Author Topic: My latest read is...  (Read 186587 times)

JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #60 on: January 13, 2020, 04:14:32 pm »
I finished catching up on the Lighthouse Library series by Eva Gates.

I read THE SPOOK IN THE STACKS (which got me accused of reading a book with an oddly racist title at the Dunkin Donuts next to the laundromat where I do my clothes washing), SOMETHING READ, SOMETHING DEAD and READ AND BURIED.

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #61 on: January 13, 2020, 06:09:14 pm »
I finished catching up on the Lighthouse Library series by Eva Gates.

I read THE SPOOK IN THE STACKS (which got me accused of reading a book with an oddly racist title at the Dunkin Donuts next to the laundromat where I do my clothes washing), SOMETHING READ, SOMETHING DEAD and READ AND BURIED.

Wow, I'm really surprised that your accuser would pick up on "spook" as racist. Even Urban Dictionary identifies it more as a slang word related to government agents and espionage. Since the cover of the book shows a copy of "Sleepy Hollow" as well as pumpkins, a cat and a lighthouse, I think the combination of the title and the cover point to the book being about spooky ghosts.

Was your accuser confrontational or did he/she just toss that comment out there and leave it at that?

A good book and Dunkin Donuts certainly would take some of the pain out of doing laundry!

JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #62 on: January 14, 2020, 03:52:13 am »

Wow, I'm really surprised that your accuser would pick up on "spook" as racist. Even Urban Dictionary identifies it more as a slang word related to government agents and espionage. Since the cover of the book shows a copy of "Sleepy Hollow" as well as pumpkins, a cat and a lighthouse, I think the combination of the title and the cover point to the book being about spooky ghosts.

Was your accuser confrontational or did he/she just toss that comment out there and leave it at that?

A good book and Dunkin Donuts certainly would take some of the pain out of doing laundry!

She struck me as one of those fake "woke" people who find offense wherever they can regardless of reality. Like you said, the book has Sleepy Hollow and pumpkins on the cover, it is pretty clear what the book would be about. I just looked at her and said, "It's a book about Halloween" and turned away from her. She wisely let it go at that.

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #63 on: January 14, 2020, 02:42:09 pm »

Wow, I'm really surprised that your accuser would pick up on "spook" as racist. Even Urban Dictionary identifies it more as a slang word related to government agents and espionage. Since the cover of the book shows a copy of "Sleepy Hollow" as well as pumpkins, a cat and a lighthouse, I think the combination of the title and the cover point to the book being about spooky ghosts.

Was your accuser confrontational or did he/she just toss that comment out there and leave it at that?

A good book and Dunkin Donuts certainly would take some of the pain out of doing laundry!

She struck me as one of those fake "woke" people who find offense wherever they can regardless of reality. Like you said, the book has Sleepy Hollow and pumpkins on the cover, it is pretty clear what the book would be about. I just looked at her and said, "It's a book about Halloween" and turned away from her. She wisely let it go at that.

You handled that well. It's tricky figuring out which response will defuse the situation and which will trigger a full-on nuclear reaction!

JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #64 on: January 14, 2020, 03:45:17 pm »


You handled that well. It's tricky figuring out which response will defuse the situation and which will trigger a full-on nuclear reaction!

The only problem for other people having a nuclear reaction is that I have a pretty volcanic temper when I get roused so it would be worse for them. This is why I try to have as little damage to my calm  as possible.

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #65 on: January 22, 2020, 12:15:40 am »
I'm halfway through Elly Griffiths' THE STRANGER DIARIES - I like it a lot! I'm looking forward to reading books from her Ruth Galloway and Magic Men series soon, too.

JRob

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #66 on: February 09, 2020, 09:11:44 am »
I took the Lee Goldberg book Lost Hills out of the library yesterday. It was such a thrilling page-turner that I finished it in one sitting just before midnight last night. I loved the book and just couldn't put it down.

Here's my review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3182489279

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #67 on: February 09, 2020, 11:19:07 am »
Jane Langton was one of those authors I'd heard of but had never read. When she died, all the wonderful comments about her books spurred me to pick up a few. I just finished THE FACE ON THE WALL and I LOVED it! It's underlying - and sometimes not-so-underlying theme - is the dark side of fairy tales in their original versions. I now want to find a book of fairy tales by Perrault!

KiwiCraig

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #68 on: February 14, 2020, 03:51:43 pm »
Recently finished EIGHT PERFECT MURDERS by Peter Swanson, out next month. Really enjoyed it - lots for mystery lovers to enjoy as it revolves around a bookseller of a mystery store who gets caught up in a case that has echoes of classic mystery novels. Swanson is a superb writer - I've enjoyed several of his previous books, and this one is another cracker.

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #69 on: February 14, 2020, 04:04:42 pm »
I took the Lee Goldberg book Lost Hills out of the library yesterday. It was such a thrilling page-turner that I finished it in one sitting just before midnight last night. I loved the book and just couldn't put it down.

Here's my review - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3182489279

It's on my list!

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #70 on: February 18, 2020, 02:25:09 pm »
I'm halfway through Elly Griffiths' THE STRANGER DIARIES - I like it a lot! I'm looking forward to reading books from her Ruth Galloway and Magic Men series soon, too.

I'm reading THE HOUSE AT SEA'S END, a Ruth Galloway book by Elly Griffiths. I have several of her books in my to-be-read pile now. I think I've read THE JANUS STONE - both the title and the cover are familiar. I may even have it buried in my bookcases someplace.

Kate Stine, Editor

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #71 on: February 18, 2020, 03:18:41 pm »
I'm currently reading Mo Moulton's THE MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY: HOW DOROTHY L. SAYERS AND HER OXFORD CIRCLE REMADE THE WORLD FOR WOMEN (Basic, 2019). There's lots of interesting insights into Sayer's life and work plus a good deal of info on life in Oxford and in community theater in England between the wars, health & education of children, developments in women's rights, etc. A thought-provoking book about a group of exceptionally accomplished women.
« Last Edit: February 18, 2020, 03:20:38 pm by Kate Stine, Editor »

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #72 on: February 18, 2020, 03:56:35 pm »
I'm currently reading Mo Moulton's THE MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY: HOW DOROTHY L. SAYERS AND HER OXFORD CIRCLE REMADE THE WORLD FOR WOMEN (Basic, 2019). There's lots of interesting insights into Sayer's life and work plus a good deal of info on life in Oxford and in community theater in England between the wars, health & education of children, developments in women's rights, etc. A thought-provoking book about a group of exceptionally accomplished women.

I've only read her mysteries and this short story collection (which I loved): https://www.amazon.com/Treasury-Sayers-Stories-Dorothy-L-ebook/dp/B00AF099FC/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=dorothy+l.+sayers+short+stories&qid=1582070074&s=books&sr=1-2

The book you're reading sounds fascinating - I'll check it out!

Becke Davis

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #73 on: February 28, 2020, 11:30:37 pm »
Jane Langton was one of those authors I'd heard of but had never read. When she died, all the wonderful comments about her books spurred me to pick up a few. I just finished THE FACE ON THE WALL and I LOVED it! It's underlying - and sometimes not-so-underlying theme - is the dark side of fairy tales in their original versions. I now want to find a book of fairy tales by Perrault!

I'm working my way through Jane Langton's books. I just finished DEAD AS A DODO and while I loved the Oxford setting (it made me think of Inspector Lewis, a TV series that is set there), I found the creationism theme (Darwin vs. the Church) a little wearing and the humor the not-really-funny sort. So while I have really loved several of the Jane Langton books i've read, this, sadly, isn't one of them. I think my husband might have liked this, but I can't see him every reading a cozy. I'll probably donate this one to the library. It's an interesting book, just not my style.

Brian

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Re: My latest read is...
« Reply #74 on: February 29, 2020, 02:30:57 pm »
Just starting Death Out of Nowhere by Alexis Gensoul and Charles Grenier ... it starts with a writer describing his latest locked room novel, and is supposed to include a locked room lecture, as in The Three Coffins by Carr or Nine Times Nine by Boucher.