It’s still Thursdays at Lesa’s, even though I won’t be checking in until late today. I’m driving seven hours from Mom’s back to home in Evansville. But, don’t be shy. I know everyone still wants to talk books, and I still want to catch up with your reading when I get home. I love Thursdays because I can catch up with all of you.
So, if you stop by, I hope you take the time to share what you’re reading. I’ll be checking in later!
Drive safe!
I read:
Antiques Carry On by Barbara Allan; The Borne girls go to England…for a short time and find a dead body. I liked it, but felt like we should have got more time in England.
Star Trek Enterprise: The first Adventure; I’m not the biggest fan of Star Trek, but this tale of how the crew got together on their first mission was entertaining. Sulu seems to take a larger part in the books than he did on big or small screen. Poor Chekhov stays a minor character no matter the media.
Edokko by Lauren Greene; An entitle Canadian girl goes to Japan as an exchange student, and goes not to Tokyo, as promised, but some town in the sticks. She eventually gets over herself and makes friends.
Dawn of the Mummy by Mark L’estrange; a giant female warrior is tricked into mummification in ancient Egypt, and awakens in modern England. Too much soap opera, not enough strangling.
The Real Mr. Big by Ron Chepesiuk;a True Crime biography of a British cocaine king pin. Very self serving by the subject, as one would expect.
Home safe! I love it, Glen. I can always count on your comments. I love that one – “Too much soap opera. Not enough strangling.”
I’m listening to Cleo Coyle’s French Pressed. I read that there will be a new book in the series soon which inspired me to go back and catch up some more. There are several series I’d love to be caught up on, and this is one. The narrator, Rebecca Gibel, does such a great job.
I hate to admit it, but I like the Haunted Bookshop series more than the CoffeeHouse one, Sandie.
Hello everyone,
Lesa, I wish you a safe and smooth drive home – take care!
I’m currently reading A Book of Death & Fish by Ian Stephen.
It’s fiction written as fact (if that makes sense – I suppose all fiction is that really!) – the narrator, a Lewis-born man, is writing his will, and in the course of this he reflects upon the events of his life. The book is made up of snippets of memoir, and as much of it is written in dialect (with the odd bit of Gaelic thrown in – but I don’t speak Gaelic, and I’m coping), you do need a while to get your ear in. Also, as he does not explain much, you have to have the patience to wait to find out who most of the characters are. However, it’s well worth the effort and paints a vivid picture of island life, the fishing community, the dangers of the sea (his best friend’s father and brother are drowned early on, and there is also reference to the Iolaire, and other historic disasters), and the traditions of the area, intertwined with his own family history, stories of his parents, his cousins, aunts and uncles, and later his wife and child. As he grows older, major events of post war years, and their effects on life in the Outer Hebrides, also become more prominent. The publisher describes it as ‘a litany of small histories witnessed during one very individual lifetime.’ It’s idiosyncratic, and beautifully written.
Ian Stephen is a Lewis man, and describes himself as an author, artist, storyteller and sailor.
I’m also reading another of Janie Bolitho’s Cornish mysteries, Betrayed in Cornwall. As I’ve probably said before, this series is not 5*, but I enjoy dipping into it. In this book, artist Rose Trevelyan is looking forward to her first solo exhibition. When neither her troubled friend Etta nor Etta’s fisherman son turn up for the opening night, she knows something is wrong, and when Josh’s body is found under the cliffs – with a pack of heroin nearby – she is sure there is more to this than meets the eye. And that’s as far as I’ve got. I’m enjoying it, especially as it also brings in Rose’s elderly parents, who are visiting for the show, and another of her artist friends, who has just been contacted by the child she was forced to give up for adoption. Presumably all these threads will come together.
Cornwall, where I spent numerous holidays as a child, is now so expensive and so overrun with second home owners, that the low paid locals can’t afford to live there. There was a news item this morning about a man who is the manager of one of the hotels, but has had to live on his boat (and we are not talking ocean-going yachts here, by the way) – he had a rental flat but the landlord realised holidaymakers were prepared to pay exorbitant prices, so he ended the guy’s lease. Any other flat he has tried to rent has been so sought after that he has not had a hope, and he said that landlords are doing things like doubling the rent just before they sign the lease, or demanding as much as SIX months rent in advance.
I really do think the whole issue of holiday-home owning needs to be addressed – but it never will be, as so many of the current London government will own property in these places, and their voters will also tend to be affluent. It’s a problem, and it is now also affecting the Highlands up here – like Cornwall, an area of very low pay, now being colonised by very wealthy people from London and the south of England. Scottish residents have to be a lot of additional stamp duty (purchase tax) if they are buying any additional properties, but this does not apply in the rest of the UK.
I also finished the book I mentioned last week – Guilt in the Cotswolds. I would not recommend it. Not only is the lead character very cold and self-obsessed, the characters who at first appeared to have more potential were never properly developed, so that their actions often seemed illogical, and the final solution to the murder just came out of nowhere, which is always annoying.
I’m also trying to write a review of Writing at the Kitchen Table, the biography of Elizabeth David that I read last week. I’m finding it quite hard to be concise as there is just so much to say – whatever one thinks of Mrs David, she had a very eventful life.
On TV we are still with The Crown; the latest episode was about Margaret Thatcher’s disgraceful refusal to impose sanctions on South Africa in 1986, when all the other member countries of the Commonwealth agreed to do so. The Queen is portrayed as Thatcher’s polar opposite – devoted to the Commonwealth, and determined to get the sanctions imposed (of course no-one knows if this ever happened, as the Queen is supposed to stay politically neutral). The programme hints very strongly that Thatcher’s main reason for refusing to act was that her reprehensible son Mark had business interests in South Africa – and one really would not be surprised, as Mark was the absolute apple of her eye, irresponsible, spoiled, always in trouble and never ever made to pay. Her daughter Carol was a respected journalist, but it is well known that Thatcher never gave her much credit for her success – her only care was for Mark, to whose numerous failings she was entirely blind.
Last night I also watched a BBC documentary about Jewish life in Britain today. It was interesting, and looked at both Orthodox and Reformed Jews. One thing that surprised me was that several people said that they were ‘not really religious’ but still valued the traditions of their family’s faith – so one set of parents was arranging their son’s bar mitzvah, and another the circumcision of their new baby. Of course I am well aware that numerous ‘Church of England’ people still want to be married in church, have their children baptised, have religious funerals, etc, even when they have no belief and do not attend church – I suppose, knowing so little about Judaism myself, I imagined that members of that faith would be more traditional, though of course there is no reason at all why they should be. An Orthodox Jewish lady talked about being one of the volunteer team at her local synagogue that prepares a deceased person for burial – again, this was something about which i knew nothing; fascinating. This programme is the first in a series, and will also look at Hindus, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs.
On the radio I have been listening to various book podcasts – some of these are good, but I was shocked by one I hit upon this week, as it soon dawned on me that neither of the podcasters had actually read any of the books (one of them said ‘oh I read the first 20 pages’). I do get the impression that some people are almost manic about telling everyone how many books they have been sent (whether or not they will ever read them), and how many book things they do – podcasts, Instagram, websites, YouTube videos. For me that is not the joy of books – it turns it into something as manic as the rest of life. American podcasts that I do enjoy include ‘Currently Reading’, and ‘Modern Mrs Darcy – What Shall I Read Next’, although I was a bit taken aback by the latter at first, when it suddenly jumped to adverts (all voiced by the presenter, Anne Bogel, so you think she’s still talking about the book) for everything from sportswear to vitamin supplements, right in the middle of a discussion.
Last weekend I was in Edinburgh and made the time to visit some of my favourite charity shops. I was so delighted to come across a copy of Colm Toibin’s Nora Webster (which I had recently enjoyed on BBC Sounds), two Mark Twains (I’m ashamed to admit I’ve never read any), and a collection of Stevie Smith’s prose and poems – plus some lighter stuff like Emma Burnstall’s A Cornish Secret and Elly Griffith’s The Janus Stone.
My youngest daughter, Madeleine, finished her art degree course last week, and I am thrilled to say that she got a First in her finals. That was my best news for the week, and probably the year!
I’ll stop now. Have a good weekend everyone!
Rosemary
Rosemary, I can’t speak about Britain, and indeed can’t speak for anyone else here other than myself and people I know, but there is a wide range among Jews, from the Ultra Orthodox and Hisidic to Conservative to Reform. Yes, I would say that religious observance overall has clearly gone down tremendously from when I was a kid, but some seem stricter now than ever. My brother and I (and later my sisters) did go to Hebrew school after regular school a couple of times a week, went to temple or Friday night or Saturday morning, had our bar mitzvahs, etc. Yet none of us are at all observant now. I cannot remember the last time I was in a synagogue, but it was probably a bar mitzvah or a wedding., I find similar things are true of my friends of other religions.
Thank you for that insight Jeff. There are so few Jewish people living on the eastern side of Scotland that we really know very little about modern practices. The people featured in the programme were mainly in London, Essex and, I think , Manchester.
There is certainly very little observance in the Church of England, or indeed the Church of Scotland (which is, of course, not the same thing, as the latter is firmly Presbyterian and nothing to do with the Queen, whereas she is the head of the C of E.) I believe it is the evangelical churches that are thriving in some areas.
This has reminded me of ‘Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret’ by Judy Blume, in which Margaret talks to her version of God in private but can’t find him in any of the places he is supposed to be.
What an interesting discussion. As a Catholic who went to 8 years of a Catholic school, and no longer attends church, I was interested in the comments. I did go to Mass, though, when I was in Ireland, and just accompanied my sister and brother-in-law. They are practicing Catholics. But, it was funny because the kids in the parish were making their First Communion, and you could tell none of the parents attended regularly, but they did want their children to make their First Communion. But, the parents didn’t know when to kneel, stand, etc.
Have a safe trip home Lesa.
I read:
MR PENUMBRA’S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE by Robin Sloan. After being laid off from his job, a young man gets a job as the night clerk at bookstore. But almost no one ever buys anything. Instead customers exchange books full of gibberish with strange titles for other unreadable ones with an equally strange titles. I was halfway through the book before I found out what was going on but I wound up liking the story.
WITCHING FOR MOXIE by Deanna Chase. A paranormal romance. The story was predictable but I liked the characters.
THE PUPPY NO ONE WANTED by Barby Keel. The true story of an abused puppy who was dumped at an animal rescue. Every time they placed him in a home he was returned to the rescue. This was a tearjerker.
DEATH COMES TO THE RECTORY by Catherine Lloyd. A historical mystery set in Regency England.
I’m currently reading an ARC of A GLIMMER OF A CLUE by Daryl Wood Gerber. A cozy mystery where the owner of a fairy garden store has a resident fairy who helps her solve the murder. It’s readable but nothing about the story is drawing me in.
Sandy, I have read Mr Penumbra. I couldn’t really decide about it – I liked it enough to keep going to the end, but I wouldn’t say it was my favourite read.
Please tell me someone finally gave that puppy a happy home! Why did people keep returning it? I can’t read books like that.
Rosemary
Rosemary, he did get a happy home with the person who runs the shelter. They kept returning the puppy because it was huge and clumsy plus very energetic and it wouldn’t go outside at night. They eventually realized it was terrified of the dark
I’m another one who read Mr. Penumbra, liked it, but didn’t love it. I feel sorry about that puppy. I”m glad he found a home.
I remember liking MR PENUMBRA’S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE quite a lot.
Safe travels! I just started another library book, While Justice Sleeps.
Stacey Abrams, right?
Safe travels, Lesa!
Read:
The Last Night in London by Karen White
Pieces of Her by Karin Slaughter
The Moon Over Kilmore Quay by Carmel Harrington
Now rereading an oldie: “. . . And Ladies of the Club.”
Now must run for an appt. with the oral surgeon for an implant. UGh.
Good luck with that implant procedure, Kaye!
I hope it all went okay, Kaye. Well, “…And Ladies of the Club” should last a little while. Hugs!
I hope it is a safe and easy trip home, Lesa.
I did finally finish the three short story collections mentioned previously, and I have two new ones I am currently reading. One is a mystery, originally published in 1898, and reprinted in the Library of Congress Crime Collection, [Benjamin] Rodrigues Ottolengui’s FINAL PROOF. Ottolengui was a fascinating person, a Sephardic Jew from Charleston who achieved success in his life as a dentist. He created a Sherlock Holmes-like couple of amateur sleuths, who competed with each other to solve crimes as much as for any other reason, Jack Barnes and Robert Mitchel. The stories are set in Gilded Age New York, and the life of the city is a fun part of the stories to read about. I like it. The book was one of the earliest to be included in QUEEN’S QUORUM, which was Ellery Queen’s listing of the most historically important collections of short stories published. I first read about it in the 1973 A CATALOGUE OF CRIME by Jacques Barzun & Wendell Hertig Taylot.
The second collection is non-mystery, the first by Nathan Englander, FOR THE RELIEF OF UNBEARABLE URGES. Englander grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community on Long Island and has taught writing. Good so far.
The big one I’m reading (about 3/4 of the way done) is Jon Talton’s historical stand alone mystery, CITY OF DARK CORNERS, set in early 1933 Phoenix, Arizona, scene of his previous mystery series about historian/cop David Mapstone. The hero is Gene Hammons, a former cop turned PI when he was pushed out of the force for refusing to go along with the company line in a previous case, that of so-called Trunk Murderer Winnie Ruth Judd. Gene refuses to believe that Judd acted alone, let alone was able to kill and dismember the two victims, let alone ship them to Los Angeles. At the time of the book, Judd was still awaiting execution. (In the end, she lived until 1998.) Hammons’ older brother Don is still on the force. Other real people appear in the book, including future Senator and Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, here about to take over his family’s department store at age 23. The case involves a beautiful young woman, murdered and dismembered and dumped near the railroad tracks in an apparent attempt to make it look like the train killed her. Of course, Hammons is warned off and of course he doesn’t listen. Talton had to have done a tremendous amount of research for this one, and you can follow along as Gene drives around 1933 Phoenix, a much smaller city then and suffering from the Depression. I like to look at Google Maps and check locations with Union Station to the Arizona Biltmore and even up to Prescott. The only mistake I have noticed is his implication that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were a couple in 1933, which does not seem to be true, even though they had been in a movie together by then. Other than that, the history is fascinating to me, and I am anxious to see who is behind the murder – one of her lovers, a crooked cop, the Chicago mob, whoever. Very entertaining.
Oh, I’m so glad you’re enjoying City of Dark Corners, Jeff. I thought it was terrific. And, I really enjoyed having the actual people in the book.
Safe travels Lesa! Hope you had a wonderful visit in Ohio and it didn’t rain the whole time at the lake like it did in Columbus.
This week I finished MAGGIE FINDS HER MUSE by Dee Ernst. Thanks so much for recommending this Lesa! I just loved it and gobbled it up in 2 days.
I also finished A PECULIAR COMBINATION by Ashley Weaver. This one was good as well. Electra McDonnell and her locksmith uncle supplement their income breaking into houses in London during WWII. They are recruited into service by Major Ramsey to put their skills to use for the British government. I actually enjoyed this one more than the Amory Ames series. I hope the author has a change of heart and doesn’t pursue the love triangle she seemed to be setting up in the next one.
Rosemary, I do so enjoy your posts. I found your comments on Cornwall so interesting. I hope we get the series on religion you mentioned on PBS.
Happy Reading!
Thank you so much Sharon. I need to look up what Lesa said about Maggie Finds Her Muse, the title sounds fun.
Oh, good, Sharon! I’m glad you enjoyed Maggie Finds Her Muse. As to the Ashley Weaver book, do authors or editors, or whoever know we don’t really care for love triangles in mysteries?
Lesa, I used to complain about a 5-hour drive to visit my son and his family (now they’re 10 minutes away), but 7 hours! Wow, please have a safe drive.
I’m a bit frustrated with my library right now. They never show new books in the catalog until it’s almost release time, so no luck putting things on hold months ahead as I used to do at my previous libraries. The May books were a bonanza, though. They had almost all of the many books on my list available, although not long before May started. The result is that now they all seem to be coming in. I notice that I have 4 books in transit, and many more waiting. On the other end of the spectrum, not one of the June books I’d like to put on hold are in the catalog. Oh, well, it will take me time to get through the May books, so I guess I shouldn’t complain.
I liked Jennifer Weiner’s two previous books, as well as her early books, but THAT SUMMER harkened back (for me) to the books she published between 2008 and 2015, which I found to be just meh. It also made me feel unpleasantly unsettled, early on. There are two women named Diana. One’s husband dubbed her “Daisy” soon after they met, and the name stuck. Daisy left college to marry Hal, who was older and who offered security and luxury. He tolerates her “little” food preparation and training business and makes all the decisions for the family. Hal insists their free-spirited, eccentric 14-year-old daughter Beatrice go to his own alma mater, a boarding school, which is not at all right for her. Daisy strikes up a relationship with the other Diana, since the fact that their email addresses are so close means that they sometimes get each other’s messages. Diana is a wealthy, single consultant, older than Daisy, but the two hit it off. Diana has told no one about something unfortunate that happened to her at age 15, when she was working as a nanny for a family on Cape Cod, which resulted in a different life than she had dreamed of for herself. It wouldn’t be fair to go further with the plot without revealing spoilers, but suffice it to say that this is not a “beach read” but something I found more distasteful. However, Weiner is good at describing the Cape Cod atmosphere. Another bright spot is the character of Beatrice–I’d like to read a book about her!
I liked BEACH READ by Emily Henry even more the second time through, and everyone in the book club adored it. It’s a contemporary romance, but one with depth and character development. Two students who didn’t appreciate each other’s writing styles in college went on to be published authors who are now both suffering from writer’s block and painful experiences. January has written four successful romances, but a failed romance of her own and a father who had a secret life have made her question everything she thought she knew about love. Gus writes eccentric literary fiction without happy endings and has an aversion to “happily ever after” reads. They find themselves living in adjacent cottages in Michigan and thrown together by a local book store and book club leader, and they decide to write books in each other’s styles–it’s a competition to see whose book is sold first (or at all) and which gets a better deal. It ends up being a slow-burn and ultimately satisfying romance. I thoroughly enjoyed Henry’s writing style and unique characters.
David Handler’s Stewart Hoag Mysteries might an acquired taste, but I’m all in. THE MAN WHO WASN’T ALL THERE is the 12th in the series about Stewart Hoag (Hoagy), an author working on his second book in the New England farmhouse of his ex-wife, movie star Merrilee (they still have a thing for each other). Merrilee is making a movie with Mel Gibson in Budapest, and Stewart hopes to have some quiet time to finish his book. Unfortunately, a man dressed in a state trooper-like uniform, brandishing a gun and driving a state trooper-like car harasses and threatens him for no apparent reason. Stewart laughs it off, then is told by the local police that the man is dangerous–he’s a multi-billionaire with a 10-year-old mind and a violent past who doesn’t want to take his meds and who is the scion of a prominent family that protects him and has help from the governor. Mayhem ensues. The story is told in the first person in a breezy style,. There’s never a real sense of suspense or danger, and Stewart gives us a lot of detailed description about his clothes, what he is eating, his surroundings, and the like. But somehow it works for me.
DEATH AT THE SALON by Louise R. Innes is the second Daisy Thorne Mystery, set in the quiet village of Edgemead in Surrey, England. Daisy is shocked to discover, just outside the back door of her hair salon, a dead woman with Daisy’s missing hair-cutting scissors in her back. Melanie had been a customer earlier in the day, but what led her to return at night after closing time and why had she been murdered? There is no dearth of suspects, including Daisy herself, and it falls to DCI Paul McGuiness, whom Daisy had briefly dated in the past, to figure out who might have been motivated to murder Melanie. And, of course, Daisy can’t resist helping out with the investigation–much to the detective’s chagrin–to clear her own name and those of her friends and coworkers. Anyone who enjoys well-written cozy mysteries, small-town local color, and a quick, pleasant read may find this series the perfect escape from daily life.
Oh, 7 hours is worth it to see my Mom and sisters, Margie. It was Mom’s 85th birthday, and my sisters and I hosted a small family party. We also went to see cousins on both sides of the family. And, two of Christie’s kids came to visit. We had a wonderful time. I’ve always been the one who lived away – Florida, Arizona. This is the closest I’ve lived.
I’m so happy to hear that Beach Reads is even better the second time around. I kept that book. I couldn’t get into her new one at all, though.
I’m reading the 3rd book in Tricia Fields mystery series, Wrecked. Set in a Tex-Mex border town, the town and surroundings are interesting and the characters a little rowdy and dysfunctional. I like Josie, the police chief.
I like Josie, too, Patricia.
This week I have been reading Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I love it! This book and The Rose Code are my favorites so far this year.
Kathleen, I have heard a lot about Malibu Rising – this is by the same author as Daisy Jones and the Six, right? (I haven’t read that either…) People seem to love the Malibu book.
Yes it is by the same author as Daisy Jones and the Sixes which is also a favorite of mine. I read it but I have heard that it is fantastic on audio. She also wrote The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I am about 75% through Malibu Rising and I dread finishing it. I will miss the characters. If you read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
I hadn’t heard anyone’s reaction to Malibu Rising, so thank you, Kathleen.
I have been on the library waitlist for THE ROSE CODE for 11 months, and I’m still 32nd in line for one of the dozen copies. Sigh.
That should have been 4 months…
Ouch, that’s a long time to wait for the book. Darn.
Good morning!
We are having quite a hot spell, today is the 6th consecutive day above 90. So, I have been walking in the morning rather than the afternoon. It is still quite humid, but not so oppressively hot. There was a nice breeze this morning.
As far as reading, I finished Peach Clobbered by Anna Gerard – the first book in the Georgia B & B mysteries. Nina Fleet has recently moved to the small town of Cymbeline and purchased a charming Victorian home that she hopes to convert to a B & B. However, a relative of the previous owner claims the relative left the home to him. When he shows up on her doorstep wearing a penguin costume, Nina is caught off guard. He is working as a mascot for a local ice cream shop – the reason for the penguin costume. He claims to have proof that his relative left the home to him. Nina is not willing to give up her new home that easily. He finally leaves after threatening to contact the proper authorities. When a man in a penguin suit is found dead a few days later, Nina is shocked. I enjoyed this one! I liked the characters and the setting. The mystery was great too.
Next I read A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver – the first book in the Electra McDonnell series. The year is 1940, the place London. Ellie and her Uncle Mick make ends meet by breaking into homes, opening safes and stealing jewels. However, when they are caught they are in for a surprise. Expecting to be hauled to jail, they are surprised to find they have been captured by British Intelligence. And they have a proposition – do a job for them or go to jail. This will be one of my favorite reads of 2021. I loved the characters, the pace and the mystery.
I will be heading to the library later today to pick up a new batch of reads. Can’t wait!
Hope you all have a good weekend!
Oh, a good reading week, Gretchen. And, you’re the second one today to say how much you liked A Peculiar Combination. I’ll have to get around to it.
Stay safe on your drive back, Lesa!
I am currently listening to Jackpot by Stuart Woods on audio. In print, I am reading The Unkindness of Ravens by fellow librarian, M. E. Hilliard
I hope you enjoy The Unkindness of Ravens, Katherine. My cousin loved it, and said to let her know when the second comes out.
I am also reading City of Dark Corners by Jon Talton. I am only two chapters in, but am hooked! I also re-read (for the third time) The Silver Pigs by Lindsey Davis. This is the first book in her wonderful Falco series. Marcus Didius Falco is a private informer in Rome during the reign of Emperor Vespasian. A damsel in distress enlists Falco’s assistance. Resolving the case involves travels to Britain and undercover work in a silver mine there. This is one of my favorite mystery series…wonderful research, fabulous characters and plenty of humor. If you enjoy historical mysteries or hard boiled detectives, you will enjoy this series. Will be reading the second book in the series, Shadows in Bronze (again) after finishing City of Dark Corners.
I’m glad you’re enjoying City of Dark Corners, Jennifer. Do you Davis’ series about Flavia as well?
I have purchased all of the Flavia books, but haven’t read them yet. I don’t want to let go of Falco and Helena! I will get to them at some point and am sure I will enjoy them. Glad you had a good time with your family!
Thank you, Jennifer!
Hi everyone, and traveling mercies, Lesa! I’ve read some super books recently. “The Thursday Murder Club”, recommended here, was a lot of fun, and “A Pretty Deceit” by Anna Lee Huber was a nice continuation of the Verity Kent series. “Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own” by Eddie Glaude is so good that I am taking it slow.
“Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding” by Daniel Lieberman was not as good as I hoped it would be. The book reads like a textbook and felt like a college lecture.
I am in the middle of Becky Chambers’ latest Wayfarers’ book, “The Galaxy, and the Ground Within: A Novel.” This is a science fiction series that has a very anthropological feel in the way it describes species and their cultures. Happy reading!
Thank you, Trisha. And, the sequel to The Thursday Murder Club, The Man Who Died Twice, will be out Sept. 28.
Have a safe trip!
I should be hitting the half way point in A DISTANT GRAVE by Sarah Stewart Taylor today. Once again, Maggie has found herself in Ireland working on solving a murder. Not sure how long we can straddle Long Island and Ireland, but I am enjoying this book very much.
I know, Mark. There can’t be that many cases that go both places. You’re right.
I’ll just picture Lesa contentedly listening to books as the hours fly by.
I enjoyed two books I found in the mystery section of new books at the library.
Good Girl, Bad Girl by Michael Robotham. Actually a 2019 issue and I had already read the sequel When She Was Good. Features a psychologist consulting with the police department in Nottingham. Excellent pacing and an unexpected ending.
Half Moon Bay by Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman. Deputy Coroner, Clay Edison, investigating the origins of a decades-old skeleton of a child found at a construction site. Most of the action takes place in Berkeley, CA. Clay has a new child and the story balances his work and home life.
We had a chance of freezing temperatures last night. Fortunately only reached the mid-thirties, expected to quickly rebound to 90 by the weekend.
Want to know the truth, MM? I made it safely both ways, but I’m a music listener. I really only turn off the music when I’m going through construction zones or there are detours, and I really need the directions on my GPS.
Freezing temperatures? Oooh. Not for me.
This week I finished THE BIRDWATCHER. Now I want to read more books by the author, William Shaw. That happens to me all the time and I just can’t keep up with all the authors I want to read.
I then read THE SMALL BOAT OF GREAT SORROWS by Dan Fesperman. That is the second book about Vlado Petric of Bosnia. The first book (LIE IN THE DARK) takes place during the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s. The second book takes place after Vlado has lived with his family as an immigrant in Berlin for about six years. He returns to Bosnia to help capture a man who committed war crimes (during World War II). A complicated story but I liked learning about parts of history that I had never heard of before.
Last night I started reading THE TRAVELERS by Chris Pavone. I have already read THE EXPATS and THE ACCIDENT by this author and I am a big fan of his writing. I hope this lives up to my expectations.
Lesa, I hope your day of driving went well.
Interesting selections, Tracy. I remember Chris Pavone’s The Travelers and The Expats, but don’t even remember hearing about The Accident. I hope This one lives up to your expectations, too. I hate when a favorite author disappoints.
Hope that you arrive home safe fully, Lesa! We had a lot of rain and I thought my aching bones would be better now, but not so!
I am more than halfway through the audio book by Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care. Lbearning at lot about the daughter’s daughter’s medical condition.
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Just starting, I Wish You All The Best by Mason Deaver. I now realize that I gravitate towards emotional books! I read the second book that he wrote, and then I bought the author’s first one. The main character is non-binary and when he told his parents, they kicked him out of the house in the cold rain. He was barefoot, and it was only 30 degrees outside. He did not have a cell phone, and he only had spare change. His older sister picked him up and took her to her home. The parents had broken off with her too in the past. He had not seen for ten years, and had married a high school chemistry teacher. Without her, he would have been homeless.
The book is engrossing.
It’s interesting to see how different people gravitate to different books, Carolee. My best friend reads Jodi Picoult, but I don’t. I’m bothered sometimes by the emotional issues in books.
Safe travels Lesa…we just recently returned from a week in Kauai where I finished the second Robert Galbraith title “The Silkworm” and thoroughly enjoyed it as much as his first Cormoran Strike “The Cuckoo’s Calling” . So, I’m a little behind in that series but it was a great vacation read. Now, I’m reading a Georges Simenon title “The Judge’s House” …a quick read to ease back into my reading habit unencumbered by packing, flying, and unpacking, etc.
Leaving again in a few days for San Jose (grandkids) and White Salmon, Washington (another grandkid). After almost 2 years, it’s wonderful seeing family again.
Isn’t it great to see family, Ed? That’s what my trip was – family visits. Lots of hugs! Enjoy your trips! Safe travels to you as well.
I’m late to the party, as usual. It’s quite breezy today, with sun breaks but the promised rain, now promised since Monday, does not seem to be coming. We are desperate for rain, so we keep hoping. Now they say perhaps tomorrow, we’ll see. When I look up from my book, I’ve been looking south, watching the unproductive clouds drift right to left across the sky.
The book? LONG STORY SHORT by Jodi Taylor, which was published Tuesday. I started it, a short story collection, about lunch time yesterday and am about 2/3 through. So far all are Chronicles of St. Mary’s stories, but her preface suggests at least one non-St. Mary’s story to come.
I read DOING TIME, also by Taylor, over the weekend and liked it. It’s the first in her new Time Police series, and is mostly about the early assignments of three new recruits. I’m looking forward to the next in the series, HARD TIME coming in January.
HAYDEN’S WORLD by S. D. Falchetti (2018 trade paper), is a collection of linked hard science fiction stories set in the near future when the Riggs Drive enables space ships to travel at .9 light speed. This leads to exploration, exploitation and piracy, with physical and political battles. Writing is straightforward, characters are two-dimensional but I enjoyed it all very much. So much SF these days is over baked, this was a nice change.
I have two mysteries, or at least novels but maybe not mysteries, coming from the library (the magic words “in transit” have appeared), THE VENICE SKETCHBOOK by Rhys Bowen, and THE VANISHING MUSEUM ON THE RUE MISTRAL by M. L. Longworth, which I learned of here. Hopefully these will be in hand soon.
I hope that your visit was a happy one and your return drive not too tedious. It will be fine to have you back, you’ve been missed.
Thank you, Richard. It was a beautiful, perfect family-filled trip. I always feel fortunate when we can get together. I never get a thing read. We stay up too late playing cards, talking and laughing.
I have a terrific book to review for Monday, Richard! I know not everyone will like it, but I loved the characters, and I read for character.
And, even if you’re late, I try to check in during the week so I can see what people are reading.
I’m home! I have some catching up to do. I’l be commenting this evening. In the meantime, I’m so glad you all told us what you’re reading. I’m home, with a love-starved cat draped over my arms as I type, although he has terrific cat sitters who give him all kinds of attention. We had a wonderful, family-filled visit for my mother’s 85th birthday.
So glad to hear it. I’ll drop in Monday and check that review.
Excellent.
I finished the Talton, CITY OF DARK CORNERS. I think it’s his best book, certainly the best of the ones I’ve read (including most of the Mapstone series). He did a very good job interpolating real historical figures into the story. Nice job.
Another library ebook came in, so I downloaded SKIM DEEP by Max Allan Collins.
Oh, good, Jeff. I know you’re a fan of the Mapstone books, so I’m glad to hear you liked this one, too.