Mid-Week Mash-Up

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

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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