It’s Wednesday! Let’s talk about what we’re reading. I’m reading Hester Young’s The Shimmering Road, the sequel to The Gates of Evangeline. This one is set in Texas and Tucson, though. I loved Kay’s comment the other day. The Gates of Evangeline, set in Louisiana, did feel like a gothic novel. She asked, “An Arizona gothic?” Probably not, but I’m not far enough into the book to tell.
I’m heading to Arizona, though, for the Tucson Festival of Books. And, I’m moderating a panel with Hester Young on it, so maybe I can ask her about Arizona gothic.
What are you reading? Readers are curious.
I an almost finished reading THE 7TH CANON by Robert Dugoni. It is a legal thriller set in 1980s San Francisco and is really good.
Then I will start reading the fourth book in the Dark Iceland series, NIGHT BLIND by Ragnar Jonasson. I read BLACK OUT and RUPTURE on the weekend, and this Iceland series is soooo good!
Flying to Honolulu today for an extended vacation before Left Coast Crime next week.
Cool. Enjoy your trips, both of you. We have one last week here before heading back to New York.
Besides the continuing slog (only in terms of length) through the collected short stories of Saki and F. Scott Fitzgerald, I'm reading the David Sedaris book of (mostly) amusing essays, LET'S DISCUSS DIABETES WITH OWLS, and a reread sparked by a review on Bill Crider's blog recently, Richard Bradford's RED SKY AT MORNING. I've always liked the movie version (Richard Thomas, just before he started on THE WALTONS), and had forgotten how close an adaptation of this book it is. It is set mostly in New Mexico in 1944, where 17-year old Josh Arnold has moved with his mother while his father is in the Navy.
Good one.
Just started STEWBALL by Peter Bowen.
Glad you like RED SKY AT MORNING, Jeff. I picked up Gaiman's NORSE MYTHS at the library yesterday and started reading it. I was surprised at how well I remembered some of the stories he retells, having read them so long ago. But I seem to remember stuff I read when I was ten better than stuff I read last week. I'm also about finished with two books of short stories, PIECES OF MODESTY and THE BEST OF KEITH LAUMER.
Story collections – I just received In Sunlight or in Shadow – Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper, edited by Lawrence Block. I'm looking forward to sampling that.
Well, Grace. From Iceland to home to Hawaii. And, people think I travel a lot! Enjoy your trip.
That Hopper short story collection is one of the better new ones I've read recently, Lesa. The overall quality of the stories is quite high.
Lesa,
Thank you for your kind words about the loss of my daughter, I appreciate it so much.
Just finished Irrefutable Evidence and Informed Consent both by Melissa F Miller.
Still reading The Descent by Alma Katsu.
Started another book by Melissa F Miller, International Incident.
Enjoy your day. ☕📚
Thanks Lesa. Lots of timezones and weather extremes within a week but it is fun. And I love going to Left Coast Crime.
Grace, I have enjoyed Robert Dugoni books. Glad that she shared that the new one is really good. Looking forward to reading it. Have a great trip, have fun.
Oh, I wish we were going to Left Coast Crime, but we decided not this year. And I want to go to the Tucson event some year too. My husband was just in Tucson for a golf trip, but I decided not to go. Told him it should have been during the festival. LOL
I'm reading INK AND BONE by Lisa Unger – one of her books set in The Hollows, upstate New York. Never know what you'll find in THE HOLLOWS. And I just started listening to CUT TO THE BONE by Alex Caan – British vlogger goes missing and that's about as far as I've gotten. Ha!
So, I understand that the 3rd book after 'Arizona Gothic' will be set in Hawaii – 'Hawaii Gothic?' – ask her about that too. LOL
I'm reading THE CHILBURY LADIES' CHOIR by Jennifer Ryan. About 75 pages in; so far, quite interesting. Told in the form of letters and journal entries by different characters. Set during WWII in England.
I finished The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan and Death of a Ghost by M.C. Beaton this past week. I enjoyed Chilbury particularly the character of Mrs. Tilling. The latest Hamish Macbeth was a disappointment. Perhaps the series has just gone on too long. This week I am reading The Lost Book of the Grail by Charlie Lovett which I am enjoying very much. Safe travels!
Just Finished Dying for a Dude, a cozy by Cindy Samples, a local(ish) author.
Just started Cold Hit by Stephen J Cannell. Then I'll start on Slow Curve on the Coquihalla by RE Donald, a long haul trucker mystery.
I just finished Banana Cream Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke. Next I'm going to start a funny paranormal romance, The Dragon Finds Forever by Kristen Painter.
I enjoy reading the conversations we all have here about books & travel. So much fun!
Glen! Stephen Cannell's King Con was one of my all-time favorite books & a never-fail with library patrons. Loved sharing that book.
I've just been paging back through Kent Krueger's first book, IRON LAKE. That was such a terrific book that has continued on into so many more. I thought of this book because of the travel theme being discussed, because I found Kent's books transported me from hot Florida to cold Minnesota so completely and so unexpectedly, at least the first time. 🙂 In later books I was braced for more explorations, into places in the mind or in the wilderness.
Have fun at Left Coast Crime.
Finishing The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry then will start on Every Waking Moment by Chris Fabry which has been sitting on my TBR shelves for a long time. Big print. Yum Yum!
I'm reading an ARC of ILL WILL by Dan Chaon. I'm halfway and am not sure if I like it. But it's good enough to finish.
I'm reading Mischling by Affinity Konar. This is a WWII novel about Mengele and the experiments on twins so it's a tough story to read. But it's excellent writing with beautiful main characters.
I just finished Andrew Michael Hurley's THE LONEY. It's about a devout Catholic family in 1970s London who travel to a shrine in northern England, hoping for a "cure" for their mentally-disabled son. It's beautifully-written in first-person (the narrator is the brother of the disabled man) and ruminates on God, faith, belief, and the nature of good and evil. I recommend it–but be prepared for several difficult-to-read passages involving a baby.
I just finished Deborah Crombie's latest, Garden of Lamentations. She does a great job of carrying the long character arc, the plot arc from the previous book, and keeping a lot of stories moving forward. Before that, I Shot the Buddha, a particularly crazy and fun Dr. Siri story from Colin Cotterill. I'm reading Ed Lin's crime novel set in Taiwan, Ghost Month right now. A culture I don't know well, so it hold special interest for me.