First, I want to thank Jeff, Grace, Margie and Glen for sharing their favorite books of 2017. Let’s do it
again next year! Watch for those good books this year.
I bet it doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone that I’m finishing Foxglove Summer, the next book in Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series. I like this better than the last one. Peter Grant is on his own this time, as he travels out of London to help when two young girls go missing. Well, he isn’t really on his own. He’s with one of the river goddesses, Beverley.
What are you reading this week? The focus is all on you this week! Let’s talk about books.
Yes, it was great to see the lists and how each of us did ours differently. And lots more titles were added to my TBR mountain.
The book I am most looking forward to reading this week is THE WANTED by Robert Crais. I also have 2 books recommended here on my weekend pile: THE WESTERN STAR by Craig Johnson and AN UNSETTLING CRIME FOR SAMUEL CRADDOCK by Terry Shames.
Happy reading everyone!
Grace, I hope you get to both of the books on your weekend pile. Both of them were on my favorites list for 2017. Enjoy!
I did enjoy all the 'best of' lists. Maybe next year, I'll put together my own. As to what I'm reading now, GLASS HOUSES – slowly, so slowly, and savoring it. I love Louise Penny. In the wings, I have the first book for my Classics Club – Mary Stewart's WILDFIRE AT MIDNIGHT and also Donis Casey's new book, coming out in a few weeks. Sigh. I love reading.
I haven't read that particular Mary Stewart, Kay, or, if I did, I was about 13 and don't remember it. But, your other two? Well worth savoring.
I did read Christopher Brown's sort of alternate history, TROPIC OF KANSAS, which was OK if not exactly what I was expecting.
I'm more than halfway through the latest British Library collection edited by Martin Edwards, CONTINENTAL CRIMES, and I must admit that so far I am not enjoying it as much as the previous collections. It's the authors rather than the settings I don't care for.
Also reading Sam Walker's THE CAPTAIN CLASS, about what factors make "super teams" that stand out in sports history, like the Celtics of the 1950s and 1960s.
I have a couple of other library downloads waiting.
I finally finished the short story collection by P.N. Elrod LUNCHTIME READING OMNIBUS that I’ve been reading for a few weeks. I enjoyed the vampire stories but the few non vampire ones were a mixed bag.
I also read 3 cozy mysteries, all of which I enjoyed.
SCENE OF THE GRIND by Tonya Kappes
STOWED AWAY by Barbara Ross
MURDER WITH LEMON TEA CAKES by Karen Rose Smith
Now I can’t decide what to read next
Grace, Western Star was a good book for me. Hope you enjoy it.
Finished Death Without Company by Craig Johnson
Praline Murder by Sandi Scott (cozy book)
Dead and Breakfast by Colleen Mooney (cozy book)
Still reading Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Drive Thru Murder by Colleen Mooney (cozy book)
Trust there will be plenty of time for your reading habit.
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Sorry, Jeff, that your reading has just been so-so this past week.
Pick a book, Sandy, any book! Good luck with your next selection.
Charlotte, Sounds as if it's a good time for some cozy reading. I'm going to start a new one on my lunch hour today.
I started A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert but just could not get into it so I gave up on 83. Now I am reading The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce and enjoying it very much.
I recently read Vicki Delany's latest, Hark the Herald Angels Slay, a cozy set in a town that promotes a Christmas theme all year round. This is the third in the series, and since Vicki Delany writes many series, I'm concerned this may be the last–I hope not! I also recently finished Terry Shames' latest Samuel Craddock mystery, A Reckoning in the Back Country, which was definitely up to Terry's standards. If you're looking for lots of action in a traditional mystery, this series is definitely not that. Each story unfolds slowly and beautifully through the eyes of Samuel, the police chief of a small Texas town.
I reread A Wrinkle in Time because I wanted to refresh my memory before the movie is released with Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling and Reese Witherspoon. I was disappointed that I didn't find it nearly as fascinating as when I first read it in the 1960s–sacrilege, I know, because it won the Newbery Award. I
I read the ultra-hyped new book, The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn and finished it in a couple of days, even though it's 400+ pages. The suspenseful story kept me reading quickly and did provide some surprises, although I figured out one of the twists early. There's no gore here, thankfully. I enjoyed it, although not as much as the hype would indicate.
Finally, I just finished The Austen Escape by Katherine Reay, which I found to be a cut above the usual chick lit. Although there is a romance, and two of the main characters spend time role playing as Jane Austen characters at a retreat in Bath, England, those aren't necessarily the main focus. The emphasis is on the protagonist, a talented techie disappointed with the direction her startup is taking, and her estranged best friend, who has a troubled family history and a mysterious mental illness that appears occasionally and unexpectedly. I enjoyed the unpredictability and might look for another by this author.
Margie, I am also aware of the hype about The Woman in the Window. I have been thinking about adding it to my long list of books I would like to read. You review gave me something to think about.
Lesa, I have been reading cozy books more lately to off set " Into the Water." With reading a cozy along with other long books I feel like I am accomplishing my reading challenges. A cozy is shorter. I am offered so many cozy ebooks for free. Then if I like the first one then it seems the others are .99 cents from Amazon on my Kindle, Some may be a couple dollars more. I like using the Kindle at night when it is bed time or when I just want to sit the Kindle up and it is easier to flip the page. Easier to drink ☕️ and flip the pages.
Sharon, I'm glad you found a book to enjoy.
Margie, I love Samuel Craddock. No, the books aren't fast-paced, but I love the slow development and the characters. Terrific series. I'm afraid I wouldn't find A Wrinkle in Time as wonderful as when I first read it, either. Isn't it a shame we can't always feel that first feeling of awe and discovery?
I actually gave a friend my copy of The Woman in the Window. A little too much buzz for me, I'm afraid. I thought it probably wouldn't live up to the hype. I worry when a book becomes too, too much. Now, Harry Potter… I loved those books. They lived up to the hype for me, but I know they didn't for some readers.
Grace, I'm looking forward to reading The Wanted myself!
This week, I read mostly e-books off kindle unlimited. Most of them really aren't worth mentioning.
Sorry I didn't get my list in! Thinking about what might be on it was an interesting exercise. This morning I started "Being Mortal" by Atul Gawande. Earlier this week I enjoyed "Arsenic with Austen" and am now looking forward to "Bloodstains with Bronte."
This week I've been reading Roseblood by A.G. Howard and I absolutely love it so far. I'm so close to finishing and I just want to know all the secrets that are being kept in this book.
When I finished Wired by Julie Garwood last week I wondered why I hadn't read more by her…so I am starting at the beginning of that series with Heartbreaker. I'm also finishing two by Patrick Lee, and Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz, finishing Dangerous Refuge by Elizabeth Lowell. Soo Dark in Death by J D Robb!
Good Morning!
I just finished "I Can't Breath: A Killing on Bay Street" by Matt Taibbi, It was a fantastic read, I live in the glow of my Kindles so I hardly watch the news and I do listen to book and author related podcasts though. I was listening to "Fresh Air" and Ms. Gross was interviewing Mr. Taibbi and they had just gotten the introduction out and I immediately hit stop and saved the podcast for later after I had read the book. I was totally unaware of this particular incident because at the time my hometown was going through a lot of unrest, I can only take so much. So I felt like I lived through this particular incident from a bystander's POV instead of the media's. I digress..I've got to write the review but not in your comment section.
I've started "The Company of Demons" a debut thriller by Michael Jordan yesterday, it's kept me up pretty late last night I'm almost finished with it. I'm going to make sure my next read is a cozy that's for sure. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!
Glen, I'm sorry nothing was worth mentioning this week. A blah reading week, then.
Trisha, Somewhere I have Arsenic with Austen. I'll have to look for it. It sounds as if you enjoyed it.
Gram, I read some of Julie Garwood's books years ago, but haven't picked them up since. I hope you enjoy them!
Abby, It's so nice to be deep in a book you're enjoying, isn't it?
Sheryl, That's okay. I think we're all interested in your comments about I Can't Breath. And, you're right. It's hard to take too much at once.