Monday Mash Up

 June 12, 2023 ~ Books & More

THOUGHTS

I can't believe that I sat through the whole Tony Awards ceremony just because I wanted to see if Sean Hayes would win a Tony. He did win. Would have loved to have seen him in the role. I used to watch Oscar Levant being interviewed on the talk shows and I knew even at that young age that he was not the ordinary talk show guest.

100 DAYS OF SUMMER TALLY

89. Book categorized urban fantasy, or that involves dragons.
The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Pts: 4    RT: 23

20.  Collection of short stories.
Reader I Buried Them & Other Stories by Peter Lovesey
Pts: 9    RT: 32

56. Book set in, or written by an author born in, Asia.
The Village of Eight Graves by Seishi Yokomizo
Pts: 2    RT: 34

98.  Any book in a series that has more than 10 entries.
Death of a Swagman by Arthur Upfield
Pts: 10    RT: 44

45.  Book set in, or written by an author born in, the United Kingdom.
Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh
Pts: 9    RT:  53

THE BOOKS

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

It was kind of strange reading Book One after having read so many others and I definitely need to go back and read this one again. I am definitely not a fan of the new recordings or at least this particular narrator; too much frou-frou. A different voice for the footnotes is helpful -- but does not make up for a lousy main narrator. 
Three stars

Reader I Buried Them & Other Stories by Peter Lovesey

I fell in love with Peter Lovesey writing on first sight. I can't even remember why I chose the book. Then,  just a few months ago, I picked a collection of his short stories and fell in love again.  I can't even pinpoint exactly what it is about his stories and his style that grabs me so -- but then again, I have always read with my gut, not my brain.  His style reminds me of a short story that I read about 20 years ago, for a class I think. Two page long, where the narrator describes someone breaking into a house for some nefarious reason and in the final sentence we learn that the narrator is the victim. I really must find that story again. Every Lovesey short story ends with a twist.
Four stars

The Village of Eight Graves by Seishi Yokomizo (八つ墓村, Yatsuhakamura, March 1949 - March 1951)

So much to say about this one. This is the third Yokomizo that I have read.  I had no idea whodunit but I don't read these stories for the mystery to be solved as much as I do for the setting, which to me is exotic, as in very different from my own world and in so many, many ways.  While I liked the translation, I do have some issues with it -- which are issues based in my own ignorance because I don't speak Japanese and know very, very little about the language. On the one hand, I would have liked something that stuck closer to the Japanese, so that I could get a flavor of the language itself, while  on the other, I understand the translator's need to create a tone similar to that of the original writing, which in this case is mass-market, serialized murder mystery, and not Emmanuel Kant.  There are so many English idioms in the translation, that I kept wondering what metaphor was used in Japanese to express the same thought. For example, when we are being teased in English, we say "You are pulling my leg" but in Spanish, it is "You are pulling my hair;" so what is it Japanese? But, don't let my crazy fascinations about language lead you astray. It was a good translation. It put the story, tone and setting first.
3.75 stars

Death of a Swagman by Arthur Upfield

I liked this one so much that I bought a bunch more in last week's site-wide sale on Audible; they are not available on audio from my library. However, anyone who needs a trigger-warning about outdated attitudes might have trouble with this author. This is also the Agatha Christie Centenary read side read for the quarter and until Audible put it sale, I thought I would be skipping it. So all is good.
3.5 stars

Barcelona Noir by various authors, edited by Adriana V. Lopez & Carmen Ospina.

This is one of the books in the Akashic Books "Noir" series and of course I can't remember who or how I got pointed in its direction. Had I listened to the introduction before I bought the book, I would not have bought it. This comes across much more noir than I'm likely to enjoy. So for now, it is DNF.

Final Curtain by Ngaio Marsh

I can't believe that half a year has gone by and I haven't treated myself to a Ngaio Marsh. It was time for a palate cleanser and Inspector Alleyn was just what I was looking for. Delightful spending the day with a house full of actors and a surfeit of ego -- and a delicious murder.  Four stars.