What are you reading this weekend? I’m finishing up Carolyn Hart’s last Death on Demand mystery, Walking on My Grave. There’s something sad about reading a book when the author says she’s wrapping up the series. And, it’s sad to see Carolyn Hart and Margaret Maron, two of the masters of the traditional mystery, wrapping up their careers. Neither have said they’re done writing. Maron said she’s going to write short stories. And Carolyn Hart still has the Bailey Ruth books. But, it feels as if they’re wrapping up. Granted, they’ve had long, distinguished careers, and they deserve some downtime – not on deadline, not going to bookstores and conferences. I’m just a little melancholy about it.
So, it’s a rainy, blah weekend here. It’s been rainy for over a week. I’m heading to a friend’s house to watch movies. Are you huddled at home with a good book? Or, do you have decent weather? What are your reading or weekend plans?
Lesa, I agree that I am not looking forward to reading the LAST Annie and Max book. Walking On My Grave is on my TBR pile.
We have had record amounts of rain here too this week and the worst flooding in Ottawa (and region) in over 20 years.
It is supposed to rain this entire weekend, so I am definitely reading more.
ELUSIVE ELIXIR by Gigi Pandian and A TWIST OF THE KNIFE by Becky Masterman followed by two new authors for me: RED LINE by Brian Thiem and THE DRIFTER by Nick Petrie.
I was afraid you were going to ask me that. So many books that I'm drowning in them, trying to pick out one at a time but always finding the next one too tempting to resist.
Right now I have three library downloads on the Kindle, so I have to read those first:
Lydia Davis, CAN'T AND WON'T (short stories, most very short; I'm more than halfway through it)
Liesa Mignogna, ed., LAST NIGHT A SUPERHERO SAVED MY LIFE. A number of authors – Joe R. Lansdale, Neil Gaiman, Jodi Picoult, Scott Westerfeld among them – talk about what their favorite superhero meant to them growing up (and, sometimes, does now). Very interesting, even to this non-superhero lover.
Mur Lafferty, SIX WAKES. Six clones on a ship in deep space wake to find they (the crew) have been murdered, and they have to solve who did it. Good so far.
Then there are others already started, but I'll leave those for the moment. Just picked up another library book in a series I like, Julie Dahl's CONVICTION, about Brooklyn reporter Rebekah Roberts. (There are two other library books I'd started before this new stuff came in as well.)
The weather sucks. We had over three inches of rain in a few hours yesterday, with a lot of local street and highway flooding. But today is relatively drier and we have tickets for the off-Broadway production of one of J. B. Priestley's lesser-known plays, THE ROUNDABOUT.
Sorry to hear about Margaret Maron, as her Deborah Knott series is one of my favorites, and a must-read as soon as each comes out.
Finished rereading Ross Thomas' THE BACKUP MEN and started rereading AMERICAN GODS. Wasn't especially fond of it the first time, but because of the TV series and because I'd seen an article that referred to it as a "beloved" book, I thought I'd give it another shot and see what I missed. Started dipping into an SF anthology of the "best" stories of 1983, too. (I'm a bit behind my "best of" reading.)
What great comments this morning. Thanks, Grace. I will be reading before & after I come home from a friend's today. Rain, rain, rain. Blah. And, I'm happy to know I'm not the only one to feel that way about last books. But, I guess not really happy. We can commiserate together.
Hah! Funny, Jeff. Afraid I was going to ask you that. It's because of you that I do ask. And, I'm happy when people answer. Someone who feels the same way I do – greedy. The new books always look so enticing!
Bill, I hope you like AMERICAN GODS better the second time around. It never worked for me for CATCHER IN THE RYE. I read it twice & never did get it.
Lesa: Yes, I read the last Deborah Knott mystery, LONG UPON THE LAND, with sadness too last year. But at least she ended it well by resolving some family secrets. Some series go on painfully too long but I don't feel that way about either Margaret Maron or Carolyn Hart. So yes, we can commiserate together.
After a few gloomy rainy days in Central Ohio the sun is shining today but I had to break down and turn our heat back on. It feels more like fall than spring.
I am sorry to hear this will be the last Max and Annie by Carolyn Hart. It is on my TBR pile. This week I finished The Forbidden Garden by Ellen Herrick which I enjoyed and Caramel Crush by Jenn McKinlay which I enjoyed so much more than Vanilla Beaned. Now I am nearly halfway through Trumpet of Death by Cynthia Riggs. When she finishes writing Victoria Trumbull mysteries, I hope she writes her autobiography as she seems to have lived a most interesting life. Enjoy your weekend!
Finished The Trail by Larry D Thompson
Finished Scarecrow and The Black Ice both by Michael Connelly.
Still reading The 7th Canon by Robert Dugoni. Had to set it a side to read two ebooks from the library, only fourteen days to read two books.
I will try and finish The 7th Canon before another ebook comes from the library. I will pick out a print book to read a long wit my ebook. So many to pick from. I know no one else has that problem? 😄
,We have had a lot of rain this week. No rain today, sun is out.
Happy reading to everyone this week end.
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I'm enjoying Hank Phillippi Ryan's THE WRONG GIRL. We had lots of rain and even cool temperatures here in south Louisiana this week, but thank goodness the rain moved on and the sun is out, especially since Jazz Fest is taking place in nearby New Orleans.
I'm also disappointed to know those great authors are stepping back, although they certainly do deserve the rest.
Lesa, I'm so happy that you received those Best Reviewer awards — because you are!
I started Snared by Jennifer Estep and about 50 pages in lost interest. I think that series has dragged on too long. Now I'm reading Caramel Crush by Jenn McKinlay which I'm enjoying.
After a couple of days of 90 degrees in mid-week (San Jose, CA), we are now back in the mid-60s with a 10% chance of rain. I'm looking forward to getting my first massage in 2 years this afternoon and reading The Best of Adam Sharp by Graeme Simsion. I absolutely loved his The Rosie Project but was very disappointed in its follow-up. I'm crossing my fingers for this one.
Here on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain, we're having absolutely beautiful weather (after a terrible storm Wednesday night did major damage to the area and left many without power for the better part of a day). We're coolish for May (low humidity), brilliant blue sky, and bright sun. My only problem is that it's termite swarming season. Shudder!
So, last Saturday, after living less than an hour's drive from the French Quarter for almost two decades, my husband and I finally had dinner at Antoine's, one of New Orleans's oldest and most popular restaurant. The food was amazingly good–I could write a whole post on that alone! By an odd coincidence, when we got home, our local PBS station was airing a program called "Great Restaurants of New Orleans"–and the first one they talked about was Antoine's! One of the things the show mentioned was a 1948 mystery by Frances Parkinson Keyes called DINNER AT ANTOINE'S. So, naturally, I had to order it from the library. It came in a couple of days ago and I'm reading it now. Keyes was enormous popular in the mid-20th century, but she's now a truly forgotten writer. DAA is her only mystery novel and so far it's a bit slow going, but I'm persevering. The book also contains a lot of cringeworthy patronizing racism–reflective of its place and time, no doubt–but it doesn't make it much easier to read.
Thank you, June, for the compliment. I appreciate it!
It was so good to read all your comments today – weather, your plans, your books. And, the background of your books. Deb, I enjoyed your story about Antoine's & DINNER AT ANTOINE'S. We readers can always find a book that relates to our lives, can't we?
I love your comments. Thanks to Jeff, What Are You Reading has become one of my favorite days. (I think it's back to Thursday this coming week.)
And, if you're only reading my comment, and not the comments from other readers, you're missing out!
Two writers who left us too soon, one for health reasons and one by choice, were Elizabeth Linington – under many pen names and Carolyn Heilbrun who wrote as Amanda Cross.
I reread one or two of their books every so often.
Oops – how could I forget Dorothy Gilman? One of my favorite cozy writers.
Reading The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey on my Kindle in large print and have just started The Mother's Promise by Sally Hepworth. Lots of rain here in northern Texas but it the rain and hail season.
Thanks, Lesa. I must admit it is my favorite feature too, seeing what everyone is reading.
We saw J. B. Priestley's 1933 THE ROUNDABOUT yesterday, which was fun without being as memorable as the two plays that preceded it – THE GOOD COMPANIONS and DANGEROUS CORNER. At least the rain has ended, even though it is quite cool for May.
I share your sadness, Lesa. I've met both women and they are among the classiest ladies in mystery. Carolyn especially has been somewhat of a mentor to me. It's such a tough business that I agree, they deserve to rest from the less enjoyable aspects of being a writer.
I'm reading The Ninth Step by Mark Dawson. Sort of a Jack Reacher type novel.
Gram, One I still miss is Dorothy Simpson. As I understand it, and I may be wrong, she stopped writing because of problems with her hands. But, I loved her books. Wonderful police procedurals that included stories of Luke Thanet's personal life. Since the series ended in 2000, many readers probably never heard of her books.
Jacqueline, I'm sure it is a tough business, and, with publishers cutting back, it isn't getting any easier.
It does certainly feel like an end of an era with so many writers I enjoyed coming to the end of their writing careers. One forgets that even though their characters don't seem to age, their creators do.
Lesa: Thanks for the update about Dorothy Simpson. I also enjoyed the Inspector Thanet books and did not know she had stopped writing due to health problems.