Mid-Week Mash-Up

 

Wednesday, February 28, 2024 ~~ Books & More...

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THOUGHTS

The family gathered to remember my father. My cousin said it all, "We spoke about right and wrong, and creating a life of honesty, integrity and caring." In three words, he said it all. It was what my grandfather had taught him and what he passed along to his progeny. It was the way he lived his life. It is the way I hope I live my life and the lessons I hope I passed to my children.

Closing up the apartment was not that difficult considering that we had done a major, major clean out when we moved them a year ago. The most heart-warming moment of the week was when the shipper came to pack a painting that was being shipped to California. The packing team had to move the dining room table -- and it was broken so it had to be handled with care (because we still needed to eat one more family meal on it on Saturday night). After that, it was going out on the Junk Luggers truck with the rest of the furniture in the apartment. The dining room set was my grandmother's. She bought it in the late 1950's in Copenhagen and had it shipped home (back in the days when shipping by sea was dirt cheap). It was the new Danish modern that would become all the rage in the next few years. We all grew up with that table and we all love it but none of us has room for it and shipping would be expensive. It was going to Junk Luggers.

That is until we started talking with one of the packers. He was into what he called "mid-century modern." So, we cleared the table pads off the table and showed him the beautiful workmanship of the table. He was wide-eyed. We showed him the extensions to the table. Then we said, "It is yours if you want it. All you have to do is get it out of here before Junk Luggers gets here on Wednesday morning." His face just lit up at this point. It all worked out. He came Monday morning with his partner (she was the final vote) and walked out not only with the dining room set but also two lamps and and an end table to go with them. We were all so happy that our beloved table was going to a loving home -- and not the dump.

TICKETS

Busy, busy month of listening. For some reason, I booked a lot of tickets for February and March this year -- when the white weather can be the worst. So far we have missed two theater productions, one of which was "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" which I really wanted to see. The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine kicked off its US tour at our local concert hall -- and they kicked it off with a very long and very loud standing ovation as the orchestra walked into the hall to take their places. And then we sat down and listened to two hours of virtuosity followed by another standing ovation. The next night we were back in our seats for VOCES8 an a capella ensemble --and another standing ovation. What a weekend. We bookend-ed the local concerts with trips into Boston for Handel + Haydn Society concerts -- heaps and heaps of classic classical music.

 

READING MY HORDE

This is getting boring! Eighty percent of my reads so far this year have been from the horde. A lot of them are series titles that I don't want to binge. I will have to focus on clearing off the non-series stuff and add a few more non-horde titles to the mix. All in all I have cleared 32 titles off the TBR and deleted a few more for cause -- mostly 'cause the narrator was just plain awful. I think I can slow the pace now and alternate Horde with something from the library. I really have made a dent in the pile.

THE BOOKS

With 8 nights back home, socializing with the family and cleaning out the apartment, not much reading got done in February -- and not much note taking either.

¨ The Grand Banks Cafe by George Simenon

I like Simenon's early stuff. It is dark and eerie, as if the countryside were fog-bound year round.
3.25

¨ The Case of the Runaway Corpse by Erle Stanley Gardner

I always think of Raymond Burr when I read these books but Gardner describes him as lanky not burly. Between the crime solving and the courtroom drama, I enjoy the series.
3.5 stars

¨ The White Priory Murders by Carter Dickson (aka John Dickson Carr)

Why do the choose the same dreary basso profundo narrators to read JDC stories? They really suck the joy out of the experience. In spite of the narrator, Carr writes a fun locked room, closed circle mystery.
3.5 stars

¨ The Crazy Kill by Chester Himes

Fantastic title. Kept asking myself, "Why this title" right to the very end when I realized that I was looking at it wrong.

3.5 stars

In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

Stealing again from MikeFinn's bookshelf. Always a winner.
Mike, I loved it. I can't wait to read more of the series and I hope he doesn't leave his wife. If anyone breaks up the marriage, let it be her; having the MC do the breaking up is just too trite. Strong mystery. Interesting duo.
3.75 stars

Silent Parade by Keigo Higashino

I love his writing-- which is really strange to say considering that I have to read his work in translation and that I have absolutely NO knowledge of Japanese. Moreover, I thought it was a so-so translation compared to his other books. The hardest part for me is keeping the names straight because they all sound so similar to me. I've finished the book and I'm still not sure whodunit. Still, it doesn't stop me from wanting to read more of his books.
3.75 stars

¨ A Comedian Dies and ¨ Murder Unprompted by Simon Brett

I'm rolling these two into one "review." I wanted something light to read while I was home with my sibs and chose Simon Brett for his sense of humor. It was a good choice given the situation.
3.5 stars for each of them

¨ Miss Silver Comes to Stay by Patricia Wentworth

Always a good read when spending time with the reliable Miss Silver.
3.5 stars

¨ The Chalk Pit by Elly Griffiths

Can't remember who got me hooked on this series but many thanks because I've been enjoying it.
3.5 stars

¨ The Yellow Room by Mary Roberts Rinehart

I have found that MRR can be hit or miss. This one was a hit as far as I am concerned.
3.5 stars