Wednesday, March 27, 2024 ~~ Books & More...
THOUGHTS
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
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."
Just one this week-- and for the rest of the month. I am on hiatus. I've decided that I miss my old favorites and will devote the rest of the month to spending time with Dick Francis (all of them in alphabetic order), Georgette Heyer (just my favorites), Nevil Shute and, in memory of newscaster Bob Edwards, the book he wrote on Edward R. Murrow and the birth of broadcast journalism, which I re-read every few years because it is fascinating and thought-provoking. RMH=34 books this year
THOUGHTS
Another weekend filled with amazing music. Mnozil is an Austrian brass septet founded 30 years ago. They are sublime instrumentality combined with ridiculous stage antics. I only wish that they had shared the play list in advance because I think that I missed a lot not knowing which genre of music were so artful combined in each piece. I did recognize the swirling melodies of Vivaldi's Four Seasons but what the hell else did they melt into it? If you ever get a chance to hear them, say yes.
I LOVE THIS BOOK. I have read it multiple times and I continue to be fascinated by the combination of painstaking research and serendipitous encounter that go into finding "lost" paintings. I'm re-reading it now because hopefully I will get a chance to finally see this painting when we visit Dublin in May. How did a Caravaggio end up in Dublin of all places? Read the book; it is fascinating.
Oh, my. Another Hallmark story. Trite but enjoyable with a HEA ending. I'm glad the MC got the kick in the butt she needed to get on with her life. 
If I could see this play once every year, I would. It is such a hoot. It is also one of the first plays that I saw in an actual theater performed by professional actors, as opposed to in the school auditorium with student actors. This was a re-read for me. I already have the LATW version but I decided that in preparation of our upcoming travels to the British Isles, that I wanted to see what other performances I could find. I was thrilled to find one with Gielgud and Evans, two terribly classic British actors. How could I pass it up? My only problem with the performance is that it felt like bits and pieces were missing; it didn't feel long enough (especially when compared to the LATW version).
