
After the last two Kate Burkholder books by Linda Castillo, particularly the last one, I was hoping this one got back to a more normal, less evil plot than burning people alive at the stake. So yes, that alone makes Rage better. As usual, the prologue has the murder of a young Amish man, and we have the rest of the book to discover what he did on his Rumspringa that would cause someone to shoot him to death. I raced through the first half of the book yesterday and I’m sure I will finish it today.
Jackie’s latest paranormal romance was her introduction to Ali Hazelwood, Bride, with the bride being a vampire and the groom a werewolf. Don’t ask me, but she really liked it a lot and said it had a good sense of humor. Now she’s reading the newest Christine Feehan, Thunder Game.
I am reading Edward Marston’s short story collection, Inspector Colebeck’s Casebook about his Railway Detective character.
Jeff, I have The Blue Horse here, but I continue to read other books. Happy to know you liked it. And, you’re right. Rage was better because it wasn’t so graphic. But, Kate continues to try to go it alone
Thank you! I can now cheerfully skip Philo Vance.
Yes, she did it again. By any real world standard, Kate “I don’t need to wait for no backup!” Burkholder would be dead, again, but since she’s the star of the show, so to speak, we know that isn’t going to happen. Still, I couldn’t help but think, “Good. This is what you deserve.”
Annoying.
Hi everyone! After mentioning last week that the Tana French mysteries were not as dark as I was expecting, there was too much suspense and grim content in the 4th Dublin Murder Squad mystery for me. I also gave up reading Sleep by Honor Jones, which didn’t grab me for whatever reason.
I am loving THE WHALEBONE THEATRE by Joanna Quinn from a few years ago, though. The writing is really evocative and lovely. I am not sure I can do it justice, so here is the description from the author’s website:
“ This is the story of an old English manor house by the sea, with crumbling chimneys, draping ivy and a library full of dusty books. It’s the story of the three children who grow up there, and the adventures
they create for themselves while the grown-ups entertain endless party guests.
This is the story of a whale that washes up on a beach, whose bones are claimed by a twelve-year-old girl with big ambitions and an even bigger imagination. An unwanted orphan who grows into an unmarriageable young woman, fiercely determined to do things differently.
But far away from the big house, as the children grow to adulthood, another story has been unfolding in the wings. And when the war finally takes centre stage, the siblings find themselves cast, unrehearsed, into roles they never expected to play.”
The Whalebone Theatre is one of my favourite books Trisha!
I am happy to hear that, Lindy! I had trouble doing anything else but finishing the book today, it was so good.
Trisha, I’m pleased to see you’re a reader who is willing to drop a book when it doesn’t work for you. There’s so many good ones out there. Why continue with one that isn’t for you?
Happy Thursday at Lesa’s, everyone!
After picking up and putting aside many books, I finally read two I enjoyed.
Park Avenue Summer by Renee Rosen – It’s 1965 and Cosmopolitan magazine’s brazen new editor in chief—Helen Gurley Brown—shocks America and saves a dying publication by daring to talk to women about all things off-limits…
New York City is filled with opportunities for single girls like Alice Weiss, who leaves her small Midwestern town to chase her big-city dreams and unexpectedly lands a job working for the first female editor in chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, Helen Gurley Brown.
For Alice, who wants to be a photographer, it seems like the perfect foot in the door, but nothing could have prepared her for the world she enters. Editors and writers resign on the spot, refusing to work for the woman who wrote the scandalous bestseller Sex and the Single Girl, and confidential memos, article ideas, and cover designs keep finding their way into the wrong hands. When someone tries to pull Alice into a scheme to sabotage her boss, she is more determined than ever to help Helen succeed.
While pressure mounts at the magazine, Alice struggles not to lose sight of her own dreams as she’s swept up into a glamorous world of five-star dinners, lavish parties, and men who are certainly no good. Because if Helen Gurley Brown has taught her anything, it’s that a woman can demand to have it all.
Edge by Tracy Clark – When a tainted drug starts claiming lives across the city, Detective Harriet Foster and her team race to track down the source…before it takes one of their own.
Chicago’s finest are scouring the city for a tainted new opioid making the rounds, but they’re coming up empty. With five people already dead—a college kid, a new mother, and three poker players—all they really know is the drug’s name: Edge. Where it’s coming from is still anyone’s guess.
Detective Harriet Foster doesn’t have time for guessing games. She needs answers. And when the next overdose hits Homicide where it hurts most, Harri is determined to get what she wants. But keeping her eyes squarely on the prize proves harder than expected.
Still reeling from her last case (and the stain of suspicion it left on her career), Harri finds herself at a tipping point. The drug isn’t the only edge she needs to worry about. If she can’t come back from her own, there’s no telling whether this investigation will lead to a satisfying conclusion…or her own demise.
Happy Thursday, Kaye! I really like Terry Clark’s books. The other one sounds right up your alley.
Good morning, friends! As Glen mentioned, the weather here in northern CA has been cooler than usual for the summer, which is certainly welcome. I’ve been able to walk every day, getting out there when the temp hits around 63, and it is lovely. On one walk I met a couple and stopped to talk about their dogs. They told me the woman’s mother ( a woman of a certain age like me) would be walking the dogs while they were traveling, and sure enough, I met her (recognizing her through the dogs) the following day, and we had a nice chat. She just moved in from Illinois, and I gave her my contact info so I could help her get acclimated to the location–what to do, where to go, etc. We live only a block or so apart, so I’m hoping this will work out nicely for both of us. Also, she loves musical theater!
Last weekend Nick and I hosted our grandkids for the evening, while their parents went to an event. We ordered from Shake Shack through Door Dash, which was a successful choice. We also played some indoor corn hole, one of the few “sports” at which I think I excel. The following night, we all went out for dinner for Nick’s belated half-birthday (a long story) at an upscale restaurant five minutes from my house, then went back to their house for a rowdy game of Aggravation (the card game, not the board game).
Here’s what I’ve been reading:
In REVENGE, SERVED ROYAL, the third book in Celeste Connally’s Regency-era Lady Petra Enquires series, Petra and a bevy of fellow aristocrats come together at Windsor Castle, where the royals have planned a week of upscale events. Petra’s main interest is in the patisserie competition, for which she is one of the judges and in which her own cook is one of the contestants. Other events include physical contests such as “tilting,” demonstrations of a wide variety of skills, and some scholarly presentations, not to mention a royal ball. But it’s not long before Sir Rufus, a fellow patisserie judge–Petra’s family’s private chef when she was a child and later the royal chef–is found strangled. Petra soon learns that Sir Rufus might not have been the wonderful fellow she thought she knew, as more than a few of the guests have nothing good to say about him and are now possible suspects in his murder. Anyone who has read the early books in the series knows that Lady Petra is a free spirit (rare for women of that era) who has vowed not to marry and does not hide her romantic relationship with a handsome paramour. She also often carries lock picks and a knife strapped to her legs under her skirt and is ready to risk potentially dangerous situations in her determination to keep her beloved aunt from becoming the prime suspect. In this third book, Lady Petra has evolved to become a multifaceted character who is entertaining, unique, and easy to root for. I also enjoyed the dollops of welcome humor, the spectacle of the celebrations, and the descriptions of the luscious dishes produced by the patisserie contestants. I am hoping there are more books in this captivating series. (November)
Sadly, AJ Pearce’s four-book Emmy Lake Chronicles series is ending, but with a highly affecting book. DEAR MISS LAKE is satisfying in many ways, but not without quite a bit of serious drama, as World War II is in its final years. Emmy has spent several years in charge of dispensing valuable advice as she responds to letters submitted to Woman’s Friend magazine by wives, widows, and single women who are trying to make it through tough times in England. Bombing has increased in London, so the magazine staff sets up both working and living accommodations for the summer in a large house in the countryside. Many of the characters with whom we have become acquainted over the span of the series are present, although Emmy’s husband has been summoned from his assignment in England to a place closer to the military action, which Emmy suspects may be in Holland. There are also major changes in store for her best friend, Bunty, for teenager Hester (the youngest magazine staffer), and for three children whose mother has died and whose father has been away in the military and not heard from for several years. At the same time, there are charming events such as a Christmas “Fayre” in which the whole staff and some new friends participate and a highly-anticipated wedding. Although I’m not particularly fond of WWII stories, I made an exception for this beautifully-told, uplifting, and heartfelt series with indelible characters and many emotional highlights. Side note: I appreciate the publisher who reminded me about this series by offering me a widget to read the book on NetGalley. I’m glad I didn’t miss it! (August)
In CROOKS, Lou Berney’s latest standalone novel. the author successfully incorporates both style and substance, leaving me thoroughly engrossed in the story and marveling over the pitch-perfect way in which it is told. The Mercurios are not your typical American family. From the time they meet and marry, Buddy and Lillian are involved in ways to make money that are not strictly legal, with their crowning success a disco club they open in Oklahoma. They welcome their five children into the family business from an early age by giving them some of the less dangerous tasks in the club, and each child reacts in a different way. The book follows each child in turn as they reach adulthood, revealing how their childhood experiences influence what how they conduct the rest of their lives. Ray, the oldest, is clearly the muscle. As an adult, he works for a low-level gangster, never backing down from a difficult or lethal assignment. Jeremy has star quality, encouraged especially by his mother to make his fortune with his looks and charisma. Tallulah, the Choctaw girl who is the only adopted daughter, is the athlete. She travels in Russia with a circus group that is comprised of thieves, where she is the resident acrobat who loves to “fly” both while performing and while she is involved in a heist. Brainy Alice goes in the opposite direction, becoming an attorney who avoids doing anything that will jeopardize her professional status. And then there’s Piggy, so much younger than the others that he considers himself an only child, who never feels included with his siblings and can’t even get them to call him his real name, What delighted and surprised me was finding out how each of the siblings is able to change as they question what they really want out of life–romantic love, the thrill of danger, a new purpose that gives their life meaning. The final scenes are both gratifying and unexpected. Berney is a master with character development, and his portrait of an unusual family is nothing less than unforgettable. (September)
I didn’t know there was a new Lady Petra book coming out! What happy news. Nor did I know about the new one by AJ Pearce, or that the series was ending. I love both of these. And I’ve also added ‘Crooks’ to my list now. Thank you Margie!
Margie! I hope you made a new friend since you found a few things in common.
I hadn’t heard of the Lady Petra Enquiers series. It sounds good. And, I’ve been a fan of Lou Berney’s books for years. I’m looking forward to this one.
Ouch! Ireland is still on my bucket list!
I am nearing the end of Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg. I don’t tell at the event that almost made me just off the couch in amazement so I will just tell you about the beginning.
Elner in Elmwood Springs, a fictional place that I would love to visit, is very old and even though told not to do it, took a ladder out to the fig tree in her backyard.
She climbed up the ladder and saw a wasp nest and got stung by a swarm of wasps. She was found unconscious and taken to ER. She went flat lined sometime probably on the ambulance rise. Then she woke up in the hospital and could find anyone so that she could call her niece to take her home, so she took an elevator and flies over the roof of the hospital and after a long journey goes to Heaven! I am loving this book, it would make such a great movie if it hasn’t already been made. Please everyone, read it.
Carol, I had a very short bucket list. Ireland was everything I had hoped for.
I think I read that Fannie Flagg book years ago.
Carol, that’s one of my favorite Fannie Flagg books!
Good afternoon everyone.
It’s been cloudy and muggy here all week – the worst kind of summer weather in my opinion. The past two days I’ve been out walking early before the humidity gets too much. I don’t know how people cope in places like Houston!
I have spent almost my entire time this week trying to sort out my schedule for the Edinburgh festivals, so I don’t have a great deal else to report. I’ve finally concoted a list, and now I’m just applying for press tickets for the shows I have chosen. As well as theatre I am going to a flamenco guitar session, two stand up comedians (against my better judgement…) and some events at the book festival.
I’ve also requested a ticket for a talk about ‘compassion in birth’, which I think is an interesting subject. From what I hear (mostly from friends with grandchildren) hospital births (which have become the norm in the UK) have become more and more rule-bound and over-medicalised in recent years. A midwife now has just two hours from the arrival of the baby to do everything for both it and the mother, including writing up all the notes, and no matter what their needs may be. There is also far more intervention to get women through the system as fast as possible. It’s all about costs of course, like everything else. Women who can afford a private midwife at home, or to deliver in a private hospital, no doubt get much better treatment.
One of the book festival sessions I hope to attend is entitled ‘The Age of Diagnosis’. Suzanne O’Sullivan is a neurologist who has written a book about our increasing tendency to look to the internet for self-diagnosis – this of course may lead to disaster, but also often leads to anxiety that we have something terrible when we don’t. There is, I think, an unprecedented need to find a label for everything. I’ll be interested to hear what O’Sullivan says.
One of the plays I plan to see is The Katrina Project;
‘Interviews, stories, and found texts allow you to experience the devastation, heartbreak, anger and ultimately, hope of the city we proudly call home.’
Apart from this, I’ve been on two walks with friends this week – I had actually cancelled all my appointments to get stuff done, but then relented, as two of my closest friends were/are having very hard times at the moment, so I was glad to walk with them (separately) and hopefully offer some support. So I did one walk at the Blackhall Fisheries and another at Crathes Castle. Crathes is the National Trust for Scotland’s flagship property, so it is very busy in summer, what with coach parties and also parents and grandparents trying to entertain young children- but we still managed to get away from the crowds and have a quiet walk in the woodlands.
Last weekend we were in Edinburgh to see SPARKS in concert at the Playhouse. They were absolutely fantastic, I can hardly believe their energy – Ron Mael in 79 years old! It was so much fun, and the atmosphere in the (packed) theatre was wonderful, everyone was so delighted to see the guys.
I also went to an art exhibition in which my friend Sheena was exhibiting. She is part of a group of six ladies from Edinburgh and East Lothian, all of whom have either taken up, or returned to, painting in later life. Their work was really impressive, with some beautiful paintings of wildflowers, gardens, animals and landscapes. I wish I could’ve bought several of them – and I think my friend Heather, who saw the photos I put onto Instagram, possibly has, so that’s good.
Next week it is my mother’s 98th birthday, so we are taking her out to lunch at Eyemouth, a fishing town on the East coast in the borders. After that we are hoping to take her to Ford & Etal, two lovely little villages just over the border in Berwickshire.
After that I will be straight into the festivals, and will be in Edinburgh until early September.
I almost forgot to mention BOOKS! And that is because I have hardly read any. I am still only a little way into Frank Cottrell Boyce’s MILLIONS, and I have all but given up on Samantha Ellis’s HOW TO BE A HEROINE. I’m sure it’s probably a very good book, but I just don’t have the concentration for it at the moment. So instead I have gone back to my beloved Hazel Holt mysteries, and am currently reading NO CURE FOR DEATH.
And on television I have at last started KAREN PIRIE, which seems very promising. Thanks Jeff (I think it was you?) for the recommendation.
Have a good week all!
I don’t know how you fit everything you do into a single week Rosemary. The events at the Edinburgh festivals sound so interesting; can’t wait to hear what you think of them.
Happy early birthday to your mom!
Glad you liked KAREN PIRIE, Rosemary. I’m actually waiting for the next book in the series, as well as the next series of the show. We’re currently watching JONATHAN CREEK and PRIME SUSPECT and NEW TRICKS again, as well as SILENT WITNESS and the silly GOOD SHIP MURDER.
Rosemary, I agree with Lindy. I don’t know where you find the time and energy for everything you do.mI’m just happy you’re willing to take the time to write to us and share it. Thank you!
Happy Birthday to your mother. And enjoy the Edinburgh Festival! I’m looking forward to reading about it.
I read two books this week.
My favorite was A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna. It was just delightful! At 15, Sera Swan, one of the most powerful witches in Britain was banished from her witch’s guild for resurrecting her beloved aunt. She was banished to run a dilapidated inn that took all of her remaining magic to stay up and running. The residents of the inn were a bunch of misfits that became a found a family. I absolutely adored this feel good, charming book!
My second book was A Daughter’s Guide to Mothers and Murder by Dianne Freeman. Mary M. reviewed it here last week. I enjoyed it but it was not my favorite of the series. It came together very quickly in the last 50 pages.
Happy Reading!
Sharon, It’s so interesting to see how people’s reactions differ for the same books. Thank you! Happy reading to you, too.
As mentioned by others, the weather in California has been cooler than usual, although it feels warmer here when it is sunny. For the last couple of weeks I have a shoulder problem which has hampered my gardening efforts a good bit. It seems to be getting better now.
Glen is reading three books now. THE ROOM OPPOSITE: AND OTHER TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION by F.M. Mayor is sixteen short stories, originally published in 1935. He has read the first two and enjoyed them. Also, PACKING FOR MARS: THE CURIOUS SCIENCE OF LIFE IN THE VOID by Mary Roach, about space travel and life without gravity. And, lastly, BORN TO BE POSTHUMOUS: THE ECCENTRIC LIFE AND MYSTERIOUS GENIUS OF EDWARD GOREY by Mark Dery.
I finished reading A DEATH IN TOKYO by Keigo Higashino and translated by Giles Murray, a book in the Tokyo Police Detective Kaga series. I have liked all the books I have read by Higashino. They are not thrillers but slower-paced police procedurals. This week I also finished a short story book, FIVE TUESDAYS IN WINTER by Lily King. The stories in that book are mostly upbeat, although they are about serious subjects. I had started that one back in December of last year, but I often read short story books in pieces, not all at one time.
I am currently reading OLIVE, AGAIN by Elizabeth Strout. Described as a novel composed of interrelated stories, it is a very good book but not an easy read. I have two more stories (of thirteen) to read before I am done.
You’re doing some serious reading, Tracy, since you’re not gardening. None of your books are easy ones.
And, I’ve never read any of Mary Roach’s books, although I know how popular she was at the library.
Hi Lesa,
My current reads are The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas on netgalley and The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen on audiobook. Have a great weekend!