Messages

706

What I'm Reading / Just added to my waiting-to-be-read pile.

« on: January 02, 2020, 09:27:14 pm »

I don't know why I continue to buy books when there's no chance I'll ever read through my whole to-be-read-pile in one lifetime, even if I never buy another book or check more out from the library. Today I stopped in the Barnes & Noble store in Bridgeport, OR and added two books to my stacks: an oldie, THE CROOKED HINGE by John Dickson Carr, and a 2018 publication from a series I'm not familiar with: THE VINYL DETECTIVE by Andrew Cartmel. Not sure what number this is in the series, but it's called WRITTEN IN DEAD WAX.

Did any of you add to your book collections over the holidays?

707

Welcome and General Discussion / Re: Bookmarks?

« on: January 02, 2020, 08:30:22 pm »

I'm using the card I was sent from the publisher to accompany the advance copy of the Kyle Mills/Vince Flynn thriller Lethal Agent. It's the card that acknowledges that I was selected as a Mitch Rapp ambassador in order to get the advance copy.

It's almost as fun to get bookmarks from authors and publishers as it is to get advanced copies of their books!  Whenever I manage to go to a mystery conference I end up shipping home boxes of books but loading my carryon with bookmarks and other promos. :-)

708

Welcome and General Discussion / Re: R.I.P. M.C. Beaton

« on: January 02, 2020, 07:56:27 pm »

I was sorry to see that news yesterday. From the same article you linked here.

One of the members of the Mystery Book Club that I belong to was a big fan of her books so she was saddened when I messaged her to let her know the news.

In the obituary, there is a quote from M.C. Beaton that refers to a "Glasgow kiss." I Googled the term, with this result:

"Glasgow kiss (plural Glasgow kisses) (Britain, euphemistic, humorous) A sharp, sudden headbutt to the nose, usually resulting in a broken nose."

709

Welcome and General Discussion / Bookmarks?

« on: January 02, 2020, 01:03:18 am »

Assuming you haven't just finished whatever you've been reading, what are you using for a bookmark? I'm about 50 pages into Ruth Ware's THE LYING GAME, and my bookmark is purple. It's a real bookmark, not a random piece of paper or Kleenex that was handy. It says "Smith Family Bookstore" (Eugene, Oregon) and it has images of a sailing ship, a dragon, a pony and other images that make me think of children's books. I picked up a stack of those bookmarks the last time I was in the store.

What's holding your place in the book you're reading today?

710

Welcome and General Discussion / R.I.P. M.C. Beaton

« on: January 01, 2020, 07:45:47 pm »

My friend Susan Stokes just sent me this link - something especially sad about dying on New Year's Day:

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/agatha-raisin-creator-m-c-beaton-dies-83-1145666

"Prolific writer M C Beaton, creator of the much-loved Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth crime series, has died.

Beaton passed away on 30th December aged 83, after a short illness, her publisher Little, Brown said.

Success came to her later in life but she made up for lost time - since 2011 she had been the most borrowed UK adult author in British libraries and her M C Beaton titles have sold in excess of 21 million copies worldwide," L, B said in a statement. "However, she hated being referred to as a ‘cosy’ writer, saying that if anyone called her books cosy she’d give them a Glasgow Kiss. She always saw herself more as an entertainer than author."

M C Beaton's editor Krystyna Green commented: "I’m going to miss her dreadfully as after 23 years I’d grown from being in awe of her, to thinking she was absolutely wonderful - and very kind under her rather fierce exterior. She was forthright and uncompromising and never afraid to express a view, no matter how unfashionable. She was funny, wise, and truly an inspiring, utterly unique individual. This is just such a sad end to the year."

711

What I'm Reading / Re: Happy New Year! Are you doing any reading tonight?

« on: January 01, 2020, 05:31:54 pm »

I didn't do a whole lot in terms of partying. I worked all day, then ate dinner at my favorite local restaurant, flirted with the cute waitress, and came home. I read during the course of the day (Lethal Agent by Kyle Mills) but starting at 8:30 pm until midnight I took part in Facebook party for a bunch of Kensington authors.

Sounds like fun! I almost finished my book - conked out with 25 pages to go, so I finished it this morning. Kate Carlisle - if you happen to read this, I really enjoyed the book, especially the kite (wish it could have been on the cover). I wish there could have been more about the herbal Brooklyn repaired. I wondered if it might be based on a book Kate came across in real life.

Trying to decide which book to read next - I have four library books that I should probably read first, or maybe I'll read another of the Nero Wolfe books. So many books, but for a change plenty of time to read them. My husband is watching the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl so we're not going anywhere tonight!

712

What I'm Reading / Happy New Year! Are you doing any reading tonight?

« on: December 31, 2019, 11:49:35 pm »

It's quiet at our house tonight. My son and daughter-in-law and our two granddaughters are visiting friends in California. There are 8 kids staying at the house so it's party central! We do have two dogs and three cats to keep us company, and our daughter came over earlier. It's been raining heavily for hours but at least it's too warm for snow. It got up into the 50s today. I've got about 15 minutes to midnight. My husband has on some late night TV show but I wanted to check in quickly and wish you all a very Happy New Year!

We watched two old episodes of Midsomer Murders and a very old episode of a British TV show we used to love - it's called SHOESTRING and it stars the fabulous Trevor Eve. It was one of our favorite shows when we lived in England years ago, and this is the first time it's been available in the U.S.

I also squeezed in some reading today - I'm about half way through Kate Carlisle's THE BOOK SUPREMACY. I like all the details about book binding. :-)

What are you doing tonight?

713

What I'm Reading / Re: My latest read is...

« on: December 30, 2019, 01:24:30 pm »

I just finished reading Laura Lippman's LADY IN THE LAKE (July, 2019). The quality of the writing is just swoon-worthy. It's a tale of two women in 1960s Baltimore:Cleo Sherwood, a poor young black woman, and Maddie Schwartz, a well-to-do but frustrated suburban wife. The shifting viewpoints come from a variety of characters as well as these two, giving the book a kaleidoscopic quality that brilliantly evokes a time and a place. Lippman beautifully organizes a complex story -- her concerns are much broader than who died and how -- and the emotional payoff at the end is just brilliant. Lippman is one of the best writers in the genre and I can't recommend this highly enough.

I read this about a week ago. It's a complex story - soooo well written! The multiple viewpoints could have been confusing in less deft hands. As it was, I thought it added to my enjoyment of the book.

714

Welcome and General Discussion / Re: POLL: Married Detectives

« on: December 30, 2019, 01:21:09 pm »

Hi Becke,
Yes, the Falco mysteries by Lindsey Davis are best read in order, at least the first 3 or 4. Then it's easier to be out of sequence.

It's interesting to me that Davis had ended the Falco series and started a new series featuring Falco's adopted daughter Flavia Alba. Having seen ancient Rome through Falco's eyes, it's a whole new ballgame with a young woman in the narrator's seat. Davis delves much more deeply into the domestic lives of Roman women, servants and slaves than she did in the Falco books. A very interesting broadening of perspective.

I found THE SILVER PIGS on my to-be-read shelves, and when I Googled it I was happy to see it's the first book in the series! I must have picked it up at a library sale. I have a couple library books to read and then I'll add that to my "next up" stack. A couple of Nero Wolfe books are at the top of that pile right now. I read THE DOORBELL RANG and I have two others waiting for me to read faster!

I checked again and didn't find any other Lindsey Davis books hiding around the house. Oh well!

715

Favorites / Re: First Mystery You Ever Read?

« on: December 30, 2019, 01:13:52 pm »

Becke,
The word "titian" was used to describe Nancy's hair. Her hair color ranged from blonde, to strawberry blond to reddish blond over the years.

Wow, I didn't know that! I always picture her as a blonde, or maybe a strawberry blonde. Now that I think of it, I pictured her looking like my mom did when she was a teenager.

716

What I'm Reading / Re: My latest read is...

« on: December 30, 2019, 12:59:39 am »

I'm on a Ruth Ware binge at the moment, mixed with an M.J. Rose binge. This week I've read Ware's IN A DARK, DARK WOOD and THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10. Both were excellent mysteries, the latter was actually scary! I still have to read THE LYING GAME and THE TURN OF THE KEY, but my daughter lent me her copy of THE SILENT PATIENT by Alex Michaelides, and if I don't read it soon she's going to have a fit. :-)

I also have a couple cozies waiting to be read, so it's a toss up...

717

What I'm Reading / Re: My latest read is...

« on: December 30, 2019, 12:54:41 am »

I'm currently working on a re-read of the Eva Gates mystery Reading Up A Storm. It's the third book in her Lighthouse Library series.

I don't typically get to do a lot of re-reading but I joined the mystery book club at my local library and this is the book of the month. I'm about 2/3 of the way through it and I still like it. I wasn't overly fond of the first two books in the series but this book is where I felt the main character FINALLY stopped being such a doormat.

I've got the fourth book in the series but haven't gotten around to reading that one yet.

Eva Gates also writes as Vicki Delany. I met her at Malice Domestic several years ago. I have some of her Eva Gates titles in my to-be-read hoard, but I've read several of her Christmas mysteries (written as Vicki Delany).

https://www.cozy-mystery.com/eva-gates.html

718

What I'm Reading / Re: My latest read is...

« on: December 30, 2019, 12:50:18 am »

I've been dipping into DREYER'S ENGLISH: AN UTTERLY CORRECT GUIDE TO CLARITY AND STYLE by Benjamin Dreyer, the copy chief of Random House. This is a truly delightful guide to writing that entertains just as much as it informs. I found myself laughing out loud in a diner while reading this book. "Only godless savages eschew the series comma," Dreyer notes. (He's right about that!) This would be a great gift for a high school graduate going off to college or for anyone who cares about good writing.

I love this type of book! And since I have no will power (and a growing collection of writing guides) I just ordered myself a copy!

719

What I'm Reading / Re: My latest read is...THE WAREHOUSE by Rob Hart

« on: December 30, 2019, 12:42:13 am »

I’ve just finished reading Rob Hart’s THE WAREHOUSE (Crown, August 2019). If you’ve ever wondered uneasily where all this Amazon-taking-over-the-economy is headed, this is the book for you. Hart’s detailed world building is chillingly plausible as he posits a dystopian climate-ravaged future in which Cloud, a gargantuan corporation, offers all one’s needs: “A bed, a roof, and a job for life.”  I found this a compelling, if dismaying, portrait of our possible future. Good tension throughout, interesting characters. The ending was a bit rushed but still effective. This is a novel of ideas and I think it will provide you with plenty of food for thought.

This sounds intriguing but I'm afraid of that "chillingly plausible" description. I'm looking for escapism right now and the only sci-fi-type books I've been reading (and in some cases, rereading) are Ray Bradbury's books.

I was hesitant to read DARK MATTER by Blake Crouch when it came out, but my brother recommended it and I was surprised how much I liked it. http://blakecrouch.com/dark-matter.php

I still have his book RECURSION in my to-be-read pile - it sounds good, too. Have any of you read it, or his other books?
http://blakecrouch.com/recursion.php

720

Favorites / Re: First Mystery You Ever Read?

« on: December 30, 2019, 12:35:21 am »

I can't really be sure but it was either Encyclopedia Brown, The Hardy Boys, The Three Investigators or The Hound of the Baskervilles illustrated digest sized version that my parents gave me.

I knew that the Nancy Drew books were written by "Carolyn Keene" but I didn't realize she also wrote the Hardy Boy books and many others!

https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/adams-harriet-stratemeyer