At the end of March, I left a couple of books that I wanted to write about in more depth out of my first "trash" haul, but the longer the time between reading the book and writing the review, the less I remember what I wanted to say about those books. Since I have more interest in reading books right now than writing about them one at a time, I'm throwing last month's leftovers on to this month's pile.April has been a very read-y month. I had a lot to do around the house and a book helps me to get through the boring slog of household jobs I am always willing to ignore for as long as possible. A book also helps me recuperate once the boring slog is over, so plenty of reading this month, plenty of reading.
Happy Spring, everyone -- except for those of you south of the equator, who get a 'Happy Autumn' instead.
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
Book 2 of the Thursday Murder Club series. Can't wait to get my hands on book three. Just because they are set in a senior citizen community doesn't mean they have to filed under "cozy." Well written. Fun characters. Serious murder. Four stars.
Most Secret by Nevil Shute
I now have pretty much all of the Nevil Shute books that I want to have in my library. This is a World War II book BUT please do not call this historical fiction; it was written during WWII and published in 1946. It is no more historical fiction than what Jane Austen or Charles Dickens wrote. Shute managed to get close enough to the truth in his fiction that this particular book was withheld from publication for three years, until after the war. I am particularly fond of the stories that he wrote during and right after WWII. I especially like that he writes about the grunts, the ones getting their hands dirty -- the young flyers, the WAVES, the factory workers, etc. Fours star.
Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins
I have got to say that it was kind of interesting reading about the Apollo program from the point of view of a not very gungho astronaut. He was one of the first astronauts to tell his story. Not being one of the space cowboy/daredevil test pilots we see in The Right Stuff, Collins was a bit of an anti-hero and wrote a "warts and all" tale of what it was like being a pioneer. He never walked on the moon. All in all, a very informative look at the program -- and because of its timing, its perspective is a must-read for space buffs. Almost four stars.
Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism by Bob Edwards
I re-read this one every few years because it is so well written and so fascinating -- and right now, so timely. Bob Edwards tells the most engaging story of the life of journalist Edward R. Murrow and his role in moving journalism from solely the domain of the printed page to include the airwaves -- radio and television -- as well.
If you are going to read this, may I suggest that you get the audio version since it includes recordings of some of ERM's most famous broadcasts -- from a London rooftop during the Blitz, after a ride-along on a bombing sortie and after his visit to one of the concentration camps. Five stars.
Death in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie
Suspend disbelief all ye who enter here. Mesopotamia on an archaeological dig in the 1930s was interesting but the murder part of the story was truly not believable. Anything else I have to say about his book is pure spoiler -- and I haven't yet figured out how the spoiler tags work. No score. Looking forward to May's read.
Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe by Heather Webber
This one did not do it for me. Too saccharine. Just barely three stars.
Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco
Ugh! Another talented Millennial with a stunted vocabulary publishes a book. This young women was in her late 20s/early 30s when she worked in the Obama WHITE HOUSE but she can't write a book that we are supposed to be taking seriously without liberally using idioms that replace real adult type words with "shit" -- "get my shit together," "it was a shit storm." This woman may have been an assistant chief of staff to the President of the United States but after reading this book, I wouldn't want to hire her. Two stars because she writes well below her IQ and her Ivy League education.
Under the Covers and Between the Sheets
Hard-cover. Published by Reader's Digest, hence, very basic with an appeal to the least widely-read. In other words, a fun light read. Three stars.
Finding Peter Lovesey was love at first sight.
It all started with The Circle. I was only a couple of chapters in when I texted my sister to tell her about how impressed I was with the story. Turns out she was already working her way through the Peter Diamond series. I've added all the Peter Lovesey freebies to my wish lists and I am now slowly working my way through the series. However, so far, none of them have been as well written as The Circle. Read so far: The Last Detective, Diamond Solitaire, Skeleton Hill, Upon a Dark Night. All in the three and half to four star range.
Three Pines/Inspector Gamache by Louise Penny and other series-ous binge-ing
Another series that I want to read in order but don't want to pay for, so waiting for library holds is slowing the pace. I got through three this month: A Rule Against Murder, A Brutal Telling and Bury Your Dead. Books 7 and 8 are on hold -- and hoping they arrive in the right order.
In the meantime, I am continuing to work my way through the Inspector Ian Rutledge series and various series by Ann Cleeves (of which Vera Stanhope is my favorite). I managed to read a couple by both authors this month. No rush. Gotta make them last.
Life's Too Short: The DNFs
For one reason or another, two books that I was really interested in reading did not keep my interest. I quit The Codebreakers by Walter Isaacson because I did not feel like reading about the downsides of the story and I gave up on Mountain Time by Ivan Doig because the narrator was driving me up the wall. Maybe I will come back to both of these books at some later date but for now they are definitely DNF.
