Thursday, May 30, 2024

Fifty States Challenge

 

Fifty States Master Post


 

Thanks to Moonlight Reader for this delightful challenge and summer reading project.

I've promised myself that for this challenge no re-reads permitted and nothing from MR's reading list (no matter how attractive it looks; it will just have to go on my wish list for another time).

The plan. I'm starting in New England, where I live, and will work my way through the founding colonies and then westward to the Pacific Coast. So far, I have been depending on GoodReads lists for finding books but after two somewhat duds, I am going to have to expand the search parameters. Finding the books can prove as time consuming as reading them and writing about them.

Let the reading begin!

MAINE -- It was tough to find a book to read for Maine considering that I am not a fan of horror (Stephen King) and I have already read The Cider House Rules. I tried and immediately put down a title by Sarah Orne Jewett; it was cold, bleak and boring. I ended up with a true vacation read. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/10620.Books_Set_in_Maine

Murder on Parade by Jessica Fletcher/Donald Bain, part of the Murder, She Wrote series

I never watched the TV show but I was desperate to find something of interest to read. If nothing else, I found some tolerable reading for when only "necessary roughage" will do. I loved the residents of Cabot Cove; they were so New England caricature and the mystery was solid enough to sustain interest.
3 stars (would have been 3.25 if it weren't for the lousy narrator)

NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Equally as difficult to find a title, even though there are some good choices at the top of the list -- A Separate Peace, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Our Town, Jodi Picoult, Anita Shreve -- I eventually settled on a real dud. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/16516.Books_Set_in_New_Hampshire

Summer Hours at the Robbers Library by Sue Halpern

There is just so much wrong with this book, so much unrealized potential. I can believe I read it all the way to the end. Show us,don't tell us! By the end, it was a car running out of gas, sputtering to a halt when it still had ground to cover.
2 stars

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

MidWeek MashUp

Wednesday April 10, 2024 -- Books & More...


THOUGHTS

WooHoo! Taxes are done, ready to be sent off.

Otherwise, I am just too busy to think, let alone write about what I am (not) thinking about.

 

TICKETS

Sunday can't come soon enough! Twelfth Night!!

 

READING MY HORDE

As it turns out, everything I read this week was from 'the horde' putting me at 39 books so far this year. It wasn't anything intentional, it is just the way the week worked out.

 

AT THE LIBRARY

 

Still waiting patiently.

 

 

THE BOOKS

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

A pre-travel, scene-setting read. Another look at the Blitz. More focused on the players than the events. A long but easy read.
3.5 stars

 

This House of Sky by Ivan Doig

DNF. I've read a couple by Doig and really enjoyed them. I could not get into this one. There was something about his language and the overwrought descriptions that drove me bonkers.
No rating

 

The Night at the Crossroads by Georges Simenon

This was written in the first year he published; one of 10 books he published that year. Yes, he cranked them out like sausage but that doesn't bother me. They are a quick read when I don't feel like anything else and I like his tales. Simenon found his niche, his style and his character and he stuck with it.
3.5 stars

Murder at the Museum by Simon Brett

The more I read Simon Brett, the more I want to read more Simon Brett. Good thing he has a large back catalog. Sorry it isn't all available on audio. I continue to enjoy his sense humor and the way he has perfected the art of not letting the humor pull the reader's attention away from the story. He just drops his little bombs and keeps going; he doesn't hang around to make sure that you got the joke or the commentary.
3.75 stars

Mrs. Pargeter's Principle by Simon Brett

This is the first that I have read of the Mrs. Pargeter series. Unfortunately, books 1 -6 are not available on Audible or the library, so I had to jump into to the middle of the series. I hope that eventually I get to hear the whole series. Yes, the humor continues, as unobtrusive as ever.

Simon Brett narrates this series. He is an exception to the rule, an author who knows how to narrate a book and sounds good doing it. Give me more.
3.5stars

 

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

MID-WEEK MASH-UP

Wednesday, April 3, 2024 ~~ Books & More...


THOUGHTS

I've been thinking about my reading plan for April. It is going to be a very busy month; April always is. So some of my books are going to be easy reading and some of my books are going to be in preparation for our May adventure. And some are going to be to reduce the horde/hoard, which I really do need to work on (especially the ones I paid for). Exactly what I am going to read remains to be seen.

READING MY HORDE

Nothing this week but I am now picking up the pace for April -- but not necessarily to the January-February pace.

AT THE LIBRARY

Nothing doing. I am patiently waiting my turn. Nothing expected until June -- but watch, something is going to be delivered while we are away and I won't have time or inclination to read it!

 

 

THE BOOKS

A very read-y week.

Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson

Same plot structure as before. First person narrator, author of true crime stories in which he ends up involved in the events of which he is writing while laid up from injuries sustained. Fourth wall completely shattered (could we call this 2nd person narrative??). Before you pick this one up, get your hands on The Detection Club Decalogue (https://murder-mayhem.com/the-detection-club-rules) and VanDine's Twenty Rules (http://gaslight-lit.s3-website.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/gaslight/vandine.htm ) because Stevenson references them frequently. Keep in mind that Van Dine is deadly serious about his rules, while the DCD (mostly written by Ronald Knox) is somewhat tongue in cheek (The Detection Club members knew how to have fun).
Stow your baggage and hang on for dear life.
3.75 stars

These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer

I found a new recording of this title and decided to give it a try. It does make a difference but one I'm not sure that I like; maybe I've listen to the Cornelius Garrett recording so much that it is set in my brain. No, I don't think so. I think that this is the story of a 45 year old man and that it needs to be read by a man, not an ingenue. Avon is dark and menacing and the voice of a young female narrator is not.
I also want to point out that this is one of her very early titles, written when she was barely twenty. It is the romantic fantasy of a naive, innocent schoolgirl; she just doesn't seem to understand the deeper implications of some of the things she writes. But, hey, it was a best-seller in its day and has never been out of print.
It is interesting to watch GH mature over the years as she learns personally about love and marriage. It is hard to believe that the woman who wrote this book would go on to write A Civil Contract, another one of my GH favorites, forty years later.
4.0 stars, if you can get around some of the stupid stuff

Comeback by Dick Francis

Wow!
Career diplomat figures out who is trying to ruin a local vet. Loved it. Twisted, twisted characters. More of that moral bankruptcy that DF does so well.
4.0 stars

Devil's Cub by Georgette Heyer

This is the sequel to These Old Shades and is about the dissolute son of Avon. It is more romantic fantasy from a naive young woman, although by this time she has been married for 7 years. Nonetheless, I do ever so enjoy reading these two books, over and over again.  BTW, awful cover. They look middle-aged and seasick.
3.75 stars

Crossfire by Felix Francis and Dick Francis

After his wife died in 2000, Dick Francis stopped writing. His books were a collaborative effort with his wife even though published under the name of Dick Francis. In 2006, the first of 5 books written in collaboration with his son Felix was published. Crossfire was the last they would write together. It is one of the better tales to come out of the father-son collaboration.
Injured soldier comes home to find his estranged horse-trainer mother up to her eyeballs in trouble. It is now up to him to fix it.
3.75 stars

They Do it with Mirrors by Agatha Christie

I found it had a dreadfully slow start -- but a whiz bang finish. I might even read it again before the month is out.
BTW, there are multiple recordings of this one. I had somehow gotten my hands on the Joan Hickson recording but it was just awful. She spoke as if she had marbles in her mouth, especially when she had to pronounced character names. I lasted 10 minutes before I went to Audible to get the Emilia Fox edition.
3.5 stars

 

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Mid-Week Mash-Up

Wednesday, March 27, 2024 ~~ Books & More...


THOUGHTS

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I've been wondering about the future of this blog. Is it an asset or a liability? Are there people who actually read this blog on a regular basis?  And if so, do they care about what I have to say about the books I've read? After reading my thoughts, brief though they might be, has anyone actually read one of the 100s of books I have commented on simply because they learned about it here? If so, have they ever bothered to say "thanks" or to tell me how much they enjoyed or didn't enjoy the book?

TICKETS

Sunday, we went to what may have been our last Handel+Haydn Society concert. I'm sad. It is a very fine ensemble playing the orchestral music I love. I looked at the schedule for next season and saw only one or two concerts that grabbed my attention; we need three to be subscribers. Yes, I'm disappointed but we can get our needed shot of concert music closer to home. As to the concert itself, I never thought I would say this about an H+H concert but this week's concert was underwhelming -- especially after hearing them perform Beethoven's Ninth the week before. For varying reasons, we left at intermission; the lackluster program wasn't one of the reasons but it made the decision easier.

Up next: Twelfth Night at The Gamm.

READING MY 'HORDE'

We are at 34 books and holding. RMH titles will return in April.

AT THE LIBRARY

WooHoo!!!  Two holds appeared in my inbox on Sunday:

    

One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley, placed March 9, borrowed March 24
Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson, placed January 17, borrowed March 24

THE BOOKS

Disregard all of the grumbling above. It has been a delightful reading week and I am very much enjoying the time spent with old favorites.

Break In by Dick Francis

While the Dick Francis heroes have many traits in common, they are still all distinctly individual. Only two of his heroes have appeared in more than one of his books -- Kit Fielding and Sid Halley. This is the book that introduces Champion Jockey Kit Fielding. It is a tale of family feuds, underhanded business dealings and a no holds-barred quest for a knighthood.
4 stars

Behold, Here's Poison by Georgette Heyer

Who used nicotine to kill Gregory Matthews? While know for her Regency romances, Heyer also wrote mysteries during the "Golden Age." Actually, it was a joint effort with her husband. He structured the mystery, she wrote the book. I have a couple of them -- and would have more if it weren't for the fact that they are all read by the same awful narrator and I refuse to buy them -- or even listen to them if I could find them at the library.
3.25+ stars

Come to Grief  by Dick Francis

This is a Sid Halley story and it is dynamite. A definite contender for HB Pysch. It is a story about having to choose between friendship and serving justice.
4.25 stars

Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen

Hiaasen is a newspaper man in Florida and he has been criticizing people, politics and policy in the state of Florida for decades, particularly in the many novels he has written. He has a warped sense of humor and a keen sense of what is not quite right in the state of Florida. His main target in this tale is a former occupant of the White House (the one in Washington, D.C.). Not his best story but not his worst either.
3.5 stars

One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley

My daughter told me that I had to read this one. The main character has dementia and having just walked that path with my mother, the book hit close to home. The story is told in two timelines, the year in which events happened and then 67 years later as the demented MC tries to uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of her friend before her cognitive abilities completely desert her.
Not quite 3.5 stars but better than 3.25

 

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Mid-Week Mash-Up

 

Wednesday, March 20, 2024 ~~ Books & More...


THOUGHTS

Happy Spring, Everybody!


TICKETS

Sublime! Sublime! Sublime! Seventy minutes of uninterrupted joy. Handel+Haydn Society and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The first time H+H performed this symphony (in 1853), it was contemporary music, not "classical."

 

AT THE LIBRARY

No surprises this week. Still waiting on holds.

FOUND AT THE AUDIBLE SALE

 

 

THE BOOKS

I am truly enjoying my re-read marathon this month. Wondering how I am going to celebrate April.

 

Blood Sport by Dick Francis

Early Francis. Beautifully constructed. HB Psych.
4 Star

Bolt by Dick Frances

Francis is so good at morally bankrupt villians.
4 stars

The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman

Grabbed this one after reading Elentarri's review. Sadly, it didn't work for me. I couldn't find the plot. I couldn't keep the characters straight. I don't know if it was the recording or what.
3 stars

False Colours by Georgette Heyer

Twin brothers forced to change places. Lots of fun. Straight out of Shakespearean comedy, right down to the wonderful secondary characters.
3.75 stars

Bonecrack by Dick Francis

A late edition to my Audible Library, this is only the second time I've read it. It might take a few more re-reads before I have anything pithy to say about it.
3.75 stars

Ruined City by Nevil Shute
Published 1938

Set in 1930s UK. Rich banker saves a dying city's shipyard during the Depression. What a storyteller!
3.75