Happy Wednesday at Lesa’s since we’re talking about “What Are You Reading?” today instead of tomorrow. Thank you for stopping by a day early so people can discuss books and life today. I went to see the musical “Some Like It Hot” with Linda last Wednesday night, a little too late to talk about it. It was fun, with a lot of tap dancing, which we both enjoy watching. Then, Saturday, we went to a Christmas Fair, a good one with a lot of original gift ideas. We went with Linda’s son, and all three of us bought presents, which means it was a good show. Thursday will be at Linda and Kevin’s. Mom and Christie will come down. Several friends who come for Sunday dinner will be there. And, there will be more food than nine of us can eat. Thanks to Kevin who makes dinner.
And, before I dive into what I’m reading, Happy Birthday to my wonderful friend, Kaye Wilkinson Barley. I love you! And, Happy Birthday, Jeff! Enjoy your Thanksgiving meal for your birthday celebration!
Since not everyone will be around tomorrow, I want to mention that, once again this year, we’ll be doing Favorite Books of 2025. No one is obligated to participate. If you haven’t done this before, here’s how it works. I kick it off with my favorite books that I read, not necessarily books published in 2025. Any publication year works. If you’d like to participate, I post your lists once a week, following my list. Take a look at lists from other years. You can annotate them, or just send a list, whichever you prefer. Don’t send me the cover art. I’ll take care of that, and it won’t always be perfect when I post the artwork. (Sorry, I’m not a pro at this.) I’ll be publishing the lists in the order I receive them. Feel free to ask questions if you have them. It’s fun to see lists, other than my own. As I said, you don’t have to send a list, if you don’t want to do one.
Now, I’ll tell you how I stumbled on the book I just read. I won’t write a review of it because the summary is enough. I watched a video from The Poisoned Pen. Frank “Fraver” Verlizzo talked about his first cozy mystery, Scenery of the Crime, the first in the Retro Broadway Mystery series. What caught my attention, though, was his nonfiction book, Fraver By Design: 5 Decades of Theatre Poster Art from Broadway and Off-Broadway and Beyond.
Frank Verlizzo signed his artwork as Fraver. For over fifty years, he designed the theatre posters that announced shows on Broadway and Off-Broadway. What do these shows have in common? “Sunday in the Park with George” (starring Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters), “The Lion King”, “Sweeney Todd” with Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou) other Stephen Sondheim shows including “Into the Woods”. There’s “The King and I” “Oklahoma”, “The Sound of Music”, “Once”, various Encores” shows? Fraver designed the theatre posters for those shows. Those posters are shown, beginning with one of his first in 1975. In 2011, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center presented an exhibit of his posters in “Design: Fraver”. There are hundreds of images of Fraver’s posters in this book, a fascinating collection for anyone attracted by the artwork that advertise theatre.
I haven’t read Verlizzo’s mystery. What is a mystery to me is how someone can be so talented to design all this theater art.
What about you? What did you do in the last week? What are you reading?
I’ll put up another list for 2026, but I have no idea what will be on it.
This week has been cold and foggy all the time. That what happens when you basically live in a bowl, they say.
This week I read:
Dead Easy: Edgar Allan Poe Retold by Edgar Allan Poe; A British guy rewrites Poe’s stories in more modern English. It shows how strong the tales are that the stories are still goo, but I’ve always felt that Poe’s meter and vocabulary were a big part of his appeal.
The King’s Ransom by Janet Evanovich; Recovery agent goes after some stolen artifacts. This is pulpier than anything I’ve read this year.
Mosby’s Rangers by Jeffrey D. Wert; I’m not a big Civil War guy, but somehow, I’ve read the vast majority of books about The Gray Ghost.
Murder of a Pink Elephant by Denise Swanson; A school psychologist notices that the kids are acting strange. I thought she might be going the paranormal route, but not, it’s just drugs. Meanwhile, her brother’s rock group has an ambitious groupie. Eventually, there’s arson and murder. It’s one of those books where everybody in the small town is a rube except the sleuth.
Murder at the Bridge by Bruce Beckham: Entry #20 in the Skelgill series. A body is found on a riverbank. We all know it’s murder, but Skelgill and Co. take about a third of the book proving it. The solution is clever, and foreshadowed. Very subtle and well done.
Savage Game by JT Sawyer; I’m on this guy’s ARC team. Newest entry in the Kyle Payne series has the hero in Alaska. He’s hoping to fish for halibut, but some villains engage in mass murder to cover up a scheme, and soon enough, Payne is wasting wimps all over the Last Frontier. There’s a great sniper vs. sniper climactic sequence.
Dog of Deliverance by Neil S Plakcy; I woon this book in a facebook contest. It’s a cozy, but before too long, I felt I was reading a Rabbi Smalls book again, but this tried so hard to be contemporary, it felt even more dated
Hi Glen, Lousy weather to have to put up with.
It sounds as if you read some good books this week. Unusual to have so many that worked!
Lesa that theatre poster art book would be so interesting to look through! It’s expensive to buy here at $49 though, and none of the libraries here have a copy. Too bad. I would enjoy the book.
A quiet week again.
Our older daughter came over for a visit, which was fun. Although she causes mayhem when she’s here and after she goes I’ll be finding things for days that are amiss. And I never see her do any of it! She’s surprisingly stealthy. She’ll hide items, or she’ll subtly change things. She’ll switch the hand lotion and hand soap bottles around and because they look the same I’ll find myself putting soap on my hands instead of lotion. Or I’ll open the fridge and discover a sea of individual mandarin oranges on top of other things. Or she’ll add things to our calendar. I will have written strata meeting at 7:00 and she’ll have written ‘Don’t be late’ underneath. Or I’ll have a grocery shopping list going and she’ll have added all kinds of other things to it. It’s all fun though.
David has just interrupted me to tell me about a program about continental trains he’s watching. Apparently there is a restaurant in Prague called The Railway Restaurant and all the tables have little railway lines on them and the drinks (and some food) you’ve ordered is delivered to your table by small trains. They wend their way to you along a series of tracks and go through tunnels, and stop at your table for 20 seconds so you can take your order off the train and then the train heads back to be loaded up for another table of customers. He made me come watch. It’s quite fascinating!
Books read this week:
BUCKEYE by Patrick Ryan
This is not an action-packed, plot-driven novel. It is a quietly powerful character-driven novel about the interconnectedness of two families in a small town in Ohio over a time period of sixty years, mostly those between WWII and through to the end of the Vietnam War. There is family drama, love. marriage, history, grief, anguish, and forgiveness. It’s a story to be patient with as it gradually reveals itself, and yet at the same time it’s riveting.
Cal, Becky, and their son Skip. Cal and Becky struggle in their marriage – for medical reasons he was not able to sign up and join the war, so he stays in town and works. But he doesn’t believe in the work Becky does, which is to comfort people by giving them messages from loved ones who have died. This causes a rift between them.
Margaret, Felix, and their son Tom. Margaret and Felix also have problems in their marriage – she can’t get over having been abandoned as a baby and left at an orphanage, while Felix tries his best but can’t seem to get things quite right.
Bringing the two families into each other’s orbit are their sons who have been friends at school since they were young.
The author is SO good at portraying his characters, especially the men. We get all their thoughts, feelings, everything. We’re not told so much, as that we just feel them and live them ourselves. While we may not agree with everything the characters do, we know why they do it and can therefore empathize.
And an overriding question in the book is, when is the right time to reveal a secret that will have consequences for everyone? And is there even ever a right time?
There are no heroes or villains here; only human beings, flawed like anyone else. No one is perfect, and no one makes the right choices all the time. Nor is it a happy book but I feel richer for having read it. I didn’t love all the characters, in fact I wanted to shake some sense into one or two of them; but because of the skill of the author I could, for the most part, at least understand their motivations. The character that touched my heart the most for some reason was Everett, Cal’s father.
Reading this book was an immersive, affecting experience and because of that I loved it.
THREE DAYS IN JUNE by Anne Tyler
Gail’s daughter Debbie is getting married tomorrow. This is the story of three days – the day before the wedding, the day of the wedding, and the day after.
The first of the three days shows us that Gail is having a terrible day; an assistant headmistress at a private girls’ school, she has just been passed over for a promotion and in disappointment and anger she walks out. Already in a precarious frame of mind, things do not improve when her ex-husband Max shows up at her door needing a place to stay during these three wedding days. And he’s brought a cat with him. And not only that, some information about Debbie’s husband-to-be has come to light and Gail needs to make sure Debbie doesn’t make a decision she might regret.
Then it’s the day of the wedding and even though long-divorced, Gail and Max find a way to work together in a believable way to support their daughter despite their completely opposite approaches.
I thought this book had a lot of promise at the beginning and the tone was conversationally chatty. And for a short book (165 pages) encompassing a mere three days, the author skilfully showed us Gail’s backstory as the days played out. However, I didn’t really warm to any of the characters; despite having gone through some tough things they seemed oddly shallow. Part of the problem might be that I read this book right after reading Buckeye, which is a book I will remember because of how it made me feel, but I don’t think I’ll remember this one.
It was an expensive book here too, Lindy, but I really wanted it.
I bought Buckeye, but I haven’t started it yet. My TBR pile is about to explode with books right now, between library books, e-galleys, and ARCs. I need to make a list instead of just piling up books. But, I want to read them all right now!
I love the sound of your daughter’s escapades. My father-in-law used to mess mu my late husband’s den. Drove him nuts because Jim was obsessive-compulsive and wanted everything in its place. I found it funny.
I’ve come down with a cold right before I am supposed to head north for Thanksgiving. Still heading up, but I may only see some family, depending on whether they want to see me. But I am thankful this is the first cold I’ve had in about a year. I was sick so much of 2024.
My going a day earlier, you’ve managed to catch me between books.
Earlier this evening, I finished THE BODY IN THE HAYLOFT by Catherine Dilts. It’s the third in a series, and it took two years to come out, so I thought we weren’t going to get book three. I’m thrilled we did because it was great to revisit the group of friends who make up the core cast.
Up next will be the first in Julie Mulhern’s new series. MURDER IN MANHATTAN is set in the 1920’s and features a newspaper columnist who finds herself involved in a murder.
Oh, and I’ve just barely started my audiobook for the drive tomorrow. I’ll be listening to THE NIGHT FIRE by Michael Connelly. I’m very slowly catching up on his books. Very, very slowly. But I’ll get there.
Happy Thanksgiving, Mark! I’m sorry you have a cold and you might not get to see everyone you wanted to see on this visit. Take care of yourself.
Oh, a new series! You’ll have to let us all know how it is.
And, enjoy the drive with a good audiobook.
I will keep an eye out for the first two books you mentioned Mark. They sound great! (I hope you’ll enjoy your Thanksgiving despite being sick.)
Hi everyone – and a very happy birthday to Jeff! – from a very cold and frosty Aberdeenshire. We had a lot of snow last week, and although most of it has finally melted off there are still big patches of frozen snow and ice on all the pavements, so I am being cautious when I venture out. Tonight’s temperature is set to drop to 30F; I have to be in town shortly after 9am so I’m just hoping the roads are OK by then.
We’ve been in Edinburgh yet again, but more importantly in Glasgow to see our youngest daughter, Madeleine, graduate. The only graduations we had ever been to before were in Cambridge, where everything is incredibly formal and stuffy. Glasgow School of Art’s event was so much more fun. It was held in the Royal Concert Hall, which is a modern venue so everyone could see the stage.
There were a huge number of Asian students in Madeleine’s year (though none on her Art Writing course, most of them had taken things like Product Design and Graphic Design, also Animation and something called Serious Games Design – neither we nor Madeleine had a clue what a Serious Game is…) These students’ families had all come over to see them graduate; many of the students wore traditional dress, and when they crossed the stage to receive their certificates, they all waved and cheered. If you did something like that in the Cambridge Senate House you’d probably be excommunicated. Everyone was so jolly and relaxed, the atmosphere was great.
There were drinks afterwards, then the three of us went to a lovely vegetarian restaurant that Madeleine had booked. Their set lunch menu comprised of three ‘small plates’ and two drinks each; we just ordered two lunches to share, as the ‘small’ plates were hardly small, and we had more than enough to eat. The food was unusual and absolutely delicious. We had such a fun day. My only problem was that I was freezing from the time we left our house in Edinburgh (7am) until the time we got back (7pm), so I was glad to get into a hot bath and warm up.
We also went to three concerts in Edinburgh. Two were acts we had seen many times before – HORSE, who is an amazing singer and also has a very good line in banter, and FERGUS McREADIE, a young jazz pianist who has had a meteoric rise to fame since leaving the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow a few years ago.
The third concert was a French band called NOUVELLE VAGUE. We knew almost nothing about them, and did wonder if the Queen’s Hall would be half empty – how wrong we were, it was packed. It seems that the band has been around for over 20 years and has quite a following; it’s an unusual set up, as they cover pop songs and even punk, but in a bossa nova style. Hearing things like ‘Ever Fallen in Love with Someone’ as bossa nova was an experience. There are two very glamorous singers and a number of musicians.
I also went to a Book Week Scotland event at the National Library of Scotland. ‘The Power and Pleasure of Reading’ was a discussion between Dr. Sarah McGeown, a professor of English Literature from Edinburgh University, and Graeme McRae Burnett, author of the Booker-nominated HIS BLOODY PROJECT (a kind of meta-murder mystery set in a West Highlands crofting community in the 19th century) and many other novels. I have seen Graeme talk before and he’s always very entertaining; he’s very funny but extremely self-deprecating, unlike some of the more pompous/smug authors who seem to do the book festivals rounds every summer.
This particular session was focused on Sarah’s research into the connections between reading and wellbeing, and the books that had shaped Graeme’s literary life. He had brought along a stack of them but we only got to hear about the first three – nevertheless it was a very enjoyable evening. Graeme said that as a child he had always hated reading, and as a teenager never read anything. When a tray of books was produced and each member of the class was required to pick one, he ended up with CATCHER IN THE RYE. He only chose that because it was one of the thinnest books in the box – but then he read the opening paragraph and was completely transfixed. He talked about the way a particular book can speak to you at a particular time of your life; JD Salinger’s words spoke to him, and set him off on a lifetime of reading and writing.
Graeme is especially keen on France and French literature – he’s a huge fan of Georges Simenon (though says his INSPECTOR MAIGRET books are nowhere near his best) and Camus. He spent a year working in France just on the basis of loving those books, and he has also lived in the former Czechoslovakia – because he likes Czech authors.
My own reading is as slow as ever; I’m enjoying Jilly Cooper’s RIVALS (the book on which the TV series was based), set in idyllic Gloucestershire (where Cooper herself lived for many years) and revolving around the owner of a TV station, his staff, all of their families and his arch rival, the super-smooth and very aristocratic MP, Rupert Campbell-Black. Like so many of Cooper’s books, it’s very much of its time – but she wrote so well that you just can’t help turning the pages.
I am struggling more with Stanley Tucci’s TASTE: WHAT I ATE IN ONE YEAR. I adore Tucci as an actor, but I do feel he comes across as just a little too smug in this book. He’s been to all the top restaurants in the world, he’s tasted every special dish, he’s married to a wonderful, and wonderfully accomplished, woman, their children are all perfect…I’ll probably keep going, just because I loved him so much in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA and CONCLAVE.
I meant to add, Lesa, that I have seen JENNY COLGAN speak several times and she is great. Although she writes mostly romances, she’s also written for DR WHO and various other things. If she ever does any events near you I would highly recommend them – she’s very entertaining, incredibly well read, and so ‘normal’ (except of course she can’t be as she’s so accomplished – but that’s how she comes across.)
On TV I am watching the latest series of SHETLAND. I like Ashey Jensen (who took over from Dougie Henshall as the lead detective) but I am getting just a little bit tired of Alison O’Donnell (Tosh), her character seems increasingly one-dimensional and wooden as the series progress. Despite that, the bizarre murder of an older woman in a remote settlement where, of course, everyone has secrets, is gripping me so far.
I’ve also only just discovered that there’s a third series of MOTHERLAND – I watched a special Christmas episode last week and it was every bit as accurate as the Christmas scenes in the previous series. Very, very funny, but this time with an unexpected twist. All of the acting is spot-on but Lucy Punch as the appalling Amanda is exceptional. In this series we see more of her frightful mother (brilliantly played by Joanna Lumley) and begin to understand why Amanda is the way she is.
I’m also about to start RIOT WOMEN; just about everyone I know has recommended this series, about a group of late middle-aged women who start a rock band in which all of their songs feature the issues that are driving them mad. It stars, among others, Tamsin Greig, who is always very good value.
We are currently dithering about bidding for a house at the other end of the village. The current housing market here is super slow, and we would be bidding without having sold, or even marketed, our current house, so it’s a risk – but the house is perfect for us, and so few ever come along here with the right specifications AND the right location. We’ll see.
Only 30 days till Christmas – what a thought. I hope you will all enjoy celebrating Thanksgiving. We don’t have it here, but knowing that most of you do has made me reflect on the many things for which I need to be grateful – everything from good health to a warm house, a full freezer and lots of good friends – including all of us who meet here every Thursday. Thank you Lesa for creating this welcoming place for us all, and thank you everyone for continuing to show up – I wonder how many years we’ve been doing this now? It’s such an important part of my life.
Have a good week all.
Thanks, Rosemary. We’re looking forward to RIOT WOMEN. The new BLUE LIGHTS has started, but we’re waiting until all the episodes are available. Watching the third series of BEYOND PARADISE. Still watching SILENT WITNESS and NEW TRICKS (second time around) and THE GREAT BRITISH BAKING SHOW (as they call it here). I see that LINE OF DUTY is coming back after all. And we will get the new SHETLAND in due course.
Rosemary, Like you, I’m grateful for all the friends I made here, and everyone who continues to show up as often as they can, trying not to miss a week. I love to peek into your lives, and discover what everyone is reading. You all mean so much to me.
Congratulations to Madeleine! Yes, this doesn’t sound as if it was a stuffy graduation. It sounds fun. I never went through either of my college graduations. The timing wasn’t right for me.
Thank you! If Jenny Colgan ever comes here, I’ll have to go see her. I do have tickets in December and March to see a couple authors. I’ll update you as they come along. But, your program on The Pleasure and Power of Reading sounds fascinating. I would have enjoyed it.
Good luck if you decide to bid on the house, even if it does mean moving.
Ice! Stay safe and walk carefully!
Congratulations Madeleine!
Rosemary, I like the story of how Graeme McRae Burnett became a reader. I’m sure we all have a story of our own too.
I’m excited for you about this possible house purchase and move. The right house is so important to how you feel. Fingers crossed!
Good morning. We watched season two of The Marlow Murder Club and thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I’m waiting for season eleven of Brokenwood. Unfortunately our library branch is closed this week for deep cleaning so I won’t get it until next week.
I started several books that I couldn’t get into this week. The only one I finished was an ARC of NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED by Annette Dashofy. The book was good but every book in the series has had Emma in danger and that’s getting old.
From Goodreads
When a local Erie vet is shot during a robbery, Erie City Police Detective Matthias Honeywell and his partner Cassie Malone are tasked with pursuing the perpetrators. But as they close in on the truth, a mysterious sniper targets those involved in the case.
Emma Anderson has seen more than her share of cases since becoming a journalist in Lake Erie, and with news of the shooting becoming local interest, her instincts kick in. What she didn’t expect to uncover was a secret that could cause an ethical dilemma between Matthias and Cassie.
As the search for the sniper continues and the investigation taking a dark turn, Cassie and Emma find themselves caught up in a kidnapping plot. As the women are forced to draw on their resourcefulness to survive, will they manage to escape or is time against them?
That does get old, Sandy. I get tired of seeing the amateur sleuth in danger in every book. In fact, I know this is heresy, but sometimes I skip an early book in a cozy series if the sleuth is the primary suspect. I get tired of that, too.
Good morning, all! I guess I haven’t been paying attention, because I wasn’t expecting What Are You Reading a day early. I thought I’d finish a second book and review it today because it is short, but I’ll have to save it for next week.
We had two visits from my grandchildren this week (they only live 10 minutes away), and both were wonderful. We had Henry and Autumn (newly turned 9 and 7) on Sunday so that both of my sons and my daughter-in-law could go to the movies to see the new Predator film. Both of the children were well behaved, and we spent most of our time playing ring toss and corn hole (indoor)–tough on my back, but well worth it. Yesterday it was just Henry, as his mother and Autumn were joining friends to see Wicked: For Good. Henry helped me make my much-loved fudge for tomorrow’s celebration and did a great job. Of course, he got to lick the spoon, which made it worth it for him. Then he, my son Nick, and I played three games of Rummikub. He hasn’t had much experience with the game, but he remembered it pretty well and managed to play it without much help from us. In fact, he did much better at it than I did. in It was delightful! I will be giving them a family gift of the Rummikub game this year so we can play it at their house as well. And Henry has turned into a great conversationalist. I got a kick out of it when he saw one of the pictures on my digital frame and said, “I can’t believe my hair was that long!” I was so glad he wears it a bit shorter on the top now, which is much more flattering, and I never thought I’d see it happen.
Here’s the one book I was able to finish this week:
‘In Tracy Clark’s EDGE, the “Edge” of the title is a corrupted opioid that has already caused the tragic deaths of five people in Chicago, and Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster and her partner Vera are determined to bring the responsible parties to justice. Still mourning the murders of her adult son and her former partner, Harri has left behind her personal life to focus only on her work with the CPD. The teenaged niece of one of her coworkers barely survived when her boyfriend became a victim to the drug, making the solution of that crime even more important for Harri and Vera to solve.. Tracy Clark is an expert at ratcheting up the suspense to almost unbearable heights in the process of dealing with the members of a local crime family. And the character of Harri has been fleshed out through four series books to the point where readers are familiar with her as a person and detective and know what to expect of her in dangerous situations. What is also interesting is that Private Investigator Cass Raines, the protagonist of Clark’s earlier Chicago Mystery series, makes a memorable appearance in this book, having been hired by the girl’s troubled parents. It’s fun to see how Cass and her team vie with the detectives to be the first to discover new information that will help with the investigation, and this rivalry adds a much-needed touch of humanity to what is otherwise a deadly story. I hope we will see Cass in future series entries. (December)
Margie, Margie. No, you haven’t been paying attention, or, at least last week. I think you had a busy week then, though.
Isn’t it great that Henry is growing up? My Mom always loved the babies in the family best. Dad always said he liked us when we were old enough to carry on an intelligent conversation. Sounds as if Henry has reached that stage.
I may just have to take a day off to read a book or two. Busy time of year. I’m glad you liked Edge, though!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
I’m glad you mentioned Rummikub Margie. You may have solved my dilemma about what to get Evelyn for Christmas!
Thanks, Lesa. It was a good birthday, but then at this stage of life I regard every day I’m here as a good one. We went to our favorite Italian restaurant on Sunday. On Monday (my actual birthday) it was a great burger place. Today is brunch out, then we will start preparing for tomorrow’s feast for two, making the cranberry Jell-o mold and the double-sized chocolate pudding pie. We’ll have enough food for three days, though can one ever get enough stuffing is my question. Have a great day tomorrow. Same goes to everyone here.
Books, then. Jackie is reading the latest in J. R. Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood series (mostly the next generation), LOVER FORBIDDEN.
I’ve read mostly novellas and longer short stories this week – I consider about 70-100 pages (maybe 120) to be novella length, though authors and publishers have their own measurements. I know I mentioned Tim Sullivan’s THE HUNTER last week. Next was Lisa Unger’s The Kill Clause: A Short Story (though it is 70 pages long). Amazon Prime Reading gave me this one for free this month, as a bonus to the regular monthly book pick. Paige is a hit woman, whose latest assignment falls apart when her target’s four year old daughter turns up on the night. Paige (unlike her boss) has a conscience, so she aborts the hit. What happens next makes a quick read.
The second of Tim Sullivan’s free George Cross stories is a good one, The Lost Boys. (You need to sign up for his newsletter to get these.) This involves George’s father Raymond, a man with dementia, and a possible burial site with human remains. Good story, deeper than the first one.
I’m also reading silly (but fun) ’50s Sci-Fi stories in William P. McGivern’s FIRST SCIENCE FICTION MEGAPACK collection. McGivern is mostly known as a mystery writer, but these are fun.
Lee Child, Reacher – The Stories Behind The Stories, is a perfect book for me. I’ve read all of his Reacher books and short stories, and I always enjoy books where writers take you behind the scenes and tell you when and how and why they wrote their books. Otto Penzler published a limited edition (100 copies each) of a leatherbound series of all the Reacher books, and he had Child tell how he did it, what was going on in his life at the time, etc. This is a good fast read that any Reacher fan will want to read. As a bonus, there is a new, short Reacher story, “A Better Place.”
What else am I reading? I have books on the Kindle, on the Cloud Library, and on Libby, so it’s hard to keep everything in my head at once. I have started (and very much enjoyed so far) the first in that Mark de Castrique series Lesa mentioned last time, SECRET LIVES, featuring 75 year old retired FBI agent Ethel Fiona Crestwater. There is definitely something going on with elderly (by most standards), or at least retired, female sleuths, spies and assassins, which I credit mostly to the success of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club. I’m reading several of them myself, and this looks like a worthy addition to the shelf. I also have the new Julia Spencer-Fleming book waiting next.
It sounds as if it was a good week to eat out with you, Jeff. I’m sure Jackie enjoyed it. And, I agree. I’ll take more stuffing anytime.
I need to catch up with Tim Sullivan’s short stories. I think he was my big discovery for this year.
The first of de Castrique’s books was my favorite. The second was so-so, and the third was better again. Have you read any of his other books? Kaye prefers the Sam Blackman and Burryin’ Barry series. I like the Burryin’ Barry books.
I had a couple of the funeral series, but they always get pushed back in line.
I’m definitely in the Sam Blackman aisle.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you, Karen. Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!
Mmmm! Chocolate pudding pie and stuffing. So delicious. What time’s dinner? David and I would love to come over ha ha ha. Alas, a bit far from us though.
Good morning- and Happy Thanksgiving to those in the U.S.! The pumpkin pie is baking and more goodies to make today. 4 – 8 inches of snow expected overnight! A good time to stay home and enjoy the parades and yummy food!
This week I finished “The Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhon. What a fabulous book! I listened to the audio version of the book and the narrator was great. The protagonist of the book is the type of woman that I would aspire to be. Strong, competent, fearless, loved! Martha Ballard is a married mid-wife in the late 1700’s in Maine. She keeps a detailed journal of each delivery that she attends in a time when most women did not know how to read and write. As a midwife, she is required to give testimony in court whenever an illegitimate child is born, identifying whether or not the laboring woman identified the baby’s father during childbirth. The woman, not the man, was then fined for unlawful fornication. The bulk of the book, though, has to do with trying to bring to justice the judge who raped the local minister’s wife. Due to his status, and the chauvinistic slant of the judges and the “all male” juries, getting justice for Rebecca is an uphill battle. Martha’s detailed journal entry of Rebecca’s bruised and battered body the day after the rape gives Martha hope that in this one case the battle might be won. A good share of the book also has to do with trying to determine who hung/murdered the 2nd charged rapist, a local ne’re-do-well who routinely bothered many girls at local dances. I am not doing this book justice with my descriptions. The writing is exquisite and evocative. Every woman needs to read this book to realize how far our rights and freedoms have come.
Happy Thanksgiving, Mary! You’re right. Unfortunately, we’re still in danger of losing some of our rights again. Perhaps every woman should read that book.
Happy Birthday Jeff!
I won The Last Death of the New Year by Sophie Hannah from GoodReads, The author is imitating Agatha Christie’s style. It is a Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool adventure on a Greek Island. There are bad review but I think it is clever and wonder why the author chose to imitate rather create her own style.
Lesa, Sister! thank you for the birthday wishes – i love you. and Happy Birthday, Jeff!
Read and enjoyed THE PARISIAN CHAPTER by Janet Skeslien Charles
Description from NetGalley:
“From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade, a charming and cinematic novel following a young woman from Montana who takes a job in the American Library in Paris, where she discovers the power of storytelling and her own dreams.
Paris, 1995: It’s been five years since Lily Jacobsen and her best friend Mary Louise arrived in Paris from their small town of Froid, Montana. Determined to establish themselves as artists—Lily, a novelist, and Mary Louise, a painter—they share a tiny walkup and survive on brie and baguettes.
When Mary Louise abruptly moves out, Lily feels alone in the city of light for the first time and must find a new way to support herself. She lands a job as a programs manager at the American Library in Paris, following in the footsteps of Odile, her beloved French neighbor in Montana who told her stories of heroic World War II librarians when Lily was growing up.
Here in the storied halls of the ALP, she meets an incredible cast of characters—her favorite author, quirky coworkers, broke students, trailing spouses, haughty trustees, and devoted volunteers—each with their own stories… and agendas. Lily often seeks solace in the Afterlife, the library’s attic that’s home to hundreds of unpublished manuscripts, and there, she discovers a box of archives that may be a link to the past: to Odile’s own Parisian chapter.
This moving, propulsive story offers a panoramic view of a real historic institution, and revisits characters from both of Janet Skeslien Charles’s beloved novels. Lily’s story is a love letter to the artist’s life, friendship, and leaving home only to find it again.”
Again, Happy Birthday dear friend! Kaye! I’m so glad you read about the American Library in Paris. It’s exciting that you read about it, knowing your book is there. I love that.
And, you!
Well, Sophie Hannah was hired by the Agatha Christie estate to continue the Poirot series, so she probably felt as if she needed to imitate the style. I read one, and it just wasn’t for me, but that was just my opinion. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
This week I read Good Spirits by B.K. Borison. Harriet York has no idea why she is being haunted. Her ghost of Christmas past Nolan Callahan says his job is to help her figure out why before passing her off to the next ghost. I was a little disappointed with this one. Usually, I love B.K. Borison books but this one felt flat. Everything about it seemed tired especially the storyline with Harriet’s family. It was only an okay read for me.
I did love Grace & Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman. Lesa reviewed it recently. How could not love a book with holiday movies, mice, a drop-dead gorgeous baby wearing brother as well as Grace and Henry trying to wade through their grief? This was wonderful!
Winter will be making an appearance at my house for the next 9 days. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Happy Reading!
Bah, humbug on winter, Sharon.
Well, that answered my question about Good Spirits. I can skip that.
Wasn’t Grace & Henry fun?
Sharon, sorry to hear your response to Good Spirits, as I won a copy from Goodreads. I’m sure I’ll still read it, though. I liked the first Borison book I read. I’m glad you liked the Grace and Henry book. I loved it so much, and it may be on my favorites of the year list.
You and Lesa may like it. Lots of Goodreads reviewers did.
I thought Grace and Henry were perfect.
As always, all that everyone is reading adds more books to me towering TBR list. I love the variety!
We have had true “reading weather” here this last weekend and Phoenix has had the wettest Fall since 1890!! We have received well over 6 inches since September. Three days later and we now have a more normal Arizona weather forecast for Thanksgiving Day on the docket – 77 degrees and sunny. Good thing as our crowd of 35-40 feasts outside!
I’ve recently fallen under the spell of The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion by Beth Brower and the audio books have become my travel companions and pie baking listening go-tos. Think Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice-type banter) and splashes of humor as the main character narrates her days in the 1883 hamlet of St Crispians, outside of London. There are 8 volumes as of now and I am afraid I may “have a problem” and will have to listen to them all.
My Christmas books have arrived from the library and I’m starting with Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie as part of an online book group.
Wishing everyone a week of plenty – plenty of laughter, joys, friends and family (online even), reading time and stacks of good books!
I love the variety, too, Gaye, and, most of all, I love your wishes for everyone. Thank you!
I wondered about the rain when The Poisoned Pen said they had a leak. How often do they get enough rain to know that? The wettest fall since 1890 is a surprise.
Oh, you may have a book addiction problem, but we all do in one way or another.
Enjoy your family and friends tomorrow! Hugs!
The Unselected Journals of Emma M Lion sounds awesome! Hope to find them on Libby!
Hello, Lesa and everyone! I am grateful for all of the recommendations and glimpses into your lives that are shared each week. Thursdays are usually busy for me, sorry I’ve been a little off and on.
Life has been on the heavy side, so I have mostly been rereading light novels for fun. I have a few days off for Thanksgiving and a big TBR pile, wish me luck!
Today I finished THE WOMEN OF WILD HILL by Kirsten Miller, a novel about the power of women. This novel chronicles a family of strong women who are accused of being witches and examines what makes them threatening. The action is set in our near future, after climate change and increased inequality have taken an even larger toll. Each of the women are really interesting, and I wanted to see what happened to them even though the tone of some sections was a little preachy.
Now it is time for some Thanksgiving prep! I hope you all have a lovely holiday.
Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving, Trisha. The Women of Wild Hill is on my TBR list. Kaye liked it, and, now you did, too.
Enjoy some of your down time before you get busy again.
It has been a quiet week for us. We went out to get a pumpkin pie from Costco as that is the only essential food that we require for Thanksgiving. We have a simple easy meal and watch movies all day and I am looking forward to that.
Glen is continuing to read BRITAIN AT BAY by Alan Allport and is almost done reading all the short stories in A SUNNY PLACE FOR SHADY PEOPLE by Marian Enriquez. That one has taken a while because some of the stories are challenging, going beyond scary into terrifying. But there have been a few stories in the book that he liked, so not a total loss.
I finished TELL ME EVERYTHING by Elizabeth Strout and I loved it. At the end it was a very emotional read for me.
Now I am reading THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley. I went into the book expecting it to be a lightweight mystery; I have have read about 2/3 of the book and I am still not sure about it. I read the author’s first mystery, The Hunting Party, and I think this one is better than that book. Glen had read both books first and passed them on to me. This one is set on a tiny isolated island off the coast of Ireland; the characters in the book are there to attend the wedding of a TV star and the publisher of a well-known magazine. And it is not just a replay of And Then There Were None, which I also expected. Most of the characters are rich or unlikeable and or both, definitely a minus for me. Yet, I am finding the book entertaining, which is important. For the average mystery reader this should be a fast read but I just don’t read that fast.
Tracy, I’m glad you are enjoying The Guest List. I probably would have quit because I have a hard time with dislikable characters.
Next Thursday, you’ll have to tell us the movies you watched on Thanksgiving. I don’t watch a lot of them, but I’m always curious.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi, from a fellow central Ohioan –
I stumbled upon the Mrs. Pollifax series a couple weeks ago. I am currently reading The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax (#2 in the series) by Dorothy Gilman. Mrs. Pollifax is a “white haired widow” that ends up volunteering for the CIA. I find these delightfully easy and quick reads that keep my attention. There are 14 books in the series and a I look forward to seeing all the countries she will end up in and whose lives she saves! Lesa, have you read this series?
Hi Tracey, I haven’t read them, although a friend of mine heartily recommends them. They’re on my someday list.
When I was a kid, I thought I’d be able to read everything in the library. Ha! I can’t tell you how old I was when I realized there were always new books coming out. And, there are so many older books such as the Mrs. Pollifax books that I haven’t read.
Enjoy the series!
I missed writing on Thursday last week because my husband and I were in Paris. Since Bern and Paris are 4/12 hours apart by train, we go every other year, and we love being there. It’s such a beautiful city, even in November, and we spend our time visiting art exhibitions and walking. We make time for reading, too! I finished Rebecca Yarros’s FOURTH WING, the first book in her fantasy series about dragon riders, and I really enjoyed it: it’s very exciting and has appealing main characters. I also read the first Eve Ronin book by Lee Goldberg, LOST HILLS–that’s thanks to you, Lesa, since you like his books and recommend them to us. I was gripped by Lost Hills all the way through and will definitely continue with the next one. I listened to the second Will Trent book, UNDONE, by Karin Slaughter, after finishing the first and taking a break. As I think I’ve said, they are too violent for me, so I’m not sure I’ll get through the whole series, but I like the dyslexic Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent enough to go on to #3 in a few months.
I also tried a science fiction novel called SOLITUDE, about there being only two people left on earth, except that one is orbiting the earth in a space station and is running out of food and water. It sounds like an odd thing to say about such a thrilling-sounding plot, but the book was boring, and I didn’t even make it to the midpoint. Also read a romance novel by Ashley Poston that my niece sent me for my birthday. I’d never read one of her novels. This one was called THE SEVEN-YEAR SLIP. The heroine lives in an apartment that belonged to her aunt, and now and then, when she gets home, she finds that it’s seven years earlier in the apartment (although she’s still her own age.) It seems like a good story idea, and I finished the novel, but for some reason, the jumping back and forth in time, combined with a romance between the heroine and someone she knows in both the past and the present, didn’t click for me.
No one should think I’m anti-romance, however. Since I got home from Paris, I treated myself to another Mary Balogh Regency romance, this one called SOMEONE TO CARE. I am a sucker for all the dukes and marquesses in Hessian boots and the plucky, down-on-their-luck schoolteachers and governesses they somehow fall for, in spite of the social class differences. I laugh at myself, but I still enjoy one of these now and then. I read all the Georgette Heyers long ag; luckily, I still have a lot of Mary Balogh books to go.
Oh, let’s go to Paris for a week. I’m jealous, Kim. I love the idea that you can just get on a train and go. Museums and cafes and people-watching. I love it all.
Ashley Poston. I quit that book. It didn’t work for me. I LOVED her book, The Dead Romantics, ome of my favorites the year it came out.
Oh, those Hessian boots. I’m a sucker for them, too. I love the Regency period for those men in the boots. In one of my favorite shows by Celtic Thunder, “Storm”, the gentleman turned thief wears those boots. (sigh) I grew up on Georgette Heyer. And, I love that new series by Amy Rose Bennett set in Victorian England. I just requested one of her earlier romances to try that. My sister loves Mary Balogh’s books.
Well, I don’t know if I said something yesterday that was perceived to be offensive or what, but my comment has vanished. So, keeping it short and focused…
My bookmark has moved on to an ARC for Crimeucopia – The Not So Frail Detective Agency. Comes out 12/9. https://amzn.to/4pd9APG
I don’t know “who” (what?) was offended, Kevin, but I never saw your post, so it wasn’t me. I’m sorry your original post disappeared. Thank you!