I don’t know how much college basketball I watched last week, but I know it was over forty hours in just four days. Good games! I love March Madness. I also made time to go to the library for Saturday’s book tasting. We had a good group, with some younger people who had never been there. They were all readers, eager to talk about what they read. There’s hope for the future!
Tuesday night, I went to Gramercy Books Bexley to see Andrew Welsh-Huggins talk about his second Mercury Carter thriller. There was a packed house, for an enjoyable program. Check out Wednesday’s blog for a recap. I’m planning on more basketball this weekend. Sunday night, we’re celebrating my birthday a couple days early with dinner at Kevin and Linda’s. For your birthday dinner, you pick the menu. We’re having lasagna roll-ups, salad, bread, and pineapple upside-down cake. Looking forward to it!
What have you done this week? What are you reading?
I’m reading Charles Todd’s new Inspector Ian Rutledge mystery, A Day of Judgment. I’ve read one hundred pages, but it’s still a difficult book to summarize. I’ll do better once I finish it. In the meantime, here’s the online summary.
Inspector Ian Rutledge of Scotland Yard travels to England’s windswept coastline to investigate a murder in a place where, several years after the end of WWI, the memory of the war still runs strong . . .
July, 1921: England is suffering a heatwave and the coast of Northumberland, just across the border from Scotland, is filled with holiday-makers bird watching and enjoying the beaches. Pilgrims also come to visit the home of Saints Cuthbert and Aiden—the founders of Christianity in England—located on the “Holy Island” of Lindisfarne, accessible by a causeway at low tide. When the murdered body of a local man washes ashore just south of Lindisfarne, the government and the Church of England are concerned about protecting both the reputation of the Church and the sacred sites that are a destination for hundreds of pilgrims at this time of year.
With his ability to move in the highest social and political circles, Rutledge is sent by Scotland Yard to solve this crime and dispel any association with the Church. Upon arrival, Rutledge finds himself pulled between two coastal fishing villages, scarred by home front battles and coastal bombardment from the German Navy, where animosity towards Germany still runs high even years after the war. This, combined with a constabulary in the process of being consolidated to form a countywide police force, with local militias still wielding a great deal of power, means Rutledge must tread with care. Facing a puzzling case and a cast of locals that don’t take kindly to outsiders, the newly promoted Rutledge meets one of the most challenging cases of his career. To solve it, he’ll also have to confront his own demons left over from his time in the war.
What about you? What are you reading this week?
Wishing you a very Happy early Birthday Lesa! Your dinner choices sound delicious, especially the pineapple upside-down cake.
Other than watching our son play when he was in high school, I still know next to nothing about basketball Watching over forty hours is true dedication and love of the game Lesa!
David and I had a fun evening on Sunday. A couple of good friends came over for dinner, after which we played a hotly contested game of canasta. The boys won, as they usually do, but we weren’t far behind this time.
Sunday’s fun was tempered by David’s five weeks post-radiation blood test results which showed an increase in PSA levels; not the decrease which we were all hoping for. Monday we will see what the oncologist has to say about it. I’m sure he wasn’t happy about it either since he ordered another blood test just two days after the other one. Same result though.
Best talk about books now. This week I read:
THIS STORY MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE by Tiffany Crum
A thriller/mystery/love story.
Benny and Joy have been best friends for many years. One of them suggests an idea for a new podcast; they’ll give it a shot and if it turns out no one likes it, they’ll give it up and try something new. It will be called This Story Might Save Your Life – about true near-death survival stories. Benny and Joy will take it in turns to research one such story and while recording live, propose a scenario – such and such happens, what do you do and the other asks questions and tries to figure out what they would do to survive. To everyone’s surprise it becomes one the most popular podcasts out there, due in large part to the comedic banter between Benny and Joy. As it takes on a life of its own, Joy’s husband Xander offers to take on an administrative role and look after the financials, social media, merch deals, etc.
But one day Benny shows up to Joy and Xander’s home for a recording session, only to find broken glass everywhere and no sign of Joy or Xander. Worse, he soon becomes a suspect in their disappearance so he needs to figure out what happened here before he’s arrested for something he had nothing to do with.
The chapters alternate between ‘Benny’ and excerpts from Joy’s half of a memoir they’re under contract to write.
According to reviews I am definitely in the minority for not giving this book a rave review. I was for sure interested in finding out how and why Joy and Xander disappeared, and where to. And I thought the author did a great job making me suspect almost everyone, since there were so many secrets being hidden. It was genuinely difficult to know who, if anyone, could be trusted.
However, I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable or interesting which made it hard to get completely invested in the story. Nor was it as suspenseful as I’d hoped. I do think that if the characters had had honest conversations with each other or showed some backbone, maybe the whole tangled mess could have been avoided. But then I suppose there wouldn’t be a story at all.
On the other hand, my daughter quite liked the book.
A FIELD GUIDE TO MURDER by Michelle L. Cullen
Harry: around 80 years old, possessed of a keen mind and intellect, and recently widowed. He was an anthropologist and author of books and articles. His job took him to countries all over the world where he did aid work and humanitarian relief in the wake of natural disasters and wars. Temporarily sidelined and bored because of a fractured hip, he now spends his days reading scholarly books but truthfully, he mostly spies on his neighbours in Lakeview Estates, just to keep an eye on things.
Emma: formerly a critical care nurse, and currently hired as caregiver to cranky Harry to assist him while his hip heals. She is engaged to the son of family friends, and the two moms have completely taken over the planning of the wedding. Emma is struggling a bit to be as enthusiastic as she should be, since recently she’s been having niggling doubts about whether Blake is truly right for her.
One day, Harry’s neighbour Sue phones him gasping for breath and asking for help. He and Emma head to her house but they are too late; Sue is dead.
Detective Bradford has ruled the death accidental, but Harry isn’t convinced. He decides to do some investigating and reluctantly – at first – Emma gets dragged into it all since Harry isn’t too mobile right now.
Pretty soon is seems as though all the residents of Lakeview Estates could be considered suspects since they are all hiding something. And naturally Harry and Emma’s interference in the case is not appreciated by Detective Bradford, especially as they do end up in trouble sometimes. The almost father-daughter relationship developing between Harry and Emma is heartwarming.
An enjoyable cozy mystery with two engaging main characters and a large cast of supporting characters that definitely add interest to the story.
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I’m sorry, Lindy. I know you’re worried about David’s blood tests. Not at all what you suspected, and now you have to pivot. I’ll keep hoping the best for David.
Well, darn. That first book sounded interesting. That drives my sister nuts when she reads a book and things could go smoother if people would just talk to each other.
Lindy, I’m sorry that David didn’t get better results. I hope the doctor has some answers for you.
Those blood tests results are so disappointing – I hope that the oncologist can come up with a better plan for your husband, Lindy!
Sorry that the blood test results were disappointing. Sending hugs to you and David.
Thinking of you and David, Lindy!
Oh Lindy! I’m so sorry to hear about your husband’s numbers. Hopefully, the oncologist has some other things he can use to get the numbers down. Sending positive thoughts and lots of prayers for the two of you.
Lindy, I am very sorry to hear about David’s test results. As always, I am keeping you and your family in my thoughts.
Lindy, I am so sorry about your husband’s test results. I do hope his oncologist is able to give you both a way forward. I know this must be such a worrying time for you.
A Field Guide to Murder sounds great. It is not in our library catalogue (sigh) but I have added it to my wish list. You are so good at finding books I’d like to read!
I am very sorry, Lindy about your husband’s test results.
Happy Birthday! Pineapple upside down cake is one of my favorite. I always have lemon meringue pie for mine.
Will be finishing On Both Sides Of The Wall by Vladka Meed, Steven D. Meed, soon. The Holocaust was a horrible part of history, but reading her book makes me feel uplifted. She proved that you can still make a difference even in a frightening situation, even when starving. She wrote more about others than herself, but she decided to take chances and ultimately won for herself and a group of children and more people in hiding. Even though there are many tragedies in this book, you have to be inspired by the Jewish Resistance during the Holocaust.
Thank you, Carol! Oh, I love lemon meringue pie! I could have anything I wanted for dessert, and Kevin’s pineapple upside-down cake brings back childhood memories, so I went for that.
I’m glad On Both Sides of the Wall was an uplifting book rather than one that left you depressed. Tough to read, I’m sure, but I’m glad you were inspired.
Happy early birthday! Your birthday dinner sounds delicious!
I didn’t watch much March Madness, but I signed up for a bracket through work. Guess who is in last. (Spoiler alert: It’s me!)
It’s a little cooler here, only in the 80’s this week. Which is still warmer than average for this time of year. Supposed to be much closer to average next week. Might even get some rain, but we’ll see if that materializes.
Reading wise, I’m working on BIG F@!KING DEAL by Lawrence Allan. (And yes, the punctuation is right there in the title.)
As you can guess, this isn’t a cozy. Jimmy Cooper is a former child star turned PI in LA. This is the second in the series, and he’s been hired to find a kidnapped college student of an extremely wealthy family. It’s got some humor and plenty of serious moments with some great characters. I have successfully predicted a few plot points, but I’m still very much enjoying this and can’t wait to see how it ends. I’m far enough along, I should finish it on Thursday.
Thank you, Mark! I guess it’s a good menu selection since you all say it sounds good to you.
I’m doing okay on my bracket, Mark, but it’s really just for me. It keeps me hooked on the games since I have an extra interest. But, no money, just for me.
Interesting title for a mystery!
Happy early birthday. We saw Shrek for the second time in four weeks. It was just as much fun as the first time and since it was the last show part of the cast came down into the audience at the end of the show.
This week I read Boy, With Accidental Dinosaur by Ian McDonald.
Set in a future where the United States has fractured into fiefdoms and dinosaurs are be brought through from a nearby universe to ride in rodeos, a young orphan wants nothing more than to be a dinosaur rider.
This was a short book and the story was interesting. The one thing I found odd was the number of Spanish phrases the author sprinkled throughout the story since it left the reader to figure them out.
This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page. This has been reviewed several times on here so I’ll just say that I found this really hard to put down. It’s definitely my favorite read of the year so far.
A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa. A young woman inherits the family pastry shop which is deep in debt but her grandmother’s will stipulates that she must run it for 30 days, and it must be open until midnight each business day. What she doesn’t know is that the shop is a way station for ghosts who have unfinished business and need help moving on.
Sandy, Thank you! Birthdays aren’t as special nowadays as when we were a kid,. But, I’m always ready for a good meal.
I’m glad you enjoyed Shrek just as much the second time. I love live theater, as you know.
I’m so glad you enjoyed This Book Made Me Think of You. Terrific book for a reader, wasn’t it?
Yes, Happy Birthday! Hope it’s a good one.
Not so interested in March Madness these days, but I did enjoy my New York Yankees’ opening day win in San Francisco last night. I’ve been a fan of the team for 70 years – I can remember rushing home from school to catch the end of Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series (they played day games then!). Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra – they were the heroes of my youth.
It’s been mostly sunny and warm but not too hot here in South Florida. Two weeks from today we will be getting home. I think we’ve gotten this just about right for us, three months in the winter, though sometimes Jackie makes noises about adding December (I am definitely not ready for that). It’s at a point where I don’t feel we stayed too long but I don’t feel any rush to get home, yet I don’t feel like we’re missing something here. We already have tickets for half a dozen concerts this Spring and summer, we have tickets for Les Miz in Concert at Radio City Music Hall, and we hope to see more shows on and off-Broadway this year.
But I digress, as usual. Books, then. Jackie finished the Julia Spencer-Fleming book and she tried the new book in a different series by an author she follows, Chloe Neill. But the new book didn’t appeal to her at all, so she had me return it. Instead, she is (finally) reading Tess Gerritsen’s first book about retired CIA agents in Maine, THE SPY COAST. I did download a couple of books from the library for her, by Ali Hazelwood and Abby Jimenez, which she will read next.
I’ll be back with my reading after breakfast.
Good morning, Jeff! I enjoy your pre-breakfast post with other news in it. I can’t believe you’re already going home. It doesn’t seem as if it’s been three months. But, baseball started, concerts and shows are going on. I hope spring will be in NYC by the time you get home. I’m looking forward to hearing about your concerts and shows once you’re home. That’s no digression in my opinion. It’s all a part of life, just like my comments about basketball. All those Yankees that were part of your youth!
I know you’d love Les Miserables: The Arena Concert Spectacular. We saw the show several times in London (my list as it home), so this should be good. For years, Jackie used it as a comparison point for other musicals: “Well, it was OK, but it was no Les Mis.”
I approve of Jackie’s comparison, Jeff. Yes, I’ve liked every version of Les Miserables that I’ve ever seen, so this should be good. I can’t wait to hear about it, especially Jackie’s opinion.
Jeff, just this week David read The Spy Coast! He liked it and is looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Good morning everyone – that’s a lot of basketball watching, Lesa! I’m personally ready for baseball! Although with the ground still covered in deep snow, it’s hard to wrap my head around that it’s Spring! It’s been a pretty social week for me, including a belated community St. Paddy’s Day meal, with corned beef and cabbage. I’ve honestly never had corned beef before, other than in hash, and it was very yummy. Yesterday I went to some thrift stores with a friend who loves to go to them. Ever the optimist, I bought a new sun hat!
This past week I read “Crimson Thaw (Detective Justice #1) by Bruce Robert Coffin. Detective Brock Justice testifies that his partner killed a perp without cause. While his partner doesn’t go to prison, he does lose his job, and Justice gets reassigned to the middle of nowhere Maine. There he, and new rookie partner Chloe Wright, get assigned to a homicide – a local missing man has been found handcuffed to a snowmobile at the bottom of a local lake. The investigation uncovers a possible fentanyl pill smuggling ring across Canadian borders with Brock suspecting local law enforcement involvement. Does he dare push the limits of the thin blue line again?
I just had our library order the next in the series. I hope that it is just as good.
Well, Mary, once March Madness is over, that’s it for me until college football starts in August. Just means more reading time, but I do have a few plans between now and then. I can see why it’s hard to think of baseball and spring when you still have snow.
I hope you continue to enjoy Bruce Robert Coffin’s books!
Mary – I love corned beef, but we never had it when I was a child because my mother saw it as a food of poverty (I’m not entirely sure why, as it’s not cheap here) that had been served up far too many times in her own childhood.
I was at a Memories of Scotland session at the library recently at which several of the local people talked about the notorious outbreak of typhoid that hit Aberdeen in 1964. Over 400 cases were diagnosed and three people died.
The outbreak was eventually traced to contaminated corned beef sold in William Low’s grocery store. Although it was categorically proven that the germs had been in the canned meat before it left Argentina, poor William Low’s had its reputation irrevocably tarnished, and closed a few years later, though its shops in other Scottish cities and towns remained open until the chain was bought by Tesco’s.
Euan, who runs these sessions, recalled that when he was a child in Fife and his family did their grocery shopping, his grandmother always refused to enter the William Low’s shop, no matter how many times his parents told her that the shop had not caused the outbreak.
The public health department in Aberdeen was widely praised for its efforts to contain the situation. The city was put into what would now be called a lockdown; no-one was allowed to enter or leave, theatres and cinemas were closed, and even the swings in children’s play parks were locked up.
The city’s reputation was temporarily damaged – to help remedy this, the Queen herself later visited the city to show everyone that it was now safe.
So that’s the story of Aberdeen and corned beef! I still like it – but then I grew up in London, and wasn’t to come to Aberdeenshire for many years.
Rosemary, I love it when you provide history that most of us aren’t familiar with. Who knew corned beef would lead to typhoid? You’ve been to some fascinating programs and exhibits.
Fascinating information Rosemary! Poor William Low.
Love that you shared that story! I’ll always think of it whenever I eat corned beef in the future!
It is. Might be better.
It just arrived at the Library – now I really can’t wait to read it. Thanks, Kevin.
I know I talked about Nick Petrie’s The Dark Time last week, then I rushed through the second half of the book. It’s almost too current in the plot, what with anti-Government and anti-internet militia plotting to take down the grid altogether, sending us back to the title era, when they (of course) will use the weapons they’ve accumulated to take over, I guess. But with Peter Ash and his friends on the case, you know it won’t happen. But I’m not sure I (or others) really needed to read that plot at this moment, with what has been going on in the real world.
I read another short story collection by Lauren Groff, many set in Florida, and now I read her new one, Brawler. Good writer, it’s a short collection (under 200 pages).
Ever since it first came out, I’d been hearing raves about Patrick Ryan’s Buckeye (A ‘Read With Jenna’ pick). I’d read his two earlier collections of short stories, THE DREAM LIFE OF ASTRONAUTS and SEND ME. In fact, I know more than one person who said BUCKEYE was their favorite book of the year. Well, I read it – raced through it in a little more than two days, and despite the hype, it is definitely worth your time. Yes, it’s true, it does seem like an “old-fashioned” book we might have read 50 years ago, a sort of family saga about two intertwined families in northwestern Ohio, basically from the start of WWII (with earlier flashbacks) to the late 1970s. Cal and Becky Jenkins and Felix and Margaret Salt are far from perfect, but they are real human beings trying to make the best of the world they know. Cal was born with one leg shorter than the other, so he can’t serve in the Army. Instead he finds himself managing (eventually) his father-in-law’s hardware store. Meanwhile, Becky has had the ability since childhood to somehow connect with the spirits of dead people, which lets her comfort their loved ones, though it makes Cal very uncomfortable. Margaret grew up an orphan, abandoned by her mother as an infant, and this has shaped her life. She marries the tall, settled Felix, who loves her but has a major secret that shapes his entire life. This all impacts the generation of their sons, Skip and Tom. The writing is beautiful, and it will keep you turning pages, I’m sure. Definitely recommended.
Well, Jeff. I own a copy of Buckeye, but I’ve been intimidated by the size of it. One of these days, I’m going to have to start it, sometime when I know I have a couple days since you said you raced through it.
I also need to start Nick Petrie’s Peter Ash books, but you’re right. The latest one sounds too timely for comfort.
Good morning! On Sunday I went (alone) to see the second in a series I purchased featuring the Pops Chorale and Orchestra. This one was the one I was least looking forward to, as it was called The Generation of Jazz, and jazz isn’t my favorite genre. But I really enjoyed it! My seat was in the first row, with the orchestra probably 10+ feet from me, and I appreciated all of the individual solos from the various musicians. This time the orchestra was only woodwinds, brass, and percussion, including alternating mother-son pianists. And instead of the large chorus, there were 10 soloists, each of them with spectacular voices, and there was a bit of dancing as well–I was glad the dancers didn’t fall in my lap! The next one is titled American Bandstand and will feature music from the1950s through the 1980s or so. And I’m looking forward to seeing MJ (Michael Jackson): The Musical in a couple of weeks in Sacramento.
This week I finished two books:
In 1902 London, 55-year-old Gabriel Ward, a barrister and King’s Counsel, is a singular man who is well regarded for his brilliance in handling high-profile cases. He prefers to keep to himself in his perfectly ordered rooms in The Temple, where he works and resides with others in the same profession and at a similar level. He may have a bit of OCD, and he tries to avoid social interaction, but his sagacity and analytical expertise cannot be denied. In A CASE OF LIFE AND LIMB, the second in Sally Smith’s outstanding Trials of Gabriel Ward series, he gradually becomes a more human character to the reader, as he tackles a particularly sensational libel trial. Topsy Tillotson, a beautiful and talented teenage stage singer whose songs are a bit off color, claims a tabloid newspaper has besmirched her reputation with a false report about an unfortunate rendez-vous with a male admirer. At the same time, Gabriel is called to investigate when a few august Temple residents have received a body part delivered in a plain box, along with a clever but menacing message. And if that weren’t enough, a huge cat named Delphinium has taken a shine to a resistant Gabriel after her owner’s sudden demise. The author is a London barrister/King’s Counsel who practiced and still lives at the real-life Temple, and her description of this place and its history is fascinating. Her writing style is perfect for this type of historical mystery while being very accessible to the reader. We get to know more about the London police, whose constables may not enter the Temple unless invited and don’t have jurisdiction over those who reside there, but sometimes their collaboration is necessary, as in this story. Young Constable Wright is a likeable character, and I hope we will be seeing more of him. Other Temple characters who appeared in the first book are also involved in the story. But the star here is Gabriel himself, who stands firm most of the time about how he wants to live his life but is also reluctantly experiencing a modicum of development before our eyes. I’ll be rooting for him and recommending the books to others as long as Sally Smith continues to write them. The next is due in 2027, although it will probably hit the UK first. I’ll be waiting.
Debbie Johnson launches another of her signature comfort read series with THE HOPEFUL HEARTS BOOKSHOP. Septuagenarian Moira’s life was consumed–in a good way–by her bookshop, and she decided to entice those who needed a new start in life to come to Scotland’s (fictional) Bonnie Bay and immerse themselves in the supportive community and the calm surroundings and nature. She and her husband designed the invitations, hid them in envelopes inside ten books, and mailed them out to various locations. But after four years, no one has apparently found one of the letters or decided to accept the invitation after reading the letter. Moira’s husband has died, she has suffered an accident that has left her in a wheelchair, and she has let the shop descend into almost-ruins. Suddenly, two of the letters are found, and their recipients meet unexpectedly on a train taking them both to their destination. Kate is divorced, downtrodden, and in an unsatisfying temporary agency job in England. Widower Brody has traveled to the UK from Chicago and has just dropped his daughter off at Oxford University for her continuing education. Both intend to spend two weeks in Bonnie Bay before returning home, hopefully with that new outlook they were promised. But when they see the state of the bookshop, they are initially disappointed and demotivated. Now, I’ll wager those of you who like this kind of story are already writing the rest of the book in your head, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But there are details that make this a satisfying read, not the least of which is discovered by birdwatcher Brody–a community of puffins (who can resist those?). And there is the breezy (sometimes hot) relationship between two very different but engaging people. If this series follows Johnson’s formula, there will be others coming to Bonnie Bay in future books, and familiar characters from this book will be there as well. (April)
Margie, I can’t wait to hear what you think of MJ. Your jazz concert sounds good. I like light jazz, so that sounds as if it was enjoyable.
The Hopeful Hearts Bookshop sounds terrific. I’m going to look for that one.
The legal book has been well-received, along with the previous one in the series. I just don’t read many legal novels.
Lesa, I don’t think I would classify Sally Smith’s books as legal books. For me they were all about the characters, the unfolding of the stories, and the deliciously wonderful writing. I loved the first one (A Case of Mice and Murder) but the second one was even better; I already know it will be on my favourites list this year.
Thank you, Lindy for reminding me about this wonderful series. I loved the first one, but I agree with you that this one is even better. I also agree that this is not a legal thriller but focuses more on the characters. I can’t wait for the next one.
Thank you, Lindy. It sounds as if I’m missing out by letting that book sit on a pile. Thank you!
Margie, I love the sound of The Hopeful Hearts Bookshop. I want to read it this instant. But alas, it isn’t available here at all – not for pre-order even. But I’ll keep an eye out for it.
I love the Sally Smith series! Both books were excellent! There is something to be said for attending events on your own. Many years ago I had the great privilege of attending the Louvre and other Paris museums on my own. I thought that I would miss a companion, but it was great because I could immerse myself in whatever art object I wanted to dwell on and nobody was pushing me!
Happy Birthday, Lesa! Hope you have a great day celebrating.
Spring break was last week, and we left the week before to do our 250th anniversary of America trip. We started in Boston, went to Philly, and then on to Washington, D.C. My favorite out of all the places we visited was Fenway Park. So much history there and what a cool place!
We came home and I got my second shingles shot and promptly got sick. Yay, me. I’m still recovering. You would have thought I would have had a lot of time to read considering how much time we were in the planes and trains. Nope, didn’t happen. We got lucky and didn’t encounter any TSA problems. On the way home, we had to change planes in Denver. Our flight left at 8:30 a.m. At 9:20 a.m., Denver experienced a power outage that lasted 2 hours. Whew, just missed it!
Here’s to a better reading week so I have something to report next week.
Oh, that’s okay, Bev. I don’t read much when I travel either. And, we’re just as happy to hear about your travels. I’ve never been to Boston, although my nephew lives outside of it. I have been to Philadelphia, and spent a year in D.C. for grad school. I loved the DC area, but I think I’m glad I haven’t been there in recent years. So happy to hear you didn’t have any flight problems!
Those shots can knock someone out, can’t they? Hope you’re okay now.
Lesa, you should go to Boston. It was so much fun. We did the Freedom Trail, Fenway Park, JFK’s library and Isabella Gardner’s museum which is where the 13 pieces of art were stolen and still haven’t been recovered. They left the frames up so you can see what’s been stolen. There’s a Netflix movie on it – “This is a Robbery”. The Italian district’s restaurants and bakeries are to die for.
I would wait till the weather is better though. It was cold and we got snow and rain while there.
You’re right, Bev. I should go to Boston. I’d love to see all those sites.
We did that several years ago but had the opposite weather – it was July and two days were 99 and 100 degrees and the third day we had torrential rain! Still, the Kennedy Library and the Freedom Trail were great.
Your trip sounds wonderful Bev! What a shame to get sick the minute you get home. I hope you feel better very soon.
Sorry. I forgot to mention current reading. I am reading two short story collections, both stories originally written decades ago, by Jack Ritchie and Richard Deming.
Also, I am reading Rob Osler’s second Harriet Morrow book, THE CASE OF THE MURDERED MUCKRAKER. Harriet is the first female private investigator, in 1898 Chicago, and she is also a lesbian who prefers wearing men’s clothes to traditional women’s clothes. This time she is assigned the title case, and she is also warned that there is a law that you can be fined $100 for wearing clothes of the other gender. Could this have been a real law? (Sounds like one certain people would pass today if they could.) I haven’t read much yet, but I thought Osler did an excellent job portraying the Chicago of the turn of the 20th Century in the first book.
Jeff, Here’s a terrific article by a historian written for the Windy City Times about the history of the laws involving wearing clothes of the opposite sex. https://windycitytimes.com/2009/09/09/history-who-wears-the-pants/
Thanks for the great article, Lesa. So the laws were on the books and remained so for 100 years. Amazing.
Back in the 1990s, I watched a lot of basketball, but it was all NBA games, professional basketball. None of us in the family have ever been much interested in sports, but I think my son was into collecting sports cards at the time, and I got interested in basketball. I enjoyed the games but around 2000 I got disenchanted with the strikes and scandals and gave up on it. I still root for the Lakers though. I have never watched college basketball.
We are still hard at work on cleaning out overgrown plants and weeds in the front of our condo. It will be a relief when it is done; then we can move on to the back area, which will be an even bigger job.
Last night, Glen finished reading GERMANY 1923: HYPERINFLATION, HITLER’S PUTSCH, AND DEMOCRACY IN CRISIS by Volker Ullrich. It was a slog. He is now reading the last (very long) story in THE UNSETTLED DUST by Robert Aickman. And thinking about what he will read next.
I finished reading THE CORRESPONDENT by Virginia Evans. I loved it. Of the six books I read this month, it is easily my favorite. I also finished reading all the stories in SIDNEY CHAMBERS AND THE PERILS OF THE NIGHT, the second book in the Grantchester Mysteries. That was very good too, and I liked it better than the first book. We have started watching GRANTCHESTER, only three episodes so far. They are different from the short stories in many ways, more edgy.
I am now reading FIRST DO NO HARM by S.J. Rozan, published this year. It is the 16th book in the series. As you might guess, it is about a murder that is set in a hospital, and Lydia’s brother Elliott is peripherally involved. Rozan is one of my favorite authors.
My family loves sports, Tracy. My Mom loves college football. We all cheer for Ohio State. Linda’s kids all played sports in high school, and her husband coaches kids’ teams – basketball, soccer and softball. My husband played baseball in high school and taught me to score games. We went to a lot of spring training games, and some pro. We also went to some pro basketball games when we were in Arizona. Just enjoy sports.
S.J. Rozan’s books are on my someday list. Like you, I have a friend who is a big fan.
Hi everyone
It’s already almost 7pm here in Aberdeenshire; I meant to write this much earlier, but as usual the time has rushed past.
Firstly, I hope you have a very happy birthday when it comes Lesa! How lovely that your brother-in-law lets you choose exactly what you’d like to eat. I have only ever attempted to make pineapple upside-down cake once and it was not a success – I know you’ll be eating something much superior to my disastrous effort!
Last Thursday I took the bus down to Edinburgh, and on Friday Anna and I went out to Haddington to take Vicky, one of the residents of my late mother’s sheltered housing house, out for coffee. We went to Smeaton Nursery, which is a real old-fashioned plant nursery – nothing like the many that have become more like shopping malls and sell more tacky gifts and clothes than shrubs and trees. It’s one of my favourite places – you drive up a long avenue, passing fields where pony club events take place, and rare breed sheep wander across the access track. Smeaton House itself is long gone, but there is a tea room in what was once the boiler house. A local art group also shows its work there.
We had such a fun time with Vicky – she is hilarious, and so enterprising. She has never married or had children. She comes from an aristocratic family who owned one of the local estates – but as is the way with these places, everything was left to her half brother. She has not one speck of resentment about this – to her it is completely normal.
She went to London and trained as a physiotherapist (in a time when few women had careers), then worked her way around the world. When she retired she bought a little courtyard house in Haddington (near to where she was born) and lived there until a couple of years ago, when she decided to move into the shared house for company.
She is a great stalwart of the local episcopal church. She has learnt the recorder in order to play in an ensemble, she does tai chi, she has written books about her life, and in May she is going (alone) on a cruise to Norway to see the fjords. She is over 80 and such an amazing woman.
She told us all about her travels – and all the boyfriends she had had in the past! We gave her the drinks menu ; she had never heard of syrups before, and didn’t know they were added to coffee, so she asked for a cup of hazelnut syrup. Anna explained what they were, and she instead had a a cappuccino with the syrup added. I can’t think of anything I’d like less, but she loved it and also enjoyed a big slice of cake.
We talked about books, films, food, just about everything, and all three of us laughed and laughed. We agreed we would do this again, as it was most certainly not a chore for us, we had a fantastic time.
On the way back Anna dropped me off in central Edinburgh as she had an appointment, so I had a wander in John Lewis’s department store. I was ostensibly looking for a new TV, but I soon found myself in the baby area, admiring all the beautiful clothes for newborns and beyond. I was so tempted to buy something for our soon-to-be grandson, but I managed to stop myself. I’ll go back when he has safely arrived. As our son and his wife live in Aviemore in the Highlands, it’s really important to consider the seasons before buying clothes. It would be no good buying a cute summer outfit that will fit him in December – what he’ll need then are snowsuits and sweaters. I also looked at patterns for shawls in the knitting department, as I had some deluded notion of making one – hahahaha – although I used to knit a small bit, I didn’t even understand the names of some of the stitches.
On Saturday I met up with a friend with whom I used to work at the cathedral. We had a great catch up in the National Portrait Gallery cafe, a place where Edinburgh residents love to meet.
Sunday I was back home, and took myself into the city to see a small exhibition of work by an artist who had taken the same MLitt course as Madeleine. Marie is now doing a PhD at our art school; she is looking at the decline of the fishing industry in the north east, something that is still keenly felt among the older generation here. Marie had found a lot of archival footage of both inshore and offshore fishing, and of the women who worked gutting the fish. She had also interviewed some retired fishermen, and had overlaid the film with their voices. It was all so interesting, I enjoyed it very much, and also had a great chat with Marie about the arts in Aberdeen, her own studies, and some books I had read about the fishing both in Fraserburgh and on Lewis.
On Tuesday Nancy and I had a glorious walk round the Drum Castle policies (even if, to my disappointment, the castle tea room was closed until next week), and this morning I met my friend Sue and her Welsh Springer Spaniel Basil for a walk at Crathes castle estate. Fortunately, as this is the National Trust for Scotland’s flagship property, the cafe is open all year! The staff will be running many activities for families over the Easter school holidays, and from now on everywhere will be so much busier than it is in winter. It was so nice to see all the daffodils flowering and the trees coming into bud.
BOOKS – as usual I had big ambitions but only small achievements. I read THE CAROUSEL by Rosamunde Pilcher, in which Prue, who works in a London art gallery and (at the age of 23) has her own flat in Islington (which Rosamunde presumably thought was pretty down market in 1983 – now you’d have to sell your own grandmother to afford so much as a basement studio). Prue’s mother, who lives in a smart house in Parson’s Green, is desperate to get Prue married off. Prue is seeing the nice but boring Nigel, and is about to travel to Scotland to meet his family when her aunt Phoebe, an artist living in Cornwall, breaks her arm.
So despite Phoebe having a housekeeper who comes in all day every day and does literally EVERYTHING for her, Phoebe requires Prue’s help, so off she goes to Penmarron (where – of course – the allegedly hard up Phoebe lives in a wonderful cottage overlooking the estuary, said cottage having been left to her by her late lover, and really does very little apart from float about and the occasionally paint local scenes.) On the train Prue meets Charlotte, a young girl being sent to stay with her austere grandmother who – who would have thought it? – lives in Penmarron too!
Charlotte is unhappy with her grandmother, so spends almost all her time chez Phoebe and Prue. Within a day or two, the enigmatic and stunningly attractive artist Daniel rocks up. He had an affair with Charlotte’s (married) mother some years previously, but has since been living in the US and Japan, and has become highly successful.
I’m sure you can all guess the rest.
Nevertheless, and although this wasn’t one of Pilcher’s best, I enjoyed it. The descriptions of Cornwall were so well done – as someone who used to spend childhood holidays there, I could see the country lanes lined with fuchsias, the beautiful hidden bays, and even the sudden downpours. I particularly enjoyed Prue and Charlotte’s train journey and their lunch in the dining car, as this was a treat that we used to have when we travelled down. In those days there were two sittings for lunch, there were white cloths on the tables, and a waiter took one’s order, which was served on real china plates – nothing like the fairly dire buffet cars we have now.
Now I’m reading AT LIBERTY, a memoir by Ed Burstall, the American who was brought in to revive this iconic London shop’s fortunes, and indeed did so. Anyone who has ever visited Liberty’s will know how special it is. It’s known especially for its fabulous fabrics, but has many other departments. I’ve seen the fly-on-the-wall TV series that was made about Ed’s time there – it was compulsive viewing, and quite hilarious at times. Some of those departments had operated almost autonomously for years on end- on the top floor two eccentric old guys had a vast collection of oriental art, textiles and ceramics, and frequently went on extravagant trips to buy more – no one had the faintest idea what was up there, or whether they ever actually sold anything. And there were similar idiosyncratic little things going on throughout the store.
Ed’s mission to bring Liberty’s into what was then the 20th century was a huge and often frustrating challenge, but he bore it with good humour. This reminded me so much of Rachel Johnson’s time at the antiquated (but still running!) magazine The Lady (in which wealthy/titled people advertise for domestic staff, especially nannies) – Johnson was also brought in to drag the magazine out of the Dark Ages (where it was losing money hand over fist), and this she did, but my goodness did she have to ruffle a lot of feathers in the process.
There were many people there who had been on the payroll for years and years but could not really say what they did all day – because it amounted largely to nothing – but who still felt perfectly justified in drawing their salaries. They were furious with Rachel, but she had the backing of the family who owned the magazine, and was (fortunately) just as thick-skinned as her politician brother (Boris Johnson). The TV series was unmissable – I think it may still be on YouTube somewhere if anyone is interested, and Johnson also wrote a very readable book about her time as editor.
On television now I am watching DINOSAUR. It’s a family comedy/drama with a difference, as it’s about two sisters Nina and Evie, who share a flat; Nina is autistic. The series was written by Ashley Storrie, daughter of the late comedian and activist Janey Godley. Ashley is herself autistic, and she plays Nina. Dinosaur (Nina is a paleontologist) is very funny but also really moving. Ashley has, of course, a unique insight into an autistic person’s view of the world and the problems they sometimes have in trying to navigate it, but Kat Ronnie as Evie is equally good at showing us what it’s like being the sibling of someone who, albeit unintentionally, leans on her for support, and inevitably takes up more of their parents’ attention, even now both girls are adults.
The series is beautifully written; I’d recommend it if it’s available in North America. Here it’s on BBC i-Player. Each episode is just 30 minutes long.
Tomorrow we should get the keys to our new house (which is only half a mile from this one); we won’t be moving in immediately, but we’ll start to transfer some of our possessions over the weekend. I’m looking forward to having more space, but showing my age by dreading all the upheaval and the disruption in my routine. I really hope I’m able to join in with our ‘childhood reads’ discussion – I’ll do my best.
Have a great week everyone.
Well, Rosemary. Your timing for your move is not great, is it, with our childhood reads next Friday? (smile) I hope you’re able to participate, too, but certainly understand if moving gets in the way. Congratulations on your new home! How many years have you been in your house? I remember when you first moved from Edinburgh. That’s great that it’s so close so you still have the local places where you walk.
I’m not familiar with Liberty, but the book At Liberty sounds fascinating. I enjoyed the comparison to Johnson’s chagnes at The Lady.
All of your pieces are always fascinating. Thank you!
Thanks so much Lesa!
We’ve actually owned this house quite a long time. We ought it when my husband left his job in renewables in Edinburgh and returned to the oil industry in Aberdeen, but madeleine and I remained in Edinburgh. I moved in when lockdown began in 2020.
I might write about my childhood reads in advance and send it to you, just to be safe!
Rosemary, I’ll take your post ahead of time, if you get around to it.
I love reading your ‘newsy’ posts Rosemary. Makes my life seem quite dull!
Yes, Liberty is a fun store just to walk around in, which we have done several times on visits to London.
The Great British Bake0-Off (as it is called here) is now a regular part of our Saturday night viewing, along with SILENT WITNESS and NEW TRICKS (second time around). We’ve also started watching AS TIME GOES BY again from the beginning. I was impressed anew with Judi Dench after reading her book on Shakespeare and the plays. She’s a National Treasure.
Lesa, Happy Birthday, early! Your celebration sounds like a fun one. I hope the coming year will bring only the best to you.
And congrats, Rosemary, on your new house. Hope the move goes smoothly.
Thank you, Jennifer. I’m always hoping for a good year!
Thank you Jennifer 😀
Happy Birthday, Lesa!
Now we have wind along with the high pollen count. Just what my allergies need.
Paul McCartney just realeased a new album. What staying power! I’ve seen him in concert, and Ringo, too.
They discovered what may be the body of the real guy that inspired Dumas for D’Artagnan. I’m sure some people are lobbying for cloning as we speak.
Opening Day was yesterday. Baseball is the one sport I can follow on the car radio, while running errands. Not something you can really do with basketball.
This week I read:
Wintess Elimination: Vigilante Justice by Scott Johni; An almost incomprehensible book. I’m still not sure what happened.
Blazing Sword: The Last Female Samurai by Guy Hee; Shoehorns the usual Avatar type plot into the Samurai period. Could have been better with something more original.
Wretch by Eric Laroqa: A horror tale more gross than scary. Where have you gone Vincent Price?
Hard Sell by JW Bouchard; Everybody in this book is a jerk, but apparently, we’re supposed to cut the realtor/sleuth sone slack because he’s a white guy who sleeps with black girls. He acquires a murder house, and a mysterious client who wants to sell it forthwith. You know how the irritating, overbearing mother in a lot of cozies are realtors? yeah…
Glen, It sounds like a lousy week for allergies and reading. Thank heavens for baseball!
Happy Birthday to my fellow Aries. Have a wonderful day.
I just finished reading The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen last night and am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. It was a bit of a slow start as I tried to figure out where the story was going but it kept me guessing until the end. I’m curious to see what Maggie Bird does next.
Thank you, Tracy. And Happy Birthday to you as well!
Don’t you like Maggie Bird? I’ll take her as a neighbor.
Happy birthday, Lesa. I know this is hard to believe, but I’ve never had pineapple upside-down cake. My mother didn’t make it, so I didn’t know it as a child, but that’s no excuse. It doesn’t exist in Switzerland, but I’m sure I can find a good recipe online and make one for myself! After all, if it’s your favorite cake, it must be good!
This past Friday was the annual Museum Night in Bern, which is always great fun. All the museums in town, no matter how obscure, and lots of other institutions, like the office of our main newspaper, different departments of the university, and the botanical garden, are open from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. with all kinds of live performances, special entertainments, and tours, plus food and drink! My husband and I went to a number of events together until I went home just before 11 p.m.–he stayed out until the end. Best of all, we agreed, was an excellent mind-reader/magician at the Museum for Communication. We still can’t figure out any of his tricks!
I finally finished ALCHEMIZED by SenLinYu, and the end did not justify having to wade through endless descriptions of inflicting and experiencing violence and suffering. It involves very complicated (though still sometimes insufficient or rushed) world-building, but since I don’t recommend it, I won’t explain the plot, even if I could!
A mystery I found outstandingly well-written and exciting until literally the last page was THE GOOD LIAR, by Denise Mina. There is nothing cozy about it. An expert in blood spatter analysis and an academic working in forensics, the heroine has just lost her lawyer husband to suicide. She is asked to examine the scene of a gruesome double murder in London, with Scotland Yard investigating. Her own evidence relating to blood patterns suggests that the son of one of the victims was the murderer, but she isn’t sure. She quietly continues to investigate this crime and other related cases and faces one dilemma after another. I thought this book was brilliant, if not an easy read.
I also listened to NETWORK EFFECT, by Martha Wells, about the very sophisticated security robot that becomes independent, which was entertaining but not as good as I hoped. And I read a book I’m almost sure was recommended here by either Lesa or another of you or both: DEAD SIMPLE, the first in Peter James’s series with Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. A good police procedural with clever twists. I’ll read the next in the series.
Sorry I’m writing this so late! I just got back from seeing the movie Project Hail Mary. I loved listening to the book, and I thought the movie with Ryan Gosling captured its humor, pathos, and adventure. I laughed a lot!
Oh, I don’t think everyone has to have pineapple upside down cake, Kim. I just know Kevin’s is good.
Museum night sounds fun. And, you have enough museums to do it. I would enjoy it. I love a good magician.
Thank you! I hadn’t heard from anyone who went to Project Hail Mary. I need to go see it. Thank you!
Happy birthday, Lesa!
I read 2 books this week. The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery is a locked door mystery that takes place in 1910 during Halley’s Comet at Tithe Hall. It was good.
Anna Quindlen’s More Than Enough was about English teacher, Polly and her book club friends that buy the books to support the authors but don’t read them. The book was really well done but involved heavy themes of terminal cancer, IVF, and dementia. Despite the sad themes, I did not feel overwhelmed by them. Polly’s husband was a large animal vet at the Bronx Zoo which was interesting. I loved this one.
Happy reading!
Thank you, Sharon.
I always liked Anna Quindlen’s essays, but find her fiction too heavy for me.
Happy birthday in advance, Lesa. The dinner sounds awesome.
Current read is THE BROTHERS McKay by Craig Johnson. ARC in the Longmire series and due out in a couple of months.
Purdue just beat Texas 79-77. Horribly officiated game on both sides.
Thanks, Kevin!
I think Craig Johnson’s publisher was a little more generous with the galleys this time. I was surprised to get one.
I agree about the refs. Watching Illinois beat Houston right now. Lousy commentators on this one. Happy to see Florida lose before tomorrow night. Duke won’t be the first #1 team to lose this year.
I saw part of that Houston/Illinois game and I agree. Incompetence seems to be in this year.
As to the book— I was surprised to get the ARC. The publisher has a history of denying me and I expected that to hold. Especially when it had been two months and counting from when I asked for it until I got approved. Am a little more than halfway and am enjoying it.